THE EXCHANGE
Episode 37
When the children arrived home from school, they were excited to see their mum but Ayomide sensed something was wrong & he asked his mother outright but Toun told him to change into his house wear bcos she & Granny wanted to have an important discussion with them. When they were done changing they came to the dining room for their lunch & while eating, Ayodeji & Olufunke were very excited that their dad called the day before & their showed up today so they told their mum all about the call they received from their dad but Ayomide was quick to see his mum’s eyes fill with tears when his siblings mentioned their dad. Even though she tried to hide it so he knew something was wrong with his dad but he said nothing, instead, he excused himself from lunch & his mum let him go.
Later that evening, Granny summoned them to her private parlour beside her bedroom. It had served as a love nest for her husband & herself when they wanted BabaT out of their hair; it was the room where she had mourned her husband… her getaway room & today she mourned her son. Since she received the call from BabaT, she had not been herself; her mind had travelled down memory lane as she remembered how she had spoilt him rotten, there was nothing he wanted that he would not get even when her husband had complained she would say: “you know that I can’t have another so let me spoil this one that God has given me jare” & he would shake his head. Babatunde’s pregnancy was a horrible experience & the delivery almost took her life & when he finally came out, he wasn’t breathing so they had to resuscitate him; he was in the intensive care unit for about three days before he finally survived & she was told she would never have another child. “Who will blame me for spoiling him?” Today she sees the damage she did to her son & tears rolled down her cheeks; if only she had listened to her husband; if only she had allowed him discipline their son; when he did anything wrong & his dad chastised him, she would complain & if her husband protested she would ask him if he wanted to kill her son..
Today, she had killed her son by herself; she remembered the first time she saw him using drugs. She had an urgent order to deliver so she had gone to London unannounced & had met him with two other guys snorting cocaine; she had almost fainted but she hid it from her husband, believing that he would stop like he promised but instead of stopping, he became more clever at masking it until the incident with his girlfriend when she almost died. After that, she had left him to his dad who did his best to remold him but by then, it was too late; “he hardly listened to me & treated me like his toy bcos he knew how to manipulate me & get away with anything.” She thought in regret.
When the children were all assembled, with tears streaming down her face, she told the children that their father was dead, that he had an accident in the house last night after talking to them. Ayomide was very quiet but he was crying, Ayodeji was not sure of what to do but he began to cry also. “Did he fall down the stairs again?” Olufunke asked innocently & her grandma gave her a quizzical look but Ayomide shook his head at her. At that moment both Toun & her mother in-law stared at her & then at Ayomide & shuddered; these children must have seen more than they realised & Toun turned to look at Granny with eyes as wide as saucers & Granny shook her head indicating that she knew nothing about it. The next day, Bola called to inform them that the press had been taken care of so there was no bad publicity & the funeral arrangements were all done so BabaT can be buried on Friday if it’s okay & Granny said it was all fine & thanked him profusely. Bola was the second child of her best friend who had been fortunate to have four children & they had all turned out right, if only she had been able to have another child maybe BabaT would have been responsible & alive today, she thought again, still crying. No one had been able to console her, not even the grandchildren but by Thursday morning, they were on their way to Lagos from the service of songs, which started by 6.30pm & ended by 8.30pm.
The next day the body was laid in state in their family home, by 10am they were at the Church for the funeral service, after which he was laid to rest bedside his father. All through the ceremony, Toun was just moving around like a robot. She couldn’t believe that BabaT was truly dead, even though they had led separate lives & their paths had not crossed for over two years since the divorce, she couldn’t still believe that the father of her children was no more. The reception held for him in a hall beside the Church was well attended by dignitaries from all over but the older generation especially women were at home with BabaT’s mother. Toun’s family were all there to support her, Segun & some members of her staff were also there & Tunji who was out of the country had to fly in to comfort her….
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