THE MAD MAMMOTH

Chapter 5-Discontent

Tolani heard the consistent beeping sound of the electrocardiographic heart monitor as she regained consciousness in an all-white hospital room. She had a pounding headache and her throat felt dry. She noticed a nurse-call bell on her side table and rang it. A friendly matronly nurse in her fifties came in.

"Good to see you finally wake up." She said happily. "I've watched you struggle to open your eyes for three days now.

"What happened to me?' She asked.

"You were involved in a car accident and hit your head on the dashboard in the course of the collision. You sustained some head injuries and you were knocked out instantly You were lucky though, the x-ray shows that you didn't get any permanent damages. Your brain just needed to heal by itself and now that you are awake, you should be fine."

"How long have I been here?" Tolani asked.

"Twelve days. I better go and inform Dr. Tade that you are awake" The nurse said as she went out.

Twelve days, oh my God! Tolani thought. Who has been taking care of the children?

The nurse came back in accompanied by Dr. Tade Okeowo. He was of average height, slim and dark. Tolani guessed he would be around 45years old. He tested her with his stethoscope and thermometer, asked how she was feeling, then asked the nurse to give her some water. He prescribed some injections for her and left. After she drank water, the nurse whom she now knew as Nurse Titi gave her two injections and Tolani slept off immediately. She woke up four hours later to the pressure of someone's hands on hers, it was Tunji. She could see from his bloodshot eyes that he must have cried a lot these past few days. She almost felt pity for him.

"Baby, how do you feel? I feel so responsible for this accident and I can't tell you how sorry I am. I'm so, so sorry my dear, please just tell me you forgive me."

Tolani remembered vividly the events before her accident; she removed her hands from his, turned herself to the other side of the bed and said nothing. She shut her eyes pretending to go back to sleep and she heard him sigh from frustration. She was dying to ask him so many questions especially about the children but she just wasn't in the mood to talk to him. Moreover, she knew in spite of his flaws, he didn't joke with the children and he would have made concrete arrangements to ensure they were alright in her absence so she knew she really had no cause to worry. She closed her eyes till he left. After he left she summoned the nurse with the bell.

"Please can I make a call to my son?

"I'm not sure the doctor will allow you make calls just yet but your son is likely to come and see you very soon. He usually comes in the evenings."

"Ok".

True to her words Dayo came in about twenty minutes later. He was so relieved to find her awake that he started crying. He told her how worried he had been and she assured him there was no longer a need to worry as the doctor had told her she was going to be alright and just needed a few more days to rest and would soon be sent back home.

"How are Bola and Leke?"

'They are fine Mom. Grandma has been staying in the house since you were admitted here."

"You mean my mother?"

"No, Dad's mother. Your mother came around and stayed for two days. She left to attend to her business as soon as Dad's mother came."

"Ok, good." Tolani and her mother-in-law were not particularly in the best of terms but Tolani knew she was good with the children. They chatted for a while then Dayo left to allow her get some rest.

She was allowed to receive calls and visitors by the third day after she woke up from coma. The close relatives came individually, then in twos and threes. From the way they looked at her and from some things they said to her about the value of forgiveness, she knew Tunji must have told them what happened on the launching day. One thing about Tunji; he was a man who believed so much in the extended family system due to his background. He was always quick to admit when he was wrong and even quicker to report himself to family members. Of course he was well aware of what their position would be; they would expect and ask his wife to forgive him no matter what. A wife's duty was to keep forgiving; a good woman builds and keeps her home by forgiving her husband every time. The husband on his part would get a mild scolding every time he committed an offence against his wife, this was like an unwritten agreement. Men could get away with practically everything because both the women and men in society would simply ask the wife to forgive him and if she was taking too long to forgive; she would be branded as a rebel or a stubborn woman and irresponsible for not wanting to maintain peace in her family. From her childhood, Tolani knew all these things; it was the culture! Her parents, especially her mother had taken the time to explain to her since childhood that a woman literally had to be a fool to keep her home.