Pelumi's Memoirs - 38

The days flew by fast. Truly, time and tide waits for no man. Pelumi thought as she walked into the Ferguson & Fletcher building on a beautiful Friday morning. The sun was out and the day was bright. Pelumi felt a ray of hope, an assurance that what lay ahead of her was a really bright future.

She could feel it within her. That her life was about to change.

She hadn't seen Remi around since their altercation. She really didn't want to see him. Although he had texted her the following day to apologize for his actions, she hadn't replied to him.

She bumped into Liyel on her way into the elevator.

“Good Morning,” Pelumi.

“Good Morning,” Liyel. She smiled widely. He and Ivan had a striking resemblance. He was only a fair-skinned and taller version.

 “You know, I was telling Ivan the other day that he needs to quit 'hiding' you so much!”

 Pelumi inhaled. “Hiding me?”

“Yeah, he's so protective of you. You don't come to the house, you hardly go to our parents’ home to visit. Tare and Nkoyo would love to see more of you.”

“I....I...” Pelumi stammered.

“Sorry to put you on the spot.” Liyel smiled slightly. Sometimes, his brutal honesty got the best of him.

“You'll see more of me going forward,” Pelumi replied, fiddling with her watch.

She got off on the 4th floor. “Great talking to you, Liyel. I'll see you around.” She said, gesticulating with her hands.

“Enjoy!” Liyel responded.

Phew! Pelumi exclaimed on getting out of the elevator. She hadn't been prepared for Liyel's remarks. She was a reserved person who knew her place. But Liyel was partly right. She had never been to Ivan's home. She knew he lived in Ikoyi but for whatever reason, she had just never been to his home.

“Pelumi!” She heard a female's voice calling her. She raised her head to see a lady around her height waving at her.

She squinted as she couldn't seem to place the lady's face. This was Tinuke. Tinuke from Jamb lesson at Surulere.

“Ah!...” Pelumi muttered as recognition dawned on her. “Tinuke Coker!”

“Yes”. The lady reached forward and hugged her. “Long time no see.”

“What brings you here?” Pelumi quizzed.

“I'm actually here to see my Uncle, Alistair.”

Pelumi laughed. “Alistair is your uncle? Ha! This world is too small.”

“Do you know him?” Tinuke asked.

“Of course! He's a big shot around here.”

“I know,” Tinuke replied, smiling. “Do you have to head to your office now? I know you are just resuming for the day.”

 “Yep. I am.” Pelumi responded.

“Okay, I'll be with Uncle Alistair for a while. I have a business meeting around here and I'm super early.”

 “I can imagine.” Pelumi smiled. “Would you like to do lunch after your meeting?”

“Hmmm… I would love to but I’m not sure how long the meeting will be. My team and I are here to demo a new software we just built to Cougars Corporation.”

“Sounds really exciting,” Pelumi said, admiring Tinuke who was dressed to the nines.

“Know what? Let me give you my number. That way you can let me know if your meeting ends on time.”

“Oh yes. Definitely.” Tinuke replied. The two ladies exchanged numbers and Pelumi hugged her before heading to her office.

“So tell me, Zainab. When will Amen Estate start selling the remaining plots of land?”

Zainab wrinkled her nose. “Fola, anyone who hears you asking me this question now would probably think that you're one rich guy who can afford a plot of land at Amen Estate.”

 Pelumi chuckled even as she stepped into her corner of the office.

 “Ha! You’ve written me off in your mind. Isn't that the case? Like I don't earn income and I'm so poor?” Fola retorted.

“Ish...Fola, don't get sentimental. First of all, do you know how much a plot of land costs at Amen Estate?” Zainab countered.

 Pelumi watched the exchange between the two. Fola and Zainab were always at each other's throats. They were like two old couples who constantly bickered.

 “Is it more than 1 million Naira? Is that what you think I can't afford? It's not your fault, Zainab! This is what happens when you date your father's age mates. All those Alhajis you follow up and down splurge on you so much that you think the rest of us can't hold a torch, isn't it?”

Pelumi watched the two, waiting for her computer screen to come up. Her PC was taking its time to boot. She could smell trouble brewing.

“Ehn? What did you say, Fola? Did you just call me a runs girl?”

 Fola smirked. “Well, if the shoe fits.”

“Pelumi, can you imagine the boloney that this dude is spewing from his mouth?”

