Richard sat by the bar, ordered a glass of white wine whilst stealing glances at his wristwatch. He had been here for about 45 minutes and still, there was no sign of Dave. He had mixed feelings and couldn't wait for everything to get done and over with. Despite his impatience and apprehension, there was this soothing calmness that lurked around. Maybe it was the serene atmosphere, or the sound of Elton John's "Sacrifice" playing in the background or maybe the coloured bulbs that dimly lit the hall. Whatever it was, he sure needed that soothing relief.
He took another sip of his drink and was lost in thoughts when he heard Dave's voice behind him amidst female chatter.
"Oh!! there he is". Dave said giving him a slight tap on the shoulder.
Richard simply looked up with a rather blank expression on his face but the sight of the tall, dark lady his eyes beheld left his feet numb and his tongue speechless. Without much ado, Dave did the introductions and called on a waiter to fix a table for four. As soon as they were settled, Richard simply kept mute and only nodded at intervals even as he took note of every minute detail around him.
He felt Esomo was lousy and one could easily refer to her as a "basketmouth". She drank with reckless abandon and this put him off. His gaze went to Kamsi who was calmly sitted beside him, he took great care not to let their eyes meet but he knew there was something about her he just could not place. She didn't seem to him like the regular girl. Her calmness and simplicity struck him and for a moment, he stopped to wonder what a seemingly calm and harmless Kamsi had to do with lousy Esomo. Maybe they were merely "business partners" and besides he felt judging a book by its cover could turn out to be the worst form of deceit...
As time flew by, Richard began to loosen up; drinking, laughing, and chattering with the girls but this was not to last long as he gradually began to feel tipsy and Dave thought it wise that they all "retire for the night". Before now, Dave had had rooms booked and so a brief talk with the receptionist in duty settled it all. She handed Dave the keys to Room104 and Room106.
The pairing wasn't debated upon and it seemed somewhat natural for Dave to stick to Esomo and Richard to Kamsi. They bade one another "goodnight" with Dave flashing a knowing wink to Richard who was too dazed even to notice.
Once they got into the room, Richard slumped on the bed and in a matter of seconds, was in deep sleep. Kamsi felt relieved and at the same time confused, wondering what exactly her mission here was. She simply shrugged her shoulders, let out a deep sigh and finally sank into the chair closest to her. Her gaze gradually went to Richard who lay asleep on the double sized bed with his face up, legs apart and his mouth slightly open. He looked peaceful in his sleep. The couch on which she sat was directly beside the bedside drawer and a long standing mirror on her right gave a full side-view of herself and Richard on the bed. She wasn't sure if she wanted that. The different colours that came from the chandelier blended well with the white wall paint and the white sheets which gave the room a somewhat vintage look. Her eyes lingered for a while and it went back to Richard. She noticed how uncomfortable he would be in sleep and as though propelled by some unnatural force, she moved swiftly to the bed, yanked his shoes and stockings off, took off his wristwatch and unhooked his belt. Just as she was doing that, she noticed a huge bulge in his right pocket. Subconciously, she gently felt it and dug her hand deep. She got out his wallet.
Her hands trembled at the sight of it and somewhere deep down, she had the irresistible urge to open it. What she saw got her jaw dropping and as she looked back at him, she noticed that he looked as peaceful as ever even in his sleep.
Her eyes went back to the wallet and its contents in her hands. Her mind began to wander. Her mum was the only one that occupied her thoughts and somehow, the dark side of her began to supress every iota of humane feeling left in her. Was this an opportunity? Maybe it was. Just as she was drawing her "escape plan", her entire episode with Canon replayed in her head but she had this conviction that this one was different.
Without much ado, she threw the wallet into her handbag, strapped her sandals, and looked in the mirror to brush her hands through her hair - to be sure she looked as calm as possible. With one last look at Richard, she gently opened the door, peeked her head through to make sure no one was hanging along the hallway before slipping past the door quietly. Esomo and Dave were in the room directly opposite but they were the least of her problems.
Luck seemed to be on her side as the whole bar and lounge seemed busy. Nobody cared. She glanced at her wristwatch and it was a few minutes past 12am. She only heaved a deep sigh and within seconds, she disappeared into the night.....
**********
The strange figure straddled him and held very firm grip of his neck. He struggled so hard to let go, his eyes bulging and his breath gradually ceasing but the more he tried, the weaker he became as the figure whose face he couldn't even picture got greater hold of him.
He let out a shrill cry and jerked up from his nightmare with tiny beads of sweat streaming down his face, neck and chest. He clutched the white sheets closely and noticed it was damp. His sweats had dampened it.
Gradually, with dreamy eyes he looked around him and for a second, stopped to wonder how and when he got here, all alone. It was then it struck him!! Where was she? He wondered. He gradually got off the bed and noticed that his shoes had been taken off and his belt hook undone. There were no traces of her presence in the room - no handbag, footwear or maybe littered clothes. In his awe, he paused for a moment to remember her name. Then he made his way to the bathroom, gave the door a slight tap while gently calling out her name. When he got no response, he opened the door, peeked in, and to his utter amazement she wasn't there either.
He only let out a mischievous throaty laugh and began to fasten his belt around his waist. Subconsciously, he felt his pockets and noticed its emptiness. It just had to be one rib-cracking joke. He checked in and around the bedside drawers, under the pillows, under the sheets and even in his pockets again. In his shock, it dawned on him all that had happened. Suddenly, hot flushes of anger and fury rushed through him and his face turned red in a flash. He dashed out of the room and found himself banging on the door opposite his - although careful not to disturb the other guests.
