The Pain – Chapter 4

It was Saturday morning and it was Abayomi’s birthday. Abayomi woke up with a song in his heart and sang out loud.

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creations revealing your majesty
From the colours of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and you know them by name,
You are amazing!
All powerful, untameable
Awestruck we fall to our knees and we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God!

He sang and worshiped God with several other songs and spent over an hour just worshiping His creator. This was his habit every day since he gave his life to Christ. He never joked with his personal quiet time. Since it was a Saturday, he spent extra time communing and fellowshipping with God. By the time he was through, it was already past 8am. He picked up his phone and looked through it and smiled. He had gotten several mails and text messages wishing him a happy birthday. He had totally forgotten that it was his birthday. He sat down and replied the messages he could. He even got several calls as well. When he was through, he dropped his phone and did a little bit of cleaning here and there. He also did his laundry and ironed some of his clothes. He then went to the bathroom to brush teeth and took a quick shower. As he showered, he thought over the events of the past 2 days and wondered why Motun had suddenly showed up in Nigeria without letting him know. He sensed it had to do with him, but he couldn’t figure out exactly what it could be. But as he thought over it, he concluded that she must have a surprise for him that day. They were really close and she told him virtually everything. So for her to have kept this away from him meant that she definitely had something up her sleeves for him. They had spoken yesterday, and she had confirmed that she was going to be free today. They planned to do brunch together at Mama Kass, one of their favourite restaurants for local Nigerian food. He finished with his shower, got dressed and headed out to pick up Motun in Lekki. He ensured he looked dapper just in case he was headed straight for his surprise birthday party. He chuckled at the thought, got into his car and started the engine. As he drove out, Abayomi couldn’t shake off the feeling that today was going to mark the beginning of something great in his life.

Over at Lekki, Motun was busy fussing over her appearance. She already had an outfit for the surprise party, but was yet to decide on what to wear for the brunch she had with Abayomi. She hadn’t envisioned that she would be going on a date with anyone talk less of Abayomi and was glad she had brought extra outfits with her to Nigeria. She didn’t want to overdress or under-dress either. All she wanted was for Abayomi to at least ‘notice’ her. They hadn’t seen in a month prior to their meeting on Thursday. Although they spoke regularly on phone and made Skype calls, they hadn’t seen face-to-face. To prepare for the party, she had her hair done the previous day and everyone who saw her commented on how pretty she looked. She had her hair in a 16” and 18” Brazilian weave, fixed with a centre parting. The hair was set into loose curls and it framed her face very beautifully. She knew the hair gave her the ‘wow’ effect and she couldn’t wait to see Abayomi’s reaction to seeing her new look. After much deliberation on what to wear, she eventually settled for a beautiful short flowery sleeveless gown. The flowery patterns were made up of tiny flowers with different colours and shades of red, green, yellow and purple. She parked her hair with a ribbon, applied some make-up and slipped into a purple sandal. The dress had a purple belt and she decided to accessorize with red: red jewelry, red bangles and her red bag. Just as she finished, she got a call from Abayomi that he was waiting outside. Her Aunt and Uncle had gone out for a wedding, so there was no need for him to come in. She carried her bag, slipped on her sunglasses and went out. She called her Aunt’s maid to lock the door after her.

Abayomi was fiddling with his phone when he heard a rap on the window of the passenger’s side. He looked up and saw Motun. He got down and went over to the other side and gave her a hug. He commented on her look and Motun smiled happily. They both got into the car with Abayomi opening the passenger door for her to go in. They did some small talk and catching up on different things till they got to Mama Kass which was a little past 12 noon. Abayomi was determined to find out why Motun came over without telling him. He wanted to hear all about it and he had all day.

