CHAPTER EIGHT


Niyi looked up at his mum who was strapping his sister to her back and smiled at her. She was like some celestial to him.

"Carry me too," he chimed but his mum shook her head at him,

"You are a big boy and you can walk so stop that now," Deola simply told him and bent over to pick up her purse on the small chair in the balcony.

"Are you going somewhere?" Mama Sade asked her approaching from the backyard where the cloth line was with an empty bucket in hand.

Deola looked towards her, "Yes, ma. I was about to check on you also so Niyi can stay with you till I return."

"No problem but I thought I saw your husband's brother around. The younger one that came during Sonia's naming ceremony," Mama Sade started placing the bucket down.

"Yes, he'll be here for a while. He has exams. He's writing UTME this year so he went out to register for tutorials," Deola explained to her neighbor who sneered, unconvinced.

"Why didn't he just wait in Abeokuta to write the exams? Don't you think it's their mother pulling a trick? Their family isn't one you can trust, you know?"

Deola shrugged, "I really don't care anymore. And I need to leave early so I won't stay out late,"

"No problem. Ayo is inside so your son won't even miss you till you return once they begin their play," Mama Sade reassured smilingly.

"Thank you ma. I'd leave now," she smiled back at Mama Sade and turned to her son, bending a little, "Sweetheart , don't trouble mummy too much before I return, okay?"

The kid frowned a little at her but gleamed when his mum promised to get him toys when she returned as well as many goodies, though he didn't know how trustworthy the promise was.

Deola gave her neighbor one last look and greeting before turning to leave the compound. Her elder brother had called to tell her he had a friend who could help her with getting a job. He had said she should try there also, rather than sit home all day waiting for a miracle to change her husband. She was just going to keep trying. Getting busy was all she needed now, he had told her over the phone.

She was a taken a little aback when on reaching the gate, she met her aunt, her late father's younger sister.

"E kaaro ma. I didn't realize you were coming. I was just on my way somewhere," Deola said going down on both knees and taking the lady's bag from her.

"Don't bother so much. We need to get to the town right now. Your mother wants to....see you," she said impatiently, "Is your husband at home?"

Deola shook her head and the lady sighed,

"Come on in, ma. The meeting can wait," Deola told her and began walking back to the house.

"No my dear. We need to leave quickly. Your son?"

"He's with a neighbor. I hope all is fine at home. Mummy is alright?"

"Of course. Let's just get there. You can call your husband on the way," her aunt reassured and smiled.
Deola shrugged and went to bid her neighbor a quick farewell, hoping to return soon. She hoped her gut feeling of a disaster was totally wrong.

-------------------------

Deola walked quickly past the group she met gathered downstairs at her mum's. She noticed they were exchanging glances as soon as she walked in.

"That's her only daughter," one of them was saying to his partner and Deola gave him a sharp look. What was he saying, she thought to herself.

"Yes, poor girl. She is also having problems in her marriage, I heard," another was also replying but Deola chose to ignore them and turned to her aunt.

"What happened?" Deola asked her unable to take the suspense.

The lady simply took Sonia from her and asked her to keep going up the stairs.

Deola shrugged and kept climbing till they got to the living room and she saw both her elder and younger brother seated there alongside a host of other extended family but their mum wasn't anywhere there.....

"Tobi, what...?" She had barely started when someone within burst into a fit of wails shouting,

"Mama Remi, AH! AH! Death, you are so cruel," the woman continued.

Deola looked round from Tobi, her younger brother to Remi who shook his head with a drop of tear trickle down his face.
The last Deola could remember was holding her head and screaming, "Mummy, NO!!" She said and blacked out, landing down with a thud.

harjibolar10:
Let me just reverse my comment
Keep em coming namesake

Reverse, how? I hope it's good reverse o, lol.

Adadinmaa:
Interesting,kudos Kizzy

Thanks, ma'am.

aprilwise:
Am loving this story in every bit. The least thing I expect for my parents disapproval of my girlfriend or wife to be. Most parents have say in whom their children get married to?

Parents always want to believe they are still in charge of a child as long as they are alive. Half the times, it doesn't go well.

bossricky:
"Daddy i can write 2" awww so touching

Not all parents really care about that. They're like "So what?"

