Palm lines 2 - Episode 20

 

Sharon's POV
After my argument with Dad about where to meet Felix's parents, I went into Tasha's room. She didn't come out for breakfast. 
"Good morning Tash" I entered and she smiled. 
"Morning pretty" she replied and I moved to the bed, then I sat on it.
"How's your ankle?"
"It's fine, you don't have to worry your pretty head about it" 
"Felix fixed a wedding date" I announced, "He did?" She asked and I nodded. "15th of this month"
"Why would he do that?" She asked and I laughed. 
"Why would you ask that? We're engaged of course"
"Forgive me Sharon, I meant why would he do that without your permission?" "How did you know it was without my permission"
"Cause I know you so well and besides you said Felix fixed a wedding date not, we both fixed a wedding date . Those are two different things"
"Yeah they are and you're right"
"Sharon I'm always right" she answered and i laughed. "That's good news right?" She asked and I shrugged, I wasn't so sure. 
"Felix thinks mom and Dad should travel out to meet his parents and we should have the wedding there too" 
"Seriously? After what your Dad said during dinner the other day" She asked, "Yes but Dad thinks they are obligated to come here and I know it's the right thing to do but bringing my mother in law and father in law here when I'm not sure of going through with the wedding" 
"Seriously? Because of Ade?" 
"Yes but the date has been set already" I complained but she quietly looked at me. 
"Say something"
"I don't know what to say, Felix obviously loves you. For him to go extra miles as fixing a day, I'm just as shocked as you are" I didn't understand why she was acting strange.
"Would you be having like a Nigerian wedding?" She asked and I laughed nervously

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

. Then I remembered the awful dream I had about my wedding with Felix.
I wish it was with Ade! I thought within.
"Felix iss a good man is he going to make you very happy" she placed her hands on my cheeks and I faked a smile.

I called Tuni up to give her the little information I found out about her destined to be a Pastor's wife. Then I thought of Joel and Pastor Ayo who were both Pastors and how twisted the whole thing was.
I went over to Crown Prime and I found Shirley by the entrance. "Hey" I waved at her and she smiled. 
"Ayo's in , in case you're looking for him" 
"I didn't exactly come for Ayo" 
"Seriously?" She asked and I laughed. 
"The truth is I'm supposed to meet with Tuni" "I'm not complaining Sharon, do have a lovely day" she replied and I walked in taking a seat at my usual seat since there was no one occupying it.
I removed a pencil from my bag and I began to draw.
"You might start to pay for that seat" Ayo commented and I laughed then I my back at him. "How much will you charge?" I asked and he chuckled. 
"This part of the restaurant has a good view" I looked out the window smiling , "The busy road and people walking through, it kind of reminds me of a poem"
"It's the reality called Lagos"
"When artists sees rainbows, normal people sees white" I commented and I saw noticed he looked at my drawing. 
"Nice drawing"
"You don't even know what I'm drawing" I answered, "No I don't but I'm sure it'll look nice when you're done with it" he commented then he cleared his throat. 
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to meet Tuni, I left her several missed calls"
"Do you want anything while you wait and please don't say water" he begged and I raised the menu up scanning through it.
"I'll take French fries with Ketchup but I'll pay for it"
"One plate of French fries on me" he answered leaving and I smiled. 
He came back with the order then he took a seat opposite me. "Don't you have customers to attend to?"
"Why does it sound like you're chasing me away?" He asked and I dipped up one of the fries in ketch up.
"What is it you want to tell Tuni?" 
"I can't give you the scoop yet, then there'll be no suspense and it will look as though I'm repeating the same thing when Tuni comes and it'll only make me look weird" I answered chewing the fries and he laughed.
"I'll just wait then"
"Can you believe Mom told me told me to go to school with her?" I asked and Ade laughed. "That's sweet of her"
"You're an asshole" I threw a French fries at his face and he continued laughing. 
 "Why would she bring that up? It's embarrassing and dad said the only place I go to is apart from being at home is to meet Felix or go to Tuni's house or come here and it's so not true" I chewed.
"That's so true and it sounds like something your Dad will say"
"Please be on my side here" 
"Yeah darling" he chipped in as though he was my husband and I laughed.
"You'll make a good teacher Miss Sharon" 
"I'll move from having a near successful life in America to being a teacher in Nigeria, that sounds sweet to the ears" I answered sarcastically, "My children will curse me!" I added and he laughed. 
"At least you're lucky to have a family who cares about you and what happens to you." 
"Has your mom finally called?" 
"No." He answered then he scoffed.
 "She hasn't called yet but I don't mind" 
"Are you sure you don't?" I asked and he shrugged.
"Mom is selfish, all she cares about is herself.  Nothing more than herself, I'm not surprised" 
"Don't you want to see her?" 
"I do but I don't think she does so why should I bother?"
"Have you called her?"
"Did she misplace my number?" He retorted and I chuckled. 
"And they say I keep grudges" 
"Your mom didn't leave you for ten years, mine did"
After revealing to Tuni that she was destined to be a Pastor's wife, I went over to Ade's Aunt's house and then I requested for an address or a way I could meet with his mother and she gave me an address.
"Are you sure you want to get through that stress? If you ask me, I don't think you should drive, you might not be familiar with the place" She answered and I gave a slight nod. 
She wasn't wrong about that, I wasn't familiar with the place.
"I'm kind of jobless for now so... I don't really mind. I'll take a taxi" "What do you want from that woman?" 
"I want to sue her for child neglect" I answered and she laughed. "You might be disappointed"
"I'm willing to take that chance" 

