Pelumi's Memoirs - 2

"Kevwe"! "Kevwe, what is it now"? Pelumi yelled at petite Kevwe who had been banging on their door repeatedly in the last five minutes. "Is Itoro at home"? Kevwe eyed Pelumi who had just opened the door to their flat.

"Kevwe, it's a Saturday morning for crying out loud. And 7am for that matter!". "Is whatever you want from Itoro that urgent that you have to come and be banging so loudly on our door"?

"Emm, Pelumi, I did not come for you today". "Is Itoro at home is my question"? Pelumi shook her head unwilling to let Kevwe into the 2 bedroom flat that she and Itoro shared.  "Itoro is asleep". "Then wake her lady. I don't have time for this today Pelumi". "I just need to speak with Itoro". 


"Why don't you go ahead and call her mobile phone?"

"I would do that but I'm already here. What's the point?" "Please go and wake her up." "Biko, I don't want trouble o!" Kevwe fumed. 

Pelumi hoped that Itoro hadn't been so stupid as to borrow money from Kevwe or owe her in any way. Kevwe was a known trouble maker. She had a sharp tongue that could cut just about anything.  Kevwe was one of those who would give you double trouble if you messed with her. Whoever sang that song "if you look for my trouble, I'll give you double" meant it for Kevwe.  She was not more than 4 foot 8 inches. Her mouth was definitely her weapon!

Itoro walked in just then. 
“Thank heavens!" Pelumi sighed. 

“What's going on”? I heard all the noise in my bedroom”.

“You have a guest”. She stepped aside so Itoro could see who was with her in the living room. 

Grabbing her keys and wallet, Pelumi excused the two who had already started bickering at each other. They were grown enough to sort out their problems. She had been up for a good portion of the night and her brain felt very foggy at the moment. That was one downside to having a roommate. Not enough privacy. She and Itoro got along pretty well so she was okay for now. Besides, they both were not making enough to be able to live separately. They kept each other company and that was a good thing. 

Mende was a busy area in Maryland where they lived. She and Itoro had been roommates for two years. They met during her first year at the University of Lagos.

“Sister, look where you are going now! As you old reach, you no fit open your eyes well when you dey waka for road?"

Pelumi rolled her eyes at the guy on the motor bike popularly called ‘Okada’ in Lagos. She was very sure she hadn’t seen any oncoming vehicle or motor bike when she had attempted crossing the road. The guy must have been coming at top speed or something.

“Customer!" the boy whose mum owned the shop where she usually bought freshly baked loaf bread grinned at her. “Mustapha, how are you this Saturday morning?"

“Fine, aunty." “Mummy just went to get bread from the bakery. She will be back in no time. Do you want to wait small or go home and come back?" Her stomach growled just then. She hadn’t had dinner the night before.

“Don’t they deliver the bread here?" 
“They do, but it looks like something happened to the driver who usually delivers them." Mustapha explained.

“Hmm, okay. I can wait for like 15 minutes." “What class are you?"
“Aunty, I’m in primary 6. I just wrote the common entrance to JSS 1."

“Ah, you are a big boy o! So which school was your first choice?" 

"Kings College!" Mustapha exclaimed. Pelumi looked at the boy smiling. “Why did you choose Kings College?'

“Well, because I hear it’s renowned for academic excellence."

She couldn’t help admiring the boy who stood before her arranging the goods in his mother’s shop. Kings College popularly referred to as KC was known for academic excellence. She had certainly heard good things about the school’s several initiatives.

“Do you know what you’d like to be when you grow up?" 
“I’d like to be a Pilot. I’ll be able to fly my mum, dad and family to anywhere in the world they’d love to go."

“Ain’t you just sweet?" Pelumi said to him. “Mummy is back!"
“I can see that." Pelumi replied.  She stood up to help Mustapha’s mum with getting the many items she had in the car.

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Ivan Akenzua drove around the streets of Victoria Island for what seemed like hours. He usually left the house and drove around whenever he needed to collect his thoughts and make crucial decisions. He was the CEO of Ferguson and Fletcher. Their father had handed over the baton to him five years ago. His brother, Liyel was the COO. Their younger sister, Tare had joined them not too long ago.  She headed the human resources division and was doing a fantastic job.