Tina woke up that Saturday morning with body aches and pains. She had a terrible night. She dreamt that she was fighting off some people who were trying to push her into a ditch. She fought very hard and was trying to push them into the ditch when she woke up. She got down from her bed and sat on the floor. She felt physically sick and she didn’t understand what was happening. For the past one month, she has had recurrent strange dreams and strange experiences. The first was when she saw her pastor trying to cast out a demon from her without succeeding, the second was an incidence that happened in her room when she say a giant lizard she had never seen before, and several other strange things. The most recent was that event with Jide and his wife on Thursday. She felt really embarrassed and sad whenever she thought about that particular one. She had initially wondered at the meaning of the first dream and had discarded it as one of those funny ‘mind-dreams’ people sometimes have. But with their frequency and the strange occurrences happening over the past weeks, she began to take them all seriously. She picked up her Amplified Version of the bible from her bed stand and opened to the book of Psalms. She went to the eighteenth chapter and began to read out loud:

“I love You fervently and devotedly, O Lord, my Strength. The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my keen and firm Strength in Whom I will trust and take refuge, my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower. I will call upon the Lord, Who is to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies. So I have been saved from my enemies. The cords or bands of death surrounded me, and the streams of ungodliness and the torrents of ruin terrified me. The cords of Sheol (the place of the dead) surrounded me; the snares of death confronted and came upon me. In my distress [when seemingly closed in] I called upon the Lord and cried to my God; He heard my voice out of His temple (heavenly dwelling place), and my cry came before Him, into His [very] ears. Then the earth quaked and rocked, the foundations also of the mountains trembled;” 

She said with tears in her eyes as she continued and finished the entire chapter, and even personalized some of its verses. She read Psalm 35 as well, and meditated over Psalm 37.

When she was through, she closed her bible, switched on her laptop and started playing some worship songs from her iTunes software. She felt much better than she did when she just woke up. She sang along and worshiped God as she began to sort out her laundry. She got a strong impression in her heart to see her pastor, Pastor Andrew, concerning this issue. She hardly spoke to him about such issues, so she knew this had to be from God. She made up her mind to see him after service the next day. She sorted her laundry, put her whites in the washing machine, started the machine and started ironing her clean clothes. She picked up her phone to charge it when she saw four (4) missed calls from Mike. She frowned slightly because she was puzzled as to why Mike would have been calling her. She dialed his number and returned his call. She continued with her ironing as she waited for him to pick up.

“Hello Tintin” Mike answered on the fourth ring. Tina could almost hear the grin on his face. He always called her ‘Tintin’ since she could remember. She had initially hated the name, but over the years, she has come to accept it and in fact loved it.

“Hi Miko” Tina replied cheerfully, calling him by his nickname. The name had stuck over the years as well. He was first called that in secondary school. “I saw your missed call and I wonder say wetin shele. I was praying and studying when you called though, that was why I couldn’t pick then. So what’s up?” She asked.

“Today is Abayomi’s birthday, and I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind being my date for the evening.” He said. “It’s a surprise party one of his closest friends is organizing, and I really don’t want to go alone. You know me and parties now.” He continued.

“Ehn?! So it is me who likes partying abi?!” She exclaimed “You no serious at all o.” She said as she laughed. “Must you go? If you don’t want to go alone, you can sit in your house and play game. Abi, na by force to go for party? Your games are waiting for you o” She continued as she chuckled over the phone. She remembered how he played games and the way he took every win and loss very personal. The sight of either a celebration or a loss was one to behold. He did both very well such that if you were watching him, you could literally feel the way he felt.

“Abeg now” Mike pleaded over the phone. “You know the guy doesn’t live here permanently, and I’m like his closest friend here in Nigeria. It wouldn’t be good to back out at this junction, especially knowing the role I’ve played this surprise party.” He said. “Besides, he is a client of yours, and this may be good for business. You can’t say the kind of connections you can make at that party. And na Chinese restaurant the party dey hold sef. Imagine, free Chinese!” Mike concluded with a long hearty laugh, trying hard to convince Tina.

