COMING HOME

Semi-final Babies

~~So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17(NKJV)~~

Chris walked behind Sammy because he was the one with the direction. He fought Sammy before he could get him to allow him follow him to the courthouse. They were twenty minutes early. Time was quickly counting down to the moment Tobi and Dami's birth mother will reach an agreement.

Chris moved to the available seat that was facing the front of the entrance, he didn't want to miss Tobi when she walked into the building. Sammy hadn't be back for a few minutes now and with nothing else to do, he gazed round the room. A black Chevy Corvette Coupe pulled up into the driveway and a woman likely to be in her early fifties stepped out of the car.

Tobi surprisingly came out from a room by the corner of the court and rushed to the woman. The woman smiled as Tobi went into her embrace. An elderly woman with taste, beautifully dressed in a knee length ankara gown. Her eyes were hidden behind Polarized Square Sunglasses but her lips held a warm smile as she listened to Tobi talk in whispers. They'd occasionally stop talking when someone approached them.

"Can you ever give Tobi this kind of life?" The thought crept to the back of his mind until it became the only thing he thought of as he continued watching the unfamiliar woman and daughter. Hadn't been able to see the car his instinct still told him everything the woman had on was ice and he knew Tobi was as industrious as her family so she had a little fortune of her own. Was that why she never saw him as likeable? He shook his head severally hoping the thoughts would fall to the ground.

The women were finally walking towards the building. Good, he couldn't keep waiting and thinking of awful thoughts.

'Hi Tobi, good afternoon ma.'

'Hi Chris.' Her brows rose when she saw him. 'Wow! This was the last place I thought to see you. Oh, pardon me, you are a lawyer and this is a courthouse.' She turned to the woman and said somethings only the both of them heard. When she straightened her head, they were both smiling. 'Mummy, this is Chris, my friend from my days back at the University of Benin.'

'Hello Chris, it's good to know you're doing so well in practice. Tobi says you own an office in Prestige Complex, well done.' She winked and walked into the room Tobi had come out from.

'You have a case here?' She asked doing a quick sweep of Christopher from his head to his toes. Boy did he look good!

'No, I came to cheer you up.'

'Me?'

'Yes. Sammy's here too. He went out to do some personal things.'

'Wow. I wasn't expecting you to come. It's a private meeting though, where will you stay?'

He smiled realizing he hadn't thought of that. He couldn't sit in his car because the sun was scorching and definitely not in the lobby. Now would be a good time to visit some colleagues. 'I'll visit some friends then.' They stood quietly for a some minutes. 'I think you'll be late if you don't go now.' He said smiling lightly.

She checked her wristwatch, nodded and walked away. 'If we don't reach a decision in a few hours, I'll text you.' She shouted as she walked.

Thankfully, one hour thirty-seven minutes later, Tobi walked out of the room with her daughter in her arms. Her mother was behind her with the baby stroller. Her face was literally shining against the light as she walked. Never had he seen her look this happy.

He got up, walked to Mrs Hugh and took the stroller from her. 'So?' He said against Tobi's ears as Sammy joined them.

'I'm officially a mother.' She whispered back laughing.

'I'm happy for you. Can I take you to dinner then?'

'Maybe.'

'Tobi.' Her mother called. 'Since your friends are here to celebrate with you, go out with them. You can come to the house later. I want us to choose some matching outfits.' She ruffled the baby's head and entered her car.

'Hey Damdam.' Sammy greeted the cooing baby and carried her. 'You're looking just as happy as your mummy. I saw a cool spot outside, there's a restaurant too. They have peppersoup. Let's eat there abeg.'

'Okay. I'm a little hungry. I'm excited we reached an agreement sooner than I thought. Hi Sean, you arrived early for the party.'

'Yoyoyo people, I went sightseeing. You know we need to take advantage of this time because we go soon comot go back to Lag. I left Zuma rock when Sammy called me. Guy, wait up, let me carry that small woman.'

'They seem so excited. What have they been doing? Three weeks is a pretty long time.'

'Nothing. They come with me to work most days and we battle out best strategies to win a case. What about you? What are your weekdays like? I know you have free time as the boss lady.'

'I go for outreaches or I go to visit my parents. Mostly outreaches.' She went on with the news he'd be curious to hear. 'I ran away from home years ago to a remote village, I met Jesus, an old man and the nicest family. I and the woman with some of my staff go on outreaches to other remote villages to preach and provide free medical care.'

Chris was in complete shock. Did he hear her opening confess she was a believer? So caught up in his own needs of love and lust, he failed to consider the most important question. "What did she now believe in?" It gladdened his heart to hear she was born again. Whoa! He felt the rapid increase of his heartbeat. Beyond what he felt, this was Jesus giving her eternal life and freeing her from eternal destruction. What he'd be praying for years ago. "Thank you Jesus." He looked to heaven as he walked.

'Can I take you to dinner?' He asked again.

'Why are you so bent on taking me to dinner?' She stopped walking to face him.

Would telling her the truth not jeopardize their friendship? As much as he was tempted to tell her he was still in love with her, it was better they remained friends especially because where they were currently a good place to rekindle their friendship. Before he left home this afternoon, he thought confessing his feelings to her was the best thing but getting here, he realized one thing, she didn't need a man to make her life complete. He breathed in and out gently before replying.

'We're friends or aren't we?' He asked as they sat down. She took the bottle of water Sammy handed her and as she drank, she looked at him through the transparent bottle.

As she placed the bottle on the table she avoided meeting his eyes and replied. Light pink appeared on her cheeks. 'Yes we are.'