"Kemi, are you okay?" Zainab asked.
Kemi paused then continued serving Osa's food.
"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"You look worried."
"Do I?" Kemi swallowed. Was she that easy to read? "It's nothing. I just have several things on my mind."
"A problem shared is a problem half solved."
Kemi sent a smile towards the couch where Zainab was sitting, stroking her child's back.
"I just-"
"I'm done." Osa announced. He walked to the dinning table, refusing to meet her eyes. He drew back the chair and pulled the meal of rice and chicken to himself. "Thank you for this delicious meal."
Kemi whispered into his ears. "You're very welcome but I do not want to believe that you are hiding anything from me."
"To the best of my knowledge, I am not hiding anything from you. Why would I do that?"
Kemi refused to give him an answer as she walked to the couch. She took her seat beside Zainab and sighed.
"So what's on your mind?"
"Eh..."
Kemi relaxed into the couch, allowing her head to loll towards Zainab. Zainab's thin brows were raised in a curious stare.
"Well," Kemi fiddled with her fingers. She picked up Adebayo's teddy bear and began to play with it. "How do you know if a man will cheat?"
"My dear," Zainab's hand touched her laps. "If I knew the answer, I wouldn't be sitting her today."
"Sometimes, I'm just worried that he," Kemi sighed, glanced at Osa, then continued, "would leave me. You know. I'm living the life I've always wanted but you know how life is. Things never stay the same for long."
Zainab's touch brought Kemi's gaze to her face. "I think he really loves you. Do you think he would--"
"No." Kemi said. "It's just. I don't ever want to believe that he can. If he does, I don't think my heart can take it."
"I should have known when Bode started cheating. But how would I have known when nothing about him changed." Zainab's mouth pursed in a bitter frown. "Soon after we got married, he kept long hours from the house. Sometimes, he would travel for weeks on business trips. There was a point where I only saw him once a week. I think those were always the happiest days of my marriage."
"You can't be serious."
Zainab smiled. "I am. You know, I was happy because I was missing him and I knew that when he would come back, he would be so sweet and caring that I would have forgotten that it was a one person marriage. The longer he was at home, the sadder I felt but I've decided that I'm going to end all of this."
"How? Have you spoken to him?"
"Not exactly." Zainab blinked slowly. "He called but my friend, Farida, picked the call. I haven't spoken to him since then."
"Let me just get your thing to the right place and then e can talk. Yeah?"
"Yes."
Zainab rose to her feet, cradling her child who kicked her arms while Kemi carried the bag. They were about to make the turn to the room when Osa hurried out of the kitchen,
"Are you going into the room?"
"Yes, I want to help Zainab to unpack her bag."
"Can I?" Osa's voice trailed off as he stared at Adebayo.
"Do you want to hold him?" Zainab offered Adebayo to him.
Osa's lips parted in a smile. "Yes, if you don't mind. At least, until you're done unpacking."
"Here. Thank you." Zainab gave Osa her baby.
Kemi watched Osa's face lit up with joy. His eyes sparkled as he held the boy to his chest.
"Don't worry. We're going to watch football. The best club in the world is Barcelona." Osa took the child to the television and propped at atop his knee. He bounced the baby on his knees while he turned on the television and began pointing out football players.
Zainab's face darkened. "Even his father never showed him that much love and happiness."
"Osa?"
"No. I'm talking about my baby. Sometimes, I think he never really cared about my child. Your children must be very lucky to have such a father."
Kemi's lips tightened. "Let's get you to your room. Shall we?"
She lead Zainab to the staircase, took a bend to the hallway on the right and stopped at the second wooden door on the right hand side. She twisted the key in the lock and pushed the door open.
"Welcome Zainab." Kemi found her smile again as Zainab wandered into the room.
It was the room that mama used when she came to Lagos. But since mama had asked Osa to clear out the room, Kemi felt content with letting someone else stay in the room. Mama wasn't here to insult her about that decision. "So do you like it?"
