Deborah: So Akila, since when have you known Yinka?

Akila: Way back in fashion school. That makes 6 years, in a few months. We have been through hell and back.

Deborah: I believe that by hell, you mean the stalker part, right? It sounded super scary.

Akila: She never expected it. She told me that after she escorted the man to a few business parties, the man developed feelings for her. He kept on requesting her services often enough to make Yinka wonder. Then one day, he proposed to her. Yinka refused,  because even though he lost his first wife in an accident, the man kept on complaining about his daughter. She was too possessive, and will never give her dad peace of mind. One day, after Yinka and I came back from school, we found a warning letter in her apartment, telling Yinka how she was going to be murdered if she kept on going out with Mr. Daniels. Yinka was really scared and decided not to see him again. But then, Mr. Daniels went crazy, he kept on showing up at school, begging her. On a particular day, Yinka was walking on Main street. Mr Daniels suddenly pulled over, forced her inside the car and kept on driving her around town. She managed to get off at a red light, but it was raining. That’s how she got to Jade’s saloon to seek for help. After that, she filed a case against Mr. Daniels. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison, but was later released because of his influence in the city. He later moved out of New York and we haven’t heard from him since then. It has been 3 years since the incident.

Deborah: What happened to the daughter?

Akila: We don’t know.

Deborah: I see…

The night went by, Deborah couldn’t sleep. She was somehow getting herself involved in her client’s personal life.

The next morning, Yinka woke up. She put her gown on and looked through the window. For some reason, her heart and mind were not at ease, she was breathing hard. She thought that it might just be an anxiety attack, after all, her week was more than a surreal dream. She took her time to take a bath. As she was washing her body, she touched her belly, the sensation was new to her. She thought that her stomach would get bigger within a week.

Suddenly, Yinka starts crying. This was the best thing that could have ever happened to her and yet it was the saddest. Taiwo, the man she loved, was not going to share the miracle of life with her.

(Akila shouting)

Akila: Morning sunshine!! We are all waiting for you in the living room. It is playoffs weekend.

Yinka: I forgot. Taiwo is playing.

Akila: Common ya, the match is in the second half.

Match Narrator: We can see Taiwo is a little tired. He hasn’t been playing the way he usually does, but wait a minute, it looks like he is having difficulties breathing. His coach is asking him to sit on the bench. Meanwhile, the Red Foxes of Minnesota are taking over the match, their captain Paul Lanse, is at the top of his game. Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like Taiwo has collapsed.

Second speaker: Bruno, we knew something was going on with Taiwo.

It is a pity he will have to leave the game in such condition.

Yinka: Oh my God Akila, did you see that? I need to get to that stadium.

Akila: Yinka, calm down. It is better you call his coach first. Then, depending on what he tells us, we start moving.

(At the basketball court)

Ashley rushes to her fiancé’s side. She is panicking as all the paramedics surround Taiwo.

Paramedic 1(Jason): Ma’am, back off please.

Ashley: Is he going to be ok?

Jason: He is not breathing.

Jason talking to paramedic #2 (Larry): Start the CPR.

Larry: He is not responding.

Jason: Keep on trying.

Five minutes later…

Jason: Ma’am, I am sorry, but he is not responding. There’s no point taking him to the hospital. We lost him.

Ashley: No, it can’t be. Keep on trying, he can’t be dead.

Larry: We need to call forensic services, so they can investigate the cause of death. Any family member you want to contact ma’am?

Ashley: uhhhhm

Jason: Larry give her some time.

Coach: Ashley, I need to call Yinka, if that is ok with you.

Ashley: Please do, but be gentle with the news, she is pregnant.

The coach was shocked. He has known Taiwo since he started his professional basketball career. Breaking the news to Yinka wasn’t going to be easy. So, he took a deep breath and then dialed.

Coach. Hello Yinka.

Yinka: Coach, how is Taiwo doing?

