Banjo walked with extra care towards the exit. His gait bellied his impatience to get to through those doors. The week he had spent in this hospital was stretching the limits of his tolerance for enforced inactivity.
His mother and his sister carried on a lively conversation on each side of him. He blocked out the cheeriness of their tone. For some inexplicable reason, it made him even more depressed than he was. Then, he remembered what had him in such a sour mood.
‘Not even a phone call!’ he railed against her in his mind. Did she not care if he lived or died? Is that what this rededication to God taught her?
He felt his mother tug on his arm and realized that he must have tensed up. He smiled reassuringly at her and continued walking. The door swung in just as they reached it and Banjo had to step quickly out of the way to avoid it smacking him.
“Oops! Sorr…” Banjo felt the breath knocked out of him as he stared at the widening eyes of the person.
“So you finally decided to show up!” Patricia drawled sarcastically from his side. He could feel his mother stretch her hand and smack Patricia’s in reprimand at his back.
Alero just stood there staring at him mutely. The expression on her face was a study in emotional turmoil. Banjo felt he could spend all day trying to decipher and analyze everything that was writhing there.
“Why…” Banjo began and then fell silent.
“I was scared.” Alero answered his unfinished question. “It was so foolish of me but I was scared and I’m sorry.”
Mrs. Adeniran tapped her son’s shoulders and motioned to her daughter.
“If you are not in the car in the next ten minutes, Jamieson is coming to get you.” She instructed. She glanced at Alero but said nothing to her as she marched her younger child out. Patricia kept turning back and casting baleful glances at Alero and her older brother.
“Should you be standing so long?” Alero asked in a fit of concern.
Banjo huffed out an un-amused laugh. “Alero! One week! You couldn’t even call talk less of showing up?!” he asked with all the incredulousness and bewilderment that he had stored up all week. “Is that how little I matter to you?” he asked in a very low tone.
Alero stepped closer to him shaking her head vigorously. “No! No, Banjo. You are not unimportant to me. I’m sorry. I behaved immaturely. I’m so sorry.” She took a tentative hold of his hand and flinched when Banjo angrily pulled his hand from her grasp.
“Banjo I am so sorry.” She pleaded. “I can’t excuse it. I was shattered but it does not excuse me. Please Banjo, I am sorry.”
Banjo stood staring at her. He had no words. All the while he had lain on his hospital bed, he had imagined the words he would say to her when she eventually showed up, if she eventually did. Now that she had, he could not make a cohesive sentence to say to her.
He took in the sheen of tears in her eyes and the look of remorse on her face and sighed.
“I don’t want to do this now.” He said and continued out the door into the waiting car. It was only as the car drove off that he turned to look at her. She stood motionless just inside the glass entrance door staring at him. He thought that he saw the sheen of tears running down her cheeks.
The drive home was completely silent. It was as if his family knew or at least sensed how raw his emotions were and anticipated his need for absolute silence. He remained consumed by his thoughts until he noticed that the car had turned into the tree and shrubbery lined street where he had grown up. They were heading to his parents house.
“Jamieson,” he called to the driver, “After you drop off mum and Patricia, take me home.”
“Is that wise?” his mother questioned. “You just got out of hospital. At least spend the weekend with us before you return back to your place.” She cajoled.
Banjo shook his head. “I’ll be okay mum. I’m barely in any pain and even so, I have the medicines the doctor gave me and a new phone.” He jiggled his newly acquired phone at her. He had been able to have his previous number restored to him.
His mother shook his head and Patricia opened her mouth as if she would have liked to say something and then changed her mind and clamped her mouth shut.
The car pulled to a stop in front of the house and the two ladies got out of it. Patricia just slammed her door and walked briskly back into the house without so much as a ‘by-your-leave’. His mother lingered, peering at him through the window of the car.
“Are you sure?” she asked, concern coating her voice.
“I’ll be fine mum.” Banjo answered feeling suddenly exhausted. He just wanted to get home and fall in bed.
“Call if you need anything at all.” She instructed gently.
“Yes mum.” Banjo answered in tired exasperation. His mother sighed.
“And Alero…”
“Mum.” Banjo’s tone warned.
“I just wanted to say she looked so sad. Think about it. We are all foolish sometimes.” She continued doggedly.
Banjo sighed. “Bye mum.” He answered as he slunk back on his seat and pressed the button to shut the window. The car smoothly slid into motion and he leaned his head back on the seat, closing his eyes and allowing his thoughts to take him wherever.
She fiddled with the remote in her hands as she channel-surfed looking for something that would grab her attention and keep it. When she had gone through the channels twice, she dropped the remote on the sofa with some irritation and lay back down. This sofa was luxurious! She smiled to herself but quickly sobered up when her mind strayed back to the Adenirans…and the new girl, Alero.
Emily recognized that look, the look she had seen on her face as she ran from them that day at the hospital. Hurt, a feeling of not being included, of not quite fitting in. She marveled that a woman as accomplished as that could feel so. That a woman such as her could be intimidated by…what? The veneer of class? She would have scoffed had she not remembered the days where she had wondered if perhaps the problem with her and Banjo’s relationship had been that she had not measured up to their lofty standards.
With hindsight, she realized that not one of them, Banjo and his immediate family had ever tried to make her more or less than she was. They had just been distant and now, she understood that it had never been because she did not measure up, it had always been because intrinsically, just the way you know the mind of someone who is in a close relationship with you, they had all known, even her if she were being honest, that Banjo had never been that into her.
If she had had any doubts in her mind, her relationship with Kenneth dismissed it. Now, she had a clear picture of what had been missing in her relationship with Banjo. The difference as they would say was clear like 7up.
The door was swung open from the outside and some heat from outside breezed in to mingle with the cooled air in the room.
“Emily?” she heard Kenneth call as he walked into the room.
“Yes. In here.” she responded from the depths of the sofa.
“Hey!” he smiled widely as he came around and lifted her legs to sit on the sofa. He placed her legs on his thighs as he settled in comfortably.
“I’m not so sure my feet are as clean as all that.” Emily warned even though she left said feet exactly where they were.
Kenneth shrugged. “I saw your car parked out front.” He said in a thrilled voice. Emily responded with a smile. This smile glowed all the way from her soul. How could she have ever imagined that someone would be as thrilled as this to see her?
“I missed you.” She responded simply.
Kenneth gave her a cork eyed look that had both of them laughing out loudly like naughty children.
“Have you had anything to eat?” he asked.
Emily shook her head.
“Weren’t you hungry?” he asked.
“Not really.” Emily smiled.
He lifted her legs off his thighs and stood up holding his hand out to her.