"Who on earth could that be". Esomo asked Dave who was as perplexed as she was while trying to adjust herself properly under the covers.
Dave hurriedly covered himself with a bathrobe and went to get the door. As soon as he opened the door, he was quickly shoved aside by Richard whose eyes were bloodshot and was pointing his right fore-finger at Esomo in a manner of violent accusation.
"You worthess slut!!" Richard barked. "You connived with your friend to steal from me right??"
Esomo's jaws dropped in suprise. " Wha wha what do you mean?" She stammered a little. By now, anger had taken the better part of Richard.
"Oh! don't give me that crap! where is she? else I'll get you both arrested and I swear to this." Esomo could hear the seriousness in his voice and she prayed inwardly for this not to get out of hand because at the moment, she was too astonished even to make any reasonable statement or defend herself convincingly.
Dave regained his balance and tried to give his friend a pat on the back to calm him down but his hands were shoved off sooner than it landed on his back. Richard made his way to the door, but paused for a second before he added in a calm tone
"You girls had better be careful, you might not get this lucky on your next escapade".
**********
It was 6.48am. Kamsi had boarded the first bus and by now, was on her way to Umuahia. Several thoughts swarmed her mind and for sure, she knew Esomo would be worried sick about her and the fact that she switched her both phones off would make matters even worse. She looked out through the window and inhaled deeply. She then thought about Richard. Did she have to do what she did? What did he think of her now? Would he come after her??. When she couldn't arrive at answers to most of the questions her inner being asked her, she simply waved them all aside reassuring herself that she didn't have much choices anyway.
At about 11.30am, she arrived Umuahia and for the first time in a long while, she noticed she had mixed feelings and suddenly lacked the fervor to visit home. She picked up her small hand luggage and headed to board another bus that would take her to her home at Mission Hill. In less than 10minutes, she alighted from the vehicle and made her way into the compound. The surroundings seemed so peaceful and serene and the familiar scent she perceived in the atmosphere made her feel more at home. As she approached the main building which stood in the middle of an extremely large compound surrounded by plantain trees, she figured it was quite unusual for mama not be sitted at the verandah and it was then it struck her that mama's little kiosk outside the house was closed -very unusual!!
She only hoped all was well. As she approached the house, she could hear the chattering of people inside. The voices were familiar- mama's and Dozie's , only that she couldn't place the voice of the person in whose company they were.
The door to the parlour which was on the right wing of the passage, stood slightly ajar. She peeked in to see her mother, brother and some other strange woman who sat breastfeeding a baby amidst loud chatter. She silently walked through the door and it was the scent of her cologne that betrayed her presence. Dozie couldn't contain his excitement as he jumped off his seat and flung his arms around her in a tight embrace. Oh! how she missed home!! Her mother who had been lying on the couch got up with her eyes obviously lit up with excitement. She looked hale and hearty, and her smile hadn't changed one bit.
It was now Kamsi was taken aback. Her mother ought to be sick, wasn't she? In a very critical condition....whatever happened, she needed reasonable explanations.
In no time, the visitor who had come to pay a visit soon took her leave, leaving Kamsi enough room to ask the dozen questions she couldn't wait to spill.
"Mama, what kind of joke is this?" A bewildered Kamsi asked. Her mother only gave Dozie a knowing look and together they burst out in laughter. This got Kamsi visibly irritated.
"Dozie!" Kamsi barked. "You were the one who's been disturbing my phone for over two weeks now as regards mama's health. I'm here now and the both of you are trying to make a big fool of me".
The atmosphere was becoming tense and it was clear, Kamsi needed explanations. The look in her eyes said so.
"Errmm..." mama began. "Don't go hard on me or your brother because as a matter of fact, everything he called to tell you was true. It was no false alarm".
"So mama, what then happened?" Kamsi asked again even more suprised than she was.
Mama adjusted her wrapper before she began with smiles twisting at the corners of her lips.
"Do you remember Elder Osuji in the church, the one who travelled to 'obodo oyibo' with his wife last year?". Kamsi nodded in the affirmative and mama continued.
"As part of their thanksgiving programme, they decided to pick five widows ; set up small scale businesses for them and provide basic medical care to them and their families for a whole year". Saying Kamsi was shocked was an understatement.
"So mama, you mean to tell me that Elder Osuji and his wife paid your hospital bills and bought you your routine drugs?" Kamsi asked with her eyes wide with excitement.
"That is not all oo" Dozie quickly cut in. "Mama was also given #150,000 to boost her petty business".
Kamsi's mouth hung open. At that instant, she felt shock, suprise, astonishment and regret all at once. Why didn't they tell her all these? Why did they have to put her through the stress of doing all she had to do to make sure she came back home prepared to take care of her "sick mother"?. Right now, she didn't know whether to be happy or sad, whether to laugh or cry. It just dawned on her that she had no justification whatsoever to do what she did because for all she cared now, it was pointless!
"...but mama, you and Dozie should have told me this, it wouldn't have stopped me from coming if I wanted to". Her eyes kept lingering on her handbag which contained...
Her mother only smiled, although inwardly she expected a totally different reaction from her daughter.
"Well..my dear daughter, Dozie suggested we cover it up and reserve it as a big suprise for you or aren't you happy seeing me and your brother?"
"I am Mama". Kamsi lied.
"Can I get something in this house to eat?" Kamsi asked no one in particular as she made her way to the kitchen while she wondered how to clear the mess she just created for herself which obviously would hunt her for quite sometime..
