We drive in silence for awhile, we had another fight in the car, i wanted to know why the hell didn’t he allow John follow us, atleast even though they won’t drop him home but at the gate so it’s easy For him to get a cab, Brian wouldn’t hear of it..
So we argued, i told them to drop me, he told the driver to go on.
It was when Ikena told me not to worry that he had a call from the securities at the gate that the man who came had left did i shut up.
‘’See, you keep worrying over a grown ass man who is very liable to take care of himself.’’
‘’atleast that grown ass man spent his money and exerted himself to come pick me up,. You on the other hand who is a grown ass man put me in this situation, see that there are men and there are men..”’ i say.
He is seated next to me, i wonder why he didn’t go to the front seat where i can comfortable look at his big rather cute head, now, the whole “’Please”’ he said earlier is washed off and i am back to despising him.
‘’i am a man, and John isn’t classified to be one’’
‘’You wish you are a man, a man wouldn’t –
‘’A man would-‘’
‘’Oh you wish, you are nothing but-‘’
‘’If i am that then you lack proper home tr-“’
‘’Oh my Goodness gracious, you are-‘’
‘’Thank you Ado-rat, and you are-‘’
Ikena bits the inside of his mouth and wishes God would come down and shut both of them up, they keep bickering like kids, like two over sized grown up adults who cannot understand their ranging hormones, being one day with them he could see it as clear as day, they say they hate each other and can’t stand each other, but yet, Brian acts like one who is jealous seeing her talking about John…and she, she?
Well, one minute she is spitting fire and the next, the way she sometimes stares at Brian begs the question, doesn’t she like him just a little, but yet he had caught her a few times staring at Brian in some longing kind of way and he bets she doesn’t know she is doing it.
What he would love to do is put them in a room together and lock them up for a couple of days, maybe a week, all this nonsense would die down, he can bet his left balls on it.
Either this two like each other but ego and whatnot is stopping them. Or they don’t like each other but the tendency would be there and would resurface soon. Or they really don’t like each other and before this project is over, they would kill themselves..
But either ways, there was some steaming fire coming off both of them and it wasn’t all anger and hate…there was something more.
He sighs as their noises increased, he wished he could tell them both to shut up, but he can’t, he sighs in relief as he sees the club coming in full view..
He enters the club and then he parks “’And we are here!!’’ he says happy to get rid of one of the noise makers in his car.
‘’Don’t talk to me”’ I told him, God shut him up.
‘’Well i wouldn’t if you stop concerning yourself about that dog you call John”’
‘’Stop that, that is rude and why does it concern you?”’
‘It doesn’t plus he is rude, he deserves that name”’
‘’And you are too, yet i don’t call you a dog’’
‘’But you call me a He-goat”’ He state staring at me like i was delusional
‘’Because you are and you call me a Witch, “’ i point at him
He laughs ‘’Well you do look like one, you just need a wand and a hat and your broom ofcourse, very important”’
‘’Ánd you just need a field of green leaves to much on and go Mehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!’’ i throw back bleating like a goat to show him what he was and what he should be doing.
We stare at each other as i make that sound of the goat bleating , he has this shock look on his face, and mine has my tongue coming out, my face looking like a hideous animal as i have both hands attached to my face as i make the bleating more dramatic for effect.. then i stop as his face is aghast, more like one stunned. Then without warning, without prior notice, he bursts out laughing , holding his tummy and laughing , then he mimics me doing the bleating sound of a goat, all facial expression and drama “’Mehhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!’’ then he laughs again
He was so stupid, so so stupid and funny and annoying and so damn irritable and yet funny , that i didn’t realise when my lips curl into a smile that refuses to go back into a frown and it keeps spreading and distorting my face until i am smiling and laughing at him for being stupid and with him for daring to mimic him…
I throw my bag at him “’Stupid!!”’ i shake my head laughing, willing my smile to stop and my mouth to close but we are still laughing, he catches my bag and tries to control his laughter as he dumps it on his chair.
