Sacrilege – Episode 48

Sacrilege – Episode 48

© Adeola Nissi

“Ladies?” Deolu called from the sitting room.

“Five more minutes, Ad” from the bedroom, Laura yelled what she had been saying for almost an hour.

The men chorused an exasperated sigh as they stood and walked out of the house to wait in the compound. Ladies probably were the inventors of the ‘African Time’.

“How long does it take four ladies to get dressed?” Chris asked no one in particular as they walked into the compound of Deolu’s house.

“Probably an eternity.” Deolu answered.

Frank chuckled. “By the time they are done, all my hairs must have turned grey”

Mark shrugged. “Dye would always be there to change it right back to black. Leave the ladies to look good” Mark said in the defense of the ladies. Of course, trust a make-up artiste to know that looking good takes time.

Frank snorted. “Not like we have a choice”

‘They would still look good with or without the makeup’ was what Chris had in mind as his response but he was wise to keep it to himself. The past few weeks above anything had taught him not to get into a makeup argument with the artiste. He really didn’t want to spend the evening listening to Mark talk about the ‘simple elegance that a perfectly done makeup gives to a lady. Deolu and Chris pulled out four chairs and arranged it by the flowery garden. The flowers were decorated with Christmas lights and a medium sized Christmas tree had been erected in the middle of the garden in respect of the season. It was December, three months after the entire saga which shook the very foundations of their family. The storm had come and tried them in the worst possible way, putting their faith, love, trust and happiness through the test of the fiery furnace but alas, they had come out stronger and better. Forgiveness had worked as a balm, healing all wounds, mending all broken hearts. A vacation was all they needed but they couldn’t get it sooner. Life doesn’t always give what we want and despite the fact that Deolu ached to take Laura – at the very least – on a vacation, he had to work his butt off, making up for all the time he spent away from his company to get it back on track. Apparently, so did everyone else, but now, they were finally getting the break they all so deserved.

The men sat waiting patiently. Only patience can be exercised when you are waiting for a bunch of women who were involved in the business of looking pretty. Political discussions commenced as they maximized the waiting period, using it to digest the degenerated state of the things going on in the country. Time soon passed unnoticed as they became induced in their conversation and occasional arguments. The topic soon moved to sport and their voices became almost animated as they engaged in sport debates.

After the long wait, the door finally opened. As usual, no matter how frustrating the wait can be, it always turned out to be completely worth it. Distracted, Chris’ eyes twinkled as they lifted to the sight of Tito who emerged from the house with a large bag in hand. His heart did a little flop in his chest as his eyes travelled up and down the length of her. All he could see was legs and more legs, putting thoughts into his head, thoughts he shouldn’t be having outside the confines of marriage. She wore a blue bum short that clung to her thigh, leaving the length of her long legs in full display. On top, she wore a large oversized faded pink top that hung off the shoulders and came to a stop at her hip. Unable to look away, his male companions forgotten, Chris stared with longing at her swaying behind as she made for the trunk and dropped the bag with the other luggage. Chris couldn’t but notice that she had curled her hair and his hand itched as he watched the hair bounce against her bare shoulders. She turned and as though she knew he was watching, she winked at him as she made her way back into the house. Chris swallowed. Gosh, she had him neatly wrapped around her little finger.

“Damn! She’s got you fair and square” Deolu muttered as he grinned at his friend, noticing the way Chris’ eyes lit up at the sight of Tito. Mark had also taken note of the look in Chris’ eyes and smiled to himself, pleased. Chris couldn’t believe he was almost blushing. He took a deep breath and tried to get his mind back on track but he was in for a shock as yet another woman came out of the house. He very nearly found himself gaping in astonishment. He cast his eyes aside and saw that the woman in question had gotten her desired reaction from her betrothed.

“Good God in heaven” Frank found himself gaping at his wife. For the life of him, he couldn’t believe his Gloria was the one walking right to the trunk of the bus, rearranging the luggage before placing the one she had brought into the space she had created. She was in a nicker, a white nicker that stopped at midthigh and clung to her skin, outlining her shape in a way he had never noticed in her usual housewife outfits. The shape was probably even more pronounced by the clingy red top she wore, matched by red sneakers. The straight black weave-on on her head rested neatly on her back. Gloria looked no more than a young woman in her late twenties as she turned and grinned at the men who were openly gawking at her transformation. Of course, the woman knew she’s a piece of cake, Frank thought as he watched his wife go back inside the house.

“I think I have to agree with you sir, the wait was totally worth it” Deolu said to Mark as he watched Gloria enter the house.

Mark looked thoughtful. “If all wives are like this, maybe I should go get myself a wife too, Tito has been on my neck about this”

“You should probably listen to your daughter” Frank said.

