(Episode 6) Late Blooms – A Knotty Story!

Tiwa’s week had started out great and it had progressively gotten better. The whole week, she did not lose any patients, she had no emergencies and 3 of her patients including Mr Salman got discharged. Even better, on Tuesday, Fiyin had asked her out again and they had gone on their third date just yesterday.

She couldn’t help the tingly feeling being with him gave her. They had gone to the mall to see a Friday night movie and she had enjoyed the way women had turned around to stare at him. She had felt ecstatic that it was her hands he was holding and even though he had been distracted during the movie, he had made it up to her afterward.

When he dropped her home, she had expected him to kiss her goodnight but he had only kissed her fingers and drove off after making sure she was safely inside her house. She could wait though, she had been waiting unconsciously for the better part of 3 years. Somewhere inside her, she had known that it was only a matter of time before Fiyin came to the realization that she was the only woman that could ever suit him, she hadn’t allowed herself enter any serious relationships and now her waiting was finally yielding results.

She entered into the locker room and changed out of her scrubs into the mufti she had come in earlier in the day. Her shift was over but she wasn’t in a hurry to go home to her snobby roommate who always had something to complain about. That pompous Imelda! She thought to herself, she couldn’t wait to get married to Fiyin and live in a house bigger than Imelda’s parents’.

She made her way to Fiyin’s office and passed the snarling Ozioma without a second glance. She knocked at his door and made to open it but she realized it was locked. She turned back to see Ozioma’s red lips curled into a smile.

Tiwa: “Where is he?” She asked impatiently

Ozioma: “Me? Are you talking to me?” Ozioma asked, her eyes happy. “Doctor Tiwa, you cannot be talking to me oh!”

Tiwa: “I’m talking to you, where is Doctor Arowolo?” Tiwa asked, getting pissed.

Ozioma: “I don’t know, you will have to go and ask the other secretary you usually greet when you come here.” So saying, she looked down at the desktop on her desk and continued typing.

Tiwa: “Better watch the way you talk to me, Ozioma, warn yourself!”

Ozioma: “Or what?”

Tiwa: “You’re not even worth my stress!” She concluded as she made her way out of the office angrily.

Ozioma: “Ha ha ha ha!” Ozioma laughed as she clapped her hands together. “See how her eyes are shining, over a man oh. Let me call Hoiza!” She exclaimed as she picked up the phone to dial another secretary that didn’t like Tiwa.

==

She found him at the car park. She had been heading to her car in anger when she saw him chatting with Jire Israel, a paediatric surgeon who was engaged to Fiyin’s youngest sister, Boluwatife who was a lawyer and activist.

Fiyin: “Hey dear,” Fiyin called out to her, “heading home?”

She pasted a smile on her face and approached them, “Hi, Dr J!” She greeted Jire, another doctor she didn’t like as she made her way to Fiyin.

Jire: “Hey, Tiwa, how are you? Hope there’s no problem?” Jire asked, noticing her eyes.

Tiwa: “It’s that stupid Ozioma in Fiyin’s office…” she exploded,  “…she had the guts to insult me when I went there to check on you just now, that snake was mocking me, she all but said I was a worm….. she even….see ehn….in fact, what i will do with that girl!”

Fiyin: “Calm down Tiwa, please. Ozioma did all these?” Fiyin asked, quite shocked at Tiwa’s anger. In all the time they had worked together, he had never seen her quite so worked up. “What happened?” He asked, concerned that Ozioma really had passed he boundaries.

Tiwa: “See, I don’t want to talk about it again, okay?” She told Fiyin, happy that he was concerned for her.

Jire watched the exchange silently and decided to keep quiet. He wasn’t sure sometimes how he felt about Tiwa. When she had first joined the hospital, he had chased her, impressed by her intelligence, boldness and beauty. Later, as he had gotten to know her, he had become more distant when he realized she was also quite cunning and had an unnecessary habit of looking down on people like she was better than them. She seemed to be in the bad books of almost all the nurses, the administrative staff and the cleaners. Even Junior Doctors were not on her level. When he finally decided to correct her, she suddenly started having issues with him and their relationship had cooled.

Which was a blessing in disguise because it gave him an opportunity to be open to meeting Bolu, his fiancée. He just hoped that Fiyin was too smart to fall into Tiwa’s net. And if he fell, that he was smart enough to get himself out.

Jire: “Alright you guys, I’m out.” He told the pair currently giggling together. “Take care, Tiwa. And guy, we go see Sunday na?”