‘’You Adora , you are a character, Mehhhhhhhh?!! So hilarious!!’’ he opens the car and then alights, shutting the door and walking away, he comes back to my window and pokes his head inside the car close to my face, and bleats again ‘’Mehhhhhhhhhhhh!!’’ he laughs as i push his head away from the window shaking my head and trying not to choke from laughter
I hate him, i swear i hate him.
He staggers from my push but comes back smiling, but he turns around and goes to Ikena “’Take the lady home and pick me up will you?”’
when he turns to leave, he pokes his head in and bleats “’Mehhhhhhhhhh!!’’
“’Screw you!!’’ i throw at him
i see him walking away, shaking his head and bleating still and laughing, really laughing from the window and i laugh again, unable to stop myself i smile in my laughter shaking my head.
‘’Stupid!”’ i repeat
I catch Ikena looking at him from his mirror, then i adjust myself and say “’ Please take me home, glad that annoying fool isn’t here to irritate me any further”’ i frown, but my stupid face curves upwards as i remember the way he looks mimic me as he bleats, and my smile broadens.
‘’Hmmmhmm, i hear you ma’am’’
‘’What does that mean, Hmmmhum i hear you ma’ám”’
‘’Nothing Miss Adora, nothing at all”’ but i swear i could see him smiling as he turns away
*****
‘’Mind explaining to us why you are late today, it’s almost an hour late”’ it was Gesto that stops him at the entrance, he could see Telema coming towards them
‘’Better late than sorry, isn’t that what they teach you in school? But i am here now…can i begin or you want to delay me further here and then when madam comes to query me i would tell her that you contributed in my delay aswell”’
Gesto looks at him “’That sharp mouth of yours would get you nowhere but trouble, you know that right?’’
‘’Yes i do, but tonight i am not looking for one”’
‘’Who brush you, see how your lips swell?’’ it was Telema, he tries to touch his face “’You must have got a mean punch to tear your lip like that’’
Brian laughs licking his lips, he had almost forget about that,
‘’well, you should see the other guy’s face”’
‘’hmm, so you were in a fight, that is why you late, hope say no be woman matter, because na so guys be, they fight over a woman, i hope say the babe fresh sef, round thick like real African woman wei go make man kolo because if na those kind of chewing-stick girls were orange sef no dey for chest and bread no de for yansh, me i go follow beat you, i go help you burst your eyes, you cannot go and embarrass us men like that”’ Gesto nudges him
Brian smiles , Adora? She is …..Beautiful, shape to die for, she got the whole Cinderella thing going on, firm perky breast, he remembers it resting on his chest as they fell, enough bread on her buttocks, really soft molds..she smells of sweet vanilla and chocolates and spring and flowers, resting on him, her eyes are sultry, they pull you in, her lips are generous with that red lipstick that is tempting, and her hands…small, and could fit into his….yes, Adora was and is a beautiful woman.
Hey hey heyyyy Brian hold the hell up. He wasn’t fighting over a woman, he was fighting..no he was beating up a dog who has no manners, he is frowning now.
‘’Dude, you were smiling one minute just thinking to yourself now you are frowning , you don kolo? Abi the girl dey give you jogodo juice? Or na so her kpamla sweet,you know her punani, her vijayjay all tight and sweet..got you roaring like a mad man, wei you angry because she was giving it to another man, she’s a slut right ?’’ he laughs nudging Brian playfully “’Brian Brian, we love to share good things too oh, you fit pass her come our side na, this one you and guy they fight for her, she must be sweet like honey, make a guy go crazy, oh baby bring her lets us do fresh tasting “’ him and Telema laughs as he sings the last part ‘’Boy you dey feel my rhymes?’’
Brian didn’t think, or didn’t realise what he was doing untill he held Gesto by the throat and drags him up to the wall and with his free hand he folds it into a fist almost kissing Gesto’s face. His nose flares in renewed anger as he speaks, his eyes turns to slits.
