TRAPPED...Part 9.

My phone was ringing. I stepped outside my shop, away from the chorus of sewing machines, to answer it. It was Dan. We have been dating for a year and he had been sweet beyond words. I was just starting out as a tailor. My shop was two months old and I had two student tailors.

"Babito, how's your day going?"he asked, with excitement in his voice.

"Great," I replied, smiling. "What's up with you?"

"I am good. You won't believe what just happened."

"What?" I asked, wide-eyed.

"You remember that my fair-complexioned friend, Ugo? The one I was with the day we met?"

"Yes, yes. I remember him. The quiet one that later went with my friend. What about him?"

"He is getting married. In fact, he is holding an engagement party at the Mr. Biggs close to your area, right now."

"Oh,"I said, deflatedly. "Good for him o!" I still could not understand why this is special news.

"He is getting married to your friend. Tolu. Delight Inn."

"Chineke meh!" I screamed. "Wonders shall never end!" I could not believe my ears. "Dan, you mean Slow P, em, Tolu is getting married to one of her 'customers'?"

He gave a satisfied laugh. "Exactly. Na so we see am. We don talk tire. Ugo insist say na Tolu him wan marry o! He doesn't care about her past."

"Kai! This one na love made in Tokyo. Are you guys still there? I want to come and see for myself."

"Yes o! Come fast fast."

I hurriedly left the shop and entered a bike going to Mr. Biggs.  I sighted them seated at the far right corner. As soon as she saw me, Slow P stood up and gave me a big hug. She had tears in her eyes. "I can't believe this!" she kept repeating, showing me the ring adorning her left ring finger.

"I am so happy for you, Babe," I enthused.

I walked her back to the table. Ugo was seated with Dan and two other guys. He was beaming with smiles.

"Ugo, you are a good man. A very good man," I said. Everyone at the table nodded in agreement.

"Tolu is a special woman," he said, taking her hand. "I have never met anyone like her."

The party was brief. The enormity of what just transpired weighed in on me. Love truly has no boundaries. Love appears in strange places.

Dan was the last child and the only son. He had four elder sisters and grew up without his mother. He rarely mentions her. His eldest sister, Adanne, was the maternal figure in his life. She was a banker, newly married and she made sure that he lacked nothing. He was managing one of his Dad's shops in Alaba market. He finished his secondary education in 2001 but had repeatedly failed to gain admission into the University. He was a smart, young man but I felt he was not studying hard enough.

"You are very lucky you have a family ready to sponsor your University education. Wetin dey worry you?"

He will laugh and tell me how making profits is better than earning a salary.

"I see many unemployed graduates everyday. They move around with files in search of jobs. Any salaried job. I just don't want to become like them."

We often argue on the pros and cons of a University education. After one of such arguments, he was hurt when I told him that 'it is a pity those who have buttocks do not know how to sit with it.' He bought a JAMB form the next day. The examination was four months away.

A month to the examinations, disaster struck. Dan called me one evening, sounding distraught.

"Babito, wahala dey o! I dey St. Louis Hospital now."

"Wetin happen?" I asked, anxiously.

"Adanne is very, very sick. They said she has breast cancer."

"Wetin be cancer?' I asked, confused.

"Na one very serious disease o. E dey kill. E dey kill." He was sobbing.

I hurried to the said hospital. Adanne was lying on the bed. She had lost considerable weight. The smell of decaying flesh coming from the right breast hung heavily in the air.

She smiled weakly when I entered. Her husband, Dan and Old Major were on a seat beside the bed.

"Aunty, Dan just informed me that you were sick. Sorry o."

"Nwa oma. Thanks for coming," she said.

I soon learnt that she noticed a small growth in her right breast six months earlier. She went to her doctor, who after several tests, told her she had breast cancer. It was still early and it can be cured if the right breast is cut off. She discussed it with her husband who rejected the idea and opted for a spiritual solution instead. She frequented healing houses, revivals and crusades. The growth grew bigger and soon formed a sore. Seeing the negative development, the husband agreed to have the breast cut off. But it was too late. The latest tests revealed that the cancer has spread.

The doctors did their best. Adanne died the following week.

Adanne's death broke Dan's heart. He was inconsolable. He did not go for his examinations. He rarely picked his calls. I tried to offer comfort but he rebuffed every attempt, telling me he needed space to grieve. Meanwhile, my tailoring business was booming. I rented a second shop and took an additional student tailor. One particular day, I just couldn't  concentrate at work.

Dan's condition worried me deeply and I resolved to see him after close of work. That evening, as I was locking up my shop, a handsome young man approached me. Jide.

©Kelvin Alaneme, 2015.