Coach: Yinka, I…..

Yinka: Aha, I am listening.

Coach: Yinka, we lost him.

Yinka: Of course you lost him, did you see how he fainted? Gosh, that Taiwo, I have told him over and over again not to train like there’s no tomorrow before a game! I bet you he was at the gym for at least 5 hours. Anyway, where’s he at? I need to talk sense into his head.

Coach: Yinka, he is dead…

Coach: Yinka, are you there?

Yinka: Coach, we need to talk later…

Coach: I understand. If you need something, just let me know. Ok?

Yinka: I will.

Yinka’s world collapsed. Few days ago, Taiwo was lively and full of energy. Now, he was gone forever.

Akila: Yinka, is everything alright?

Yinka: He is dead.

Akila: What?

Jade: Yinka, I am sorry.

Deborah: I am really sorry.

Yinka: Akila, give me my car keys.

Akila: Where are you going? Hun, you can’t drive in your condition.

Yinka: Akila, I am not dying. I am just a few weeks pregnant. Now, give me the fucking keys.

Jade: Yinka, calm down.

Yinka: I am not going to calm down Jade. That Ashley had something to do with Taiwo’s death. This is not normal at all.

Akila: How do you know?… I mean… Taiwo fainted. We all saw it. It’s not like she shot him.

Yinka: I know it because I slept with her. She is evil.

Deborah: What???

Jason: Are you?…

Akila: I thought as much. The night you told me that you were with Taiwo, you were not. That night, I called him, he said that you were gone. I called your cellphone and a girl told me you were sleeping. Then, during fashion week, I saw the way she was looking at you.

Deborah: Guys, I need to tell you something… Ashley Daniels is my client’s daughter. My client is the main suspect of his wife’s murder. The body was found by Ashley when her father went on a business trip. For some reason, she was not considered a suspect.

Yinka: So… you are saying that…

Akila: She’s saying that she killed her stepmother.

Jade: This is some CSI New York shit.

Yinka: Dude, Taiwo is dead… Keep that in mind next time you are trying to be funny.

Yinka: Akila, whether she killed her stepmother or not, I don’t care. She did something to Taiwo.

Deborah: So, what’s your plan?

Yinka: I need to go to the stadium.

Jade: I will drive.

When Yinka, Jade, Deborah and Akila got into the stadium, it was eerily quiet. Yinka’s friends stayed behind. Taiwo was covered with a white sheet and his team members were around him. She slowly walked towards the body, knelt down and uncovered his face. He was ice cold.

Yinka: I am sorry that I couldn’t be by your side when you needed me the most. I promise you that I will take care of our child.

Ashley: Back off from that body.

Yinka: Says who?

Jade: Yinka, I think this is not the time nor the place.

Ashley: Yeah, Yinka this is not the place. Behave yourself little puppy.

Yinka: You are actually right Ashley, I should behave. After all, you are an expert at behaving in front of dead bodies. You seem to have that extraordinary ability – typical behavior of a psycho killer.

Ashley: The satisfaction of taking away the most important thing in your life didn’t last me that long. Taiwo was diagnosed with brain cancer a few days ago. He called off the wedding, but I promised to stay with him till the end. Then you tell him you are pregnant. That got him overstressed and look where he is now, dead. Well, at least all his money is going to you and the child. The only thing I have to tell you self-centered bitch, is that I hope that money will make you as miserable as you have made others.

Yinka: I loved him.

Ashley: Yeah right.

Jade: Yinka baby.

Yinka: Back off Jade. Don’t touch me. She is right. Taiwo asked me to be with him, but I refused.

Ashley: You are not welcome at the funeral…

SHIIIT HAPPENS GUYS!

I recently found out that the woman that has been taking care of me since I was a baby, is not my biological mother.