Mark snorted. “Who would want to be with an old man like me though?”

“A right thinking economist who knows the advantage of having a top class makeup artist as her husband” Mark scoffed at Frank. “Besides, thanks to the accident, you have way too many scars. Chicks dig it. All you need do is go shirtless at the beach and women would flock like flies to decayed poop”

Mark’s frown deepened at the comparison as the younger men laughed. “What a great analogy!”

They heard voices even before the door opened and Laura emerged. The outfit she had on was much like Gloria’s, save the hair which in her case was her natural spongy mass, left in all its glory to fill he head in a really fascinating way, reminding Deolu of how gorgeous she always looked in the morning. But it was not the hair that caught Deolu’s attention as much as they way her top clung to her body, particularly her stomach. Deolu’s heart pounded with love as he stared at her slightly rounded tummy, a testament of the life growing inside, the life of his unborn son. Just as he noticed the small bag in her hand and was about to stand to help her with it, the door opened and Jane shot out, hastening after Laura.

“I told you not to carry anything” Jane scolded as she snatched the bag in Laura’s hand and gave her a pointed glare, walking towards the bus ahead.

Laura rolled her eyes heavenwards. “Dear God! What is with everyone? I am not even showing much yet and you all are already treating me like a mannequin doll”

“Not showing much is not the same as not showing” Jane slanted a glance at her slightly protruding belly for equal measure. “Besides, showing or not, the fact remains that you are carrying my nephew and I won’t wait till he is born to show him just how caring his aunt is” Jane said, grinning.

Laura shook her head, a wry smile on her face. Wasn’t it more than enough that Deolu barely allowed her lift a pin on her own without him saying she was ‘stressing herself’? But no. Everyone in her family seemed to have taken it upon themselves to take excess care of her. If they could assist her in bathing and brushing her own teeth, they probably would have done that – not like Deolu wasn’t already doing the bathing part. She was sure her four months old foetus was already glowing in her tummy from the excess attention. “With this best aunt competition going on between you and Tito, I doubt you would allow me breathe on my own without wanting to assist me. This bag is not too much for me to carry, you know, I am not a baby” she complained as they got to the trunk and Jane put the bag inside, smiling mischievously at her.

“Oh, so now you know how it feels to be babied” she grinned with satisfaction. “Enjoy it while it lasts because it won’t stop anytime soon. Now, go into the bus, sit and put your legs up, or better still…” she lowered her voice in conspiracy “go and take a sit on Deolu’s laps, his eyes has been burning with the fires of passion ever since you came out”

Laura frowned at her words, her lids lowering. “What would you know about ‘fires of passion’, Jane?”

Jane grinned. “Jude taught me”

Laura gasped. “Jane?”

Turning on her heels, Jane hastened back into the house, the digital camera that hung off her neck swung as she went.

Still frowning at Jane’s words, Laura decided to do exactly as she had said; she went and sat on Deolu’s laps. Deolu kissed her cheek as his hand stroked her belly slightly. His phone rang and he glanced at it, frowned and pressed the red button. Laura raised her brow at her husband. “You can’t ignore her calls forever”

Deolu shrugged. “I dont need her interferences now, she has done more than enough”

Laura caressed his cheek. “She is still my mother-in-law. She deserves your forgiveness”

Deolu sighed. Was it bad that he just didn’t want his mother around anything that had to do with him? She had wrought enough damage as it is with her interferences in the past, now that Laura was pregnant, he couldn’t afford anything that would constitute stress for her. Laura had made him inform his mother about the pregnancy but that was the length he was willing to go. He had learnt that some people are better off far away than close.

In few minutes, all the ladies emerged from the house all set. “Yes, we are done” Tito declared, much to the relief of the men.

“Done? We have not taken pictures” Jane declared, taping the digital camera on her chest. Gloria and Tito instantly struck a pose and Laura surged out of Deolu’s arms to join the ladies. The men exchanged exasperated looks as they latched onto their reservoirs of patience. Deolu could even see the driver of the bus – his employee – through the side mirror of the bus, the waiting was obviously exhausting him too. Deolu went inside the house to crosscheck the lights and lock all the doors as Jane flashed away, taking various pictures while the ladies changed styles from classy to comical and even hilarious poses.

“Wait, what of me?” Jane frowned then rushed towards Chris, dragging him out of his seat and thrusting the camera in his hand. Mark and Frank smiled at the kids, enjoying the sight as Chris took over the post of the photographer.

The gateman opened the gate and the ladies turned. “Beach hats, ladies?” Teju called from the gate as she entered with Hassan right beside her, luggage in hand. Teju waved beach hats in the air and the ladies whooped, trooping over to her, murmuring delights at the beautiful addition to their dressing.

