It was a few minutes past four in the morning and there was power, so for the most part everything was quiet. The only thing interrupting the silence was the hum of the air-conditioner. He sat up in bed, and then stood up.
The curtains whispered as he parted them. Outside, everything was deathly still.
It was a short walk to the small cabinet in the corner of the room. He opened it and withdrew a Jack Daniels bottle and a glass. The dash of drink he poured into it barely covered the bottom, which was fine by him. He covered the bottle and replaced it in the cabinet and, carrying the drink walked out of the room and into the living room.
He wanted to think.
He flicked on the light switch and reached for the remote, wanting to play the Bez cd which; as far as he was concerned was gathering dust in the CD player – and then he abruptly changed his mind. The silence was calming.
He turned the light off and sat in the darkness, sipping Jack Daniels and thinking.
Some light made their way through the curtains and ended up against the wall, giving some illumination for the room. He thought about the curtains and smiled, mentally thanking Igo for changing them. After finding himself unable to stay long in the house because something about it unsettled him – almost violently, he spoke to her about it. She’d taken his keys, one weekend under the pretext of cleaning out the house.
When he’d gone there the following Monday, the curtains and wallpaper were gone.
Igo’s image stayed in his mind, long after he had stopped thinking about the curtains. Igo.
It made him happy; happy even though he couldn’t explain how they had just fallen into the groove of lovers. They spent time together, saw movies, talked, walked – she came to his shop and he visited at her store. He liked to sit on the shop’s verandah, sip diet Pepsi while listening to her banter with her customers. She always wanted to leave whenever he got there, but he sometimes calmed her and sat with her until it was evening. And then, he would stand and she would bade goodbye to her staff, and they would get in his car or hers – depending on what the plans were – and they would just go.
He liked to be around her.
Watching her talk was some kind of pleasure to him – it was like listening to Tuface sing. He liked how her lips moved when she pronounced words; how she cocked her head when listening, how she flicked her fingers impatiently when she was listening to something she didn’t agree with. He liked how she wore her clothes; how she didn’t wear them…
He liked the last one best.
He had avoided asking her if she was seeing anyone; it didn’t look like she was considering she always had time for him, was always willing to see him no matter what time it was. But he didn’t want to assume. He had learnt the worst way that you never knew with women.
What if she wasn’t seeing anyone? What did he want from her?
He knew he was in love with her; he had stopped trying to figure out when that happened because he realized he had never actually stopped loving her.
That was unsettling. As unsettling as the suddenness of his phone ringing.
He took the call; Fola.
“Oga you no dey sleep?”
His friend laughed. “Man, I just remembered I didn’t tell you something Stella asked that I tell you.”
He was out of the hospital; had been out for some months now. He and Stella were living together in the same house, still husband and wife. They seemed to be making a go of it; he liked that.
“What’s that?” he asked, sitting up and cursing silently as he almost spilled whisky on himself.
“She’s cooking some kind of treat later today and wanted me to invite you guys; ‘you guys’ being you and madam.”
“Okay. We’ll be there – what time would be good though?”
“I’m thinking six-ish.”
“Sounds good. Tell her I said we’ll be there, and thanks for the invitation.”
“Oga, tell her yourself. Me, I want to sleep.” The phone clicked.
Standing up, Frank downed the last of the whisky. And then he went to the kitchen, rinsed the glass in the darkness and carried it to his room.
And that was it for the day.
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The bed was rocking a bit too sharply for him to sleep in it comfortably. “I like what you’re doing but you’re doing it too fast,” he mumbled. “Slow down baby.”
The chuckle that followed his words were completely unexpected. “Wake up jare!”
He snapped up to find Igo regarding him with a smile, looking as though she’d stepped right out of his dreams. She looked good in light blue blouse and white jeans that hugged her curves quite closely, with a black scarf wrapped around her neck. He mentioned how beautiful she looked; she blushed and kissed him softly.
“Thank you,” she said.
Rising off the bed, Frank stretched. “What time is it?” he asked.
