Alero had been parked in front of the building in the ultra exclusive neighborhood for the better part of an hour. She blew out a shuddering sigh as she stared at the building again. If she had not double checked the address, she would have believed she was not at the right place. It did not really look like any health facility that she had ever been to with its landscaped grounds and contemporary architecture, but then, this was the Adenirans.
She had never really been this far into this part of the city. Even the air felt rarified, like she might have to take permission to breathe it in. She smiled wryly at the silliness of her thoughts but then the remembrance of why she was here at all wiped the smile off her face.
There was a tap on her window making Alero jump in surprise. A security guard stared at her with a frosty expression and motioned for her to wind down the glass to which Alero complied.
“Good day Madam. Are you waiting for someone?” he asked briskly.
“Ah…Ah…” Alero found herself stuttering as she floundered for an appropriate response. “I’m here to see someone.” She finally settled on a response.
“Is the person meeting you out here?” the guard persisted.
“No. I…ah…I’ll just find a place to park and go in.” Alero was genuinely flustered. She contemplated driving off but her need to know how Banjo was doing held her in check. Patricia was still not picking her calls. In fact, when she had last tried to call her number, she had been informed by the network that the phone was switched off.
She slid her car smoothly into a marked parking space and turned off the engine. She slumped back on her seat as she was once again overtaken by the nerves she had wrestled so hard to bring under control. Sighing loudly again she got out of the car and began walking haltingly towards the main entrance of the building. She was almost clear of the car park area when the main doors opened and Mrs. Adeniran came through it with two young ladies, one on each side of her. A man followed behind them and they were all intent on whatever conversation they were having. Alero ducked back and leaned against a car, her head and heart suddenly pounding heavily. The sound of the piercing alarm jolted her already distressed system into overdrive and she yelped really loudly as she jumped away from the car. She took a peek at the entrance hoping that she had miraculously escaped the notice of the quartet that had been standing there. No. No such luck.
All four of them had turned to see what the alarm had been for and were currently looking at her with varying looks on their faces.
Mrs. Adeniran looked mildly surprise with something else less certain lurking behind her eyes.
Patricia’s face looked blank at first glance but a closer look showed her disdain and the hurt that she was trying to mask with it.
The man looked at her with a small frown of inquiry.
The other girl, Banjo’s ex looked at her with an expression that Alero recognized clearly from even this distance. Pity.
Alero’s breathe hitched as she recognized that emotion and she turned and fled back the way she had come. If she had taken the time to look back, she might have seen the change her action had wrought on the various expressions.
Mrs. Adeniran’s mildly surprised expression turned to confused alarm.
Patricia rolled her eyes and mumbled “Typical!” with such angst that Kenneth turned to look at her in surprise. In the short minutes he had spent with them, he would never have pegged Patricia for anything than sweet and quiet.
Emily breathing stuttered with her shock and she made to run after her but jerked to a stop and instead stared at her retreating form.
They all watched in silence as drove past them and out the gate.
They could not have known what it had cost her to make that drive with all of them watching. Alero cried all the way home, a fair hour’s drive away. She supposed it was dumb luck that no traffic officer seemed to notice how distressed she was and pull her over. ‘At least, I have some luck going for me still.’ She thought as she parked in front of the gates to her father’s house and got out to open it. She hoped her luck would extend to her not seeing anyone from here to her bedroom.
Her luck held.
Abike Adeniran watched her son slurp his meal hungrily. She knew the food tasted good even if she was the person saying so. She had prepared it herself when the doctor had given the all clear for him to eat something more substantial.
While her mother’s heart rejoiced at all the signs that he had not managed to make himself permanently disabled in any way, she could not help but notice his restlessness and his malaise.
“Is that okay for you?” she asked conscientiously.
Banjo nodded as he cleared off the last of his meal. “That was really good Mum.” He said as he swallowed down the last bit. “I haven’t eaten something as good in a long while.” He smiled as he wiped his mouth with a wet napkin that his mother had thrust at him.
Mrs. Adeniran smiled her satisfaction.
“How are things at the office?” he asked as he always did for the past three days he had been on admission.
“We are coasting along nicely Banjo.” His mother chided. “I did run things there before you so stop! The company is not going to crumble if you take some time to recuperate.” She huffed.
“I know mum. I just want to know what’s going on. There are so many things that need tidying up…”
“If, God forbid you had died, wouldn’t we have found a way to cope and move on?” His mother interrupted.
Banjo sighed as he leaned back against the head board of the bed. “I didn’t die.” He said simply.
“Praise be to God. Now rest.” His mother commanded as she got up to pack up the dishes and utensils he had used for his lunch.
