by Umari Ayim

Episode 10

Chika’s Embryos And Calling An Uneasy Truce

– Read Episode 1 of the compelling story HERE.

– Read Episode 2 of the compelling story HERE.

– Read Episode 3 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 4 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 5 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 6 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 7 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 8 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 9 of the compelling story HERE

I use the fork in my hand to pick up the small pieces of the fish swimming in spicy hot sauce. As I chew the fish, I eye the round bean cakes on the plate and wonder if I have enough appetite to do justice to them. Breaking the seal of the bottled water sitting next to my tray of lunch, I take a short break from chewing, and pour the water into the glass beside it. I am lifting the glass to my lips when I see Henry walk into the restaurant. He nods at the uniformed security guard standing at the door, eyes moving around the room. Our eyes soon meet and he gives me a smile before starting down the narrow aisle towards me.
“Good afternoon,” Henry says, slipping into the green contoured booth opposite me.
I lower the glass back to the table and smile at him. “Good afternoon Henry.”

“I went to your office and your secretary told me you would be here.”

The upscale restaurant which is just across the road from the office is a favourite among the staff of Richard’s company. Once my secretary had overcome her initial discomfort at the thought of letting me go and get my own lunch, she had reluctantly given me the address of the restaurant.

I smile and tell Henry how I wanted a break from the office.

“A break is good.”

I wonder…should I broach the topic now? What will she think?

I step away from Henry’s mind and brace myself for whatever is coming.

“So, how are things with you and Richard?”

I shrug and tell Henry, “we are fine, I guess.”

Henry considers my answer for a while before motioning to the waiter in white shirt, small bow tie and black trousers walking past our table. He orders a plate of coleslaw salad and the waiter nods and hurries away.

When I have Henry’s attention, I begin office talk to avoid topics on my relationship with Richard. I ask him what he plans to do about Mr. Amokhai.

“I guess, I will just wait for the perfect opportunity to nail him.”

“I am sorry Richard had to take his word over your own.”

“Hey, it is okay,” Henry says with a good natured laugh. “Richard approaches everything in a pragmatic way, so I don’t blame him for that one.”

The waiter returns with Henry’s salad and he begins to eat. Half way through the meal, he raises concerned eyes to me.

“Are you telling me the truth about you and Richard?”

I feign ignorance at Henry’s question. “The truth?”

“I mean, are you guys cool with each other?”

“Yes, we are.”

“I saw the way you greeted each other at the lobby this morning.”

“Oh,” is all I say as I use my fork to chase a piece of bean cake, the memory of exchanging a stiff good morning with Richard at the entrance of the main reception area coming back to me.

“Does this have anything to do with the last meeting?”

“No.”

We eat in companionable silence for a few minutes and I suddenly remember Jude. I give up playing chase with my food and drop the fork on the plate.

“Do you think hiring an independent auditor is a bad idea?”

Henry wants to know the reason for my question. I tell him about Jude.

“It is not a bad idea if it means Mr. Amokhai’s excesses can be checked.”

I nod in agreement to Henry’s words and tell him I will talk about it to Richard. We spend the next fifteen minutes talking about the company’s latest acquisition of four official cars.

***************************

I knock once on Richard’s door and wait for a few seconds before pushing it open. Richard is at his desk, head bowed over papers before him while Tokunbo sits opposite him, waiting in a lavender purple skirt and white chiffon top. They both look up as I begin to approach them. The annoyance on Tokunbo’s face is hidden by layers of expertly applied make up but it is hard to miss it.

I reach the empty seat beside Tokunbo the same time Richard is leaning back in his chair. I ignore Tokunbo and nod at him.

“Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon,” Richard says, nodding back.

“Can I talk to you in private?”

Richard nods and turns to Tokunbo.

“I will call you as soon as I am done looking through the papers.”

Tokunbo nods at Richard and smiles brightly. “No problem.”

Standing up from her chair with the smoothness of a cat, she walks out of the office. I wait until I hear the decisive click of a door before I pull back the chair I am standing behind and sit down.

“There is something I want to talk to you about.”

“Please go ahead.”

There is skepticism on Richard’s face as I talk about independent auditors. After five minutes of our one sided conversation, I stop and look at him.

“So what do you think?”

Richard begins to shake his head and then stops. “I will need time to consider this. I have done enough recruiting for this year.”

I feel a little disappointed with Richard’s answer but I decide against pressing the issue.

“Okay then, thank you for your time.”

Back in my office, I go through hundreds of paper work and finally get bored at four p.m. I am relieved when the sky grows dark and my secretary calls my office to see the driver is ready to take me back home.

 

****************************

I am listening to Chika tell me about her last visit to the clinic for her embryo transfer.

“I feel hopeful now that they have planted them into me.”

“So you asked for the rest to be frozen?”

Chika nods. “I think I might need them later in future.”

We have a short conversation about IVF procedures and then Chika asks me about work. I tell her about meeting Tokunbo in Richard’s office.

“That woman,” Chika says, shaking her head. “She really sounds like trouble.”

