HOOK, LINE AND SINKER (Episode 10)

When Peju was tired of knocking, and issuing out threats to break the door open, she relaxed on the floor and rested her back on the door. She tried to make sense of what the commotion was about. At first, nothing made sense, especially since the argument was about a child and Bisola seemed to take breaks from her screaming and yelling every five minutes or thereabout. Whenever it seemed the uproar was coming to an end and there was a bit of quiet, Peju would knock again and Bisola would yell back at Sharon. It seemed her continuous knocks on the door was the prompt Bisola needed to resume her yelling. Peju however found it strange that the name 'Kaina' was mentioned every time Bisola resumed her yelling, crying, screaming or the three at once. Or maybe not.
Peju was certain that the commotion had something, if not everything, to do with KainaM.

She suddenly remembered her promise to call him back. She jumped up from the floor and rushed to get her phone from the sitting room.

"Yes, it's me, Peju." She said once he picked the call.

"Oh thank you. So you said Bisola would not speak with me. Did she give a reason? I really need to see her." Marcus said at once.

"Actually..." Peju started, but paused to think of what next to say.

"She's really upset with you." She continued. She hoped her responses tallied with whatever was going on between her cousin and this stranger.

"I know, I know, and that's why I want to see her."

Peju sighed before she continued.

"Okay. Errm, I'll text you an address now, find a way to get here as soon as possible." She said amidst the many 'okays' from Marcus.

"Make it quick" She emphasized before hanging up.

She rushed back to the door and tried knocking again. This time, the door opened on its own accord; it had been unlocked. Peju rushed in immediately and found Bisola on the rug with her hair scattered and her eyes red and swollen. Sharon was on the rug with her. The two friends were quiet.

Peju moved closer to join them on the rug, but sat opposite the duo. She noticed Bisola rubbing an object with both palms as tears streamed down her cheeks. It seemed Sharon was exhausted from explaining and petting but she managed a weak smile when her eyes collided with Peju's.

"I'm so sorry we had to meet this way." Sharon cleared her throat as she began.

"Me too..." Peju whispered. She was lost and badly in need of an explanation but she couldn't ask for one. Or better still, she didn't know how to ask for one. She began to rethink the move of sending the address to Marcus. She hoped it would resolve issues and not escalate whatever the problem was.

"I'll go get her some water." Sharon broke the awkward silence as she stood up from the rug.

Once she was gone, Peju rushed to the door and locked it. She rushed back to her cousin and hugged her tight. Bisola let the tears flow unhindered as she held on to Peju as though her life depended on it.

"I had him in my hands; my baby... I had him." She said amidst sobs.

"They tried to take him from me. Big mummy and aunty Dupe..." She continued.

"But I fought hard and I had him... I had him..." She cried out loud again.

"Shhh... Shhh..." Peju began to pet her cousin as she hurriedly tied the pieces together in her head without success.

"You know, I sent money every year on his birthday?" Bisola broke free from the embrace and looked at Peju.

"I did. I have proof..." She stood up from the rug and rushed to her wardrobe. A vintage black-stoned ring fell from her hands as she began searching through her many handbags for proof. Peju rushed after Bisola to calm her. She picked up the ring from the floor and held on to it.

"I do, let me search for it. I sent money for his upkeep and she sent me pictures... Every year for the past three years" She continued. She suddenly stopped searching through the wardrobe and turned to face Peju yet again.

"I have pictures. Yes, that should do." She sniffed and wiped a tear that was trying to make its way down her cheeks.

"Where's my phone? Where's my phone?" She hurried back to the wardrobe to search through her bags frantically.

Peju immediately rushed to the sitting room to get Bisola's phone from her bag. She found Sharon sitting on the couch with a glass of water in one hand and a handkerchief in another. Sharon wiped her tears immediately she noticed movement towards the sitting room, and tried to compose herself.

"Am I a bad person?" Sharon asked almost in a whisper but loud enough for Peju to hear her.

"No.. no..." Despite being clueless, Peju moved quietly towards Sharon till she was able to sit close enough to begin petting her as well.

"I was only trying to make her happy, you know?" Sharon continued.

"She had gone through so much. Nobody deserves to go through what she went through..." She paused.

"Go through what exactly?" Peju asked calmly. She needed to know what exactly was going on in order to align her thoughts and reactions appropriately and in the right direction.

Sharon gulped the remnant of the water and then dropped the glass cup on the floor. She took out her phone from her bag and scrolled to the gallery folder. She swiped through several pictures of a cute little boy, while smiling amidst tears. Peju found herself smiling at the pictures, as she waited patiently for Sharon to explain what connection the current situation had to the boy.

"That's my son; Sam. He'll clock the big 3 next month" Sharon said, still smiling.

"Awww." Peju adjusted on the seat. She was glad and relieved by Sharon's decision to save her from the confused state she presently was. She moved closer to Sharon and listened attentively as the mystery was unraveled.

Sharon did her best to explain as briefly as possible.
Bisola had yielded her advice to flee her aunt's place after they had both analyzed the situation till they arrived at the same conclusion that there was more to aunty Dupe's niceness and the numerous glasses of freshly squeezed juice she had been offering Bisola since she arrived. Sharon was able to convince her husband to let Bisola stay in the vacant BQ and the plan worked out fine. Bisola fled the hospital on the fourth day of her third admission at the hospital. She seemed fine in the first two weeks of her relocation to Sharon's BQ.
Apart from taking the plan more seriously than Sharon envisaged, Bisola was fine. At least, she looked well and behaved normally. She had however, gone a step further by getting a new sim card. She didn't want her mother or any member of her mother's family finding her or having her contact number, she told Sharon. But little did Sharon know that Bisola had taken several other steps.

Quite a number of times, Sharon had found Bisola squeezing her tummy, while sobbing in her room. On those occasions, Bisola had told Sharon she wanted to go back to her aunt, just so she could complete the subtle abortion process. She would apologize profusely till her aunt forgave and accepted her back. She would then pretend as though she was not aware of the grand plan, and after some months, the fetus will be out and she would have her normal life back, she said. And on those occasions, Sharon did her best to persuade Bisola to see the bright side of the situation.
But it was too dim; Bisola could see no bright side to the situation. She had lost her precious relationship with her family; her father's trust; her dignity and pride; and what she considered an important stage of her Nigerian youthful life - the NYSC experience. She would become a mother in no time and her entire youthful life would be gone with the winds.

That must have been when Bisola decided to take drastic steps. Port Harcourt was a new terrain for her; and from the stunt her aunt was able to pull, she figured there would be more hospitals where the need to uphold medical integrity would would mean little or nothing to the hospital staffs for the right price. However, she could be caught. She had learnt early in life that the world was a really small place; anywhere in the world including Port Harcourt. Besides, she imagined a worse consequence like death from visiting a quack doctor to abort the child;and decided otherwise. But there were other ways; other subtle ways similar to the one her mum had opted for her through aunty Dupe. She remembered Sharon's comment on pineapples, and she knew she had found that subtle way.

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HOOK, LINE AND SINKER By Faith Olatunbosun