Fiyin: “Yeah, sure thing.” Fiyin told him and watched him walk away.

Tiwa: “So, why are you in a hurry to get home?” Tiwa asked Fiyin.

Fiyin: “Oh? I told you about Mandy’s teacher, right?”

Tiwa: “Yeah, what happened?” Tiwa asked, wondering why Fiyin seemed to pay so much attention to someone beneath him.

“Well, I want to catch her before she leaves the house” He said, apparently excited.

“Erm, is that why you’ve been rushing home the past few weeks?”

“Yes oh, if I’m not there, only God knows what will happen to my baby girl when I get back! The teacher, she’s so disorganised, you should see her clothes and her lipstick, Jesus! She’s always…”

“Hmm, I thought I was your baby girl?” Tiwa asked, unwilling to go into his discussion about his teacher abi nanny. He had done the same on Tuesday and spent over an hour talking about the woman or whatever she was. She had tuned him out though, it was a skill she had perfected that made her the doctor with the best bedside manners.

“Erm, no. that’s a position exclusively for Mandy.”

“Oh, okay!” She said cheerily, although she was far from pleased with him.  Couldn’t he have said she was his older baby girl? Men though, stupid insensitive creatures!

“Alright, I should be on my way, it’s almost five.” He noticed she was looking expectantly at him so he pecked her on her cheeks and rushed to his car. He did not want Femi to leave before he got home.

==

“When is your daddy coming home?” Femi wondered aloud, usually the good doctor was back home before 5, especially on Saturdays and it was almost 6 already.

“I dunno” Amanda replied without looking up from the colouring book she was painting on.

“Does he have an emergency?” Femi urged, knowing that an emergency at the hospital was the other thing that kept him out late.

“Dunno” Amanda kept colouring, her tongue between her teeth, deep in concentration.

“Errrgh!” Femi groaned. She took Amanda four times a week, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. She had a real hankering to see Fiyin, the last time she had seen him had been during the class on Wednesday. She hadn’t seen him when she had come yesterday and when she had asked where he went, Amanda had only just stared at her.

She looked at the time, 5:51pm. Come on Dr, where are you, she asked herself.

Then she heard the gate opening and his car driving in, her heart lifted and she started smiling.

Why you smiling?” Amanda suddenly asked when she looked up to see the dreamy look in her Teacher’s eyes

“Your daddy is back” Femi said without thinking

“Daddy! Yaaaaay!” The little girl screamed as she jumped out of her chair and ran into the sitting room and into her father’s arms.

“Hey, small stuff, how are you?” Fiyin asked, rising with his daughter snuggled in his arms.

“Daddy, I’m very fine, I drewed a nice picture today. Lemme show you!” She wriggled out of his arms and went to get her drawing from the study. Femi followed her out.

“Good evening sir” Femi smiled in greeting but was overshadowed by Amanda’s screaming of her picture. Nonetheless, she thought she had seen Fiyin smile at her, she couldn’t be sure though, the man hardly ever smiled at her.

“See what I drewed! See it, Daddy!”

“What is it?” Fiyin asked, kneeling beside Amanda to look at her drawing. It was a funny caricature of a very tall man, a tiny girl stretching out her hands to the tall man and at a distance, was another stick figure holding a book and waving. All their faces were painted orange and their bodies green. He waved the picture at Femi, who was laughing with her back against the wall.

“This is me…” Amanda said needlessly, pointing at the tiny figure, “….this is you…” she pointed at the really tall drawing “…and this is Miss Femi” she concluded.

“Wow, it’s pretty, I like it.” Fiyin said, tongue in cheek, it was safe to say Amanda would never make a career as an artist. “This is beautiful….” he told his beaming daughter, “I owe you ice cream for this.”

“Yes!! Now, now?” Amanda cried, excited.

“Yes, now.” Fiyin answered, smiling at the way laughter made Femi’s eyes shine. She had really nice eyes, he told himself. Big and white and twinkling.

“Let Miss Femi come with us, please. She was sad yesterday, her boyfriend said she’s fat” Amanda pleaded passionately.

“Amanda!!” Femi shouted, aghast. “I didn’t tell her that.” she told Fiyin, “I don’t know where she heard that!”

“I heard you talking to your bestie on the phone yesterday” Amanda said quietly

“Amaaanda, you shouldn’t eavesdrop on people, it’s a bad habit!” Femi whined, embarrassed.

“I did not evedop, you said it!” Amanda felt persecuted

“It’s not evedop, baby girl, it’s eavesdrop and it means listening when people aren’t talking to you. You really shouldn’t do it, okay?” Fiyin said sternly. “Femi don’t take it personally, okay, no harm done. Amanda, apologise now!”

