Things We Do For Love - Four

This post is continued from part three here.

A myriad of thoughts ran through my mind as I made for Surulere.

For starters, my brain went into overdrive trying to fathom why Feyi would lie about her destination on the previous day. In the six years since we had been together, Feyi had only lied to me twice; and she had apologized profusely afterwards on both occasions. The first had been about an E grade she was ashamed of, and the second was told to get me out of the room while they planned a surprise for my birthday.

Then there was the matter of the two men who had been pursuing her. I was clueless on that front. Men? Pursuing Feyi? Why? For What? Feyi. My Feyi, who was known for smiling at strangers; my Feyi, who could not hurt a fly. Why would anyone be pursuing my Feyi?

 I started to call her mom, but then changed my mind and dialed Jide’s number instead. Feyi’s mom did not like me, with good reason, and she did not bother to hide it. Feyi did a great job at insulating me from her verbal jabs – but she would still get through to me on occasion, and it did not help that I did not have a lot going on the ‘job front’. Jide, Feyi’s eldest sibling, on the other hand was more sympathetic. He regularly sent me links to job openings and had recommended me for interviews at his organization twice.

His phone was switched off. I tried to reach Tayo, the next in line to Jide, and his phone was switched off too. I was on my own.

Traffic flowed smoothly until we got to Palm-Grove. I briefly considered buying some chewing gum to mask the unpleasant odor of my unwashed teeth – then discarded the idea when I realized I could end up needing more money than I had on me. It was an easy choice. I would rather have smelly breath than be at the mercy of danfo drivers.

My thoughts went back to the unanswered question of why Feyi would lie to me. What could she be hiding? Who were these men and why where they pursuing her? Or, could this by any chance be a natural consequence of my decision to stop talking to her about my job search?

It was quite simple, really. I was tired of the endless confessions and prayers every time I told her I had been invited to an interview. I was tired of her encouragements and reassurances every time I got a rejection email from yet another company. So I went from “Baby, they said no” to “Woo, I was not invited”.

Suddenly, it struck me that I was yet to pray about the situation – so I immediately shut off my thoughts and said my first prayer of the day. There was no finesse. I did not start with thanksgiving or quote bible verses. I simply said a prayer for help, a request for God to find Feyi for me.

An answer of sorts came immediately.

My phone rang, punctuating my prayer.

“Are you Mofesola?”

“Yes. Who is…?”

“I am Toyin, a Nurse at Duro-Soleye Hospital, Ikeja. You know the place?”

“Yes. I…”

“Good. We have your sister. How soon can you be here?”

(Ep. End).