JAGUNLABI✔

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Niyi tapped my shoulder and pointed at the clock beside his bed. It was a quarter past five.

I rubbed a hand over my face, reluctant to end the call. Perhaps it was due to the fact that seeing her again was not guaranteed.

"Mom, I will be going away for a while," I said in a shaky voice.

"Where are you going? Why did your voice change? Are you crying? What is going on?" she asked, bombarding me with questions.

I cleared my throat and composed myself before responding, "I am fine, mom. Maybe my voice sounds funny because I just woke up. Relax, it is a short getaway to observe some natural landmarks at a village."

"And you probably will not have access to network, right?" she concluded

"Yes, ma'am."

"How long will you be gone?" she asked.

That question pierced my heart. Some days? A week? One month?  Forever?

"I am on leave, so I will want to have a lot of fun. Maybe two weeks," I replied. That time frame seemed sufficient enough.

"Have a good time and send me photos, Ten-ten. Bye," she replied.

Silent tears fell from my eyes. I prayed it was not goodbye forever. An image of my slightly older, but happy looking mum playing with three babies in a cot flashed before my eyes. Two of them looked like Niyi, and one of them looked like me. My spirit was quickened with hope. Were they my children? I wondered. Being a mother is something I looked forward to.

With a new sense of determination, I bid my mom farewell. "Goodbye, mom. I will definitely see you soon."

By the time the call ended, it was already five-thirty. In an unexpected, but wonderful change of circumstances the rain stopped and the sky had cleared.

"See? Everything is going to be alright," Niyi grinned.

"By the grace of God, all will be well," I affirmed.

We rushed to shower, get dressed and eat. Niyi had arranged for a green car the day before, and our bags were already packed. Everything was in order, so we were able to depart by six a.m. sharp. Just as we were instructed in the vision I had.

**
Niyi drove at a moderate, but steady pace. We were on the Ibadan-Ife highway, which was relatively traffic free at that time of the morning. The cold morning air was crisp with the fresh scent of leaves and earth. I rolled the window beside me down, and welcomed its coolness on my face and on my skin.

Niyi had one hand on the steering wheel and the other on my thigh. He looked at me and smiled, before he quickly returned his focus back to the road.

"It is good to see your bright, brown eyes sparkle again, Teniola."

I turned to him with a broad smile on my face. The vision of the three beautiful, brown babies that looked like Niyi and I brought me unspeakable joy. At a time of great tribulation, it was a ray of sunshine. When I gave it more thought, the babies seemed to be the same age. Were they triplets? Wow, I could not wait. If they were, that would be my first and last pregnancy.

Niyi smirked. "Teniola, kilo n sele? Kilode to fin feyin bi eni to n p'olowo toothpaste? Teniola, what is happening? Why are you grinning like a person advertising toothpaste?"

In response to him, my smile brightened but my lips were sealed. The idea of our probable triplets was something I preferred to keep to myself. For the sake of surprise and because Niyi might be in a haste to make the vision a reality. I reclined my seat and hummed the tunes of some random songs.