Ollyfad:
dats y its neva advisable to gt married to ppl dat cnt make dia own decisions. u eida kip making it for dem wich u wuld gt tired of one day or odas outside wuld do d dcision making wich only leaves u in misery most of d tym.
#real nice storyline....thumbs up

You got it perfectly right, ma'am.

AdaBekee1:
congrats and thank you @kizzykeziah for this wonderful piece.

It's my greatest pleasure writing this and thank you.

Jojodivine:
A really wonderful storyline... It keeps getting better everyday. More grease to your elbow.[color=#770077][/color]

Thanks. I'd need a lot of grease, lol.

Clarakings:
Nice work! More grease to your elbow. Tolu seems to me like the proverbial mad woman that set his house on fire and went to dance at the village market. I feel for poor Deola for having an nycom.as a husband. Keep the ball rolling." Waiter! More popcorn".

I hope you got the popcorn

ahmanim:
@op . hope all is fine 4 ur end. the wait is long plz complete our story

Everything has been fine, thanks. Sorry for the wait.

Essyprity:
This story is as real as a life story and well told too. The young woman's life is the case of many in the hands of feeble minded men.

Hmmm, you're probably right. I said earlier that nearly all written here is as real as it gets. I've witnessed a little myself.

kitnah:
Aunty kizzykeziah,lovely updates o
I enjoyed it
Deola is just too emotional and Tolu is always sitting on the fence
Update sharply else........

Am I safe now?

jezuzboi:
Cool! I hail Iya Ruka oo! So Tolu mama just dey busy-body 4 nothing....CoMon Iya Ruka is using her head. Congratulations 2 Tolu. He now has 4 kids and earns N150k-N200k monthly. Him never see school fees.
Really Nice Update

Abi na. God dey for Tolu so don't bother too much about him. He will soon get his bills.

Deola, Accept my sympathy. Brace up too, there's a lot more coming.

Chai, ma namesake don vex ooo, see update sha


Anyways, God dey see this iya Ruka ooo. So, now that deola is motherless now, who know what's up for her...



Keep em coming ma'am

Dis is too much for the poor daddy's girl. Thumb's up dear!

Eyah!!! *pets her* Deola sorry ooo, Take heart, U hear?

Tolu I pity ur life.....Twins, two ladies to care for, nd two other children? wit how much as ur salary? *Smh* Ur mama don put double wahala 4 ur head.

Iya Ruka, I no blame u jare, He who has head has no cap........ Let dem suffer 4 a while, so dey can appreciate wat God has given dem b4.

Deola sorry for the loss of your moda and as for tolu you and your family will regret it exp your stupid moda, deola is right oo your mum did not train you well if not you are supposed to defend your wife and protect her from your family••••••• Nyc story u have here ma.......more MB to your fone•••

Thank God. thank @ kizzy. u know what i like most abt d story.......its unpredictable.
i pity tolu, b4 he realizes say na him mother dey destroy him things don spoil plenty. LADIES, plz no matter d love get sth doing , its a shock absorber when things turn bad.

by the time pampers and sma gold show tolu, with school fee still doing press up ehn... he would know the real meaning of double wahala for dead body!
deola take heart dear..shit happens...atleast you are sure your kids wont suffer

kizzy you are a genius. those updates were really good. well done dear

Interesting story gal! Pls kip dem coming.

Oh my,this is so wonderful,Weldon dear,tolu never see anything

HELLO MY FELLOW LITERATURE-LANDERS, THIS IS ADEH39, THIS IS TO INFORM U THAT THE MISS NAIRALAND 2015 CONTEST IS CURRENTLY GOING ON, AND I AM ONE OF THE CONTESTANTS. I CAN'T DO IT ALONE, I NEED THE HELP OF U GUYS, I WILL HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR IF I HAVE YOU PEOPLE AT MY BACK. PLS, HELP UR LITTLE SISTER BY VOTING FOR ME WHEN THE TIME COMES, THE CAMPAIGN IS CURRENTLY GOING ON NOW........ PLS I NEED VOLUNTEERS 4 D CAMPAIGN TOO... VOLUNTEERS SHOULD KINDLY VISIT THE CAMPAIGN THREAD AND DO THE NEEDFUL, PLS I NEED ALL THE HELP I CAN GET FROM U GUYS. YOUR VOTES COUNTS. THANKS.

