Novels by Toyin Clay

The early morning sun smiled down warmly as Amenaghawon Obasogie made her way out of her father's limousine and into the grand Cathedral. She floated down the aisle on the arms of her father, who was dressed in the full traditional attire of a Bini chief. Philip and his best man, Julius, waited patiently at the level ground before the altar. When his bride reached him, Philip was expected to lead her upwards to the altar, where they would be joined in holy matrimony before a holy God and man.Julius, now a law student in a prestigious school in America, where he and Omar had since relocated to, had flown in all the way from America to grace his best friend's wedding. Omar too was in attendance, having flown in from Liberia, where he was attending a world summit Leadership conference.Even Philip's surrogate family members were also in attendance, with two of Amanda's children also there to give their support. Chief Adejare, who was still in America with his

"What?!" Ame began to shake violently. Segun quickly grabbed her and tried soothe her. Femi held her hands more firmly. Osahon moved closer to them as well. Between them, Segun and Femi did their best to calm her down.Ame found it hard to believe that Philip Omagbemi, the man she had loved almost all her adult life was alive! He had been alive all these while when she had cried out her heart sore, pining for him? He had been alive all those harrowing months when she had gone through the traumatic experience of the after effects of being raped, and then the gruesome torture of a loveless marriage to Dapo Adejare as a result of being found pregnant by her rapists! Oh, that her Philip had been alive, and walking the surface of this same earth as she had given herself up, albeit unwillingly, to a passionate experience in the arms of another man!The tears flowed down her cheeks unhindered and none of the men in the room made any effort to stop them. A sudden h

"Nah wah o! Things are happening in this our hospital o!" a nurse retorted."Are you telling me!" was the reply her partner gave.The two nurses sat conversing among a cluster of trees near the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Ward, just idling away as they were on their break period."Who would ever believe that Obasogies's daughter would ever be brought to our hospital?!" one of the nurses asked as she turned to her friend, her eyes wide with an awesome wonder.Her friend gave a short, mirthless laugh as she rolled her eyes. "Babe con see security! It was her former husband's father that visited her the other day o, after her child died!" The nurse informed her friend as she shook her head sadly."Eyah!" Her partner swept her hands to cover her mouth in pity. "No wonder! Chai, that woman don suffer! I pity her o!" She shook her head sadly. Then she looked at her friend as she asked curiously, "But why did her husband not come to visit her, at lea

A group of medical persons comprising of doctors, nurses and attendants was already converging when Dr. Philip Omagbemi made his way to the wide doors leading to the emergency theatre of the hospital. From the snatches of hurried conversations around him, he gathered that it was a critical case involving multiple patients; a case of 'hit and run' involving a mother and her child, who had been brought into their hospital as a last resort, having been rejected by the hospital nearest to the scene of the accident.Dr. Omagbemi carefully washed his hands in the bowl of antiseptic liquid held before him by one of the attendant nurses. He went forward and another nurse decked him in the operating theatre garb, complete with the cap. Other surgeons were being attended to in the same manner somewhere in the large corridor.Soon, some nurses wheeled in two gunneries on which the bloody forms of the mother and her child were placed. The Chief Surgeon chose a handful of med

Osahon parked his vehicle near a cluster of trees by the sidewalk. It had been a herculean task digging up Dr. Philip Omagbemi's whereabouts as he had had to go 'solo' mostly, seeing that none of the elderly ones around him would approve of his schemings, but he wanted what was best for his sister. He had to make this right by her; he had to seek out her old love."Excuse me, please I'm here to see Dr. Philip Omagbemi," he told the pretty-looking nurse at the reception desk.The pretty nurse looked up from the file she had before her and flashed a sweet, welcoming smile at Osahon."Do you have a previous appointment sir?" she asked him sweetly, giving him all her attention.Osahon briskly shook his head as he turned on his charms."I'm afraid not, Miss. You see," He leaned in closer to her as his voice dropped into a whisper, which the nurse strained to hear. "This is a surprise visit of sorts!" He laughed as if he had just divulgeded some kind of

Nurse Bolanle was idling by the reception desk and having a light banter with the nurses at the reception desk when Philip's name came up."Enhen, how far with you and your bobo, nurse Bolanle?" One of the nurses asked and all eyes feasted on nurse Bolanle for her answer."Don't try me o, nurse Benedict! My plans are going to be put in effect asap!" Nurse Bolanle laughed lightly as she batted her eyelids at her colleagues. Everyone laughed at her comic display then one of them asked a question."Abeg, which one be 'asap' again o?!"Before Nurse Bolanle could even reply, another nurse hissed loudly and then retorted, "Mumu, like you! Must you show your stupidity?! Who doesn't know that 'asap' means 'as soon as possible'?!"

"Daddy!"Sade ran into the waiting arms of her father. He had made good on his promise to travel down all the way from his new base at Osogbo to welcome his lovely daughter back home and to usher her into another phase of her life. Her mother stood beside her father, smiling proudly as her daughter got enveloped in the warm embrace of her father.

"That is how we shall go about it, my wife," Agbede said to his wife. Mama nodded as she praised her husband's ingenuity. She was rather happy that her husband and Moriah's husband had moved the consummation of her daughter's marriage forward. She had been skeptical about the month-long postponement as she suspected strongly that her daughter, Moriah, had a sinister plan up her sleeve.Their daughter, Moriah, was away at school as it was the last day of her exam. The tools for the activation of the Àsánte custom was already in place, waiting to be put

The Professor was home for the weekend and was relaxing on the verandah of their little cottage-like house, listening to a radio programme on his little portable radio that a friend had given him on his return from England only months ago, when his wife walked up to him.He looked up as the smell of her perfume wafted to him, announcing her presence and smiled warmly at her as she got to him and lowered her head to give him a kiss on the lips. His colleagues never stopped teasing him about his 'Oloyinbo' ways with his wife, meaning that he never conducted his marriage in the African fashion, but after the fashion of their colonial masters, the British, popu

Agbekoya rolled his bicycle to a stop. He secured it by leaning it against the dwarf coconut tree along the path. He ran hastily after the group of girls on their way to the riverside. He had spied his wife, Moriah, his friend, Agbede's daughter, among them. He called her name hoarsely and the girls all turned back. There was a titter of murmur among the girls as Moriah was pushed backwards towards him. One of the girls even slapped her on the buttocks as they turned back to continue on their journey to the river, leaving Moriah to her fate as she faced her intende

"My mom is in collaboration with some people; what they do is to help girls who are of age to escape to a better life." Sade suddenly became quiet as she straightened up. Moriah looked up in time to see their Science teacher sauntering towards them. He was a strict man who did not tolerate any form of laxity in the students at all. And, he was feared by all, even more than their principal."Hey! What are you two doing in the middle of the field?!" he hollered even before he reached the girls.

Mama had dared not challenge the bold woman for she knew the outcome of such a challenge; she would only incur moe insults from the women that day. So, she had fetched her water quietly and gone home peacefully without uttering a single word to the mockery of the women."Don't turn yourself into a laughing stock, Moriah!" her mother said as she remembered the incident at the river, which she never told anybody, not even her husband.