‘’Don’t you dare talk about her that way you maggot!! She is not a play thing for you or for any other person, you do not talk about a lady with such derogatory manner, she is classy, she is a beauty, she is polish and she is a woman in an dimension and a lady…and you and your maggot mind cannot even kiss her toes because she doesn’t give frogs her feets to even dream to kiss, next time you talk about her, i would smash your face in”’
Gesto was too shocked to say or do anything, so was Telema,..
Brian quickly realizes who he has by the shit and almost lifted off the ground, he puts him back down, adjusts his collar and his shirt, then he smiles making a half apology and then walks in quickly, too quickly and disappears through the door and into the club, he goes straight into the kitchen and prays to all the gods he knows and the ones he didn’t know that Gesto and Telema doesn’t come in there ..because it would be his obituary his parents will read about..
Suddenly as the kitchen door bursts open, Brian quickly goes on his knees, placing his hands together as though he was to pray, his eyes are shut tight.
‘’I am sorry, it was the devil!!’’ he exclaims
But when he didn’t receive any slap or kick, he opens his eyes to see Vicky frowning down at him “’What is doing this one, what did the devil make you do?’’
He sighs in relief getting up from his knees ‘’None of your Business, did you see the big dudes, are they looking for me?’’
‘’Why Brian? You don shit for church?’’
‘’Meaning?’’
‘’Meaning have you done something wrong to them that you are scared?’’
‘’And if i have?’’
‘’Then you should write your last will, “’ she says laughing and working away,
*
For the rest of the night. Brian keeps watching his back, hoping that Gesto or Telama doesn’t jack him anytime.
When it was four am and everyone had begun to leave, he grabs his things he dashes through to the kitchen, gives account of his sales and before Vicky could ask him if he wanted to eat from the leftovers, he was out the door and running.
“’Brian!! Brian?’’ he hears Gesto calling him
He doesn’t stop , he runs outside the gate to slap a sleeping Ikena awake resting on his steerwheel.
“’Get up fool, open the door and drive!””
‘’Why..what happened, why ..what happened?’’Ikena is looking around alert but sleepy.
‘’Don’t ask question just drive damnit”’ he jumps into the car and Ikena zooms off with sleepy eyes
*
Gesto turns to Telema as he asks him “”You see am?’’
He nods “’Yes! the fool was running out of fear, i didn’t want to beat him, not yet anyways besides, he was right, i shouldn’t have spoken about his woman like that, that is the only reason i no fxxk am up yesterday”’
‘’How you take know say na him woman?”’
“’ No be him they fight with another person for am”’
‘’We don’t know that, we just assumed that the cut to his lips is due to a fight with a man over a woman, it could be something entirely different “’
‘’Na woman matter bro”’
Telema thinks‘’it might be so sha, because if it weren’t the case, he wouldn’t have lifted you off ground with quick reflexes and told you how beautiful the girl is and how you shouldn’t talk trash about her, i believe that maybe he had a fight due to this too and if he didn’t hit you he must have disfigured the guy, my take”’
‘’hmm, maybe, not my business sha, is sha just wanted to tell him i was sorry but if he dares to hold me like that, i will break his balls first then i will feed it to him”’ they laugh walking away.
*
Brian turns to pick up the phone that has been ringing nonstop since an hour ago, he opens his eyes to see the time, it was almost 8am. He sighs reaching for it and answers
‘’Hello?’’ he didn’t see the caller,
‘’Brian?’’
He opens his eyes and seats up ‘’Mum?’’
‘’Yes baby, how are you? Don’t tell me you are still in bed, you should be on your way to work
‘’Me? Noh!!’’ he yawns “’I am, in the car, all nice and clean already close to the office, how are you pretty, and how is grumpy?’’
His mother laughs ‘’Grumpy is ….you know, he is great, stubborn like you, but great, me i am worried about my baby, how are you?’’
