BIBI - CHAPTER 13

Every man is drawn away by his own lust and enticed... 

****

Bade sat in his new wheelchair and rolled it around the room.  It had taken weeks for him to get to this point and lots of physical therapy. His father and Lara had just left for Lagos. His mother had chosen to stay back in Chicago. He knew that the accident had rocked her world but as usual, she was managing to stay strong. Every one of them had shown so much strength around him. That was one of the reasons why he had decided that he was never going to give up on life. He would never stop hoping that one day, he would be able to walk again.

He hadn’t worked in months. He missed his life back in Nigeria. Now he compartmentalized his life into before and after the accident. He couldn’t help it. He was paralyzed and it still felt like a dream to him. How? Why him? Some days he was mad at God. He sighed. He thought about his wife. Bibi had been through so much in the past months. She had taken time off work considering everything that had happened. Her manager had been understanding and granted her a leave of absence. 

He had been afraid that she would lose their baby which she carried inside her but that hadn’t happened, and he was grateful. He heard a knock on the door.

“Bade, can I come in?” It was his mother’s voice. He answered her and she strolled in, with a serious look on her face. “Bibi said you didn’t eat all your breakfast. I made the beancakes just the way you like it.”

“Yeah, mum. Thank you. I just didn’t quite have an appetite.”

“But beancakes and pap… one of your favourite meals…” Ireti’s voice trailed off.

“I know.” Bade raised his hand and cut her off. He wasn’t in the mood for small talk.

“I’ve been thinking. I discussed with Bibi’s parents and your father as well.”

“Okay….” Bade muttered.

“We think you should stay back here in the US. I know you’re itching to return to Nigeria but that’s going to be a difficult experience. You are both US citizens and can live here without any issues. The Nigerian environment is not designed to cater to people with a disability like yours. It’s going to be tough. You can move to our house in Houston.”

Bade flinched. He wasn’t used to being referred to as one with a disability. “Mum, Bibi is pregnant, and I don’t want her to lose our baby because of all the stress that she’s gone through lately. Being here with her parents has been a good thing for both of us.”

“I know. But one of the best physiotherapists in the country happens to be in Houston. You’ll be in great hands. It’s also our home in the US and you know that the house is fully paid for. You won’t have to worry about paying the mortgage.”

Bade mused. His mum had a point but Bibi’s wellbeing was of prime concern to him at this point.

“See, Oyebade…” His mother held his hands. “I will stay back until Bibi gives birth. Lara can come over at some point too. Bibi’s parents can come to visit as they please. You know they have a large family here. I think everything will work out well.”

“Mum, Lara has her life to live. She just started work in Lagos and I doubt that she’d be willing to leave that to babysit me or my wife.” Bade had his fingers in quotes.

“Okay, but please think about what I said. I know Ana and Peyi don’t mind having you here for now, but you know how these things work. I don’t want it to seem like we are imposing on them. It’s been months since you’ve been here, and they have remained graceful, but we don’t want to overstay our welcome.”

“I understand, mum. I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you,” Ireti said. She gave him a small smile and walked out of the room.

****

Lara walked into Broadstone Towers on a sunny Tuesday morning. It was her second week at Broadstone communications. She had been hired as their head of Corporate Affairs. She greeted her colleagues when she got to her floor. She reached for her phone and sent Jimi a text message. She had been trying to reach him since she got back from the US without any luck. Her mind was in a funk. She kept wondering if he was okay. Did something bad happen to him? A few days ago, she had seen him online on WhatsApp for the first time in weeks and had tried sending him a message. It showed it was delivered but there was no response. She tried calling him several times without any luck. She was starting to feel like a stalker. She decided to text him for the last time.

“Hi Jimi, I’m truly worried about you. Call me, please.” She wanted to share the good news about her new job with him. She wanted to talk to him about Bade and how his accident had rattled her and the family.

She went through the motions of the day, attending meetings, responding to emails, and working on a presentation for the board meeting in a few days.

Hours later, she saw Jimi’s text message come in. Her beat faster.

