MAGICAL MONDAYS WITH 'KREATE'
LIFE IS GREY
Episode 4: Reunion & Roommate
Ashley
It was June and the
air was fresh with the chill of last night’s rain and the breath of the air
conditioner, so a turtle neck under a light linen jacket was appropriate. The
matching combo of the pair of denim and tan shoes were untayolike; the Tayo she knew couldn’t dress well to save his life.
He was taller than she remembered and had clearly evolved into one of those
guys that worked out and consumed requisite protein for muscle building. But
the eyes behind the spectacles were his; uncharacteristically confident, but
his. The wave of recognition followed by shock that passed through his eyes
told her he had no prior knowledge that she was an employee of The Lodge.
Moments passed as they gazed at each other, one waiting for the other to break
the ice.
‘Ashley?’
He finally managed to take the plunge.
Memories of what
happened that fateful night rushed in like a Tsunami and her legs felt weak but
she willed herself to stay upright. And then came the wave of betrayal and
anger. She wanted to slap him, scratch him, strangle him. An overwhelming urge
to cry taunted her throat, caressed her tear ducts. And then her bag vibrated
once, twice, thrice, the fourth time before going mute. Picking calls during a
meeting for her was nothing short of unprofessional but she needed a
distraction now. Professional could
go to hell. ‘Excuse me.’ Her voice
was surprisingly still calm. She did not wait for his answer before fishing her
phone out of the handbag. She listened to the voicemail. It wasn’t urgent. Just
some potential roommate from letshare.com. And yet the distraction wasn’t
sufficient. ‘I need to return this call,’
she said.
Tayo sighed. ‘Okay.’
As soon as the door
was shut behind her, she dialed the number. Someone picked up on the second
ring.
‘This
is Ashley. You called about an apartment ad on Letshare?’
‘Yeah,
I am interested in the ad. Can we meet up today?’
‘I
believe I can make that happen. What time do you have in mind?’
‘What
are you doing now?’ Chinwe asked.
‘Hmm…’ Ashley had a business to conclude with Tayo but she could not
trust herself to be civil. ‘Where do we
meet up?’
‘I
am currently in a room in Belvadoire. It’s just beside –‘
‘Lagos
Suites and Holdings,’ Ashley cut her short.
‘I
take it you know where it’s located?’
‘Yes
I do. As a matter of fact, I am in the neighborhood. I can be there in another
10 minutes.’
‘Great.
Let’s meet up at the rooftop lounge.”
The receiver went
mute and Ashley returned to Tayo’s office. He was seated behind his table and
looking through some architectural blueprints. His eyes met Ashley’s and she
was observant enough to know that they held regret, remorse and some hidden
tale. But she didn’t care. A bit of her was surprised at how mad she was at
him. How mad she had been all these years. She couldn’t deal with him now,
couldn’t deal with the memory he conjured effortlessly. ‘I have to leave. We’ll have to reschedule.’ She had betrayed every
professional etiquette in her portfolio. Her company was looking for business
so the client should hold the prerogative to reschedule and not the other way
around. Her boss would kill her if she didn’t seal the deal. But she just
couldn’t bring herself to do what was right. Not now, at least.
‘I
understand. Drop your card. I’ll be in touch.’
He had changed. He
had grown. His response spoke maturity. She complied. ‘Have a good day.’
‘Thank
you, Ashley.’
Ashley
and Chinwe
As they exchanged
pleasantries and took their seats, the two ladies sized up each other like two
male dogs trying to decide who would take on the status of Alpha.
‘So
what do you do, Chinwe?’ Ashley asked.
‘Blogging, basically,’ Chinwe replied.
‘Linda
Ikeji.’
Chinwe smiled. ‘Well I’m still a few million bucks away
from her but I make enough to live without pestering others for help. And you
Ashley, what do you do?’
‘I
am Business Development Manager.’
‘Okay.
So how does this Letshare thing work exactly?’
‘Basically,
we split house rent and maintenance costs and agree on certain terms.’
‘House
rent, I understand. Define maintenance costs?’
‘Electrical
bills, water bills, security bills, and cleaning bills.’
‘That
sounds fair. And what are your terms?’
Ashley raised a brow.
‘My terms?’
‘I
may be cohabiting but let’s face it, it’s your apartment. So you get to make
the rules.’
Ashley smiled. She
liked the candid nature of this Chinwe girl. ‘Alright. There’ll be a cleaning schedule for areas that we’ll share
i.e. the sitting room, the kitchen and the balcony. The rooms are ensuite so
what you do with your side of the building is totally up to you.’ She shot
Chinwe an enquiry.
‘That
sounds fair. I can work with that.’
Ashley remembered
something. ‘Ah, yes. I’d prefer to my
meals alone.’
Chinwe laughed. ‘Trust me, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Any other thing?’
Ashley shook her head.
‘Other than the legal papers and the
other information clearly stated on the ad, I can’t think of any other
important thing.’
‘So
when do I get to see the house?’ Chinwe asked. ‘We both know photos can be deceptive.’
‘That
should be the least of your worries. You’ll love it. We can head over there
right away, if that’s fine with you.’
Ashley was right. The
apartment was beautiful. Chinwe loved it.
Ashley
Ashley returned to
work that day expecting her boss to rain furious fire on her. She had been trying
to figure out a logical excuse for rescheduling the meeting but couldn’t come
up with anything valid. Her conclusion was to simply state it and take whatever
comes next. She knocked his door,
entered, all prepped for the worst.
Dotun smiled. An
unexpected reaction. ‘Well, you know busy
men could be like that sometimes. And I assure you he wouldn’t have cancelled
if it wasn’t something serious. He has been magnanimous enough to give you an
open chequ; you get to choose the next meeting date. But I suggest you make it
quick. He has good money and we need that money.’
So he chose to save
her neck? Amidst the stream of anger, the bubble of gratitude couldn’t be kept
down. Her face broke into her most professional smile. ‘I understand, Dotun.’ She glanced at the wall clock behind his
desk. It was 5pm, home time. ‘Any other
outstanding for the day, Dotun?’
‘Nah,
but there is a matter I’d like to discuss.’ Dotun gestured
at his seat. ‘It’s about my wife….’
Here we go again,
Ashley thought as she made herself comfortable. But the distraction was
welcomed; she wasn’t quite ready to think about Tayo. Not yet.
Kreate
is a budding Nigerian writer with a flair for fiction. Writing for him
began sometime in secondary school where he dabbled in poetry and plays.
He has authored two self-published short novels.
He is a banker and lives in Surulere.
He is a banker and lives in Surulere.
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