MzzTega:
Kizzykeziah,God bless you.

Amen And me too

harjibolar10:
Amen And me too

lol. what did you do?

MzzTega:

lol. what did you do?

I do comment now

jezuzboi:
Deola, Accept my sympathy. Brace up too, there's a lot more coming.

I've sent her your sympathies and I think she accepted them.

harjibolar10:
Chai, ma namesake don vex ooo, see update sha
Anyways, God dey see this iya Ruka ooo. So, now that deola is motherless now, who know what's up for her...
Keep em coming ma'am

I don vex indeed, lol. Kumao, namesake

kenwins:
Dis is too much for the poor daddy's girl.
Thumb's up dear!

Nothing is too much for anybody o as long as it gets us stronger altogether

adeh39:
Eyah!!! *pets her* Deola sorry ooo, Take heart, U hear?

Tolu I pity ur life.....Twins, two ladies to care for, nd two other children? wit how much as ur salary? *Smh* Ur mama don put double wahala 4 ur head.

Iya Ruka, I no blame u jare, He who has head has no cap........ Let dem suffer 4 a while, so dey can appreciate wat God has given dem b4.

Tolu could manage an increment on his income and Deola got your message. BTW, I got your back for your contest o

Mhizashantee1:
Deola sorry for the loss of your moda and as for tolu you and your family will regret it exp your stupid moda, deola is right oo your mum did not train you well if not you are supposed to defend your wife and protect her from your family••••••• Nyc story u have here ma.......more MB to your fone•••

Training was probably in a different direction for him and @ bolded. AMEN O.

ahmanim:
Thank God. thank @ kizzy. u know what i like most abt d story.......its unpredictable.
i pity tolu, b4 he realizes say na him mother dey destroy him things don spoil plenty. LADIES, plz no matter d love get sth doing , its a shock absorber when things turn bad.

You're right about getting something doing. It really helps.

Ollyfad:
by the time pampers and sma gold show tolu, with school fee still doing press up ehn... he would know the real meaning of double wahala for dead body!
deola take heart dear..shit happens...atleast you are sure your kids wont suffer

Lmao at pampers and SMA gold. They could take akamu na.

folake25:
kizzy you are a genius. those updates were really good. well done dear

Thanks ma'am. Really appreciate you being around. Kamsahamnida(don't ask me what it means)

ritoto:
Interesting story gal! Pls kip dem coming.

Gladly, ma'am.

Costlybabe:
Oh my,this is so wonderful,Weldon dear,tolu never see anything

He never see anything indeed or maybe he has started seeing things already.

MzzTega:
Kizzykeziah,God bless you.

AMEN and you too.

-----------------

Tolu shut the door behind Mama Sade and went back into the living room. He went straight ahead to pick up his phone and dial Deola's phone number. He couldn't fathom why his wife couldn't leave him a message herself and would have to send him a next-door neighbor to inform him she wasn't sure when she was going to be home. She had even left their son with Mama Sade for him to be picked up by Seyi. He wondered what could have happened if his kid brother wasn't around to take responsibility for Niyi. Was she even thinking these days? And he didn't even know what on earth would come up in their family that would require her suddenly leaving without so much as giving him a call.
Hissing to himself, he began pacing slowly about the living room.

"Now she's not picking my calls. What am I supposed to do about that now?" He mused aloud to himself and went ahead to dial her oldest brother's number. He finally picked it on the second ring,

"Hello,"

"Err...Good evening. I just got informed your sister left for..."

Remi cut him short, "We lost mum earlier today in a car accident. My sister is here with me so don't bother so much," he told him and hung up almost immediately.

"What the..." Tolu stared at the phone screen finding the news he just got totally unbelievable. How was that even possible?

Seyi looked over at his brother whose face wore worry. The call he had just dropped must have been a distressing one, he thought to himself and relaxed back into the sofa looking back at the movie showing on T.V.

"Phew!" Tolu sighed and turned to look at Niyi who was already asleep on the sofa. The information was still unbelievable to him. Deola's mother...dead? What could have caused it? Remi mentioned a car accident but why now? How come? What went wrong? How sure were they or what even happened....? Various thoughts flew through his brain at the same time at hyper speed. He gradually sat down beside his son and ran his hand through his head. How was Deola coping now? That was the only question that popped continually in his head. After losing her dad, the only person person that ever mattered the most to her, losing her mum now also seemed to make her look much more unfortunate.

