Chai sorry Tolu....thanks for the update madam

Nice one, following fully.
Soft

New post up on the blog. Seun what sacrifice would I need to be able to post here again? I keep getting an error message, and your mods won't/cant do anything.
http://allladiesgistparlor..com.ng/2015/09/waves-of-emotions_11.html

Zaynie
Vickkyruby
Missmossy
Sparkleboy
MissMalia, here's a longer update to make up for the delay
Efilefun
Oluwadanie1
Suzzytee05
Blublahd
Tijehi
Feyilag

Cheers to a bubbly weekend!

softandmoist:
New post up on the blog. Seun what sacrifice would I need to be able to post here again? I keep getting an error message, and your mods won't/cant do anything.
http://allladiesgistparlor..com.ng/2015/09/waves-of-emotions_11.html

Zaynie
Vickkyruby
Missmossy
Sparkleboy
MissMalia, here's a longer update to make up for the delay
Efilefun
Oluwadanie1
Suzzytee05
Blublahd
Tijehi
Feyilag

Cheers to a bubbly weekend!

Better. I was about vexing for you Kip it up

I realy do feel 4 Tolu. Seriously I was so scared while reading. How else do you satisfy men? God my future is in ur hands. I don't wanna get married to someone elses husband. I can't share my man neither can I snatch anoda person's husband.

http://allladiesgistparlor..com.ng/2015/09/waves-of-emotions_17.html

New post up.
Enjoy!

I swear you are just a wicked somebody , four babies in a year.....

Double Double blessing for Duke

Softandmoist I've done it

softandmoist:
It will post these useless comments, but not the story. Please which mod can I talk to? Or else I'll just take all posts down and continue on my blog only. Wth.

softandmoist:
It will post these useless comments, but not the story. Please which mod can I talk to? Or else I'll just take all posts down and continue on my blog only. Wth.

W

Tolu


Lagos! I fell in love with the beautiful skyline again, and the thrill of doing the countdown until touchdown made me feel like a child on her first trip. I couldn’t wait to see Duke and give him a very large hug, as much as my huge stomach could allow. As soon as I disembarked, I dialed Duke’s number and waited for my luggage. He picked up on the second ring. I pulled my bag off the carousel and wobbled towards the arrival lounge.

‘Hi babe, I’m in Lagos.’ I chirped happily. The arrival lounge was nearly full, and I was lucky to find a seat. I put my luggage next to my seat.
‘Oh, alright. Welcome. I’ll be there within the hour. I’m in Surulere at the moment.’ He said. He didn’t sound excited. What could be bugging him so much?
‘Thanks.’ I replied flatly and hung up. It was the first time we’d been apart for more than 48 hours in our marriage, and he couldn’t even say he had missed me. So much for wanting to hug him.
‘Excuse me, but you look really pretty for a pregnant woman.’ A voice from beside me said. I turned to see who it was; a young man in his twenties sporting a goatee and wearing nerdy glasses.
I smiled my thanks and made to browse my phone, but he continued.
‘But you really are a babe; you should see some women when they are heavy, you’d be shocked at how much they have transformed’ he said.
‘Well, I don’t see how that is a fault of theirs, somebody but them in that position.’ I told him, giving him a tight smile that didn't reach my eyes.
‘I am not blaming them, ma’am. Just saying. By the way, I can tell what you’re going to have by looking at the palm of your left hand.’ He said confidently. Who was this weirdo spookiddo?
This was the reason our parents asked us not to talk to strangers.
‘But I already know what I am going to have’ I said, getting annoyed that he didn’t know when to shut up.
‘But you won’t lose anything by letting me try.’ He said, smiling sheepishly. Just then, my phone rang. Talk about being saved by the bell!
‘hello, are you here.’ I asked Duke, giving the noise maker beside me an apologetic smile.
‘Yes, just walk out and I’ll pick you up.’ He said.
I pulled out the handle of my bag and wheeled it out. I saw Duke cruising slowly in front of the lounge and walked over quickly. He parked and came out to get my luggage. We exchanged pleasantries and got back in the car.
‘So what’s this gist you can’t wait for me to come back and hear?’ I asked playfully, hitting his laps. Paul Play’s ‘Angel of my life’ was playing on the car stereo and I began hum along.
He breathed deeply, taking his eyes off the road for a brief second to look at me. This must be serious, I thought to myself. A deep-breathing Duke is a bad omen.
‘Toluwanimi, what’s the worst thing that could happen between us?’ he asked me, staring straight ahead at the road.
I didn’t like where this conversation was heading. Duke never called me by my full name except it was really bad.
‘Nothing now. Just tell me, ha.’ I was exasperated. Had he used all the money in our joint account to do business with swindlers?
‘Okay, okay’ his voice quavered, ‘Tolu you just have to forgive me, please you have to.’ He started to cry, his hands gripping the steering harder.
‘But I can’t forgive you if you don’t tell me. Just go ahead and say what it is please.’ I nearly screamed. This was far from the welcome I had anticipated. Didn’t I just wish yesterday evening that my marriage should get rosier from this point on?
‘I had an affair with a lady, Tolu, and she’s pregnant’ he blurted out.
Nothing in my entire existence had prepared me for that confession, and I gasped in shock ‘you did what?’ I said in a whisper. This was the moment in Nigerian movies you could aptly say ghen-ghen.
‘I’m so sorry Tolu, I really am.’ His body shook. We were on third Mainland Bridge now and fast approaching Ikoyi. I felt like a widowed orphan with a terminal illness. I quickly held on to a glimmer of unbelief and challenged him.
‘You’re lying, aren’t you?’
‘I wish I was, but it’s the truth.’
‘So you’re telling me that I all the while I was married to you, dutifully being your wife, you slept with another woman and she’s going to have your baby?’ I confirmed
‘I’m so sorry please, I thought it would be a onetime thing but..’
‘Oh, so it wasn’t even once? You this man, how will my god punish you? You have ruined my life, ahhhhhhhhh.’ I didn’t even know when the tears began to flow. The salty taste of mucus touched my tongue and I brought out my handkerchief to wipe my face.
‘Tolu please let’s sort this out, I beg you.’
‘Beg me for what? All your dead ancestors whose waywardness you’ve inherited will beg you, randy goat.’ I cursed.
‘Please darling, let’s weather this storm together, I beg you’ he pleaded.
I had a confusion of emotions coursing through me; anger at him, bitterness for the woman who had come to invade my home uninvited, pity for my kids who would be born into these.
‘See, forget about me being your darling, I didn’t ask you to go and get involved in this mess, but I am leaving you’ I hastily declared, but what else was there to stay for?
We didn’t say anything to each other after that, but I was sure we both had a million things going through our minds. When we got to the house, I ran into the room and shut the door behind me.
I needed time to grieve.


