For those just joining us, this is 01.1fm Nigeria, we are talking about the ideal valentine, what would your ideal valentine be people? What are your dreams for the love holiday. We would appreciate your opinion you can contribute to the discussion by calling us on…”
The radio crooned on and on. I just wanted to reach out and yank at the tuner as hard as I could but I was too tensed to even bring myself to it. It was a warm Saturday afternoon and even though the ac was on, I could feel my armpits get wet gradually. How did I get myself into this? I wondered. It had been about twenty minutes since I told Kolade Williams that I no longer wanted to be the woman everyone saw in his car but never got introduced to. I mean… isn’t three years of self sacrificing relationship worth a formal and fairly public title? I hate it when people stop him at parties, shows, shopping malls etc to say hi and they just totally ignore me. Just the other day, he had asked me to stay in the car when he was going out to greet his aunt. Eventually when she pressed him, he had introduced me to the elderly lady with the mouthful of gold teeth as his colleague. What an insult!!! Anyways, I had decided that my ideal valentine this year would be one in which I knew where I stood with this never changing never budging playboy, otherwise I would rather have valentine alone. I just want to go to the next level in my life. Tomorrow is val, today is the day that I have decided to eat the frog. Its not digesting, kolade has been quiet since I asked him where we are going with our relationship, something tells me im at the last bus stop in this relationship… I feel my heart constricting in my chest… it seems to be about to burst. How can a heart that is constricting so badly be about to burst? I open my mouth to say something but my throat is dry… it is at this point that I realize that I might have downplayed the way I feel about this son of a dog just a little bit. Kolade stopped for a red light, my heart still feels funny, but I don’t really know how I can stop it, my ears are pounding and I sneak a look at him from time to time. Why wont he stay something? I mean he should just let me know if he doesn’t want to go forward with me… I can hhandle the rejection, I suppose. Okay maybe not… but the silence is worse. Im just gonna kill myself right now. He scratched his nose lazily, I followed his gaze when his eyes widened as he looked out his side window and almost like we planned it, we both yelled OH MY GOD!!!!
A bike man that had been way way behind us had jumped the lines and was now moving past us defying the red light. He had two young men on the backseat and a second I could see that one of them was as alarmed as we were but the other was smiling broadly. As the bike moved past us and into the round statue that stood at the T.junction, creating a roundabout of sorts, a long vehicle that was coming from the left turning of the road where the light was green came driving in and didn’t see the motorcycle fast enough to control the vehicle. He crushed them out in no time and soon there was a large spectator gathered around the three bodies, two of which had been mangled and mashed beyong easy recognition. The third was not so bad, having been flung away from the path of the trailer as the bike rider tried to make last minutes effort to steer out of the trailers way. The young man moved, someone yelled “hes alive” and soon people were running helter sketer trying to find out which one of them would be willing to transport the wounded man to the hospital in his car. Of course everybody suddenly had somewhere important they had to be and soon the scene of the accident was almost deserted. I looked at Kolade, waiting for him to make the move to leave the scene too. What he did next shocked me, now that I looked back on it, I shouldn’t have been too surprised. I mean didn’t the elders say that blood is thicker than water? And that it smells and acts like magnet often? Well, he moved towards the wounded man and gently lifted him in his arms and as I followed him, dazed by his actions, he nodded, gesturing for me to hold the door of his sparkling white Mercedes for him to put the profusely bleeding guy in it. I did as he motioned and soon, we were on our way to the hospital. We were there in no time as Kolade drove like a crazy person…
Okay, so instead of giving me my answer and letting me know if I am to get the hell out of there or stay, here he was playing good Samaritan. I was starting to get irritated. My friends had been right about him all along. Now that I think of it, I wonder why I didn’t see it before… isn’t this guy quite selfish at that? I need to get my life in order… I’m 27 this year…I want to be married as soon as I can but to who? My boyfriend of three years doesn’t even want to hear the word. Damn! How did I get myself in this mess?
The doctor came in and told our friend Mr. good Samaritan that his patient needs blood transfusion urgently. Kolade says something about the blood bank, the doctor replies that he has already called the blood bank but they are short of O- blood group. Next thing I know they are pushing a needle with a blood bag at the end into my man’s arm… oh my god! This guy is actually donating his blood to the stranger guy. Oh, I guess he would, hes got one of those rare blood types, O NEGATIVE I think. When he was done donating the pints needed, we got back in the car and drove towards my house once more, after the doctors had gotten his contact of course. The drive back to my house from there was quite uneventful. Just the former silence and whe eventually I stepped out and walked towards my door, I didn’t expect what he said to me. Im not sure I remember the details, but I think it went somewhat like this. “Catherine, I heard all you said the other time, I just need time to digest it and I promise ill give you a feed back. Just know that whatever the outcome of my thoughts turns out to be, I love you very much.” I was too speechless to answer him So I just turned around and went into the house. I wasn’t surprised when I heard the car start and him zoom off.