“Something past ten, I think. James had made you very lazy, abi? You hardly go to the shop anymore,” she said teasingly.
“I think you’re right,” he answered, looking serious. “I have been relying on him more and more lately. Maybe – “
“Maybe nothing,” she interrupted him. “I was teasing – besides, there’s nothing wrong with taking things a little easy. Life’s too short.”
He nodded his agreement. “Want me to make you breakfast?”
“No o. Breakfast ke? What I need you to do now is to have your bath and dress up. We’re going out; there’s something I need to show you.”
********************************************************************************************
“Where are we going?” Frank asked for the hundredth time.
“Will you be patient?” Igo grinned at him. “You’ll see when we get there – which will be soon.”
They were driving along Adeniran Ogunsanya, and for a small moment Frank thought they were going to their old house. As though she could read his mind she said, “That’s not where we’re going, though I think it would be nice if we said hi to mama. She would like to see us – if you don’t mind.”
“I wouldn’t mind that.”
Before long, they were driving into a side street. Igo parked behind a huge palm tree and got out of the car. “Come,” she said, holding his hand and running across the street.
“Here we are,” she said as they stopped in front of a building with a locked space in front of it. She eased back her shades and reached in her bag for a set of keys.
“Close your eyes,” she said to him, bubbling over with excitement.
“What?” he asked, more surprised than anything.
She giggled. “Trust me jo!”
Nodding, Frank closed his eyes. He could hear the turning of the key in the locks, the click-clacking as they opened, and then he felt her warm hand in his again.
“Come, and walk carefully,” she breathed in his ear.
They walked slowly, he leaning heavily on her as she guiding him carefully. They made it into the room without bumping into anything, Frank observing that his feet were now on a smoother surface – similar to tiles. He heard a light switch click, and then Igo spoke.
“Oya open your eyes.”
He blinked at the harsh fluorescent – and then his mouth dropped open.
They were in a store, a store way larger than her other one. There were aisles and rows of stuff upon stuff – he was impressed.
“Baby! Wow – when did you put this together?”
She smiled prettily. “Well, I’ve been wanting to expand for a bit now but I wasn’t sure. You coming back…” She looked away – and then looked back at him, trying not to cry. “I just knew I had to do it. It was time. It felt – feels right.”
He pulled her close and kissed her. “I’m so proud of you. Well done.”
Her hand fluttered excitedly as she led him from aisle to aisle, talking him through stacks of product after product. His smile was genuine when he reached over and hugged her again.
“This is impressive, darling. When does this come open?”
She rested her head on his shoulder. “Hmmm, you know I haven’t really thought about it, but maybe in two weeks or thereabouts.” She shrugged a pretty shoulder. “I just want some…some other things cleared up, so I can jump into this with both feet.”
Frank thought he heard a note of uncertainty in her voice but wasn’t sure.
“You know, maybe you should pick a bottle of white wine – or maybe red for the Akanjis for when we go there later,” she perked up again.
“That’s – that sounds good,” he responded. “Let me go find a bottle.”
He walked down the aisles again, looking around admiring Igo’s handiwork. He wasn’t surprised about the store; she had always been the ‘doer’ in their relationship. He was content with his tailoring something; wasn’t looking to expand or anything. It was part of why he’d liked her – been drawn to her in the first place. She challenged him.
He found the aisle for wines and he looked through; remembering a particular one he’d had back in Priye’s place…Picpoul de Pinet; it was called.
Sure enough, he found a bottle and was starting to turn away when; on sudden impulse he took a second one. “Found a good one,” he said as he hurried back to where he’d left Igo.
“Great! I was going to ask you to take two, I always feel somehow about giving someone just one of something.”
Frank grinned. “Okay, remember that when it’s time to buy me a car!”
She laughed. “Let’s go see mama, and then zip home quickly to freshen up before going to see Stella and Fola.”
“Sounds good.”
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“Frank?”
PART TWO
SEUN ODUKOYA
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