Palm lines 2 - Episode 31

 

Sharon's POV

"You should have your rest, you need to take your bathe. You haven't even changed your cloth" Dad intimated, "I'm not complaining" i answered.
"The smell of blood is reeking all of you"
"I don't mind. Can we not talk about this for now?" I snapped and he sighed.
 "Sharon I know you're hurt" 
"Dad"
"Just shut up and listen to me" he demanded and I sighed in agreement. "I do know how it feels to have a loved one at the brink of death like your mom . And I know it's not easy, nothing I say will ease you or make you feel better"
"It's all my fault. If I had left" 
"You two wouldn't have made up"
"Maybe it would have been better for him to be with Shirley. He would have been safe. I dragged him into this" 
"Ade loves you and I'm pretty sure he's fighting right now to make it out of this and he will because he's a strong man" 
"What did the doctor say?" I asked Dad shrugged. "He said he'll be fine"
"Don't lie to me Dad. I'm not stupid, I know he must have said something that he didn't want me to hear and I just saw you talking to Ade's mom about it"
"Ade has 50/50 chance of survival even after the surgery

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

. Depending on how his body heals" he confessed.
Since Ade got shot, I've spent time crying; even when I didn't want to. That was all I could do and when I had to inform Felix's mom that his son had been murdered. It was one of the most horrible moment of my life; how worse can everything go?
Ade was placed in the IC unit and we couldn't even go in to see him. It wasn't until three days later when he was moved to the a private ward that I finally him and touched his hands but he wasn't too conscious, he would open his eyes for a bit and then go back to sleep. 
He had bandages on his arm, probably from the cuts Tasha gave him. I squeezed his hands softly then I kissed it.
Tears trickled down my eyes. 
"Please fight for me" I sniffled, "God please, do this one thing for me" I shut my eyes as more tears flowed through my cheeks.
"Don't let him die on me. God I make this one request" I begged then I knelt down crying.
"I'm sorry" I heard Shirley apologise then she sat on the bed. 
"You gotta stop crying and believe everything will be fine Sharon. There's no point in crying" 
"I can't help it, I just can't" 
*****
"Why don't you go home and rest?" Mom asked in the evening and I shook my head.
"Do you think Ade would be happy to see you this way?" She asked and I kissed Ade's fingers.
"There's no point complaining. There's nothing anyone would say to make me leave his side." 
"You've literally packed your stuff here" She pointed at some clothes on the chair. 
"And you're barely eating"
"Mom I'm fine. I just want to be with him, I want to be the first person he wakes up to see, do you understand?" 
"Just take it easy on yourself. We've all prayed and in due time, God will answer our prayers"