Its 10:00pm and I still hadn’t heard from him. I had spent the rest of the day moping about the house and feeling sorry for myself. There is something else though, something that has kept gnawing at the back of my mind since I had first seen that accident victim at the scene of the crash. I tried very hard to place what it was that was so awefully familiar about him, but I just couldn’t. one thing I could remember though was the fact that he had been the one of the two guys who had been smiling like an imp when the motorcyclist raced towards the red light. The guy who had looked scared was indeed the one who had died. Why do the good guys die and the bad guys survive? I wonder where kolade is at this time of the day. I stood up and went to my bedroom, aiming to change out of my clothes and go and check on the accident victim at the hospital. As I made to reach for my lipstick on the dresser… my eyes fell on a picture of kolade holding a football cup with both hands and smiling very broadly. He was young, maybe twenty or thereabouts with those incredible dimples and huge squirrel like front teeth. GBAM!! That was it. That was what had been gnawing at the back of my mind all day, the strangers front teeth and dimples, coupled with his incredible smile and general body features. I hadn’t really been irritated because kolade was playing good Samaritan, I was uncomfortable because that stranger lying in all that pool of blood made me feel like it was kolade lying in there. The resemblance was too striking, and kolade must have seen it too. That’s why he helped. But what was all that talk about having the same blood group, especially when the o- blood group is so rare? Ok… this is way too many coincidences for one day, and just saying… I don’t believe in coincidences. Quickly, I grabbed my car keys and rushed out into the chilly night. The hospital was my destination, I had to find out for sure if there was a relationship between those two. My heart beats with panic and excitement… my many months of yoga has paid off, I have been able to access and examine my memories. And what is more, I was about to use it for something constructive, something that wasn’t snooping on my self by closing my eyes at night and trying to catch the things I had let slip from memory in the day.
When I got into the hospital building, I was told that our crazy patient had been transferred to a private ward. By whom? I wondered if my beloved had taken his angelish behavior up just another notch. I was just about to turn back and head back for home when I saw senator Williams come out of the door leading to the left wing of the building that housed the private wards. I stopped in my tracks not for fear of being noticed by the ridiculously handsome older man (we had never met though I had seen him on t.v and pictures a lot) what stopped me in my tracks was the fact that he was in the middle of an heated argument with a woman. He kept repeating
“you should have kept him away… I’ve been paying you all you asked for”
and the lady beside him, no more than her early forties even though pa Williams was well into his seventy second years answered him with
“” look Williams, there is nothing to be done to correct what went wrong now. I have lost a son today and the last thing I want to be doing is explaining to you why our son is here. You have treated me with nothing but contempt all these years and I know I do not deserve it. My only crime being that I decided not to have an abortion. And anyways… the boy insisted on meeting his father, what was I supposed to do tie him up and lock him in?”
Angrily, Williams answered her with
“yes, that would have worked I believe. Now look what mess he has created. I never wanted this… I never wanted him”
With this, he walked angrily past me without even a glance at me. Right there and then I concluded that all the men of the Williams clan were top notch irresponsible assholes!
I just wanted to wrap my arms around the woman who continued to stand there, looking distraught and quite ready to burst into tears. Right there and then I decided to do a little bit of my own good samarianism. I walked to a corner and dialed the number that I had lifted out of kolades phone,
“mrs bolanile Williams please” I requested
After I had made my call, I decided to go towards the lady who I could see was now walking towards the private ward. I was still summoning my courage and deciding what way it would be best to approach this pretty lady to give her my condolences when someone placed a strong hand on my shoulder. I didn’t need to turn to know who it was, I turned around ever so gently, ready to tell him how sorry I was to have him find out this way. But when I turned, his countenance wasn’t that of someone who needed a hug… he looked like he was about to beat someone else up instead and before I could ask what was up, he launched into the whole story himself.
You know”, he started, walking towards the private ward and talking in rapid bursts without stopping for breath
That silly guy of a doctor just referred to tale as my brother, when I tried to correct him, he said something about our blood matching more that 85% and that it means we are related by blood. Cant that idiot just understand that just because we happen to share blood group does not mean we are freaking related?”
I knew better than to break the news of what I found out to him on the spot, so I just shut up and let him do all the talking. I probably shouldn’t have helped the bastard in the first place, given that he probably was the one who put the motorcyclist up to his show of madness… but Ive done it and now before any idiotic doctor saddles me with responsibilities that aren’t mine”
I looked at him and could see that he carried doubts of all he was saying in his mind, and he was only speaking out loud in order to convince himself rather than any other person. We walked into the room and simultaneously saw that Tale, (for such was the name on the ring he wore on his thumb) was awake. He smiled when he saw us and I could tell that kolade was very uncomfortable. This was very a unusual phenomenon for me to handle… my man can be cold, annoying, self centered but never uncomfortable in this way. But I guess I would be uncomfortable too if I was staring at a young man who could have very well been me but for the age difference and wasn’t my sibling or relation. Kolade moved towards him tentatively, I knew he could also see what I was seeing, but he needed a little more confirmation than a doctors guess and a few coincidences. At this point, I could feel what he was feeling and all my foul thoughts about him had simmered down. He had a brief conversation with Tale and soon, we were on our way back home. This time to his parent’s house.