Unita


The flight from Lagos to Portharcourt had been quite bumpy, and I had gone to the toilet twice to throw up, to the consternation of the person on the aisle seat. Her annoyance was understandable since I wasn’t showing yet. Even now, as the cab driver was weaving through the busy roads to my parents’ house at Choba, I was feeling quirky.
I had called in sick to work yesterday morning and slept in the whole day. Everything smelled like expired lime and tasted worse. The smell of toothpaste nauseated me; the sight of food annoyed me. And the idiotic man who had put me in this mess had the guts to tell me he was married. I shuddered at what my parents would say when I told them, because I had ruled out abortion from the moment Nurse Babosh waved the home test kit with a big fat positive in my face.
The cab pulled up at the gate and dropped me off. I pushed the pedestrian gate open and walked in to the familiar compound. The trees with their huge canopies were still firmly rooted in their place, and seeing them brought back fond memories of a childhood where I had to hide to eat stolen chocolates and other treats.
There was no one downstairs when I opened the door, so I called out a ‘hello.’ It echoed all the way to the back of the house, because my mom came running to the living room, rubbing wet hands on her wrapper and opening wide flabby arms in a hug.
‘Ah, Orokunitakpanam, we had no idea you were coming o’ she was so happy to see me she almost carried me off the floor.
‘Haba mama, in my own father’s house? I know I am welcome anytime duwe.’ I retorted, excited to be home again. Whilst my mom had become closer to me over the years, my dad was always distant, like his dignity would be compromised if he became friendlier.
‘But you look sick and underfed, is that Lagos air sucking fat now or what’ she queried, leading the way up to my childhood room. To think I’d spent the first fourteen years of my life being called fat by these same people.
‘Mama it’s the stress o. If you know how I work hard every day you will not talk like this.’
‘Eh, no problem, I will fatten you up before you leave, under one week everyone who sees you will know you’ve been home.’ She pushed the door open. It was neat and smelt nice; I guess it was also used as a guest room once in a while. I put my bag on a bedside stool and sat on the bed.
‘Mama I’m not staying for a week o. where is papa sef?’ I asked, yawning.
‘He went for a meeting for a meeting of the elders. When last did we see you that we cannot enjoy you for a week?’ she queried. Her arms were folded across her chest as she sat on a bedside stool, peering at my face the way an artist would his finished work.
‘My annual leave is still a few months away; I only took a day off work. I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning’ I told her, smiling and patting her Christian mother arms. Her face was beginning to wrinkle in the manner of aged people, but she was still as pretty as I remembered. A pity I didn’t inherit her good looks. ‘I have something to tell you and papa, but let me tell you first.’ I said, my heartbeat increasing.
‘What is it, Akpanam,’ she inched closer. You’d have thought my parents would pick a nice version of my ugly full name to call me, but they made it worse. How could anyone look at a 21st century sophisticated babe like me and call me Akpanam? Anyway, that’s not why I was here.
‘I am pregnant, Mama,’ I told her. She looked at me from head to toe, then stood up and did a funny dance that looked like Etighi. Her wrapper came loose in the process and she retied it, singing about what a mighty God she served.
I didn’t, think her excitement would last long, and I was right.
‘The man is married, and he is not a Witness.’
That cut her short and she looked at me sternly, daring me with her eyes to repeat myself. I said it again in clearer terms. ‘The man is Yoruba and he has a wife mama, we can’t get married.’
‘And you didn’t know this when you opened your legs for him, you this daughter of antichrist.’ She lamented, ‘even your cousin Rachael that got pregnant for someone younger than her had the sense to do it with a witness. Why must you bring me shame, this foolish girl, why?’
That was news to me. I had no idea that my goody-two-shoes, only-long-skirt-wearing, no-ear-piercing cousin had even had sex. I’d pegged her as a lifetime volunteer, too busy to engage in worldly passions. I nearly asked if she swallowed the sperm like a tablet, because she was too holy to have a vagina, but the atmosphere was so tense at the moment.
‘Better know what to tell your father o, since you’ve reduced yourself to a maggot, meddling with people who slave for worldly governments’ she hissed, walking out the door and slamming it so hard the window panes shook.
This had turned out worse than I thought. I silently prayed papa would not kill me.


