HE SAID NO
EPISODE 18
Grace waited for Mrs. Akinwale at the junction, she stretched and turned her neck at regular intervals, expecting to see a pregnant woman amidst the throng of people walking up and down the busy road. Mrs. Akinwale told her she was already almost at the junction that led to her house and she didnt want to keep her waiting.
She checked her phone at intervals for a call or message notification from her, there was none.
She decided to call to be sure she didn’t miss her way,
“I am almost there, on a bike already,” Mrs. Akinwale said as soon as she picked up,
Grace wasn’t too surprised when Mrs. Akinwale asked her the previous day to ask if she could stay with her for a while, she had had a feeling that something was not right about her since day one and her heart had been so drawn to the woman ever since.
The previous day, she felt a strong impression on her heart to call her, she didnt want to, especially at work but God laid it on her heart so strongly that she couldnt resist it, for someone that knew how God talked to her, she knew that she had to obey immediately.
Mrs. Grace didnt tell her why she was coming to stay at her place and she didnt bother to ask as she was about to find out,
Getting Blessing to agree was quite easy because she had not been sleeping at home for almost a week and she blamed it on some contract, so when she called to tell her that a friend would be staying over at their place, she gave her a go-ahead.
A slim lady waved at her from afar, Grace looked closely, she did not seem to know her or maybe she wasn’t waving to her. She looked away,
“She sort of looks familiar,” Grace said to herself as the lady walked towards her.
“Grace! ” the lady called, her eyes were sunken into their sockets, she looked so lean but she was simply dressed in a jean trouser and a round neck yellow polo. She held a small brown traveling bag another black sagging handbag was hung over her shoulder, like the one… She recognized her instantly,
“Oh my God, Mrs. Grace! ” she exclaimed, staring at her deflated belly, I didnt know you put to bed already? “Please dont tell me that…” she continued as she put her hands over her mouth to contain her shock.
Mrs. Akinwale smiled, without saying a word. She knew those smiles, they were smiles of pain and bitterness, the ones you give when you are hurting deep inside.
“Can we talk when we get to your place?”
“Yes ma, please dont mind me. I couldnt hide my shock, I’ll just help you with your bag, ” she offered, collecting the brown traveling bag from her, she wanted to collect her handbag too but Mrs. Akinwale refused to let her,
“Please let me carry this at least, ” she said. As they strolled to Graces place which was just a stone throw to the junction, a lot of things ran through Grace’s mind. What could have happened?
As for Mrs. Akinwale, she didnt know what she needed at that moment but one thing she knew was that she needed a break from Wale and her mums insistent naggings, Tobi can stay with her mum till she figured out what she wanted to do.
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George sat at the bar with his friends as they helped themselves to chilled glasses of beer, it hah been a while since he went there with his friends. He had really tight schedules to catch up with and of course, he was dating Sister Amifel, a devout woman of God. She wouldn’t want to get married to him if she knew that he clubbed and partied.
“Feels good to be free at last, I felt so choked up, ” George said to his friends,
“Glad to have you back bro,” Yomi replied, Yomi and Lucky were his old friends, he stopped rolling with them, the moment he started dating Amifel which was a little more than a year ago.
“Chai, if somebody had said that bad George would abandon us, I would say it was a terrible lie, Guy, you shocked me oh, because of girl! ” Lucky lamented,
“You guys wouldnt understand, I genuinely loved that girl but she messed up big time! ” George explained,
“Mehn bro, that girl really got you. I mean, the height of it was when you even started following her to her church, I was dazed! ” Yomi jested,
“That one? ” he hissed, ” I did majorly to please her, I wanted her to see that I could do anything for her. To be sincere, I was always bored in that church and almost always couldnt wait for them to finish,” they all laughed as he continued,
“Thankfully, I only attended mid-week services for a few weeks and since then I always managed somehow to dodge it every single time, I blamed it on work and she bought my excuse, ”
“You be child of devil oh, how would you say that church is boring,” Lucky said,
“Lucky cannot understand, Yomi here can relate. Their pastor spends as much as 3 hours preaching, lets not talk about their prayer sessions. Back in the states, we dont do all those church things, apart from maybe an hour service on Sundays.”
“They preach for long hours there too oh, na you no dey go, ” Yomi laughed heartily at George.
“For real man, apart from that, clubbing and partying were normal there but here in Nigeria, it is a sin. I dont even know how I fell in love with such a staunch religious chic, ” George continued
“It’s not your fault bro, that girl is fine! I give that to her, ” Lucky said, lifting his almost empty glass in the air,
“I admit it too, she is beautiful. Our parents wanted us to be together and the first time I saw her, I and my parent agreed on the same thing for once, ” they laughed while he continued, “Anyway, that is over with now, ”
“Yeah, my guy, congratulations to you, ” Yomi said as they took turns giving him mocking handshakes,
“What did she say when you told her you were no longer interested? ” Lucky asked, sipping his beer,
“Guys! If I told you that this girl said nothing, you won’t believe it. I thought she would come begging, I thought it would hurt her and that was what I desperately wanted to do, but she shocked me sha,” George explained,
“Maybe it didnt come as a shock to her, ” Yomi said,
“Yeah, maybe, ” George painfully admitted,
“What made you break up again? ” Lucky asked,
“I dont even know, to be honest, I just wanted to threaten her. I wanted her to come begging. I wanted to see if she really loved me, but its obvious she doesnt, ”
“Guy! Wait wait… If i got you right, you were doing break up testing? ” Yomi asked again and Lucky could not believe his ears,
“Ah, you messed up! Make I no lie, you messed up man. Listen, apart from the fact that she turned you into a religious hag who has refused to hang out with his friend? The girl is really a big catch, do you think it is easy to find a beautiful, hardworking, and Godly woman, if it was that easy, I would be married by now, ” Lucky chipped in,
“Guys please, I dont want to talk about this anymore, what has happened has happened. Moreover, I would find another God-fearing woman, ”
“I hear you, as if you are God-fearing yourself, ” Yomi said amidst laughter as Lucky followed suit.
The rest of the evening was miserable for George as the reality of what had happened hit him even more, they could have sorted out their differences without breaking apart, he shouldnt have pulled such a stunt,
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Really, when God wants to deliver the children of Israel, he hardens the heart of pharaoh… Or what really came over him?
To be continued
Written by Sodamade Olamide Tolulope.
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