THE MISTAKE OF MY MOTHER
The Mistake Of My Mother -Episode 3
She paused for a while, thinking if she had said something wrong for real, because of how he had reacted to what she said. Well having me or not was what they were arguing about and my mum seemed to have been hell-bent on keeping the love of her life. So I was a kind of leverage she planned on using to accomplish that.
Ahunli: “Why is it that much of a bad idea? We are not getting married, all we have to do is have a baby together. Why is that so difficult?” she threw her hand up in the air and fixed her gaze on him stubbornly.
Olamide: “I still think you are out of your mind. You will willingly have a baby for a man who is not your husband? Like, out of wedlock?”
Ahunli: “You don’t want commitment now do you? And I want a baby. If we can have sex, why not have a baby together? We are both matured with good jobs. At least, I earn more than a hundred thousand per month so I can contribute to the baby’s upbringing too. Let’s do this thing.”
Olamide: “We are done with this discussion and please don’t bring it up again. If you want a baby, you can go get artificially inseminated. Don’t drag me into your crazy world” he said and stood up to take his half eaten food to the kitchen. She had obviously made him lose his appetite.
Ahunli: “Is that why you are not eating again? I will not bring it up again. Please come and finish your food” she shouted after him but he ignored her. She heard the plates clanging in the washing basin and water rushing from the tap.
How I wish I know what he was thinking at that moment. He must have probably been thinking of how stupid she was or how cheap and easy she was. He was probably thinking of what to garnish it with when he gisted his friends about the new development cos I’m sure he must have been discussing her in their cesspool of defunct ideas. I am not saying he was bad, he must have had his own reasons and yeah, we will get to that soon enough too. Many people have excuses for treating others badly, for being twisted and broken, for being whom they are, so his must not have been an exception- I was sure.
===
She did not give up in her bid to get pregnant for him, she knew asking her friend Alexis on how to go about it was going to be fruitless and so she decided to get the information from one of her male colleagues in the office called Francis, without divulging her intentions. During lunch break, one afternoon, she sat beside him at the café…
Ahunli: “Hello Francis. How are you doing today?” she asked flashing a wide toothed smile.
Francis: “I am doing just fine and you? Hope your day is not as hectic as mine is o?” he smiled back at her. She knew he had always admired her and sought for ways to talk to her but being the shy type , he always ended up just mumbling something that she could not understand, and then disappearing. He seemed surprised when she started talking to him by choice that day.
Ahunli: “Well it’s just like every other day for me. Doing the same thing over and over again, it is so boring”
Francis: “Should we swap responsibilities then?”
Ahunli: “You will be highly welcome. So there is something I and my friend were discussing… We were kind of arguing about it and she seemed to have had the upper hand in the argument. Can you help me clarify it please?”
Francis: “Of course anything for the lady” he said and leaned closer to her sipping the espresso in his hand. He had told her that he preferred it to sweetened coffee since it kept him awake and alert on his job.
Ahunli: “We were talking about how a lady can get a man to impregnate her even though he uses condom every time. She said it’s possible but I told her it isn’t. Is it really possible?”
Francis: “Of course! It is more than possible”
Ahunli: “How?”
Francis: “Well this can happen if he is a little drunk though. All you have to do is put holes in the condoms he will be using, make sure you use needle so the holes will not be so visible. And then to increase your chances of conceiving, take fertility drugs and believe me, you will be pregnant in no time” he said pleased with himself.
(Hmmm make nobody say na homeboi teach her ooo, lols)
Ahunli: “Wow it’s that easy? So I guess I was wrong then? But what kind of fertility drug can be used? Never mind sef, I don’t need to know” she changed her mind but of course that was in order for him not to suspect she needed the info for herself. She decided to consult the ever knowing Google instead.
Francis: “Okay then. So there is something I’ve wanted to tell you…”
Ahunli: “Oh really? Okay then?”
Francis: “I actually like you a lot. Can you permit me to show you how much I do?”
Ahunli: “You just did by clearing my doubts dear” she replied in her usual nice manner not wanting to sound offensive. The guy looked nice and cute but she wasn’t for the nice guys and besides, her heart was already somewhere else or so she thought. She sighted Alexis walking back to the office and used her as an excuse to escape any further wooing from the guy. She quickly stood up and ran after her, calling out to her to slow down a bit.
Francis: “But I am not done with what I was saying. I guess she didn’t understand what I was saying much. I have messed this up again” he mumbled to himself fiddling with his cup.
She felt sorry for him but there was nothing she could do. She was on a mission to win her own love and didn’t have a tiny bit of affection to spare for another man.
