YOU FOUND ME

CHAPTER 9-PART 1

TENIOLA ADAMS

    I felt the cool breeze blow against my skin as I exited the massive building.
I walked briskly towards where my old Nissan truck was parked.
I felt relieved that I had given Mr DaSilva my appreciation; so now I could finally let that off my chest. Well I didn't think much of the conversation we had, though I noticed his subtle attempts at trying to make small talk. He did that every single time we met.
Whatever his motive was, I wasn't sure.
And I wasn't ready to know.

   I knew it might be too quick to judge but I was only trying to be careful.
Only time would tell.
But for now it would be best for me and for both of us, that I set clear boundaries. 

    I got to the vehicle and took out my keys from my back pocket to open the door. As I got in the driver's seat and remembered that I was supposed to give Ayo a call this evening.
Ayo was my little brother, though not so little anymore.
Like who'd believe he would be much taller than I was right now and I'll have to tiptoe to touch the top of his head !?

   Ayo was a carbon copy of our father, and every time I saw him I was reminded of 'the man' I once adored.
The man who abandoned us.
But I believed and hoped in my heart that Ayo would never turn out to be like him.
I prayed earnestly every day about it. Ayo had actually taken up the role of the man in our family quite impressively and I was certain that he would go to any length to protect the women in his life.

   He was presently enrolled at the University of Ibadan, where he was studying to become a civil engineer. In our last chat he had told me that he was preparing to take mid-semester tests in school that would be starting tomorrow. That was the main reason I wanted to give him a call, to wish him best of luck.

  I wanted to get home as fast as I could especially since I had quite a handful of laundry to do, and then Youth fellowship at church was by 5pm.
I adjusted the rear mirror, so I could have a clearer view behind to maneuver out of where I parked.
I inserted the keys into the ignition with my right foot placed on the clutch.
I turned the keys.
Grrrrr grrrrr grrrrr....

This sound was strange.
And the car wasn't coming on.
I checked the fuel guage on the dashboard.
I still had enough to take me home.
I tried restarting it and then two times more, all to no avail.
At this point, something was definitely wrong.

   I slammed my hands on the dashboard.
"Uggh... What's all this now?" I blurted out, even though I clearly knew I wasn't going to get a response.
This was the last thing I wanted to happen today and I wasn't having any of it.
I opened the door and got out of the car, my arms akimbo while staring at the truck in disbelief.
I opened the bonnet and peered into the engine, even though I had no clue whatsoever I was looking for.
I picked up a spanner from the trunk of the car, and tried to tighten a few bolts here and there.
I went back in to try starting the truck again, this time around I was welcomed with a screeching sound.

     My head was banging.
Why would this truck decide to embarass me like this?
It was working perfectly fine this morning and didn't give any sign of a possible malfunction.
Whoever said cars were liabilities, was definitely right.
This 'liability' was beginning to stress me out.

Oh God, what should I do?

    I stepped out of the truck once more, hoping to find a solution. I knew very little about vehicles and I wasn't about to make things worse.
I picked up my phone to dial my mechanic's number. He had been repairing my truck since I bought it three years ago.
Hopefully he could come over to check what was wrong.
He picked up at the first ring.
"Hello, hello Uche...how you dey?"
I heard noises in the background.
"Ah Aunty na you o ! I dey fine! Hope no problem?", he replied excitedly.
I let out a deep sigh.
"Na my truck...the thing no gree start."
"That our pickup? Okay. You don check the oil guage?"
"See I no understand anything again...I wan make you come help me see wetin be the problem."
"Ah madam! I no dey town o...I travel go Abia state for one work like that", he answered apologetically.
I was disappointed but I tried not to let it show in my voice.
"Hmmn...okay o. No wahala. I go find wetin I go do"
"Sorry Aunty, no vex..."
"Never mind. Thanks Uche...bye."

    And with that, I hung up. Uche was the only car repairer I had on my contact list.
What would I do now?

Who would I call?

   I never expected that this would happen; that I would be stuck in Midas Incorporation parking lot on this fateful morning.
I tried hard to think of a solution, but my mind was too clogged to come up with any at the moment.
I placed my right palm over my forehead hoping that doing so would help me think of a genius idea. Instead, all I felt was the warmth of my skin.

     I looked up to the skies.
The clouds had darkened and the wind was blowing with an increased intensity.

Rain was definitely coming.

And it would meet me here, stuck, with no help in sight.
God, please. Send help.

Thank you for reading! 🤗🤗🤗🤗

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