Palm lines 2 - Episode 17

 

David's POV

My heart thumped in fear as I thought of what explanation to give for the kiss. "What are you doing here?" She asked, "I mean I've been searching everywhere for you. One minute you were talking to Ade and the next, you were gone"
"Tasha requested for dinner, I gave her Suya" 
"Suya isn't dinner. There are only native meals and I don't know how She'll feel about native meals" she answered and I shrugged. 
"How's her leg?"
"She's fine, she's huh..." I cleared my throat, "She's fine"
"I don't like her but let me just use style and see her" she answered and then she walked in and I looked up to the ceiling .
"God help me" I muttered, I knew I had to tell her . Erika would freak out, one part of my mind assumed, the other was bent on not telling her. After all, how in the world will she know something like that happened.

I walked in tiredly by past twelve, i heard Erika laugh. She was definitely streaming live comedy on You tube.
"Hey" she stopped it then I sighed. "I'm tired" "Seriously?" She asked and I nodded. "I just need to sleep, tomorrow's a big day"
"It's today" she corrected laughing and I exhaled again

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/palm-lines-2

. "I can't wait to be done with this town. I miss Lagos already" I confessed and she laughed. 
"Too bad you're tired. I just made Tammie watch over Sera for nothing. I didn't want any distraction" she answered and I chuckled. 
"Let me take my bathe"
"I've been watching comedy in order not to fall asleep, trust me baby, I don't need you to take your bath" she answered and damn was I turning on. 
 I motioned toward the bed and she moved towards me and then she knelt on the bed. We kissed, softly, for a few passionate moments. I  held her body tightly to mine. I kissed her as though kissing her would wipe off Tasha's kiss off my lip. 
She turned her head up to look at me, she had this smile on her face. "What?" I asked and she chuckled and I softly kissed her again, slowly getting rid of each other's clothing. 
Suddenly I felt had guilt trips about Tasha,  "I hope you know i love you and I'll never do anything to hurt you" I asked and she nodded. 
"I do and I love you too" she laid in bed and I mounted on her kissing her neck and she closed her eyes in pleasure.
***
A knock on the door woke me up. Erika was still very much asleep. We did wear each other out. I had barely slept for two hours.
Erika's warm body was pressed into mine and I stroked her hair and shoulder just softly and then I heard her moan.
"Debbie is knocking" I kissed her neck and she chuckled.
"I heard, I just don't feel like answering" she answered and I laughed. 
Then we kissed and the knock persisted. "Erika!" She shouted and Erika rolled her eyes. "I'll be out in a minute" she answered and I kissed her again. 
" Or five minutes" she answered returning the kiss back climbing on me and I smiled, I was shocked for a moment, I sensed it was going to lead to sex. We haven't had morning sex, not since we had Sera.
She had always been too busy for it. 
For a moment, I felt grateful for the burial, I haven't seen this side of Erika in eight years.

Lawrence walked into the room smiling. "Someone looks happy" he commented, "That's what happens when you marry a good wife" I answered and he gave a nod. 
"I can relate" 
"The women said they need men to pound yam" he answering laughing. "Don't you see me in skirt?" I asked and he laughed.
"Same thing I said to them" he answered and I laughed. 
"Something happened yesterday during the wake keep" 
"I heard Adam tried to match make Sharon" 
"Not that one. I kissed Tasha" I confessed and he rolled his eyes. "Jesus David! I've always thought you were invisible"
"I thought so too. I noticed all of her flirting, I just thought they were normal and I could succumb to it but she kissed me yesterday and I kissed her briefly" 
"You better not tell Erika. She'll get even more angry. Imagine that you let her stay and she got angry, she'll just flip" 
"There's this part of me that wants to tell her"
"Don't. You have a threat, get the threat out. Remember those girls that were trying to seduce me, remember one of them kissed me, I haven't told Sunshine till now and it's been six years already. The only thing I did was to have them fired and I kept a very long distance from them. What you have to do is get her out of the house"
"Way ahead of you bro. I'll do that immediately we touch down Lagos. I feel so guilty" "Shake the guilt off, it has happened, you just have to vow never to let it happen again. I'm serious"
I was overjoyed when Feso came by at the church procession with Ify.  I felt loved.