She narrated that her and my biological mother were prostitutes at a very young age. My biological mum got pregnant and when she gave birth, she wanted to go throw the baby away. According to her, she prevented my biological mum from throwing the baby away and she decided to take care of the baby. That baby was me… They have since parted ways and haven’t seen each other in over 25 years.

I am a grown man now, with a promising career. This revelation has been quite shocking to me. However, regardless of the fact that she is not my biological mother, she’s still my mum. She is the only mother I grew up to know. Besides, she has no other kids of her own, so I’m determined to take good care of her.

The major issue now, is that my biological mother just resurfaced not long ago, and she wants to be involved in my life. I don’t think I need her in my life. Is she even worth it? If I wasn’t doing well, will she want to be associated with me? All these questions and many more keep lingering in my mind. What do guys think?…

SHIIIT HAPPENS GUYS!

My good friend, Adam has always been nice to me. We’ve been friends since we we were kids. Adam got married 7 years ago, and he still has no kids.

One day, he called and said he needed a favor from me. He explained that he has low sperm count, and he believes that it is contributing to the inability of his wife to conceive. Now, he’s pleading with me to sleep with his wife, so that they can have a child. He said, “Don’t worry. We’ll keep everything a secret. Just between the three of us.” I see these things in movies, but I couldn’t believe it was happening to me.

I am scared though. I really don’t want to get involved in their marriage. Adam is a great guy and I really do owe him a lot, but I don’t want to complicate my life in any way. Should I provide this “help” for him?

SHIIIT HAPPENS GUYS!

I thought about it for a minute and realized the idea was perfect. I responded, “Kola! You are a genius o”. We laughed and got more excited about it. After the phone conversation, I couldn’t sleep that night. I was full of excitement. I imagined myself with a big stomach and that got me laughing alone. The thought of having a baby with Kola is a dream come true. He is the kind of man I have always prayed and hoped to marry. He is caring, gentle, great in bed and selfless.

The next day, we met for lunch and we planned on meeting at hotels till I could get pregnant. He said with a smile, “Babe, there are lots of the ovulation tracking apps you can download. Just let me know the ovulation period, so we can book hotel. We can do this till we get back to school next month, then we can do anything in our dorms and no need wasting more money on hotels.” I smiled and responded, “So, you want to be teaching me woman things? I have got it all figured out”. We laughed about it and he made jokes about being a good dad.

I was expecting my period the week after we had the conversation, therefore, we had the hotel room booked for 5 days of the ovulation week. We planned to have sex daily because Kola insisted, “I don’t want to miss the target”. Which is the “egg”.  During the ovulation week, we met every day has planned.

We continued the next month at school. We were both in our final year and things were going great. Kola got a full-time job offer with Exxon Mobil pending his graduation. We knew if I got pregnant soon, I would be having the baby close to graduation and that would not affect anything. There were pregnant students in the University all the time. A month after that, I found out I was pregnant. Kola was overjoyed. Everything was going better than we planned. We decided we would tell our parents about the baby during the break, I would be almost 4 months by then.

We called our parents the same day. I went to my parent’s room just like I did the last time. This time my dad was livid. He said I must have an abortion. Mom almost passed out, she was rolling on the floor weeping and saying, “God forbid, my daughter will not have an abortion”. I was consoling her while my dad stormed out of the house. There was so much confusion. Bolu and Tolu came into the room and were both trying to console mom. I was very sad. I thought this would make things easy. I couldn’t believe my dad, with his Christian values would suggest abortion. We continued to talk to mom until she slept off.

I got back to my room drained of energy. I laid on the bed and heard my phone ring. I picked it up and noticed Kola had called me multiple times. I called him back immediately before I could narrate what had happened to him. He informed me that after telling his mom, they got into an argument and she slapped him. He stormed out of the house and would be staying in the hotel for the night. I asked about his dad, and he said his dad was furious at his mom. His dad was angry she was making a big deal out of the whole situation. I told him about my dad’s reaction and he was even more angry. Kola was very worried about my health with all that was happening. I told him I was fine, and we planned to meet the next day for lunch.

