HIM, HER & I (The love Triangle) 31
PART 31
©Opeyemi Ojerinde Akintunde
We spent 4 hours at his place before leaving, and all I did in the cab was shed tears. Jadesola knew what was going on, and her words made me know that her time with the prophetess was not a waste…
“When I was kidnapped, my little mind thought that was the end for me, but I didn’t know it was a time of transitioning. Grandma was doing a good job with me before she died, and God knew you didn’t have the time for me, so through His divine design, He passed me to another mother. Mummy, sometimes God can bring out good things from bad things that we might encounter. Don’t regret the fact that you are not married to Uncle Stephen; God can still give you a good husband… Mummy Prophetess used to say this a lot whenever she was preaching: ‘A lot of people underestimate God; they call God a God of second chance, but He is much more than that. God is a God of many chances…’ Mummy, you may have missed the chance with Uncle Stephen, but God is a God of mercy; a God of many chances.”
I forged ahead with life. I didn’t have the strength to fight for Brother Stephen the way I fought other ladies in the past; I just wanted God… I started a crèche business as I had a longing for children. I named it after Iremide. Jadesola was growing into a fine lady, though she was still in secondary school at age 19. She had missed three years of school when she was with the prophetess.
About 6 months later, Bro Stephen called to invite me for his wedding. Funny enough, I didn’t feel bad about it, because at that point, I was already fulfilling purpose. I was preoccupied with the little babies I had in my crèche. I had made up my mind that without marriage, my life would still be meaningful. Mmesoma and I were still catching up few times a month. I only got to see Bro Kennedy once, and I felt nothing for him again. Mmesoma had gone with me for the wedding and Brother Stephen was pleased to see us… On returning home, I shed a few tears, but later I pushed his thought off my mind. Bro Stephen was gone.
One day, Jadesola had rushed to my room, crying that one of her cousins that lived with us had taken a new shoe I bought for her… “Mummy, Pelumi has taken my purple shoe to Jos. I saw her admiring the show yesterday.”
“Well, that’s your fault; you were careless with the shoe. Everyone in this house knows Pelumi has stealing issues; so why would you leave your stuff lying around where it can be easily picked by someone else?”
“But must she pick what doesn’t belong to her? Oh my God; and I know that shoe will not remain the same when she returns it; besides I don’t like sharing shoes,” Jadesola said really angry…
“Slow down, I will get you another shoe.”
“It can’t be like that one! Mum you got it from the USA, remember…? I don’t think you can find it on the streets of Lagos anytime soon.”
“I know, but I promise to get it for you on my next trip…”
“Mum, I planned on wearing it to my graduation next week.” Jadesola was emotionally disturbed… I put a call through to Pelumi and Pelumi apologized, telling me she had sold the shoe on her way to Jos. She said she needed money for her upkeep. I asked her to send me the number of her friend who bought it; she reluctantly gave me the number. I was able to reach her friend who agreed to resell the shoe back to me, but she warned me that she had worn it to a function already. The shoe returned four days to Jadesola’s graduation. When we opened the parcel, I knew Jadesola could not wear the shoe again; it would be a spoiler. Her gown was too pretty to be matched with the shoe that had been worn recklessly by the last owner in just one outing. Jadesola wept till she slept off. We had agreed she would wear one of her other shoes. As I laid down to sleep, I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit…
“Why don’t you order a new shoe for Jadesola; that’s what a good mother should do?” I jumped from the bed and reached out for my phone; it never occurred to me that I could order the shoe from the US. I located the store online and fortunately for me, the shoe was still in stock. I ordered the shoe, but I was told it would take 7 working days. I only had three days. I asked them to do an express delivery to me which was quite expensive. The delivery fee was way higher than the price of the shoe.
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The morning of Jadesola’s graduation, I was yet to get the shoe, and as I saw Jadesola coming out of her room, she looked really beautiful but very unhappy. Though she tried to fake a smile, I knew she didn’t want the shoe she wore…
“Hey, look who’s beautiful, “I said, trying to make her smile…
“Thanks mum…” She said
“Jadesola, we sometimes get to lose what we have dreamt of having, but we must never let that put us down. Jadesola, though you don’t have your pretty shoe, you should be grateful that you have shoes on your feet. Some people do not have shoes, some don’t have legs, but you have both, so you should be grateful…” I drove Jadesola to her school for her secondary school graduation. I kept checking my phone for any new phone number or text, but I got nothing. When Jadesola got to school, she joined her friends as I looked around for a good seat. My phone beeped… Yes! The shoe had arrived, and on checking the message, I realized I had to pick it up from their office which was a 30 minutes’ drive away from Jadesola’s school… I was beaming with smiles; I was beyond elated; I was happy I got my daughter a new shoe, just the one she wanted… I jumped into my vehicle and raced like a crazy lady. I got the shoe and got back on the road, but out of nowhere I saw a huge traffic ahead of me… I asked around what had caused the traffic, and I was told a petrol tanker had broken down ahead, so other cars were gently driving past it so as not to cause any form of explosion. I knew if I stayed in the traffic, I would miss my daughter’s graduation. I drove my car to the front of a bank and approached the security… “Sir, I need a big favor. Today is my daughter’s graduation, and I must tell you, she has been a good girl, so this shoe just came in from the US and she needs to wear it today. Please I need to drop my car here and take a bike down to her school. I promise to be back in the next 3 hours to pick up my car,” I said.
“No problem madam, ensure you bring my own graduation package,” the security man said with a smile. “Sure, Sure!” I said and raced to where I could get a bike. I was able to get a bike who charged me such an exorbitant amount…
“Anything for Jadesola,” I said to myself. I got to her school in 15 minutes; the students were already being called out to receive their certificates. For the first time in my life, I was happy Jadesola’s father’s surname started with an ‘S’. Thankfully, they were still calling names starting with the letter ‘O’. I tried looking for Jadesola among the grandaunts and I found her heavy mass of hair looking around for me as well. I hurriedly walked towards her, and though I got different looks, I cared less; this was about making my daughter happy. I got to her and dropped the package with her. I turned back to get back to my seat, but her scream told me I had done something fantastic…
“Mummy!” She screamed… She couldn’t contain her joy; I am sure at that point she forgot there were over 500 people in that hall as she ran from her seat towards me and hugged me tight… “Mummy, you got me a new shoe!” Oh my God, that point was epic. I cried and I was happy I had made my daughter happy…
“Yes sweetie, that’s because you are my daughter and I can go any length for you.”
“Thank you mummy, thank you…” We had stopped the graduation ceremony and a lot of people didn’t understand, so I gently apologized and pulled Jadesola out of the hall… I knelt down before her as she tried to pull off her shoe; I told her not to bother so as not to get her cloth rumpled. I pulled off her shoe and wore the new one for her, and in that same instant, I heard this unforgettable words…
“Though you have lost the shoe I wanted to give you, do you think I am not a good father who can get you another new shoe?” I got struck with those words… The dream of my mother sending someone to give me a shoe in my dream flashed before me… Bro Stephen getting marriage flashed before me. What was God saying…?
“Mummy… Mummy, my name has been called” Jadesola tapped me…
“Yes” I jolted back to the present as I walked as a dummy behind Jadesola as she rushed to the podium to receive her certificate. I stood at the back, lost in thoughts; I heard nothing going on in the hall, despite the loud speakers… “Could God be saying that despite I had lost several opportunities with good men and most especially missing Bro Stephen who would have been the best shoe for me, He was able to give me another man that would equal Brother Stephen?”
To be continued in part thirty two…
(Story copied from another source)
