Femi drove back home, he was excited. He had been praying to see this day for months and finally it was here.
The dark clouds in the sky were a proof that it was going to be a stormy night. He was definitely going to enjoy his sleep as well.
The only thing killing his joy at the moment was the terrible traffic delaying him, he had spent close to two hours on the road and yet he was far from his destination. That was what came with the hustle and bustle of Lagos.
He was so lost in thought that he did not notice the bread seller by his window.
“Oga, buy sweet butter bread.” He turned to his window to see the young man exposing his coloured teeth with a grin. The bread was well packaged, he was sure it would taste great. He did not have anything to eat at home anyways.
“How much?” he asked.
“₦200, Oga truth to God the bread sweet well well,” the bread seller replied.
Before Femi could reply, the bread seller continued “How many you go buy?”
Femi chuckled, what was it with business people. Na everything I for buy? He nearly replied but just said, “give me one.”
That moment, the car in front of Femi’s moved, Femi heaved a sigh of relief. At last he would be moving from one spot to the next.
The bread seller however kept running after Femi’s car, he only stopped when the moving vehicles came to a halt.
“Oga, na the bread be this.” He replied, he wasn’t even panting. Femi assumed he had been in this job for long, the guy was not even sweating. No signs of the fact that he actually got to run a distance.
“Take, bring change,” Femi replied and gave him a ₦500 note. It was when he gave him the note he realised his mistake, he should have collected the change before paying the guy.
What if he ran with his money? He gave the guy who was wasting time a serious look.
“Guy, bring the change now, wetin?” He said in a harsh tone, the guy was wasting unnecessary time.
“Oga, no vex.” The bread seller replied while dipping his hand into his left pocket, he brought out a crumpled ₦200 note and added it to two ₦50 notes in his hand.
“Na him be this, thank you Oga,” he said and waved at Femi.
Femi wasn’t impressed, what was the guy expecting? That he would ask him to keep the change? He hissed.
—————
It was almost 6pm, so much for expecting to get home before 4pm. Just as he was about to take the lane that led to his street, his phone beeped.
He had a message from Titi.
*Congrats ooooo, call me
He smiled, he would just have to get home before making that call.
-2-
Femi unlocked the door to his flat, he turned on the light and took a good look at his sitting room. He walked towards his couch and sat on it, he couldn’t even remember the last time he had sat in his sitting room.
The only places he made use of in a while were his room, the bathroom, the toilet, the kitchen and occasionally his study.
He had not frequented the study in a while, what was the point back then? He had gone through hell in the past eight months, he was going to get his life back on track, not that he had one before.
He took out his phone from his pocket and dialed Titi’s number, she didn’t pick, he assumed she was busy. Titi wasn’t the kind of person who slept early even though she was heavily pregnant, she still kept late nights.
Titi was his elder sister, she was 28 years of age whereas he was 26. The bond he shared with her was greater than what he shared with his other three siblings, his parents and even his cousins. She was his best friend and everyone at home knew this, his mother even joked telling both of them that they were meant to be twins.
He would have to call her later. His first assignment would be to clean up his apartment before dinner and a good night rest could follow. He mused, “It’s definitely going to be a good night.”
Just as he was about to stand, his phone rang. It was Titi.
“Hello, fine girl with the round tummy.” He teased
Titi laughed and replied, “Aburo, for your mind now, you dey enjoy your freedom, bah?”
“As in, you don’t know how much.”
“Let me officially say congrats again”
“Titi, thank you. If you had not gotten him that job, he would still be terrorising my life here.”
“You are welcome dear”
“Thank you, for real”
Titi coughed, “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m fine. I caught a cold today but I’ve seen the doctor already”
“Ok, take things easy oh, how is your sweetheart and my nephews,
?” he asked whilst laughing.
“Ehn? Nephews?” Titi laughed and continued, “Abeg oh, its a girl I’m expecting, so you are suppose to ask after my husband, my son and my daughter.”
“Ok Boss, correction taken. How is everyone?”
“Everybody is fine, hopefully I should be due for delivery in two weeks. Promise to put me in prayers.”
“Of course, no wahala.” He replied and was about to pause before quickly adding, “how about maami, when would she arrive Ilorin?”
“This friday, she should come and pamper me small.”
“Well, you sure do need it.” He said and they both laughed. They continued to talk about different things until Titi explained she had to go to bed.
He teased her and wondered why she wanted to sleep this early. It was probably the cold and the pregnancy.
After ending the call, he decided he had to clean up. Despite the fact that he was tired after helping Gbenga pack his stuff and the long drive he had experienced today, he did not appreciate a dirty environment.
He would just have to do this once and for all.
Forty five minutes later, he had a quick bath and was heating the kettle to make tea when he heard a clap of thunder.
It sure was going to be a chilly night.
-3-
There was no sound of hip-hop or sex-crazed song this morning, something must be wrong, he thought. Whatever happened to Gbenga being his worst nightmare.
Femi took a look at his wristwatch which was under his pillow 7:05am. It had been a while he woke this late, he stood and was about to go have his bath for church when he recalled that he had promised Titi to put her in prayers.
He smiled and shook his head, Titi had done it on purpose, she knew he hardly said his prayers and she had made him promise so he had no choice than to keep to his side of the bargain. He knelt down by his bedside and said a quick prayer especially for Titi, he asked God for safe delivery on her behalf, he didn’t want his sister going through caesarean section again. When he was done, he headed towards the bathroom and showered.
On his way to church, his mind travelled back to the months he had shared his flat with Gbenga. Gbenga was his cousin, despite the fact that they were age mates and grew up together, they led different lifestyles.
Two years ago, Femi had moved into his apartment alone when he became the sales director in one of the biggest publishing houses in Lagos. His life had been simple, he went to work, partying with few friends he made at work, flings, family re-union and what have you.
However, his freedom and peace had vanished when eight months ago, his mother had called him and pleaded with him to allow Gbenga as his flat-mate.
She had gone on to remind him how Gbenga was ‘omo oku orun.’ Gbenga had moved in with him but it had ended up being a decision he regretted. Even though Gbenga worked as a marketer in a company in Surulere where they lived, the guy never paid his part of the rentage as agreed.
To worsen matters, he was a player who didn’t play his ganes outside the flat. The apartment was always untidy, Gbenga played loud disturbing music on his stereo every night. The music never gave Femi a good night rest.
They had even made a roster for cleaning the flat, of which Gbenga never stuck to. The few times he attempted to clean was nothing to write home about as Femi would see paper and nylon wraps under the settee, there were also empty cans of beer in drawers and other strategic corners.
Femi who hardly got the chance to sleep well at night resorted to working late at work. His co-worker Sandra kept him company most times, Sandra was the only girl with which he had a good rapport at work. The other girls were either gossip-merchants, attention-seekers or both.
He associated more with the guys even though his friendship with them had strained. Speaking of Sandra, he had not spoken to her since saturday morning when he drove Gbenga to his new apartment at Igbesa.
All thanks to Titi, Gbenga had gotten a better job offer and had moved out.
“Ouch,” Femi screamed. He had hit his leg on some silly metal lying on the pavement. He preferred to walk to the church on sundays, board a keke-napep at the cost of ₦30 rather than face the wahala of traffic.
He bent to feel his legs through his shoes, the pain he felt was evident but it wasn’t that bad. He proceeded to the bus park while walking with a slight limp.
While he sat beside the driver, he made a mental note to call Sandra after church service. He secretly prayed she was Single and Searching.
CULLED FROM STEFIKALS BLOG
