Entangled

By Kayode Adebiyi

Despite Femi Cole’s philandering ways, Ajoke still goes ahead to marry him. And just as the leopard who does not change its spots, Femi continues in his infidelity, resulting in the collapse of the marriage. Years later, their daughter, Kikelomo Cole, is planning her wedding and needed her father to perform a very important task that will ensure the success of her marriage. This opens a can of worms that shocks everyone and shakes the foundation of Kike’s relationship with her mum and her fiancé. Will love prevail, or will the resurfaced past destroy the seemingly bright future?
Entangled is a narrative about love, betrayal, and forgiveness. It addresses societal issues such as domestic violence, the complexities of life, the effects of divorce on children, and the importance of self-value in the life of the girl-child.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Mar 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665597210

Kayode Adebiyi

Kayode Adebiyi is a Media/PR Communications practitioner with a great passion for storytelling. He is also into property management and a member of IRPM, UK. His love for reading and writing was developed through early exposure to a library full of literary books and journals by his father. Besides Kayode’s love for crafting fascinating stories about family and relationships, he loves to spend time with his wife and children, and keeping up with international and local news. Entangled is his first novel.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

26666.png

It was noon, yet the sky looked like dusk. The rains had been falling since the previous night but had just let up, and the clouds had not cleared yet. Kikelomo Cole had rolled over in bed, ready to go back to sleep, when her eyes caught sight of the travel bag she had placed on her bedside table. It was resumption day at school, the beginning of a new school year, and her final year in school. She flung aside the part of the duvet covering her body. She put the giant teddy bear, which she had been cuddling while asleep, under her head and over her pillow. The teddy had been her mother’s gift to her when she gained admission to the university. She remembered how one of her roommates, Hadeeza, often teased her about the teddy bear, saying it was the reason Kike didn’t have a boyfriend.

Who needs a boyfriend when she has Keanu? Hadeeza would ask, and the rest of the girls would erupt in laughter while the closest of them to the teddy bear would make a show of hugging and kissing Keanu. Kike had named the teddy after Keanu Reeves, the Canadian actor. She’d first seen him in the movie The Devil’s Advocate, which she had watched with her dad almost ten years after its release. She had a huge crush on him and had gone all out to see virtually every movie he’d acted in before or since.

Still on the bed, Kike looked at the pictures on her wall that she had taken with her roommates, classmates, and friends from the campus fellowship. In another year, maybe less if the almighty Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Nigerian union of universities’ academic staff, didn’t go on one of their usual strike actions that lasted over half of a full year, she and some of those faces on her wall would graduate and be posted to different states for their NYSC. She would never see some of them again, but she hoped they could always stay in touch, especially through social media. Change or parting with friends used to be difficult for her to handle, but after her parents’ divorce, she’d learnt to cope better when people she loved or cared about left. One of the most effective ways was not to allow herself to get too involved with anyone—another reason she was not going to consider having a boyfriend.

Anyway, it’s good we have a WhatsApp group, Kike said and moved into a sitting position on the edge of her bed, grabbing her phone, which she had left to charge overnight. She had over a thousand messages on WhatsApp and just a few friendship requests on Facebook. She checked whether she knew any of the people asking to be friends with her on Facebook but didn’t recognise any of them. They had no friends in common either. She deleted the requests and then moved to WhatsApp. The messages there were from class and campus fellowship groups and from classmates advertising stuff.

Everybody is a seller these days. I wonder who the buyers are, she mused.

Her roommate was asking about some shoes in another chat, but that was about it. She put away the iPhone 8 she’d gotten as a gift from her father on her last birthday and quickly said her morning prayers. It didn’t matter what time Kikelomo got up from the bed, she would always commit her day into God’s hands. Her mother had taught her this from when she was a child, and it had become a part of her. Even when she had early morning classes to attend, she would pray as she took her bath or dressed up.

