HER BABY’S SECRET
EPISODE TWENTY-SIX
Theme: My old friend
Arike’s POV
I came out of the mall to find Iteoluwa conversing with Bamidele and as I watched from afar it seemed like Iteoluwa had known him for a long time the way she was in a deep conversation with him.
I walked up to them. “We can go now.” I said.
“Mom, where did you go?” She asked.
“I just went to say thank you to the man who helped me find you.” I answered.
“Okay..it is good to always say thank you anytime someone helps you.” She stated what I have always told her.
I reached out to take the nylons but Bamidele gestured to me to carry Banjo from his shoulders and we started off towards the mall exit.
“Your daughter said you didn’t come with a car, so I am going to drop you off at your place.” Bamidele said.
“No..that won’t be necessary, I will just order a ride online.” I objected.
“Why order one when I am offering to help?” He scoffed.
“I don’t want to stress -“
“I am only trying to help..but if it makes you feel uncomfortable, then you can pay me for the ride.” He smiled.
We managed to move out of the less crowded compound. “My car is over there.” He pointed to a black Lexus car parked outside the mall.
He unlocked the car and I helped the children into the car while Bamidele dropped his items into the boot. I belted Iteoluwa to the back seat while Banjo sat comfortably in his carrier.
“So where is your place?” He asked.
I gave him the address to Busayomi’s apartment. “We are staying at Busayomi’s place till the wedding is over.” I said.
He started the car and it glide into motion. “So she is finally getting g married..that is good to hear.”
I hummed a response. “So if it wasn’t for your sister’s wedding you won’t have returned back to Nigeria.”
I nodded in agreement. “I never planned to come back to Nigeria.” I said.
“And why is that?” He asked.
“It is nothing.” I answered.
We lapsed into silence for some minutes before Bamidele spoke up.
“You are not married.” He stated and it wasn’t meant to be a question.
I looked at him. “You don’t have a ring on your finger.” He added and I looked away from him feeling embarrassed.
I regretted not listening to my mind’s advice of wearing a ring to disguise in order to avoid times like this.
“I-“
He interrupted. “Iteoluwakishi Bright Awosika.” Bamidele called out my child’s full names.
“How..how..did you know her full names.” I stuttered in sheer surprise.
“I told him my names when he asked me.” Iteoluwa said.
Oh! Why didn’t I think about it before asking such question? I face palmed myself.
“I was about to report a case of a missing child to the security department so they could make an announcement.” Bamidele explained.
She shouldn’t have added her surname to her names.
“Awosika sounds familiar.” Bamidele mumbled.
I rubbed my palms together, feeling nervous. It wouldn’t be hard for Bamidele to figure out the truth.
“Your child is four years old, so I think…I have a clear understanding of why you left the country five years ago.” Bamidele said.
I looked back at Iteoluwa, she was widely awake playing with her singing doll while Banjo was fast asleep in the carrier.
“Bamidele..can we not talk about it now?” I requested.
“Okay..fine, more reason why you should do this?” He picked up his phone and handed it to me. “Your number-“ he said, unlocking the phone.
“Okay.” I punched in my number, saved it and dialed it. My phone rang and I saved his number too.
“Arike, I hope it is not late to say that I am sorry for misunderstanding you. If I had known it was for this reason I would have supported you and accepted your decision without a fight.” He said in remorse.
“It is alright.” I controlled the tears that pooled up in my eyes and managed to flash him a small smile.
“I bet he doesn’t know.” He said.
I shook my head. “Yes, he doesn’t know about her.”
“Perhaps did you get to see him before you left the country?” He asked.
I shook my head. “Yes..he had even offered to drive me to the airport but I declined.”
“I can’t believe he was so dumb and insensitive. How could he not know?” Bamidele scoffed.
“You didn’t know too..” I whispered.
“You did a good job at hiding it but I am surprised it is him.” We exchanged glances before he focused back on the road ahead.
“Wait..I didn’t tell you it was him..so how did you-“
“How can I not know that surname? Moreover he was your one and only friend plus he was head over heels for you.” He answered.
He was right. Dayo loved me and I loved him too but we couldn’t accept our feelings until it was too late.
“So why didn’t you tell him?” Bamidele asked.
“He was getting married.” I reminded him.
“Oh! That is true.” He shook his head. “I am sure that it wasn’t easy raising her alone.” He said.
“I didn’t raise her alone, we have good people in our lives who has really helped us. My uncle and his wife, everyone at the foster home…I enjoyed every moment of it.” I said sincerely.
“But it would have been better-“ he paused and looked back.
I did the same thing too and Iteoluwa has fallen asleep too.
“It would have been better if he was there with you.” He completed his statement.
“Maybe..”
“So do you plan to meet him during your stay here?” He asked.
It took me a while to answer him. “I want to meet him for her sake but I can’t go and find him because I want to avoid troubles with Shalewa.” I answered.
“So let us say that you are waiting for destiny to bring him your way just like how you met me coincidentally.” He said.
“Maybe..” I stuttered.
“Have you read the news about them?” He asked.
“No, I don’t have any social media accounts.” I sighed.
“Geez..you practically cut yourself out of the real world.” He mouthed.
“I just wanted to keep my baby safe.” I muttered.
“You should check the news about them before you leave the country.” He said.
“No, I don’t want to…I am sure they are doing fine.” I nodded my head slowly.
“You think so?” He asked.
Our gaze locked for a second before I looked away. “I don’t know.”
“Well I hope you see him soon.” He sighed.
“Let us talk about you.” I tried to change the topic.
Bamidele smiled contentedly. “Sure..I am married but there is nothing much to talk about.”
“How long have you been married?” I asked.
“Three years..and to be honest getting over you wasn’t easy but I did well.” He smiled.
“I guess you made good use of my advice of finding the woman that would love you for who you are, Bamidele.” I reminded him.
“Sure..and my wife reminded me of you. She didn’t hate me when I told her that I was gay. I wanted to find true love so I decided to just tell her my sexuality without the whole story.” He explained.
“So what did she say?” I asked curiously.
“Like I said she was curious to find out why? I kinda gave her a hard time but after some months when she wouldn’t let me be, I opened up to her and my love for her bloomed for accepting me for who I used to be.” He smiled heartily.
“That is nice and seeing you smile like this means you really do love her.” I said.
Bamidele chuckled. “Is it that obvious?” He asked.
“It is written all over your face.” We both bursted into laughter.
“Your daughter is-“ he paused. “What word should I use?” He chuckled.
“Friendly?” I suggested.
“Something more than that..unique? and she loves you so much.”
“You barely even know her.”
“I don’t need to know her for years to figure that she loves you. She didn’t stop talking about you, she even corrected Banjo when he hit my face.” He chuckled.
“My mom said that it is not good to hit an adult, my mom loves this, my mom would love that..I must say that you did a good job at raising her.” He smiled happily.
I sniffed and blinked back tears that threatened to spill from my eyes.
“Are you crying?” He asked.
“Of course not..I am just happy.” I managed to smile.
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