Bed of Roses (Episode 8)

“Say something, please…”
Fikayo pleaded as she looked closely at her dumbfounded friend. Sewa opened her mouth to talk for the umpteenth time but the words wouldn't come. She took her handbag from the table, dropped her phone into it and stood up to leave. The cafeteria seemed stuffy all of a sudden; she needed some air. She staggered a bit as she tried to move out of the tiny corner seat. It was only then she realised how uncomfortable the seat had been for the past half hour. There was too much going on all at the same time; her brain seemed to have frozen for a few minutes. She walked out of the cafeteria still in shock, managed to locate her car, and rested her back for a few minutes before getting into the car.
The knock on the window alerted her. She raised her head from the steering, looked at Fikayo who was knocking on the door with tears in her eyes but instead of opening the door or rolling down the glass, Sewa locked the door and started the car. She waited a few minutes for Fikayo to move away from the car. She managed to read Fikayo's lips. She must be apologizing, Sewa thought to herself. She shook her head and zoomed off. She had located the cafeteria with the help of Google Maps but she couldn't even think straight to set the app for directions back to her studio.

Fikayo stood still till Sewa's car was out of sight. She wasn't sure of the next step to take. She knew telling Sewa about her stupid mistake was going to turn out bad but she kept hope alive for just a tiny bit of support from the only other friend that understood Tade's manipulative traits. She agreed to meet with Sewa without even asking why she sent the text message. In her head, all she needed was to confess her sins to someone like the Bible admonished and she would be healed. She needed healing and safety so desperately without hurting her husband but she couldn't get the chance to mention the weird gift Tade had sent to her place the previous day before Sewa excused herself. She thought she had done justice to the story by leaving out some details she considered unnecessary but Sewa was too shocked to react verbally.

Fikayo suddenly realized her bag was still in the cafeteria. She rushed in, checked the contents and then rushed out again with the bag. Her phone began to vibrate but she ignored it. She had excused herself from work under the pretence of an emergency situation of one of her clients on the island. Her life had gone from bad to worse since the first visit she paid Tade. She wished she hadn't taken that first step. The vibration from her phone continued till she had no choice than to bring out the phone. She wiped her eyes to see who the caller was. She couldn't afford another mistake reaction on Bosun. It was Chioma. Fikayo hissed, threw the phone back into the bag and continued walking towards her car. She had more pressing issues to sort out. Chioma should get a life, she muttered underneath her breath. When the calls wouldn't stop, Fikayo picked. She was however quick to dismiss Chioma who claimed to be around her office and decided to stop by.

Fikayo balanced into her car, wound down the glass and looked away into nothingness.
"Let this cup pass over me. Please Lord, save me." She pleaded. She wasn't sure of the next line of action; she wasn't sure of what Sewa would do with the information she had; she wasn't sure of whether it would be a good idea to call her or visit her, but she was sure of one thing - to keep Bosun out of the entire mess she had created.
She turned on the car engine and began her journey back to the mainland. She had one plan though, she hoped it would turn out well. She tried to push the memories of the events that led to the current situation out of her mind as she drove on.

***
“Stop it, will you?” She laughed as she turned the batter.

“Stop what?” He moved closer to her, held her waist and then stopped abruptly. He immediately took his hands off her and walked back to one of the chairs in the section of the room that had been carved out as the sitting room.

“I’m sorry” He said quietly.

Fikayo paused on the batter, and without looking back, she smiled. She was at his place for the third time in two weeks. She knew it was wrong but she had so much fun hanging out with him the last time that the idea of them hanging out again did not seem too bad. The first time had been awkward since she came on a mission to warn him to leave the country or get him arrested. She had battled with the thought of going through with an arrest of her dear friend who seemed to be going through a lot of emotional rollercoaster. She could never get him arrested, even if it was just for the sake of his son and mother. She only hoped he would come to his senses and leave the country. In the mean time, they kept the communication lines open.
The second time was more of a plea. He had called to seek legal advise on establishing a travel and tour agency in Nigeria, since one of his many passions was traveling. Even though Fikayo refused blatantly not to come around, he pleaded and promised it would be strictly business. He couldn’t afford to come to her office for security reasons, he said. Fikayo did not bother to ask for an explanation on what he meant by 'security reasons'; she just assumed it had something to do with shooting Sewa's husband. She obliged him and paid him a visit. They did a bit of catching up after discussing the options available for registering his business. The catching up led to Tade reminding her of the way she yelled at him when he announced his masters admission to her. She laughed so hard, holding her tummy and wondering how foolish she had been for not wanting him to stay back alone with Sewa while she returned to Nigeria for Law school.
Tade paused to look at her and then wondered if he made a mistake by forcing Sewa back into his life.

“I'm sure you could have offered to be our surrogate without struggle” He said quietly before walking away from her.

Fikayo stopped laughing immediately and now began to wonder if the crush she had on him was that obvious. She dismissed the thought of asking for his reasons for making the last statement and hurried out of his house. He was right. Tade knew her better than she thought. She could have jumped at the offer to be the surrogate mother, especially since the contract contained a clause that could favour her in the long run - being with Tade forever, and actually playing the role of a mother.

Fikayo struggled all week long to get Tade's last words out of her mind. Tade had rushed out after her that day, apologizing for being insensitive, but his actions only made matters worse. She tried without success to see Tade in the light of the psychopath she had been seeing him since the incidence and now saw him as the gentleman she actually longed for throughout their University days.

