Tseju's Bayo

Chapter Twenty Eight - More Heads Make The Load Lighter

It has been 30 hours had passed since Tseju walked in on her mother sprawled on her bed like a lifeless gingerbread man on a baking tray. So much had happened in 30 hours. Tseju, panic stricken with shaky hands had placed a call to Dr Mohammed, who was aware of Mrs Mobijilade's condition.

Tseju then placed a call to Dafe and Jumi. Yemisi had Facetimed her as her mother's body was being wheeled into the hospital. She'd been too distraught to notice that she'd picked the call and Yemisi had heard enough to know what was going on. Of course Yemisi had informed her dad who informed Bayo who informed the boys.

In 30 hours, Dafe had flown in from the states, Jumi and Mide had flown in from Ogun state and the entire Ayodeji-Jacobs clan had flown in from Canada, Mako, Mayo, Chuks, Bello and Felicity in tow.

To say Tseju was shocked when she saw the crowd Bayo had pulled would be an understatement. She was shocked that all these people had interrupted their lives, gotten on a 25 hour flight to Benin just to be here for her because of her affiliation with one of their own. It touched, really, it did.

Tears rolled freely down her eyes like runaway tires rolling down a sloppy highway as she hugged each person one by one and they whispered words of affirmation and pledges of togetherness in this time into her ear.

"Thank you for coming." She whispered into Bayo's ears as she walked into Bayo's arms.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be." He replied, planting a firm kiss on her forehead and using his thumbs to clean the tears from her face. "I'm so sorry for the crowd... I couldn't stop them from coming and all I could think about was getting here to be with you."

She placed her head to his as fresh tears rolled down the dry trail of tears on her face. "I love you, so much." She whispered fiercely. "And no, I like that they're here. I feel loved, special, protected. I feel like I'm not in this alone and I appreciate that. I appreciate it even more that they came on their own and not at your behest."

"That's how we roll, all for one, one for all." He said, placing his hands on her shoulders as they walked towards Mrs Mobijilade's room.

No one moved much that night, they just made a sort of big human bubble in the lobby leading to Mrs Mobijilade's room. Tseju and Dafe in the middle of it all, not many words were said, they both held each other and held their mother in prayers in their hearts.

Tseju's face was wet with tears, Bayo's arms never left her body. His entire being was alert and focused on Tseju. He didn't speak, he didn't need to. His body language said it all, "I'm here for you. We'll get through this, whatever the outcome, we'll get through this."

Tseju was grateful for the silence for she was in no place to hold a conversation, but she was also grateful for their presence because she was in no place to be alone. At one point, it occurred to her that more than half of the support in the room came from Bayo. It was just herself, Dafe, Jumi, Mide, Tess and Ada but Bayo pulled in Aka, Yemisi, his dad, Mako, Mayo, Bello, Chuks and Felicity. Tseju was too tired, she would have hugged him and said thank you, but all she could focus on was the woman lying on a hospital bed on the other side of the huge brown hospital door, tethered to machines that were doing what her system refused to do for her; keep her alive.

It was morning, the sun had risen minutes ago, but the words coming from her mother's lips caused the sun in Tseju's mind to set.

"I'm not doing the treatment and that's final."

Tseju looked from her mother to Dafe, to Dr Mohammed and then back to her mother again. "I don't understand, why?" Her voice was dry. She was tired. She just wanted to wake up from this bad dream. Why was her mother refusing treatment? What was happening?