Meant To Be
By Olunfulola Adeola
Episode 40
It was a rainy Friday night at Lara’s house, Ayo had arrived earlier with Itunu and an overnight bag to sleep over since Lara was the one always coming and now that Kore knew where she was, there was nothing to hide anymore and so she decided to go to Lara’s.
After changing into their pajamas, the three of them prepared dinner and after eating, Ayo put Itunu to sleep because he was having mild cold then she went to join her friend in the living room.
“You didn’t even ask about my d@t£ yesterday.” Lara accused.
“Babe no vex. Oya gist me na . How did it go with Mr tall and fair?”
“It went so good and he was so ro-mantic and attentive.”
“Details Mama.”
“Okay, we walked the gardens l!çk!ng the ice cream he got us from the Domino’s Pizza close to the gardens and we were just talking about all kinds of things. After an hour, we went to this beautiful art and craft shop. Guess what he did, babe.”
Silence.
“Ayo! Ayo!!” Lara called but Ayo was de-ep in thought. She leaned sideways and swatted her arm, Ayo reacted,
“Ouch! Why did you hit me na?”
“Where were you?”
“Where was I bawo? Were me not here?”
“No time for jokes. Your mind was far away from here
. You must tell me what you were thinking.”
“But I thought you were gisting me about your guy.”
“I was but you were not listening so you must tell me what was imprisoning your thoughts.”
“Can I pas-s?”
“No. Not at all. Not one bit.”
“I had se-x…”
“With Wale?!”
“If you interrupt me again, I won’t talk o. It was with Kore.” Lara squealed and Ayo gave her the stink eye then Lara raised her hand signaling for Ayo to continue.
“With Kore. He c@m£ over and it happened last weekend. He wants me back and I don’t know, I think I still feel the same. All week, he’s been calling, texting, checking on me various times.”
“So, he was the one calling you the other time?”
“Yeah. So, my issue is Wale. He actually walked in on us.”
“He what?”
“Yeah. He has not spoken to me since then and I am too scared to call him.”
“Girlfriend, I will say this once, before you enter any kind of relationsh!pwith Oga, you must do away with all baggage. Meaning, you have to deal with Wale whether you like it or not.”
“I know. I am just, I don’t know. Kore really hurt me and I am trying to see clearly and not be clouded by the hurt. Kore is a good man, not everyone can do what he did for me without taking advantage of me and then we started d@t!ngand he treated me really good but learning he is Itunu’s father and all, it was all I could think of but him coming back, it just changes things. The S-x, it made me think non-st©p. I have not been able to st©p thinking about all the times we had, everyone’s warning when it all happened and all.”
“Babe, everything will be fine. It will get sorted but the most important thing right now is clearing Wale.”
“I will do that during the week.”
“So, finally, someb©dy broke your mouth and you are just telling me now abi?”
“Is that what is important?”
“Yes o. You were supposed to tell me in the heat of the moment.”
“Mama, tell me about this your guy jo, let’s see whether he is a good fit for you or not.”
“I hope you listen this time.”
“All my antennas are opened.”
“So, as I was saying…”
Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ
On Tuesday, Ayo closed early from work around past 4. She called Wale, it rang twice and he did not pick. She tried again and he picked up,
“Hello.”
“Can we see?”
“What for?”
“I nee-d to talk to you.”
“I don’t think I have anything to say to you.”
“plea-se Wale, just hear me out.”
“Okay. I will be in my house in few minutes time. I am driving home now.”
“I will meet you there.” She said and hung up. She signed out and was on her way to his house immediately.
Thirty minutes later, she rang the doorbell and few seconds after, Wale opened the door. He left it open and went in to sit down.
“Good evening.”
“Yeah.”
“I c@m£ to apologize…”
“For what? I don’t nee-d your apology Ayo.”
“I know you are angry.
. Just calm down, okay? I am sorry you walked in on me with Kore. I didn’t plan it, it just happened. And knowing how much you care about me; I knew I must come to clear the air between us. I am sorry it didn’t, couldn’t work out. plea-se forgive me.”
Silence.
“Wale plea-se. Just forgive me.”
“Is that all you c@m£ here for?”
“Yes.”
“If that is all then you can leave.”
“Wale…” She started to say but her phone rang. She di-pped her hand into her bag and fished out her phone. It was her son’s teacher.
“Hello… What?!!… I’m on my way right now… Right now!” She dropped the phone and left, not even a look backwards at a confused Wale
Meant To Be
By Olunfulola Adeola
Episode 41
Ayo waved a bike man and dictated the address of the hospital the school uses for emergencies and twenty minutes later, she rushed into the hospital. She ban-ged her hands on the receptionist desk as she demanded,
“I nee-d to see my son now!”
“Madam plea-se calm down. What is his name?”
“ItunuOluwa Bankole.”
“Your name and relationsh!pwith the patient?”
“Ayodunmomi Bankole . I am his mother.”
“Okay. He is pres£ntly at Ward 14 which is down this hall by the left. Just go straight down, you can wait at the waiting area there and talk to the doctor when they are done but he is pres£ntly being attended to.”
“Thank You.” She said and followed the lady’s direction. She went and wait. Some ten minutes later, a nurse c@m£ out of the ward 14 and she ran to meet her.
“Nurse, how is my son? What exactly happened?”
“Madam, just calm down, okay?”
“I am trying to calm down here.”
“The doctor will attend to you when he is throu-gh but your son is fine.”
“Okay.” Ayo said and sat down.
Five minutes later, her phone rang, if was Kore. She answered the call.
“Hey baby.”
“Hi.”
“What is wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Talk to me jo
. Where is Tunz?”
