COMING HOME

Chapter 31

~~The righteous is delivered from trouble, and it comes to the wicked instead.
     Proverbs 11:8(NKJV)~~

'It's a good thing dear. After the long week, she finally wants to see you. We have some things to settle, like how she hasn't bothered to check on me for six months.' Sonia said unhooking her seatbelt.

'Aunty Sonia, I think we both know the reason. I want to jump into the house right now before she changes her mind.'

'She's not going to change her mind. She asked for you, she wants to reconcile.'

They got down from the backseat and walked into the house.

'I'm so scared.' Tobi stopped before entering the door.

'Come on Tobi, you should know your mother won't stay mad at you for long. She loves you too much for that.'

Her stomach rumbled, all the excitement before coming home drained out knowing she was countable feet from her mother. "Breathe Tobi, breathe!" 

She entered the house feeling as if she never left. Apart from the new paintings on the wall her father was obsessed about changing yearly, every other thing remained the same. 

The white and red chandelier reflected on the wall and she traced several of the dotted shadows with her fingertips. Home.

'Hi baby.' Rough lips landed on her forehead before she turned around to see her father hurry into her mother's office. Why was her mother still working even after handing over her business to new managers. 'Tobi, your mother just got off a call, she's waiting for you.' Her father still shouted everything he wanted to say when he was in a hurry.

'Mummy.' Mrs Hugh was engrossed in the laptop but she rose her head when Tobi walked in. "Old habits die hard." She thought walking to the sofa. Once her mother was sitting behind her work desk, almost everything was incapable of getting her up.

'How are you baby? I just got off the phone with your brother. He wants you to visit him, he's in Australia, you've never been there so you should go.' She drank the water in the glass before continuing. 'How did Sonia treat you? She can be a bully.'

'She did alright, making sure I ate on time and watched all the Bini dramas with her.'

'Hmm... That is too bad.' She said pulling out of the desk and walking to the sofa Tobi sat on. 'I should have called you sooner, I wanted to make sense of everything. You understand how I was feeling?'

She nodded. 'I'm sorry I left, it was selfish of me.'

 'Shhh... But you came back, that's what counts. I missed you.' She commented as she pulled on Tobi's cheeks. 'What was the village like? Your dad and Tj said you can't stop talking about it.'

'It was amazing.' She gestured as she talked. 'It wasn't a developed village, I just met good people. I met Jesus too.' Her mother's brows rose at her last statement. 'The woman I stayed with, her son died, we prayed and he came back to life. That was when I started believing in Jesus.'

Her mother's tongue got stuck in her cheek listening. This wasn't the reaction she expected. Tobi sat expecting a rebuff any moment.

'Me too.' Her too? 'Your disappearance affected me more than you know. I did everything in my power to find you. Your father even had to call your grandpa.'

'I thought you weren't speaking to him?'

'We weren't. I was tricked into going to see him.' She sighed thinking. 'It was that bad because I didn't remember the way home until I got to a house and saw my dad and your father blocked me from leaving.'

It had been an unspoken rule that they do not bring up the dispute between their mother and grandfather. She also carried legacy of not reaching out to him without telling her mum of the time he called her.

'What happened between you and him?'

Mrs Hugh smiled pulling on the hem of her skirt. 'I got pregnant before marrying your dad, my dad didn't like the idea. I didn't like the idea that he didn't like the idea.'

'Did he kick you out?'

She released the hold on her skirt. 'No, but I wish he did. Your grandma just died and I was in my final year. I wasn't willing to marry your your dad yet. Your grandpa didn't want me to be his pregnant unmarried daughter. He asked me to get an abortion.' Tobi's eyes widened. Her mother would never have told her to get an abortion if a child was conceived from her immoral relationship with Caleb.

The thick long vein on her mother's neck betrayed the emotions she was hiding. 'I didn't, we stopped talking about it. I still lost the baby at four months. It wasn't normal because I was very healthy, the doctor didn't seem to be telling me the truth. I know some women have miscarriages despite good health. My house maid wasn't herself though, she became moody. She eventually told me what my father made her do.' Tobi was happy she was finally opening up. It meant she was healing. 'She was asked to add some drugs to my food the morning I lost my child. She swore he told her it would help the baby.'

Mrs Hugh smiled faintly releasing the grip on the neck. Her disappearance triggered her mother, and would have triggered any mother, even the ones that never lost a child.

'I'm sorry mummy, you're the strongest woman I know.'

'Thank you. I have forgiven him. Your father let go a long time ago. So back to before,' She said giving no room for comments. 'He was a changed man when I saw him. He was even talking to me about Jesus. I didn't listen.' She shook her head. 'I was only going to believe when I saw you.'

Did that mean her mother believed now?

'I haven't told him yet, I was hoping we visit him to surprise him.' Tobi's head shot up in understanding. Her mother now believed.

That meant her mother was a week old in faith. Saliva rushed down her throat smiling. Wasn't it the same thing that happened to her? Believing only when Akin came to life.

'That's the same for me. I believed when Akin was brought back to life. Everything Pa Solomon said became real to me.'

'The moment I saw you baby, I instantly recalled what my father said. He prayed for your return, he said it was going to happen on a Monday. When I heard you were home on a Monday, I was more shocked than excited. My dad didn't go this far before my husband committed his life to God. I and your dad are born again now Tobi. I'm sorry for not reaching out since, I'm so happy you came home.'

'Me too. Forgive me?'

'I do. I forgive you completely.'

'Then I should say my leaving was a good thing. If it brought us Jesus, I'm happy I left.'

Mrs Hugh pulled back to look at Tobi before bursting out in laughter.

'Yes but I'm putting a GPS on you soon.'