After the short devotion, Kike grabbed her journal to fill in her entry for the previous day. The journal contained details of her life at university right from her first day in school—her friends, guys who pestered her for a relationship and how she’d resisted the temptations, her daily routine, activities, and academics. The latter included details about her courses and her up-to-date grades and CGPA. She had not done poorly at all, even if she said so. All things being equal, she would graduate at the top of her class and maybe as the faculty’s overall best student. She looked forward to the compulsory NYSC and the one-year internship to qualify as a pharmacist. She could not wait to make her parents proud, especially her father.

With this thought of her father, she remembered that she was yet to call him to ask for her allowance for the semester. She hated to pester her father for money. He had always paid her school fees, even if it came late sometimes. But he never failed to pay. Still, Ajoke, her mother, formerly Mrs Femi Cole, would push her to call him and keep disturbing him until he sent the money to her. It had become the usual argument between her and her mother. Every time that happened, her mother would relay old stories about her father, especially about how he was a serial cheater and how she’d kept forgiving him because she believed he would change. Now Kike was tired of listening to the tales of their love gone sour.

Despite her parents’ unresolved issues, Kike was closer to her father, and he loved her too. He was constantly checking up on her in school, making sure she had all she needed. She visited him regularly and was his cook. She was also his travel partner. He loved to take her on his trips, especially if they were medical conferences. They were to attend one in the United States during her break from school, but it had been cancelled because of the Ebola virus outbreak. She enjoyed every bit of the time she spent with him. He was a wonderful father, even if her mother regarded him as a failure as a husband.

25662.png

Ajoke resented that Kike could not see her father’s failings and always defended his irresponsibility. She would often taunt Kike and call her omo daddy whenever Kike took her father’s side. Paying his daughter’s school fees and seeing to her upkeep in school was the only thing she demanded from her ex-husband, and she grew outraged when he didn’t take it as seriously as she wanted. Already, he had stylishly shifted paying their son’s school fees to her. She would not allow him to do the same with Kike’s fees. So far, he had been paying, she admitted, but she believed that was because she kept pushing Kike to him. She was sure that, if he had his way, he would wriggle himself out of his responsibility to pay his daughter’s fees and see to her upkeep at university.

Good morning, Mum, Kike said to her mother and genuflected.

She knew her mum had probably been praying or reading one of her many Psalms for different occasions and situations at every point in their lives. And true to her thoughts, the book of Psalms was opened in the Bible that lay face up on the bed. She knew it would be about safety and protection, as she was returning to school. She remembered telling her mum that such prayers were unnecessary, as the journey was a short one from the island to the mainland. But Ajoke looked at her daughter intensely and said, "Ko si kekere irin aajo." Since then, Kike had learnt to keep her mouth shut.

"Good morning? La’ago melo? Do you know what time it is?" Ajoke asked.

Oh! I’m sorry, Mum. Good afternoon, Ma. The rain made me oversleep. The weather was so cool. I just kept sleeping and sleeping, Kike said and wrapped her arms around her mum.

Yeah, I peeped into your room a few times and saw you deeply asleep. I let you continue, knowing you will make up for it when you return to school, Ajoke joked.

Mum! You didn’t have to remind me of that, jor!

Don’t worry, it will soon be over, and my beautiful daughter will be a pharmacist, Ajoke said proudly.

Yes, o, Mummy Pharmacist, Kike teased her mum.

"Emi ni yen o. Meanwhile, I need you to give me Professor Ola’s number. The man has been a great help to you since your first year at the university, and you are in your final year now. It is not nice that I have not called him to express appreciation for all he has been doing for you."

But, Mum, you have always been the one too busy to see him all the times you dropped me off at school. You always had one thing or another that you were rushing out for, Kike retorted.

And now that I ask you to give me his number, what offence have I committed? Ajoke replied with an edge in her voice.

It’s okay, Mum. I’ll text it to your phone. Kike quickly acceded defeat, not ready to start another round of argument with her mum. Somehow, she was happy that, eventually, her mum would call Prof. Ola to thank him for his kindness. Now she could stop feeling like she had been ungrateful to him.

Except there is more to this than you are telling me, Ajoke said under her breath.

It took a moment before Kike got the meaning of her mother’s words. When she understood the implied meaning, she felt flush in the face and said, Mum! How could you think such of me?