Ayo bur-st into tears,
“Baby, why are you crying? Talk to me nao. What’s happening?”
“Itunu slumped and his school brou-ght him to the hospital. I have not been able to see him.”
“When was this?”
“About an hour now.”
“Okay. Just calm down and try to be strong for me. I will take the next flight out of here and come down there anytime I arrive.”
“So, you are just going to abandon the deal you are closing? In China for that matter.”
“Ayo, listen to me. I will do anything; I mean anything for you guys. I will be with you before you know it okay?”
“Okay.”
“Just hold it together. I will be there soon and he will be fine, okay?”
“All right.”
“I love you. Be safe.” He said and ended the call.
At once, he dialed Lara’s number, it rang a few times before she answered it,
“Hello Lara, this is Korede Adetiloye speaking.”
“Oh Boss! Good evening sir.”
“How are you doing?”
“Very fine.”
“I nee-d your help.”
“Okay?”
“Itunu is in the hospital now and…”
“What! And Ayo did not call me?”
“I am sorry. Her thoughts are definitely all over the place. Can you help me link up with her and just support till I get back? Would have s£nt my P.A but we c@m£ here together.”
“I am going there right now. Let me call her to get the location. When I get there, I will call you back.”
“All right. Thank you so much.”
“It’s fine.” She said and ended the call then put a call throu-gh to Ayo.
Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ
Around 10AM the next day, Kore walked into Fairyland Hospital with a guy dressed in all black at his heel. He st©pped at the reception and asked,
“Hello. Good morning. plea-se, I am here for ItunuOluwa Bankole.”
“Good morning sir. Your name plea-se?”
“Adekorede Adetiloye.”
“Relationsh!p?”
“Father.”
“Okay. He is in Ward 14.”
“Thank you.”
“Just take the left turn and go straight down.” The nurse directed and he followed her directions. He pressed down the door knob and entered the room. Itunu was on the be-d with Ago by his side and Lara was sitting on the other side.
Immediately Ayo saw him, she flung herself at him and he caught her by the w@!st. She buried her head in the crook of his n£¢k as he k!$$£d the side of her head.
“You didn’t have to come.”
“I chose to because I wanted to.” He replied her and then drew her back and planted a k!sson herl-ips before moving forward to address the people in the room.
“Lara, how you dey na?”
She answered, “I am fine o. Anything for us?”
Kore replied, “Plenty. They are in the car, right Deeman?”
Deeman said, “Yes Boss.”
Kore announced, “Yeah, A.Y, this is Deeman, my P.A.”
Deeman said, “Nice to meet you ma’am.”
Ayo asked, “How are you?”
Deeman answered, “I am good, thank you.”
Kore asked Ìtunu, “How are you feeling, big boy?”
Ìtunu said, “Better Dad. Thank you for coming.”
Kore said, “It’s fine. What did the doctor say is wrong with him?”
Ayo answered, “He said he slumped because he was having moderate hyperthermia.”
“What’s that?” Kore asked as a knock c@m£ in and then the door opened, the doctor, a middle-aged man, c@m£ in and greeted,
“Good morning folks.”
They chorused, “Good morning.”
The doctor said to Kore, “I don’t believe we met yesterday.”
Kore answered, “No. I am Adekorede Adetiloye, Itunu’s father.”
The doctor asked, “Okay. Has she told you what went wrong?”
Kore said, “No sir. We were just getting into it, perhaps you can explain better.”
The doctor informed, “Okay. Itunu is going throu-gh hyperthermia, a medical condition that has to do with a group of heat related conditions characterized by an abnormally high b©dy temperature. It occurs when the b©dy heat system is overwhelmed by outside factors causing one’s internal temperature to rise.”
Kore asked, perplexed, “That’s new. Why would it be happening to him?”
The doctor said, “It can happen to anyone. What we should be grateful for is that he was brou-ght in at the early stage and it has not gotten to the severe stage which is heat exhaustion and then heat stro-ke. Right now, he is just experiencing heat fatigue and cramps.”
Kore asked, “So, what is the way forward now?”
The doctor answered, “The way forward is to avoid heat. Let him have water handy always.
. Cool bath. Ice packs for muscle cramps. Just make sure heat is avoided.”
Kore said, looking at Ayo for confirmation, “We can do that, yeah?”
Ayo confirmed, “Yeah, we can do that.”
Kore asked, “So, when can he leave?”
The doctor said, “He can leave right now. I actually c@m£ to test him and discharge so let me just do that then someone will go with me to get the drug prescription.”
Kore offered, “Okay. I will do that.”
The doctor moved closer to Itunu and asked, “How are you my dear?”
He answered, “Fine sir.”
“Good. Let’s see how fine you are.” The Doctor said and went close to him to examine him.
Once he was done, Kore followed him to his office, Deeman on his tail and then he went to get the drugs at the pharmacy before returning to the ward.
Then they made to leave. As they moved outside, flashes of c@m£ra greeted their face and Kore cursed,
“Sh*t! What the fv¢k, Deeman?”
“Why are there so much c@m£ra?” Itunu asked,
“I’m sorry, just push throu-gh this and get to my car. That wine coloured venza on the left over there. Just keep calm okay?” Kore instructed and then they moved in synchronization as the c@m£ra people asked questions,
“Mr Adetiloye, are you back with Miss Ayo?”
“Did you come for a DNA test?”
“Is he your son?”
Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ
“God! These reporters get on my nerves.” Kore said as they entered the vehicle. The ladies and Itunu at the back.
“I’m sorry boss.” Deeman apologized and he started the car.
Lara announced, “My car is over there.”
“Don’t worry about it. Once he drives us home, he will be back to get it.”
“All right.” Lara agreed and then Deeman drove them home
Tbc