The Moment I Met You (Chapter 346)

 By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

‘Michael isn’t happy that I didn’t invite him for my birthday,’ Andrew said the next morning when he entered the kitchen. He was washing his face at the kitchen sink. ‘But I told him I didn’t invite him because of his busy schedule.’ Andrew didn’t invite Michael because he didn’t want to draw the attention of the media. Michael was so popular that even his cough was reported. Andrew just wanted a low-key birthday and not a luxury birthday. If he wanted his birthday to be the talk of the day, he would have invited Michael, and Michael would have certainly turned this little birthday into a luxury-birthday celebration.           

It was almost seven thirty in the morning. Chioma had been up for one hour already. She had lit the stove, collected about eight eggs from the rack, and already fried plantain and yam were waiting at the small kitchen counter, the kettle was boiling for tea and in the other stove, a delicious pot of ukwa was being cooked.              

          

Outside; Andrew could see a rooster, from the open window. It crowed, and went ahead to meet with two hens that were walking towards a foodstall nearby. Andrew was still wearing his khaki shorts and grey shirt he wore after his birthday. He had been too tired to change into his pyjamas. Anyway, he slept off that he even forgot his night bath.                                                                                                              

‘Maybe you could bring him some sandwiches and zobo,’Chioma pouted. ‘I was only joking,’ she chuckled as she carried the fried plantain and yam and put the plates on the dining table. Louisa came into the kitchen, eating an apple.                                                               

  ‘What if I deliver akpu and ofe efe to him?’ Andrew asked teasingly.                                                                                                                                            ‘I will help him throw it at your face,’ Chioma laughed.                      

‘And I will rob it on his body. He won’t forget the unique scent of the akpu for the rest of his life,’ Andrew laughed, too.

                 

  ‘Do you want me to prepare akamu as well?’Chioma asked her mother. Louisa had put on a new set of clothes after taking her bath and her hair neatly combed. She was going to leave for the market after breakfast.                          

                    

‘No, maybe we will have that for dinner,’Louisa replied, settling on a seat. ‘I am glad that a couple of months now we have peace and quiet. I wish it will all remain like that.’                      

‘That’s why I pray that Jessica doesn’t return from Paris. She is trouble…’Chioma said.                                                                                                                  

‘Witches don’t give up easily. I’m afraid she will come back to fight more than she fought before.’Andrew took a piece of fried plantain and put it into his mouth.                                                                              

The meal was finished; Chioma cleared the dishes and hurriedly washed them. Louisa was ready to leave for the market with her fruit cart. Andrew helped her pushed the fruits outside.

                   

Chioma ran to her mother. ‘For your lunch,’she said, handing Louisa a fancy lunchbox she had bought a couple of weeks ago. Chioma had put delicious well cooked ukwa inside the lunchbox. Don’t miss your lunch.’She hugged Louisa.                                                                                    

Louisa pinched her on the nose, and hugged her back. ‘You are the best daughter in the world. Now don’t you forget to return home on time? We will be having akamu and beans for dinner.’                                  

Chioma nodded with a smile. It was indeed a beautiful morning, a light sunlight spreading around the place. Chioma felt happy. With Jessica out for a long time in Paris and no one was talking lately about her relationship with Michael, she felt that Jessica’s absence in Abuja was like a holiday to her.                                                                       

Chioma went back inside to dress up for work. She put on a light cotton dress and a plum-coloured cardigan. She had a white silk scarf, which she had tied the knot beneath her chin. Her dark hair was tied in neat ponytail, and she complimented her look with lip gloss. She looked herself in the mirror and smiled when she was good to go. Straightening her skirt, she grabbed her bag and left the room. Then, she waved goodbye to Andrew who was in the kitchen heating a kettle full of water.                                                                                                                                  

Andrew was left alone in the house. After taking his bath, he put a towel on the dining table to iron the beige-coloured shirt he had chosen to wear for work. The shirt had a soft collar, and when he put it on, still hot from the iron, he left it unbuttoned at the throat. Then, he went to his bedroom and stood at the mirror, combing his hair this way and that, trying out different partings. He was going to have a hair cut this weekend. Due to lots of customers flooding into the garage to have their cars fixed, he hadn’t gotten the chance for a clean hair-cut.