Duke

'Oga, you no fit park here o,' the valet yelled rudely, waving me off. Any other day, I'd have given him an acidic reply, but the weight of the world was on my shoulders. In my mind I prayed that on the day he had sliced pepper, he would forget and rub his crotch.
I parked somewhere else and headed for the Wet and Waiting Bar. I was meeting my colleague from the office, Patrick and didnt want to go anywhere popular. It was Friday night and most of the guys were at the popular lounges in the island.
A short girl wearing red shorts and a white tank top showing off her flabby breasts did a bad imitation of catwalk towards the table I was seated.
'What would you like to have please?' She asked, her fingers running through her hair coquettishly. The smell of stale sweat wafted from her armpits into my nostrils, and I wondered why some humans thought deodorants were optional. I asked for water and adjusted my chair to face the TV screen. Arsenal and Everton football clubs had a game on, and I got so engrossed I didn't know Patrick had arrived until he tapped my shoulder.
' Dikoko, how far?' He bantered. He was the colleague I was closest to, and he would have been my best man during my wedding but for his ICAN exams. We shared confidences and so he knew about Unita.
'Guy I dey o. It took you forever to get here, what happened now?' I asked. He was looking around to see if he would spot any waiter to take his order.
'It's the traffic that held me up a bit at Falomo. Abeg where these waiters dem dey?' He was a Delta boy and he spoke pidgin fluently.
We finally saw Flabby Breasts and waved her over. She did the miserable excuse for a catwalk and sauntered to our table. Patrick looked at me with a mischievous glint in his eye and I held back the laughter that was threatening to erupt.
'Fine girl, how you dey? I like you oooo.' Patirck faked admiration, and she smiled. He placed his order of beer and assorted meat offals in cayenne pepper sauce, and I asked for energy drink and cowfoot in oil and potash sauce garnished with onions.
Our order was placed before us under ten minutes. The admiration had worked.
'So how is Tolu coping with this situation?' He asked, his mouth full of meat.
'She's taking it so bad. Really bad. She hasn't said a word to me since the day I picked her up at the airport '
'Are you serious? She must be really heart broken. So what do you want to do now?'
I shook my head in despair. 'I don't even know. She won't talk to me or even acknowledge my presence. She doesn't even cook my meals anymore.
'That is serious,' Patrick said, rubbing his chin pensively. The DJ had started playing music at this time, and some scantily clad girls were dancing. 'Should I talk to her for you?’ he asked, his dark brown penetrating eyes looking straight ahead at a couple of girls who just walked into the bar. I couldn’t be bothered.
‘No o, don’t worry. But guy, you know wetin pain me pass? This wasn’t the agreement between us. It was to be a chop and clean mouth thing, and just decided to go all Mario on me.’
‘Guy, forget these babes o, they are ready to do anything to latch on to you. That’s why I always play safe. I can never get carried away and do skin lailai’
‘Well, I guess I got too carried away, and boy, she’s a wild one. ‘I smiled as I remembered how Unita was insatiable and creative. Every time I was with her I felt younger and reinvigorated. Tolu preferred to take things easy and was conservative. I felt blood rush to my groin, and as I shifted in my seat, I continued ‘All the ‘styles’ she gives me eh, Kama sutra is introduction. Tolu won’t even let me go down on her.’
‘Really? Some women dey miss out sha. Anyway, wetin you go do now as e don be so?’ he asked as he swished his drink in the glass, and then raised it to his lips.
‘She wants to keep the baby, and even have them in the states,’ I told him, a sad smile playing on my lips. Even my wife had never mentioned having our kids anywhere other than Nigeria. She was just contented with using the hospital our HMO provided.
‘You can’t come and fall mugu now. Because of what?’ he banged his fist on the table in protest. I didn’t know if he did it out of concern for me, or if the alcohol was beginning to control him.
‘I don’t know, but she seems unbending. She has even refused to use a private hospital in the league of St Nicholas. I don’t know what to do again, but I wish I never even looked twice at her,’ I said, feeling bile rise to my throat.
‘My guy no worry eh,’ Patrick patted my shoulder. It was easy for him to say. He didn’t have two women pregnant for him at the same time.
I looked up at the skies and wondered if God was really watching out for me.


Tolu.