"Is everything fine?" Seyi asked him with a worried look on his face.

Tolu shook his head, "Deola just lost her mother," he told his brother who widened his eyes in disbelief.

"How on earth..." Seyi started sitting up. He was still pitying her for being on his mother's bad side but her losing her mother also, moreover at a time like this made him grieve her situation.
After his brother had broken her heart, did she deserve anything worse?

----------------------

"O merciful God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the resurrection and the life, in which whosoever believeth shall live though die and whosoever liveth in Him, shall not die eternally; who also hath taught us by His Holy Apostle Saint Paul, not to be sorry as men without hope, for those that sleep in Him, we meekly beseech Thee, O Father to raise us from that death of sin unto the life of righteousness that when we shall depart this life, we may rest in Him as our hope is that Mother Rachel Omolade Olaogun does; and that at the general resurrection in Thy sight, and receive that blessing which Thy well beloved Son shall then pronounce to all that love and fear Thee saying, come ye blessed children of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. Grant this, we beseech Thee, O merciful Father through Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Redeemer. Amen." The priest ended the committal prayer amid tears of sympathizers by the graveside.
A lot of people in their town, Gbongan in Osun State, Nigeria had come around to share their condolences. It was still incomprehensible to most of them. The lady had looked so well just days before and when the news reached them, a lot of them had rebuked what they referred to as evil thoughts. But now at the interment, it was just as real as it got. Mama Remi was indeed gone.

Deola turned her face away to Tumise's shoulder who patted her head gently as she sobbed quietly.
The choir members who stood by raised the hymn,"Sleep on, Beloved sleep" and the graveyard broke forth with wails again.

Standing close to his three younger siblings, Remi maintained a blank look. The past two months still looked like some dream, a bad one, which he wanted to wake from. Their father hadn't been dead four years and now their mother chose to depart also, especially when her daughter needed her the most. Now he had to be strong for them all. They only had each other now. No one else in the world shared strong blood ties with them.

"Mummy, mummy...," he could hear Deola soft whispers with her face still buried in Tumise's head who had arrived the country that week for the burial ceremony.

Looking around earlier, he had also seen Tolu in the company of his brother and friend also, bringing Niyi along. Seeing him only brought up reasons why he never wanted his sister to return to their home. She was devastated enough as it was, being a lost orphan with an aboulic husband and unreasonable inlaws. The last thing he wanted for his sister was to get more hurt in the hands of that male she referred to as her husband. He wanted to shield her more than ever now.

Finally the hymn was over and the officiating priest who was the Bishop of the diocese began the benediction,

".......the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with us all forever more, Amen." He concluded and the graveyard dispersed within a few minutes with different people throwing earth into the grave. Paying their last respects.

"We'd be in the car," Tumise told Remi still holding his sister close and led her to the car park of the Anglican church. Remi watched them retreat and was about turning to go meet with the priest when he saw Tolu again, this time with his son alone and approaching Deola. That moment made him want to go and get him away from his kid sister but he got tapped from behind by an uncle who wanted to pay his condolences.
The hard talk would have to come later, he said to himself and turned to his uncle, nodding.

See this bae oo, instead make she come update, na reply and interaction she dey do ooo.. . I dey watch you in 350D



Oya, come update ooo

harjibolar10:
See this bae oo, instead make she come update, na reply and interaction she dey do ooo.. . I dey watch you in 350D
Oya, come update ooo

That 350D must be powerful o. Lemme go and type more but I've updated a little now so take off your goggles.

kizzykeziah:

Nothing is too much for anybody o as long as it gets us stronger altogether

I am not saying this is the worst that can happen to anyone.
On the contrary, i have heard a case where months after wedding, a child was born with jaundice. The child was named @ d hospital since himself and his mother were admitted. The baby refused breast feeding. The mother's bossom got swollen and bursted. Yes! It bursted. At that period of time, the woman's mother-in-law died.

