Consequences

Chapter 13

Anita and Funke had given  the impression that because of me, Ola had lost his sense of reasoning. Were they joking? Or was it their way of understanding, how Ola felt for me?
"Ola, ke? Dat Ola wey dump me for restaurant waka commot?"
"Abeg, no be de Ola wey we know, Tola." Anita said raising her hand up and down.
"If he do am na because you offend am."

"Me offend am, Funke?" I asked

"Aha come on now baby. Wetin you do wey,  man go abandon you like that?" Funke asked, absolutely sure I was at fault. I decided  to tell them what really happened.

"Look you girls, you should know the whole story. Don't jump to conclusions." I argued.
"Eeh?" Anita gave me that look that she gave me on the first day Nancy introduced them to me.
"Look, its either you girls hear me out or we forget about this discussion." A little silence followed while the two girls looked at each other.
"Abeg we no wan hear wetin you wan talk. You need to see Ola first before you dey yearn." Anita said, as she and Funke got up.
"Tola, see Ola make you know wetin we dey talk." Funke hit me on my shoulders when she said that.

They left, and I now asked myself if Ola was really as beaten up as they had described him. To me they were exaggerating. But while I felt that way, I had to ask Nancy while we were going home.

"Nancy you know I met Anita and Funke while I was waiting for you?" I was driving and still had the thought of what they said on my mind. Nancy looked at me for a second before she decided to say something.

"So what are they saying?" She asked
"Imagine them telling me I destroyed Ola's life." She took a deep breath while she smiled.
"Tola, sometimes those girls talk a lot. So ignore them." She looked tired and I wondered what her problem was.
"Hope you are okay Nancy?"
"I am. Just not in the best of mood today."
"Ah you no get wahala, now. Your problem na Tunde." I replied smiling.
"See Tola wey dey cry for Ola. You don dey get mouth now."
"Abeg leave that rubbish man. Just the mention of his name alone... " I paused as I still carried the anger of being abandoned at the restaurant inside me.

"Noo, Ola mess up big time, for leaving me in that restaurant waiting like a fool. Nancy if you know how dat tin still dey pepper me,"

"Abeg make I hear word. See who dey talk, if you see am now you go be like fowl wey dem pour water." I lost my smile in that instant, as we were approaching the restaurant Ola had taken me to.

I had a sudden urge to go into the restaurant. I stopped the car, making Nancy turn and look at me baffled.
"Nancy let's go inside and eat, I'm hungry." I told her.
"Is that why you stopped the car?" She asked
"I'm hungry."
"Are you hungry or you want to know if Ola is there?" I looked at here in surprise. I wanted to relive the experience of being here with him. And while she may have guessed my intentions, I had a feeling Ola was really there.

"Nancy, let me offer you this treat to brighten you up, okay?" My intentions were clear and Nancy wasn't going to stop me. I quickly drove into one of the parking spaces in the restaurant.
"Tola, I just pray you find what brought you here." I laughed
"Ah come on Nancy, its long since we ate out you know?"
"I know one thing, you are excited about seeing Ola. So all this idea of a treat is just an excuse. Anyway sha, let me enjoy this treat."
"Abi?" I laughed as we got down from the car.
We went inside the restaurant and were welcomed by the waiter, the same waiter that told me Ola had left. He recognized me and greeted me.
"Ah madame welcome again."
"Thank you, can we have a table?" I asked as he smiled at me. He nodded and pointed us to a table. When we sat down he took our orders.
"So I hope you and oga were able to settle your misunderstanding?"
"Thank you for that day. If you had not told me I wouldn't have known."
"I'm happy for you. In fact he called just a few minutes ago to say I should reserve a table for him." I looked at the waiter when he told me that. Ola had booked a table? Who was he coming with and why here?
"Thank you." I smiled. When the waiter left us, I looked at Nancy.
"Nancy see me see wahala o?"
"Abeg which wahala? He's coming to eat." She said.
"But why now that I want to eat? And why this particular place?" I tried to argue.
"But what made you stop here? Is it not because you wanted to see him?" I couldn't argue with her on this. I really wanted to see him.