I went back home and I saw Felix coming out of the gate. I stopped the car then i got out of the car. "Felix?" I called out and he smiled, he seemed surprised to see me.
"Hey babe" he motioned close to me then he kissed me on the lips. "What are you doing here?" I asked folding my hands.
"I...." He looked back. "I came looking for you, Tasha said you're not home so..." 
"You could have called"
"Yeah, i forgot. I came so we could talk about the wedding" 
"Exactly what I have in mind, but let's go in first" 
"What do want to talk about?" 
"Can we move the date a week or two weeks further?" 
"Why?"
"It clashes with Uncle Feso's wedding." 
"I'll.... I'll talk to Mom about it" "And..  Can you convince your parents that we're having a Nigerian wedding, we possibly can't fly everyone there"
"How about my family and friends?"
"Felix you are to understand that in Nigeria, it's all about the bride and her family and you'll have to come in to the family and properly get introduced and a whole lot traditions you need to adhere to"
"That's bullshit" 
"Don't call it bullshit. It's my tradition and you have to respect it. Felix whether you like it or not we're having a Nigerian wedding, if you're not fine by it, we might have to reconsider this wedding plan" I proposed and he scoffed.
"Is this about Ade?" He asked, "Why are you suddenly shifting blames to him?"
"After the wedding we're going back, no arguments" 
"No arguments" I answered.
****
The following day, i boarded a taxi over the address given by Ade's Aunt.  I stopped at a compound and I walked in asking for Franca and they directed me to a house and I knocked on the door.
She opened up and I swear I couldn't believe she still looked the same way she looked years ago. 
"Wow Ma'am, I have to say you haven't aged a bit" 
"And I can't say the same for you cause I obviously don't remember you" she laughed. "Sorry, just kidding, you were supposed to laugh" she added and I chuckled.
"Okay Ma"
"Do I know you?"
"Maybe, I was fifteen, when you used to pick Ade up from school. We didn't see much after then. I'm Sharon, Ade's friend" 
"Or girlfriend" She added and I shook my head. 
"No... I'm not Ade's girlfriend, I'm actually his ex but I'm just a friend, can I come in?" I asked and she waved her hands. 
"Forgive my manners. Come in" she answered and I walked in.
 "Nice home" I commented and she smiled. "Thanks dear. Is Ade okay? I hope he isn't ill, this one that you're coming like this to visit me" 
"When have you ever cared?" I snapped and she folded her hands.
"Who do we have here, you're probably her to prosecute me" "I'm not here to judge you Ma"
"But you have already"
"What's there not to judge? You let your kid go because of he finally went against his step father's order. You're the most reckless mother ever!"
"I didn't let my kid go, technically it was Dennis' house, what was I supposed to do? Leave with Ade?"
"You were supposed to stand against his obnoxious demands." 
"I couldn't, I'm sorry Sharon but I couldn't because I had no means of survival expect through Dennis' money. I had no job, I left my job already to marry him. If I had left, it would have been horrible but I knew I could still help him that was why I sent him to live with my baby sister"
"But Dad ended up paying the fees"
"Because Ade bluntly refused receiving help from me! Did he mention that? No. It was convenient for him to skip that part." She rolled her eyes. 
"I was very young when I had Ade. I had just turned sixteen when that idiot knocked me up and then ran away. I left the village to Lagos to hustle. While working as an hairdresser, i met Dennis, he had three girls already, he was rich and he needed a mother for his children and Ade was just ten years old so I agreed. Okay fine, I was particularly interested in the money and how it could change our lives for good"
"You left Ade the most when he needed you"
"I know and I'm guilty for it but there was nothing I could do. Dennis has always been harsh, but Ade on the other hand is stubborn. Ever since I married Dennis Holland, Him and Ade never agreed one day! Ade begged to maintained Banjo, he didn't want to take the name Holland. All these things made Dennis angry, I won't blame the man though. He brought up stupid rules that were unfair but I couldn't say shit because the money was coming and I was living the life I ever wanted"
"Why haven't you reached out to see him?"
"Cause I'm ashame of myself. I know I'm a bad mother and I'm sure he doesn't even want to see me too but there's no day that goes by that I don't think of him" she cried then she wiped her tears with the top she wore.  
"Ade misses you"
"I doubt that" she scoffed. 
"Why don't you want to see him for yourself?" I asked and she sighed.
 "I know what it feels like to be the villain in the story, trust me if you wanna count those people that have hurt Ade, I'm not innocent of the charges. I'm just as guilty but I'm working to right my wrongs. I think it's time you make that same decision"
"Why are you doing this?" She asked and I shrugged. 
"Because I realized Ade needs you" 
"Are you sure you're not his girlfriend?' she asked and I shook my head. 
"Will he accept me back?" She asked and I shrugged. 
"Why don't you see for yourself Ma'am"