It took strength not cry when people spoke about Mom and her good deeds, the father in church spoke about how Dad had taught her to give generously. 
I had flashbacks to the old days with her, her smile, her advice and jokes, her authoritarian side like when she ordered that I find a way to tell Erika about the pregnancy and how she made me feel so better. 
After Mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, she slowly forgot things and mixed up people. When i confirmed she was dead, the only thought that crossed through my mind was "Peace at last". 
While I watched men push the coffin into the grave tears trickled down and I tried to clean it. Erika on the other hand was in tears, so was Sharon who was In the arms of Ade. 
After I poured a sand into the grave, I couldn't hold it in any longer. I suddenly busted into sobs and Erika hugged me.

Ade's POV

After Mr Savage informed me about his mother's death, I knew I had to be there. He requested for me to come and cook for his guests on Thursday and Friday but I had a customer's kid birthday to plan that Thursday.
Just after the celebration which ended in the daytime, I called Tuni to find out if she had left. Lucky for me, she was still around so we decided we'll together. 

On the plane, I noticed Tuni had a worried look on her face, so i became curious.  "Okay what's up?" I asked and she rolled her eyes. "Nothing"
"I know it's something"
"Spill before i make you"
It's really not direct. I have a whole lot in mind, it's not unidirectional" 
"What's the first?"
"How in then world I'll tell Kasi's mom that her daughter's pregnant for my brother" she answered and I nodded gently knowing how that will turn out. 
"I think you and your brother should just change location or something or you can denounce citizenship cause she'll be so hurt." I answered and she chuckled, "I know" 
"What's the second?"
"I don't why Timi didn't use a condom" 
"Condoms are cheap and they save you stress of having to raise a child. Either that, or you pull out"
"Have they decided to keep it?" I asked and she gave a nod. 
"I know it's a horrible idea but ...." 
"Mrs. Erika would kill you" 
"That's the person I'm most scared of but...I do have hope that she'll still be the only person to lessen the tension. Aunty Ify will kill me, she'll think I ochestrated the whole thing. I don't control my brother's dick for crying out loud" she snapped loudly and a woman close by gave her a look.
"What's the third?"
"I'm heartbroken and it hurts like hell." She sighed then she whimpered, I noticed she blinked her eyes.
"Okay this is serious. What happened?"
"Remember the Pastor I was going to church for, the one I met the day Stacy literally forced me to church and the one I wanted to seduce and fuck?" She asked and I guessed she fell in love with him.
"Let me guess, you fell in love"
"I didn't fall in love. Using fall in love is a really big word. I liked him, I don't know how it happened but I liked him and recently I fucked up. My seduction plan failed woefully"
"When did you realize you're in love with him?"
"After he came for my birthday party, even though I was angry at him. He bought me a Bible and a note book and..." She laughed as tears trickled down her eyes.
"We almost kissed but we didn't. He has a girlfriend called Ife so I decided to have myself my own boyfriend"
"Are you serious? Is it Remmy?" I asked and she shook her head.
"Some guy I met. I haven't said anything about him yet to you. He's a Pastor too but he's way cooler than Ayo. He has watched basically all of my movies and appreciates me."
"I think I like the first guy than this one"
"You haven't even met him before" "Only a good person would buy you a Bible as a gift just like I bought you a cook book" he answered and I rolled my eyes.
"Do you like your current boyfriend?" "He's likable" 
"So you're dating him because he's likable and not because you like him" 
"See who's talking! I mean you like Sharon but you're dating Shirley" 
"Because she has a fiance" 
"And Ayo has a girlfriend too so I did exactly what you did, I tried to move on to the next available good person" she answered and I immediately went quiet. 
"How did we get into this shit?"  I asked and she shrugged leaning against the chair. "Life's a bitch"
