Pelumi's Memoirs - 27

Like two peas in a Pod…………

Ivan was seated at Gate C waiting for boarding to commence. His flight was in the next 50 minutes.  Eyes fixed on his iPad reading ‘The Partner’ by John Grisham, he removed a pack of tic-tac from his jeans pocket and threw some in his mouth.

"Announcing the boarding of Espana Airways flight 4007 to Spain. We welcome passengers needing assistance and those traveling with children. We also invite our Club One travelers to start boarding. Thank you for your patience."

Ivan slipped his phone into his backpack and walked briskly, joining the Club Two line. While Club One represented first class on the airline, Club Two represented business class. There wasn’t much of a difference in the quality of service offered in both classes on the airline and so he had chosen to fly business class in order to cut unnecessary costs. He had flown Espana Airways a few times in the past. It had been a while though, since he'd last traveled with the airline.

He checked his Fossil leather wrist watch for the time. Cool, they were on time. Airlines sometimes delayed and he didn't like that as someone who was a stickler for time.

"We are now boarding Club Two." He tapped on the Espana app on his phone and clicked on his boarding pass. He watched as the airline staff scanned the boarding passes one passenger after another. When it got to his turn, one of the ladies gave him a vibrant smile and scanned his boarding pass which was displayed on his iPad screen.  "Have a safe flight." She said to him.

They said he had an effect on women. He knew it but he didn't care. Well, he had used that to his advantage a few times.

"Thank you." He replied, curtly.

When he got in front of the aircraft, one of the cabin crew checked his boarding pass again for his seat number. "Your seat will be right around this side of the aisle."

"Got it." He nodded his head and proceeded with searching for his seat number. He found it and placed his backpack in the overhead storage.

He watched briefly as passengers slowly filled the aircraft.

His phone rang. It was Pelumi.

"Hi babes."

"Hello handsome. Ready to fly?"

"Well, yeah! Actually just boarded. We should be in the air in another 30 minutes or so."

"Nice." Pelumi's soft voice streamed into his ears.

"So, are you gonna miss me?" Ivan questioned.

"Are you kidding me? You're going to be gone for two weeks. Of course, I'm going to miss you like crazy."

Ivan chuckled. "I'll be back before you know it."

"That's my prayer." Pelumi giggled. "Stay hydrated, don't stress and try to take enough rest when you can....."

"Yes, mum!" Ivan teased.

"Oh, please! Go away!" Pelumi replied. "See you when you get back."

"You're coming with me next time. Just so you know."

"Well, as long as you get two separate hotel rooms....." Pelumi's voice trailed off.

"What? Are you afraid I'll chew you up?"

Ivan retorted, smiling.

"Hmmm... You know......" Pelumi added.

"Just joking. But really, I'll do pretty much whatever you want."

"Yaay!" Pelumi laughed.

"Got to go now. I'll miss you terribly. Have a safe flight and talk to you soon."

"I'll call you as soon as I land in Spain."

"I'll be expecting your call." Pelumi answered, reluctant to cut the call.

"Bye Babes...."

"Bye, honey!" Pelumi responded.

Ivan cut the call. His mind drifted to his conversation with his parents and his sisters. They had received his news well although his father seemed concerned he was dating an employee and told him to be careful.

Overall, they all seemed happy for him although Tare and his mother also had reservations. Nkoyo was the one who got overly excited. Youth and naivety. She said she hadn't seen him dating in a while.

They all asked to meet Pelumi when he returned from Spain. He would probably invite her to dinner or lunch with them.

When Pelumi hung up the call, she realized she and Ivan had things to talk about. She believed in chastity and keeping herself before getting married. She was insanely attracted to him and knew she'd be courting the devil if she decided to share a room with him overnight on any occasion. She didn't trust herself to be able to restrain herself. Better safe than sorry.

****

When Nkoyo arrived home, she found Najite weeping in the sitting room on the upper level. Seated beside her were Aunty Tamuno and her mother. Her dad was also seated. His eyes were glued to the TV with its volume reduced to zero.

"Hi Mum….. Aunty Tamuno, good evening. Hello, Najite." She went over and hugged her dad, giving him a peck on the cheek. Confusion marked her features. Her dad signaled for her to excuse them.

