Just across the road, in her friend’s car, sat Linda watching to see when he returned. She wanted to play the detective, spying to catch him with the so called colleague as advised by Jumuoke, whose boutique was down the same street. She had spent most of her day with her friend in her boutique updating her on all that had transpired recently in her relationship with Jason. Now as they both came down, she watched them closely to see and confirm her suspicion.
“So how was your day?” Jason asked Stacey as they walked together heading down the street.
“Fine, fine. And yours?” she asked.
“All tensed until the Project Manager left. I’m sure anyone could tell that, seeing how Jide put me on my toes,” he replied and laughed.
Stacey laughed too. Indeed it was as if Jide had something on Jason earlier in the morning. And although many people didn’t understand why, she and the few who had to stay back to work yesterday knew why. “That should teach you not to sleep on the job another time.” She said after a short while.
“Hmmn… I’m certain I’ve learnt more than a lesson. So can I have your number for neighbours and colleagues sakes?”
“Ok. Sure.” Then she called it out for him and he typed it into his phone.
If she was fair in complexion like her boy friend, her face would have been visibly red seeing Jason exchanging numbers with the colleague. Her friend had warned her to keep her cool and only act the spy regardless of what she saw and she was finding a hard time doing that right now. She cursed the both of them with swear words and threatened hellfire on the lady she was seeing.
Jason returned the phone to his pocket. “Thank you. I should give you a call over the weekend. Have a lovely one.”
“You’re welcome. Have a lovely weekend too,” Stacey replied and left him in front of his gate while he knocked to get in.
As soon as he entered through the gate, Linda put on the ignition and followed Stacey right down to the gate of her house. She took a mental note of the house and of the lady and then she drove off to her friend’s boutique.
* * *
“Can you imagine the cockroach Jason is flirting with: one ugly mucheche like that, with no scent of class? I can’t believe him,” Linda started as soon as Jumuoke dismissed one of her girls from her little office at the back of the sales area.
“Na wa for am o’. Just three days for the company and e don find woman. Men are just etched with the spirit to wander and to be unfaithful,” Jumuoke said, clicking her tongue.
Linda stood up and paced up and down the small office space. “Look,” she said. “hmmn. If I deal with Jason, he will never cross the part of a Benin girl again. I’ll show him that I’m not the kind of lady he messes with. I’m the daughter of my mother.”
“Babe calm down. He might just be having one of those flirty seasons or who knows, you might me misinterpreting things. It just started, right?
Linda came to the table and spoke, tapping the table with her index finger, “This thing started way before now. Perhaps that’s why he chose to go work at that Blue Energy company.” Then she sat down and continued, “Some weeks ago, I observed he started avoiding me, forming busy with research according to him. I observed he wasn’t hanging out with our click of friends as before and what’s worse, he wouldn’t make advances at me. That’s not the Jason I know.”
“Are you serious?”
“Am I joking, Jummy? I’m telling you this guy has been seeing someone and it’s not a fling. He’s really going to get it hot from me, really hot.”
Jumuoke stood up and sat on the table facing her friend. “We’ll work out something okay? Let this period slide by and let’s get back some calm.”
* * *
Jason smiled inside as he stepped into the house, imagining what Linda would think of him seeing him exchanging numbers with the said colleague he was supposed to be cheating on her with. He was walking straight to the BQ when he heard his name.
“Jason,”
He turned to see his brother standing at the entrance to the main house with both hands in his shorts. He wanted to greet him but pride wouldn’t let him do so first.
“Good evening. Welcome,” Bernard greeted raising a hand and it went back into his pocket.
“Evening Ben,” Jason replied and turned back towards the BQ. That was unlike his elder brother to greet him first. He wondered what his mother must have told him to make him act out of place.
Few minutes later, he came into the main house to have dinner. After eating, he went into the smaller sitting room to watch a match between Manchester and Chelsea and his brother was right there in the room. They match had just started. Jason knew there would be more misunderstanding because he was a Chelsea fan and Bernard was with the Red Devils. But he wasn’t ready to back away. He sat down on a seat just opposite his brother and no communication; they just sat there watching, each with his own bottle and glass of wine.