“Sorry babes. Been busy at my end. Lots of deadlines and commitments. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Lara read the message over and over. Hmmm. Too busy to reply to her messages or call her? She frowned. Was she being too needy? Had she misread him?

Had she been love-bombed and ghosted. “No! This isn’t happening to me again!” She cried in her heart. Why hadn’t she seen through his acts? Why had she thought that he was going to be different from the others? Where had she missed the signs that he was nothing but another lothario!

“But Lara, calm down. You are overthinking things.” She chastised herself. She would wait for his call and hear him out before making any judgment or arriving at any conclusions.

Her mind drifted to Bade. Gosh! He had been through so much lately. She fought back a tear. Though their mother said he was doing well, he often sounded tired whenever she spoke with him. He wanted to be back home in Nigeria, but they all didn’t think moving back to Nigeria was in his best interest. Not when he still had a long road to recovery. What did recovery even look like? The doctors were not sure he would ever walk again. How would he cope? She sighed and went through the presentation again. It looked good.

Hours later, she was back home. She walked to the family sitting room with her cross bag hanging around her body and saw her father watching Sky News.

“Good evening daddy.”

“Lara, how was your day at work?” Her father asked adjusting his glasses.

“It was okay. I am learning as much as I can about the company and its culture. Did you hear from mummy and Bade today?”

“Yes, I did. Why don’t you take a seat? I promise I won’t take much time so you can go and find something to eat.” Her father smiled at her.

“Your mother and I don’t think that Bade and Bibi should come to Nigeria just yet.” Segun Fernandez explained all his concerns to her.

“I understand dad. It may be tough out here for Bade. But you know how he is. He loves Nigeria.”

“I know. Your mother has spoken with him. He says he’ll think about it. Try and talk to him to see reasons too. That’s all I wanted to discuss with you.”

“Okay, dad.  I’ll try and speak with him.”

“Thank you, Lara.”

“No problem at all dad,” Lara smiled.

Her phone rang just as she was done eating dinner and was heading up the stairs to her room. She looked at the screen. It was Stella Maris calling. “Babe, I’m outside your gate o.”

“Okay, I’ll be right there,” Lara turned back and headed for the door.

“Lara!  Lara, I have missed you o!” Stella Maris screamed when she saw her. She pulled her into a bear hug.

“Same here.” Lara beamed. “You have been travelling all over West Africa and the world. I know how it is with busy folks like you.”

“My dear, the travelling tire me o! My company wants to kill me with work. This marketing life! Abeg, I’m not for it at all at all!”

“Yimu! But you enjoy the work!” Lara stated.

“It comes with its nice perks but all that travelling is starting to get to me. I am getting too old for kikum kikum in the plane every time. Little turbulence and my heart goes ki ki ki.”

“But what is causing all the kikum kikum now?” Lara laughed.

“My dear…” Stella Maris replied. Her phone rang in that instant. “Bro, yes, I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”

“Who was that?” Lara asked.

“My brother, Kevin. When he told me he was coming to the Island, I decided to tag along so I could see you.

“Awwww. I thought you were going to sleep over?” Lara stated, disappointed.

Stella Maris made a sad face. “I’ll come over this weekend. How does that sound? By the way, how is Bade doing?”

Pain gripped Lara’s heart. “He’s getting by. We are taking it one day at a time.”

“Pele.” Stella Maris said. “I’ll continue to keep him in my prayers.”

“Thank you.” Lara smiled slightly.

“Sure.” Stella Maris replied. They heard a car honk outside. “That must be my brother.”

“Oh okay.” Lara stood and smoothed her palms down her shorts.

“You should come and say hello to him.” Stella Maris stated.

“Of course,” Lara said. “I wasn’t just going to let you walk out the door.”

Stella Maris chuckled.

Kevin was putting some items in the back of the car when they approached him.

“Kevin, this is my friend, Lara Fernandez. She just moved back to the country.”

“Hi,” he said to her briefly before turning to look at his sister. “Stella, we need to get going. Just got a report about an accident on Third Mainland Bridge.”

Lara squinted. She felt dismissed.

Stella Maris waved at her. “Bye Lara. See you during the weekend.”

“Bye Stella….” Lara waved.

