Bed of Roses (Episode 2)

Sewa walked out of the hall towards the car park. The noise level depreciated as she moved farther from the hall and the numerous people chatting and posing for pictures outside the hall. She had only just told her husband of the urge she had to call Fikayo and now an emergency message just came in from Chioma.

"Hello Chioma, what's wrong with Fikayo?" Sewa asked in a hurry once Chioma picked her call. 

She was particularly worried because she could not remember giving Chioma her number, and this meant Chioma went out of her way to get her number just to let her know something was wrong with her dear friend.

"Hi Sewa. I don't know o. That's why I'm calling you...." Chioma started.

Sewa was even more confused. 

"But you just sent me a message that something was up..."

"Yes, I have a strong feeling something is wrong. She's been ignoring my calls, not picking me on her way to church for about two weeks now, and today, I woke up with a gut feeling that something major is wrong with her..." Chioma paused.

"You there?!"

"Yes, yes, I'm here..." Sewa was still confused. She wondered where the conversation was headed.

"So you called me because...?" She asked slowly.

"Haba. She's your best friend now. I called you because I was worried and I thought you would have answers..." Chioma was disgusted at Sewa's attitude. She wondered why she was so proud.

"Okay..." Sewa tried to answer the inquiries politely but was interrupted before she could say another word.

"Sorry o. Sorry for disturbing your royal highness..." Chioma hissed and ended the call.

"Wow... Wow" Sewa looked at her phone in shock.

She honestly thought she got along well with Chioma the first time she came to her house with Fikayo. She couldn't understand the reason for the outburst and rudeness. The call from Chioma only reaffirmed the need to call Fikayo once they were out of the reception. 

As she walked into the hall, she suddenly felt the need to hurry her husband up so that they could leave. Something was definitely up with Fikayo, she could sense it. She only hoped it was something good.

"I'm sorry hubs..." Sewa said as she sat back in her chair to enjoy the rest of the party.

"Okay..." Kunle said without looking up from his phone.

"So what did I miss?" Sewa poured herself a glass of juice. There was no point eating her food since it was already cold.

"Nothing major... Just the usual Chairman of the Occasion's speech, and father-daughter dance..." Kunle lifted his head this time and looked straight into his wife's eyes.

"Awww, I missed the dance? The one we rehearsed in the studio with me playing daddy's role..."

She smiled and sipped her juice. She could feel her husband's gaze on her and she knew what that meant.

Since the whole drama that unfolded three months back, Kunle had literally become suspicious of her every move and conversation. She could not blame him; she was paying for her naivety and foolishness. She had promised never to keep anything away from her husband and had been true to her words. She only hoped the fight for his trust would end soon. She wasn't sure she could keep up with his demands for answers even when there was nothing to hide.

"What?! Why are you looking at me that way?!" Sewa dropped her glass of juice. It was time for her to look back into Kunle's eyes.

"It's Chioma; she was only asking after Fikayo. She said she's been trying to reach her to no avail, bla bla bla..." Sewa continued since Kunle wouldn't stop staring at her and wouldn't say a word too.

"What now?" Her husband did not utter a word still, and she was getting frustrated.

She handed her phone to him before picking up her glass of juice again. She thought she was already making headway into regaining Kunle's trust but his current attitude that had become a norm since he was discharged from the hospital, was getting annoying.

Kunle unlocked the phone, read through the message and confirmed the caller ID from the last dialed number.

"I'm ready to leave whenever you're ready" Sewa collected her phone from Kunle and looked away to other exciting things happening at the reception.

It was now time for the bride to throw her bouquet, an exciting time for the bride's friends and a perfect time for them to leave the reception. Kunle stood up from his seat, still without saying a word. Sewa got the message, hurriedly gulped the second glass of juice she had poured herself and walked out of the hall behind her husband.

***

"Congratulations" was all Bosun needed to hear. He jumped up, lifted his wife from her seat and spun her around. His joy knew no bounds. They were going to be Parents... At last!

"Thanks Doc... Thank you so much..." 

He shook his senior colleague's hands rigorously, before leaving the office with his wife. He held her close, he actually felt like carrying her all the way to the car. His wife was pregnant. He was elated, and even though Fikayo smiled weakly all through the announcement of her three-weeks old pregnancy, Bosun remained excited. He understood the way she was feeling, it was her first time and her body needed time to adjust to the new growth. Although he knew all the dos and don'ts that Fikayo should observe during this period, he still paid rapt attention to the doctor as instructions were dished out.

As soon as they got to where the car was parked, Fikayo turned round to get the door for herself but Bosun was quick enough to stopped her.

"No baby. Don't do that. You've got meee" Bosun danced as he opened the door for his wife, after which he carried her into the car.

Fikayo could not help it this time. She laughed softly. She wanted to be as excited as Bosun but she really couldn't. In the mean time, she would force the excitement, she told herself.

It was so satisfying seeing her husband this way.

"I'm so happy baby, so happy. See? God has answered our prayers..." Bosun started as he got into the driver's seat to start the car.

"He has..." Fikayo smiled back.

"Halleluyah somebody" Bosun screamed at the top of his voice as he drove out of the hospital premises.

Fikayo laughed loud this time and fixed her gaze on her husband.

"I love you Fifi..." 

"Love you too Bosun" Fikayo responded quietly. 

Her stomach churned at the sound of Fifi. She suddenly wished Bosun didn't call her the same nickname she had insisted he called her since the start of their relationship. She turned her gaze from him and looked at out of the window to observe just about anything that would take her mind off all her worries.

***

"Hey you..." He smiled at her from the screen.

"Hi..." Chioma responded coldly. She was in no mood for her usual video chat with her new found friend with benefits.

"What's wrong with my Chi-Chi?" 

"Is it Tracy? Or her dad?" He continued.

"No, it's neither of them. Tracy is doing fine. Her dad is no longer stressing me, thanks to you..." Chioma started.

There was so much concern in his voice that Chioma couldn't help but rant about how proud she felt Sewa was. She went on and on about the way she responded when she called her earlier in the day.

He did his best to calm her down and after singing a couple of songs and cracking a few jokes, she was back to her usual self.

"Why are you so sweet?" Chioma paused to ask amidst the laughter.

"I was born this way..." They both laughed.

***

"Please call me when you see this." Fikayo pressed the 'send' button, after which she deleted the message from her phone immediately.

***Bed of Roses by Faith Tunde-Yara OLATUNBOSUN

***Photo Credit: www.thetrentonline.com

***

Please note that 'Bed of Roses' is a continuation of 'A Couple of Three' (#ACOT). All ten episodes of 'A Couple of Three' are on the blog. Feel free to find yourself (should you ever get lost in between the story). If you find it difficult navigating through the blog for episodes of #ACOT, feel free to send me a mail (tolulfaith@gmail.com) and I will gladly send you the links. Thank you so much for reading. Don't forget to share with friends and leave your comments after the read.