*******************************
Ten minutes into the game, Manchester scored with a heart-trick and Bernard jumped up, raising his bottle in the air in excitement, screaming, “Goooooal! Goal! Goal! Goal!” He went closer to the 48-inch Television screen to see the replay - it was really astounding. And that was such a wrong time for what happened next to happen.
GBRRRRRRRR BOOM! It came from the transformer supplying the neighborhood light and the blackout that followed was within seconds.
“Aarrrrrgh! Why now?” said Bernard, hissing in frustration. He stormed out of that living room most likely to put on the generator.
Jason was cracking inside with laughter and as he watched his brother leave, he poured wine into his glass and raised it into the air, “To the universe,” he said standing up, “for perfect timing.”
“Hey, put on the generator immediately.” Bernard ordered the security man and turned to go inside.
“Oga, no fuel dey for inside the generator, because Oga Jason never buy come yet,” the security said as Bernard turned to leave.
He paused for a moment, thinking. Why is Jason fond of abdicating his responsibilities? Isn’t it his job to make sure fuel is always available? And mama wants them to reconcile? He looked at his wristwatch - there was still time before the filling stations close for the day. So he walked towards the car, feeling his pocket for the car keys. “Put the fuel jerry can in the car and open the gate for me.”
The security man did as he was told.
***********************************************
Linda had made up her mind after leaving her friend’s place that she would confront her boyfriend about his latest attitude towards her, and so she headed for Jason’s place. On her way to his house, as she got close to Stacey’s place, she saw her coming out of the gate, with another man. She slowed down. “Can you imagine the whore? She even has another man,” Linda spoke out loud and she was the only person in her car. “And she’s so plain ugly, I wonder what Jason sees in her. Nonsense.”
There was a pool of water by the road just close to where Stacey was standing with the man and a wicked smile spread across Linda’s face – she would give a taste of her poison.
In a split second, Stacey and the man standing next to her were baptized with dirty water. Some passers-by threw abuses at the driver of the car at it sped away and started sympathizing with the two of them.
“What the hell! Was she blind?” Stacey looked over her dress, all drenched in muddy water. “Some people are just wicked and plain stupid. See all this road and this woman just chose to speed past and splash water on us? I don’t understand. Emeka sorry o’”
“May God punish that woman and her entire generation and may that car meet accident on the way,” Emeka screamed in anger. “Just look at me, eh.”
Stacey stared at him in disbelief. “God forbid! Emeka don’t pay evil or evil. That’s not a right way to pray.”
“What do you mean? That woman is wicked and she deserves to be cursed.”
“No no no. I don’t feel comfortable with that statement. And you are a worker in church, Emeka. You should know by now that God doesn’t answer such prayers. Please let’s get back inside and clean up.”
“You go. I’ll take a taxi home.” Emeka was wearing a black T-shirt inside his shirt so he took off the shirt while replying her.
“Ok. I’m so sorry. I really wanted to go with you but now-“
“No don’t worry. Greet Lois for me when she returns,” Emeka replied and flagged down a taxi.
Stacey waved at him and went back into the gate. She couldn’t wait to enter the bathroom.
***********************************************
The security man had barely sat down when he heard the blaring of an unfamiliar car horn in front of the gate. He opened the smaller section of the gate to see who it was - it was Oga Jason’s girlfriend so he opened without asking questions.
Jason was still waiting, expecting to hear the generator come on when someone came into the house. Linda came into the living room signaling her presence with her shoes.
When Jason saw her, the smile on his face evaporated. “Linn, hi, why didn’t you call me before coming?” he asked, standing up.
Linda put a wicked smile on hers and majestically took her seat before responding. “And since when did I have to always call you before I come visit you, Jason?”
