"I proposed." Ade suddenly blurted out amidst the conversations they were having.
The men suddenly stopped talking and drinking altogether as they stared at him in shock. The silence was so deafening that if a pin dropped at that moment, the noise it would make would be resounding.
They blinked harder as they weren't sure who just spoke the word, 'proposed.'
"Ehm... Ade, did you stutter or am I the only one who heard him say the word proposed?" Kunle asked for clarity.
"Why are you people making it seem like a big deal? I said I proposed, to ehm... Glory." Ade said the last part with his head bent.
The guys exclaimed.
"The same Glory? The Glory that you said you're just enjoying for a while?" Biola asked, bewildered.
"The same Glory that you said is an improper fraction with her big boobs and flat behind?" Kunle questioned too.
"You mean you proposed, like, proposed to a lady. As in, will you marry me stuff?" Fikayo added.
"Yes, I proposed to her with a diamond ring at that. She just deserves it, I love her so much that you people probably can't understand. She's like the missing rib I've been looking for all these while. She's so understanding, loving and caring. She has my heart in her hands and I don't mind. Love is so sweet with her, she completes me and I can't wait to fully make her mine by marrying her. I've gone to see her parents last weekend and we are going to choose an introduction date soon."
The guys exchanged looks amongst themselves before they focused their attention back on Ade who was smiling sheepishly.
"Ah, he's gone." Biola exclaimed.
"Gone to where?" Ade asked, confused.
"They have gotten you! You don't know? The womanizing Ade is the one doing poetry right now about love? That girl's charm is potent, I salute her baba." Biola said.
"What do you mean? See, I won't condone any form of disrespect to my fiancé o, don't even try it. The same respect you accord to me is what I expect you to give to her too. I won't take any form of badmouth about her and I'm serious." Ade warned sternly.
"Eh eh, now now, she have turned to your fiancé? Eh, mad o. I go love o! I wish you the very best." Fikayo contributed.
"Thank you man! Thanks. Anyways, the attire for the introduction will be white agbada for you guys, as per the groomsmen. I told my fiancé to let us know about the amount for that and she'll get back us soon."
"Ehm... tell her not to pick something too expensive, please. I really can't afford frivolities right now." Fikayo begged.
"What happen to your job and all that? You used to be fine before." Kunle questioned.
"See, What you guys don't know and what I have never mentioned is that Ifeoma sponsors a lot of things in our house. I can't even deny the fact that her whole presence is being felt in that house. Unlike before, I now sponsor the foodstuffs monthly, Sewa's upkeep which is so outrageous and all that. The rent was due last month and I trust that if Ifeoma was still in my house, we would have found a way to pay it. We have never owed rent. She was like my partner in everything, she never allows me to just carry all the burdens, she assists in a lot of things and I can't believe that I took all that for granted. Now that I have that one liability in the house that does nothing other than eat, sleep and ask for money, I know that what I had was priceless. I honestly miss her a whole lot and I'm contemplating calling her and all that but I'm scared of how low that'll make me look." Fikayo blurted out all that had been embedded in him.
"Begging will make you look very low, I won't even deceive you. She cheated, she has another man's baby in her. No man can take that from any woman. Yes, maybe you did fvck up too, but hers was way unacceptable. Do you want to take another man's pregnancy? Where does Sewa now belong? Is that even sane to you?" Biola snapped.
"That is what is still confusing me. I'd better confess right now that I've been stalking her since a month after she left. She stays with her parents and not the idiot that she claims impregnated her. I've not even seen the both of them together, not even for once. The only places she goes to are Bola's place, the hospital, her workplace and then the market. No other place at all. It's not just adding up." Fikayo tabled, as his face was masked with confusion.
"That's the weak spot you have for her speaking in you. That's the weak spot! She said it herself that it's true after she was accused or was that not what you said? It's not as if you sent her packing too, she left by herself and I'm sure it's because she knows that what she did was way too bad to be forgiven. Let her regret leaving, don't go and drag your family's dignity on the floor by going to beg or take her back." Biola stood his ground.
"Wait, Biola. Shouldn't this be investigated properly? What if it was the whole issue that made her just say stuff like that. Like Fikayo told us, she was even laughing at a point in time, What if she wasn't just stable?" Kunle added.
"All these what ifs are just because you people want them back together and I still don't understand why. Sewa is his new wife, she's pregnant with his baby, she's the fruitful one. Tomorrow can come now and Ifeoma's own will just disappear as usual..."
Fikayo interrupted him immediately, "stop that, what do you mean. A pregnancy that's almost nine months will disappear? Are you the one that'll eat it? If you want to talk, talk with sense, please. I'm too angry to even listen to talks like that, Sewa insists on having a huge naming ceremony for our unborn baby and I'm still trying to gather money for that so don't aggravate my anger, please."
"Sorry o! You're getting worked up over pregnancy that isn't yours! But then the earlier you let this Ifeoma lady go her own way with her another man's pregnancy, the better. Else you become a fool in the society and that will taint us." Biola persisted.
Fikayo's phone started ringing at that moment and when he saw whose name the caller ID showed, he didn't want pick it as he thought that it was probably another fight or confrontation between her and Sewa yet again but when the calls persisted continuously, he reluctantly picked it up and pressed it to his ear, "My son, she has given birth o. Sewa just gave birth to a bouncing baby boy!" Mama's voice echoed and Fikayo could detect the happiness and excitement in his mother's voice. His frustration and anger disappeared as a smile become etched on his face immediately.
"My boy is here." He announced to his friends as he jumped on his feet with joy.
TO BE CONTINUED...