Deborah

Episode 7

Once she was done transferring her goods from the old bag to the new, she stood up straight and met the gaze of the other guy that had just arrived.

He smiled warmly at her, but she didn’t return it, she just stared into his deep brown eyes, he practically dwarfed her although she was tall, his chest was well shaped and the shirt he wore accentuated his physique, he was so cute that she felt her tommy rumble in a certain way, his eyes were soft and they glowed with kindness, then she looked at his car and the way he was dressed, definitely a highborn, all she heard herself say was ‘ excuse me’.

Deborah quickened her steps and wished the handsome guy could run after her but she was a bit disappointed as she saw his car on the highway.

She swallowed and walked faster; she felt weak all over and wondered what had come over her. She had to behave, how could she be shaking like a leaf just because she had seen a cute man? she hadn’t felt like this before.

She had seen many hot guys while hawking on campus and had felt nothing; This heat that rose in her stomach causing it to rumble did not make sense to her, she had to push out was she was thinking.

She stopped and waved down the orange painted car that drove by, ‘drop me by PDP Office’, the man hesitated, ‘ it’s sixty naira’ he spoke roughly, ‘ fifty’? she bargained, he deliberated for a few seconds then opened the door for her.

Deborah placed her hands on her chin and pondered on what went through her mind, suddenly the world felt colder than ever and she felt alone, she was confused; what was she going to do?

She had to see him again and wondered what would even come out of that, clearly the man was a rich man, she had seen his type during hawking periods. They usually drove very flashy cars, they wore expensive perfume and expensive clothes and had beautiful ladies beside them, not lowly people like her, she thought as she stared down at her worn out palm sandals.

For once she wished she could die, why was life so cruel? Why was every good thing meant for the rich? Then she saw her mother’s smiling face in her mind’s eye and smiled not realizing the Taxi had stopped.
The Taxi driver stared at her closely from his mirror wondering why such a pretty girl could be plagued by mental problems; who would sit in a cab and smile by themselves? He suddenly realized that she was the only passenger he had carried all that long distance. She was a bundle of bad luck, he whispered almost audibly mkpo ufok, ‘god punish bad market’.

Knowing fully well what was going on in the driver’s mind, Deborah laughed out loud and the man quickly drove away. She suddenly felt empty like something inside of her was missing, then she realized it was that face, the face that had smiled at her but she had ignored his smile, she wished she even had a picture of him but wishes were ashes from a quenched fire.

She crossed over to the phone lady on the other side of the road, she needed to call her friend Sarah. She had missed speaking to her dear friend for two days now.

‘Hello Sarah its Deborah’,
her friend responded excitedly

‘madam sweet Chocolate how fa, wey you bin dey dat time I come your house?’,
Deborah suddenly felt her spirit rise, Sarah had a way of cheering people up. She didn’t narrate her unfortunate ordeal but just exchanged pleasantries while on the phone, she couldn’t afford the luxury of a long phone call at this point. She paid the woman in charge and left for home, she needed to rest properly; the next few days were going to be hectic for her.

As she approached their apartment, she noticed something strange about the door, and she paused, I think I locked it, she reasoned. She knew she had locked the door before going but it was slightly aja and there was a pair of masculine sandals on the doorsteps.

Deborah heaved a sigh, her sister was always causing trouble, she had most probably brought one of her boyfriends to the house again. She looked around and noticed the compound was empty, she remembered again that today was ‘Itam’ Market day. She braced herself up to face her sister, she had to put an end to her unruly behavior, she dropped her bag close to the door, took a deep breath and pushed opened the door.
She was too shocked by what she saw, she couldn’t say a thing, she just stared at the duo and felt the tears she had been fighting poor down her cheeks. ‘Mama how could you’? was all she managed as she ran out of the room.

The garden was set for the ceremony, the chairs were well placed and the caterers had already started packaging the meals they had prepared. At the center of the garden was placed a large board which served as a platform, far along its side was a space provided for the bandstand and they were already at their best. The air smelt fresh, with fragrances of roses and chrysanthemum standing out.

The breeze had started its sojourn and cooled the entire surrounding. Andy occupied a seat in front not wanting to miss any fun moment. He was happy for his cousin, since Morganna was his choice, then he had his support. He sipped the glass empty of the Chardonnay he had been drinking, closing his eyes he let the wine play with his brain while absorbing the sounds the music group produced.

‘Drunk in love, we be all night, love……..love…’

He opened his eyes as he listened intently to Beyonce’s lyrics, wondering whether her single ‘Drunk in love’ was just a song or reality, he had never fallen in love before, he didn’t believe it.

Andy poured more from the bottle and sipped confusedly, he kept on thinking about the girl he had met close to the market. She had affected him strongly to the extent he became speechless when he saw her, he was awed by her beauty. He had seen lots and lots of pretty girls all his life, most threw themselves at him; being extra cute and from a wealthy family had given him that advantage, but right now he felt miserable, where could his looks and money get him now?

How could he ever find the girl again? What if she was married or engaged as his cousin had suspected, he thought of that possibility because of the way she had acted coldly. He had to find her by God, he had to, that was the first time he was so drawn to a woman without thinking of her body.

On his third glass, Seline grabbed the bottle from him,

‘what do you think you’re doing’?
She smacked his head as he struggled with her, not wanting to make a scene he released the bottle,

‘ I’m fine just get away from me’,
she pointed a finger at him

‘ no that is the wine talking, what’s wrong with you Andy’?

He stood up and staggered back to the house, he needed to sleep over his worries and he needed something else to soothe him, he needed someone nearby, and that someone was ‘Jessica’ he groaned; although she was a maid, she was extremely talented in the act of bedding a man.