Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. It was five months later, and no one had yet heard from Edu.
It's the first day of school in the Christmas term. Bassy's baby bump was already showing.
After cleaning the compound, Bassy brought out her school uniform but couldn't wear it. The waist of the blue pinafore skirt no longer fit her, and she couldn't button the white shirt.
"Ah, aren't you going to school?" Oyo asked, puzzled upon seeing Bassy dressed in casual wear instead of her school uniform, returning from the market where she had gone to sell her farm products.
"My uniform no longer fits me," she replied, hastening to pick up the bag she had brought.
Oyo winced, sitting on the corridor bench. "Oh, that's true. Don't worry, I'll sew a new one for you before the weekend so you can start going to school next week."
"No, don't worry, Anty. I don't feel like going to school again until I give birth. I'm tired of the way my classmates and the entire student body mock me all the time. Even if my stomach wasn't this big last term, they still embarrassed me every chance they had. It will be worse now. I can't face the humiliation. If I miss this term, I won't die," Bassy said, placing her hands on her waist as she winced and slowly sat down on the bench.
"Hmm, if you say so, it's fine. Where is my food?" Oyo glanced at her, smirking.
"I made Okra soup and akpu this morning. Let me go and bring it," Bassy said, struggling to get back up.
"Don't worry, I'll go fetch it myself," Oyo stood up and headed to the kitchen to get the food.
She brought it for both of them to eat together, just like they always did since they started living together.
After they finished eating, Bassy carried the plates to wash them, but Oyo took them from her, prompting her to rest so her baby wouldn't start kicking.
"What would I have done without you?" Bassy muttered to herself, realizing how Oyo had treated her better than her own aunt. "Thank you," was all she could say before going inside to rest.
Oyo treated Bassy like her own daughter, so she treated her even better than her aunt, never allowing her to do any stressful jobs aside from minor household chores, which she sometimes stopped her from doing.
Oyo's phone rang, waking up Bassy, who was sleeping on the corridor for fresh air. Oyo was in the bathroom taking a shower. Bassy gradually shifted her weight to avoid sudden strain on her abdomen, using her arms to push herself off the mat. After a lot of effort, she succeeded in raising herself up, picked up the phone that was on the mat, and went to hand it over to the owner.
A wave of fear engulfed her when she saw it was Edu calling. She hesitated for some seconds, contemplating whether she should take the call or not. She tried not to, but couldn't resist as each sound of the ringtone echoed in her ears, reminding her of the memories she had with Edu while he was here.
"Hello, Edu," she whispered after pressing the Receive button.
A shiver enveloped her from head to toe upon hearing Edu's voice.
"Bassy, what are you doing with my mom's phone?" Edu's unfamiliar, stern tone awakened her inner turmoil, causing another shiver to run through her.
"She's in the bathroom. I was going to hand it over to her but couldn't resist when I saw your name," she stammered.
"Wait, do you live with my mom now?" Edu asked, sounding amazed and bewildered.
"Yes," was all Bassy could say as sorrow clouded her turmoil.
Edu became speechless for a while. "Please, Bassy, I'm begging you in the name of God, you need to leave my house as soon as possible."
Tears rolled down Bassy's eyes as the strict words hit her chest like a knife.
"EDU?" she whispered, trying to confirm if it was truly him.
"Yes, please. Don't get too emotional here. We barely took an hour to do it. How did you manage to get pregnant?" Bassy spoke simultaneously.
"So you know about my condition already and never bothered calling?" Bassy asked, maintaining his strict tone.
"Please, can you stop being dramatic? Of course, I know. I didn't bother calling you because I'm not responsible for that pregnancy, and you know it, Bassy."
"Then what took you so long to call?" Bassy asked, trying to reassure her wounded heart.
"I called my mother, not you. Please leave my house!"
It was as if Edu had poured fuel onto a fire that was trying to quench.
"Edu, please don't do this to me. I'm begging you in the name of God! Please, Edu," Bassy cried out loud, prompting Oyo to rush out of the bathroom.
She hugged up the call and wiped her eyes rapidly, fearing that Edu would ask Oyo to throw her out immediately.
"It's... it's Edu," Bassy stammered, wishing she could lie, but she wasn't good at it, and it would be worse if Oyo realized she lied.
"Edu?" Oyo said, widening her eyes, surprised amid happiness. "Oh, my poor son! What did he say?"
Bassy started, rubbing her hands together in an obeisance gesture. "I couldn't hear him clearly," was all she could say, terrified of Oyo's reaction.
"I need to call him back," Oyo reached for the phone in Bassy's hand. Before she could dial the number, Edu's call came in again.
"Edu!" Oyo shouted, overwhelmed.
"Mummy, how have you been?" Edu calmed his voice, with emotions detected all over his tone.
"Don't ask me that senseless question because you should have called me long ago if you cared enough," Oyo changed her tone to be mean.
"You won't understand, mummy. I've been really busy lately."
"Busy indeed, or are you afraid of your responsibility?" Oyo asked, raising a brow.
Bassy's heart was beating rapidly at each word that came out of Oyo's mouth. It was like a heavy punch on her baby bump. She wished the phone was on speaker so she could jump in to start begging when her name was mentioned, but sadly, it didn't happen like that.
Oyo asked Edu countless times if he was telling the truth, that he never slept with Bassy, but each time she asked, his answer remained the same.
"No, mummy, I didn't do it."
Oyo felt disappointed in Bassy for deceiving her into taking care of a child she knew nothing about. If it were possible to cry out all your tears, then Bassy cried out her tears, begging Oyo to believe her.
"How can I believe you instead of my son? I gave birth to him, and I know he would never lie about such a thing," Oyo uttered, getting annoyed with Bassy. "It sounds awful, even in my own ears, to say this to you, Bassy, but that is the
right thing to do," she narrowed her gaze, speaking in a calm tone.
"Please, Bassy, you'll have to leave my house."
The word hit Bassy like a heavy stone. She stopped crying for a while, her brain processing the word as it repeated in her head.
"Can we have a DNA test?" Her voice was barely audible due to her ceaseless crying and begging.
Oyo paused for a while, considering what Bassy had said to be true. She quickly called Edu again, suggesting what Bassy had just said, but Bassy claimed to be very far away and it was not possible. Edu began to act like he was mad with his mom for believing Bassy instead of him, prompting her to send Bassy away immediately, mentioning that if she didn't leave, he would kill himself to prove his innocence since she didn't want to believe him.
"Please, Anty, I'm begging you, just let me stay till I give birth," Bassy pleaded, tears streaming down her face.
Oyo felt remorse for her and wanted to reconsider her predicament, seeing her sobbing on her knees with her heavy pregnancy. But remembering how her son had spoken and the emotion with which he had said it made her not hold back.