From A Producer To A Global Superstar

Chapter 459: Family Meeting Jennifer

The call came in the middle of the morning.

Dayo was sitting in the living room, scrolling through messages he hadn’t fully read, when his phone lit up with his mother’s name. He answered on the second ring.

"Dayo."

"Good morning, Mom."

"It has been one week."

He knew what she meant immediately without any hint. His mother had the kind of patience that looked like acceptance but was actually just discipline. She could wait for as long as she decided waiting was appropriate, and then she would stop waiting.

"I know," he said.

"You know your father and I have not asked. We gave you space. Jeffrey and Janet have been patient. But Dayo, a whole week has passed. My grandchild is in this city, and I have not seen her face. I have not held her. I have not heard her voice."

Dayo pressed his fingers against his temple. "Mom—"

"Do not Mom me." Her voice shifted, carrying the weight of the Yoruba she slipped into when she was most serious. "Mo fe ri omoomo mi. I want to see my grandchild. You cannot keep her from me. You cannot bring a child into this family and hide her like a secret. That child is my blood. She is an Abishola. And I will see her."

He closed his eyes. There was no negotiating with this tone. He had heard it his entire life, the voice that made room for nothing but obedience wrapped in love.

"I understand," he said quietly.

"Do the needful. Call Luna. Tell her we are coming. Just your father and I, and Jeffrey and Janet. We will be respectful. But we will come. Today."

"Today?"

"Yes today."

The line went dead before he could respond.

***

He arrived at Luna’s apartment an hour earlier than usual.

Amanda opened the door with her usual measured expression, but she noticed the tension in his shoulders immediately.

"You’re earlier than normal. And you don’t look like someone who’s here to play peek-a-boo."

"I need to talk to Luna."

"She’s feeding Jennifer. Give her a minute."

Dayo stepped inside and waited in the living room, pacing in a slow circle that Amanda watched without comment. When Luna emerged from the back room, Jennifer on her hip, she took one look at his face and stopped walking.

"What happened?"

Dayo inhaled slowly, choosing his words. "My mother called."

Luna’s grip on Jennifer tightened slightly. "And?"

"She wants to meet Jennifer. Today."

The silence that followed was not shocked. It was resigned. Luna had known this moment was coming, had felt it building on the horizon like weather she couldn’t control. She had just hoped she would have more time to prepare.

"Today," she repeated.

"She was firm about it. She said she’s been patient for a week, and she won’t wait any longer. She mentioned you specifically, Luna. She said she would be respectful. She just wants to see her grandchild."

Luna looked down at Jennifer, who was playing with a strand of her hair, completely unaware of the conversation happening above her head. "Your mother has always been kind to me. Even before, when things were good between us, she treated me like family. The times I visited, she would cook for me, give me things to take home. She never made me feel like I wasn’t welcome."

"That hasn’t changed," Dayo said. "She respects you. She just wants to meet her granddaughter."

Luna was quiet for a long moment, her thumb rubbing slow circles against Jennifer’s back. "Will it just be her and your father?"

"Jeffrey and Janet too."

Luna nodded slowly, her expression shifting through several emotions too quickly to name. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay." She looked up at him, and there was a steadiness in her eyes that he recognized. The same steadiness she had shown when she first agreed to let him meet Jennifer. Nervous, but not broken. "But you need to be here, Dayo. When they arrive. I don’t want to do this alone."

"Haha I’m not going anywhere my daughter is still here after all." Dayo smiled giving her a reassuring look.

This did the trick and calm Luna down Amanda watching this just shook her head want she just witnessed she had witnessed it so many times.

Whenever Luna was tense or Dayo they both knew the exact thing to say to each other to calm their nerves it seems they both...

---

They arrived at three in the afternoon.

Dayo heard the car pull up and felt his pulse quicken in a way that had nothing to do with anxiety and everything to do with the weight of what was about to happen. He opened the door before they could knock.

Abishola stood at the front of the group, dressed in something elegant and simple, her head wrap perfectly tied, her posture straight with the kind of presence that filled any space she entered. Jason stood beside her, calm and observant, his hands clasped behind his back. Behind them, Jeffrey was practically vibrating with restrained energy, and Janet was clutching a small gift bag, her eyes wide and eager.

"Mom," Dayo said. "Dad. Come in."

Abishola did not immediately step inside. She looked past him, into the apartment, her eyes searching until they found Luna standing in the center of the living room, Jennifer held securely against her chest.

"Luna," Abishola said, and her voice was warm in a way that made the tension in the room ease slightly. "Omo mi. My child. How are you?"

Luna stepped forward, her movements careful but genuine. "I’m well, Ma. Thank you for asking."

Abishola reached out and took Luna’s free hand in both of hers, squeezing gently. "You look good. You look healthy. Motherhood suits you." Her eyes dropped to Jennifer, and something flickered across her face—hunger, wonder, a grandmother’s love held in check by decades of practiced composure. "And this is her."

"Yes, Ma. This is Jennifer."

Abishola released Luna’s hand and stepped closer, her gaze fixed on the baby with an intensity that made the room go quiet. Jennifer, for her part, was awake and alert, her dark eyes moving from face to face, taking in the new energy with the same serious curiosity she applied to everything.

"Let me see her properly," Abishola said softly. "Let me look at my grandchild."

Luna adjusted her hold, turning Jennifer slightly so Abishola could see her fully. The baby was dressed in something pale and soft, her hair a dark crown of curls, her eyes wide and observant.

Abishola stared for a long moment, and then her composure cracked. Just slightly. Just enough for her eyes to glisten as she reached out one finger and touched Jennifer’s cheek.