I got to the restaurant before kola. When he walked in, I noticed he looked tired and stressed. I worried about all the stress he was going through because of our families. We exchanged greetings and ordered food. As we ate, we discussed. Kola said, “This does not make any sense to me at all. Something weird is going on, I have been thinking about it all night. I haven’t slept”. I placed my palm on his face and responded, “It shows on your face that you are not getting enough sleep. What are you getting at though?” He continued, “See, why is it that your dad and my mom are the problems? Is there something those two are not saying?” I sat there shocked and confused. He continued to say, “Both their excuses for opposing this marriage is not making sense to me. Is there something they both know that they are not saying?” I finally found my voice and said, “You have a point Kola. This is not making sense o”. We both sat in silence in deep thoughts, then, Kola said, “Let’s try to get both your dad and my mom together to talk to each other and see what they know”. I agreed, and we planned to both sneak and use each of their phones to text each other to meet in a hotel. If they don’t meet, then we know it was just our imaginations and would deny sending the messages.

As we left the restaurant, we both went to book a hotel room. We informed the hotel front desk receptionist, that whoever comes to the hotel for that room number the next day, should just be directed straight to the room and told someone was waiting in there for them. That night, I was able to send “Can we talk about these children? Let’s meet at 12 noon. I will be waiting at the Sheraton Hotel, Maryland” through my dad’s phone, and deleted it immediately from his phone. Kola was able to send the same exact message and deleted the message he sent on his mom’s phone. He confirmed my dad’s message came through on his mom phone and he didn’t delete that. I went back to ensure his mom’s message showed on my dad’s phone too and the one I sent through his phone was deleted appropriately.  We kept out fingers crossed and hoped it worked.

At 10 am the next day, Kola and I met at the hotel. We waited in the room. His mom arrived first and the moment we saw her car in the parking lot, we both hid in the closet. We had made sure the closet was spacious enough for us to sit and had it open a little for air. We heard her enter the room and said, “Hello? Where are you?” and went to the bathroom to check. Then she said “Where did he go now? Ehn”, and sat on the bed. Some seconds later, the door opened, and my dad came in and said,

My Dad: Bola darling, how are you?

His Mom: I am not fine at all. We need to do something about these stupid children o.

My Dad: Of course! Sola will abort that baby for sure. There is no argument about that.

His Mom: hmm…that needs to happen fast o. She is almost 5 months I think, and she won’t be able to abort after 5 months o.

My Dad: I have made myself clear to her mother. She won’t dare disrespect me

His Mom: That dunce. She has been trying to get those kids together since. Ehn. Even if they were not brother and sister sef, I don’t know why she thinks I will want to have someone like her as in-law sef.

My Dad: (laughs) Anyway, forget that one. Since we are here in this nice room, we can’t waste this bed o. It’s been 2 months since I have enjoyed all this sweetness to myself.

His Mom: Dele, you are so naughty. Anyway, I feel so angry Kola slept with his sister ehn…to the extent they want to have baby sef.

My Dad: All that will be resolved jo, you are just looking to radiant to resist right now.

They were both laughing, and we started hearing moaning. Before we realized what was going to on, they were both having sex. I wanted to scream but Kola cautioned and begged me to endure. It was the longest thirty minutes of my life. They both left the room laughing.

After they left, Kola and I sat in the room in silence and confused. This was too much to absorb. This explains Kola’s genotype being “AS”, I thought. My dad is obviously Kola’s Dad; therefore, Kola is my brother. I am pregnant for my brother and our parents are still having an affair. Is Titi my sister too?

How do we begin to resolve this?

SHIIIT HAPPENS GUYS!

I work as a nurse in one of the hospitals in Benin. I am on vacation to visit my older brother who just got married. They had a court wedding and I was unable to attend the wedding due to some schedule conflicts. I had never met his wife before, but i have spoken to her on the phone various times.