Kevin drove off without so much as a backward glance at her. Awkward! She mused.

“Na wa o! See how you greeted my friend.” Stella Maris chastised Kevin in the car.

“How do you mean?” Kevin reached for the rearview mirror and adjusted it.

“You were unfriendly and dismissive.”

“Oh, was I? I didn’t realize it. Got my mind on all the traffic we’ll face tonight.” Kevin said irritated.

“If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you had some personal vendetta against her.”

“Little one, you think I have the energy for that?” Kevin retorted.

“Whatever! You could have been nicer.” Stella Maris countered.

“Okay, yeah, maybe I should have been…”

“So, what happened?” Stella Maris probed.

“Drop it!” Kevin muttered under his breath and Stella Maris turned to her side of the window, shaking her head.

"Fine girls sha always make you act funny."

Kevin sneered but didn't say anything. 

****

Bade got into bed slowly. A simple task like getting into bed now seemed like a huge task. He groaned from the pain that he was feeling around his back. Once he had gotten comfortable on the bed, he propped some pillows behind him and breathed deeply. He stared at the ceiling in the room for a while, then he picked up his phone and fiddled with it. His eye caught a picture from a long time ago when he’d started dating Bibi. They had been so in love. He still was but life was happening to them.

The sound of the door jolted Bade from his reverie. Bade lay still on the bed watching his wife undress. She had her back to him. They hadn't made love since the accident.

“Bibi.” He said, and she jumped. 

“Oh, you scared me. I thought you were asleep.” 

“I'm awake. I was hoping that we could talk...”

Bibi turned around. “Not tonight Bade. I am tired.” 

Bade sighed. “Bibi, you are not the cause of my predicament. Don’t you think that I have noticed your withdrawal from me since the accident?”

Bibi slipped into a powder blue silk sleeveless nightwear. She walked towards the bed not saying a word.

“I can’t seem to forgive myself you know.” She uttered minutes later.

Bade looked at her, unsure of what to say. He had said it repeatedly that the accident wasn’t her fault, but she continued to carry the guilt around.

“Mum talked to me today about us moving to Houston. She doesn’t want us to be a burden to your parents. They’ve been very accommodating since the accident.”

“You know my parents. They don’t mind us staying over until we are ready to move.” Bibi said, weaving her hair into cornrows. Bade found the act distracting. He felt like slipping his fingers into her soft, long hair.

“I know,” He stated. “Mum and dad say one of the best physiotherapists in the US is in Houston.”

“Your mum mentioned that to me,” Bibi replied.

“So, what do you think about us moving to Houston for now? My mum will be around for as long as we need her to be.” Bade elucidated.

“I don’t know… Can I think about it?”

“Sure.” Bade said. “I know everything happening to us has been drastic, but we’ll be fine.”

“It’s hard not to despair you know. I keep wondering how we’ll get through this. What the future holds for us.” Bibi’s voice trembled.

 “I think about that too, but I’ve decided to just take it one day at a time. You should too.” Bade slipped his fingers into Bibi’s. He put his arms around her, and they remained in that position for a while. Bade heard Bibi snoring minutes later. He held her until he fell asleep.

****

Pere's eyes danced around 'The Baron'. He couldn't believe that he was back here looking for the one person that he had been unable to get out of his mind all this while. He sat at the bar and contemplated what to do. It was Saturday night and a few minutes past midnight. 

“Can I get you something to drink?” The bartender asked him.

“Nah I'm good. Thanks.” Pere answered. 

“Okay, I'm here if you need anything.” The bartender said to him while he mixed drinks for a couple who had just requested one.

The guy seemed friendly. Perhaps he might be able to help him. Nneoma had given him a paper with her phone number scribbled on it, but he had trashed it. 

“Hey.” Pere walked up to him later. “I am looking for someone. I met her here weeks ago.” Pere went on to describe Nneoma. “Her name is Monalisa. She’s got blonde hair.....”

 “Yeah, I know her. She hasn't been here for a while but hey, if you hang around, you just might bump into her.” 

 Pere nodded. There was soft music playing and he finally decided to order a glass of Moscato mojito. 