My mom was the closest person to me in the entire world, but I couldn’t bring myself to share my predicament with her. Over the past few days since duke told me about his other family (as it were), I had felt a range of emotions; hatred so deep I could feel the heat of it pouring out of my pores, anger, jealousy, pity for myself, loathing for the other woman who didn’t know any better and pain for the heart that was returned to me shattered after I had given it to a man I trusted, loved and married. I felt shame, and blamed myself for not being able to tame and keep my man. Right under my nose, another of my own species, probably not as pretty or intelligent, had taken my place.
My heart broke into five hundred tiny pieces, and all the love I ever feet for Duke turned to disgust. I stopped speaking to him and ignored all his pleas. I was patiently waiting for my office to approve my leave. I had decided that I was going to move back to my parents. I couldn’t stand being under the same roof with this cheat. But first, I had to talk to someone. These waves of emotions were eating me up bad and I was bordering on loony. I couldn’t talk to Yewande because she would not understand. She’d never being in love for more than 24 hours so what did she know?
I picked up my phone and dialed my mom’s number. Better to brave it than die and rot in silence and anguish. She picked it up on the fourth ring.
‘Tolu jeje omaami, how are you?’ she asked in her heavily accented English. Because she was a professor, she rarely spoke in to us in our Yoruba dialect, except to make proverbs or driver her point home. Even her annoyance was expressed in English. ‘Why is your voice like this? Is everything alright?’
So she could hear my pain? Oh Mother, I thought, and I began to cry.
‘Tolu, Tolu, what is it, talk to me, is it labor, are you in labor’ she sounded scared, and I allayed her fears ‘No ma, it’s not labor, that is still like two months away’ I said, sniffing.
‘Then what is the matter? Why are you crying? Did your husband refuse to eat your food?’ How naïve, I thought to myself. In her world, where my dad was the perfect husband and father, the greatest offense a man could commit was to refuse to eat your food.
‘No mommy, it is not food. It is something worse than food, ah mommy, Duke has finished me o, he has killed me.’ I wailed loudly.
My mom wasn’t calm at the other end, and she asked me again. ‘What do you mean, what’s the matter? Did he hit you?’
‘No ma, he didn’t hit me. Mommy, Duke has gotten someone pregnant. He said he had an affair, and the woman is expecting his baby. Ha! Mommy, my life is over, my own is finished’ I wailed on.
‘He did what? Lord have mercy! What’s this? What is all these?’ she asked in agony.
‘Mommy there is nothing I don’t do for this man, I have never been a bad wife to him, and how could he do this to me?’
‘Don’t worry dear, calm down. I will talk to you dad, and we’ll talk to him. For God’s sake, don’t do anything rash okay?’
‘Okay mom, I won’t. Please pray for me.’ I said, sounding like a baby. I would always be a baby in her eyes anyway.
‘Sure, Tolu. Just take care, and I will call you tonight. I love you, okay?’
‘Thanks mom.’ I said, and hung up. I stood up to go to the kitchen and get a glass of water, and my eyes fell on our wedding portrait. I was smiling ever so beautifully into the camera, and Duke had hjed me so close you’d think I didn’t want to willingly pose for the picture. Seven months later, another woman is pregnant for him.
Such love.

