On the other side,
When Tunde returned to the room, Gold was still awake and roaming into the room. Seeing her like that so late at night, Tunde was surprised.
Tunde: “You haven’t slept yet?”
Hearing Tunde’s voice,
Gold quickly turned around and looked at him. Seeing him made her feel a little relieved. She had been worrying about him for a while and that’s why she couldn’t sleep. But she didn’t want to show that concern.
Gold: “Oh… I couldn’t sleep.”
Without saying anything, Tunde sat on the bed.
Gold: “By the way, where did you go so late? Is everything okay?”
Tunde: “Why do you care? Why should I tell you anything? Why are you bothering me? Seriously…”
Tunde, already irritated, let his anger out on Gold.
Gold felt deeply hurt by his response.
Gold: “Oh, so what do I matter to you? I must be crazy for worrying about you all night, but no… you won’t tell me anything, right? What do I even mean to you? You’re concerned about someone who left, but you never care about anyone else’s pain. When you rushed out of the room last night, I was awake, and I saw you leaving in a hurry, so I got worried, that’s why I asked. But you…”
While speaking, tears welled up in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away and left the room.
Tunde was listening carefully to everything she said. He had seen the tears in Gold’s eyes, and now he felt terrible for being rude to her when she was only concerned about him.
He began thinking about Gold… all the moments they had spent together since their marriage. He remembered how rude he had been to her in every moment, and he got angry at himself.
He decided to apologize and went out, but just then, Gold entered the room holding a cup of coffee.
Tunde thought to himself: “I was just going to apologize to you because I thought you must be crying somewhere, but this crazy girl went to the kitchen to make coffee in the middle of the night.”
Tunde thought to himself and headed back to the bed.
Tunde: “Does drinking coffee stop crying or what, that you went to make it so late?”
Gold: “No… but coffee does help with headaches; this coffee… it’s for you.”
Gold said while looking at the ground.
Hearing this, Tunde looked at her.
Even though he had been rude to her, she still brought him coffee for his headache, even though he hadn’t even mentioned it.
Tunde: “Why do you care so much about me?”
Tunde spoke softly, but Gold didn’t hear him clearly.
Gold: “Did you say something?”
Tunde: “No… I… mean…”
Gold: “No, no, forget it… I don’t want to hear it. You’ve scolded me enough for today. That’s enough, save some for tomorrow.”
Gold said with a childish expression, thinking Tunde was about to scold her again.
Tunde couldn’t help but smile, but he didn’t show it. Gold handed him the coffee cup.
Gold: “Here’s your coffee… don’t refuse, I know you don’t like me, but I make really good coffee. You’ll forget all your worries and then remember me.”
Tunde: “For what?”
“Um… I mean, when your headache gets better, you’ll remember how great my coffee was,”
Gold said proudly as if she had won a medal for her coffee.
Tunde: “Hmm…”
Tunde gave a small reply and took the coffee from Gold.
Gold was still standing there looking at him, so Tunde spoke up.
Tunde: “What now? Are you going to stand over me until I finish this coffee?”
Gold: “No, no!”
Hearing that, Gold hurriedly moved to the other side of the bed, and muttered, “panla face… Huh!!”
Tunde: “Did you say something?”
Gold: “No, your ears are ringing.”
After saying this, Gold lay down to sleep on her side. Tunde thought for a moment.
Tunde: “Rabbit…”
Gold didn’t respond so he said,
Tunde: “Thank you, rabbit… you make good coffee.”
Gold felt very happy hearing the compliment and she smiled, but Tunde couldn’t see her face.
Gold just said “It’s okay” and covered herself with the blanket, going to sleep.
While drinking coffee, Tunde watched her actions. He thought that maybe Gold was upset with him.
Anyway, after drinking the coffee his headache felt lighter and soon, he fell asleep.
The next morning,
Everyone was sitting at the dining table having breakfast. Olamide thought Tunde would be in a bad mood because of last night’s conversation, but it was the opposite.
Tunde seemed to be in a better mood than the past few days, and he didn’t appear sad at all.
Tunde kept looking at Gold and remembering her actions from last night, which made him smile. He didn’t realize it, but Olamide and Bukola had been noticing Tunde’s behavior for a while.
Bukola whispered to Olamide: “Why is Tunde brother looking at Gold sister-in-law like that?”
Olamide: “I don’t know… last night, he was in a bad mood, and now he seems happy.”
Bukola: “Looks like Tunde brother is starting to like Gold sister-in-law. That’s a good thing, right?”
Olamide: “Yes, it is, but we can’t say anything about it yet.”
Olamide was still thinking about last night.
Just then, Aisha interrupted them.
Aisha: “What are you two whispering about?”
Olamide: “Nothing, Mother. Bukola was saying we should all plan to go shopping, so we were just thinking about that.”
Aisha: “Oh, okay… plan it, and then we’ll go.”
Kunle: “Yes, sure, we’ll all go together.”
“By the way, Tunde brother, why are you smiling so much?” Bukola’s comment caught everyone’s attention.
Tunde suddenly seemed shocked as if his secret had been caught. Gold was also looking at him.
Tunde: “What… I… no, I just remembered something.”
Bukola: “Don’t lie, brother, tell us.”
Tunde: “First, finish your breakfast. Why are you turning into a detective.”
He said this and started eating, avoiding their gazes.
Just then, someone entered the room.
“How are you, Kunle… it’s been so long since you came to Egypt, and you brought your whole family. It’s so nice of you, it’s been a while since we met.”
Everyone turned to look and the person who had just entered was none other than Mr. and Mrs. Chibunna, Rita’s parents.
Kunle and Aisha were happy to see them and went to greet them,
but Olamide was surprised to see them come so suddenly. Tunde also looked at Olamide.
Mr. Chibunna hugged Kunle and Aisha greeted Mrs. Chibunna.
Kunle: “You did well to come here with your wife. We were about to visit you anyway.”
Aisha: “Yes, really, you came at the right time. Come, let’s sit down and have breakfast.”
Mrs. Chibunna: “Oh, no, no, we just had breakfast and came.”
They were talking when Aisha asked about Rita.
Aisha: “Why did you come alone? Why didn’t you bring Rita with you?”
Kunle: “Oh, Aisha, you forgot Rita went to London for her studies.”
Aisha: “Oh yes, how’s her studies going?”
Mr. Chibunna: “Very well, but she’s so busy, she hardly has time to talk to us.”
Olamide wanted to know more about Rita but he didn’t have the courage, so he got up and started heading outside.
Bukola: “Uncle, Aunty, you came alone? Didn’t Rita sister come? When is she coming back from London?”
Mrs. Chibunna was about to answer when everyone heard Rita’s voice.
Rita is entering from the main gate while saying, “Oh… Mom, Dad, you forgot the gifts at home!”
Holding too many gifts in her hands, Rita was rushing towards the house.
She wasn’t paying attention and bumped into Olamide, who was also in a hurry.
Rita almost fell, but Olamide caught her. They were both looking at each other after four long years, and it felt like everything around them had stopped….
—
To be continued in the next chapter.