“Okay, I’m sorry, Miss Femi” Amanda said genuinely. Not the least deterred, “Can Miss Femi come for ice-cream?”

“Sure, if she doesn’t have anything else doing…”

“No, I don’t!” Femi exclaimed, excited. She had been scared Fiyin would send her packing after the Boyfriend talk but he didn’t seem to mind, whew, she would have to watch what she said around Amanda, that child was a little sharper than she gave her credit for.

“Alright, let’s go, I will drop you at the bus stop on our way back.”

“Alright sir” Femi said as she went back to the study to quickly gather her belongings.

==

“Hmmm, delicious!” Amanda said as she took yet another big spoon of ice-cream. They were seated at a little corner of cold stone Creamery enjoying their ice cream.

Femi could not credit the excitement she felt. Since they got there, they had been gisting constantly, Fiyin told her about work and was being very kind and generous.



“You own the hospital?” Femi asked, surprised. She knew he had money but did not know he owned a big hospital. She also knew his father was the current Minister of health and she assumed that was where he got his wealth from.

“Erm, not really, my father started it but now there’s a board of trustees and some shareholders although we still own the largest shares. I’m just serving as the M.D. while my dad is the chairman. It goes beyond the hospital though, we have a Medical laboratory in another location and several pharmacies all over the country.”

“Wow….” Femi intoned, speechless. “You must be a really big man”, she said then closed her mouth, she must sound really stupid to a man like Fiyin but she had never been particularly intelligent.

“Saint Havers is big, but my father is the big man, not me” Fiyin smiled. Surprised he was having a conversation with Femi and enjoying it.

“Saint Havers, Saint Havers, it sounds really familiar.” She said, racking her brain.

“It should, I must have mentioned it before or you have seen the letter headed papers lying about at home.”

“Maybe, you’re right sir.”

“Daddy, today, when you came, Miss Femi was really happy and smiling” Amanda said between her spoonfuls of ice-cream.

“Amanda!” Femi screamed, her big eyes goggling. What was the child trying to do? Give her heart attacks?

“Really?” Fiyin asked Femi, his eyes twinkling.

“Nooooo!” Femi denied hotly, “It’s just that…..erm….David called me and apologised.” She lied, since David had not called her since he had once again insulted her on Thursday.

“Oh, David?” Fiyin asked, surprised at the disappointment he felt.

“Yes, my boyfriend” Femi said, glad for the diversion. “We are having some issues.”

“Oh, really, because you’re fat?”

“I’m not fat…” Femi said shamefaced. “I’m thick, that’s what everybody else says, even my aunty.”

“What would your aunty say?” Fiyin asked derisively, a bit hurt that it was her boyfriend apologising that made her smile, not his coming home. “Have you seen yourself? Your clothes are too big, you look like a bag lady, you wear that awful orange lipstick that makes you look garish and………”

Femi and Amanda were staring at him. One set of big eyes, deeply hurt, the other smaller one, deeply confused.

“I should be going home…” Femi choked out, lifting her bag and standing up at the same time.

“Femi…..” Fiyin grabbed her hand that was still on the table, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any of that, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Femi said, quickly swiping away the tears that had formed, “thank you very much sir, goodnight Amanda.” She turned and left the Creamery.

Amanda still had her spoon in her mouth and was staring at her father, “Daddy, you’re so mean. Now, you’ve sent Miss Femi away and she didn’t even finish her ice-cream. You’re just like her boyfriend!” Amanda concluded.

“I am, aren’t i?” Fiyin asked, very ashamed of himself. And the problem was, he couldn’t even explain what had come over him.

==

Femi was almost home when she remembered where she had heard of Saint Havers. Tiwa! Tiwa works there. Did she know that evil, insulting, ugly, big-headed Doctor Arowolo? She would now, they were two of a kind. Well, if those were the kind of doctors they had in that hospital, she wouldn’t be surprised when they went down.

She would never talk to him again, she promised herself. He insulted her today because he bought her one filthy cup of ice-cream, and she didn’t even finish it! She couldn’t even blame him, she had caused it by smiling at him too much, she would never, ever smile at him again, she told herself, never!

She remembered now why she had been waiting for him, she was supposed to tell him about the Teachers Conference she was due to attend the following week in Abuja, now he had made her forget but she wasn’t going to call him. Never again.

Question: Fiyin seems too mean right? Any advice to Femi?