“Ah! Miko!!! Your mouth sweet too much!” Tina joined him in laughter. “I can’t believe you’re saying all these to convince me. And to use food to convince me, you no try o. Chinese ko, Japanese ni! And so? What if he is my client? Does that mean I should gate crash a party that has been planned? You know me now, I don’t do ‘mo gbo mo ya’ (‘I heard and I went’) kinda parties” She said with disdain.

“Haba now, must I come over and grovel at your feet till you agree? Okay, abeg no vex about the client and food blackmail. I’m really humble now, and I’m begging you to plleeaaasseee follow me. I seriously don’t want to go alone and you know you’re the only one I can ask this favour from. Please help a brother in need.” Mike pleaded with all seriousness. “And you don’t have to worry about gate-crashing. I’m allowed a date to the event.” He continued.

Tina sighed as she thought about his offer. She was physically attracted to Abayomi and had in fact thought about him a lot these past two days. Since she has vowed to keep men away till further notice, she knew any form of informal contact with Abayomi could open up things that could lead to her resolve weakening, and she didn’t want that. At the same time, she didn’t want Mike to know yet that she found Abayomi very attractive. She wasn’t ready to share that bit of information with anybody yet. She also thought about what she would wear on such a short notice. She hated being told to do things spontaneously without prior notice, but she loved surprises a lot. She smiled at the thought of pulling off this birthday surprise on Abayomi and she wondered how he would react. He actually didn’t look like one who would love surprises, she thought. She had so many things on her plate right now, and she didn’t need any complications of a man in her life. But on second thoughts, she felt going for the party would help her loosen up and would help get her mind off a lot of things she’s been thinking about. It could prove to be a good therapy, she thought.

“Okay ,okay” Tina replied. “I will go with you”

“Yeah! I knew I could count on you. You’re such a darling!” Mike shouted happily. “Thanks Miss Tintin” He said mimicking a perfect British accent.

Tina burst into laughter. “You this guy, you wouldn’t kill me o.” She said still laughing as she tried to compose herself. “So, what time is the party, what are you wearing and what time are you coming to pick me up?” She asked.

“Slow down with your questions, one by one my dear” Mike said jokingly. “Well, it’s starting at 6pm. I haven’t decided on what to wear yet, but I’m definitely wearing a semi-formal outfit. I should also come to pick you up around 4pm cos you know we all have to be seated before Abayomi gets in.” He said.

“Yeah, that’s true.” Tina said “The time is okay by me too. You need to thank God that I had nothing planned out for today, cos if I had, you would have been on your own!” Tina replied as she chuckled.

“That’s true, and I thank God.” Mike said as he smiled over the phone. “Thanks again dear.” He said “So, how have you been doing? I’ve been quite worried about you for a while now. Are you okay?” He asked

“Yeah, I’m good.” She answered. “I would be able to talk better when we see sha. No need starting something we wouldn’t be able to finish here.” Tina said.

“Okay, no problem.” Mike replied.

“Mr Miko, I’ve got to go now especially if you want me to be ready before 4pm.” Tina said jokingly.

“Okay Miss Tintin, let me release you.” Mike answered. “See you in a few hours time.” He said

“Alright then, see you too soon. Byee…” Tina replied.

“Bye” Mike said as the call ended.

Tina quickly ironed 2 more shirts, a pair of pants and a skirt. She quickly perused her wardrobe and decided on what to wear. It was already past 12 noon and she had less than 4 hours to do all the other things she needed to do before getting ready for the event. She went into the kitchen and took a broom from the corner and started her usual Saturday cleaning.

Abayomi and Motun had settled down to brunch and were chatting away when Abayomi turned to Motun and asked with a serious expression on his face.

“So, what exactly are you doing in Lagos, Motun? Why did you come all the way without even hinting me or letting me know?” He looked at her with suspicion.
Motun laughed as she replied “AY, must you know everything? I just didn’t think it was necessary to let you know.” She smiled offhandedly as she took another morsel of eba and edikaikong with her fork and knife.

