Delicate

Prolouge

The airport was busy with a good mixture of blacks and whites. The plane from Murtala Muhammed International Airport had just arrived. Many of the passengers were Nigerian citizens with different traveling purposes, and few of them were citizens of the U.S. returning home. The passengers came down with their hand luggage.
Among the Nigerians who had flown to the U.S. to settle, there was a young couple, Sola and Morayo. Morayo was a dark-skinned, average-heighted twenty-five-year-old lady. Sola, on the other hand, was a light-skinned, tall, twenty-seven years old man. They had gotten married two years ago and had planned to move to the United States. Morayo was pregnant and was
already towards the end of her third trimester. They had decided to have their child outside Nigeria and continue to live there.
'The air is chilly here.', Morayo complained to Sola
'Mrs. Morayo Wura, didn't I tell you to keep one jacket with you since you were adamant about wearing this dress?', Sola said, teasing her her.
'But I didn't know. ', she said, defending herself
Sola shook his head and kept on walking even after noticing she had stopped. This annoyed her very much.
'Sola Wura!', she said, gathering attention.
He stopped and turned around, prepared for what was going to happen.
'What do you want to eat?', he asked before she could say anything.
She tried to ignore what he had said but gave in knowing fully well she couldn't resist his offer.
'I wouldn't mind a doughnut. '
'Let's go. When we go inside, I'll buy you your doughnut. ', he said, promising her
She waited for a few moments, trying to hide her smile before she said, 'Fine.'
She walked towards him and said, 'The one with jelly.'
'Yes, ma.', he smiled as he said.
They got their luggage and tried to locate the taxi they had arranged. Sola was struggling with all the boxes, and Morayo demanding for her doughnut instantly. He was stressed, after all, it was he who ordered that she shouldn't lift a finger.
'Morayo, can you just calm down.', he said, obviously pissed
'No, I can't calm down. You said you'll buy it when we get to the lounge, but now we're out of the airport, and still, you haven't bought it. ', she said, trying to keep up with him because of the huge crowd.
He sighted the plate number of their rental.
'Morayo, look our rental is over there. Let me put the boxes in the car.', he said with excitement, smiling
'What about my doughnut?', she asked
He shook his head before going to talk to the taxi driver.
'Morayo, he said that there's a fast food about two minutes away. We can get your doughnut there.'
She shrugged and said, 'I don't want it again. '
Then she moved towards the taxi, and he opened the door for her to enter.
When he entered the car, he closed the door and said,' So all that drama and you don't want it again.'
'You delayed.'
He sighed as he looked out the window, staring at the roads. He looked at the people and the buildings.
'Morayo, this is our new home.', he said, still looking outside
'Mmhmm '
'Morayo, aren't you excited?'
'Mmhmm '
'Morayo.'
She didn't respond. He turned to see she was on her phone.
'Morayo ', he said, dragging her name.
She jolted back to reality and stared at him.
'What?', she asked, still staring at him
'What are you doing?'
'How is it your business?'
'Simple question, what are you doing?'
'Fimile e!'
'Okay o!', he said before turning to continue looking outside.
After a few moments, she broke the silence.
'Where do you think I should eat?', she asked, showing him different Nigerian restaurants on the web. He looked at her, telling her to explain.
She rolled her eyes before saying, 'I'm in the mood for jollof rice, so I was looking for Nigerian restaurants.'
'So it is no longer the doughnut again.', he said before sighing
'Sola', she said, shaking him
'Fine, let me see the options.'
'Okay, so I think I like this one.............'
They spent over twenty minutes deciding on where to eat. They stopped at a Nigerian restaurant. They went inside while the driver waited in the car. After eating, they went back to the car.
'What's that smell?', Morayo said as her nose twitched from the smell of liquor.
'Excuse me, sir, were you drinking?', Sola asked, acknowledging the smell of liquor.
'No. I didn't drink any. I only bought some. There's a liquor store across. ', he said, pointing to the store across.
'I don't feel too comfortable. ', Morayo whispered to Sola
'It's just a few minutes. ', Sola whispered to her,' By the way, he doesn't seem drunk.'
'Let's just go.', Morayo said, knowing fully well that nothing she said was going to change anything.
They told the driver to move. Morayo was still feeling uneasy. She fixed her gaze on the driver while Sola's was fixed on his phone. She noticed the driver was acting weirdly. At least they were just about two minutes away from their residence. She told herself to relax.
'What could go wrong?', she said in her head
Only if she knew how wrong she was she would not have thought of those words. She looked up and saw the car moving at a high going off the road.
'Sola!', she screamed. He looked up and was terrified. She held his arm tightly as they crashed into the wall of a building and a lorry hit the car from the side.
'M...o....r.......a...y....o', he looked at her and said before becoming unconscious. In a few seconds, a crowd surrounded the accident scene. The glass from the window had shattered, and the pieces were in Sola's face. Morayo was unconscious as well. There was blood everywhere in the car. Someone had called an ambulance. The paramedics brought them out of the car and put them on stretchers, carrying them to the ambulance.
'I think the driver 's dead.', one of the paramedics squatting by the driver said.
They rushed them to the hospital in an attempt to save their lives. The operating rooms were busy as doctors, nurses, and surgeons were coming out and going in. Morayo was in one, and Sola was in the other. They found out the driver was on cocaine. He didn't take any alcohol.
After her operation, Morayo was taken to the ICU. She woke up with doctors and nurses all around the room. A doctor noticed she was awake and called the attention of the rest of her team.
'Where is she?', she said, struggling to speak. She was referring to her child. A nurse brought the baby for her. She looked at her baby and felt sad she would have to live without her.
'I am sorry that you will have to live without a mother. At least you will have a father to take care of you. ', she said, her voice almost failing her.
'Ma'am, your husband can not take care of her because.......', the doctor said, stopping halfway seeing the pain written all over her face.
She began to struggle for breath. The whole room became frenzied. The doctors checked her condition and knew she wasn't going to make it.
'Do you have any last wishes?', one of the doctors asked
She took a deep breath, the oxygen mask becoming foggy, 'I want to name her.'
A birth certificate was brought immediately.
'Paula....', she said, struggling for breath, 'Onija.....Wura..'
'And....when she is......adopted....any other.....name can....be added......but none....should be ....removed.'
'Is that all?', the nurse who was filling out the birth certificate asked
'I want.....my first....name tattooed...on her left wrist. Is it ...possible to get....the things I bought...... for her from.....the car?',she said, gasping for breath
'We will try. ', was the response she got
'I want....to hold...her'
She was given her baby to hold. She smiled, holding her baby on her chest and smiling.
'Pau...la', she said, and breathed her last.