"Aunty Nengi, is it fair that mum wants me to stay in a loveless marriage? Yes, Dominykas is wealthy but we are not poor either. Why should I stay in a marriage to a man who insists I also need to sleep with his father? That in their family, it's a tradition for new wives to sleep with their father-in-law!"

Nengi gasped. She looked at her sister, clearly dazed. "Tamuno, did you know this before now?"

Aunty Tamuno shifted in her seat, clearly uncomfortable. Nengi looked at her husband who seemed fazed too.

"Tamuno, you knew this and yet pleaded with my husband and me to persuade your daughter to stay married?"

"What do you want me to do? She has only been married for less than a year. Imagine if the news of her divorce gets to the press and those hungry bloggers, the social media and irritating Instagram blogs. Najite cannot bring shame on our family this way! Do you know how many brides I have clothed in this country? The Dangotes, the Folawiyos, the Shagayas, Otudekos.... Name them!  My own daughter will not be able to hold down a marriage? The devil is a liar!" Aunty Tamuno blurted out.

"Tamuno!" Nengi snapped. "Tamuno, are you mad? Have you gone utterly berserk?"

"Nengi....Nengi...." Ndifreke called out to his wife. She looked at him angrily? "What is it?"

"Tamuno, did you hear all your daughter said and what you care about the most is keeping appearances? This is a joke! You should be ashamed of yourself. Sometimes I wonder whether the same womb birthed us."

Najite wept silently with her palms covering her face.

"Tamuno, so you and your husband just gave this girl away to a family without bothering to do some background work?"

Aunty Tamuno sat quietly. Shame washing over her.

"No wonder Najite has been looking like she lost a part of herself since her marriage to Dominykas."

"What do we do now?" Aunty Tamuno asked with her hands outstretched.

"You are still asking?" Nengi got up, hissing and walking away. Ndifreke sat still, refusing to look at Tamuno. What he'd just heard sounded like pure, unadulterated bullcrap!

****

Celeste was over the moon! She had been passed onto the next stage of her interview and boy, did she feel incredibly lucky!

"Thank you God, thank you God!"

She screamed and jumped up in her living room.

She picked up her phone and dialed Bode's number.

"Buddy, I made it to the fourth round." She announced after he picked up the call.

"Ahhh, this is great news considering you had doubts about the last interview. When's the next interview?"

"Next week Wednesday." Celeste answered.

"Well, I'm sure you're going to ace it."

Celeste laughed. “I better do. For my own good!"

Bode giggled. "Welcome to Chevron, Ms. Braithwaite."

"Hmm, wait first. Let me get the official letter of employment."

"C’mon.... You gotta be a believer and not a doubter."

"Yes, Sir." Celeste replied.

"I see my boss heading my way. Lemme call you back later."

"Okay, Buddy... Talk later." Celeste answered.

She called Essien and shared the news.

"Girl, you need to pray for me. Send up prayers to the man up for ya girl!"

"You know you also have access to him, Celeste dearest."

"Of course. I've been bothering him these past months and look how far he's brought me."

"Terrific!" Essien replied.

"How are things with you?" Celeste asked.

"Pretty good." Essien responded. "Can't complain."

"Better don't. What with all that cool cash streaming in every day?"

Essien laughed. "My dear, I'm indeed grateful for divine mercies. Are you home?"

"Yes. I'm getting ready to go for Zumba classes."

"Nice. How's it coming along?" Essien asked.

"Very well.... I have more energy than before. I feel good generally. No more unnecessary body aches."

"Good. We have just this body! We need to take great care of it."

"I agree." Celeste answered, while wearing her pair of sneakers. She grabbed her bottle of water.

"Has Liyel contacted you?"

"No...." Celeste replied, rolling her eyes. "I don't think he ever will."

"Hmmmm. Essien sighed loudly. Pray for him. Pray for his healing."

"I'll try. He's so pig headed. How can someone be so stubborn?" Celeste released her frustrations. "Screw him!"

"No swearing." Essien remarked. "Let's go see a movie this evening."

"Are you down?"

"Of course!" Celeste answered. "Been a minute since I last went to the Movies. What are they showing these days?"