Hassan greeted the ladies and shared greeting handshakes and bows to the men before proceeding to put their luggage in the trunk of the bus. Gloria gave Teju a half hug as Jane perused Teju critically. “This is hardly fair. How can a pregnant woman look so sexy?”

The ladies chuckled and Teju grinned with pride. Despite her large protruding baby bump, Teju was also clad in a bum short and a top that showed the perfect outline and size of her seven months pregnancy. She looked beautiful as ever and her model leg was a sight to behold in pink sneakers. The ladies shared jokes and donned their beach hats, gathering round for another round of pictures.

“Wait, we are not complete” Laura said, looking at the ladies as though looking for one missing face.

“Of course, you are not complete” Margaret answered as she emerged from the open gate, holding Tess’ hand. If the men had been shocked at Gloria’s appearance, everyone was utterly stupefied as they gawked at a grinning Margaret. The ladies muttered words of utter disbelief as they gaped at Margaret. Laura for one had to blink to be sure she was the one for without her usual native skirt and blouse attires with her matching scarfs, Margaret was almost unrecognizable.

She was dressed in a jean playsuit that clung to her body like a second skin. With dark shades and her hair hanging freely around her face, Margaret looked like something out of a fashion magazine. “The surprise keeps coming” Mark muttered to Frank who couldn’t believe he was staring at his daughter. Tess snatched her hand from her mother and ran towards her grandfather. Frank caught her and swung her up in the air making her giggle. Mark tickled her and she giggled even more as they men played with her.

Complete, the ladies gathered round to take another round of pictures. Tito was still wary of Margaret even though her gut told her that the girl had indeed changed for the better. Laura hadn’t been able to leave Margaret locked up despite what she did. She felt for her, felt her pain and her struggle even though she went about things the wrong way and made a lot of mistakes. And though she was deeply hurt, Laura couldn’t but forgive Margaret. She made mistakes just like everyone else and once Laura saw that she genuinely regretted her actions, she saw no reason to keep her own sister locked up. Besides, she had seen what unforgiveness could cause in the lives of her fathers; she couldn’t have that vicious circle go on. Laura also asked for the guys who abducted her to be released but the guy who attempted raping her was held back in police custody for being a previous suspect in a litany of crimes. Margaret had initially been so ashamed that she couldn’t face the family but everyone had brought her around and shown her that love forgives all sins.

The men joined the ladies and the camera was placed in the hands of the driver. A thousand pictures later, the trunk of the bus was closed and everyone trooped into the bus. The bus was like a mini BRT with twin chairs on each side and enough space in the middle to give room for free movement. They sat in couples and Jane made sure her seat was at the front. So she could take pictures of the couples. The driver backed out of the compound and thus commenced their vacation trip, their first stop being a beach. The couples eased into hushed intimate conversations and Jane snapped away. Pausing for a bit, she checked the pictures and a frown drew her brows together. “I should have brought my Jude. How come I am the only booless girl here?”

“I’m also booless” Margaret pointed out as Tess tugged at her hat.

“You have Tess so you don’t count. The point is, I have a boo but wasn’t allowed to bring him” Jane complained, casting accusing eyes at Laura.

Laura gave her tummy a slow rub and smiled. “You are not married”

“But sis Tito is not married too”

“She is not nineteen either” Frank countered. “How can you be so gleeful about marrying so young?”

“See? I knew dad and I had something in common” Laura exclaimed. Though Frank was officially her uncle, she still called him dad.

“But dad, you saw Jude and I can tell you liked him” Jane whined.

“Not saying I don’t. Just don’t want you to marry so fast”

“After I already started preparing everything for the bridal makeover? Don’t worry baby, you are getting married next year. Your uncle is behind you” Mark said firmly.

Jane grinned, giving Laura and her dad a winning look. “Thank you, uncle”she stuck her tongue out at Laura.

“If she loves him, she should get married” Chris said out of the blues.

Frank raised his brow at the younger man. “Wadding into a family conversation, are you, son?”

Chris grinned. “I am your son, so I am family”

“Boyfriends are not included in my family tree” Mark interjected.

“Dad” Tito gasped.

Chris didn’t seem the least bit offended and he seemed to brood over the statement. “Then maybe I need a status upgrade” Chris said, then his face turned serious as he stood from his seat and went on one knee. Stunned gasps went round the moving bus as Tito gaped, frozen in place. “I was gonna wait till we get to the beach but…” Chris laughed nervously as he fished into his pocket and produced a tiny square-shaped suede box. He swallowed and tried to quell the racing of his heart as he lifted his eyes to Tito. He didn’t know whether to take her shocked expression as a positive or negative sigh but he pushed down the panic rising in his head and forced his mouth open. “I love you, Tito” he began, holding her gaze with his, letting her see into his heart. “These past three months that I’ve spent with you have been the best months of my life. I don’t know how I have managed to live so long without you. You’ve made my life so full of joy and excitement. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Tee. I promise to love you when make me happy, love you even more when you are a pain in the a$$” Tito’s eyes watered as she chuckled tearfully. “Please marry me, Tito. Be my partner in the remaining journey of my life.”