Unita

Nkoro and I were shopping for groceries at the mall, and I was trying to work the news of my pregnancy into the conversation. I had left Port Harcourt as a disowned daughter. My father had nearly brought the roof down, calling me unprintable names and telling me that since I chose to disgrace them, I was henceforth forbidden to call him father. My mother had stared at me with pity in her eyes, but she dared not question my father.
Walking down the aisle, checking out the labels on canned foods for additives and preservatives, I felt my heart sink lower into my chest. If the father of my baby didn’t want to marry me, and my parents didn’t want to have anything to do with me, my problems were bigger than I could fathom.
‘Which one are you just doing slow-slow today?’ Nkoro nudged me at the ribs with her elbow, smiling to reveal a perfect set of white teeth.
‘Nothing o, just a little tired.’ I replied, trudging along.
‘But this kind of ‘tired’ that didn’t even let you gist me how your Port Harcourt trip went, hmmm’ she said.
I wheeled my cart along, too weak to talk about my trip or anything.
‘Abi the guy don score?’ she pressed on, taking off her nerdy fashion glasses to look at me closely. I swear down, the bitch is a witch.
‘Yes, he has, how do you know?’ I asked, raising an eyebrow and finally warming up to some conversation. I put back a jar of peanut butter containing additives on the shelf and took a crunchy, healthier flavor instead.
‘Eh, eh, it’s a lie, my friend has swallowed cockroach!’ she exclaimed. A few heads turned in our direction, and I gave two women who were paying extra attention to our gist the middle finger. They turned away in horror, and I smiled inwardly at my small victory.
‘Yes, I have, and I am 4 months gone’ I said, and suddenly burst into tears. Damn these hormones. I had no idea what had come over me but I cried for no reason these days. The other day at work, someone had parked in my space and I had cried so much people thought I was bereaved.
Nkoro rushed to my side ‘Oh my, Unita now, why are you crying, what is it?
Even though I loathed her, I had no one else to turn to at the moment. I went into her outstretched arms and sobbed for a while, then took the handkerchief she offered and blew my nose. We headed for the cashier and I sobbingly recounted to her how I’d found out I was pregnant, but conveniently left out other facts.
‘Oh dear, let’s go talk about this at the butchery over there’ she pointed at a corner of the mall where Ice cream and pastries were sold. Our groceries had been bagged and my hands were quite full.
‘I can’t even take ice cream! In one of the newsletters I subscribed to, I got a million and five reason why I shouldn’t eat undercooked or raw food’ I whined.
‘It’s okay dear. You can have water while I drink for two,’ she said, pulling me in the direction of the butchery.
‘But how did all these happen and I didn’t know? What are your plans? I’m sure you want to keep it abi?’ She could ask so many questions, this Nkoro.
I rolled my eyes.
‘Of course I’m keeping it’ I said.
‘So when is the wedding date? I’m sure you don’t want to look like a whale in your dress. Of course, I’m the bridesmaid and god mother. Ooooh, I’m so excited’ she prattled on.
We sat at a table that had the view of a water fountain gushing into the mouth of a thirsty statue. A pleasant waiter came to take our order, and we continued where we left off.
‘There’s no wedding actually, NK.’ The earlier she knew the truth, the lesser the pain and guilt of being and unwed mother would be for me.
‘Why not? Even if it’s a small registry affair and a party afterwards, you must do something o’ she argued.
‘Okay, the guy is married. That is why we can’t get married’ I told her, and waited for her judgment. Sure enough, it came soon after.
‘Married? Are you serious? Abasimbok!’ she looked at me with terror-filled eyes. ‘How could you, Unita, why didn’t you find out about him? In these days of social media and all, I’d have –‘ I cut out all her ramblings. She had always been the better person, and she was winning again. She had never had to make a mistake, and even when she did, someone was always there to take the fall for her. It was easy for her to say ‘How could you?’
I stared at the statue, wishing a solution would come like water through my soul and sort everything out.
After what seemed like a life time of preaching and advising, we parted ways at the mall. She was going to see her dress maker for adjustments to her wedding gown. I was going home to lie down and forget my sorrows.
I drove languidly, to the chagrin of the other road users. A few of them swore at me in the lingua franca of Lagos, Yoruba. I didn’t let it get to me.
I got home and sat in my car for a while, before bringing out the groceries and heading for the door. I found a brown box wrapped in pink ribbons by the potted plant where I sometimes left my key for Duke. Who would send me presents?
I picked the box and opened it carefully to find a cute puppy staring back at me and whimpering. A feeling of warmth spread through me as I patted its head, my fingers tickling its ears and bringing it pleasure. I had stood there caressing it for a while, then I jerked back in realization. Duke wanted a truce!
If he thought getting me a dog would make me change my mind, he was joking. I went in, dropped the groceries in the kitchen and headed back to pick the puppy. It stood on its paws and tried to lick my hands. How cute, I thought, but this wouldn’t do.
I called Duke’s phone, and he answered in a gruffly voice ‘Hello, good evening,’
‘Good evening yourself. Please come and take your puppy before I drown it’
‘What puppy? When did I ever tell you I was going to get you a puppy?’ he sounded angry, but I didn’t care.
Imagine! He was even rude on top of it all.
‘So who brought a puppy to my house?’ I asked him, very annoyed.
‘How will I know? Am I your security guard?’ He hissed and hung up.
The cheek of him!
I stared at the phone’s screen and stomped inside angrily. Who would send me a dog so beautifully wrapped? Had Duke’s wife found out my address and tried to kill me? After all, this was Nigeria; you could never trust anyone not to go diabolical.
I took the dog back outside and left enough space for air to get into the box. There was no way I was keeping a gift whose sender I did not know.



Tolu.


