AMID SECRETS - CHAPTER 41&42
*Nwanyieze’s POV*
” Thunder fire your papa dia!”
I stifle my laughter at the insult my taxi driver hurls at an offending Jeep driver. The Jeep driver, too unbothered to reply even though I think he deserves the insult, simply laughs and overtakes my cab. But he winks at me and zooms off, leaving my cab driver to mutter more insults after him.
“Iyalaya anybody.”
This time I can’t hold it in. I burst into a fit of laughter, shaking my head.
Welcome back to Lagos.
I take in the sights on Airport Road: temporarily abandoned tankers by the sides, hotels littering the landscape, the potholes dotting the road. The air here is heavier, spiced with dust and fumes from the cars, unlike in Maduka’s village where the air was crisp and clean.
“Because say you carry Jeep, pesin no go see road drive kabu-kabu again. Baskat.”
Body dey pain this one, I think, deciding not to laugh again.
Mama Uju and Adanna are not around, but she has left a key with one of our neighbours who owns a shop on our street, and I retrieve it. On getting into our flat, I instantly realise how much I have missed the place. Adanna’s toys are stacked neatly in one corner of the living room, and I can see that there are new additions already.
“Just one week I was away, and she has updated her collection of toys,” I say to myself.
I hope they will enjoy the gifts I brought from the village: roasted ukwa and akara japu.
My room is just as I have left it, but I know that Mama Uju has cleaned up the dust in preparation for my return. After a shower, I dial Maduka’s number but get no reply. Hunger sets in, but I ignore it and go to sleep instead.
My phone wakes me up a few hours later. Mama Uju and Adanna are not back yet. It is a landline number I am not familiar with.
“Hello?”
“Welcome back to Lagos, Queen.”
“Saheed. I bet you’ve paid one of my neighbours to spy on me.”
“Smart girl.”
“What is it now?”
“When am I seeing you?”
I scoff. He chuckles. How about never?
“You don’t sit well with rejection, do you?”
“You know me so well. How is it that we aren’t together yet?”
“The gods didn’t put that in the works.”
“And they also didn’t put Maduka in the works.”
“If I didn’t dislike you so much, we would have been good friends.”
“Me, friends with you? I was aiming for something more.”
Before he can say more to piss me off, I tell him, “This call has come to an end, Saheed. Have a nice day.”
“You, me, tomorrow night.”
“Shebi that’s if you find me?”
“Come on, Queen. I’m your friend of sorts, even though you might not know it yet.”
“Really?” I ask. The nerve of this human being!
“I’m your friend because I always tell you the truth. You and Maduka, not working. You might be enjoying it now, but deep down, you know it won’t last.”
His words strike a chord in me. He is telling me the truth.
“Look, I just want to hang out with you. In a public place, just to relax. I enjoy your sarcastic remarks, even though you don’t like me.”
“You’re right, I don’t like you. And you told Maduka I was-”
“Leaving him for me? A half-truth.” Saheed chuckles in amusement.
I wonder how he can find this amusing. I also wonder how I am even having this conversation with him.
“You won’t rest until you ruin everything, will you?”
“Darling, everything was ruined from the start, when you decided to come to my party for reasons we both know.”
Maybe I should go out with him and have this conversation?
Over what? ‘Saheed, I am no longer a runs girl because I have fallen in love with a man who doesn’t fully know my past and doesn’t need to know yet, and there’s nothing you can do about it.’
Of course, all he needs to do is make a phone call, and Maduka will tell me, and wh@??ver I do will give me away.
And Maduka will h@?? me. It’s not just the thought of losing him, it’s also the thought of how his love for me can turn into something so vile, so negatively intense, I’ll probably never know it’s depths.
“I’ll be seeing you tomorrow night, Queen.”
It’s like he knows what I’m thinking of, because he sounds so smug, so pleased with himself.
“And wear something nice.”
Wasn’t he just almost pleading to hang out with me a while ago? Now he’s telling me what to wear kwa?
The next night, at 7pm, I come out of my yard to see Saheed seated on his Harley Davidson, waiting for me. The street lights have been fixed, so I can see what he’s wearing: a red shirt under a black leather jacket, black denims, and black Nike trainers.
“Aren’t you a bit under-dressed for a bike ride?” I ask him, surprised. He expects me to ride with him on that? Is he crazy? Where are the helmets? The knee pads? The only safety gear I can see are gloves. I’m thankful I’ve worn a pair of blue jeans with my cold shoulder long-sleeved top and white sneakers. These were the nicest things I could wear because of Saheed; I didn’t want to over do it and make him think I’m putting in efforts for him. After all, it’s not like I’m about to enjoy myself.
Saheed smiles at me, showing his white teeth and dimples. “Well, aren’t you a bit under-dressed for a date?”
I frown at him. “This is not a date, Saheed. We both know that.”
“Can’t a man dream?”
“Why a power bike? You should have just given me the location and I would find it myself.”
“Since you claim not to like me that much, I figured the closest contact would happen on this bike. Because you will have to hold on to me.”
“Where’s the safety gear?”
“Right here.” He points to himself.
I shake my head. “You could get ki||ed without them. It’s risky.”
“Are you supposed to be telling me about risks?”
I can’t show him how his ability to remind me of my situation affects me. I square my shoulders and move towards the bike. He produces another leather jacket and two helmets I hadn’t noticed.
What a scam.
Saheed laughs. “No seat belts, so you’ll have to hold tight to me.”
He helps me wear the helmet, checks that the visor and straps are alright, and raises me up to sit on the bike even when I protest.
“Allow me to be the gentleman I actually am,” I hear him say.
I pull up the visor. “Where are we going to, Saheed?”
“Relax, I won’t take you somewhere and devour you.”
“Then why aren’t you telling me?”
“It’s a surprise.”
At my expression, he grins. “You have trust issues, don’t you?”
“So long as you’re involved.”
“Ouch. I’m about to disappoint you.”
He puts on his own helmet. When he sits on the bike, Saheed turns on the engine. It roars to life, making me jump. He turns to me, raises his visor, and says, “Hold tight, honey,” before pulling down both our visors.
The bike ride is scary at first, but becomes invigorating after the first few minutes. The purr of the engine, the vibrations of the seats underneath me, the wind flying past me, the blur of lights as we speed along Ikorodu road. It feels powerful, sitting on this machine that can lead one to injury or death at the slightest mistake. There is something beautiful about the night, when the air is cool and darkness conceals things. There is also something dangerous about it.
Beauty and danger.
Before I know it, I’m relaxing against Saheed’s back, watching lights blur past me and temporarily forgetting that I’m supposed to not like him.
______
*Saheed’s POV*
She is fascinated.
I can tell by the way Queen relaxes against me. I know about the beauty she is seeing right now, as I have taken countless rides on the roads of Lagos at night.
The thought pleases me immensely. If only the ride could last longer, so she’d hold onto me for longer.
Saheed, what’s going on?
Yes, what exactly is going on? I don’t enjoy making her miserable. But this is the only way to catch her attention. I know Maduka will leave her the moment he finds out about her. Can’t she see, though? Can’t she see that even with her past, I’m still after her? I’m sure that after the truth is revealed, she’ll see that I still want her. Maduka is infatuated with the innocent part of her, but I know the true her. Queen, child of the night, a paradox I would like to figure out.