Pelumi raised her hands. “No, Zainab. I'm not a part of this conversation. Please don't involve me.”

Zainab hissed. “It's not your fault! It's because I work in this damn office!”

 “Sorry o! You can resign so that way you don't have to sit with us 'in this office'!

Nonsensical things!” Fola responded, harshly.

 “Guys, it's okay!” Pelumi said sharply. How did something that was a light-hearted conversation take such a drastic turn and became a heated conversation?

 Zainab stood hastily, knocking down her handbag in the process. She walked out of the office, shooting daggers at Fola with her eyes.

 “What's wrong with her?” Lani, a colleague said as she walked into their office.

Pelumi shrugged. She was short of words.

 “I think I pissed her off. But then, she's just so impossible! She doesn't think before she talks. She just says nonsense.”

 “Fola!” Pelumi cautioned him.

Fola sighed. “I'll go and apologize to her.”

 “Might be worth it!” Pelumi responded. He had been unprofessional in his comments about Zainab being a runs girl.

 Pelumi glanced at Fola as he went after Zainab. She hoped that Zainab would let Fola's snide remarks slide.

She was replying to an email when she remembered that she and Ivan had an appointment to go look at three more houses later in the day.

 She rummaged through her handbag and found her phone. She texted Ivan.

“Hi Love, just checking to see that our appointment for this evening is still on....”

 She put the phone on her table after sending the text message. Sometimes, Ivan responded quickly. Other times, he replied within an hour.

 When her phone vibrated, she had a feeling that it was Ivan who'd sent her a message.

 “Babe, I'm sorry. Won't be able to make it today. I woke up feeling really sick.”

 “Omg!” Pelumi typed. “What happened? Are you okay? Will you be seeing a doctor soon?”

 She decided to call him instead. She stepped out of her office and headed for one of the empty conference rooms on their floor.

“Ivan?”

“Pelumi, hello.”

“Oh my God, you sound so dull.”

Ivan's voice sounded terrible on the phone.

“I have a sore throat and fever.”

 “Pele”. She said to him.

“Have you taken any medications? I'll come and see you as soon as I get off work. Can you text me your address? I know it’s on Osborne Road...”

 “Are you sure it'll be convenient?” Ivan asked.

Pelumi laughed a little.

“Don't you go trying to be considerate of me right now! You don't feel well. I'll come over. No arguments.”

 Ivan sounded like he was about to laugh but his voice broke into a cough instead.

“Do you want me to get you Cough drops, Strepsils and something for flu at Health Plus Pharmacy?  You might be coming down with the flu. Better to quickly nip it in the bud.”

 “I have Theraflu here. I just need Strepsils and Cough Drops.”

“Okay, I'll get them for you. I love you, darling, stay well for us.”

 “Me too,” Ivan said to her. “See you later.”

 “Drink a cup of tea in the interim,” Pelumi added and Ivan chuckled.

 “Okay, mum.”

 “Me, mum?” Pelumi laughed. “I'll see you later.”

“Okay. Later, darling.” Ivan replied.

****

Essien picked Celeste up during her lunchtime. They were going to see one of the bakers who would be baking Essien's wedding cake. Well, they still needed to make a decision about that.

They walked into Cookie Dough and the smell of different pastries wafted into Celeste's nostrils. Cookie Dough was a huge three-floor building. The ground floor had a dining area where people could buy and order different pastries from pies and doughnuts to everything that one could think of. They had every type of pastry one could imagine. Celeste looked at the floor and noticed that it was all marbles. The entire place spelled money, class and great taste. Wow! Celeste thought. Who would have thought that a baking business could be so successful?

“I want a pecan pie.” She said out loud.

“Hmmm, Celeste! You know, I'll never be able to understand your love for pies. Good thing you don’t gain weight easily like me.”

Celeste laughed.

“Good afternoon, ladies. How can we help you today?” A guy said to them when they were at the Customer Service section.

Essien tapped her well-manicured nails on the counter.

“Hi. My name is Essien and this is my friend, Celeste. We are here to see Ms. Weruche Okafor.”

“Oh, I see! One second, please. Let me call her assistant.” The customer service rep said to them.

Celeste had a good vibe about Cookie Dough. One could tell when excellence was at play anywhere.

“Ms. Essien, Madam is expecting you. You can take the stairs to my right or you can use the elevator to my left. Ms. Okafor sits on the second floor.”

“We'll take the stairs,” Essien replied.

