You Of All People | A Nigerian Gay MM Love Story

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The drive to the hospital was quiet and incredibly tense, both men lost in their own thoughts and fears. Chuka had suggested finding a hotel first and dropping off their things, but Folarin understandably couldn't wait one more second.

The large hospital was located in the centre of town. Folarin wasn't sure whether or not to be relieved it was a private hospital. Was that better or worse than a government hospital in a place like this? Taking a deep breath, they approached the counter.

"We are here for Alhaja Ronke Ishola.", Chuka said.

"What room is she in?" Folarin asked, hoping that leading with a question that asserted she was still alive would somehow make it true.

"Please hold on.", the nurse at the reception said flippantly, barely looking their way. "You can see that there is –". She cut herself short. She had finally looked up from the oh-so-important video she had been looking at on her phone. "Ah! Fola Ishola!" she said with a bright smile. "Welcome, sir."

"Please where is my mother?" Folarin asked again, trying to contain his irritation.

"Oh, that woman that fainted is your mom?"

Fainted. That's better than slumped, right? Right? "Yes, she is."

"Eeyah. Please hold on."

Eeyah? What did she mean by eeyah? 'Eeyah, you look like your mom?' Or 'eeyah, condolences on losing her.'? Folarin was freaking out, his mind travelling a million miles per second. She couldn't possibly be –

He suddenly felt Chuka's hand grab his shoulder and give it a tight squeeze. And it felt strangely grounding. Folarin let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

The nurse returned with a doctor in tow. "Good morning Mr. Ishola?"

Folarin nodded.

He turned to Chuka. "Mr...", he trailed off, hoping Chuka would fill him in. He apparently didn't watch a lot of TV.

"Amadi. Please tell us something, doctor."

"Right. Your mother suffered a bad fall and was rushed in here. Thankfully, we were able to stabilize her and forestall any bleeding in her brain."

Chuka smiled and hugged Folarin. "I fucking told you."

Folarin nearly collapsed with relief.

"Further investigation showed she's hypertensive and her blood pressure was very high when she came in.", the doctor continued. "We have stabilized her, yes but the next few hours are critical. We'll need to monitor her very very closely. If she doesn't wake up on her own by evening at the latest, then something is very wrong and she'll likely need surgery.

The doctor watched their faces fall. "But so far it's looking good.", he added. "Let's just stay positive and hope nothing takes a turn."

"Nothing is taking any turn." Chuka said, emphatically.

"Thank you doctor." Folarin said, taking his hand in an enthusiastic handshake. "Please do everything you can."

The doctor smiled. "Definitely. You have my word that we will do our best."

"Can we see her now?" Folarin asked.

"She's sleeping. It's not advisable to wake her right now."

"We'll just look in. We just need to lay eyes on her." Chuka said.

"Okay. Come with me."

They followed the doctor to a room on the first floor where they peeked in through a crack in the door and saw Mrs Ishola lying in bed asleep, breathing softly. Her head was bandaged but apart from that, she looked okay.

The doctor shut the door softly and turned to them. "She's fine. You can go and rest and come back in about two hours."

"Alright, doc."

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Exactly two hours later, Chuka and Folarin were back. They had checked in at a fairly decent hotel and freshened up in their respective rooms and then headed out again to the hospital. Both had tried to eat but couldn't, anxiety taking up all the space in their bellies.

When they arrived, the same nurse greeted them as she packed her things up, seemingly preparing for a shift change.

"Good afternoon, Sir. Good afternoon, Sir.", she greeted them both individually.

"Hi." Chuka greeted.

"Any changes?" Folarin asked.

"She's still sleeping, Sir. You can go in."

"Okay."

The door to Mrs. Ishola's room opened to reveal her still lying in bed, sleeping soundly, but this time, a tall middle-aged man sat by her bedside, reading the newspaper, cross-legged. He looked up when both men walked in.

"Ah! Folarin.", he said with a broad smile, conveying his excitement but still trying to keep his voice down so he didn't wake her. He put the paper aside, got up and walked to them. He motioned for them to step out in the hall so they could talk.

"It's good to finally meet you.", he said, as he gently closed the door behind him.

"Uh..who are you, Sir?", Folarin asked, confused.

Chuka nudged him.

"Sorry, good afternoon, Sir.", he said, touching his knee lightly in a short bow.

"Good afternoon, Sir.", Chuka greeted, mirroring the action.

"Good afternoon. Ehn? Ronke's boys. It's good to meet you."

"Ejo bawo le se je si won? How do you know my mom?" Folarin asked again, more respectfully this time.

"Ehm, that's probably something you and your mom should talk about."

Folarin looked warily at the man. "Right." He suddenly realised his voice sounded familiar. "Were you the one who called me?"

"Yes I was. I brought her here and ensured they started treatment immediately." Folarin had been wondering about that. Nigerian hospitals don't typically start treatment before some form of payment is made.

"Thank you very much, Sir.", Chuka greeted, shaking his hand.

"Yes, thank you." Folarin said flippantly. "So, she was with you when it happened? What exactly happened?"

"She fell and hit her head slightly."

Folarin looked at him suspiciously. "She hit her head, or you hit her?" Folarin asked, raising his voice slightly. "Did you touch my mother?", he said stepping forward menacingly.

"Hey hey. Calm down." Chuka said, holding him back.

"I'll just come back later.", the man said. "I'll let her tell you everything herself when she wakes up. Nothing I say will make much sense to you right now." He went back in, picked up his phone, paper and a bunch of keys and walked out. "Don't worry, she'll be up soon."

Folarin said nothing.

Chuka nodded at the man in acknowledgement as he walked away.