By the next evening, Ronke Ishola was her loud, laughing self again, chatting animatedly with her boys and everyone else who came into the room.
"It's looking good.", the doctor had said. "I expect her to make a full recovery. She just needs to be a lot stricter with her medicine and more careful around the house."
"You still haven't told me what you were doing, Mummy.", Folarin had said right after, eyeing her, as he massaged her feet.
"Wo, I fell. What else do you want to know?", she'd retorted, refusing to make eye contact. After much prodding, she'd finally confessed she'd fallen doing risqué bedroom activities with the man they'd met the day before, who she admitted to seeing romantically. And Folarin wished he could unhear all of it. He had never regretted questioning someone so much in his life.
Mrs Ishola let out a hearty laughter, clearly enjoying torturing her son. At first, when the man had returned that morning and his mom had introduced them and explained everything, he had a problem with the whole thing; with his mom being someone's girlfriend; having another man in her life apart from them. But then Chuka had told him he was acting like a witch. He told him to stop being a hater and let his mother be great. She more than deserved happiness after what his father had put her through. Besides, the man had saved her actual life.
And much to his annoyance, he'd realized Chuka was right. So, when the man â introduced as Bayonle Ogunmuyiwa â came back that afternoon with lunch, Folarin had invited him out onto the terrace for a chat. Forty minutes passed and both men returned to the room seeming like they had talked it out successfully. Folarin still planned on doing a full background check on the guy when he got back to civilization but for now he seemed okay, and he clearly made his mother happy. Besides, the man was a very successful farmer, so it wasn't like he was some broke village man his mother would be feeding.
Now, as he sat by her bed, they chatted about everything and nothing.
"Where did Chuka go again?", she asked him, suddenly realizing he'd been gone for over an hour.
"He went to get some of our stuff from the hotel.", Folarin replied. Chuka had been up and down and back and forth since yesterday, making sure everyone had what they needed, and that Folarin didn't need to worry about anything but Momsie. Folarin had refused to leave her side after she'd woken up yesterday and Chuka had returned to the hotel hours later to get them a change of clothes and food to eat, since neither of them had eaten all day. "Besides you know hospitals still upset him a bit. I think he'll be restless until you get out of here."
Mrs. Ishola smiled. "Don't worry. Shebi they said I can leave tomorrow."
"Yes. And we're going straight home." Folarin said sternly.
"Yes, daddy.", Mrs Ishola quipped.
"Plus, I think there's something Chuka needs to do back in Lagos, so the sooner the better." Folarin said. "He's been trying to code it, but I can tell it's important."
Folarin looked up to see his mother staring at him intently. "What?"
"Folarin."
"Yes?"
"You know you can tell me anything."
"Ah ah."
"Yes. You can always be completely honest with me. You know abi?"
"Okay, I know." Folarin said, nodding. "So, what is this about?"
She paused. "Is there something else between the two of you?"
"Mummy!", Folarin exclaimed.
"I know there have always been rumours and you two have always denied them publicly, but you can tell me. I just -"
"Mummy mummy mummy", Folarin said rapidly, holding his hand up to stop her from saying more words. "There is nothing. He's my best friend. That is all it is. That is all it has always been."
"Hmmm", she let out. "Are you sure?"
Folarin rolled his eyes.
"Is that one for me?", she smacked him lightly.
"Sorry, ma.", he said immediately, laughing through his nose. "Yes. I am sure. Very sure. If you ask Chuka, he'll tell you the same thing."
"Mmm. Okay o!", she said, leaning back against her pillow.
"Why are you asking me that? And why do I sense you don't really believe me?"
"It's just the way the two of you are with each other.", she said. "The way he is with you. He really takes care of you."
"I take care of him too.", Folarin protested, instantly regretting the way it sounded.
"Exactly.", Mrs Ishola said, smiling.
Folarin groaned. He walked right into that one.
"And since you have refused to get serious and bring a woman home to me,", she continued. "I'm glad you at least have someone like that in your life." She smiled. "Every time I want to worry about you, I remember that you have Chuka. And it gives me peace." She paused for a bit. "And I'm glad he has you too. That beautiful boy deserves at least one genuine person in his life."