Unto the poor girl's matter. Days back or weeks back, she was saying "this is not the kind of life daddy wished for me". She is facing mother-in-law's wahala, she is struggling to get a job, has her kids to take care, no thanks to her husband who made things be this way. And now, her mother is gone. Gone! Nothing is too difficult for God to handle but as a mere mortal, i wont hesitate to say "this woman is going through a lot".

kizzykeziah:


That 350D must be powerful o. Lemme go and type more but I've updated a little now so take off your goggles.

The googgles wey I dey use ehn, it always see below, and not above. .. And you know what that mean

Chai, Deola, you have to believe that, "What don't kill you, will always make you strong" +"whatever happen I human life, its either a blessing or lesson " and I hope this one be a blessing in disguise.

As for mama tolu, it will soon dawn on her, when her so called friend, finish her from benealth.

---

Now, let me quickly say this ; kizzy, I know you wont be mad for what I'm about doing oo, so Im sorry for any inconvinience..

Do you know, that miss Nairaland contest is on?
Do you also know, that it comes anually?
Do you know, a sister from this section is also a contestant?

Okay, enough of the questions.. .

I will like to humbuly inform you that, the mis nairaland for the year 2015 is on, and QUEEN ADEH39 is also a contestant.

As will all know her to be a down - to - earth person, I will want to please, beg of you to come out on masses, and vote adeh39 as the 2015 QUEEN OF NAIRALAND

THANKS IN ANTICIPATION

Remi should talk some sense into Deola's husband head jare, but i doubt if he will listen, he's mummy boy, still tied to his mother's apron.

Deola pele ooo, a ni ri iru e mo * u won't experience such thing again*

Kizzy, thanks 4 d updates..... still following......

***********************

Tolu put in the portable travelling bag into the trunk of the Honda Civic and shut it close. He glanced at his wristwatch and sighed. It was almost five p.m and if they planned on getting into Ikoyi before midnight, now was the best time to leave Deola's hometown.
He had asked her if she was fine leaving with him that day which was the day after the burial ceremony and she had said yes. She had no point staying back any longer in her parent's residence.

"Tolu, I wanted to have a few words with you." Tolu turned abruptly at the voice of Remi who had reached beside him without him knowing.

"Oh, really? I hope there isn't a problem," Tolu said getting himself together.

"There has always been a problem since you decided my sister wasn't good enough for you anymore," Remi told him in a stern tone.

Tolu looked back at him and kept mute. He hadn't stayed back in the open living room just to avoid this distressing talk. He however knew that he had it coming for a while now.

"You have any comprehensible reason for me why you've decided to do this?" Remi asked him folding his hands across his chest.

"None."

"Good. Then I don't give a damn about that too. I'm just going to give you a piece of monition. That will be that no matter how crazy you get, don't you ever involve my sister in the madness of dealing with another woman in her matrimonial home."

Tolu sighed and rubbed his palms together, "I'm sorry it ever had to get to this. I've treated you with so much respect up till this point and the least I can do is heed you. I've tried to make sure Deola hasn't ever met with the other lady and I can manage to keep that up if you will let me," he said in a convincing tone like some culprit on the cross attesting to his misdeeds.

"I've only been watching from the sidelines all this while giving respect to the fact that you two should be given a chance to settle it out no matter the differences, but I'm assuring you this minute that if you ever get guts to bring in your mistress to live with my sister and make either her or her children experience the hellhole of polygamy, you should consider Adeola no longer your wife then. I'd not just take her away from you, I'd ensure I rain brimstones at your doorstep leaving you no other place of refuge than a jail cell," Remi ended in a tone of warning running Tolu out of words.

He nearly prostrated to the former to ease him out but they were cut in by Deola and her two other brothers who just stepped downstairs with Tumise carrying Sonia and Niyi holding on to his mother.

"I hope you didn't wait for too long," Tumise said as they approached closer.

"No, it's fine," Tolu told him and went to open the front passenger door for Deola who took her baby from Tumise and gave them all one last hugs.

"Drive safe," Tobi enjoined and opened the door for Niyi to get in the backseat.

"Yeah, sure. We'll call once we get home," Tolu assured them and got in the driver's seat, shutting the door and kick starting the engine.

"It's okay, dear," Remi muttered to Deola whose eyes were already getting teary as the car zoomed out. The three brothers stood there until the car finally turned out of their street and onto the main road.