‘’I am super awesome mother, no sweat’’
‘’Are you lying to me?’’
‘’No mother i am not lying to you , i am not just telling you the truth, there is a difference”’ he rubs his eyes
‘’You need money, should i send you some money to go by just for a few days atleast, or a few months? Your father must not know, and since i can’t send it to your accounts you will need to get a friend’s account i can send it to”’
He scratches his jaw “’You know i love you mum, you know that right?’’
‘’Yes i know, but you have to listen to me son, i know you think we are punishing you but we aren’t, we love you and no matter how strict your father is, he loves you more, he just wants you to be responsible enough to take care of you-‘’
‘’Yeah mother i know, i know, father knows it all and i have to just accept it right?’’
‘’Don’t be sarcastic”’
‘’I am, not, i am pained about it, pissed and frustrated, i didn’t eat yesterday, even the maid doesn’t show up anymore, i have to clean my home too? Mum, it is not fair?’’
‘’You sound like a child, you are almost 30”’
‘’No i sound like a man who is cut off from his means of survival”’
‘’Then find yours, make yours!“’
‘’Now you sound like father’’
‘’I am his wife”’
‘’Well i am his son and he is being unfair to me’”
‘’No son, you are being unfair to you, even though he gives everything back to you if you don’t learn a valuable lesson all that you have now would go to waste, one day and you would be left with nothing, how do you plan to train your children , how do you correct them, how would you get them to listen to you , how do you educate them , how do you teach them and imbibe good moral values in them when you constantly reject our counsels to you”’
‘’This is teaching me? This is not, it would only make me rebellious mama”’ he stretches
‘’No Baby, if you become rebellious, it only shows that i have failed as a mother, “’
He sighs , hearing the pain in her voice, ‘’Mummy don’t sound like that, you taught me how to be good and all, but children grow up, we make our decisions, you can’t force me to do what you both want”’
‘’Well, how about you do what you want, you are free, but your father just doesn’t want you to do it with his money…you see why it hurts you? Let me break it down for you, if you had your own job or your own money and do your own thing, do you think when your father threatened you with his own money it would bother you? The answer is no because you will tell him that with or without him you can stand with and on your own two feets and he wouldn’t have a say. But because my husband, your father, Mr Grumpy you say with his money cloths and feeds you and houses you and pays for your luxuries within and outside the office, even with those ladies you treat with to your father’s yatch and the houses in Dubai and overseas and those money you used in buying gifts for ladies and those cars you keep changing up and down and the millions frozen in your accounts…because it’s your father money he could and has taken it away from you, that is why right now you think he hates you for not giving you access, without that you can’t eat, feed and have the pleasure and leisure of life you always had and you are frustrated. Your father keeps proving his point, how about you prove a point to him for once”
‘’What point do i need t prove to him?”’
‘’That you can be better, that you can do good all by yourself”’
He sighs ‘’Mama…’’ he trails off thinking hard his head hurts
‘’It’s fine, i know you don’t want to listen to me, but i am your mother so i will tell you what is right, despite that i agree and disagree with your father on this, a mother’s love is strong and i will not let my son go hungry because i won’t sleep, but yet i do not wish to continue spoiling you but i will help you find your way to self ..i won’t give you much, just little, to last for a few days, i do not want your father finding out and getting angry with me., ask a friend to give you their account number so i can send the money to you, or better yet i will tell Ikena to-‘’
‘’No mother?”’
‘’No? Not Ikena, maybne your friend then-“’
‘’No mother, don’t worry, i will be fine”
‘’Brian?’
‘’Don’t worry love, i will be fine, i love you… maybe i do need to prove something to myself not only to my father, because quite frankly i am sick and tired of it being rubbed in my face”’
‘’You sound angry Son, angry at us”
‘’No mother, i am angry at me, maybe i should have started finding myself long time ago instead of resting and depending on you, i may not like father’s tactics but maybe he is right , and maybe i also want to throw his money back to his face and say, i don’t need it”’
‘’be careful son, you seem to be derailing from our point’’
‘’No mother, i am not, he wants me to be responsible right, do my own things and be able to stand and achieve my own things and not depend on him right?’’