Tears came to Tito’s eyes and rolled down her cheek as Chris opened the box to reveal a shining silver ring with beaming stones on top. Hushed silence embraced the bus as they waited for Tito to respond.

“Are you sure, Chris?” Teju’s voice cut into the silence. As eyes turned to her, she smiled mischievously. “Tito can be quite the burglar. You might just get home one day and find your diary and documents missing. Still want to marry?”

Tito snapped out of her haze enough to give Teju a watery halfhearted glare. Chris grinned. “She has burgled my heart already”

“You must also be ready to eat plantain with every meal for the rest of your life” Margaret added.

Everyone chuckled. “Even bread” Chris admitted with a slight laugh, his tension eased a bit. It however wasn’t helping that he was still on his knee, holding out the ring while Tito just stared at him like he was some sort of alien.

They chuckled more. “Ah, I see you’ve been introduced to it” Mark said.

Chris smiled up at Tito.“If that’s what it takes. I would gladly eat plantain with pounded yam only if I’m eating it with you, baby”

‘Awwwws’ went round the ladies and more tears rolled down Tito’s cheek. Somehow, she hadn’t imagined that she would see this day. She had destroyed the hope a long time ago. Bubbles of happiness floated within her and she felt like flying into a million pieces.

“C’mon sis, put him out of his misery. I’ve been waiting too long to be your matron of honour” Laura called as they waited for Tito.

“Love?” Chris called anxiously.

“Yes!” Tito finally found her voice. “Yes! Of course, I would marry you” she gasped, pulling Chris to his feet and enclosing him in a tight hug as she cried. Cheers went round the bus and Jane made sure to capture the moment. Chris sought Tito’s lips and sealed them in a long deep searing kiss. Their hearts pounded in unison to the rhythm of love as they basked in the beginning of a future together.

Mark cleared his throat. “Her father is still here” he chipped and everyone chuckled as the love birds reluctantly pulled apart. Chris wiped tears from Tito’s eyes before slipping the ring onto her finger. The happiness in Tito’s heart was unquantifiable as she brandished the ring, waving it around. Congratulations went round.

“Finally, the player is off the market” Deolu said, grinning.

“And about time too” Teju said, blushing, holding Hassan’s hand. She only wished she could have accepted Hassan’s proposal last month but she couldn’t do that to him. It wouldn’t be fair.

In her happiness, Tito glanced from Chris’ enthralled face to her dad, remembering their ‘boyfriend’ exchange. “Why do I feel you knew about this, dad?” She raised her brow.

“He already sought my permission” Mark confessed, smiling as though he just won a lottery ticket.

“Did he now?” Just when she thought she couldn’t love him more, her heart surprised her as she gazed up into Chris’ adoring eyes.

Chris smiled cockily, humor in his eyes and he raised his hand to tuck Tito’s hair behind her ear as they wind from the bus’ window sent it flying. “Yes. And he made sure to tell me he’d pluck my heart out with his bronzer brush if I ever hurt you”

Tito chuckled as did others in the bus. “I’m sure he did” she said, laughing. Her heart was so full of happiness as she leaned forward in her seat and kissed Chris. She pulled back slightly and rested her forehead against his, looking into eyes brimming with love. “I love you, Chris”

Chris smiled and puckered his mouth, kissing the tip of her nose. She smiled. “I love you more”

Tito’s eyes lowered, staring at the ring on her finger as events of the past clouded her mind. She glanced round the bus, seeing nothing but happy faces, who could tell that three months ago, their lives had practically been in shambles? It almost seemed surreal that after everything they had to pass through, they had emerged stronger, better and happier. The battle had been fierce. The battle for love, family, dreams… It had tested their defenses and tried their weapons but with the shield of love, the swords of forgiveness and a reinforcement from God, they had fought and won. Scars were left behind, more in number than Mark sustained from the accident. The scars were ingrained in their hearts, never to fade so they could never forget that selfish action brings consequences and comes round to hurt you in ways unimaginable.

Taking a deep breath, Tito lifted her eyes, turning to face everyone. “I’ve decided. I would be spinning what happened to us these past months into a blockbuster novel”

Jane’s eyes lit. “Yeah, I’m sure it would be a bestseller” she said and everyone chorused affirmations.

“And coming from a bestselling author, it would surely be a delight to read” Chris said with pride.

“What would you title it?” Laura asked.

Tito smiled. “Sacrilege”

**THE END**

 

ALL EPISODES