 A lady walked up to him and tried to engage him in a conversation. She was funny and he decided to let down his hair and converse with her. 

“Wanna dance?” She asked. Pere hesitated. He might as well while the time away since he was waiting for Nneoma to show up. He checked the time. It was almost 2 am. Dang! There was no chance that he would see her tonight. He'd have to find some other way.

His partner eventually went on to dance with someone else and he was about to make his exit when he heard a voice that sounded like Nneoma’s.

“Hey, handsome”. He turned to look in the direction of the soft voice and he spotted her. Her hair was no longer blonde, but he was good at recognizing people. People usually said that he had a great memory. 

Pere gave her a once over. This time around she was dressed in gold leather trousers and a black crop top. She had on drop earrings. Her hair was styled like Anita Baker’s, and it looked like she had a mixture of reddish and brownish colour in it. She looked gorgeous and more beautiful than the last time he had seen her.

“How did you find me? It's pretty dark in here.”

“I have my sources,” Nneoma whispered, chuckling. 

“Oh, I see.” Pere feigned surprise. “The bartender, right?”

Nneoma winked at him. “Whatcha think?”

“So why it did take you this long to come to find me? You had my phone number.” 

“Sorry, I lost it.” Pere's gaze lingered on her face. Her eyes though. He could get lost in them. 

“Were you about to leave?” 

Pere nodded. “Yeah. I was starting to give up on seeing you today.”

“Shall we dance or are you in a hurry to head back home?”

“I’m kinda tired,” Pere muttered.

“Ugh! Must be a 35+ thing!” Nneoma sounded disappointed.

“I caught your sub. Just so you know. Okay, I’ll dance.” Pere smirked.

 They danced until the wee hours of the morning. Nneoma was a skillful dancer. Sometimes, her dance became slow and seductive. Blood pounded in his head, through his veins and her body. The sheer attraction that he felt towards her was overwhelming. This was crazy! No woman had ever made him feel this way. What had he gotten himself into?

“Spend the night with me.” She whispered into his ears; her lips caressing his face.

“I know this place around Eko Atlantic...”

If it was the old Pere, he would have jumped at the opportunity. “Errm... I’m not sure I can afford Eko Atlantic.”

Nneoma raised a brow. What was he? A broke fella? “Let me worry about it.” She said to him. 

When they drove into Cool Springs Resort at Eko Atlantic an hour and a half later, Pere whistled. How did he not know that a place like this existed in Lagos? It was beyond beautiful. 

Nneoma spoke to the front desk attendant.

Who was this babe and how could she afford a place like this? 

The lyrics of Victor Uwaifo’s song – Guitar Boy played in his mind.

“If you see mammy water o
Never, never you run away
Ay, ay
Sing that song of love, sweet melody…”

Funny song. He thought. If he saw a mermaid, he'd just take to his heels. He wouldn't wait to find out. 

When they got to their suite, Nneoma said what had been on his mind since they arrived at the resort.

“Pere, I work. I work hard for my money. I can afford a place like this. 

Pere looked at her stunned. How did she know what he was thinking?

Nneoma sat on the sofa and kicked off her shoes. She began kneading her feet, moaning in the process. “This feels so good.”

When she stood later and started stripping her clothes and moving towards him, Pere stopped her. “No.” He held his hand out.

Nneoma looked at him surprised. “I thought you wanted all of this?” She outlined her curves with her hands. 

Pere looked at her, trying to find the right words. He looked at her and swallowed. She was an apparition. “Nneoma, you intrigue me. He cupped her face in his hands. I haven't been able to get you off my mind since the first time I saw you.”

Nneoma folded her arms and looked at him, urging him to go on. What sort of game was this guy playing?

“I don't want to treat you like some sort of.....”

“Hooker?” Nneoma completed his sentence.

Pere gazed at her, not saying a word. She looked hurt. “What I'm trying to say, Nneoma is that I'd like to get to know you.”

“Okay,” Nneoma said. Then she walked towards the bathroom and grabbed a robe. She wore it over her undergarments. 

