AMID SECRETS - CHAPTER 13
*Nwanyieze’s POV*
I’m actually having fun.
“More chicken suya?” Maduka asked me.
We are resting underneath a rented raffia hut after frolicking at the shoreline. Noel rests on Maduka’s chest, busy with a squishy ball he has given her. Each time she squeezes the ball, it lets out a squeaky sound that makes her squeal in glee. Max and Prince are busy on a mat spread on the sand, playing a racing game on Maduka’s iPad.
“Sure,” I replied, reaching out to take a spicy chicken wing from the newspaper wrap.
“They’re not even as good as the University of Suya,” he said.
Remembering how pepper had gotten into his eye and how he’d loped off without water to clean it off, I laugh.
He frowns at me. “Don’t tell me you still find my predicament funny even now.”
“Okay, I won’t tell you.”
“Onion breath.”
“Pepper eye.”
We are silent for a moment before bursting into a fit of laughter. Noel is startled at first, raising her head from Maduka’s chest to look up at him. But she recovers and returns her head to that position, only this time she seems to concentrate with her ear right there as she listens to his deep laughter rumble in his chest.
Suddenly I wish I could do the same.
“Kaka, thunda,” she said, clapping her hands.
“She has likened my laughter to thunder,” he told me before fondly kissing her cheek.
“More?” she asked, small hands holding his head in place.
“Of course, sweetheart,” Maduka replied and gives her three more smacking kisses on her cheeks.
I watch the scene with a smile on my face, remembering the times I thought the world was such a wonderful place, full of rainbows and nice people. How lovely I must have looked at her age, full of laughter and brimming with innocence.
“How’s school so far?” Maduka asked.
It takes me a moment to snap out of my thoughts, process his question, and come up with an answer.
“Educative?” I asked
He chuckles and asked, “What are your plans after studying?”
“Going into journalism big time, of course.”
What I don’t tell him is that I plan to start a magazine focusing on women of colour and bringing to light abuse on children, especially girls, and press the government to severely punish the offenders. I plan to spread love amongst females and strengthen the bonds between us, increasing the level of girl power.
“You can do it,” he said, startling me.
Did I say my plans out loud? I wonder. “What?” I asked.
“You can do wh@??ver you set out to do. You’re smart, intelligent, beautiful and sassy. Plus, you seem like the type to get wh@??ver you want. You’ll flourish in your chosen field. You are, after all, a queen. Our names follow us.”
He has no idea how much his words have touched me and how much they mean to me. I’m even surprised at myself.
“Thank you,” I said with a smile. Suddenly I need to get out of that hut. “Oh,” I exclaimed, holding up my small cell phone, “I’ve got a phone call.”
I get up and fly out of the hut. Alone at the shoreline, I let my tears fall freely.
You can do it.
My future has always scared me shitless. I’ve taken to accepting everyday as it comes, and regardless of my plans and how beneficial they will be to my target audience, it scares me to think of what would happen if I fail. Deep down, I know that my fear of failure comes from the lifestyle I’m living.
What if I fail?
_________
*Maduka’s POV*
Did I say something wrong?
I know she has no phone call, but I don’t say anything when she literally disappears from the hut. For starters, I saw no back light when she showed me her phone. It’s obvious she wants to get away from me for a while.
Picking Noel up, I move to the entrance of the hut and see her a few metres away, standing at the shoreline with the water swirling around her, a lone figure with her hair whipping around her head in the breeze.
What goes on in her mind? I wonder, trying to quell the desperation in me. I’m desperate to know more about her.
No, scratch that bull.
I’m desperate to know everything about her, starting from when I’d left her at the orphanage to when I saved her from the pool at Saheed’s party.
Does she have any memories of me somewhere in the back of her mind?
I highly doubt it.
I watch her turn and walk back towards me in slow, leisurely steps. She’s truly a masterpiece and the God who created her must have taken his time. He must have known what he wanted to create: A Chocolate Goddess.
Her hips sway without effort (and I’m sure without her knowledge, too) as she places one leg in front of the other. Her eyes are fixed on mine, and let me tell you, it feels like she is literally reaching out her hands to touch me.
Noel reaches out for her as she approaches, finally deciding that she likes Nwanyieze.
“Fwend,” she said with a giggle.
Nwanyieze takes her into her arms and raises a brow at me. “Did you finally tell her to accept me?”
“I told her you’re a very funny person and that did the trick. She likes funny people.”
“Oh, thanks,” she replied sarcastically.
“Always welcome.”
“More yogurt,” demanded Prince from the mat.
“They’re always hungry,” I complained.
“They’re growing, unlike you. You’ve reached your maximum height.”
“Please, no more growing for me. My height is a topic at home. My brothers call me Goliath.”
She laughs at this news and gently pushes me aside by placing a hand on my chest. The contact makes my heart skip a beat.
You need to dunk yourself in seawater, Maduka, I tell myself.
We all stroll along the shoreline, swim a bit, take horse rides for the third time (at Noel’s insistence) and dance along with a small crowd to drum beats. I enjoy every moment of it, and wish I can bring Nwanyieze back here, and enjoy this alone with her.
While driving home, she goes silent again, staring out the window.
“What’re you always thinking about?” I finally asked.
The children are fast asleep, bodies in the funny, boneless way that only children are capable of achieving. They are very exhausted and this makes me happy because it means a quiet night for me.
“Everything,” she replied simply.
“Care to specify?”
“I had a great time today. Thank you so much.”
“Thank you so much for coming along. It means a lot to me.”
I turn on the CD player and Bob Marley’s Redemption Song begins to play.
“Wonderful,” she said with a smile, and then begins to sing along. “You know Bob Marley must have seen the future when he sang this song, right?”