‘’Yes but-’’
‘’so that is what i will do, i am good at what i do mum, so i will show him, i will make a name for me mum, tell Mr Grumpy that, so don’t worry mum, hunger never killed anyone, not yet anyways, i will be fine”’ His tummy grumbled “’I think’’
“”You aren’t sure, let me send it still—‘’
Shut up Brian and take the money
“’No mum, i have to go, we almost at the office, i love you, kisses”” he cuts the line before he changes his mind
Do me right?’’
Well i will father, i will do it not for you but for me….
He rushes into the toilet and takes a bath, and gets dressed, he was about to leave his house when he turns and looks around… he drops his bag and begins to arrange it, it wasn’t perfect but it was neat.
*
Ikena was waiting for him outside “’Late morning sir!!’’
‘’late night Ikena, you should know that, you had enough sleep and i have had just what three or less, but it’s okay, sleep is for the weak”’
‘’so they say when they have no choice’’
They enter the car and Ikena begins to drive.
“’Where does she stay?’’
‘’Who?’’
‘’Don’t be stupid!!’’
‘’Does he like her?’’
‘’i asked a simple question, not for you to act smart?’’
‘’on the other side of the suburbs, 40 minutes away from here, why?’’
‘’She doesn’t have a driver…”’ Brian states picking out his phone and he calls the office
‘’Hi, it’s me, i wonder do you know if Adora…Miss Adora is already in the office?’’
‘’Oh, okay, thanks “’
Ikena raises an eyebrow and looks at him ‘’Who did you call and why are you asking for her’?’’
Brian raises his hands to tell ikena to be quiet as he dials again, Ikena rolls his eyes.
‘’So sorry for the disturbance but do you know if the dog..erm sorry John is in the office? Oh he just got there, oh he wants to leave? Do you know where to..or sorry, i was just curious, never mind, thank you sweetheart”’
He turns to Ikena, “’Let’s go pick her up!!’’
‘’Pick who up?’’
‘’The witch!!’’
‘’Why?’’
‘’Because i don’t want him to go pick her up”’
‘’and it bothers you why?’’
‘’Asking your boss questions?’’
‘’No, i am asking the one who isn’t paying me a dime questions and ,my duty is to protect you even from making stupid decisions so why are we going to pick her up?”’
‘’Because i want to”’
‘’Because you like her?”’
‘’No!!
‘’Because you like her?”’
‘’No”’
‘’Because Brian likes the fine Miss Adora?”’
‘’Shut up Ikena and drive, i don’t like her and i just want to go pick her up because i can and you do what the hell i say”’
Ikena keeps quiet and takes a turn, he is smiling.’‘Stop smiling you fool’’!! Brian warns him
Ikena roars in laughter, Brian had to smile shaking his head.
‘’I hate you Ikena, when all this is done, me and you’’
‘’Oh you wish Sir, But,…”’ he laughs.
*
I was standing outside my house and waiting, John had called me this morning to tell me he wants to get to the office to drop somethings and would be on his way here, i told him not to worry that he should just give me directions, i told him i was sorry for Brian‘s behaviour yesterday and that i was sorry for leaving , i just hope he was okay and he was feeling better.
He said he was, and i shouldn’t move an inch he was coming, he was already at the office, he just need to sign off something and would be on his way. That was fifteen minutes ago, i brought out my phone to call him when i see him drive in, or the car drive in. I frown, this doesn’t look like a taxi, this looks awful lot like the car i was in yesterday night…this looks like Ikena’s car, Brian’s driver..
It can’t be.
But it was..
As soon as the car stops and parks infront of me, the window to the backside winds down and the face that pops out was all gesture, dramatic and he bleats
‘’MEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH’’
*
TO BE CONTINUED