The cab man had lived through a lot of Nigeria’s history, it seemed. He regaled me with tales of the independence and the Civil War. I had packed my things and sent them ahead of me to Ilorin, and I was going to the airport to live with my parents. My mom had insisted that I shouldn’t do the road travel at the stage my pregnancy was in, and I complied. Getting a ticket had not been easy as the airline claimed very few people bother to fly so they could only go twice a week. It was with mixed feelings I had left my matrimonial home, and my heart was heavy. I knew it was best that I left the house until things were saner, and I needed all the support I could get. The cabman dropped me off and I went to the ticket counter to check-in. After a few hassles about being too far gone in pregnancy to fly, I was allowed to board and before I knew it, we had taxied on Ilorin’s soil.
I was home.
My dad had sent his driver, Dare, to pick me, and he was very helpful. Perhaps he thought I had only come home to have my baby, because he kept on chatting about how everyone would see the motherly care I’d received by the time I returned to Lagos. I replied him in monosyllables, too worn from the short trip to indulge him. I slept off just before he turned into Gaa Akanbi, and didn’t wake up until he’d parked in our driveway.
My parents had built a house in Fate-Tanke, choosing to settle in Ilorin after retirement. All the rooms were spacious and made the house we lived in at the staff quarters seem like a hut. That house brought back a lot of memories. The times Duke and I took strolls around the staff quarters and we’d sit on the culvert, holding hands and talking about our future; the times he’s stop by for a drink or a meal, and he’d compliment my cooking, telling me I was 100 yards of wife material. That was the duke I knew, fell in love with and married, not the man that had thrown our vows to the dogs and gotten another woman pregnant.
My Dad had heard the car, because he came out to welcome me. I looked up at him, and I smiled sadly.
My daddy.
He had defied age and gravity, and still stood tall even in his sixties. I walked close to him and went on my knees to greet him ‘good evening daddy.’ He pulled me up and hugged me so hard the twins kicked I jealousy. I let a tear escape, and quickly wiped it.
‘How are you, Tolu, he said, holding my shoulders and looking at my face closely. I looked down at my toes and muttered that I was fine. ‘Are you fine, Toluwanimi, are you?’ he enquired.
‘Ahn ahn, won’t you let her come in first?’ my mom walked out briskly, her orange Boubou accentuating curves that would put some women to shame. She pulled me away from my dad and embraced me fully. Dare was done moving my luggage in, and stood at the corner shuffling his feet.
‘You may go,’ Daddy waved him off, and we walked in together, my mom and I ahead, him bringing up the rear.
I went into the room I always stayed whenever I visited and took a shower. I planned to rest for a few seconds, but woke up when it was very dark. I noticed the darkness because I had parted the drapes to let in fresh air as there was no light when I arrived.
I put on my maternity pajamas and went into the living room. My parents were at the dining table, and the maid, whom I hadn’t seen before, was clearing the dishes.
‘Tolu, you’re awake’ my dad said, washing his hairy hands in a bowl of water. I could see some left over semolina and vegetable on the plates, and my stomach reminded me that I had not eaten since leaving lagos.
‘We thought it was best to let you rest, which was why we didn’t wake you for dinner. Seun will serve you now’ my mom said, picking her teeth with the end of a dental floss.
‘Thanks ma, I was really tired o, to have slept like that’ I said.
‘Pele dear, it’s not easy to travel, let alone do it in your condition,’ my mom said. My dad coughed, as if to warn her of something. I looked at them both, wondering what secret message they were sending each other. They had always had their own codes and could communicate in a large gathering if they saw fit.
‘What is it, daddy? Mommy, what’s the matter?’ I asked, frowning.
‘Errrm, I just, errrr, we just feel it’s best not to talk about your condition for now because there will be time for that later, abi, MD?’ my dad asked, turning to my mom.
I didn’t wait for her response. ‘It’s okay, you can talk about it. I would prefer if we even discuss things tonight, Mom.’
‘Are you sure about that?’
‘Yes mommy, I’m sure. I think I can handle it. Besides, my tear tanks have emptied, so I think I will do just fine.’
‘Alright then,’ my dad said, pushing his chair backwards and getting up from the table, ‘I’m going to watch the news. MD, you should join me’
‘Yes, I should,’ mom agreed, standing up and walking in the direction of the living room.
Seun had served my meal, and as I took the first scoop into my mouth, I felt lighter than I had in days.
I was home.

Unita


I had been putting off registering for antenatal classes until I had an infection, and this morning I’d come to treat it. The doctor and had advised that I get registered for the baby’s safety, if not for mine, and I had immediately complied. I was lying down on the sonographer’s gurney, the coolness of the gel on my lower abdomen soothing me.
‘So when did you say your last period was, madam?’ he asked, all serious. I told him.
‘And this is your first baby?’ he asked. I sighed. He had asked me all of this before, and I had told him. Was it routine to ask questions twice? That was how the nurse at the ANC clinic had asked if I had any previous abortions. Of course I denied it.
‘Yes please, it’s my first baby’ I replied curtly. Perhaps his age was the reason why he was forgetful. His mane of white reminded me of biblical characters who lived up to five hundred years.
‘Well, I was wondering why your womb seems so big. I just noticed two heads and more than two limbs. I think these are multiples, madam.’ He said, looking at the screen and typing in some data.
I went white in shock, too afraid to speak. Multiples? It was bad enough that I had to deal with one baby. How could God sit on his throne and hand me twins for such short pleasure? What did I do?
I quietly stood up and collected the test results. The man wished me a good rest of the day, but I was too stunned to answer. Later, in the car, I dialed Duke’s line. This was more than we’d bargained for.


Duke

What was this witch calling me for? I was frantically looking for Tolu everywhere. Where could she have gone? She wasn’t picking her lines and I was scared to call her parents. If I didn’t find her by tonight, I’d have to call them. I had rushed out of the shower with soap suds all over my body, thinking Tolu was finally returning my calls only to find that it was this home wrecker that was calling. I quickly shut one eye as soapy water stung it, and answered the call.
‘Hello, good evening’ I answered, willing her to hurry it up before the soap ruined my eye.
‘Good evening. How was work today?’ she asked.
Work? She called to find out how work was, and I had to rush out of the shower and have soap sting me in the eye to listen to this?
I almost hung up, but replied for courtesy’s sake, ‘Work was okay, thank you.’
‘Alright, Duke, since you don’t want to be chatty, I’ll get to the point,. I went for ANC today, and I had to do an ultrasound’
‘Okay?’ I willed her to continue. I rushed backed into the bathroom and rinsed my eye. I knew all these routine with ANC after all Tolu was also pregnant. One naira extra, I won’t pay if she tries any rubbish. I’d already sent her a hundred thousand naira for preliminaries.
‘I’m having twins, or rather, should I say we are?’ she said.
My head grew so big her voice sounded like it was coming from miles away.
‘You’re having twins?’
‘That’s what I said, Duke. And it’s we, not just me, so ‘we’ need to see to talk about this, and put things in perspective. Things have obviously changed, and we need to talk.’