Thinking deeply about how Anita and Funke had described him, I really wanted to see things for myself.
"Infact I don't even know what made me to stop."  Nancy shook her head in disbelief.
"But dat babalawo wey work for Ola, do better work for am o." 
"Nancy so you sef, you believe he charmed me?"
"Look at how you are shaking because you want to see him."  I wasn't shaking, but I couldn't contain my excitement. And perhaps it was visible, so visible it really felt like I was shaking.

The waiter brought our food and we started eating. I was so unsettled at the excitement of seeing Ola, that my attention was focused on the front door of the restaurant. I raised my head up from time to time to see the door open and people come in. But Ola never appeared.

When we finished eating, I couldn't wait any longer. My intuition had failed me and, seeing the disappointment on my face, Nancy suggested we leave.

We left the restaurant after I paid, and headed towards the car. As usual I had a hard time finding my car keys. And so while walking, I kept searching my bag. It was in such a mess that I stopped a few times before I was able to see the keys.

I slowly walked towards my car and noticed someone standing beside the front door. I stopped and looked. I recognized Ola and pretended I didn't see him. I bent my head and walked up to the door.

"Excuse me, I want to leave, can you step..." I couldn't finish what I wanted to say. He took hold of my hand, the very hand I had my car keys. He took my hand and squeezed the keys out of it.

"Let me drive so you can sit with your friend in the back seat." His low-sounding voice blended perfectly well with my state of mind. I was  powerless and speechless. That is until I heard Nancy's voice. By then, my keys were in his hands.

"Ola? So you are here and you can't even come in?" She asked him.
"Nancy I'm even surprised to see you with this...?" He stopped and looked into my eyes.

He paused probably thinking of what to call me. Let me help you complete that statement. I said in my mind. Perhaps, I'm the criminal you can't avoid. Or the bad girl you claim will be your wife. And I may also be the naughty girl who keeps questionable friends. Isn't that what you think of me? I was wrong. What he said next, surprised me.

"Nancy, when were you thinking of introducing me to your beautiful friend?" I looked at Nancy and she looked at me. Both of us frowned, when he asked that question. I knew, he wanted Nancy to introduce me to him; just as she did with his friends.

"Ola abeg stop there. You know am pass me. Which one be say make I come introduce ona again?"
"So you go introduce her to others, leave me out?" Nancy walked up to us and stood.

"Okay o. So Ola? This is Tola. And Tola? This is Ola." There was a brief silence after she introduced us to each other. I and Ola used that brief moment to stare into each other's eyes. It got Nancy curious as to what would happen next.

"Ah abeg o, na blood dey run for my body o." She said moving away from us a bit. This gave Ola the chance to take both my hands and hold them. It felt nice that I was with him.

"Can I drive?" I blushed like I was a young teenage girl. I couldn't answer but stared in silence. Here was the man who had abandoned me in the restaurant, holding my hands.

Here he was so close to me, and I couldn't tell him he had annoyed me. Where was all my anger now that I needed it? It just wasn't there anymore. I knew Nancy, after seeing this would have a word or two to say to me. But I didn't mind. I was happy; my heart was in the right place and the only answer I could give him was a question.

"Are you going to abandon me somewhere else, like you did here?" He didn't answer me. I guess he felt I had forgotten all about it. But I hadn't. I had to get it off my chest and I needed to know what he was going to do about it.
"Because if that's what you intend doing, then I want my keys back." I took my hands away from his hold and opened my right hand.
"Ola? I want my keys back." He grinned.
"Come." He said finally embracing me. "I won't abandon you again. No, not anymore, Tola." I felt good hearing him say that, I really felt good. And I didn't want anything to ruin this moment. But at the back of my mind, I had the feeling he could come up with some excuse to leave. I didn't want that to happen.