I tell Chika about Henry’s reaction to my suggestion to bring an external auditor.

“I really want to bring Jude into the picture.”

Chika looks at me for some minutes. “What are your motives for bringing Jude into the picture?”

“A second auditor might help Richard see that the company auditor is up to no good.”

I tell Chika that Richard is still spending his nights in his study.

“This is not good for your marriage, Tamisho.”

I shrug and stretch my leg out in front of me until it is almost touching Chika’s coffee table.

“He keeps giving me the work excuse.”

“Have you tried to talk to him about your differences?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

I shrug again and study my wedding band. “He doesn’t seem to have time for chit chat.”

“Maybe you can initiate conversation.”

Chika soon returns to the topic of Tokunbo. “Don’t let her take advantage of your issue with Richard to win him back.”

Our next topic is my wardrobe. “You need to make sure you appear stylish at all times.”

“I am not going to start wearing tight skirts to compete with Tokunbo.”

Chika chides me for being stubborn but does not pursue the topic any further. We make plans for the next prayer meeting and soon I tell Chika that I have to leave. She walks me to the gate of her compound and I promise to call her the following day.

I have barely gone past the house after Chika’s own when I run into Jude again. I am pleasantly surprised to find him leaning on a silver BMW six series coupe beside the road.

“Hey,” he says just as I draw up beside him. “I was almost giving up on running into you this evening.”

I accept the hand he holds out to me and smile at him.

“You were waiting for me?”

“I came to see a cordial friend here,” Jude says, pointing to the high fenced compound with a red gate in front of him. “And I saw you entering that compound,” his head inclines towards Chika’s house. “when I was driving up here, so I thought I could just take the chance and wait here for you after my meeting.”

Jude asks me to sit in his car with him. For some reason, I don’t think it is a good idea and I tell him that it is okay for us to stand beside his car and talk.

“How soon are you looking to change jobs?”

Jude tells me that he is surprised that I still remember our last conversation.

“You are a good listener,” he says, nodding his head and looking pleased.

“Thank you.”

“As for your question, I guess I will love to leave my job as soon as possible.”

I ask what he plans to do after resigning from his current job and he tells me that he has not figured that out yet.

I ask him if he will ever consider being an independent auditor if the opportunity ever came up.

“Sure, why not?”

His answer encourages me to consider another meeting with Richard over the auditor issue again. Jude pays me a few compliments and apologizes when I look at my wristwatch.

“Sorry for holding you up, I think I should be on my way.”

I watch as he reverses into the road before turning his car towards his street, giving me a quick salute and driving off.

Back at home, Toju is happy to see me when I walk into his nursery to find him standing on his cot and gripping the rails while

Shadda looks on in amusement. I greet Shadda and she raises her left hand in greeting, a small smile on her face as I lift Toju up from the cot and carry him to the bedroom. Shadda is coming out of the dressing room as soon as I close the room door.

“Hi,” she says, holding up a small red silk night dress. “This is quite nice.”

I nod as I lower Toju to the bed and begin to play with him. “I have not worn it since my mother in law bought it.”

“I think you should wear it tonight.”

I pull back from Toju who is trying his best to suck my face and look up as Shadda lowers the night dress to the bed.

“Why should I wear it tonight?”

“For Richard,” Shadda says, snapping her fingers and appearing in the same nightdress. Before I can tease Shadda about being a very seductive looking guide, she is making a face and returning to the red and brown check shirt she is wearing over black denim pants.

“I don’t think Richard cares too much about what I wear to bed.”

“Who says?”

“Shadda, he is always in his study.”

Shadda sighs and throws herself on the bed beside Toju. “You have not been listening to his mind these days.”

I realize that Shadda is right. I have not been listening to Richard’s thoughts as much as I used to.

“If you had been listening, you would have learned how he feels.”

“Is that why you want me to wear that dress to bed tonight?”

Shadda shrugs. “I have been listening to you and your friends talk about lingerie,” Shadda says, giving me a wink.

I turn and lie down on my back on the bed, and then lift a smiling Toju above me. I make a loud “eewww”’ when drool falls on my face from Toju’s mouth and he laughs, more drool escaping and landing on my jaw. I finally lower him to my side and watch Shadda as she starts to sell me the idea of going to meet Richard in his study tonight.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

I think hard for a sensible reason. When I find none, I simply shake my head slowly.

Shadda shakes her head and mutters quietly, “fine, I give up.”

Toju takes all of my concentration for the next few minutes before I turn to Shadda again.

“What do you think about Jude?”

“Ambitious,” Shadda says simply, looking down at the remote control she is flipping in her hand.

I wait for Shadda to tell me more but she is more interested in her flipping than a conversation about Jude.

“You know, I really should be going now,” Shadda says, bending down to kiss Toju on his cheeks and standing up with a sigh. “I have duties to attend to.”

Shadda’s long strides carry her to the window but she stops there before turning back to me with a thoughtful look.

