'I really need your help Nike,' Richard said in an urgent plea. 'I don't know what else to do and I'm losing it.'
Nike gestured to him to sit on an available chair in the reception as she ordered one of her apprentices to get her one too. Richard had come to see her at her salon because he had concluded she was the next person he could relay his troubles to and would probably help him out, since she was Titi's bosom and only friend.
'I'm sure I have offended Titilayo,’ Richard lamented, ‘but it would be better if she let me know. I understand her mum is upset with her, so I was told, but for reasons I don’t understand. With the way things are, I’ve been thinking it has something to do with me and that is why Titi is cross with me. Even if she won’t forgive me, at least I should know what I've done to wrong her. She won’t talk to me, whenever we have a conversation, she would just remain cold. It's been over a month now and I must tell you, if things go on like this, I'm going to lose my head anytime soon.'
Nike smiled lightly and shook her head, making Richard wonder what the cause for amusement could be.
'Richard, I don't think you did anything wrong. And as per her mum’s issue, they will sort things out. My friend on her part is just still upset,' Nike told him.' You should give her time, she will get over it.'
'Time, you say? I've been patient with her for over a month now and things have only been getting worse. I don’t even know what the problem is. It will only be a matter of time till I can't take it anymore. At least she should consider the fact that our wedding is coming up soon. Sincerely, I don't think I can cope with it anymore and if things go on like this, I may have to postpone the wedding.'
Nike gave him a startled look. She couldn't believe her friend was grieving and all her fiancé could think about was their upcoming wedding.
'Are you this heartless or you are not just human?' Nike asked spitefully. This man was beginning to annoy her.
'How do you mean?' Richard blinked, obviously confused.
'It's not fair you know.' She said. His non-challance angered her more. 'I can't believe you are so unperturbed by Titi's loss. All you can think of is your wedding! You know what, it would really be very much better if you called off the wedding, because I won't give Titi my blessings if she gets hooked with someone like you.'
Titi's loss? Richard was dumbfounded. If his fiancée had lost anyone or anything, she would have told him, wouldn't she? Besides he didn't know her to have any other family members other than her mother and her brother; Tosin, both of which he was sure were doing very fine.
'I'm sorry if I seem rude, Richard, but I don’t expect that from you. You should at least feel for her, but it appears you are only concerned with your ceremony.'
Richard ran his hand through his hair, trying to comprehend what she said. To him, it all just didn’t add up.
'Nike, I'd be a big liar if I told you I understand all you have been saying. Sincerely speaking, I don't get you.'
Nike grimaced. Now it was her turn to be confused. Perhaps he was pretending or trying to save face. Nevertheless, the expression on his face convinced her that her assumptions were wrong.
'Titi never told me she lost anybody. In fact I can't imagine who it can be.' Richard added.
'What?!' she gasped in disbelief. 'You mean she didn't tell you she lost her son?'
'Her son?' Which son?'
'Oh my God!' Nike exclaimed, biting her lips as she realised what was happening. Now she was sure Richard truly did not know about Sam's demise, or even did not know about Sam at all.
What in God's name was Titi up to?!
'I don't get you, Nike', Richard broke into her thoughts. 'Titi has a son?'
Nike blinked. This was getting bad by the minute. She couldn't answer Richard's question, she didn't know what to say. Should it be a yes or no? But Titi had told her that Richard knew about Sam; obviously, her friend had lied to her, and also as it appears, to her fiancé.
'Please answer my question, Nike; I'm in the dark here. Did Titi really have a son?' Richard asked again, getting furious.
'Of course, she had a son; Sam. And I'm confused here myself because I was so sure she had told you and you didn't worry about it.'
'So, Sam is her son after all? Damn! I should have known it!' Richard groaned as he sprang to his feet, a tone of indignation to his voice. 'I sensed there was something fishy when I noticed the resemblance, yet she told me Sam was her neighbour’s son!’
‘Ah!’ Nike gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.
‘I should have known, but I trusted her not to ever lie to me! And then came the moodiness when she told me her neighbour’s son was ill, and I never got to know the boy later died. Her mother and brother also did not say anything in that regard! God, I’ve been so stupid!'