Celeste looked at the spiral stairs and hesitated.

“Essien, Mba. I'm wearing heels and those stairs look like I'll go dizzy on them.”

“No sweat. Let's use the elevator.” Essien answered.

“Cool,” Celeste responded.

Minutes later, they were in Weruche's office.

She hugged both Celeste and Essien on seeing them. Celeste smiled. Such a warm and friendly woman!

"Let's go into my office and I can show you our cake catalogs. I can also show you some cake samples on our website.

This here is the Fadebi cake. It's a 7 layered cake with different flavors. The top is actually butter and whip cream. The second layer is the black forest gateau. The third layer has a white chocolate ganache filling. The fourth layer....”

“So like how much is the Fadebi Cake?” Essien interjected. She was a business person and numbers meant everything to her.

Weruche laughed. “It's not that expensive. It's only 500,000 Naira.”

Celeste gasped and Essien's eyes became larger.

They had budgeted 250,000 for her wedding cake. Weruche was asking for twice the price of that.

“Hmmm. Why so expensive?” Essien questioned.

“The Fadebi cake is cake extraordinaire. Only a skilled baker can bake and design it. The recipe used is top secret straight out of my brilliant mind!” Weruche laughed while explaining.

“On a more serious note, it does take fine expertise to make the Fadebi cake.”

“Gotcha!” Celeste answered.

“Can we see the other cakes?” Essien questioned.

“Yes. Certainly.” Weruche replied.

 She turned her Macbook Pro towards them and showed them her computer screen.

“This is the Volvo cake and what we have here is the Iyalaya cake. It's made with brandy.....”

Celeste was thrilled “You make such lovely cakes. What's the price breakdown for these ones?”

 “Ladies, do you want to take a seat? Let me ask Lore, my assistant, to bring you some desserts. Would you like ice cream or cake?”

Celeste almost said both but she cautioned herself.

Essien chuckled. “I’d like some ice cream, please. Celeste has a weakness for cakes.”

“What type of ice cream would you like?” Weruche asked.

“Pistachio or buttered pecan would be great.”

 “No worries,” Weruche answered.

“What type of cake would you like Celeste?”

“The butter and whip cream cake will do just fine. Can we please get two spoons for the ice cream?”

 Essien laughed. “I ain't sharing.”

Celeste stuck out her tongue. “We'll see about that.”

Weruche laughed. “I'll get you your own cup instead. Essien, would you like some cake too?”

“Yes, please. Vanilla cake will do just fine.”

“Splendid!” Weruche said, while picking up the phone to call Lore.

Celeste had a good feeling about doing business with Weruche. They'd have to beat the price of the Fadebi cake down somehow.

After twenty minutes more of looking at cakes, Essien announced that they would be taking their leave but would keep in touch.

 “What did you think?” Essien asked Celeste when they were in the car.

 “I think that Weruche is great and you should get your wedding cake here but it's totally up to you.”

 “But a whopping 500k? That's way too much!”

“I'm sure we can beat down the price, somehow,” Celeste answered.

 “I'll call her and try to negotiate.”

 “Yes, you should.  I'm sure she just inflated the price, knowing that customers would beat it down.”

“Let's hope so,” Essien replied. “Everything is so expensive in Nigeria these days and Lagos is the headquarters of inflation.”

 “Tell me about it,” Celeste answered.

 Ten minutes later, they were at Chevron.

“Thanks for letting me be at the cake viewing session with you. It was fun.” Celeste smiled at her friend.

“My pleasure, Ms. Braithwaite. Very soon, it'll be your turn.”

“Amen,” Celeste answered. “By the way, did I tell you that I ran into Liyel a few days ago?”

“Say what?” Essien shrieked.

“I was walking into the bank. I was on Instagram trying to post a comment when I bumped into someone and bam! It was Liyel!”

Essien burst into laughter. “That sounds like something from a movie scene.”

“I couldn't believe it myself,” Celeste responded.

 “Okay, so tell me...What happened after that?”

We talked briefly and then he called me later at night.

 Essien squealed again. “Are you kidding me?”

“No, I'm not.”She replied.

“So, he says he'll see me this weekend.”

 “How does that make you feel?” Essien asked, smiling.

“Well, a part of me is thankful that he wants to talk. Do you know how long I've been longing for that?”

“I know...” Essien replied.

“Anyway, so... I'll just wait and see. I don't want to have any high hopes.” Liyel hurt me too many times with his actions.