“Since when did you start keeping secrets away from me, Motun? Even if you don’t want to give me details, the least you can do is to hint me. I gave you almost 2 weeks’ notice before I came down here you know? I’m just baffled by your decision and I kinda suspect that this sudden visit to Lagos has to do with me.” Abayomi said frowning slightly at her as he swallowed another morsel of amala with ewedu, gbegiri and stew.

“Suspect me? How and why? Please, don’t be paranoid.” Motun replied slightly irritated as she raised her hand at him. She was being careful and smart by not addressing his questions. “My dear friend, I’ve got a lot on my mind right now and for your information, all plans I needed to execute towards this trip was concluded yesterday. I just needed extra days to rest, and of course see you. It’s your birthday remember” She continued as she smiled at him.

“Uumm… really?” Abayomi asked her raising his eyebrows slightly. “You really want me to believe all you’ve just said? Especially after the mysterious look you gave me on Thursday and when you said I was gonna find out why you came soon? You must be kidding me” He said mockingly as he took a sip of water.

“Can we just let this go and discuss something else?” Motun asked pleadingly. “I’ve said the best I can at this point. There’s nothing else for me to say about this issue.” She said as she took a sip of orange juice.

“Discuss something else? Like what?” Abayomi asked. “You’re so stubborn, you know? I’m so sure that if you were the one in my shoes, you would have tried every form of blackmail just to pry out this piece of information. Sorry to disappoint you darling, I’ve got all day and I don’t have any intention of changing this topic.” He continued with a grin.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have all day AY.” Motun equally replied with a grin on her face. “Since you know me this well, you should also know by now that you can’t pry out any information I don’t want to divulge.” She said. “Besides, Emeka and I have plans for this evening, and I need to leave soon. I told you this over the phone yesterday, remember?” She said as she raised her eyebrows at him. Emeka was the cousin who came to pick her up from the airport on Thursday. He was totally in on her plans concerning Abayomi, and was to take her to the party later that evening.

“So, you’re gonna leave a man hanging ehn?” Abayomi asked with a mock sad expression.

Motun laughed at his expression. “AY, just admit that you can’t always win nor have your way, especially when it comes to me. We’ve come a long way and you should know me very well by now. Just accept that you can’t win this case” She said as she grinned and winked at him.

“So, you’re not planning any surprise birthday party for me?” Abayomi asked with a mock pout on his face. He was trying to mimic Motun’s expression whenever she wanted to get something from him.

“Sur-what? Surprise party? I reserve my comment” Motun laughed as she replied and took the last morsel of eba and finished up her edikaikong soup. She shook her head at him as her face took an expressionless look. This way Abayomi couldn’t read any of her thoughts or feelings concerning his question. She had come perfectly prepared for Abayomi’s pestering’s and she was prepared for the worst. This was the worst case scenario, and she was well prepared.

“Yes! I knew it!” Abayomi exclaimed happily. “I knew it had something to with me and my birthday today” He said feeling elated that he had finally cornered Motun into revealing the whole truth.

Motun looked him straight in the eye and shook her head again. Her expression had changed to that of pity. She picked up her glass of juice, settled into her chair properly, sipped her juice and stared at him with a bland expression.

“You can believe whatever you want AY. I have told you all I can. If you think saying this would make me admit something you believe you already know, then I guess this discussion is over. You are really a case sha.” She said as she shook her head again.

“Whatever Motun, I’ve gotten my answer.” He replied grinning at her.
Motun looked at her wristwatch and saw that it was already a few minutes to 2pm. She needed to get home soon so as to have enough time to change and put last minute touches to the party.

“Anyway, how is your project going?” Motun asked changing the topic.

“It’s going on well. I met this lady on Thursday who Mike told me to see, and she’s really good at her job!” Ayobami said as his eyes lit up with excitement. “The one hour I spent with her was like she had peered into my mind and knew everything I wanted to do.” He continued with a look of admiration on his face.