When I got to their home, I realized my brother’s wife we all knew as Ada is Christy.  I met Christy when she was a student of University of Benin. Christy was rushed to our hospital one day and I attended to her. She had gone for an abortion and was later brought to our hospital because she passed out. We found out her womb had been damaged during the abortion procedure and was removed. Therefore, she is unable to have children.

Should I tell my brother she can’t conceive or should I keep quiet?

SHIIIT HAPPENS GUYS!

I went to stay with my father’s younger brother (my uncle) for the holidays. My uncle has 4 kids and he is very caring. He treats me like one of his kids too.

Recently, I found out that my uncle’s last child is not his biological child. This child happens to be his favorite and he spends so much time and money on him. I heard their landlord and my uncle’s wife discussing. Apparently, the landlord is the father to the last child.

I don’t know what to do. Should I tell my uncle or keep quiet? This would really break my uncle’s heart.

SHIIIT HAPPENS GUYS!

I always knew I would be invited to my company’s Christmas party. I knew it since November. I just didn’t know when and how it will happen. Fate had it that I was invited some days before the event and being the busy bee that I am, I barely had time to think about my wardrobe.

I had a red-orange dress I wanted to wear for the occasion, but I also knew that my recent weight gain would not really make me look nice without an extra helping hand. So, I decided I would buy some shapewear. I had never worn shapewear before. Yet, I remembered someone had once told me that a certain brand did miracles for people of all shapes. So I decided to go for that brand.

After carefully looking on line for what could best work for me, I decided to go shopping some hours prior to the event at a relatively near department store. I thought everything would work out fine. I also thought it would be an in-and-out purchase and that my life would be easy afterwards. I candidly forgot the “Mother T effect”, which meant that there would always be something to test my patience.

I got to the store and after asking where the shapewear was for the fifth time, I had to navigate among racks of mixed brands in order to find the piece I had identified online. I must mention that contrary to average females, I loathe shopping. Shopping makes me anxious when I do not know exactly what I am looking for. In addition, crowds at department stores drive me crazy. Shopping is not on my skill set, so I needed to get what I wanted and go back to work. It turned out that after some looking, there was only one item of my size and it had deodorant marks. At this point, I was desperate, so I tried it on all sweaty due to the long walk to the store and the fact that my winter jacket was hot. Surprisingly, it did not quite give me the Oscar award-winning shape I was looking for. Moreover, it made some of my yumminess protrude below the bra-line on the back. I will not even start to talk about the multiple physical defects I avoided watching on the mirror.

I had decided to look decent, so I would not just purchase some random crap that did not look ok. So, I went again to the shapewear area to find something more suitable. Again, only found a single item of the product I needed. I tried it on and it fit better. After going through more hassle in search of an item to cover my bare arms (I ended up getting a small faux fur shawl), I was ready to pay and leave. The item I wanted to purchase did not have a price tag and the woman at the cashier had to go look for a similar item, which took some good 10 minutes. I was finally on my way back to the office after two solid hours of nonsensical shopping.

Later on in the evening, when it was time to get dressed to attend the party, I rushed to the washroom to do so. I put the shapewear on and the dress, and now I needed some props. I realized I had forgotten to pack the golden earrings I wanted to wear and I found myself wearing silver earrings with a golden-coordinated outfit. I couldn’t do much for my hair and some colleagues were waiting for me already, so I put my faux-fur shawl on and left. Not only was the shawl cumbersome, but it also didn’t look great. Since I had forgotten to remove the tag, I decided I would return it the following day. At some point that evening, I took it off while I was serving food to a friend. Could you believe that I spilled some gravy on the damn thing? Frantically, I wiped the shawl to avoid staining it.

I had a reasonable amount of fun for a corporate event and left way before the party was over. The shawl seemed ok. I was able to return it the following day without much ado (considering that I got a new employee at the cashier who took forever to complete the transaction).