“If he wants us to start afresh, he would have to prove himself.”

“What am I saying?” Celeste exclaimed. “I'm jumping ahead of myself. But, anyway, this is the state of things.”

Essien covered her hands with hers. “You'll be fine, Celeste. The lines will fall for you in pleasant places. You'll see.”

 Bode's image flashed into her mind. Was she making a mistake by continuing to treat him as a friend? She didn't know... 

****

Ivan texted his address and Pelumi found herself in a cab on the way to his house. She had stopped by at Health Plus to buy him drugs.

A petite lady greeted her when she arrived at Ivan's house. She guessed that was the housekeeper who came cleaning from time to time. The cook, Akpan also came out to greet her. “I just made Oga some oxtail soup with lots of cayenne pepper. He hasn't been able to eat much all day.”

 “Ha!” Pelumi sighed. This appeared to be more than just flu.

“Where is he?” Pelumi asked.

“In his room. He's been lying in his bed all day.” Pelumi frowned. This was more serious than she'd initially thought.

 Akpan led her to Ivan’s room. She knocked slightly before opening the door.  For a busy man, his room was quite well organized and clean. She sat beside him on the bed and tapped his shoulder slightly.

“Ivan, its Pelumi. I brought your medicine. How are you feeling?”

Ivan opened his eyes slightly and grunted. His body felt like it was on fire. She found the door leading to the bathroom and put some cold water in a bowl. Next, she picked a towel and dipped it in the cold water. She squeezed the towel slightly and placed it on his forehead. He groaned. It felt like his entire body was on fire.

“Ivan, you have a temperature. You need to see a doctor.”

“I'll be fine. This happens to me sometimes. I'm just stressed.”

She felt his body temperature again. His temperature was really high. She unbuttoned his shirt a little and opened the windows so that fresh air could flow into the room.

Maybe that would help a little. When she saw Ivan shivering, she decided to call Liyel. She picked Ivan's phone and retrieved Liyel's number.

“Thanks, Pelumi. Do you know if Ivan has taken any medication so far? When I left home this morning, he told me he was feeling weird and would come to the office later. He didn't mention anything about not feeling well after that.”

“Yeah, I called him about an hour and a half ago and that's when I found out. We had an appointment for today.

“Hmmm...” Liyel mused. “Please have him take some paracetamol or some aspirin. If he doesn't recover by tomorrow, I'll get him to a hospital.”

“Okay. I'll let him have some meds after eating. She placed her hand on his forehead again and checked his temperature.”

“Pele.” She said to him. “You'll be back up in no time.”

“Thanks,” Ivan replied in a barely audible voice.

Pelumi looked around the room and saw the bowl of Oxtail soup was untouched when she removed the lid that had been used to cover it.

She would warm it up and let him have some before taking any medication.

“I'll be right back.” She said quietly since Ivan was snoring softly.

“Oga didn't eat the soup?”

“No, he didn't. I want to warm it up and see if he can eat some of it."

Akpan took the bowl from her and heated the contents in the microwave.

Pelumi looked around the kitchen and could only conclude that money answered all things. The kitchen like the rest of the house was beautiful and tastefully furnished with up to date appliances.

She pulled a chair at the dining table in the kitchen and sat while Akpan warmed the food.

Minutes later, she rejoined Ivan in his bedroom and forced him to eat some of the soup and oxtails. Once he was done, she made him take two tablets of paracetamol. That would help with the fever and temperature.

She dropped a tablet of Strepsils in his hand. “Strepsils for the sore throat.” She said to him.

“Thank you, Pelumi. Sorry, I disrupted your day.”

She placed a finger on his lips, hushing him in the process. “It's okay.” She said, giving him a small smile.

It was almost 9 pm. She needed to leave so that she could get home in a good time.

“I'll come back tomorrow, honey. I need to head home now.”

“Can't you stay the night?” Pelumi sighed and Ivan squinted at her.

“I don't mean it that way. I mean you can stay in one of the spare bedrooms.”

Pelumi gazed at him briefly, before looking away.

Conflicted, she looked at him again. He looked so vulnerable that her heart went out to him.

“Okay. I'll stay.”

She had to call Itoro and let her know about the current situation.

“Thank you,” Ivan said to her.

***

Itoro picked her phone on the third dial.

“Pelumi, hello.”

“What?” Itoro squawked. “Why aren't you coming home tonight?”

