LOLA: Why is Life Complicated?

The digital clock on the white wall showed it was 6:43AM. My friends and I were huddled together on the uncomfortable chairs, watching the nurses in their blue uniforms coming and going. The four of us were still in the intensive care unit, waiting for any news on Maureen. Wole was sitting behind us and Maureen’s parents were there too. Her father was grim-faced and silent, Maureen’s mum was praying quietly to herself through her tears. I was tired, and I’m sure everyone else was. We hadn’t slept a wink all night, we had been hoping and praying that something would change and the doctors would give us good news.

A nurse came down the corridor and stopped in front of us. We sat up and waited eagerly for her to say something.
“I’m afraid you have to leave now” she said to us kindly, but firmly. “Her condition is critical but stable. She will be under observation for the rest of the day”
I looked at my friends. Funmi spoke up:
“Can we come back to see her this afternoon?”
“ICU visiting hours are six to eight pm so you can come back then” the nurse said. Then she went over to talk to Maureen’s parents in private.
“Okay then” Funmi said to the rest of us. “What should we do now?”
“Let’s go home, freshen up and come back in the evening” I said.
“Yeah we should go and sleep for a bit” Temmy added.
Titi nodded her agreement and we all stood up. I signalled to Wole to come outside with us.
When we got outside, Funmi said, “Let’s meet here again at six o’clock. Has anyone heard from Dolapo?”
“No I haven’t” Temmy said, checking her phone. “I’ve called her several times and left her two voicemail messages”
“I haven’t either” Titi said.
“I’ll call her again when I get home. Excuse me a moment” I said to my friends, and went to meet Wole.
“Hey, what’s your plan for the rest of the day?” I asked him. “We’ll be coming back here this evening”
“Can’t come back here unfortunately” he said. “I need to get back to Milton Keynes this afternoon to prepare for work tomorrow”
“I understand” I said, even though I was slightly disappointed. “Your car is still at my place though”
“Let’s take a taxi to your place then. I can sleep over at your place before pick up my car and start heading back” He smiled. “If that’s okay with you, of course”
“Yeah that’s fine” I said, cheered up by the fact that he would be coming home with me. “Let me say goodbye to the others”
I went back to meet my friends.
“Temmy and I are going to take the tube” Titi said.
“Oh okay, I’m taking a taxi to my place” I said.
“Can I come with you?” Funmi asked me. “I don’t want to go all the way home and back here later. I can sleep at yours and then go home from here in the evening”
“I’m going with Wole” I said, hoping she would get it.
“Yeah that’s not a problem” Funmi said.
Ugh! I thought. But I jolly well can’t say Funmi shouldn’t come with me.
“Okay” I said, half-heartedly. “Let’s go.”
“Bye then” said Temmy. “See you in the evening”. She and Titi started walking to the underground station. Funmi and walked I back to where Wole was waiting.
“Funmi is coming with us” I said to him. I think his face fell a notch.
“I see”
He didn’t say anything else when we got into the taxi. The three of us sat in the back; I was in the middle, between Funmi and Wole. As the driver took off, Wole put his arm around me and pulled me nearer to his side. Funmi turned her face to the window and fished out her phone from her bag, ignoring us. As it was early, traffic was light so we got to my place within twenty minutes.
“Thanks for the ride” Wole said, paying the taxi driver while Funmi and I got down.
I turned to Funmi and gave her the electronic key fob to enter the building and the key to my door.
“You can go up” I said. “I need to talk to Wole for a while”
Funmi frowned for a second before she took the keys. “Okay, don’t be long”
We watched her as she went inside. Then I turned to Wole.
“Sorry about this, she insisted she wanted to stay at my place and I couldn’t say no”
“Why? What’s wrong with her house?”
“I don’t know; it’s not important” I shrugged. “So this means you can’t sleep over anymore”
He raised an eyebrow as if to say “Why?”
“Because I have only one bed” I said.
“Oh Lola!” Wole shook his head. “Like it really matters if I sleep on your bed or crash on your sofa”
“Huh?” What is he getting at?
“Look it doesn’t matter; I won’t impose on you ladies. Maybe I should get an early start on the motorway”
He turned and started walking away.
“Ah ah, wait now” I called after him. “Before you go, we need to talk”
Wole stopped and turned around. “Walk me to the car then”
I followed him round the corner to where he had left his car the day before. It felt surreal that it was only twelve hours ago. So much had happened….
“So what do you want to talk about?” Wole asked, leaning on the car while I stood facing him, arms crossed.
“Your woman at the bar”
Wole shook his head. “Lola, as I’ve explained to you so many times, it was a long time ago and I made foolish decisions then. Until last night, I hadn’t seen her in over two years”
I nodded, watching him closely, trying to judge his honesty.
“I’m serious about you Lola,” he continued. “I wouldn’t want anyone or anything to jeopardise my chances”
“Are there more women like her lurking around you?”
“No, no and no” he shook his head again. “I promise you, that incident will never happen again”
“Okay” I took a deep breath and decided to drop the issue. But there was something else bugging me now.
“What happened to your hands?”
Wole glanced down and looked surprised, as if he hadn’t noticed that his hands were bruised. “My hands?”
“Yes, I saw them in the taxi”
He paused and studied me before he asked: “Do you really want to know?”
“Yes”
“Get in the car”
“Wole…”
“I don’t want to continue talking while we are standing outside like this”
We both got into the car and I turned to face him squarely. “Wole, what have you done?”
“Please hear me out, okay?”
I nodded. “Okay”
“I’m going to lay it bare. You know when I left the hospital last night?”
I nodded.
“I went to the bar your friends were hanging out…”
Something like an alarm bell went off in my head.
“I know the owner of the bar from a few years back – it’s a long story – ”
I guess he knew I was about to ask him to explain that too.
“Anyway I got him to track down the guy responsible for poisoning your friend” Wole continued.
“Eh!”
“And I beat him up…”
“JESUS CHRIST! What did you do that for!”
“I did it for you Lola”
A mixture of shock, fear, awe and gratitude gripped me and I froze, staring at him. He did what for me? What sort of man is this?
“I didn’t like seeing you and your friends crying like that, I felt so helpless…” Wole said, taking my hand and placing it on his chest. I fought the urge to snatch my hand away.
“Trust me Lola; I don’t usually go around beating people up. I just wanted to teach that slimeball a lesson for messing with my friend”
“But that’s the wrong…”
“I felt I had to do something, and this was the only way I could help”
“This isn’t helping!” I said, glaring at him intensely. “Why would you go and do something as crazy and as foolish as that? For goodness sake Wole, what happens if the guy reports you to the police for assault?”
“Don’t worry, he can’t do that. He will implicate himself even more”
I was stunned and speechless. I couldn’t believe Wole, this same charming, good-looking guy I was staring at, could have done something like that.
“I understand if you are worried,” he continued. “But everything will be fine”
“I so don’t see how…”
“Maureen will get better and all this drama will soon be history, okay?”
I nodded.
Wole continued to say reassuring things but I had stopped listening. There were too many questions going on in my mind. Some I didn’t even know how to ask. On one level, I have to admit I felt a twinge of admiration for him, for trying to do something. I was even flattered that he would take such a big risk for me. But still – resorting to physical violence? It was unsettling.
“… so if anything comes out of this, at least you know how much I care about you” he was saying.
I nodded.
He leaned over and kissed my forehead.
“Cheer up babe; I don’t like seeing you cry or frown. Everything will be okay”
“I hope so” I said and yawned suddenly. “Sorry, I must be so tired”
“Funmi would be wondering what’s taking you so long” Wole said, taking my chin in his hand. “I guess I have to let you go in now”
“Yes… yes” I said, not thinking about Funmi at all.
I knew he was going to kiss me. And in spite of everything – my anxiety about Maureen and my confusion about the kind of man he was – I kissed him back passionately. Perhaps the hint of danger made the kiss even more intense. I didn’t want to stop.
We broke it off eventually. Wole had a strange look in his eyes. “I’m going to miss you Lola”
I averted my eyes from his gaze. “I’ll miss you too. When will you come again?”
He took a deep breath. “Anytime you want me to”
“Okay. I’ll call you” I said as I opened the passenger door.
“Keep me updated about Maureen, okay?”
“I will”
I stepped out and closed the door. Then I watched him reverse out of the parking space and he drove off, giving me a quick wave.