She had rushed home on the Sunday afternoon kick-starting a new week to soak herself in tears and long prayers as thoughts of Tade seemed to stay glued to her mind. Her husband's busy schedule, continuous weekend and night shifts did not help matters. But even if he was home, she couldn't bring herself to tell him she had been 'seeing' Tade. She begged God for forgiveness and prayed for an emergency that would take Tade out of the country never to return. After spending a few minutes praying for a miraculous relocation of 'the enemy', she resumed prayers for a child of her own. Her third wedding anniversary was around the corner and with everything that was happening around her, the gift of a child was definitely going to add meaning to her life. She was thankful that neither her parents nor her in-laws were mounting pressure on her but she wanted more than anything to have her own child now, especially after what Tade said.

The rest of the week went on almost without any drama; she was back to her usual self but not for long. She spent the entire week ignoring all messages from Tade, who continued to apologise for being insensitive. She was stuck in the middle of several files on a Thursday afternoon when her phone rang. It was a private number but once she picked, she recognized his voice.

"Please don't hang up on me. I'm sorry. You do so much for people without expecting anything in return; that's why I made that statement. It was foolish of me. I'm sorry Fifi... " Tade started immediately she picked.

After much more plea, he was able to convince her to hang out one last time at his place as he already booked his ticket for the last week of the month and he was to blame for not having a proper get-together like he promised when he first arrived at Sewa's place.

"Okay, okay. But on one condition." Fikayo smiled. She had had enough of his many 'sorrys'. She knew he wouldn't take No for an answer.

"Anything, just name it." Tade responded excitedly.

"I'll come with Chioma." Fikayo replied. She was not about to let her guards down by visiting again all by herself.

And with that, the date was set. It would be a Saturday morning as she had choir rehearsals to attend by 3.00pm. Fikayo immediately picked her phone to inform Chioma of the long awaited get-together but was disappointed when Chioma said she already had plans. She thought of calling Tade back to cancel but decided otherwise.
'How bad it could it get? Tade respected her for being a good friend. A goodbye hangout wouldn't hurt, besides, she deserved it. Even Chioma already got the chance to hang out with Tade by some coincidence", she told herself as she marked down the date in her calendar.

And here she was, stirring the batter for her popular Nigerian puff-puff. She was shocked when Tade brought out all the ingredients he had bought in preparation for 'Fifi's popular puffs' like they always called it. She laughed severally till she found her way to the kitchen to begin preparations for the snack. She wasn't even angry that he invited her just for her snack. It was a valedictory hangout, it was allowed.
She rinsed her hands after covering the dough she had prepared to allow it to rise, after which she joined him in the sitting room.

"Are you happy?" He broke the silence and looked straight into her eyes. He cared about Fikayo, he had always cared. She was one determined young lady that had life figured out, he assumed.

"Of course I'm happy. Or what are you trying to say?" Fikayo's throat became dry all of a sudden. She looked away from him, she could feel his gaze all over her. She adjusted on the seat but soon got up to check the dough. Tade followed her to the kitchen area and stood behind her. This time, he placed his hands back on her waist consciously and waited for a reaction of some sort from Fikayo.
Fikayo stood still, swallowed hard and then moved the bowl containing the dough from its former position for no reason. She wanted so bad to push Tade aside but she grew weak from his touch. Tade moved in sync with her body as she tried to push the bowl aside. Without taking his hands off her waist, he leaned forward towards her neck and moved aside her hair. Fikayo looked at her wedding band but looked away almost immediately. She turned her body to face him. Everything inside of her was telling her to push him aside and rush out that very moment but she suddenly had no strength to execute any of the plans. She looked into his eyes and whispered a soft "Olutade, I'm very happy", with the hope of him letting her go after giving a reassuring answer to his question.

"You sure?" He smiled, leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead. Next, he kissed her gently on the neck and that was the last straw that broke the camel's back. She couldn't help herself no matter how hard she tried.

***

Fikayo drove recklessly, crying uncontrollably and biting her lips till she got home. She managed to stop by a supermarket on her way home to get a bottle of red wine. Once she was home, she immediately brought out her phone and dialed Bosun's number. She inhaled and exhaled a few times before Bosun picked the call and said in the nicest tone:
"Can you come home please? It's quite urgent."

She was able to persuade her husband to swap shifts with a colleague, after which she immediately set out to work. She rushed into the bedroom, scattered the rose petals on the bed, and then rushed into the kitchen to get two wine glasses, still in tears. Once she was done setting up the room, she made her way into the bathroom and soaked herself in cold water, allowing the tears mix with the water in the bath. She was about to cover her sin and she knew God would be mad at her but she was left without options.

***
She managed to find her way to Adeola Odeku. She drove into GT bank and brought out her phone.

"Honey, I'm at GTB, Adeola Odeku".

She waited patiently for her husband, her personal Saviour. It all made sense now. She turned off the engine, wound down the glass and stepped out of the car once she sighted Kunle crossing the road to meet her.

She hugged him so tight and allowed the tears to roll down without caring what passersby thought. Her husband was all she needed; and the only person to be trusted.
Kunle patted her continuously on the back. She must have connected the dots, he thought to himself.

***Bed of Roses by Faith Tunde-Yara OLATUNBOSUN
*** Photo Credit: flyboynaturals.com