*****
While the wake keep activities went on, Sharon walked up to me and I smiled like a baby. 
"How are you coping?" I asked and she wondered what I was talking about. I noticed from her creased forehead.
 "What can I do but to admit she's gone."
"I hope you won't be crying tomorrow?" I asked and she chuckled. "Everyone knows tomorrow is when the tears would come pouring, even dad will cry"
"I don't think so. Your dad seems excited" 
"Wanna bet?" She asked, "So what does the loser get to do?" I asked interestingly and she chuckled.
"Cook a delicious Nigerian meal" she answered and I grinned.
"I see, you could have just said you've been dying to eat my food" I answered and she scoffed. 
"Seriously? You know I've never been a bad cook myself" 
Tuni came in, "What do you think if I let your mom know now?" She asked and Sharon shook her head. "She'll get mad, let's probably do it after the burial" Sharon advised and Tuni placed her hands on her chest. 
"I'm feeling really uneasy. I need a drink" 
"Calm down Tuni" 
"I'm the one whose ass is going there get fried here. It's only convenient for you to say calm down but I'm not calm. At all! Do they serve anything apart from Palm wine in this wake  keep?" She asked leaving. 
"We better get a spare coffin cause your mom's going to kill her" I whispered and Sharon laughed.
 "I know"
"By the way, I love Yam porridge and I prefer my yam porridge less salty but a bit peperish but make the yam really soft" 
"Yoruba style" she chipped in, "Yoruba style" I agreed and she laughed. 
Suddenly Mr Savage walked towards us with he was with a mature man and a young man. 
"Sharon Sharon" he called out, "Sharon meet my son, Aboh, the one I said was looking for a wife to marry" he continued so forwardly and I almost rolled my eyes.
"Dad" the Aboh in question muttered he seemed embarrassed at his father. I also was embarrassed!
Are they even aware she's engaged?
"Let me leave you two" the mature man answered before leaving.
 "Your father just said you two, that makes it look like Mr. Savage and I here are nothing but nepa poles" I commented and Mr Savage laughed.
"It's not what it seems. He didn't mean it that way. He obviously wanted Sharon and I to talk alone." He said and Sharon gave me a 'please don't say anything' look.
"You're one of the prettiest woman I've ever met Sharon. You look like a princess." "Thank you" she answered and he smiled.
"The name is Aboh" 
"And I'm Sharon, my friend here is Ade"
"Can we just have a talk alone?" He asked and Sharon gullibly agreed. "Later Ade" she chipped in leaving with him. 
My eyes didn't leave them for a moment. I stared until they were far away. Is she even safe with the guy?
"You look like a princess" I micmicked and David chuckled. He had that suspicious look on his face. 
"He's just as rude as the father. At least he met me talking to Sharon, he could have respected it. But no, he had to introduce Sharon to his handsome son"
"Sounds like you're angry Adam didn't introduce him to you" he joked and I laughed sarcastically. He was definitely trying to be funny.
"He's good looking and you're good looking too" he complimented and i scoffed.
"He's not my type" I answered then I realized I wasn't even helping matters. Mr Savage will definitely have more things to use against me.
"Oh I forgot, you love the really fair ones, the one without side burns" he answered and i glared at him. 
"Wait till he finds out she's engaged. I bet he'll be heartbroken, but not as much as I was when I found out" I  answered then I remembered Feso's get together and how shocked I was when I found out she was engaged.
His phone rang and he left leaving me just when Tuni came in.
"I saw Sharon with a hottie" "He's not that hot"
"Seriously? That's Aboh Adam of Beats fm, he has a show in the morning from 10 to11 and in the evening from 9 to10 pm." "Seriously?" 
"The guy is every woman's dream. His voice lasan lasan (alone) is enough to make you dream"
"Apparently he doesn't know that the lady he's flirting with is in fact engaged to be married. The father just literally introduced her as the girl she wants his son to marry" 
"Mrs Erika's just some steps away, do you want to tell her?" I asked and we both turned towards her. Our eyes met  with hers and we looked away. 
She walked up to us to ask of her husband but I had no idea where he was. 