Ade's POV

"Sharon's getting married next month, it's official" I said to Shirley and she gently nodded to the news. "So how do you feel about the news?" She asked and I smiled. 
"I don't know, I don't know how I'm supposed to react to this. I am neither happy or sad. I just think it's too soon"
"Or you're jealous" 
"I'm not"
"It's okay to let me know"
"I just think it's too soon and I still don't trust that guy"
"Why not have him investigated if you want to know his true intentions" "Investigated? Should I remind you that he isn't exactly a Nigerian and for Nigerians to investigate Americans that's...." 
"I'll call my contacts and let them know"
"Why would you do that?" 
"Because you care too much about Sharon and if you don't feel like she's safe, you're going to be really uneasy and I don't want that."
"Forget it!" I held her hands. 
"I shouldn't be telling you all this, you don't deserve it" 
"I know you're still in love with Sharon and I very well signed up for this." "I didn't mean to bring up the topic about Sharon. I'm really sorry" 
"It's okay Ade,"
"Don't bother looking into Felix. Sharon's getting married soon and I'll definitely need to start up a family too with you" I answered then I shut my eyes. 
"That didn't come out right"
"Yeah it didn't" she laughed. "But I won't mind having a mini you running around the house" she envisioned and I smiled.  
"I'm willing to be patient until you heal" She promised and I hugged her. 
On Saturday morning, I heard a knock on my door and I rushed to get it. To my surprise, I saw Mom by the door. She wore a blue top on a three quarters trousers like that made her look like a university student. 
She hasn't even aged a day. 
"Who are you and who are you looking for?" "I'm looking for my son, I think he lives here"
 "I think you got the wrong address, you should do well to check the other building" I answered closing the door.
"Ade!" She yelled and I opened up laughing. 
"Let me in, I'm coming from a far place and I'm tired"
"Sorry, I don't let strangers into my home" 
"Ade quit joking!" She yelled and I chuckled again. 
"What are you doing here?"
"Is that the please come in Mommy I deserve?" She asked and I laughed. 
"You don't even look like a Mom, you're not even dressed as a Mom"
"Ade I'm really tired"
"Because I'm a good son, I'm going to let you in despite your selfishness" I entered and she followed me. 
"Okay that's not fair" 
"And what's fair?" I kept on walking. "I didn't even know you had my address, I thought you were dead" 
"And you didn't even bother to come to my burial." "I was waiting till Aunty brings the card"
"Urgh! Ade no burial jokes abeg!"
"Abeg? Mom you're already fifty"
"I'm not even 45 years" She rolled her eyes.

