THE EXCHANGE
Episode 33
Like my mother in-law had said, everything was settled within the week and by the next, we were ready to travel to London; it was like old times, my mother in-law, my children and I. The children were happy to be back with me & they were very comfortable with their grandmother; that scared look had finally left Ayomide’s eyes & he was smiling again.
My children & I spent the weekend before we travelled with my mum in Abeokuta. We were all so excited & happy; my mum & I had so much to talk about, we were up until about 4am Saturday morning. She told me how she went into 30days of fasting after I left so that everything will work in my favour; the Pastor of our Church also set up a team of prayer band to pray for me to receive favour from God & man. She told me to prepare for the whole family will be around to see us in the morning so I should try to get some sleep. Thanksgiving Service was held for us on Sunday & that evening we were back in Lagos. My brothers, Laide’s mom, Bola & Laide came with us to see us off & I didn’t set my feet back in Nigeria for 6mnts.
One thing I was grateful to BabaT for was encouraging me to use the agency that was managing my business, though their percentage was a bit high, they did a fantastic job; I wouldn’t have been able to cope with the trauma of my marriage & running my business. The lawyer brother Dipo got for me was excellent in his job & had made us sign a new agreement, which stated amongst other things that I was the sole owner & no one else should be given audience. He took care of every legal aspect of my life reading every document & making sure that everything went in my favour; I was so impressed with his work that I retained him as my official lawyer & legal adviser. Segun was brother Dipo’s very good friend & also a 45 year old divorcee with 2 children but he gave the custody of his children to his ex wife, while he catered for their bills. He was brother Dipo’s age & about 7yrs my senior; therefore, with my brother’s consent, I left everything in his safe hands.
Six months later I arrived back in Lagos ready to face my life as a single lady again. My 10 year old son was now in the secondary school & this made we feel like an old lady. I threw myself into my business & looking at the proposal that the agency presented to me for further expansion; being in England for 6 months had availed me the opportunity to visit some stores & discuss with business owners which had given me some ideas of my own; so we looked for the most profitable areas to be added to the business. Segun my legal advice was also in the meeting & we looked at the proposals together after which he took me to lunch. It felt nice to have someone dote on me, after so long; I had also resumed my role as a worker in Church & my life seemed to be taking a fresh start. Between Church & my business I hardly had time for anything else so having lunch with Segun was a very welcomed decision. I spent some time on the phone with my children everyday & we share everything their daily experiences & I talked to grammy as my mother in-law loved to be called everyday also. Before I knew it, 3 months had gone by & I was planning another visit to London for Christmas & the children’s holidays; life was really good.
BabaT was also having the time of his life, enjoying his freedom with anything in skirts. I was grateful to my mother in-law who did not allow the divorce to be messy so the people in his circle did not know me so when his ladies came into the Salon when I was around, they were able to talk freely so there was always news about him flowing around but I wasn’t concerned & did not show a single reaction; it was then I realised that if I had loved him before, he’s totally dead to me now.
One day a lady came into the Salon with her friends & they were talking the one called Dorothy asked the other one called Susan when BabaT was going to pop the question, after all they had been dating for the past 5 years & it’s almost a year since he divorced his illiterate wife & they went on to discuss details about my marriage according to BabaT’s version so I quickly took my leave before I could hear anymore. I was so shocked that BabaT was dating another woman while we were married & had been deceiving her that his obligation towards me was the reason he couldn’t marry her; wow! BabaT is a real swindler, I pitied the lady but thanked God for having delivered me. He was on the news just last week trying to woo some foreign investors but the deal once again did not click, all the financial statements he produced were forged & he was have been prosecuted for fraud if not for his father’s contacts. His drug addiction was eating deep into his father’s company which he inherited & had tried to reach his mother for assistance but she had told him the only way she would help is if he got rehabilitation & had a clean bill of health.
The day I was to travel to London, u wouldn’t believe who walked into my Salon……..
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