-------------

Lydia glanced at her phone screen again making it approximately the fiftieth time in two minutes. She picked it up and tapped the screen over and over again expecting some sort of miracle to happen which would bring the phone to begin vibrating with Tolu's name on display.

Pissed off in the absentia of a miracle, she threw it on the bed without noting that it landed on the first twin, Taiwo's forehead.
The boy started crying immediately, unaware of why his mother was that angry.

"If you cry from morning till night, I won't blink until your stup!d father calls me. I wonder how he expects me to manage twenty thousand naira for one week. He hasn't been picking my calls and now to call me back is a problem for him. Did I get in this alone or what is the meaning of this?" She lamented in soliloquy.

She had called Tolu the day before and he had told her he wasn't in Lagos but in some useless burial ceremony for his wife's mother.
Hadn't the woman been dead for two months? Why did she then have to pay for another old woman's passing away?

"Your mouth doesn't look cute. If I took a picture of you right now, you'll need to pay me to delete it. And why are you not attending to the poor kid crying?" Chinwe said noticing her friend and the crying child as she entered the living room.

Lydia looked up at her briefly, "Do I look like I care?" She said indifferently.

Chinwe hissed back at her and went to pick up the boy, "Nawa o. On top wetin?"

"On top say that !d!ot wey born them dey craze. He gave me fifteen thousand since Sunday and now he no wan pick call," Lydia stood up from the sofa and began pacing.

Chinwe stayed silent. She wasn't ready to be at the receiving end of Lydia's anger though with her friend's current fury, she knew she wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

"I don't know if I killed that witch's mother or why he expects me to understand!" Lydia continued, "I told him I needed to move out of here and into a two bedroom apartment in Ikoyi like that his wife but he asked me to be patient a little. Today is the 28th of February and he must have received his salary but rather than giving me the amount I need, he has gone to act 'Oko Iyawo' in the girl's village. Now his mother will say I'm the only one she acknowledges. What use is that if it can't translate into money, eh?" She deplored non-stop jeering the other twin into his own cries.

She gave them both one glance each and hissed loudly,

"Just die!" She yelled at them and barged into the bedroom of the one bedroom apartment.

CHAPTER NINE


Deola shifted over in the bed, unable to get herself to sleep. She kept seeing her mother whenever she tried shutting her eyes and the look she could see on her mum's face was a sad one. She couldn't bear it anymore and sat up in the bed.

She looked at her husband who was fast asleep already with Niyi sprawled across. Sonia was also peacefully taking in her breaths in her cradle so Deola stood up and went out of the room quietly.

She went on to the living room and turned on the switch. The room remained dark leaving her to sigh. There was no electric power. However, the moonlight was so bright penetrating the curtains and serving as a subservient light source.
She then moved over to the dining part of the living room calculating her steps, and got herself a glass of water from the jug on the dining table. After gulping enough, she sat back in the dining chair and shut her eyes.
The image was however still stuck in her head. Her mother's expression the day after Sonia's naming ceremony those months back when she was leaving. She should have noted something then and not requested her mum to leave. But now, the worry and hesitance on her mother's face seemed to be stamped in on her mind.

"Mommy, I'm sorry for making you leave," she muttered silently and went up to the bookshelf that was beside the plasma TV to get her bible.
She had always been a lazy Christian who didn't fully place all her hopes in God but now, the bible seemed like the only thing that could help her regain her normalcy.

She brought out the holy book and moved to the side of the window, pulling the curtain apart a little more to let in more light rays enough for her to read and opened to the first few pages where she recalled that it had been her wedding bible. Inscribed boldly within were the names of her and Tolu and the date of the wedding. She stared at that page for a little more than longer before shutting it back. She had taken the bible out to seek comfort and not more distress, she thought to herself and held it close.

She clutched it to her chest and looked out the window. Sighing, she decided to offer a short prayer,
"I really don't know where to start from, Lord but please help me. I'm not sure where my tomorrow is leading me but I pray that you keep a watch over me and my children. I can't do this myself, please help keep my feet steady," she supplicated and sank into the sofa.

---------------------

Christina lifted Sonia up and shook her high, getting the two year old to giggle over before putting her down,
"This girl is getting fatter. I wonder what you're feeding her," Chris remarked loudly.