Read " Hotel Palava " by the same author ( Essien Eno )

. "It's not as if I didn't want to come and visit, I just didn't have the face to" 
"Which face did you now use in coming today?"
"Emi kii á¹£e iyawo rẹ (I'm not your mate) have some respect for me" 
"á¹¢e e binu? (I hope you're not angry)" I asked sarcastically and she pouted her lips. 
"I know I'm not qualified to win mother of the year" 
"You're not even on the long list of nominees" I snapped and she pouted her lips again. "See Ade, I wanted to visit you but I've been ashame"
"Of what? Of what Mom?" 
"Of the fact I let that big head kick you out of his house and I didn't follow you. I felt so guilty"
"I don't believe you"
"I'm serious here. That's my issue with you Ade, you don't know when someone is serious. I'm sorry from the top to the bottom of my heart" 
"And it took you ten years to apologize, and why are you doing it now?" 
"I'm sure you want something" 
"Ade" she scoffed, "You underestimate me," she snapped.
 "I..." She scoffed again.
"I'm having a little accommodation issue" 
"I knew it!" 
"I can have it sorted out in days. Three days pere (only) and I'm out! If I don't go out, kick me out like an angry landlord" she begged and I gazed at her then I laughed and she joined in. 
"I miss you darling. We can see this as a bonding experience, after ten years bonding experience" she winked at me. 
"Now it looks as if you want to seduce me" I answered and she chuckled. 
"Your girlfriend came to see me" 
"Shirley?" 
"Oshey Baddest, how many do you have? I'm talking about Sharon" 
"Sharon is not my girlfriend and I'm sure she must have mentioned it to you."
"Okay fine she did."
"But seriously? She came?" I asked and she laughed. "See how your face lit up when you're talking about her. I pity the new girlfriend, she's only dating herself" she commented laughing.
"Sharon said you really missed me" 
"I'm sure she didn't put it that way" "She called me a reckless mother, she called me a lot of names that I deserved and Ade I'm sorry for not being there when you most needed help. I'm sorry for not playing father figure or mother figure to you." She cried, "I don't even deserve your forgiveness" she added and I hugged her. 
"It's okay mom. You know how ugly you look when you cry" I whispered, she tickled me and I laughed. 
"I have to go to work"
"My luggage are in the bag, be a gentleman and help me with it" she answered, "I only have one room, I'll rent another apartment when I get married" 
"You'll be staying in the sitting room then" 
"I can't do that"
"Three days pere (only) oh, your girlfriend will just have to endure for three days only" she walked into the bed room then she got out.
"Do you have any bedsheet you haven't had sex on?" She asked and I laughed then she went back in.
It finally dawned on me how much I missed her.