The Runaway Bride

Episode 23

May 1982

Sola Adebisi got down from the back of her father’s volkwagen car and walked to the main house to greet her mother. The last time they saw was when she went to school 3 months ago.

The letters have not been enough
Her mother ran halfway to meet her darling daughter who was making them proud in school.

After her diploma, she had insisted on
going to the university to study Literature and she had been there for about 2 years now.

She brought home good results. Her mother could not be more proud of her, especially because she is a lady and the only son she has was not showing any interest in education.

Ever since she started a relationship with Tola Ajayi, her live had changed and everyone can see it. She suddenly wanted to go to the university, getting better grades each semester and even advising her brother to go and further his education; though he did not listen to anyone on that.

They always asked after Tola and hoped he would return to Nigeria when he’s through with his masters and would formally ask for her hand in marriage. Happy that their daughter would be marrying someone who has gone to the white man’s land to further
his education. He is a cool headed man also, the perfect in law and would surely succeed.

That particular break, her brother had come home with his friend who he claimed his parents lived in the village but would love to spend the break with them so he could get a job.

Unknown to them, he was just a
wanderer, who had no will to school nor learn a trade. He would wake up to help them fetch water from the deep well at the back of the house, feed the goats and sweep the compounds. After all that, he would simply go back to sleep till he is called for breakfast.

He was just doing all that to gain their favours and for them to allow him stay.

He ended up staying for the entire month Sola was at home and things happened between them Sola had been rushed to the hospital some weeks after resuming her 300L in the University of Ibadan.

What they thought might
be ordinary malaria turned out to be 5 weeks pregnancy and they could not advise her to abort it. So they were lucky that Tola returned that same month and formally asked her to be his wife.

The whole process was sped up so he would not notice a thing and when she delivered a healthy baby earlier than the normal 9 months, they ruled it to nature and asked them to thank God that she has a healthy child, in spite of the fact that he came early.

The secret has been their secret for years;
Sola and her mother, although her father
cannot say he doesn’t know about it. When Ade started asking after her even after she moved back to school, her brother had been suspicious and when Sola’s mother threatened to have him locked up for stealing, he stopped
coming Sola’s elder brother left for Lagos to learn fashion designing and became quite successful, but whenever he sees his nephew, no one needs to tell him that he was right when he accused his friend of sleeping with his sister. He had denied it and so had she.

The unserious boy eventually impregnated
another girl in the same community as Sola’s parents and he was forced to take responsibility.

The other family got him a security job with a company and he was sacked within months for drunkenness and theft.

When sola visited her parents with her kids for a Christmas break when Tokunbo was about 18 years old, she had come across Ade and his son from the other woman. She could have snatched him away from Ade if she was not sure Tokunbo was sleeping in the house
with his sister.

The resemblance was too much and anyone would have taken them to be twins, the holiday break was cut short for that singular reason and she has never taken her children back to the village to see their grandparents for fear of someone linking Tokunbo to Ade.

Even till their death.

The birthmark on his head appears on the
head of all his children from the other
woman; male and female. Although her
mother said it would eventually not be
noticeable on Tokunbo’s head with time, but they have been wrong in that prediction.

The only thing they have been right about is that Ade would ruin her life if she married him, they were right when they advised her to marry Tola Ajayi and not tell him about the pregnancy that he would not suspect a thing.

They said he would make her life better, and they have been right.

---

Chinwe has tried everything in her book to avoid Tokunbo. Call it out of guilt, love, fear or whatever you may. Every method she tried was met with his smiling face and helpful hands. He had waited for her to use the toilet that morning, despite the fact that there were 3 other toilets in the house he could use.

When Clara called her from Uyo the night
before to tell her she arrived early, he had
spoken with her and asked how her journey went, even saying hello to Henry. His actions said it all, Tokunbo did not rape Clara, and he couldn’t have and still be comfortable with the hospital lab results they all are waiting to get.

When the nights come, he simply would lay on his side of the bed and would calmly wait for her to get in beside him before turning off the lights. He made sure they ate together, and would sometimes help her to wash afterwards.

When she got a call from her father’s lawyer, who told her she would start work on Monday, she had turned to him after the call to ask what she should expect from starting a role without an interview. He had simply told her to take it as a merit, no one would hire her without one, she looked worried and ended up asking if they thought she would not have passed the interview and just employed her so they would not stress themselves, to which Tokunbo laughed and told her to quit being
silly.

He told her to think it that they believe so
much in her ability that they knew she would catch up with the workplace irrespective of her being interviewed for the position or not.

The reply seemed to relax her as she went
into the bedroom to start sorting her clothes.

When he came into their room that Thursday night, he was surprised to see her reading some documents she must have printed out from his printer. She was so engrossed in it that he almost wanted to ask what she was reading until she turned to him and ask.

“Do you think I can do this, I mean I have never worked in my life.”

“We all have to learn work someday, I know you will fit in and be wonderful at any job you are given to do”

Tokunbo said sincerely and when he caught her staring at him from the corners of his eyes, he looked back at her and patted her knee before facing the other side of the room.

“Thanks for that,”
“You are welcome”

When Friday came, they were together in the sitting room; he typing away on the laptop and she reading the printouts from the night before when they both got an alert on their phones.

After going through the results of the DNA on his phone, Tokunbo could not fathom the meaning; all he could see and understand is 75%.

“What do you think this means?”She asked him nervously.

“That is what I was about to ask you. You know what, I will print it out and we can head to the doctor’s together.”

As they got into the vehicle, Clara called
Chinwe’s line who told her to stay put with her phone as they were on their way the hospital. Clara also called Joseph, who abandoned all he was doing as he hopped into his car and drove to meet Clara.

The tension in the air was thick and both
were saying different prayers.

When they sat at Dr. Kunbi’s office, he went out to attend to a patient and asked them to spare him some minutes. When he did not arrive immediately, Chinwe could no longer find comfort in sitting down, so she stood up and paced the space of the office. Clara’s call
came in again, but she silenced it.

When Dr. Kunbi returned some 40 minutes
later, he apologized for keeping them and
took the paper from Tokunbo, before he
started talking, they asked if they could call Clara and make her listen to the
interpretation of the result.

“Hello Clara, can you hear me?.

This is Dr. Kunbi, your friends are here.”
“Go ahead Dr. I can hear you”
“well, from the result with me, it shows
Henry has about 75 % genetic makeup as
Tokunbo, which could simply be interpreted that Tokunbo is not the father, but he is surely related to the father of your son.

If we have anything above 95%, then Tokunbo would be his father. However, with 75%, he is only related to the person who fathered your son most likely his brother. This is my interpretation and I would advise you to get a second opinion if you have doubts, but I can
assure you, the interpretation would be the same.”

The silence at the other end of the line
matched that of the office as Dr. Kunbi stared at the 2 people sitting in front of him.

“Hello, do you have anything to say, or would you like to ask any question?”

“No sir, I …”

“Hello Dr. this is Joseph, her friend”
Hi Chinwe. We will continue our discussion
later but for now, no question. Thank you so much”

“Hi Joseph, is she alright?”

“She will be fine. She is just in shock”

Ok, thanks”[/b]

They both thanked the doctor and left his
office with more questions on their mind, but more on the mind of Tokunbo than on Chinwe’s. As they drove away from the hospital, it was nearing evening, Chinwe watched her husband as he drove down the busy road, but suddenly changed the direction to the road that leads to his parents’ house.