"She's drinking garri very well," Deola retorted sarcastically and carried the two plates of beans out into the living room, "I hope you really don't mind our visitor's treat. Things haven't been in paradise for a while now," Deola enjoined her friend and put the food on the centre table.

"No, it's okay. I just hope your 'paradise' isn't an ironical one."

"Did you think I was joking when I said my daughter is fat because of the garri she has been drinking? You seem to have forgotten I'm not working," Deola asserted bringing over a jug of cold water and glass cups.

"Well, that doesn't mean Tolu isn't working either. Isn't he giving you enough money for upkeep anymore?" Chris asked, still choosing to disbelieve her friend. She hadn't been around for months now since she got married and her husband only got transferred to Lagos that week, making her available for her friend only now. She however didn't want to believe things could get bad within the few months she wasn't around.

"He slashed it and asked me to try understanding. The upkeep is now less than twenty percent of what it once was since he gives the excuse that he caters for that lady and her kids too. And moreover, it's not even regular. He's getting more scrutiny from his boss who hasn't been a fan of his folly and has decided to keep him under more watch. So now, even when I ask for money from him, he yells and yells, telling me that I'm not the least useful and to get a life," Deola poured out to Christina and ate her meal with an indifferent look.

"So that's it now. He's officially broken the noose?"

Deola scoffed, "He'd broken it longer than I can recall."

"But you still have the right to request from him for Niyi and Sonia. They're his responsibilities, right?"

"Yeah, right. And get hit? No way in hell,"

"Wow, I'm short of words. Tolu has really transformed. Like seriously."

"I only hope to get a job. I can't stand feeding my daughter with......" Deola broke the sentence off and swallowed, holding in her tears, "I really need to get a job."

"So how do you cope when he doesn't give you anything?"

Deola looked up and suppressed her smile, "I have three awesome brothers who are doing well enough. Tumise gives me without my asking. Same goes for Remi but I hate bothering them. They are hardly aware of the state of things in my life right now. Even Tobi who just got a job feels it's his responsibility to take charge but when it's my older brother who sends me money with which I pay my son's school fees, then you should know I need to get a life."

Christina gaped in disbelief, "I wish I could be of more help. How about Jummy? Has she called you up recently?"

"I don't exactly want to lick boots before getting an appointment letter. Jummy does call up but you know how it is. She doesn't call up to check if I'm fine, she calls to check if I've been kicked out of here yet so she'd be like, 'I told you..' and all," Deola started and reached for some water.

Christina raised an eyebrow, "Told you what?"

Deola looked at for a while, hesitating,
"Well, after that time I met her boss, she sort of caught wind of what's really going on and asked me to come for some consultation somewhere. I told her I wasn't interested and since then, I've kept to myself. I'm not ready to make a big deal of this," she told Chris and went to get Sonia from the bathroom where the lass was toying with water.

Christina sat back and ate her meal with her attention on Deola. She couldn't believe how sour things had been for her friend in her home and wished she could be a fairy and make Deola back into the Cinderella she once was. She however had an idea she planned on dishing to her friend. She only wished the latter would consent.

"Just die!" She yelled at them and barged into the bedroom of the one bedroom apartment

Chai... What kind of mother says that, to her own baby?

Lydia, I hope ya yeye mother-in-law was there, when you make that your yeye statement, and see who she has recognised as her daughter in-law, anyways, more is surely coming

Deola, 'omo oku orun' no worry, everything will gonna be alright.

Tolu, God will see you

kizzykeziah:

Reverse, how? I hope it's good reverse o, lol.
Thanks, ma'am.

Parents always want to believe they are still in charge of a child as long as they are alive. Half the times, it doesn't go well.

Not all parents really care about that. They're like "So what?"

You got it perfectly right, ma'am.

It's my greatest pleasure writing this and thank you.

Thanks. I'd need a lot of grease, lol.
I hope you got the popcorn

av got a whole bag beside me

Actions getting grimmer and realistic. Tolu is just a victim of indecisiveness but the truth is women mostly bear the brunt of such failures. Kids have a right to a good life but its kind of unfortunate that they end up most times in the hands of those who can't take care of them very well.

Lydia's case can just be described as a victim of a deal gone bust. I really hope Deola get a safe landing.