"Omo rewa," she whispered. "She is beautiful. She is so beautiful."

"She has your eyes," Janet said, stepping forward, unable to contain herself any longer. She was beside Abishola now, looking down at Jennifer with an expression of pure wonder. "Dayo, look at her eyes. They’re exactly like yours."

"She has his nose too," Jeffrey added, leaning in from the other side. "Look at that. Same shape."

"And his lips," Janet continued, her voice rising with excitement. "Look at her lips, Mom. They’re Dayo’s lips."

Abishola said nothing. She was still touching Jennifer’s cheek, her finger tracing the soft skin with a tenderness that seemed to come from somewhere deep and ancient. Then she looked up at Luna, and her expression was full of something that looked almost like gratitude.

"May I hold her?"

Luna hesitated for just a fraction of a second, a mother’s instinct flaring and then settling. She looked at Dayo, who nodded almost imperceptibly. Then she turned back to Abishola and carefully transferred Jennifer into her arms.

Abishola cradled the baby with the confidence of a woman who had done this many times before, who had held her own children and her siblings’ children and the children of friends who needed an extra pair of arms. She settled Jennifer against her chest, supporting her head, and looked down into her face with an expression of pure, unguarded love.

"Omo mi," she whispered again, this time directly to Jennifer. "Omo mi to re. My beautiful child. You do not know me yet, but I am your grandmother. I am your grandmother, and I have been waiting for you."

Jennifer looked up at her, those dark blue, serious eyes studying Abishola’s face with the same focused attention she gave to everything new. Then, slowly, her mouth curved into a small smile.

Abishola’s breath caught.

"Did you see that?" she asked the room, her voice thick with emotion. "She smiled at me. My grandchild smiled at me."

"She likes you," Luna said softly. "She’s usually serious with new people. She studies them first. But she smiled at you immediately."

"Because she knows," Abishola said, looking back down at Jennifer. "She knows her family. Blood knows blood."

Jason stepped forward then, placing a hand on his wife’s shoulder as he looked down at his granddaughter. His expression was more controlled than Abishola’s, but there was no mistaking the softness in his eyes.

"She’s perfect," he said quietly. "Absolutely perfect."

"Can I hold her next?" Janet asked, practically bouncing on her feet. "Please? Just for a minute? I promise I’ll be careful."

"Wait your turn," Abishola said, not looking up. "I have waited one week to hold this child. You can wait five minutes."

Janet pressed her lips together but didn’t argue. She contented herself with leaning in closer, making funny faces at Jennifer, who watched her with a solemn expression that made everyone laugh.

"She’s not impressed," Jeffrey said, grinning. "Look at her face. She’s like, who is this person making faces at me?"

"She has Dayo’s seriousness," Jason observed. "That same expression he had as a baby. Like he was judging everyone around him."

"I was not judging anyone," Dayo said, though there was a smile in his voice.

"You absolutely were, and how would you even know eh ?" Abishola said. She was rocking Jennifer slightly now, a motion so natural it looked like muscle memory. "He would look at people with those big eyes, and you could see him thinking. Calculating. Deciding whether you were worth his attention."

"Sounds familiar," Luna said quietly, and there was a warmth in her voice that made Dayo look at her.

For a moment, their eyes met across the room, and something passed between them. An acknowledgment of the strangeness of this moment. The family they had created, however unintentionally, coming together in a space that was still new to all of them.

"She’s going to be smart," Abishola said, breaking the moment as she continued to rock Jennifer. "I can see it. She watches everything. She doesn’t miss anything."

"She’s already climbing everything," Luna said. "Especially Dayo. She uses him like a jungle gym."

"That is how it should be," Abishola said firmly. "A daughter should climb her father. He should be her mountain. Her safe place." She looked up at Dayo, and her eyes held his with an intensity that carried meaning beyond the words. "He should be there for her. Always. No matter what."

Dayo nodded, understanding the message beneath the message. "I will be, Mom. I am."

Abishola held his gaze for a moment longer, then looked back down at Jennifer, who had started to make small, contented sounds against her chest.

"Omo mi," she whispered again, pressing a soft kiss to Jennifer’s forehead. "Welcome to your family, my beautiful girl. Welcome home."

The room settled into a warmth that felt almost sacred. Abishola continued to rock her granddaughter, speaking to her in a mixture of English and Yoruba that Jennifer didn’t understand but seemed to enjoy anyway. Jason stood beside her, a hand on the baby’s back, his presence solid and grounding. Janet and Jeffrey took turns leaning in to touch Jennifer’s hand, to make faces at her, to marvel at the small miracle of her existence.

And Luna stood slightly apart, watching it all unfold, feeling the strangeness of seeing her daughter surrounded by people who loved her instantly, completely, without reservation. It should have felt overwhelming. It should have felt like losing something.

But watching Abishola hold Jennifer, whispering to her, rocking her with the same love Luna gave her every day, it didn’t feel like loss. It felt like gain. Like Jennifer’s circle was widening, and the love around her was multiplying, and that could only be a good thing.

She caught Dayo’s eye again, and this time he smiled at her. A real smile, not the controlled expression he wore for cameras and crowds, but something softer. Something that said thank you, and I’m here, and we’re figuring this out.

Luna smiled back.

And for a moment, just a moment, the complicated history between them didn’t matter. The questions she hadn’t asked, the conversations they had avoided, the future they hadn’t defined—all of it faded into the background of this single, warm, ordinary afternoon where a family met its newest member and found her exactly as she should be.

Perfect.

Small.

And completely, irrevocably loved.