VILE

Chapter 29: The Present

"So I guess this is it" Tomike said.

"Yeah" Dayo's voice sounded dry and cracked, apparently it hadn't recovered from all the crying.

"I'll try my best to speed up the process so you can join me soon. I believe it'll take between six to eight months" Tomike lied, he could join her in three months, or even less with the connections Todd had. But Todd didn't know about Dayo, he was definitely in for a real shock.

"Six to eight months?"Dayo replied in disbelief.

"Yeah, too early?"

"No o. That's a long time"

"Well you know there's a lot of paper work involved. Here is not the right place to talk about it, how about I call you when I land in Boston"

"Like you ever call" Dayo said under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, nothing"

"We have to let your mum go so she doesn't miss her flight" Bose spoke up.

"Alright Dayo, be good. I'll see you soon." She reached to hug him. He was stiff and didn't hug her back, unlike the first time they met when she got back. When she pulled back she saw he was holding back tears, but his facial expression spelt out anger instead of sadness.

She shrugged it off as she took her luggages and headed for the airport doors. She turned back to look and she saw Dayo standing beside Bose still stiff, the same angry expression on his face as tears rolled down his eyes. She waved goodbye but only Bose reciprocated.

As she turned back to keep walking, Tomike felt her heart break. Seeing her son that way did something to her, and she didn't like it. She had always been indifferent about his feelings, about his pain, but this time her heart hurt with his. She knew how it felt to feel abandoned without the ones you want with you, she understood how it felt to lose Iya Bose because she lost her too. Her heart was pricked with guilt and she couldn't hold back the tears. In that moment she realised how terrible a mother she had been, how much her mother would be ashamed of and dissapointed in her.

She wiped the tears off her face and fastened her pace, dragging her luggage behind her. Soon she was seated in the plane heading to Boston, leaving her son behind, not sure if she would ever return, not even for him.

                   **********

As they drove back home, Dayo found it hard to believe Tomike had left him all alone in Nigeria. While Iya Bose was sick, they got to spend some time together. Although anytime they sat to talk they had weird conversations and there were a few moments of awkward silence, it meant a lot to him.

When Iya Bose died, it wrecked him. He felt a hole was carved in his heart that nothing else could replace, not even his mother. But he thought that at least Tomike would step up and take her place in his life, he thought she'd try and make an effort to alleviate his pain, but she didn't even attempt.

Every chance she got she avoided him, she'd place clear boundaries with her actions although she never said anything. All his efforts to please her and get her attention was met with hostility and coldness. Dayo reasoned Tomike must have really hated his father to have transferred such aggression to him.

Iya Bose had told him his father had had a huge falling out with Tomike before he died, but he never knew who the man was, neither did he know the reason for their issues. All he knew was that his mother was very young when she had him.

"Do you think she hates me Aunty Bose?" He asked looking straight ahead, tears streaming down his eyes.

"Who hates you?" Bose played dumb.

"Tomike"

"Aaa! Dayo why would you say that? She loves you, you are her son. And why would you call her by her name like that? She is mum to you, not Tomike."

"How is she mum to me Aunty? Please how? She is never here, she never talks to me, the only memories of her I have is her pounding me with her hands and calling me names. That was even better, at least then she acknowledged that I existed. Now she pretends I'm not even there. Please Aunty how is that a mother?"

Bose was suprised, Dayo wasn't the type of person to express himself. He was good at bottling up his feelings. He must have been really hurt to be saying all he was. She didn't bother trying to answer questions she had no answers to, so rather she pulled him close and let him cry on her shoulders.

She knew she had to talk to Tomike, and soon.

"You'll be living with me for a while, until your mother is done processing your travel arrangements, okay?" Bose said after Dayo had calmed down.

"Who will be staying at Iya Bose's house?" He curiously asked.

"For now no one, until we decide what to do with it"

Dayo nodded in response.

The rest of the drive was silent as Bose hoped and prayed for the best in the coming months. She knew very well that Dayo was a problem child but didn't want to abandon him. So as the car sped down the half empty road, she began to ponder on how she would convince her husband to let Dayo into their home.