Tuni's POV

I didn't understand what Ayo meant by the utterance he made before entering into the car. Fine I knew the surface meaning but I wasn't sure if it was a break up. 
I called him up after I got home and he didn't pick up. I laid in bed and I cried myself to sleep; maybe it was for good. 
The following day, Stacy called me in respect to something she saw on the internet. "Have you been on Instagram today?"
"I just woke up"
"Okay, what's up? Are you coming up with cold? Maybe you can tell God to heal you" she joked and I laughed.
"I'm fine. I'm just going through a relationship issue, I really don't want to talk about it"
"But if I know you well, you will eventually" "Ayo and I had a fight"
"Couples fight all the time. Bode and I even argued last week over what he wore that I didn't like. It can't be that bad"
"Well....Well... Duke called me up for a movie and apparently I'm supposed to play the part of a striper"
"You obviously can't accept it"
"Do you know how long I've been waiting for such opportunity" 
"Tuni dear, don't argue with me.  Why will you even consider doing that?"
"Other actors"
"Were not destined to be Pastor's wife." She Interrupted and I rolled my eyes. "Haba Tuni! Why would you even tell him? Why would you even consider it?"
"Don't make me hang up on you"
"Madam hang up if you want to . If I see the truth, I'll say it. What do you want him to say? Yes. Go show your nudity to the whole world"
"I haven't even read the script so I don't know if ikk get n*ked"
"Have you ever seen a striper clothe for long?" She asked and I rolled my eyes again.
"But this is going to be good for me and my career"
"Why don't you put your love life first? Don't you love him?"
"I love my career too" I answered and she scoffed. 
"Tuni don't do something you'll regret at the end cause it's not Duke that will marry you. I mean if he wants a striper so bad, why can't he tell his wife to strip"
"He chose me! It's a honor for me."
"Tuni, I know you're going to make impact in life and I'm so sure of it. Not through that movie and besides I don't like his movies, he hasn't even found a way to make his bullet look real in movies" Stacy insulted and I rolled my eyes. 
"Okay. I'm pretty sure you didn't call to talk about this"
"I called because of a trend on Instagram, Bunmi was interviewed on Jara and she said something pertaining to you"
"Oh... Is it good?"
"Yes... She said all form of nice things and when she was talking about inspiration, she cited an example when she asked you to grow closer to the church people in order to pull off the character you did and she's putting me on more suspense cause I can't wait to watch Providence"
I rolled my eyes, "Why would she say that nah?" I complained. 
"At least, not everyone watches Jara" I added.
"Yes but someone is making it a trend and is sending a short video of Bunmi saying you grew close to members only to be inspired to watch the movie"
"That's not true"
"I know. I just thought you should know so that you can tell Ayo before he sees it" she suggested and I nodded.
"Thanks"
I took my bathe; as much as I had Ade in mind, I needed to see Ayo to make some clarification. So I drove over to his house.
I knocked and he opened.
"Hey" I waved at him and he gave a gentle nod.
"Hey"
"Good morning" I added and he answered back letting me in. "I tried calling you last night but you didn't answer it"
"Oh... I saw the call later on; I um....I didn't have airtime" "And you couldn't load directly from the bank?" I asked and he stammered through.
"You do realize you're lying and all liars will go to hell" I chipped in and he laughed.
"Okay, you got me. I didn't want to talk" 
"To me?"
"No. About the issue" he answered and I folded my arms then I brushed my hands through my hair.
Then I moved closer to him, "Can I at least kiss you? I've been thirsty since yesterday" I added and he laughed. 
"Thirsty?" He asked and I nodded kissing him,  "Yeah...thirsty for your lips and spit" I answered and he laughed kissing me back and I placed my hands on his chest.
"Why do i feel like you want something?" He asked and I rolled my eyes.
"Okay... There's this video going around about my producer and director saying things that made it look that I only attended church because I wanted to learn from it so I can act the movie well"
"Oh...Kay"
"Why would she say that?"
"Well... Okay fine she suggested that I get more closer to the church in order to know how to play my part well and fine, I bought the idea and I had more understanding but I fell in love with you but my coming to the church was not for that reason"
"I know. It was to seduce me"
"My point exactly" I answered and he chuckled covering his lip with his palm. 
"Urgh! Have you given the matter a thought?" He asked and I shook my head. 
"Okay. I was about to go out for clean up in church"
"Please Ay" I kissed him his lower lip but he pulled back, "I asked a question yesterday, is this a break up?'
"Will it make you feel better and free if it is?" He snapped and I shrugged. "Maybe you should just, take your time to think this through. That's all I want" he begged. Afterwards I left and my heart broke into pieces again.
The following day I was stuck trying to explain to persons about what Bunmi said and then Mummy Ayo walked up to me with a blank look on her face while the drama group were acting from a short story I thought of. 
I knew what she was wanted already so I prepared myself to explain it to her.
"I didn't come to church just because of I needed to study people. I came because I needed to seduce Ayo and now I'm in love with him so it doesn't matter anymore unless you choose to make a mountain of it"
"I didn't come because of that"
"What is it then?" I turned towards the drama crew. 
"Please take five!" I yelled, "I'm hungry and I'm tired"
"I'll buy everyone lunch, just wait a while" I begged and they all cheered.  
"What is it?" I asked and she hissed.
"Ayo isn't happy" she began and I looked away.
"He slept over last night" 
"Did he tell you?"
"No he didn't. Tuniola I don't know what's going on cause he has refused to speak but I'm his mother and he doesn't need to tell me things before I know he's unhappy and I'm sure it's because of you"
"Ma'am if you're here to throw blames"
"I'm not here to throw blames"
"I'm not here to throw blames, he's not happy and I'm not happy about that too cause the son I know will always smile even with the hardest problems. I'm just worried, someday you'll have kids and you'll understand these things. A mother is most fulfilled when her child is happy, that's the only reason I agreed to him dating you."
"Oh... Good to know" I muttered and she folded her hands.
"Don't tell me that you'll be the kind of wife that will fold her hands and watch her husband be sad"
"No!" I exclaimed, wait did she just say....I thought within and then I smiled.
"Did you just ..." I stalled and she rolled her eyes.
"If I had the power to choose, I would have but I obviously can't so ... Just do whatever you can to make him happy"
"I'm trying here but I have decisions I have to make and it's not easy for me" 
"Make them real fast" she snapped leaving and I rolled my eyes. 
"God help me"
"Sister Tuni" Abeebat called out and I raised my index finger at her.
"One minute please" I brushed my hands through my hair.