“Your mother in law…”

I lift Toju from the bed and shift to the edge of it. “What about her?”

“She is one troubled mortal.”

I ask Shadda why she thinks so, but she just shakes her head and tells me to expect a visit from Richard’s mother soon.

“Okay.”

“I am thinking of something dramatic,” Shadda says, a smile breaking out on her face.

“Something dramatic?”

“Yes,” Shadda says with a nod, looking back at the window. “You know as I am leaving.

I laugh and plant my feet firmly on the floor before putting my weight and Toju’s weight on them.

“A rush of wind?”

Shadda nods. “Yes, like in the movie I saw the nanny watching yesterday.”

“You can try loud trumpet sounds while you are it.”

Shadda looks as if she is considering it but I know her silent melting from one plane of existence to the other is the way of most guides. Shadda has told me this before. I nod at her as she waves me goodbye one last time before walking through the wall.
Today is the nanny’s day off, so there is no one else in the nursery when I get there and try to put Toju to sleep. It is an hour before Toju grows limp with sleep and I return him back to his cot.

I decide to take a long hot shower before going to bed. I am brushing my teeth when I blink my reflection to life.

“I don’t think I want you to be close to Jude.”

“Why?”

“I think he likes you.”

I wait until my mouth is free of toothpaste before I ask my reflection how she knows this.

“Because he looks at you in a particular way.”

I think about this for some minutes and then shake my head at my reflection.

“You are imagining things.”

“I miss Richard.”

“I don’t.”

“Of course you do,” my reflection counters with a scowl. “You are just being stubborn.”

I ignore my reflection as she plays with the several tubes of cosmetics, toothpaste and lotions on her counter top.

“Shadda was right.”

“Right about what?”

“I think you should meet Richard in his study.”

I return my reflection to her former state and leave the bathroom. I notice the red night dress still spread on the bed when I walk into the room. With a sigh, I walk to the bed, pick it up and head for the dressing room. I open the chest of drawers where my night dresses are and begin to dump the night dress in my hand when I have a change of mind. I push the drawer shut and release the knot of the towel on my body.

The night dress is cool against my body and after minutes of looking into the ceiling to floor mirror in the dressing room, my mind is made up. The silk night dress is my choice for the night.

I sit on the bed and try to read the book I brought from my small office down the hall but the story of the mystery novel is lost on me as my mind keeps drifting to Richard. When it becomes impossible to understand the small fine print of the book in my hand, I stand up from the bed and head for Richard’s study.

Richard is on the sofa, one leg thrown over the top of it when I walk into the study. The room is dark except for the florescent glow of a single recessed light directly above his desk. At first, I think he is looking at me as I walk to him, but when I draw close, I see that he is fast asleep. There are several papers lying on the floor beside the sofa and a few on his stomach. His mind is clear and I am sure he must have been asleep for long.

I lower myself beside him and watch him sleep. The rhythmic rise and fall of his chest is almost hypnotic and I find myself yawning silently. I am placing my hands beside me to heave myself to my feet when Richard’s eyes fly open. I freeze and stay still as he regards me with clear eyes.

“I thought you were asleep,” I tell him, my tone half surprised and half accusing.

“I wasn’t.”

“But you were breathing deeply.”

And I could not hear any thought in your head.

“Practice.”

“Practice?”

Richard nods in answer to my question and brings down the leg hanging on the top of the sofa.

“I used to do it a lot as a child.”

I think there is more but I am too flustered to ask Richard for childhood stories.

“So?”

I search for words to explain my incursion into his territory, but I find none.

Richard tries to help me out. “You wanted to talk about something?”

I shake my head even though I actually want to nod it.

There is a soft whirring sound and I move back as Richard’s sofa transforms itself to a bed.

“Come,” Richard says, patting the now wide space beside him. “It is big enough for two now.”

I hesitate for a few seconds, but when Richard reaches to touch my arm, my limbs come loose and I climb up the sofa-bed and nestle beside him. We stay still for as long as possible and just as I think Richard has fallen asleep, I feel him move behind me.

“About your request this afternoon…”

“What about it?”

“Do you have anyone you would like to recommend to the company?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“A friend.”

“Female?”

“No.”

Richard moves his hand up my stomach and stops at the soft underside of my breasts.

“Male?”

“Yes.”

“Do I know him?”

I think about Richard’s short encounter with Jude. “Not really.”

“Okay.”

Richard’s breath fans my neck as he sighs. “I am not sure how we are going to manage this, but we can try.”

I smile to myself before turning to face Richard. “Great.”

Richard tries a weak smile. “I guess.”

I spend the night listening to Richard’s heart beat until I fall asleep. I think we have called an uneasy truce but the issue of auditors still hangs between us like an ugly unwelcome question mark.

– To be continued…

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Umari Ayim is the author of ‘Twilight at Terracotta Indigo’ and ‘Inside my Head’ both winners of the 2011 ANA NDDC Flora Nwapa prize and 2012 Poetry prize respectively.

Umari blogs at www.umariayim.com and tweets from @umariayim