Alexis: “I can feel it…shining down on me” she mocked when her friend finally caught up with her. “Francis was asking you out or he was trying to right? I can feel it. The guy is quite nice and even I have an eye for him but he does not seem to notice any other ladies in this place but you alone. You sure are a lucky lady without even realising it”
Ahunli: “Well I am ready to dash you this particular luck of mine. One of you ladies can have him since I am not interested at all”
Alexis: “Because of your arrogant sex partner?”
Ahunli: “Call him whatever you want babez but my heart knows where it belongs. Do not bother yourself at all” she said smiling to herself and thinking of how sure she was about getting pregnant soon. As Alexis kept talking, she kept thinking and calculating her menstrual cycle to know the exact date she’d ovulate. She just couldn’t wait to feel his baby moving inside her. She didn’t know when she started smiling.
Alexis: “Is what I’m saying sounding funny to you? And what is that mischievous look on your face? Something tells me you are up to something fishy, what is it?”
Ahunli: “Something fishy ke. I am as gentle as a dove, baby. I don’t do mischief. Trust me”
Alexis: “Good!” she said as she got to her section of the office and took her seat while Ahunli moved over to hers which was right opposite Alexis’.
===
Aren’t you curious about my grandparents and uncles? Well like I said before, they were not strikingly rich but they could buy a car if they wanted to. Life was easy for them, I guess. They went to orphanage homes every two months just to put a smile on little ones’ faces. They were a good people with no worries until their daughter started creating one for them with her lacklustre attitude towards the issue of marriage. She even once told them she would rather remain single than stay subdued in a man’s house. Her stubbornness baffled them to the core.
Frank, her immediate younger brother always called to tell her everything going on in the house. And so that night, when they were all settled in the sitting room after dinner, her mum was the first to bring up the topic…
Grandma: “Honey! When was the last time you heard from Joy?”
Grandpa: “The last time you heard from her. She no longer calls the way she used to and she hardly picks calls these days”
Grandma: “Hmmmmmm maybe I should go to Abuja?”
Frank: “That is not necessary mum. You sure don’t know how demanding the work of a geologist is. She is just busier than usual, I spoke to her this morning and she said she misses you all so much” he knew he had to say something otherwise his mum would take the next bus to Abuja at daybreak.
Grandma: “So being busy is enough reason for her not to pick calls or call back?” one thing I sure know about my granny is that she is smart and intelligent.
Frank: “Well she will be tired on getting home and at day break, work starts again. No time to even check time”
Grandpa: “Even on weekends? That is fine then. So do you probably know when she will be bringing a man to this house?”
Grandma: “That girl is an ogbanje. Her own vow is to torture her earthly parents to death by refusing to get married. She will kill us with public disgrace one of these days”
Frank: “I don’t know why you guys will not let my sister rest. I am not even done having her around yet so you can just leave her alone. Right Fred?” he said looking to his younger brother for support.
Fred: “Yeah! He is right” but the truth was, he wasn’t even paying attention to what they were discussing, he was busy watching a Tele-novella.
Grandpa: “What do you mean by you are not done having her around? Is it until she reaches menopause before you get done with having her around? I thought you were smart alright?” he said shaking his head and adjusting the rims of his glasses.
Frank: “All I am saying is: give her some more time and stop pestering her so much”
Grandma: “How I wish she even gets pestered. The funniest part is she does not even care whether we rant about it from morning till night. She does not even act like we talk about it”
Frank: “That is my sister for you. Just leave her be at least for now. She will fulfil your wish soon.
With that said, the couple stood up to retreat into their chambers, they always did everything together and he heaved a sigh of relief at last.
===
Just like you would have guessed, she calculated her cycle well enough and the day she was to ovulate, she got ready to go there with enough beer just in case he did not have any left which was most unlikely. As she alighted from the bike and paid the okada man, she saw two men look at her suspiciously just some metres from where she stood trying to cross the road. They wore black caps which they seemed to have used to intentionally cover their faces. When at last she crossed, they also crossed and started walking slowly after her, pausing, taking short strides and walking fast whenever she did. As she looked back and saw them trailing after her at the secluded road that led to the estate which the okada men don’t ply once it was 9pm, she tried to run but tripped on a stone and fell flat on her face, her heart thumped violently in her throat as she heard their footsteps running towards her…
To be continued!
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QUESTIONS
What are you guys thinking right now?
Is she getting kidnapped?
If I’m to guess, I’d say that was not the night I was conceived or was it?
If it was really the night, then who is my Father???