Funmi was lying down on my bed when I entered the bedroom. I opened the door and tiptoed in, assuming she was already asleep. But she turned around as soon as I sat down.
“Lola?”
“Sorry did I wake you?”
“What is the matter with you?”
I was surprised. “Ah ah Funmi? What happened?”
She sat up and I could see she was getting worked up about something.
“What have you been doing downstairs since?”
“Funmi, I was talking to Wole. Is that a problem?”
“I saw you! Kissing him and all that! How can you be so selfish at a time like this?”
I frowned, not quite sure what Funmi’s point was. “Time like this?”
“Maureen is in the hospital unconscious and you are busy necking your boyfriend. When you should be praying…”
“What?”
“I was expecting that we would come home and pray for Maureen before we sleep. But instead you chose to be snogging your man. In public! Early in the morning too!”
I didn’t like the direction this conversation was going. Funmi’s voice had taken on that 'controlling mummy' tone and I’d heard enough.
“Funmi what is it? Can’t I talk to my boyfriend again? Are you jealous?”
She opened her mouth in surprise. Then she got up from the bed and started packing her things in a huff.
“Me jealous! It’s not your fault, it’s because I said anything,” she hissed. “I’m going to my house”
“Funmi what has gotten into you?”
“Nothing! Just leave me alone”
I thought she was joking, but I didn’t have the energy to argue with her when I saw her putting on her jacket. Then she grabbed her bag and stepped out of the room. A moment later, I heard my front door slam.
I took a deep breath, kicked off my shoes and went to the kitchen. I was developing a headache so I couldn’t let Funmi’s cranky mood bother me right now. I swallowed two ibuprofen tablets with a glass of water and went back to my bed. I needed to sleep; hopefully I would wake up with a clearer head.