After this experience, I was ready to round up with the end-of-year corporate events. Sometimes I wonder why I am not a normal woman. Why don’t I know all the girly tricks and perform socially as expected? Why do little things have to get complicated? I guess I just need to get better at planning.

SHIIIT HAPPENS GUYS!

Mean while…

Yinka: (on the phone) Akila baby, where you at? I need somebody to drive me home. My mum is gone and the father of the baby has gone with his girlfriend.

Akila: You are so funny. I am actually on my way to the hospital. Hope you are feeling better now.

Yinka: Yep, I am feeling way better now that I know Ashley is also pregnant. That actually made my day.

Akila: Yinka, I am so sorry, but what’s up with Taiwo though? Is he trying to take over the world, having a thousand children or what?

Yinka: It is well Akila.

Akila: So you are just going to let it go like that? I thought you loved Taiwo.

Yinka: I do Akila, with all my heart, but unfortunately I decided to build a wall around me before I gave love a chance. So now, what is left to do is for me to let Taiwo be with Ashley, and I will be happy with my son. I am not ready to fight for a man.

Akila: I understand.

Akila met Yinka at the hospital. She knew that her friend was not even close to letting Taiwo go, and deep within her, she knew that Ashley’s pregnancy was a lie. Akila drove Yinka to her apartment, fed her and then put her to bed. Around 10 pm, Yinka’s phone starts ringing.

Akila: Hello.

Jade: Yinka?

Akila: No, this is Akila. Yinka is sleeping, Jade?

Jade: Akila hun, how are you? I just wanted to let Yinka know that my friend and I are now in New York. I told Yinka that we were going to stay with her, so we are on our way there.

Akila: Jade baby, I am here with Yinka but there’s something you need to know. She blacked out during the fashion show after learning that she was pregnant.

Jade: Who is the father of the baby?

Akila: Taiwo.

Jade: OMG, that is amazing girl. Yinka finally decided to go serious with him.

Akila: Well, Taiwo is engaged to another woman.

Jade: What???!

Akila: Jade, it’s better we discuss it when you come around. Just remember not to be too curious about Yinka and Taiwo, ok?

Jade: No problem baby. I’ll be as quiet as a convalescent patient.

Akila : See you in a bit.

(Deborah and Jade talking)

Deborah: What was all that shouting about?

Jade: Girl, it looks like this trip is going to be full of sweet drama.

Deborah and Jade took a cab to Yinka’s house. While Jade was getting in touch with his booty calls, Deborah was still thinking about Mr. Daniel’s case. To her, there were some pieces missing in the puzzle. His wife was murdered while he was on a trip. Then, the body was found by his daughter, who later moved to New York; she was never really a suspect.

Jade: Deborah, we are here.

Deborah: Oh wow, this is a nice building.

Jade: The Trump building to be precise. For crying all loud girl, move it. I know the building is nice but it doesn’t talk, move it.

Jade and Deborah went up the lift to Yinka’s apartment. Akila opened the door.

Akila: Hey ya, how are you doing? Deborah, I am Akila, Yinka’s best friend.

Deborah: Nice to meet you.

Akila: Excuse my rudeness, come in.

Jade: Oh wow, Yinka has done well here. I remember when Yinka used to be an escort girl. I met her one day on the road, it was raining and she was running away from a stalker. I think he was one of her clients but he got obsessed somehow, and decided to kidnap her, as she didn’t want to be with him. It was awful. But now, she has fulfilled her dreams.

Deborah: Who was the stalker?

Akila: Some businessman from Washington D.C., Daniel something….

Deborah quickly thought, could it be possible that Akila was talking about Mr. Daniels? It was a bit coincidental that her client and Yinka’s stalker had the same last name, plus Deborah knew that Mr. Daniels had a record with escort agencies.

Jade: Well ladies, I know that I just got in, but I am dead tired. I am going to crash in the guest room. Deborah baby, are you coming?

