Episode 30
Continues..
Epilogue
The ending of a matter is better than the beginning of it. Ifeoma & Ebere
The past few months were trying for us, Ify was put on bed rest. She became totally dependent , she had a house nurse caring for her, her dad was there for her, she also had my support and ofcourse her husbandâ s love. Liz and Ify hit it off immediately, she was all my daughter talked about. She was her heroin. She wanted to be as brave as she was, why? Ify doesnât m0an about the thousands of drugs she had to take and Ify was so beautiful and she was smart too. No wonder she was Lizâ s heroine.
Our only fear was she shouldnât have eclampsia (seizures) which was common in the case of preeclampsia. She was confined to bed, she had to be carried to the bathroom, she and her husband had to move into their guest room downstairs because it wasnât easy carrying her up and down the stairs. Ayo introduced us to an Indian AIDS specialist, although his fees were high it was worth it.
Ifyâ s mother dropped by occasionally but she wasnât exactly too warm but who cares anyway? Its her loss. She had given us the news of Jeffâ s death, he didnât make it back home from the hospital. Some days we were so frightened something would go wrong but Ify pulled through till the seventh month, since preeclampsia (hypertension before or during pregnancy) has no proven cure, the baby was delivered on the seventh month through a C_section and he was put in an incubator.
Ayo and i were officially engaged when the baby was born. We had both decided not to tell Liz i was her mother until she was old enough to understand why i had given her away in the first place. Since Mildred wasnât around to influence both Constance and Liz negatively they were both easy to manage and ofcourse no child of mine would be sporting a red or blue hair.
Ify â s house was lit up, our loved ones and friends were in attendance. Jamie was coming home today. He was such a beautiful boy and he was healthy, he was crying for his bottle every now and then. Doctor Debola and i were his legal guardian and god parents. He was named James after his paternal grandfather and his middle name was Osinachi for his maternal grandfather. What a lucky boy!
Constance and Liz were running about chasing one of the balloons that had loosened from the bunch used in decorating the living room. Those two are so full of energy. Ifyâ s mom had done a good job of decorating the living room. My eyes dropped to the diamond stone on my left finger. My tall, dark and handsome had dropped us off earlier that morning at Ifyâ s house before heading to his office. The door opened and in came our much awaited prince. A round of applause resounded in the room as the doting parents, godfather and grandfather came in. Ify was all smiles. She caught my eyes and mouthed.â We shamed the devilâ.
I couldnât help laughing. I gently collected Jamie from her, my God, you wonât believe he was a premie ( premature baby).
â Wow heâs so cute â. I always thought he was whenever i saw him.
Emeka grinned at me.â He should be, his dad is cuteâ
â And his mom tooâ Ify quipped which drew laughter from those in attendance.
The pastor which doctor invited took Jamie from me. Ify drew me aside.
â Ebere i want to thank you for being my friend and never giving up on me.â
I drew her into my arms.â You know mama loves you, what are we sisters for?â
â Thank you Mama. Emeka and i want you to have this.â She pulled out an envelope from her purse.
I eyed the envelope suspiciously. â Whatâs this for?â
â Open it first nauâ
I opened it and gasped. A to and fro ticket to Bahamas for two.
â Your wedding gift. We will gladly look after the girls until you get back from your honey moonâ
â Oh Ify! you shouldnât have!â
â Itâs the least we could do to appreciate you.â
The pastor asked for the babyâ s mother to come and we went back into the living room. My eyes caught the photo of a woman on the front page of Vangauard newspaper which was placed on the sofa. I picked it up, my heart jumping with joy. I still couldnât believe it even though i was in the court room when she was sentenced to fifteen years of hard labour for human trafficking and other crimes she had perpetrated. It wasnât an easy time for me, i was put on the stand to recount my horrible ordeals and some of the young girls she had tried smuggling out of the country were also called to the witness box.
The door opened and my sunshine came in. His eyes glowed when it settled on mine, he flashed me a smile and i found myself enveloped into his arms.
â Am i too late love?â
â No baby.You are just in time.â
The pastor was praying for little Jamie. We all bowed our heads. Ayo â s fingers slowly seeked mine. I could see the love and happiness on Ify and Emekaâ s face. Whenever i drive through Allen Avenue i will always remember the lonely and cold nights. A smile sometimes could brighten a personâ s day and a kind word now and then would mean a lot. If you ever find yourself at Allen Avenue at night please donât judge the girls in your heart or accuse them with your eyes.They all have a story to tell.
The END.
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