She stormed out of the room but took great care not to bang the door. She was mad at her mother, but she was still an African child and a Nigerian, and disrespecting parents in any way is expressly forbidden. She didn’t always know she was not to bang the door or hiss at her parents, her mum especially. After she committed both offences once each and got the attendant slaps, she knew to put her temper in check. Even the walking away didn’t start to happen until she was in her third year at the university.

Your breakfast is in the microwave o, Ajoke shouted after her daughter. And get ready fast because I want to stop by your brother’s school after I drop you off.

26679.png

Ajoke turned on the lighted mirror on her dresser and unzipped her makeup bag. She still looked pretty even though she was in her early fifties and had two children. Her face looked like that of a thirty-year-old woman. Her stomach was almost flat, and there was no excess fat on any part of her body. Her chocolate skin shone bright, telling the story of adequate care and great genes. She had gotten married to the love of her life right after her graduation from university. She was already pregnant with Kike then, and their home was full of laughter and love. Three years later, she’d had Kike’s brother, Ayotunde, and everything had been blissful—until the late nights and absence from home started happening. Her husband, Dr Femi Cole, had changed from a loving and caring family man to an irritable husband and a difficult-to-please father. She’d tried all she could to rebuild their relationship. She’d suggested counselling, but her husband would have none of that.

Things deteriorated so quickly, and when she could not bear it anymore, when things she didn’t want to remember started happening, she moved out of their home, taking her two children with her. To her further disappointment, her husband agreed to the divorce. She had wrongly assumed that the divorce would bring him back to his senses, and he would fight to save their marriage. Sometimes, she wondered if things could have changed for the better if she hadn’t filed for divorce. She shrugged off the sad thoughts and continued to dab at her face.

26683.png

Back in the living room, Kike paced up and down, still angry over her mother’s suspicion of her relationship with Prof. Ola. But it had taken her a while to get over her doubts about him too, so she couldn’t blame her mum. She’d also wondered what the professor’s motive was when he showered her with love and attention during her first semester in school. She was initially afraid because of the stories about students/lecturers’ relationships she’d heard before gaining admission into the university, so she dodged him on campus and in the faculty. But one day, he came to her pharmacology class and asked her to see him in his office after her classes.

Kike walked into Prof. Ola’s office, trembling. He noticed this and was moved and more drawn to her. The need to protect her from the wolves on campus grew stronger in him, and he knew it was important he earned her trust so she could be comfortable around him.

Good afternoon, sir, Kike said and curtsied.

How are you, Kikelomo Cole? Prof. Ola asked and waited for the surprised look on Kike’s face. When it came, he continued. I know you are surprised I know your name. I asked your course adviser. I also asked him to keep me updated on your progress in the department. This is to show you how much I have been following up on you.

Ha! Kike exclaimed, visibly afraid now.

No, it’s not what you think at all—very far from it. Please make yourself comfortable. Prof. Ola tried to assuage her fear.

He then asked Kike to open the fridge and get herself a bottle of soft drink and some cookies. Kike declined the offer politely, but Prof. Ola insisted and asked her to sit down. Still trembling, Kike did as the professor dictated.

Kikelomo Cole, I have found out that you are a very brilliant girl, and I love intelligent people. Since the beginning of the semester, I have been observing you, and so have the other lecturers. We talk about these things in our offices, you know. I feel the need to protect you, seeing that you are also a good girl. I wish I had a daughter like you. I have two sons. There are people on this campus who could hurt you, and I don’t want that. There are wolves who call themselves lecturers, and they can be very dangerous. I would like to guide you on how to escape some distractions and threats that are bound to come and that may affect your academic performance. Prof. Ola stopped talking and waited for Kike to respond.

Kike was not sure how to. She was afraid and, at the same time, shy. Thank you, sir, was all she could mutter. She intently looked down as if the carpet had the secrets to immortality, all so she could avoid his gaze.

If any lecturer tries to be funny with you, let me know immediately! Also, if you have any difficulty concerning your academic work, let me know. There are books for you in my library. You can avail yourself of it anytime you need books that are not in the university library.

Thank you, sir. I appreciate your kind gesture, Kike echoed