Consequences

Chapter 26

"Ola? Are you serious about what you have just said?" I asked, terribly surprised he was experiencing the same situation.
"It's true, and he has never done that before. I'm worried." He replied back.
"I think I have an idea where my parents might be."
"Where?"
"They may have gone to the village."
"To the village? And how do you know that?"
"I just have a feeling it might be so." I simply told him. He was quiet. "Ola are you still there?"
"Yes, I'm just wondering if my father didn't go to the village as well?"
"Well I'm sure wherever they went, they'll come back. So you don't need to worry." I told him.
"Meaning?" I didn't reply immediately as I was  thinking of how best to spend the weekend. It would be nice spending it with him, I told myself.

"It means I have the whole weekend to myself, to do whatever I want." I replied back.
"Perhaps I could make it up to you like I told you." He suggested. I was confused.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"I mean you said you were busy when I came to your office. You couldn't give me the good food you felt I needed."

I was a little angry with him for saying that. But I held myself. How could he be asking me such a thing when I'm worried I haven't seen my parents?

"Ola you can't be serious, can you?"
"And why not, did I say anything wrong?"
"I'm here worried I haven't seen my parents, and you are not even bothered that you haven't seen your father?" I asked him
"So what do I do, start looking for him? I mean he went out, he'll come back. Why should I bother myself?"
"You should be worried like I am right now. If you're not worried it means.... " I paused as I was thinking about how he would feel if he didn't see me. I hurriedly concluded he wouldn't worry too much.

"Tola, I know where you're going with this."
"Really?" I asked.
"Okay, enjoy your weekend worrying about your parents."
"Ola? So you want to leave me worrying without doing anything?" I asked hoping he wouldn't hang up.
"And what can I do if you want to keep worrying? Nothing." He asked. I must admit I was a little weakened by his comment.
"And what kind of a weekend is it without you?"
"A weekend you can spend in prayer and meditation perhaps."
"Just so you can do your things, right?" I asked.
"What things?" I kept quiet for a minute as I didn't want to go over the question of whether there was another woman or not. But he promptly brought it up.
"I get what you mean. You think I'm avoiding you just so I can spend it with some other woman, right?" I kept quiet thinking of how best to avoid an argument. I knew in a matter of minutes we could have one.

"I haven't said that Ola."
"You were thinking of saying it."
"No I wasn't."
"Yes you were." I got angry when he said that.
"Ola stop inventing things I haven't said, okay?! I was shouting.
"And what if you meant it?"
"Fine, I meant it! So why don't you start by telling me how it is with her?! Why don't you tell me you love her more than you love me?!"
I was shouting at him  and didn't care about how he felt. I had to let out what I had bottled up inside me. If I wanted answers, he wouldn't give them to me. I had to get them one way or the other. But with all my shouting and provocation, he only asked me one simple question.

"Are you okay, now?" I wasn't okay. I was okay knowing that I had told him what I wanted to tell him. I was satisfied I could get this off my chest. Now, I only had to wait to hear what he had to say. Would he give me an answer? Was he still going to be evasive?

"Tola, I have a few things I need to get done. I'll get back to you when I finish." With that he hung up and never called me back again. I spent the better part of the weekend alone, asking myself why I had provoked him with my insistence.

I had promised I would never ask him that question again. But by not asking him, I still carried the thought of  it, like a heavy load upon my head. And now that I had finally gotten rid of the load, I may have scared Ola so much, he could have probably decided to avoid me.

I didn't want that to happen. I had to find a way to settle with him. This meant paying him a visit. It was a Sunday morning and not seeing my parents I hurriedly took my shower and rushed out of the house. I was about to pay Ola a visit. I had to see him.

I drove down to his house in time to see a car coming out of the gate. It had to be him, I thought to myself. As I approached the car I could finally see him. The thought of how he had stopped abruptly at the supermarket, the day he drove my car, came to my mind.

Seeing him come out, I could only do one thing; drive like he did back at the supermarket. I pressed the accelerator and once I got close to his car I made a quick right turn and stopped the car abruptly. I had blocked his car, making him  suddenly stop. The back red light of his car showed and he came down. I remained in my car waiting to see what would happen next.

He came up to me and looked at me. I refused to wind down my glass. He left me and went round to the front passenger door and opened it. He got in and closed the door.

"Tola na you do dis bad driving?" I slowly looked at him and nodded. He sighed and bent his head.
"What do I do with you now?" He asked me. He came down and went back into the car he wanted to go out with. He drove the car back into the house and told the gateman to lock the gate. He got into my car and sat down.

"So where do we go now?" He asked. I didn't answer him. I only kick-started my car and left his house. While on the road I was a little nervous and was driving at a certain speed which surprised Ola himself.

I was silent and didn't want to say anything that would immediately bring about a discussion. I spotted a supermarket and stopped abruptly.

"I'm getting us something to drink, okay?" I asked him.
"Sure, I just need water...., " I didn't wait for him to finish. I had already opened my door and got out. I didn't care about what he wanted.

I went into the supermarket and in a few minutes I was out carrying a nylon bag with a few drinks. I got back into the car and handed him the bag. He took the bag and looked at me.

"Tola what do I do with this?" He asked raising up the nylon bag.
"I have a problem with you neglecting me."
"And you decide the best way to present yourself is by driving recklessly to my house?"
"It wasn't a reckless driving I did back there. I only did what you did at the supermarket."
Ola laughed when I said that.
"Anita really study you well sha. You be real smooth criminal. Anybody seeing you will believe you cannot even hurt a fly. But look at how you blocked my car."

I sighed when he said that. Was I overreacting or was it the fear of losing him that made me to behave like this?
"I'm no criminal, Ola. I just know what I want."
"You don't want to be neglected. I think you already said that. But I remember behaving like this sometime ago, and you said it was harassment." I looked out of the window ashamed of being reminded about what I had said in the past.

"That belongs to the past. Then I wasn't sure of you. Now? I'm not sure any other man can take me away from you." I stared at him giving him a full strong gaze. "I have yet to see that man." Ola scratched his head and put the nylon bag down and took a beer out of it.

He then handed me a coke and we started drinking. When we finished he looked at me. I was certain I knew why he was looking at me. I guess he must have thought I was crazy. In fact to say the truth, I was crazy, but crazy about him. He should have known this by now.

"You forget Lanre came close to snatching you away from me. He was always there, I wasn't. You said that yourself, not me." He looked at me and I blinked at this sudden reminder.

I didn't want reminders. He was here with me and that was all that mattered to me.

"All that belongs to the past."

"But you forgot the text message you sent me saying that I messed up your day. That should belong to the past as well." I sighed when he said that.
" True, you mess up my day, you always do. Then you leave me hanging and don't do anything about it." I replied looking at him.

"It's why I offered to make it up to you with a little loving. But you didn't want it."

"We were in my office. It wasn't the appropriate place." I said. I looked at him with a willingness to have the little loving experience he was offering. Perhaps I needed it as I was feeling tense, nervous and agitated. We drove down to a hotel and booked a room.

Once inside, I only cared about what Ola would do to make me feel good. The rest of the world didn't matter anymore, not even my parents.