“Really?” Motun asked. She had never see Abayomi look so elated over a complete stranger before. “So, she was that good?” She asked looking really surprised. Abayomi didn’t take to strangers that easily. She must have left a very good impression on him, she thought.

“She was more than good. In fact, I could say she was perfect” Abayomi replied with a smile on his face. “The only hitch was that she came in late for our appointment. Her lateness really irked me up initially, but Mike later said that it was very unlike her and she perhaps had some things she was dealing with. But apart from that, we got along pretty well. I can’t wait for us to meet again and discuss business. I like her.” He concluded with a smile on his face.

“That’s good to know. I’m so glad things are working out well for you” Motun said as she wondered about who this lady could be. She seemed like a power lady and was interested in meeting her.
Just then, Abayomi’s phone rang. He looked at the screen and saw an unknown number. He picked it up.

“Hello?” He said after picking. “May I know who’s speaking please?”

“Yomex!” The person on the other line exclaimed. “How na? Na Dele dey talk. Happy birthday man!”

“DeeDee!” Abayomi replied excitedly “Thanks bro. How are you doing? When did you enter this country? And how did you know I was around?” He asked, smiling into the phone.

Motun brought out her phone and began to chat with Emeka.

“Guy, I dey o. I’ve been in Naija for the past six months! I thought you knew that. Anyway, my facebook page showed that today was your birthday, so I decided to give you a call. I tried your UK number which didn’t go through, I then decided to try your naija number. So, here am I chatting with you over the phone.” Dele replied, equally happy and excited to be talking with him. “When did you come into the country?” Dele asked.

“I’ve been around for the past 3 weeks, work related trip. You know now, man must work very well and make good money before madam comes into the picture.” Abayomi said as he laughed at his joke.

Just then, Motun looked up and gave him the ‘evil eye’. Abayomi burst out into another bout of laughter as he caught her expression.

“Yes o! Before they come and gulp it all up” Dele replied, laughing as well. “So, you dey Lag? I was thinking we could see today. I’m leaving Lagos on Monday morning and I’m gonna be very busy tomorrow. What do you think? Would you be available today?” He asked.

“Well, I’m out right now, but I guess I would be free this evening.” He said as he looked questioningly at Motun who by now had his full attention. She nodded that it was okay by her. At least, he knew she had to leave pretty soon, so he could plan whatever he wanted to plan for the evening. “Yeah, I would be free this evening.” He affirmed.

“Cool! Can we meet up at Oak Hotels and Suites at VI then? They have this fabulous Chinese restaurant and I was thinking we could treat ourselves to some Chinese, just like old times.” Dele said. One could almost hear the smile in his voice. “Would 6.30pm be okay by you?” He asked.

“Yeah, that would be fine” Abayomi replied. “Thanks man.” He said.

“You’re welcome. See you soon.” Dele said. “Bye”

“Bye” Abayomi said as he cut the line.

“Who was that?” Motun asked looking at him suspiciously.

“He’s one of my former school colleagues and a very good friend. You don’t know him. He’s such an amazing person and I’m looking forward to our meeting. It’s been a long time we’ve seen” He said. “In fact, I’m thinking of match-making you both. You guys would really fit o.” Abayomi teased as he winked at her.

“You’re a confirmed nutcase!” Motun said as she shook her head and hissed. “I’ve got to go now AY. Emeka is already at home and we’ve got lots to do.” She continued as she looked down at her wristwatch. It was already 2pm.

“Wow!” Abayomi exclaimed. “I didn’t know time had gone this fast. I have this movie I want to watch at the cinema, and it’s starting at 3pm. I better get you home fast, so I don’t miss it.” He said as they both got up and headed out towards his car.

As Motun followed Abayomi, she was almost screaming and dancing for joy. She was so ecstatic that all her plans were going on as planned. She couldn’t wait to see Abayomi’s face later that evening. She hid a smile as she got into the car. Abayomi started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.