“I’ve always thought the same.”
” ‘Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery’. I’m pretty sure white supremacy must have pissed him off a lot. It’s time for us to stand up. No race is superior and these white leaders who think they can rule the world had better think twice.”
This is one of the things I love to do, sit down and talk about deep topics with people. Find out how they reason, how they feel about some matters and how they deal with them.
“I think I’m in love with you already,” I said jokingly
“That’s ridiculous.” She laughed, throwing back her head. “Very ridiculous.”
“Say you’ll marry me so we’ll elope.”
“You’re too funny. I like that.”
I grin like a schoolboy who has just been complimented by his long-time crush.
“How long shall they ki|| our prophets, while we stand aside and look?” she sings/asked me.
I can’t resist joining her in singing, and by the time we’re at my place, darkness has fallen and we’ve been through all the songs on the CD twice.
I find myself wishing that the journey had lasted longer, so I could hear her sing some more.
In an hour, we have given the children baths, dressed and fed them.
“I’m not hungry,” she replied when I offer her food. “I really have to be going now, it’s almost 9:00pm.”
She’s dressed again in her shorts and dashiki shirt, holding her bag. We are in my sitting room, where I’m watching her pack her hair into a bun.
“I’ll get you an Uber, then.”
“I can find a yellow cab easily,” she insisted, running towards the front door.
I grabbed her wrist and she turned to look up at me, barely making it past my shoulder.
“I insist on getting you an Uber. I want you to get home in the most comfortable condition, and it’s the least I can do for you after all your help.”
She sees I’m going to stick to my guns, and so Nwanyieze sighs and nods. “Fine. Thanks.”
We both sit on the long sofa.
“By the way, tell me: did I say something wrong at the beach? Why did you leave like that?” I asked, trying to make conversation. I was mainly curious, actually.
“I had a phone call to answer.”
“We both know you didn’t,” I replied, my eyes fixed on hers.
“Don’t start interrogating me,” she huffed.
I can sense her withdrawing from me and I mentally kick myself for wanting to know much more than she can allow.
“I’m sorry,” I said, raising my palms in surrender.
“It’s okay,” she replied softly.
My phone beeps, signalling that the Uber taxi has arrived. I escort her outside and speak with the driver, a wiry young man dressed in a black shirt and jeans. I told him the address.
“Good night, Nwanyieze,” I said to her.
She surprised me by wrapping her arms around me. Her scent wafts up to my nostrils and her warmth is delicious against me.
“Thank you so much for today, Maduka. It was so much fun.”
“Thank you, too.”
“Pepper eye.”
“Onion breath.”
We both laughed, still hugging, and then she slides into the back seat of the car and gone, leaving me still feeling warm in the cool Lagos breeze.
_____
*Nwanyieze’s POV*
It sounded wonderful, hearing him laugh with my ear on his chest.
No wonder Noel was so pleased.
Throughout the ride home, I feel warm on the inside.
Is redemption for me, too?
WATCHOUT FOR EPISODE 11
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*Saheed’s POV*
Queen.
Her name rings over and over in my head.
What is it about her that captivates me?I wonder. For crying out loud, the girl is a wh-_-re. She’s an ashawo.
Sitting in my American Airlines first class cubicle on Sunday morning and sipping from a glass of champagne, I entertain memories of the dark skinned beauty in my mind.
Skin that could put all the Mars and Bounty bars to shame. What would it be like, to kiss, suck and bite that skin while listening to her Mõ@?s, pleading with me to just take her? My heart rate increases at the mere thought of her in my arms, yielding to my every command.
Bouncy coils, dark as charcoal and so full of life. I’d gladly spoil her silly, send her to the best hairdressers anywhere in the world to pamper those coils.
And a very fiery temper to match, the kind that turned a man on while she raved and yelled, oblivious to what she was doing to him.
The kiss I had forced on her at Quilox had ignited a fire in me, one that I knew all too well, one which didn’t quench until I’d gotten what I wanted. And when she bit me…
Bloody hell, I’d not only felt pain, but pleasure as well.
Her temper had shown in the way she’d resisted me with so much energy, and her heated words, “Well, not me!” had sounded like a challenge to me. What I’d heard instead was “Well, try harder to get me!” A challenge is what I can never run from, and I see Queen as the biggest one so far. I plan to bend her will, and I won’t stop until I’ve achieved my goal.
My body tingles all over and I sip more champagne, agreeing that it’s taste was nothing compared to the taste of her lips.
All my life, the greatest challenges I’ve ever faced have either been academic or work-related, hence my success in the engineering world. Women have fallen all over me merely by the snap of my fingers and a flash of a smile.
“Na only Queen want do shakara.” (It’s only Queen that wants to play hard to get.)
For all the men she’s been with, there’s still this vulnerability I sense beneath the surface. I’d seen it while she stared out from the terrace over the Atlantic at the Oriental, in her smile when she’d asked me, “Isn’t it beautiful?”. I’d seen it at Quilox, when she’d withdrawn from me, enraged but with a bit of fear in her eyes.
She won’t even let you hit on her.
The thought makes me laugh, prompting a passing air hostess, a stunning blonde, to look at me, smile and ask, “Is there a problem, sir?”
You’ve got nothing on Queen, still,I think while shaking my head no at her. With another smile, she walks away with her long, skinny legs and I marvel at how the thoughts of Queen have pushed away all interests in other women away.
I want more of her, more than she’s offering. I want her to be mine and none other’s, no matter what it costs me. Money? Time? I can’t run out of those.
And since when did Saheed Bello not get wh@??ver he wanted?
That girl, she’s something else.
‘Can one be perfect and flawed at the same time? Is that even possible?’ I thought.