“Mum?” Banjo began. His mother turned an enquiring gaze to him. He sighed and shook his head. “It’s nothing.” He said on a shrug and adjusted the pillow to a more comfortable position.
Mrs. Adeniran quietly zipped up the bag with which she had packed lunch for her son and sat back down on her seat. She looked at her son as he rested. The doctors hoped he should be able to leave in a couple of days. The worrisome swelling around his head had reduced tremendously since that first grotesque day. Mrs. Adeniran closed her eyes as gratitude again coursed through her.
“Why hasn’t Alero been here?” she ventured with a delicate lilt to her voice.
At first, she thought that he must have fallen asleep when he did not answer her.
He sighed long and hard.
“We fought.” He answered simply almost belligerently.
Mrs. Adeniran adjusted herself in her seat and leaned closer to him.
“What about?”
Banjo sighed with exasperation. “I…Mum let’s…” he fell silent as he shook his head repeatedly.
Mrs. Adeniran reclined in her seat and let the conversation stall. They stayed there in a rather tense silence for a few minutes.
“I told her I love her.” Banjo whispered. His eyes opened and he seared his mother with an intensely hurt look before he turned his head to look out the window.
“I’d never said that to any woman.” He shook his head depreciatingly. “I don’t understand what happened! I could have sworn she…loved me…or at least liked me a lot.” He sighed and flung his arms in exasperation. “This radio silence is killing me!” He turned back to his mum. “We left things hanging. Or I thought we did but now when she hasn’t shown up? I wonder if I was the only one who thought that.”
Mrs. Adeniran debated for a few moments within her and then came to a decision.
“She did show up.” She told her son.
Banjo stared at her with a confused look. “She did?”
“That first day.” Mrs. Adeniran nodded. “Though I am not sure I understand what happened. She was here. I thought she was coming to see you but then she took a look at us as we all came out of the hospital and…I guess she seemed really disturbed by something. She just ran back to her car and then drove off just like that.”
She turned her equally confused gaze on her son.
“What did you fight about?” she asked him again.
Banjo huffed out a laugh that was in no way amused.
“God.” He answered.
His mother looked expectantly at him waiting for him to go on. Banjo returned her look.
“God what?” his mother asked.
“God. We fought about God.” Banjo answered.
“I don’t quite follow you.” His mother said.
“I’m not sure I follow it myself.” Banjo half joked.
“What do you mean, God?” Mrs. Adeniran asked.
“She said some inexplicable things about how our relationship and her faith where not aligning. Something about space and sorting her head out. You know what Mum? I’m just tired! How does that figure?!” he asked agitatedly.
Mrs. Adeniran sighed tiredly. “Were you pressuring her for sex?” she asked.
Banjo’s look turned incredulous. “Mum!”
“Don’t ‘Mum!’ me! You think I was born yesterday or that I don’t know that you aren’t unsullied?” She asked, her stern tone undermined by the mirth and relief in her eyes.
“We are not having a conversation about my sex life!” Banjo said stubbornly and with not a little embarrassment.
“Well, if you say so but I think I can explain some things to you.”
Banjo turned an expectant look on his mother.
“She loves you too more likely than not. You are a bit…you’re on a different trajectory spiritually than her perhaps and…”
“Let me summarize this. She’s born again”, he made quote signs in the air, “and I’m not by her definition.”
His mother sighed out her agreement.
“Mum, I am a Christian. I may not like the way that some people who term themselves born again go about their born again ways but it doesn’t mean I have rejected Christ. I just don’t want to be associated with those people!”
“Me?” his mother queried mildly. “Because, I do term myself as ‘born again’.”
“I said some Mum.” Banjo deadpanned.
His mother nodded. “I understand what you mean.” She began with a small smile.
She was quiet for a short while as she gathered her thoughts.
“See, everyone has their own path that they must walk. Everyone’s is different.” She breathed in deeply.
“Some folks, they take off their jewelry and leave themselves looking unkempt but there’s nowhere in the scripture where it is said that that is expected of them, but it is how they want to lock in on God. And then some withdraw from the world and modernity in the fear that it would corrupt their walk with God and they take it to such extremes that it seems that they’ve disengaged from life itself. Different strokes for different folks I guess.” She turned wise eyes to her son.
“She probably is having a bit of a crisis of faith. I’m not sure what might have brought that on,” she gaze became skeptical on her son as she said that while Banjo rolled his eyes at her “but give it some time. If it’s meant to be, it will all work itself out. In the meantime, you may take the opportunity to do some soul searching yourself. See if you are still in good standing with God.” His mother shrugged her shoulders delicately at him.