Aboh came to me afterwards, it was already past eleven and I was thinking of where I would spend the night.
 "I heard you're the ex" he asked and I shrugged. 
"Oh, so you guys spoke that deep. I found out you're a radio OAP too"
"I guess I most times, I underestimate my popularity" he answered and I scoffed. 
"You know if you like a girl, you'll struggle to be with her not get jealous when a guy takes her away" 
"I'm sorry Mr radio presenter but I think you've had me confused with your radio listeners." I snapped and he chuckled.
"I'm not a bad person Ade, I'm just a man looking forward to settling down. After I flew in from Lagos for the burial, dad told me about Sharon and just meeting her was enough to know she's a good person, Sharon has the most amazing qualities. What could a man ask for?" He commented and I smiled. 
"She was the best thing in my life" 
"Was?"
"She's engaged. Did she leave that part out?"
"No. I was disappointed by the way"
"You think you were dissapointed? She literally ripped my heart out with that news. Can you believe the shock on my face when she told me? To think that I waited four years dreaming of how we would end up together only to realize she had been engaged to some tall guy named Felix" 
"You don't like him"
"He's not a good guy" "And you're not saying that because you're jealous" "He has phony written all over him. I know it sounds like I'm judging him but ... That's the way I feel about him and I'm not just the only one who thinks that way. Even Mr Savage feels that way"
"Sharon thinks otherwise" 
"Because she's blindly in love with the dude" I answered and he laughed. "What's funny?"
"What I noticed from her was a state of confusion. She doesn't know if she still likes you but if you ask me, old flames dies hard. You just have to push"
"I'm with someone" I answered and he laughed.
"Why do guys do that to themselves every damn time, dating another because they think it'll help them forget the other woman. Being there done that, it doesn't work. Pretend all you want, a man in love with a woman like Sharon cannot just forget her" 
"What am I supposed to do? Waste time while she gets married to Felix" 
"Try to make her see reasons why she shouldn't get married to that...  Felix. You fight for your love and strive so it doesn't fall in the wrong hands" he advised and I laughed.
"What show do you run on air. Heart to heart with Aboh?" I asked, "Close" he laughed. 
"We haven't formerly introduced, I'mAboh Adam, a radio presenter and you?"
"You can call me Ade, CEO of Crown Prime"
"Sounds familiar, Is that like a hotel?" 
"No a restaurant. I'm a cook"
"Wow, now it makes sense. Do you have anywhere to spend the night? We have spare rooms?"
"Are you also a mind reader?" I asked and he laughed, "I noticed you looked homeless" he answered leaving and I scoffed.
"I hope you don't have bed bugs" I chipped and he laughed. 
"Beggars have no choice do they?" He snapped and I laughed. "Good one" I had to admit and I caught up with him.

**** 

The next morning, I was supposed to be the Chef in charge of cooking but the Nigerian mentality that men can't cook made these women look down on me.
I had to focus on cooking fried rice while others focused on Jollof. My fried rice ended up being ten times better than what they cooked. Not bragging!
I had people rushing for my contacts afterwards.
The burial was successful, David kept a straight face all through and just when his mother's coffin was dipped six feet under, I saw him cry and Erika tried to console him.   I knew I already lost the bet. 
Meanwhile, I was trying to console Sharon. "I want Yam porridge and don't make mine pepperish" she whispered in between her tears and I chuckled softly.