Deborah: I will meet you in a bit. I would like to discuss with Akila for few more minutes.

Jade: Ok, good night then.

Akila: Jade is so sweet, isn’t he?

Deborah: Yes, he is.

Akila: It is going to help Yinka to have him around. She is pregnant and her boy friend is getting married to that Ashley bitch.

Deborah: Ashley?

Akila: Yeah, some banker…

Deborah couldn’t believe it. Ashley the banker, Mr Daniel’s and Yinka… This was becoming too coincidental. She was not a police agent, but she knew that there was more to the story. She was now determined to do everything to get to the bottom of it. She also knew that Akila was going to play a major part in her investigation…

SHIIIT HAPPENS GUYS! WATCH OUT FOR TABOO – Part 6

I will be getting married to my fiance, Dare in 2 weeks time. We have been together for almost 3 years. Throughout our courtship, we didn’t have sex. I was determined to keep my virginity till our wedding night. Dare was very cooperative, patient and loving the whole time.

Last weekend, a friend invited me to her birthday party. While at the party, I became tipsy after a lot of drinks… at some point, I blacked out. When I woke up, I found myself on a hotel bed. I had lost my virginity and I didn’t even know how I got there. I quickly showered, dressed up and went to the receptionist. She said, the guy that got the room already left early in the morning.

Since then, I have been seriously depressed. It feels like my life is over… What will I tell Dare? Will he even believe me? I don’t think he can trust me again…

Our wedding is in 2 weeks! I might just kill myself. Help!!!

SHIIIT HAPPENS GUYS!

I suddenly felt shy and responded with a pout, “Well, I didn’t like you because you were always so arrogant and would make fun of me whenever there was an opportunity”. He laughed and turned to look into my eyes and said, “I wasn’t arrogant, I was always shy of you. I have always liked you. I just never understood why you were always so harsh to me”. I blushed and was about to respond when a knock on the door interrupted. Kola asked quietly, “Are you expecting anyone?”, I responded, “No”. As we contemplated what to do, a voice from the door, said, “Sola! It is me, Adiba. I saw you enter a while ago. Please can we talk? I am sorry about the other day.” I became confused. I wondered if Adiba knew Kola was in the room with me. I asked Kola to excuse me and went out to meet Adiba. She wanted to come into the room, but I prevented her. She thought I was still upset with her, and that was why I didn’t let her into the room. She apologized again, and I told her everything was fine. After she left, Kola and I chatted for hours before he left.

Kola became a frequent visitor and we started to like each other more. After 3 months, Kola asked me to be his girlfriend and I agreed. We were in his room one evening, after making love, and he asked, “Why did you come to the bar that night to look for me?”. The question was unexpected, and I contemplated if I should tell the truth. I told him all about Adiba and what happened that evening. He laughed as I told him, and commented that it was a funny story. I asked if he knew Adiba and he said he might have met her but could not recollect who she was. Some weeks later, on my way back to my dorm, Adiba rushed to meet me outside. She was upset and started to yell that I stole her boyfriend. She was about to fight with me and people were beginning to form a crowd around us. I was very embarrassed. She told the crowd, I had “snatched” her man and she was determined to teach me a lesson. I had always lived a very quiet life in the dorms and this is how most people would remember me, I thought.

I struggled out of the crowd and ran to my room. I was crying and felt my reputation was tarnished. As I sat on the floor in my room, I heard a bang on the door. I thought it was Adiba again and decided not to respond. Then, I heard Kola’s voice from the other side of the door. I blamed him for the disgrace I just experienced but decided to open the door. He was very concerned and worried. He hugged me immediately and started to apologize. He said some guy came to tell him there was a fight about him in this building and immediately he knew I had to be involved. He informed me that he saw Adiba among the students standing outside the dorm and she came to introduce herself to him. When he heard her name, he remembered all that I had told him. He also remembered that he had met Adiba a couple of times on campus but never spoke to her. Kola then said he told her that I am his girlfriend and he would appreciate if Adiba left me alone. I felt relieved knowing he resolved everything like a gentleman that he is. He stayed with me till the next day and made sure I didn’t lack anything. From that day, Kola and I were inseparable.