We definitely needed to talk. How was I going to cope with having four babies within months of each other? Suddenly, the soap stinging my eye was the least of my problems, and I felt the bottom slide out from under my world.

Beautiful Beautiful work.....Duke e don be for you..

wow! awesome

ewoooo!!!! classic definition of fry pan to fire. Nice piece Sparkleboy, I am hooked henceforth, but i don't like suspense oo, do and conclude the story so u can start another one.

Ayaayo:
ewoooo!!!! classic definition of fry pan to fire. Nice piece Sparkleboy, I am hooked henceforth, but i don't like suspense oo, do and conclude the story so u can start another one.

Hi! The author is actually softandmoist I'm just the publisher

wow! wat a story

sparkleboy:

Hi! The author is actually softandmoist I'm just the publisher

Bro, new update up. Please help us. Thanks so much.

softandmoist:


Bro, new update up. Please help us. Thanks so much.

Since!!!!!!!!

zaynie:



Since!!!!!!!!

I apologise. My laptop has been acting up ma.

softandmoist:


Bro, new update up. Please help us. Thanks so much.

Ok

Duke

I clapped my hands fervently and swayed my body along to the music, as if that would ease the burden in my heart. I was in church for the first time in many months, and I avoided the stares of a female usher who ogled me. I was dressed in Khaki pants and a striped shirt that showed off my well-built body. My shoes and belt matched, and my perfume was heady enough to make a lover drowsy. But all of these paled in comparison to the heaviness I felt.

The worship leader continued singing as the pastor came to the altar. He was a smallish man with a smiling face, and he was dressed in a simple safari suit. He began to hum loudly and speak in tongues at intervals, and the congregation joined in frenzy. The whole atmosphere became charged, and the pastor asked us to pick a partner to pray with. I turned to join hands with the young man that was seated next to me, but the usher who’s been staring at me earlier appeared by my side, as if by magic, and snatched my hands away, giving the man a malicious look. The poor man went away to look for a partner, probably confused.
‘Everybody say father,’ the pastor exclaimed in a loud voice that belied his small stature. The whole church chorused in response, and the drummers and instrumentalist made accompanying sounds. He read out the prayer point and everybody repeated after him and began to pray in earnest. Unita was blackmailing me, and thoughts of Tolu, sad and heavy, made me pray in agony. I didn’t mean to offend her, I told God, and I asked him to forgive me and heal my home.
‘In Jesus name we have prayed’
‘Amen!!!!!!!’ thundered the congregation.
We sat down after some more prayer points and the pastor commenced his sermon.
‘I’ll be taking today about temptation’, he waited for a few seconds for the introduction to sink through, and a few people rewarded him with a deep ‘humph’, while others adjusted uncomfortably in their seats. Some members quickly brought out their notepads and started to jot down what he was not even saying yet.
I stared at the altar, a million thoughts running through my mind. What if I had never gone to eat at the restaurant that day? What if I hadn’t exchanged contacts with her? Where had I gotten it wrong?
My ears caught what the pastor said, ‘because temptation in itself isn’t a bad thing; it is bound to come. Even our Lord Jesus was tempted. It is yielding to it that is bad.’
‘Hallelujah Pastor, shoot me more!’ the usher who’d rushed to my side when we were asked to pray shouted, waving her hands in air. I shook my head, not amused.
Perhaps that was where I had gotten it all wrong. If only I had reminded myself often enough that I could not afford to sin against God, I wouldn’t be in this mess.
I made up my mind to get things back on track, with God’s help. At this point, I knew I could not do it on my own.
I listened with rapt attention to the pastor.




Tolu.