Later in the evening, we both entered into the kitchen. I wore an apron over a black top and Sharon assisted in peeling yam while I dipped pepper and tomatoes into the blender"
"I saw you speaking to Aboh yesterday, you seemed close" she paused and I laughed. "You even slept over at his place" 
 "Amebo, she wants to know what we were talking about?" I retorted and she laughed. 
"Well we talked about" I paused started the blender, I left it on for two minutes then I stopped.
 "That was all we spoke about" I answered and she scoffed. 
"Seriously? How old are you, ten?"
"Let's make a deal, you tell me what you said to him and I'll tell you mine" I suggested and she shook her head. 
"No deal"
"What are you scared of?" I moved closer to her and she shook her head again. "It's complicated" "How complicated?"
"I was just talking about a lot of things, my past, you and Felix" she paused and I stared blankly at her as though Aboh didn't let me in on what they had spoken about. 
"What did you say about me?"
"That I was sorry for breaking your heart. We had a good relationship and you made me the happiest version of myself" she smiled. 
"We could have still had it, or we could have been married too. I was ready to start up life with you, the reason I bothered becoming successful was because I wanted our family to have a future, our children. I didn't want them suffering" 
"That's sweet" 
"I wanted twins just like your mom but I wanted two boys and two girls. I'll go in twice" 
"Are you trying to kill someone's child?" She snapped and I laughed. "If God can be merciful and just give me quadruplets all at once"
"I'll just die of anxiety even before labor. It's not even easy pulling out one and you're talking about four?" She laughed and we both looked at each other. 
"I mean the woman you'll get married to will die of anxiety" she cleared her throat. 
Tuni, Feso and Mr Savage walked in, they all looked at Sharon and I. "I moved this to the kitchen so we can talk without interferance"  Mr Savage said and Sharon requested to know what was going on.
"I needed your dad's permission to tell your mom, apparently Mr Feso already suspected it so I'm not just the guilty party" she answered unconsciously. 
"Did I just say that out?" She asked and I scoffed. 
"Jesus, you're a talkative" Mr Savage commented and she exhaled. "I'm nervous here. Seeing Aunty Ify here just worsened the whole thing." 
"Mom doesn't have to know for now. I mean it's still Grandma's burial." Sharon answered, "Sharon's right, let's respect this day"
"What is it I don't have to know?" Mrs Erika walked in and everyone turned towards her. No one said anything.
"Someone better starts speaking before I get angry" 
"I was even about to beg you not to get angry...." Tuni clasped her hands and Mr. Savage walked up to her. 
"Kasi's pregnant" he opened up. 
The surprise on her face was overwhelming. 
"That's a hasty conclusion, she's not even having sex yet. Ify would have told me" 
"All those jamb classes she had, well.... They weren't all jamb classes," Tuni answered and everyone looked at her. 
"There were other ways you could have answered that question" I snapped and Mrs Erika scoffed.
"Let me guess, Timi's responsible for it and you Tuni sponsored it"
"I knew I'll be seen as the devil but should I remind you that I don't control their emotions, I clearly told them to be careful and always use a condom as the good sister that I was. What more can anyone ask for?"
"A sister that isn't you!" Miss Erika snapped.
"Would you for once in your life take things serious?" She snapped, "This is really serious. You knew and you couldn't even say anything to the mother"
"It wasn't a big deal"
"Soro kan ni be, ma ko fo e leti! (Say one more word there and I'll slap you!)" She snapped in Yoruba. 
"Just because you had sex when you were barely 14, you feel anyone can! How will you raise your own children? You're supposed to grow up and become wiser, but no, you're growing up to become dumb. Have kept quiet for too long and I think my silence is contributing to your being spoilt. Ha ahn! I mean weren't you supposed to caution them? She wasn't even up to eighteen!"
"Mam"
"Say one more word and I promise you'll lose a tooth this evening" Mrs. Erika threatened raising her hands and Mr Savage held her hands. 
"And you too, how long have you known?" She asked and he looked at Feso. "He suspected it and he told me" 
"When?" 
"Almost two months"
"And you couldn't tell me" 
"It was a guess Erika, there's no point putting your anger on him" Feso supported and she rolled her eyes. "Yes, support your gay partner, cause you're both guilty" she snapped and i busted out in laughter.
"And you, what's funny?"
"It's not our fault Ify didn't notice, I mean one, she's a woman, two, she didn't even notice her own daughter was having sex. None of us should be blamed for this Ma.

Read " Dysfunctional " by the same author ( Essien Eno )

. If anyone deserves the biggest portion of the blame cake it'll be Ify, no offense Mr. Feso; and Tuni"  I retorted and Mr Savage nodded looking at me then he gave me a thumbs up.
"Thanks for pointing that out" Tuni answered sarcastically, "You're welcome" I answered.
Mrs Erika kept quiet; I guess I just proved a point.
"Now in your mind you'll feel like you've won" she snapped again and I almost rolled my eyes. "Everyone in this room is guilty for not coming out straight, whether by means of suspicion and knowledge" 
"Honey you need to calm down" 
"Don't tell me to calm down David, Kasi's like a daughter to me. If I feel this way, imagine how Ify would feel and she's just in the sitting room." 
"That's why we need to be quiet and figure out a good way to tell her. She's your best friend, you two have bonded for years now and you can tell her without her getting mad" Feso suggested.
"And Oga what about you?" She snapped. 
"They're getting married, we can't put their relationship at risk" Sharon answered and she rolled her eyes. "This will break her. I mean she just found out she's pregnant. Now...  With all this" 
"Ify is?" Feso asked and I turned towards him, he had a smile on his face. "I thought she was past menopause" Tuni chipped in and Erika rolled her eyes.
"There's no way, and I repeat, no way that Ify would hear it from my mouth that her daughter is pregnant" 
Suddenly Ify walked in with shock clearly expressed on her face. "Hm hm, no way. Not me!" She yelled and we all cleared our throat, some of coughed out. 
"Ify's behind me right?" She asked and we all nodded. 
"Great!"