HE SAID NO
Written by Sodamade Olamide Tolulope.
EPISODE 31
By quarter past 7, the crowd had dissipated and while Grace saw Mike off, Amifel packed her things in readiness to leave before sitting on Grace’s rugged floor while waiting for Grace to get back.
The room was empty, seemed like the perfect timing for some serious thinking. While waiting, she allowed her mind to wander, she was totally happy for Grace but she felt bad at the same time.
It was not that she was jealous of her best friend but it just sorts of reminded her that she was the only one left. Although no one knew what Blessing was up to, it was obvious that whatever plans she was making had to do with her settling down. But she was just there, as single as ever.
Maybe her mum was right, after all, maybe she really had a spiritual problem or why had it been so difficult for her to find a man who would love her? Then, she remembered that she found one but God refused to let her stay with him.
It’s been like six months since she parted ways with George and since then she knew nothing about his whereabouts, but she was sure that he had moved on with another lady.
God had asked her to wait but she couldn’t help but wonder how long she still had to wait.
The rustling of the doorknob jolted her back to reality as she skated out of her thoughts as the bride to be walked in on her.
“Sorry I took a while, I was waiting for him to get a taxi,” Grace explained before she could say a word.
“It is understandable,” she managed to force a smile in order not to pass the wrong message across.
“Mike really blew my mind!”
” That makes two of us baby because he blew mine too,” Amifel chuckled,
“I didn’t see that coming, I mean, we have only known each other for 6 months and we started dating about 3 months ago.
“Lucky you girlfriend, I am really happy for you,” Amifel smiled, she had had enough of her proposal stunts for the day and her head was beginning to churn.
“Mike said, we would start making plans about going to see my parents and his as well,”
“Awwwn, so beautiful… Iyawo in the making, I feel you!” Amifel whined as she adjusted her shoe buckle which was already well done. She just wanted Grace to get a hint that she was ready to leave. Grace must have gotten the cue because she checked her wristwatch for the time almost immediately,
“It is getting late, you should start going,”
“Yeah, it is,” Amifel buttressed as she stood up thankfully, “You know, I would have slept over but dad is coming around today and it won’t be nice of me to stay out,”
Grace followed suit in readiness to see her off. As they strolled to the junction, Amifel caught her friend peeking at her beautiful engagement ring under the bright street lights and she just smiled in silence, it must feel good.
“Thank you for today, I had an amazing birthday,” Grace hugged Amifel as soon as they were able to wave down a bike that would take her to where she would get a cab home.
“It was nothing compared to what your fiancée did baby, don’t wear that ring to bed oh, and make sure you close your eyes while sleeping tonight!” Amifel teased as the bike man turned on his ignition.
“Go away jare,” Grace slapped her buttocks playfully as they zoomed off.
As Grace made her way towards her compound, she took another glance at her ring, and while she was at it, the streets light went off as everywhere was thrown into utter darkness.
She cared less,
“Thank God they were at least gracious enough to leave the lights on while my visitors were around.” She thought to herself as she smiled satisfactorily. She had a great birthday after all and it was possibly her last birthday as a spinster.
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Amifel walked into their compound and saw her dad’s car parked beside her mum’s. Her dad had been away for two months and that was the longest he had gone in a while. She had missed her dad and was happy she would be seeing him again.
It was such a long evening and she felt drained, emotionally drained. She needed to sleep.
She opened the door to their sitting room and met her father seated on the sofa in front of the TV,
“Daddy!! “she jumped on him, hugging him fondly while trying to drown out the weariness that was tugging at her soul, “I missed you! “she continued.
Her dad did not say a word neither did he hug her back, she detached herself from the embrace as she shot him a questioning look,
“What’s wrong dad? “Mr. Robert didn’t say a word, he looked at her briefly with disdain boldly written all over his face before turning away from her to focus on the football match he was seeing before she came in.
“Seems like you are not happy to see me, or did I do something wrong?” Amifel asked, she was as confused as ever but her dad ignored her still.
“Or, is this because I came late? “she thought to herself as she wondered what she could have done wrong, it was definitely not about her getting late because she already sent her mum a message that she might be getting home late. Moreover, it wasn’t her first time and it was just some minutes past eight.
She stood transfixed on the spot for a few minutes while her dad acted like she was invisible and just as she was about to head to her room, her mum appeared in the sitting room.
“Mummy, I don’t know…”
“Would you keep that uncouth mouth of yours shut!” her mum thundered, Amifel felt like she had been hit by a sledgehammer and she developed a splitting headache almost immediately. She opened her mouth but no words came out.
“If not that I was looking steadily at you while you were born, I would have said they exchanged my original baby! “Mrs. Robert clapped as she adjusted her Ankara prints wrapper. “God! You gave me a child, just one and you couldn’t at least give me one that won’t give me hypertension” Mrs. Robert dramatized raising both hands while looking up to their ceiling before she continued, “Or don’t you have shame? Aren’t you ashamed? Oh oh oh, I have forgotten that you cannot shame the shameless!”
“What the hell is happening here? I have asked a million times over and no one has given me a reasonable answer! What have I done to deserve these terrible insults!” Amifel yelled like a madwoman with a shaky voice.
“If you scream at me there, I would slap you so hard that you would go deaf this minute!” Mrs. Robert screamed harder while jumping and showing her a demo by sl@pping the air right in front of her.
Mr. Robert still did not say a word, as he stood up and walked towards his room, leaving both mother and daughter in the boxing arena.
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What do you think could have happened to warrant such a reaction from her parents?
To be continued…
Written by Sodamade Olamide Tolulope.
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