These days he felt incredibly stressed. They had been working on a merger that was proving to be more stressful than it ought to be. On top of that, their dad had been ill for a while. A complication from being diabetic. He had been a pillar in their family and they all looked up to him. Ndifreke Akenzua was an astute business man whose advice had been invaluable over the years. If anything bad happened to their father, he didn’t know how their mum would survive without him. They had been married for over 38 years.

His phone rang. The caller ID showed on his dashboard. It was his friend, Kunle Aderinokun. He let it ring out. He would call him back later. Kunle could talk for days unending. 

As he drove on Ajose Adeogun, he thought about his family. He and Liyel his younger brother were three years apart and had been best of friends for as long as he could remember. While he was driven and goal oriented, Liyel was more laid back. He was one of those people who believed you only live once. His brother was the real extrovert. Charming, spirited and charismatic.  Liyel was a smooth talker who usually had his way with people. Add good looks to the mix. 

Whenever they had an account that proved difficult to win over, Liyel was the man for the job. He was extremely good at pitching clients. He did such an amazing job that the board decided there was no one better for the position of the Chief Operating Officer.

His phone rang again. Geez! Why did his phone always have to ring every ten minutes? He looked at the dashboard again. It was Nkoyo, his sister. She was the youngest in their family of four.

“Bro, how's it going?"

"All good. I’ve been out and about." “I hear you." Nkoyo replied. 

"Guess who came to the house today and asked after you?" Ivan thought about different people. "Uncle Ilevbaoje?" 

"Nope, try again!" Ivan chuckled. Nkoyo held a special place in his heart. They were 7 years apart but had great connection. She understood him, his moods..... Sometimes he felt like Nkoyo could see right through him. Maybe she could even hear his thoughts. 

Nkoyo had been born prematuredly. He remembered their mum had been very overwhelmed during that period. He also remembered the frequent visits to the hospital and watching his parents pray together petitioning the big man up for the life of their daughter.  He granted their petitions. Nkoyo lived despite the odds. Eventually, she was given a clean bill of health. His parents had gone out of their way to pamper her initially. 

He always felt protective of her. They all did and she always lamented about the fact that her family inquired too much about her personal life. Who she was dating? Where she was at every point in time? Sometimes, that drove her crazy. But hey, could anyone blame them? 

Tare on the other hand was fiercely independent. He and Liyel had been surprised to see her grow and blossom into the beautiful woman she was today. If you were looking for a tom boy when they growing up, you didn't need to look further. Tare was the definition of tom boy. Growing up you could barely catch her in a skirt. Whenever their parents bought her any, she'd simply refused to wear them. The only time you could catch Tare in a dress was when there were birthdays and their mum told her she'd be the odd one out. 

"Try again, Ivan." Nkoyo's vibrant voice filtered into his thoughts. After reeling out the names of four more people, he gave up.

“It was Aunty Tamuno! She was at the house today. She came with Najite."
 "Oh, they came back so soon from Lithuania?"

 "I thought they were going to stay back for a little bit more." Ivan rubbed his stubble. Aunty Tamuno was always up to something. 

“What did aunty Tamuno want this time?" He asked his sister reducing the volume of the jazz music which he had playing in the car. “You know how she just likes to pop in and see how we are all doing..." Nkoyo chatted away.

“Uhm okay. So when did Najite get back from Lithuania?" 

"Well, she said she came into the country last week."

“Cool." Ivan reached for his Ray Ban sunglasses. His eyes were beginning to feel like they were getting blinded by the sun. “Is Dominykas in town as well?"

“Nah, she left him behind. Said he had to take care of some family issues." Najite chuckled.

“And why didn't she stay back in Lithuania with him considering they just got married and she doesn't have any pressing job she needs to attend to?"

“Ivan, ask your cousin when you see her o!"
 “Smh!" Ivan said, giggling.

Onajite referred to as Najite was their cousin. She had been spoiled silly by her parents. Onajite didn't know what it meant to lack anything. She'd recently gotten married to Dominykas Petrauskas who was one of the top billionaires in Lithuania. Talk about when God puts an extra layer of butter on your bread!

 "Give me one minute Bobby!" Nkoyo pointed to the phone so her guest could know she was on a call.

"Bobby....." "Who is Bobby? Is that a bouncer's name?" Nkoyo groaned. “Got to go bro! Alright, sis, i'mma talk to you later!"

After thirty minutes more of driving around, Ivan turned into Sanusi Fafunwa street and headed for his friend’s house. He needed to cool off and forget his worries.