Folarin shook his head as he smiled looking down at his hands. He didn't know which of his mother's nightmares Lisa had appeared in, but she could not stand the girl.
Suddenly, Folarin needed to know. "So, just out of curiosity, if the answer to that your question had been yes, what would your reaction have been?"
Mrs. Ishola was quiet for a few seconds, pondering the question. Finally, she said, "Wo, I would have been okay with it."
Folarin blinked twice. "Ehn?!", he exclaimed, dramatically moving his ear closer to her.
"Folarin, I would have been fine. Aye kuku nse iru e. It's 2023. I'm awake."
Folarin snorted a laugh. "First of all, it's 'woke', mummy.", he corrected. "And secondly, what does 2023 have to do with it? You're an African parent. You should be losing your shit!"
"See, if either of you had brought some random man to me to tell me one nonsense or the other, maa ti fi igbale le were yen kuro lara yin. I would have used a broom to chase that madness out of you both and whatever men you brought to my front."
Folarin let out a short laugh.
"But it's two of you. Somehow it just makes sense, jare. You would take care of each other. You would be kind to each other with your words and your actions. You're unlikely to ever abandon each other. That's more than I could say for myself with the man I thought was my soulmate.", she said, her voice taking on a wistful note. "Wo, you can do worse than Chuka. And I definitely prefer you for him than that girl. All I want is one grandchild from each of your DNA. I don't want to know how you will do it or wh you will hire. Just pay your grandma taxes."
"Mummy, calm down." Folarin said, swiping his hand twice up and down his chest. "You're getting carried away. It was just a hypothetical question."
"Ehn, and I hypothetically answered."
Folarin was quiet for a few seconds, not quite believing what he'd just heard. "Wow.", he said finally. "I definitely expected a far more dramatic reaction."
"Dramatic?", she said, placing her hand on her chest. "Me?"
Folarin looked at her incredulously. "Ronke Ishola,", he said, placing his hand on her shoulder for effect. "You put the 'ma' in 'drama'."
And Mrs Ishola took one of her pillows and threw it at him as he ran from her attack. "Ori e.", she said, laughing.
"Mummy." Chuka said as he walked through the door just then, holding plastic bags and a backpack. "They said this jollof rice can heal the sick and set the captives free. We need to try it." He put everything down on the bigger table next to her bed.
"Ah!", she laughed heartily. "Oya gbe wa. Bring it, bring it.", she said, sitting up straighter.
"Where you go since?", Folarin asked him.
"From hotel, I just say make I stroll small.", Chuka replied as he set up the swivel table attached to her bed and arranged the meal in front of her.
"Stroll small. In a strange town.", Folarin half-scolded.
Chuka scoffed, as he tucked a paper napkin underher chin. "It's Akure, not North Korea. Relax."
"Still...", Folarin protested.
"Guy come chop abeg.", Chuka said, taking the other two packs over to the small couch beside the door. Folarin walked over and picked up one of the packs and opened it, still standing. The smell of the rice alone did things to his nervous system. They all tasted the rice, and it was hands down the best any of them had ever eaten.
Shortly after, Bayonle joined them with his own dinner basket. Chuka had bought him jollof too, so they had a whole spread to pounce on. He sat by his girlfriend's bed and gave her food from the basket as they all chatted and laughed at the top of their voices. A nurse had to come in twice to remind them it was a hospital.
The next morning, Mrs Ishola was discharged from the hospital. Hours later all, four of them arrived at the airport and Folarin watched a man passionately kiss his mother for the first time. He averted his eyes, mumbling under his breath while Chuka laughed at him. "That's what love and happiness looks like.", he said, mockingly. "Try run am. You don dey old."
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The first thing the boys did when they returned to Lagos was hire a professional nurse to be with their mother around the clock, despite her whines and protests. She was to be with her at all times, take charge of her medicine and blood pressure checks, and Chuka paid her extra on top of the salary Folarin would be paying, to cook and also run stressful work errands for her. As soon as she heard she would also be helping with work, Mrs Ishola relaxed and finally agreed to co-operate.