At this point, Nike also rose, trying to pacify him but he halted her by raising a hand.
'Now I know, it all adds up; she let the boy die because she was hiding the flimsy secret! I can't believe this; I just can't believe Titi could be this heartless!' With this, he stomped out of the salon complex. The apprentices who had gathered to catch a glimpse and eavesdrop on the conversation dispersed quickly as Nike threw them a glance. She knew better than to follow Richard and try to placate him further, thus she sank back into her seat, breathing deeply in exasperation.
‘Good Lord, what has Titi done to herself?’
****
Richard groused. He did not want this kind of trouble in his life. Discovering that he had been dating a single mother was not the big deal, but the fact that she had been lying to him all the while was. And what’s worse; she let her child die because she needed to keep his existence a secret from him! How could Titi have kept such a huge secret? He loved her, she knew he loved her, so why would she?
Sam was a bright child, and he had taken interest in him the minute they met. Couldn’t Titi have taken advantage of that, instead of lying that he was her neighbour’s son? Even if she had confessed at the die minute and he had taken it badly, the boy might have survived. Titi definitely did not love her son, and he concluded that a mother who is incapable of loving her child is not capable of loving anyone else. Probably, her proclaimed love for him was even an illusion. It happened too fast anyway; he should have taken things slowly, but he was so blinded by love that he didn’t think twice before falling head over heels.
Damn!
Omolola’s case should have taught him a lesson, but as it appears; love had struck him with learning disability.
With his hands on his waist and his tie hanging loosely around his neck, Richard tried to control his anger as he paced up and down in his living room. He spent the moment convincing himself that he was soon going to awaken from this funny dream of his, because that was all it seemed; a very funny dream.
His fiancée had come running down to his house to plead after he called her on phone, demanding to hear from the horse's mouth.
Titi knelt behind him like a criminal awaiting verdict, her face taut and pale from tension and worry. Having almost cried her eyeballs out in the last few weeks, she couldn't bring herself to shed at least a drop anymore.
'I...I'm sorry,' she said in a shaky voice.
Richard turned to face her. 'I trusted you, Titi. I gave you my soul, my whole life. I gave you a part of me that only you could break, which of course, you finally have. Did you really have to lie to me?'
'I didn't mean to, Richard, I'm sorry, I was scared. 'I didn't know what you would think of me, I felt you would reject me if you got to know...'
'You know what I think of you right now, Titi? I think you are very reckless and self-centred, and you are the worst mother I have ever seen! Did you even put Sam into consideration at all when we started dating? Did you ever consider the fact that if we got married, he would be part of our family also? You had to keep him a secret because you were afraid of what I would think of you, Isn't it? So you risked the poor boy's life for your selfish interests? That was easier for you, right? God! Titi you are so mean! I thought I saw some motherly instincts in you, but now I know it was all a farce!'
‘I’m so sorry, Richard, please forgive me.’
‘No, you are not!’ he raved. His tone of voice sent fearsome shivers along her spine. Titi swore she had never seen Richard like this, not even close. ‘And now you make me seem guilty, because if it hadn’t been for your insincerity and zest to be perfect for me, Sam would still be alive!’ he added.
Titi winced. Those were almost the same words her mother had said to her, and of a truth, she was in a way responsible for her son’s demise. Why hadn’t she just told him the truth? She reproved herself.
Nevertheless, though she agreed that her actions might have been responsible for her son’s death, she maintained she wouldn’t kill her own son; she loved him.
‘Sam was my flesh and blood; I would never hurt him, Richard.’ She explained.
‘Oh, is that so?’ he asked with raised brows. ‘I see that is the exact opposite of what you have done. In fact, you know what? I’m tired of listening to your lies, so don’t even try telling any to me right now!’
‘Richard, I’m not lying...’
‘Titilayo!’ he raved, pointing a warning finger, ‘If you make me lose my temper, I won’t be responsible for my actions!’
Titi took the cue and shut her mouth. She was lucky Richard even let her into his house, she knew she shouldn’t push her luck further by trying to justify herself.
‘I’m calling off the wedding,’ he said, after a long moment of silence.