Five months after the Adiba ordeal, Kola proposed to me and I accepted. We both had hidden our relationship from our parents. We decided we would tell them about our wedding plans at the same time. The semester was coming to an end; we studied for our exams together and spoke about spending our lives together forever.

A week after we got home, I went into mom and dad’s room, and asked if I could talk to them. I told them about the engagement and my mom was thrilled. She immediately started dancing and praying around the room, but dad sat quietly. Mom continued to dance and pray before dad suddenly yelled at her to be quiet. Both mom and I were shocked, and he continued to say, “There is no way I will let you marry at this age.” I responded back with confusion, “Dad, I am not young at 26”. He yelled again, “You cannot get married till you graduate from University and get a job. That is final!”, then stormed out of the room. Mom immediately started crying. I told her not to worry. She responded, “I don’t know why your father is acting like this. I haven’t seen him this angry in a while. He means what he is saying. (sobbing) This is something I have been praying about”. She continued to cry, and I tried to console her. I left their room very confused.

When I got to my room, I had eight missed calls from Kola already. I thought about how unhappy Kola would be when I informed him that Dad was not in support of the wedding. I delayed calling him back till late that night. He picked up the phone at the first ring when I called. He was very worried. I told him all that had happened but before I could finish, he informed me that his mom opposed the marriage too. I was shocked. I didn’t know when I blurted out, “I thought your mom liked me. What did I do to her?” He responded, “ She does. The only explanation she gave was that she didn’t want my marriage to affect the great relationship we have shared with your family. And that, problems always happen in marriages.” He said he was very confused because usually, her reason is supposed to be a positive to the marriage. We both decided to meet the next day.

Kola and I met for lunch at a restaurant in downtown. During our conversation, Kola suggested we should go see the pastor at our church and he would give us an idea of what to do. Pastor Kevin has always been a great man of God. We had known him all our lives; he is caring and supportive. After lunch, we headed to Pastor Kevin’s office. He was very happy to see us and welcomed us very well. We narrated all that had happened with our parents to him. He listened without interruption. He advised us to pray about it and while praying, we should also go check if our genotypes are compatible because the church would ask for the result before letting us get married. We thanked him and left his office.

When we got home, Kola called at night as usual and we both felt good about Pastor Kevin’s advice. We knew God would help us. I asked Kola if he knew his genotype and he responded, “No, but I know both mom and dad are AA, so I have to be AA”. I told him my mom is AA but my dad is AS, and I wasn’t sure what mine was. We discussed about the wedding some more.

The next day, Kola and I met at the hospital and had our blood taken. We were told to come back the next week for the result. When we got home that night, we also decided to start praying together every night about the wedding. We were building our empire together now and we knew no one could stop us.

As each day passed, my parents argued more about the marriage issue. My mom was very unhappy. It was different at Kola’s house though. His dad left it to Kola and his mom to figure things out. My mom and Kola’s mom were not talking either.

A week had passed, Kola and I went to the hospital to get our results. It turned out, I am AA and Kola was AS. Kola said he thought he was AA but since I am AA, we had nothing to worry about. That same week, we completed our one-week nightly prayer about our marriage. One night, Kola and I were discussing on the phone. He suddenly stopped during the conversation and said, “Babe, I have been thinking.” I responded, “What’s on your mind darling?” and he said, “There is a way we can resolve all these issues and make everyone agree to the marriage without issues”. I got excited and attentive, “That will be great o”, I said. Then, he said, “Babe, let’s get pregnant”.

SHIIIT HAPPENS GUYS! Watch out for “AFTERMATH” – Part 3