I waited for the customary “ill be right back” which was his way of telling me to stay in the car but it didn’t come. Not sure what to think, I dragged my feet a little bit and waited for him to make his intentions clear. He did.
“ are you coming?” he asked so naturally, as if this was a very common routine of ours. I got out of the vehicle and stayed a step or two behind him. When we came to the front door, a butler opened it before Kolade could even reach for it. I was too carried away by the grandeur of the building to remember to behave myself. I felt like I was walking through one of those mighty building that were often used to represent the Buckingham palace in movies. Anyways, when we finally got into the main living room, his parents were waiting there.
Mrs bolanile Williams was just as beautiful as she was in all of those women magazines that had her featured in at least three editions of their issues per year. She sat straight, perfectly squared shoulders and head held high. She had her hair swept up in a ponytail at the top of her head and with her legs crossed in the British fashion, she looked regal, elegant and quite awesome. Senator Williams on the other hand looked like he had just had a big argument with someone. His face was twisted up in pain and it was obvious he was suffering some sort of heart break. When he saw us, he again ignored me and faced his son squarely…
“oh , good thing you’re here, I need you to talk to your mother. Make her understand that this is something that could happen to anyone. It was a one time mistake and it shouldn’t come between us, not at this time… we are too old for this, she cant leave me now”.
It was as if my man had not heard him at all, he just continued to stare at his mother, when he finally spoke, his voice carried all the anguish that is possible to have in ones voice.
“so it is true then, Bamitale is my brother? He is indeed my brother? Dad!!! How could you do this to us, to her!”
He wailed plaintively. His eyes filled with sorrow and grief. He faced his mother and this time looks at the floor and notices for the first time the various suitcases on the floor. When the implication of what was going on around him registered fully, he walked towards his mom and squated at her side. Taking her hands and looking into her eyes, he said
“is this what you really want mother?” he asked, nodding at the bags
She nodded with a faint bemused smile on her face
“then you have my support all the way. I love you so much no matter what.”
She smiled again, and taking his face and cradling it gently in her hands, she answered him with
“I love you too my baby.”
Too lost for words, I looked away to keep myself from crying but try as I did, I could feel the tears well up slowly. She looked at me with that bemused smile again and nodded in my direction with a question mark on her face. At this point, kolade finally shattered my world completely when as stepped forward and leading me by my hand, presented me to his mother thus:
“mother, this is the love of my life, the woman whom I intend to be wedded to in a few months if she will have me of course, which I suppose she would despite her attempts at hiding the fact that we are expecting a baby very soon has failed woefully.
Astounded and wondering how the hell he had gotten to know about the baby but too shocked by his over direct proposal to think straight I just stood there like a dumb statue and desperately fought back tears. I don’t believe I noticed when the senator came back into the discussion but I remember him saying some stuff about the need for the family to be together especially now that they had a wedding on the way for the youngest Williams’ child. I remember vaguely correcting him that kolade was hardly the youngest and that his youngest son was on a hospital bed, at risk of losing his left leg to a crash. His face registered shock and as I watched him, I realized just how much he had been pampered for his face registered the attitude of a man who had never been corrected by a woman. Mrs williams’ face shown with pride and standing up such that she treated me to a personal full view of her legendary long legs, she gave me a very warm hug and whispered welcome to the family in my ear.
“but…but I have an election coming up my love, this is our chance to rule the world together, you and i. you cant leave me now baby, you cant…” he ranted on and on. Mrs Williams just looked at him and said “I have” she rung a tiny bell by her side and two butlers came in, “take the bags to the car” she said and I realized that this particular valentine had not sealed a love, it had given it a voice. I had kept the baby a secret away from him because I didn’t want him to feel pressured by the presence of a pregnancy. Obviously my secret was not well kept for he had found out. Was my worst fears coming through and he is only proposing marriage because he felt a moral obligation towards me? I could feel my heart ache coming back and he must have felt it too because he reached for my hand in his car on our way home (having left mine at the hospital car park to be picked up later)
“babe, I want you to know that I love and adore you very much,…” he said squeezing my hand gently, he continued… “I am glad that you are carrying our child and I want you to know that the pregnancy has not influenced my decision in any way… I love you and you are the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, have and raise beautiful children with. Please say yes my dear”
“yes!” I muttered, and then repeated “yes, yes, yes I will marry you Kolade” I crowed like a drunk cock.,
It was around 8:30pm on February fourteen, my fourth valentine day as his girlfriend and I was finally where I had hoped to be. I was with the man of my dreams, I had found a long unknown future brother in law, I had indirectly torn a family apart by telling on the ever randy senator to his wife and most exciting, I had a live human being, a combination of the man I love and myself in me. Growing by the day. It was the worst valentine ever… and the best at that. I didn’t get any of the usual valentine gifts, but I found myself not caring… that was the first time in a long long time.
Written By Olakunle's Nancy
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