She fiddled with a loose hair tendril while Pelumi spoke.

“Ivan isn't feeling well. He said it's rather late for me to start heading home now so he suggested I spend the night at his house instead.”

“Hmm...Pelumi...”

 Itoro, what's the hesitation about?” Pelumi questioned.

 “Nothing,” Itoro answered. What she meant to say to Pelumi was not to do too much. To not act like a wife while she was still a girlfriend. But what did she know? She was the one who wasn't in a relationship so how could she be dishing out advice?

“I'll see you tomorrow. Regards to Ivan and I hope he gets well soon.”

“Thanks, Itoro. Good night.”

Good night. Itoro responded.

After cutting the call, Pelumi felt like Itoro had wanted to say more. Maybe she disapproved of her spending the night in Ivan's home? She hadn't planned on staying the night. But why was she feeling guilty? It wasn't as though she'd done anything bad.

“Oh well!” She exclaimed loudly.

From time immemorial, guilt had been her companion springing up every time she felt short of being a 'perfect' person. She hadn't known that it was a negative emotion she had to get rid of until more recent times.

So now, when guilt rose up in her like bile, she exhaled and kept going.

****

Liyel’s thoughts were all over the place as he drove to Paige's Garden to meet with Celeste.

Ivan woke up feeling better so there was no need to drive him to the hospital. Pelumi was home with him and he admired the way that she dotted on him. No doubt, Ivan had found a good one.

After Alero had left Ivan at the altar on their wedding day, he had closed his heart to love and relationships. They’d waited and waited at the church but Alero never showed up. Instead, she had texted Ivan to let him know that she would not be going ahead with getting married to him.

They had all been left shocked at her actions. Everyone in their family had loved and accepted Alero.

It was obvious that she was a lady who liked the fine things in life. She wore flashy clothes and shoes, carried flashy bags and drove a flashy car! But she had a great personality. Alero had an infectious smile that lit up the room when she walked in. She had a warm personality that endeared everyone to her.

What no one had been prepared for was that she would leave Ivan the way she’d done. Cold and calculatedly. They heard word that several months later, she got married to Oche Abutu, one of the Nigerian soccer players who played for Real Madrid at the time. Oche was obviously wealthier than Ivan. “The two-timing ‘biatch’!” He muttered, exasperatedly.

Ivan had slipped into a phase of depression after that episode and it had taken months of counseling to get him to hit the ground running again.

Pelumi seemed level headed. She was the opposite of the women Ivan had dated in the past. One could only hope that things would work out in their relationship. He’d hate to see his brother hurt that way again.

 A car behind him was honking loudly and Liyel felt like giving the driver his middle finger. Driving in Lagos was like going to a war zone sometimes. Too many crazy drivers who belonged to Yaba Left drove on the streets of Lagos. Still, Lagos would always be home to him.

Truly, ‘Eko o ni baje!’ He spoke little Yoruba but he understood that the phrase meant that Lagos would not be destroyed.

 He parked his car and saw Celeste walking ahead. He gazed at the sway of her hips. She was endowed where it mattered. No wonder, he had always been crazily attracted to her!

It was funny that he no longer felt anger for her although the thought of their unborn child always left him with a raw, unexplainable and indescribable pain!

He got out of his car and locked it with the remote key. Priming, he adjusted his Sunglasses and strutted into Paige's Garden.

He saw the way that Celeste’s eyes lit up when she saw him. He smiled at her

“Hey, Chica!” His eyes roved over her and he admired her in the mint green flowery sleeveless dress she was wearing. Her long hair was parted in the middle and he had to admit that she looked great.

“Oh, hey! Hi Chale!” Celeste replied, beaming at him. It had to be wrong for a man to look this good. Was God partial? He made some extremely good looking while others were blessed with just okay looks.

 “Ah, I see we are back to calling me ‘Chale’,” Liyel said, laughing.

“Let’s blame those Ghana friends of yours who introduced me to the term way back.” Celeste retorted, laughing.

Liyel smiled and took his seat in front of her.

His cologne floated into her nostrils. “Hmm... Is that Jean Paul Gaultier you are wearing?”

 Liyel winked at her and Celeste laughed again. He stared at her while removing his sunglasses. There was something about compatibility. Compatibility was like magic. Being with people who were like-minded meant less time explaining concepts, ideas and ideologies.

“So, how has your world been without me?” Liyel asked, with a serious expression on his face.