"Yes, It's so homely. Thank you for this. God will bless you." Zainab nodded, stepping further into the room.
Kemi did not bother to say amen. She didn't feel that there was currently a God. She stepped into the room and ran her eyes over everything. It was as neat as Osa liked. She could count, on her finger, the number of times that she had ever stepped into this room. Anywhere Mama's presence had been caused her discomfort. "So, if you need anything, let me know and you are welcome to stay as long as you wish."
Zainab nodded at her and then put the bag on the bed. Kemi took this as her cue to leave. She found herself walking towards the living room. Her husband was seated on the chair, watching the child. The child who had his eyes glued to the flickering images of footballers on the television.
"Do you think this is good for his eyes?" She asked, settling into the chair.
"Oh yeah. He should probably be watching those children shows. What's the station again? That one that Bisola likes?"
"Disney?"
"Yes." Osa flickered through several channels before arriving at one that he considered suitable for Adebayo. His hold around the boy tightened as he leaned towards the boys face. "Do you like this one?"
"You know, he can't speak right?"
If Osa knew, he didn't gratify her with an answer. She scooted beside him and leaned into his chest, taking a ragged breath. The wheels behind her head readied her canons. She glanced towards the staircase and when she was sure that Zainab couldn't hear her or intrude, she began.
"Syphilis?"
"it's just a test, Kemi."
"Why would you be taking such a test if you were not suspected to be fooling around? If you act professionally, you would not be attacked. How am I sure that this is actually from the office?" She jabbed her elbows into his ribs to prompt his answer.
He turned to her, annoyed. "Be careful. I am holding a child."
"Need I remind you that if you catch Syphilis, you won't be holding your own child like that?"
"Can it make you infertile?"
The fear in his voice was real but it was not giving her the answers she needed. She lifted her head off his chest and sat upright. "I don't know and I don't want to find out. I want to believe that you are not cheating on me."
"I'm not. I would never. If it makes you any less paranoid, you can come with me to get the test results."
"That doesn't mean anything. Results can be doctored."
"Do you even trust me at all? I fought my own mother for you."
"When? I don't remember you fighting mama for me. The day she slapped me, what did you do?"
"Are you going to attack me for that? You know you have your own fault too. If you know something would offend mama, why don't you just avoid it? Why are you placing me at the middle of your fights with her?"
"Me? Placing you in the middle? What are you saying? Did I marry you or did I marry your mother? If your mother insists on involving herself in things that don't concern her. I'll keep placing you in the middle. After all, you are the only relation I have with her."
Osa raised his voice, frowning at her. "I wished we could speak without arguing?"
"We're not arguing. We're talking. Even though you're saying rubbish?" Kemi raised her voice over Osa's own.
"Baby, good night." Osa pecked the baby's cheek and dumped it in her laps.
"Where are you going?" She demanded, as he rose to his feet. She held out the baby to him. "Why did you give this to me?"
"I'm going anywhere where I won't hear rubbish. As for the baby, if you can't carry this one, give it back to his mother. Let's know that you are completely incapable of carrying a child." Osa threw over his shoulder, making his way up the staircase.
Kemi's jaw fell like someone had pried it lose from her skull. She stared at her husband, then at the child in her hand, unable to believe that he had insinuated that she could not get pregnant. It was at times like this that she felt that mama's influence on Osa could never be too far removed.
"How can you say that?" Kemi got on her feet unwilling to let him off that easily. The last time he had said something like this, he had spent the night away from her doing something she still didn't know.
She returned Adebayo to Zainab, wished her a good night and marched to Osa to pour out her heart to him to explain how fertile she was. She barged into the room to find him dressed in his pyjamas and sleeping on one side of the bed. In the middle of the bed lay three pillows, perfectly dividing the bed into two.
She paused at the foot of the bed. "What is this?"
"Good night. Stay on your side."
***
Been trying to post this for a while. Was having account issues. Just fixed it. I may move this book off this platform to my blog if I face a similar problem.