I woke up when I felt my phone vibrating on my pillow. I reached out for it, thinking I should ignore the call. Then I saw it was my older sister and answered it.
“Hey Bukky”
“Lola, how far now?” came her cheerful voice. “Ahn ahn, you’ve fashied me o. Shey because I’m now fat and pregnant?”
I chuckled to myself and turned over so that I was fully awake. Bukky is my crazy big sister, and nothing’s going to change that. We’ve always been really close, but she got married eighteen months ago and I’ve had to give her some space to adjust to being a newly-wed and now expectant mum.
“Bukky I didn’t fashie you now, it was you that went to your husband’s house and left me. Sorry I haven’t called you guys in a while. I’ve just been busy lately”
“I know you now, City girl” Bukky said. “How’ve you been?”
“I’m okay o” I replied. “How’s the baby kicking?”
“Men, I think I’ve got a footballer in there o” she said. “He just keeps moving around and kicking me”
“Pele, it will soon be over and you’ll rest”
“Rest sha. Isn’t that when the real work begins?”
“It’s true o. I can’t imagine you being a mum, you know!”
“I know! I can’t believe it myself. I probably won’t believe it until I see the little person in my arms – live!”
“I can imagine. How’s Tosin?”
“He’s fine, he’s looking after me and his unborn child” Bukky said and I could hear the happiness in her voice. “Eh, you’ll never guess who I ran into the other day…”
She launched into a funny story about meeting her ex-boyfriend in the supermarket. I had missed my big sis and our girly chats. But I wasn’t fully participating in the conversation this time, and she noticed.
“Lola are you okay? You sound rather dull”
“Sister, I have issues on my mind”
“Eh, what is the matter? Tell me, I’m all ears”
I told her everything that had happened since Friday: about Wole, his surprise visit, our outing at the salsa bar, Maureen and her condition in hospital, and finally Wole’s confession to me in the car this morning.
“And that is what is really confusing me Bukky” I said. “This guy seems nice and everything, then he goes and does something crazy like that because he wanted to impress me. That’s scary”
“Hmm” Bukky was silent for a while. Then she asked: “Lola, do you like him? Because that determines if he is worth the risk or not”
I thought about it. Good question. Did I like Wole? Did I like him enough to stick with him, even if he is a bit unpredictable? And more importantly, can I trust him? After what Titi said, and now this?
Unfortunately, I knew my answer.

“Yes. I like him” I admitted.
“There you go. From what you’ve said, you are still getting to know him. My advice is that you should take things slowly, give it some time. You need to follow your heart, but also think with your head too”
“Okay sis” I said. “Thanks”
“Don’t worry my dear, I’m sure once you get to know him properly you can weigh up his positive and negative attributes”
I smiled to myself. Bukky and her sagely advise. But I was grateful I could talk to her and unload all the worries on my mind. I was already feeling much better.
“Thanks sis”
“No problem. When next will you see him?”
“I’m not sure yet, but it will probably be the weekend”
“Keep me posted o. I want to know more about this guy that my sister is falling for”
I laughed. “You’ve always known about my love life! Now your own love life is censored ‘cos you are married. It’s not fair!”
“Ask, and you shall be told”
“I don’t want to know o” I laughed. “I’ll cross the bridge when I come to it”
I glanced at the alarm clock on my side table. It was already twenty minutes to five.
“Bukky I have to start getting ready to go to the hospital” I said. “Hope you don’t mind”
“Not at all” she said. “Call me tomorrow, and I hope Maureen gets better”
“Thanks. Greet Tosin”
“I will. Bye!” she said and hung up.

It took me over an hour to cook, eat and get ready and by that time, I was already running late. I was getting into my car when remembered I still hadn’t heard from Dolapo. So I plugged in my hands-free and called her as I was leaving. I was surprised when her phone rang, and even more so, when she picked it up.
“Hello?” I thought I heard a sniff.
“Dolly! Ah thank God I finally got through to you. Where have you been since yesterday?”
I did hear a sniff. Dolly was crying.
“Ah Dolly, are you crying? What’s the matter?”
“Lola I haven’t had a good day at all” Dolapo’s voice was thick with emotion.
Shuu? What’s wrong with this weekend? Why does it seem to be going from bad to worse?
“What happened?”
“I-I think I’ve just had a one-night stand – ”
“Eh! YOU? How…” My phone beeped. Crap, a call waiting. “Dolly please hold on o, Temmy is calling me”
“Okay”
I switched calls. “Temmy?”
“Lola! Where are you?”
“I’ve just left home; I’m on my way to the hospital now”
“Well HURRY UP and get here! Maureen's condition has worsened!!!”

(c) FG