Titi gasped. Those words destabilized her. His former statements, she had expected, but the latter; she couldn’t believe it!
Titi looked up in bewilderment, but before she could say a word, Richard had grabbed his car keys on the dining table and stomped out of the house. She was still trying to comprehend what she had just heard when Richard came back but didn’t come in. Instead, he opened the door halfway and told her, ‘I don’t want to see you again, please, don’t let me meet you in my house and don’t ever come back.’
Titi was dazed by his vehemence. He didn’t even give her a chance to explain how it happened and why she was ashamed of herself and had hesitated to make it known to him since the genesis of their relationship.
Titi cried. It was as if the law of gravity had decided to take its toll on her alone as she hit the floor with a devastated thud.
Richard is calling off the wedding? She fretted. If God was punishing her for her sins then this was way too much of a punishment. She had suffered enough from losing her son, now she has lost the love of her life too. Hadn’t she read in the Bible that God is merciful? How then could He be so merciless to her, despite the fact that she had begged him for forgiveness?
‘God!’ she cried as her mother’s words echoed in her head again; ‘The only way you are going to lose him is if he finds out later'.
Reduced to tears, she bit her bottom lip in regret as shudders of wailing shook her body. Now she would have to live with her fears; whereas she could have faced them earlier and won.
Her mother was right; Richard would still have loved her even if she had told him about her son. He had loved Sam right from the day he set eyes on him, and he would have taken the boy as his own. That way, she would have gotten everything she wanted and would have been happy, but she had let her timidity and selfishness get in her way and she lost everything.
She started to rise to her feet, wondering what to do next. Where would she start from? She had resigned from work the previous month and her rent would soon be due. She knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to go after Richard; the sternness of his voice was convincing enough that he meant what he said. Moreover, she couldn’t go home; she was the last person her mother wanted to see at her doorstep.
Then, a question popped up in her head: how did Richard get to know?
************************************************************
‘You told him?!
‘I did. But I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. Besides, you told me he already knew,’ Nike explained.
‘No, don’t be sorry, Nike,’ Titi retorted angrily, ‘I should have known you can’t keep a secret!’
Nike stared at her friend with mouth agape. She didn’t see any reason for Titi to go haywire, because she wasn’t guilty of the accusation. ‘Titi, we both know I have no fault here...’
‘Don’t give me that nonsense, please!’ Titi yelled, cutting her off. ‘I trusted you, and this is what I get from you in return? Thank you very much; I should have known better than to trust you completely! I should have known you never wanted me to find happiness! You have everything; you are comfortable and happily married! You married as a virgin and your husband is proud of you!
Do you know how it feels like to get raped and have your father murdered before your eyes the same night? Do you know what it feels like to live with the stigma of carrying an unwanted pregnancy? Do you know what it takes to be a single mother and single-handedly raise a child? And most of all, do you know what it takes to lose a child? Have you ever been through anything that you should be ashamed of, anything that needed hiding? No, you don’t! And that is why you find it easy to ruin me!’
‘But I didn’t betray you, Titilayo. It’s not fair for you to blame me for this.’ Nike lamented.
Titi shot her a livid look. ‘You know what they say, Denike? All is fair in love and war!
You see, the thing is; I have considered suicide but matter-of-factly, it won’t work for me. I survived stigma, I survived childbirth, I will survive this! You may have succeeded in ruining my love life; congratulations. But this war you have just started is never going to end, and I will be the one to win!’
With this, she dashed angrily out of Nike’s compound.
Nike had barely returned from church that Sunday afternoon when Titi came barging in. She deposited violent raps on the door and as soon as Nike opened to behold the aggressive knocker, she was greeted by her friend’s accusations.
Her husband, Dapo who had heard the noise from inside came out but not in time to meet Titi. She had already stomped out of the compound, leaving the gate swinging behind her.
‘I didn’t mean to hurt her’, Nike burst into tears as she turned to face her husband, ‘I only tried to fight for her, and she didn’t tell me the truth. I didn’t know...’
‘It’s alright, sweetheart,’ Dapo consoled, pulling her into his embrace as he placed her head on his left shoulder, ‘she is only upset, she will calm down soon.
-Temi
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