I had leading to ask God what he felt about me taking the acting deal but I didn't cause I obviously knew what he would want.
On Tueday, I had another meeting with Duke so I went over to his office after seeing Ade at the hospital. He introduced me to some his partners and I also bumped into some actors too. 
We were finally left alone and he flashed a big smile at me then he raised a spiral binded script up. "What do you say dear? Are you in, let's make this block buster together" he proposed and my heart suddenly started beating fast. 
It felt so loud that I feared he might even hear it.

Read " The Picnic " by the same author ( Essien Eno )

. "So, what do you say Tuni Reiner? Are you in?" He asked again and I instantly went blank.
"Tuni!" He called out and I jerked out of my thought. 
"Sir... It'll be a honor, a very big honor to work alongside with you but I'm sorry Sir,I can't do it"
"Why?" 
"I don't think the script is for me" I answered then I stood up then I took my leave. 
I stopped by at Ayo's mechanic shop since it was obvious he would definitely be there. My eyes darted in search for him then i sighted half his body under a car and the other half out as Wasiu and another apprentice on blue overall stood by the car. 
Wasiu almost spoke up but I signalled for him to keep quiet and he chuckled softly. 
"Pass me the no. 12 spanner" he requested and I passed him the first tool my hands touched in the tool box.
"No!" The other apprentice exclaimed and Wasiu tapped him on the head. 
"Does this look like spanner to you? I'm pretty sure it's Chinedu that" He busted into Yoruba then he pushed himself out. "gave...." He stalled on seeing me then he gave a half smile.
"Let me guess, you gave it to me"
"I was hoping to take a motor engineering class and have you as my tutor" I answered and he laughed. 
"I have a lot more headaches to deal with it already" 
"Ouch" I touched my chest and he laughed. 
"What are you doing here?" He asked, "Can we speak in private?" I asked and he directed me to his office. 
It was a spacious room currently undergoing construction. "Okay why are you here?" He asked and I bit my lower lip.
"I turned down the movie" I announced and he gave me this uncertain look. I wasn't sure what to make of it. 
I didn't know if it was of doubt or of happiness.
"Why are you looking at me that way?"
"What way?" He asked and I laughed. 
"Shouldn't you be happy?"
"Not that .. I..." he stammered then he held my hands. 
"I want to be sure if you really want this and you're not turning down the movie because it'll make me happy. I want you to be happy too, I didn't like the idea of every man seeing my woman's n*kedness. I know there have been other guys but I respect it's in the past and I want to start my future with a happy wife not one filled with regrets"
"I want that too baby and I've never been so sure if anything in my life" I squeezed his hands then he went over to a trousers he hung on  pocket then he removed a ring from the pocket and I covered my mouth with my palm in surprise.
"Seriously? You've been carrying that around" I asked and he laughed,
"Yes and I think you're ready for it now" he answered kneeling down.
"Will you marry me and be my wife?" He asked and I smiled. 
"Yes. Yes I will" i answered getting all emotional and he rose up fixing the ring over my finger and then we kissed and he wrapped his hands around my waist and I smiled.