If not for the fact that she was helpless, Omolade would have refused when she felt it was Maxwell, her finance, who carried her into his car. Now she was feeling tired and sleepy but she promised she would leave his house as soon as she woke up, so Omolade thought before she allowed herself to be engulfed by fatigue-induced total darkness
She groaned softly on the bed. Now her head hurts and her throat feels scratchy and sore. Probably as a result of walking and crying in the rain, she thought. She needed to pee, after which she would get her stuff and leave his life for good.
The ungrateful pig! After everything she's done for him, he still cheated on her. She has never refused him anything including sex in the five years that they've been together, just this one time that she said no and he ran straight into another woman's arms.
Even though she felt weak and fatigued, Omolade became furious when the memory of what she saw came to mind again. She's never going to have anything to do with the son of a bitch ever again! She thought and angrily sat up in bed. Immediately she winced with her eyes tightly shut when it felt as if somebody just took a hammer to her head.
"You're awake... Thank God! You should sit up slowly next time, not suddenly. Let me go get you something to eat so you can take your medications" A warm pleasant voice said to her from the side of the bed.
'No, that wasn't Maxwell's voice! Come to think of it, it wasn't any voice she recognized, and she wasn't wearing the silk pajamas that she kept at his place whenever she spent the night. She was in a man's tee and it didn't smell like Maxwell! This smelled divine. Something she couldn't place her hands on, fresh and unique and...
"Concentrate on what's necessary idiot!" She berated herself under her breath and slowly opened her eyes
"Where the fuck am I!?" She managed to croak out through her parched throat to the owner of the voice.
The old housekeeper that was hurrying towards the door stopped. She turned and walked back towards Omolade who had gone back to lying on the bed with exhaustion. Omolade noted that the old woman looked as old as her grandmother who never tolerated and always complained whenever they used the F words around her
"I-I'm sorry ma!... I didn't mean to sound so rude... I wanted to say that in my head you see and..."
"Oh it's okay, don't worry about it... I've heard such words so many times I'm immune to them now... She smiled with assurance at Omolade. "So how are you feeling?" She moved nearer to the bed and placed her palm against Omolade's forehead to feel for her temperature.
Omolade felt herself relaxing her body in response to the old woman's assuring smile and soothing voice. Her eyes fluttered shut to the cool relief of the woman's soft palm against her hot throbbing forehead.
"You have a fever way above 100.4°F just as I expected... But don't worry, you'll be alright in no time" The woman said soothingly her face never losing the smile Omolade has come to adore within the few minutes that she woke up
"How could you tell my temperature by simply placing your palm on my head." She asked, wondering if it was what comes with being old since her grandmother does the same while her mom had always used a thermometer when she and her twin brother were young.
"You could say I'm an expert... Retired nurse... Four children and six grandchildren... I've been doing it my whole life, I no longer need a thermometer to tell." She replied while straightening the bed cover that had become huddled up around Omolade's feet before pointing towards a door in the room
"The bathroom is over there... Please excuse me while I go get you something to eat so you can take your medications, alright?"
"Wait, please... Where am I?... How did I get here? Who are you?..." The questions came pouring out of her mouth. She couldn't just stay on the bed and pretend like everything was fine just because the old woman looked kind and angelic.
"Oh so sorry dear... I should have said something earlier to put your mind at ease... You can call me Nana just like everybody... And my boss found you unconscious in the middle of the road...
"Wait... Your boss found me unconscious in the middle of the road!? Omolade was surprised and wondered at what point she became unconscious. She was a bit disappointed that it wasn't her fiancee that came to get her and at the same time, she felt relieved. She was really feeling sick and would rather be at a stranger's mercy right then than Maxwell's
"He was here before, he just went to bed not quite long ago... He told me to inform him as soon as you wake up... But would you mind if I ask you to wait for a little while before telling him you are awake? I just don't want to interrupt his sleep and...
"It's okay, I understand... I'm too weak to be in a rush anyways" Omolade assured the old woman who was obviously turned between obedience and concern for his boss. She didn't want to upset their guest and at the same time didn't want to disturb her boss who she knew hadn't been getting enough sleep in recent days.
Omolade really felt sick. She feels so tired and her head and body ache so badly she was glad to get back in bed after the short trip to the bathroom.
Nana came back sooner than expected with a bowl of chicken pepper soup and insisted on feeding Omolade every morsel of chicken, up to the last drop of pepper soup while she was propped up in bed.
"That would be my boss..." Nana said when they heard a light knock on the door. She took a napkin from the tray and hurriedly dabbed at the corner of Omolade's mouth. "I forgot to mention he had been in the kitchen all this while. He actually cooked the soup you just ate." Nana said with a proud Mama smile on her face.