Lola was home alone
again. It was 10pm at
night and Bolu was not yet back from work. The food she had prepared for dinner
at 8 O’Clock was well and truly cold by now. At
nine, she’d given up the wait, and decided to have her dinner all by herself.
She had become used to this nightly ritual after three years of marriage.
She
had always known her husband to be hardworking, but at least when they were
dating, he had made the effort to take her out or spend time with her at home.
She would never have guessed that her years of marriage would be the loneliest
of her life. From the moment they got back from their honeymoon, work became
top priority for him.
Sometimes
she wondered why he had even bothered to marry her? Was it a maid he had
wanted? A house keeper? Was his family on his case about settling down? Did he
even love her? These were her usual thoughts, night after night, as she fought
the voice in her head telling her that she wasn’t loved…that she’d been
deceived to have married Bolu Adetayo.
With
a sigh, she got up from the sofa and switched off the television. She looked at
her phone, no missed call. She considered calling to check on him, but she was
sure she knew what he would say. “Just rounding up, love. Will be home in a
flash!” or something to that effect. She was tired of nagging him about never
calling or texting, and she’d long past given up feeling concerned about his well-being,
and worrying maybe something bad had happened to him.
Reluctantly,
she did the least she could do and sent him a text message. “I’m off to bed
now, hon. Your dinner’s in the microwave. I hope all’s good. Come home safe.”
As
she finished the message,
she went to the dining room to clear the table, and
stored the excess food in the fridge.
She
trotted along to the bathroom to prepare for bed. It had been a long day.
Fortunately, tomorrow is Friday, so it should be a shorter day at the office,
as most people close early to start the weekend well. It would be another
lonely night, she despaired.
She
used to hang out with her single friends every Friday night, even when she was
newly married. But all of them had married now, and most had moved away. Only
two of her close friends stayed in Lagos, and only one of them, Temi, was on
the Island. They rarely met up, because Temi just had twins, and has been tied
up ever since. She made a note to pay her a visit on Saturday. The twins must be six
months by now, she thought.
Bolu
and Lola had spent their first two years trying for a baby, to no avail. They
decided to take the pressure off for a while…but it was turning out to be a
rather long while. She wondered if they had even had sex this month.
The
thought of their sex-life always made her sad. They didn’t seem to have much
chemistry in bed, and since they had kept sex for after marriage, she’d not
been able to factor that into the equation when making her decision to say
“yes”. She had believed he was a good man, who feared God and who loved her,
and she had loved him too… But the sex…she didn’t understand it.
She
thought maybe they just needed practice…and their many attempts at making a
baby gave them plenty of practice, but still…it wasn’t getting better.
Bolu didn’t seem to have a problem, though. He always came, without much
delay…so maybe she was the problem. She wasn’t experienced, so she didn’t
have much to compare it to.
The
thought never crossed her mind that he could be having an affair. She honestly
didn’t think he was that kind of a man. But then, with his frequent late
nights, it wouldn’t be hard for him to pull it off, she thought, with a
shudder.
She
checked her phone again. No missed call from Bolu. No text message. It was now 10:30pm. Nothing out of the ordinary.
She got into bed and switched off the light. As she said her prayers…sleep
intervened and she was gone for the night.
Bolu
saw Lola’s message at 10:35pm and cursed under his breath. He had
done it again, and forgotten to call Lola. Knowing her, she would be sleeping
by now. He would have to make it up to her.
All
his hard work was just about to pay off. He had been assigned lead chair on one
of the biggest cases of his firm’s history, and he just knew the opening for
Senior Partner at Crowne Legal would be his.
Once
he has secured his promotion, he could take Lola on a romantic trip to
celebrate. He had several weeks of holiday saved up, and he had been browsing
holiday brochures in search of the perfect getaway for a second honeymoon. He
quite fancied the idea of travelling to Jamaica or any of the Caribbean Islands.
Lola
had been really understanding of his demanding work, and he’d always loved that
about her. He wanted to get on top of his work, to secure this promotion,
so that they can have the better life he had always wanted for his family…
He wasn’t born with a silver spoon, and he had always worked hard for
every break he had ever gotten.
And
things have worked out well, even with the baby delaying. At least he
didn’t feel like he was missing out on that too. It was sort of good that
it was just them for now… When things are more stable, he believed that
they would be blessed with the addition to their family they both longed and
prayed for. He smiled at the thought.
Bolu
quickly rounded off his work. He had dismissed his secretary at 9pm, and was the last to leave the
office again. The Security Guard was on ground to open the gates and secured
the compound, after he drove out of the parking lot in his Honda Civic.
At 11pm, the road home should be free.
He’d be home in ten minutes, and in bed by 11:30pm. He wondered what
scrumptious meal Lola had prepared tonight. She was quite the cook!
And he was starved. He never remembered to eat at work. He
didn’t like to eat food outside, and he’d consumed the tuna and mayo sandwich
Lola had packed for his breakfast at 12 O’Clock, midday.
The
traffic lights on Ozumba Mbadiwe were off tonight. A common occurrence,
which required more attentiveness and patience at the various intersections
along the major road. He’d had a couple of close calls on that road, with
some reckless drivers who dived from the side roads into the main road without
much consideration for others.
Bolu
stole a second glance into the side road before proceeding towards the Lekki
Toll Gate. Assured that all was clear, he continued on only to slam on
his brakes as a black Toyota crossed his path at high speed. As the
vehicles collided, Bolu’s first thought was of his beautiful wife. He
wondered if he would ever see her again. He soon passed out from the impact.
To
be continued…
"Believing is just the beginning..."
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