"I'll check. You don't mind seeing a Nigerian movie. Do you?"

"Nah, as long as the movie is interesting."

"Okay, good! I was hoping you wouldn't say you weren’t interested."

****

When Pelumi sneezed for the sixth time at work in six minutes, her coworkers advised her to go home. "Don't come in to the office tomorrow o!"

Fola warned.

"I've got little kids at home and I don't want them to get infected."

"Fola, you have a bad mouth o!" Zainab rebuked him.

"I have some allergy meds. I'll take them when I get home. That usually stops the onset of any flu or cold."

"Cool." Zainab replied.

"Better still, make some hot pepper soup tonight. It should kill the cold."

"I don't even have a cold." Pelumi answered sharply.

"Looks like you're coming down with one." Zainab countered. "Try and make some pepper soup tonight though. You'll feel brand new tomorrow."

"Ugh! I hope so...” Pelumi responded.

Three hours later, Pelumi stopped by at Mende Market to buy some goat meat and pepper soup ingredients. She sneezed again.

“Sister, sorry.” The butcher told her. “How much quantity do you want?”

Pelumi pointed to the portion of meat she wanted.

“This one is ten thousand naira!” The butcher replied.

Pelumi’s eyes widened and almost popped out of their sockets! “You say?”

“Aunty, ten thousand naira but I can collect seven thousand last-last!” The butcher explained.

Pelumi shook her head and counted the naira notes in her wallet. She handed the butcher seven thousand naira. With the way prices were getting inflated, only God knew if the common man would be able to exist in Nigeria. Even those in the middle class were already starting to feel the pinch of the harsh economic conditions. What had happened to the Giant of Africa? She prayed for restoration and better economic conditions in the country.

****

Tare sat at her desk, going through the details of the new e-learning programs they were looking to roll out at the company. She also had to go through a demo of a software that would aid talent acquisition at Ferguson and Fletcher.

The events of the previous night flashed before her eyes. Ineye had almost driven her to the edge with his silence and weird behavior. He'd ended up explaining his silence. It had all boiled down to the fact that he'd had a very bad day. She understood bad days happened but she wanted a partner who wouldn't hold anything back from her. Was she looking for perfection? No. She just thought that communication was crucial in any relationship. 

She fixed her head phones and prepared to put them over her ears. 

Going into a relationship had been a very bold step on her part. After years of being single in every sense of the word, she'd felt like she was losing her individuality at the initial stage. Granted, she wasn't married yet, but being in a relationship pretty much felt like a rehearsal of the real thing - marriage.

Ineye had pleaded with her and she completely understood how he felt. She truly cared about him. Was this love? This feeling of caring deeply about another person and wanting to put they and their needs first?

Once the headphones sat comfortably around her ears, she leaned back against her chair and played the demo.

An hour later, Ineye walked into her office, just when she was watching the last few seconds of what was left on the demo. He wore a fitted white shirt that was well tucked in navy blue trousers.

She raised her head and removed the headphones.

"Hi." She said to him.

"Hey." He said to her, smiling. “You look tired.”

"Well, yes… I am. It's been a long day."

"I can fix that." Ineye replied. 

"Hmmm. Really?" Tare questioned.

"Yeah. I can." He said, walking towards her, invading her space. He positioned himself behind her. 

Hmm. He smelled good and Tare wondered what cologne he was wearing. She made a mental note to find out. She moaned when she felt his fingers on her shoulders and around her neck, massaging it. 

"Ineye, this is the office. Mmh…. Anyone could walk in on us." She moaned again.

"I ain't doing anything wrong. Just giving you a much needed massage. I feel knots around your muscles."

"What do you say about a foot rub as well tonight?"

Tare turned her neck and looked at him. "You're going to massage my feet too?"

"Yes, darling. These fingers work like magic."

"Well, I will not say no." Tare remarked, laughing.

"Okay. Cool. I'll wait for you downstairs. It's almost 6pm anyway. Time to head out."

"Yes. I agree." Tare chimed.

Tare watched as he strutted out of her office. He was every inch male and he set her insides on fire.

She began dreading the foot rub. If a shoulder and neck massage left her body singing this way, she was afraid of what a foot rub would do!