“Why don't you tell me about yourself?” She said to him instead. She could play his game too. “Tell me about yourself, Pere.” He kept quiet for a while, then the words began to tumble from his mouth. The resentment that he felt towards Adesua spilled out. His pain at everything going on in his life seeped through his speech. He mentioned Adesua's betrayal, and he saw red. The dam in him broke and his anger erupted. Then he wept. He had not cried in a long time. 

Nneoma held him in her arms, patting him on the back gently. She was lost in his pain. Suddenly, the need to assuage it all overpowered her. Pere was a stranger, yet he felt like a brother. He felt like a friend too and the lover she had not yet known. 

****

 Adesua packed her suitcases and Tonye’s. Their time in Zurich had come to an end for now. It was time to head to London. Wole’s announcement weeks before had been heartwarming. She was looking forward to catching up with a few friends in the UK and starting life afresh. Zurich was a beautiful place, but it felt somewhat cold and lonely. She didn’t have family and friends there. The months that had passed had opened her eyes to the fact that she couldn’t live life in a bubble. She was madly in love with Wole but that didn’t stop her from wanting to be with friends who truly cared about her. She had cut contact with many of them except for Ebika and Nkechi who hadn’t snubbed her for leaving the shores of Nigeria with another man.

Pere’s image came fleeting into her mind. She had deleted her social media accounts and changed her phone number so there was no way he could reach her. She wondered how he was faring. Did he loathe her? Oh, why was she even thinking about that? She had done what she thought was best. She didn’t love him anymore and was only doing their marriage a disservice by choosing to continue to stay with him. She didn’t have any regrets. She would give her child a better life outside the shores of Nigeria. She was going to see to it that he only attended the best schools in the United Kingdom. Tonye was a bright one and she was invested in seeing to it that he attained greatness in life.

Her dream of becoming a Fashion designer still burned in her heart. She had made a few enquiries to her schools of interest and Wole finally made a part payment deposit for the London College of Fashion. She was starting classes there soon.

 “Adesua, have you seen my wallet?” Wole called out from the sitting room?

 “I think I saw it on the island in the kitchen,” Adesua responded loudly so he could hear.

“Okay, I’ll check,” Wole said.

 Adesua folded her clothes into a leather suitcase she’d just purchased when she suddenly felt a hand around her legs. “Mummy, I’m hungry. My stomach is growling.”

“Hmm. Tonye, is it growling like this? Or like this?” She turned around and made sounds and faces at him.

 Tonye chuckled loudly. “It’s growling like this.” He made faces at her in return.

Adesua laughed. She picked him up and tickled him, throwing him on the bed. “Okay, let’s go and get you something to eat. Do you want the yamarita and sauce from yesterday or some potato casserole?”

“Can I have mac and cheese instead?” Tonye pouted.

“Okay, my love. Let me go and get that for you.”

She saw Wole leaning against the Island in the kitchen. He was on his phone and smiling. “Seen your wallet?”

“Yep. Right where you said it was.” Wole replied to her, typing on his phone at the same time.

“What time’s our flight on Saturday? I haven’t checked the itinerary.” Adesua dished Tonye’s food and warmed it up in the microwave.

“4 pm, I think. I’ll double-check.” Wole answered. “Are you excited?”

“You can’t tell that I am?” Adesua asked in return.

Wole held her hands and drew her close. “I want you to know that these past months having you here with me has been one of the best moments in my life.”

“Are.... Are you sure?” Adesua stuttered.

“You don’t believe me?” Wole raised a brow.

“I don’t know… I left what we had and married someone else when I knew how you felt about me. Why are you with me again?”

“Maybe because we were always meant to be together?” Wole shrugged. He planted kisses on her lips. “I have some ideas. Why don’t you head to the bedroom after giving Tonye his food?”

Adesua raised her head and saw a glint in Wole’s eyes. She blushed.

Sometimes, her heart condemned her, and she felt guilty. She was still married to Pere. She hadn’t even filed for a divorce from him and yet, she gladly graced Wole’s bed. It was funny how her body always craved his touch. He would say jump and she went as high as he wanted. Was she bewitched? Who cast a spell over her?