The guava trees that were planted for shade in our backyard were shedding their leaves. I sat under one of them, breathing in the heady scent of blooming flowers. A book I’d found in my mom’s library was in my hands, but I could hardly see the words. My mind was far, far away, thinking back to the days when Duke and I were dating. I remembered vividly one evening after lectures when we took a stroll to the butchery. I was putting on a black top with the inscription ‘Angel’, and he was singing Style Plus’s ‘If I could run away’ and demonstrating each line of the song. I was laughing so much and burying my head in his chest as we strolled along.
We chose a table close to the entrance and several guys coming in greeted Duke. A few girls too came over and chatted with him, but I concentrated on my bottle of Fanta and meat pie.
One girl came in and saw Duke and I eating and bantering. She stared hard at me and headed in our direction, then changed her mind and moved away to make her order.
‘Duke, do you know her?’ I’d asked, a frown creasing my forehead.
‘Errrr, I do. I know her. We are friends. I mean, we were friends’
‘And now? Because I don’t understand why she was staring at me like that’ I said, chewing my meat pie slowly so I wouldn’t choke. I never liked talking when my mouth was full.
‘She’s just a friend, Tolu. There’s nothing between us’
‘So what were the stare and the hiss about?’ I pressed. The girl was sitting not too far from us, trying to catch Duke’s eye.
He scratched his head ‘See, I used to like her way back, but I have moved on. You know you’re my angel now,’ he joked. I wasn’t finding it funny, and I told him so.
The evening had turned sour after that, especially since the girl had walked up to our table and told me that I was with the wrong man, and I’d regret it. I had shut her up and walked out on both of them. Duke ran after me, pleading and asking me not to let the girl spoil what we had. It had taken one look at his brown eyes and attractive face to forgive him, but my mood was sullen for the rest of the day.
‘Tolu, what are you doing here all alone?’ my mom caused me to jerk back into real time.
‘Nothing ma, I’m just enjoying the breeze,’ I smiled. She had kind eyes, and was the darling of many students in her lecturing days.
‘It’s okay then. Let me not disturb you too much,’ she said, walking away towards the house.
‘No mommy, I want to tell you something,’ I said, my eyes filling up with tears. ‘I am sorry I failed in marriage, and disappointed you and daddy.’
‘Oh dear, Tolu! How can you even think that?’ she rushed back, squatting in front of me and taking my hands in her own. ‘You haven’t failed us at all, not even in your choice of a life partner. This is a hurdle you’ll scale through, okay?’
‘But mommy, what did I do to him to deserve this?’ I started to cry. I had thought the pain would lighten with time, but it got worse each day. On TV, I saw couples in love smiling gaily at each other. In books and magazines, I read about love. It was tiring, and it got to me all the time.
‘It wasn’t what you did, or did not do, that matters. He made his decisions, and you were caught in it. Even if you offended him, he doesn’t have to go into the arms of another woman. Stop crying, Tolu.’
‘Okay ma. Thanks for taking me back in. You and daddy are the best parents in the world.’ I said, sniveling and rubbing my hands across my eyes.
‘Are we, now?’ She smiled, standing up and stretching. Would she ever grow old?
The wind blew her hair across her face, and she took it off. ‘You’re an outstanding girl, Tolu. Don’t worry, ok?’
‘Alright , mommy.’
‘Good. Let’s go in. The weather is becoming quite chilly.’ She stretched her hands towards me, and I put my hand in hers.
We went in together, going in through the kitchen door that opened into the backyard.
Seun was making ofada rice for lunch.
‘I’m famished o’ I said, patting my belly and yawning. I quickly washed my hands and went into the living room to wait for the food. I must have dozed off because a knock on the door made me jump up with a start. Daddy would not knock, and he was even busy in his study. I went to the door and peeped through the security hole. The people at the entrance were the last people I had expected to see. The woman raised her hand to knock again, and my heart started to beat faster. What were they doing here?
‘Oh, Tolu, you’re here. I was going to come and get the door,’ my mom came towards the door, ‘so who’s there that you don’t want to let in?’
I could not even make any sound. My tongue was as heavy as a bag of cement. Mom got the door and staggered back, then quickly put on a welcoming face.
‘My in-laws! You’re welcome, please come in,’ she pulled my mother-in-law close and embraced her. Duke’s parents and one of his uncles had come, and I didn’t know what to say or do.
I went on my knees the traditional way and greeted them. His mom avoided my eyes, but his dad rushed to my side, lifting me from my kneeling position.
‘My wife, how are you? See how this pregnancy has made you add a little flesh,’ he joked. We all laughed and bantered for the few minutes it took my dad to come out. My mom excused herself to notify the maid about bringing in refreshments.

Duke’s dad was a very handsome man whose age did not deter his agility. His neatly cut hair was combed and had a parting on the left hand side. I had taken to him instantly the moment we were introduced, and I preferred relating with him to his wife. She was always friendly but distant, like being open would contaminate her.
Drinks were brought in, and my dad cleared his throat. ‘We thank God you have come. Let us try and resolve this issue amicably so things can be back to normal.’
Things would never go back to being the same. I wasn’t the only one who was mothering Duke’s kids. I wasn’t the only woman in his bed, and normal had ended the day he had broken the vows we took.
‘Our son has apologized, actually, and would like his wife to come back home, ‘Duke’s mom nodded in my direction, her stern face breaking into an uneasy smile.
‘And what does he plan to do about the other woman?’ my mom queried.
‘He said they are done, and he will only be responsible for her children’
‘Children? He plans to father some more by her?’ my dad asked, puzzled.
‘No sir, she’s also expecting twins,’ his uncle replied.
I inhaled sharply, and the babies within me kicked again.
So Duke was in the business of impregnating women with twins. It was almost funny, but it was rather pathetic.
‘Well, that’s a strong man, if you ask me,’ my daddy replied, amused.
They talked back and forth about how I needed to go back home, but my mom insisted I needed to heal. Not just from the exhaustion of waddling around with a huge belly or the pains of labor, but the trauma of Duke’s affair and resulting children.
It was finally decided that for the purpose of proper care and to avoid the stress of traveling, I would remain at my parent’s until I was delivered of the baby. I would return home when the babies were 6 weeks old, but where was home?

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmn

Awwwwww....

Nice one, pls keep it more coming

More please.......

This story is too good to be abandoned

Cc:softandmoist

Very interesting, educative and captivating story please wen are u updating u love ur work very much.... More grace to u and God bless