“Oh please. It’s civilized to give a call before visiting peradventure I’m not in or I’m busy,” he replied, still standing.
“Save that lecture for your housemaid. I’m here, you’re in, and you’re not busy as I can very well see. Jason what is going on?” This time she had dropped her hand bag and had a pleading look on her face.
“What is going on? Are you asking me that or I should be asking you?”
“You’ve been acting strange these past few days and you barely ask after me or call me.”
Jason moved away from the chair, pacing slowly around the round with his gaze fixed on her and his glass in his hand.
“What? I was really at your house last night – you weren’t hallucinating. So what’s with the barely ask after me or call me humbug?” He spoke with such calm, he was amazed at himself.
Linda was getting worked up and losing her patience but she still maintained her calm and responded. “Stop feigning ignorance. When last did we go out, Jason? When? When last did you take me to the movies or spend time with me like you used to? And you call my complaints humbug? As she spoke, her pitch was rising.
Jason shook his head, walking away towards the wine bar. If only she’ll get more upset and get away. “Nagging. You’re now nagging like an old woman. And I’m not cut out for listening. I dislike it.”
Linda stood up following him. She had reached her elastic limit. “So now I’m an old woman because there’s another woman right? I’m nagging. I’m a humbug,” she shouted. “You look me in the face and spill all these rubbish at me, you, Jason?”
Jason kept the glass cup on the counter and turned to her talking as calmly as ever, “Look. You know this is my family house, so stop shouting like a mad woman. There are other people living here and you don’t want to abase yourself in their presence.”
He had just pushed the gear to the highest level. Linda walked up to him and gave him a hot one on his cheek.
“I’ll not have you insult me like I’m some cheap slot. If this is your way of telling me it’s over between us, be sure you’ll still hear from me, fool,” she said and stormed out of the house.
Jason watched her leave through the door and then he went to the window to watch as she entered her car and left the premises. When she was completely out of sight, he came out to see the security man closing the gate.
“Hey, come here.”
The man bolted the gate and came to him. “Yes sir.”
Jason put a hand on his shoulder as he spoke, “If that lady comes here looking for me, you must make sure I’m aware before you let her in. Is that clear?”
“Yes sir.”
“And don’t let her drive in. She can park outside.”
“Yes sir.”
“Where is Bernard?” Jason asked.
“Oga Bernard just car fuel jerry can comot now as fuel no dey house,” the man replied him.
“Is that so?” Jason said rhetorically as it downed on him what blunder he had committed. He went to his own apartment to get the key to his power bike and came out again.
“Open the gate.”
********************************************
Stacey had finished cleaning up and was back in the living room pondering on what just happened outside. That lady in the car that splashed that water must have been a devil’s agent. Seriously she could understand why Emeka rained that entire curse on her, although she really felt uncomfortable with it. Yes, that was common and he didn’t act any different from how her pastor would and this is what gave her course for concern. She’d been bothering to listen to other messages from other ministers of God and she couldn’t help acknowledging that there was a huge difference in their interpretation of the word of God compared to today’s ministers around her especially in her church. There was hope, a living hope in their gospel. There was freedom and peace of mind when they talked about the grace of God and the difference Jesus Christ made by his existence and death.
She wished she could understand fully but who could she meet to explain these things some more to her? No one around her seemed to consider it. Everyone was just wrapped up in the demon-centered gospel of the day, chasing away demons and enemies and rarely seeing the life on Christ, much less talking about it or even living in it. And she wanted to know more and experience it. She was still lost in thoughts when a beep came from her phone. She looked. It was a text message from her friend, Bari. She read the text and quickly called her back excited. “Bari! Are you really getting married?... Congratulations dear. I am so happy for you… Next month eh? That’s ok. I’ll be there definitely… My regards to CJ please… God bless you.”
So Bari was getting married in a month’s time? What a life. And here she was with no man and her mother was there to constantly remind, her as if her loneliness wasn’t enough reminder. She left the sitting room to seek solace within the confines of her own room.
