"Do you remember the last time you saw Yasmin laugh?" Alhaji removed his eyes from the duo to ask Soliat.
She searched her memory. "I don't think I've ever seen Sister Yasmin laugh."
"I have, when we were very little and have big dreams and innocence the hardships of life had not taken. It's been so long I saw her laugh. So long." He murmured the last words to himself and looked back at his sister laughing at something Mr. Edegbe had said.
"She's laughing," Soliat said, looking in his direction.
"She is," he concurred and returned his hands to her thigh.
"Brother Abubakar!"
"What is it?" He grinned wickedly.
"You said you were going to court me."
"That's what I'm doing."
"Like this?"
"What? You don't like it? Or you don't like that you like it?"
She stuttered. "We're in public."
"So you wouldn't mind if we did this behind closed doors?"
She opened her mouth. "That's not what I said."
"No, but you implied it. Your reservation is because we're in public, it means you'll be perfectly fine with this behind closed doors."
"You're twisting my words," she accused.
"That's because you won't say the things I want to hear. You became more shy after I confessed my feelings to you, I thought things between us would skyrocket from there, but we're back to square one. You won't even play with me like you used to before."
"I—"
"Shh."He stopped her. "I plan to be very gentle with you, but kai, sometimes I can't help myself. But we'll go at your pace." He removed his hands from her thigh and knew from the fall of her shoulder that she hated the loss of heat. "You know I—"
"Wallahi, what are they doing?" The excitement laced voice of Ms. Samira interrupted him and himself and the others turned to look in the direction she pointed. When he trailed her finger, the view had his jaw dropping at first and then, after a few seconds, he smiled.
"Oh!" Soliat's hand flew to her mouth. "Are they kissing?"
"Obviously," Alhaji replied.
…
When their lips parted, Edegbe stared at Yasmin, who looked back at him unblinkingly, for a while before backing out and turning to leave. But his steps came to an abrupt stop when he saw that everyone was looking at them. Realizing what he had done, he turned back to her.
"Jesus, did we do that in the presence of everybody?" He buried his head in the crook of her neck and whimpered. "Jesus Christ! Oh God, I can't believe this." He felt the heaving of her chest and knew she was laughing. "How can you laugh in this type of situation?"
Still laughing, she replied. "You're so funny, reacting like this."
He breathed in the deep smell of tangerine from her neck. "Aren't you embarrassed?"
"Why should I be?"
"What do you mean 'why should you be'? And God, stop laughing!"
Her laughter increased. "They will keep staring if you don't stop clutching to me like this."
"Oh God, this is so mortifying. And what's with the people who are looking, can't they mind their business? No, this won't do, let's get out of here." He took her wrist and led her away from the hall.
She laughed as he dragged her to a secluded corner, laughed even after he left her wrist. "You're not going to stop laughing?" But him too, watching this new side of her, started laughing. She laughed at him and he laughed because he liked seeing her laugh. Then he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. Tilting his side to the side, he sealed her lips with his, stopping her laughter and hearing her sigh as she opened up to him.
She drew closer and threw her arm around his shoulder, pressing her breasts against his chest and sliding her tongue against his.
"Sweet lord," he murmured in between the kiss as he felt the heat envelope him. He felt the gentle thud of his chest as her mouth took him in a lovely battle.
When their lips parted, he didn't move way from her, instead he touched her forehead with his and closed his eyes.
"What does Edegbe mean?" She asked against his lips.
And he sighed and answered, "A new dawn."
…
"Did they really have to desecrate the evening like that?" Haruna complained after watching the both of them leave and burst into a jabber of Hausa on how bitter the food tasted, how tasteless it was.
"But the food tastes okay," Ahmed, throwing some into his mouth, said.
"When will you stop eating like a pig?"
"What's that supposed to mean? What's wrong with you?"
"He's just heartbroken," Bello interfered, rubbing salt on the man's wound. "Tell me, Haruna, what is more upsetting, that your competitor for Mrs. Yasmin's affection took a huge pass on you, or that he's Mr. Edegbe?"
"He's looking for trouble," Soliat whispered to Alhaji."
"It's a trouble he can handle."
"You don't seem surprised," she noticed.
"About Yasmin? What's there to be surprised about? She always goes for what she wants. It's in the family, one look at me and you'll know what she's like, we're twins, remember?"
"I know, but," she paused. "Doing it in front of everyone."
"I could do that too. Relax," he said when she tensed. "I won't. But seriously, I wished Yasmin had agreed to tutor you as a child, she would have taught you how to be bold, I was too soft."
"And you lied a lot. You said I would have her hair when I grew up."
He laughed. "What else could you pacify a little girl with other than the things she wants to hear?"
She smiled too. "I'm going to use the bathroom, Brother Abubakar." That was a white lie and Alhaji knew it but he nodded and smiled at her. She was not used to sitting at one place in a party, especially sitting amongst his age group. She was not blind to the suggestive stares she received from the women she hated, not like she minded, she just wanted to stretch her legs.
But so she wouldn't feel like a liar, she went to the ladies and washed her hand to tell herself she actually did something. When she got out of the bathroom, she started to walk back to the table when she caught Efe walking towards her direction and with the way he walked, she knew, like every other time, he was going to walk pass her. Couldn't he at least behave he knew her? Or pretend that since she was a relative of his neighbour, they had some level of familiarity? After all, he had told Alhaji about that day. Why did he talk about her behind her back when he behaved indifferent in her presence? Determined, she waited until he got to her and blocked his path, her posture at akimbo.
Efe smiled at her. "How may I help you?"
"Can you not pretend to at least know me?"
"That pretense is the reason why we're talking right now. Do you have anything to say to me?"
"Honestly, I don't. But Brother Abubakar thinks I owe you thanks for that day." She said 'that day' with a stressed emphasis, quoting in the air so that he would know, without her actually saying, what she was talking about. "Why did you tell him."
"It was pure coincidence, when we got back, he was waiting by the gate. Plus, you looked really uncomfortable and knowing how smiley he is with you, I figured he wouldn't like you in that state, plus he had your phone."
"Wait, you knew he liked me?"
"It was obvious, even a blind man could see."
She frowned. "You're not in any way trying to imply that I was blind, are you?"
"How dare l?"
"Better."
"You're welcome, even though you're not really thanking me. I don't know what happened that day, but I know you're glad I told him."
She eyed him. "Why did you throw my number out of the window?"
Efe had not imagined she would ask, even if she would, it wouldn't be when she was aware of Alhaji's feelings or when she had even started to like the man back, and so he did not know what to say. He thought for a while. "I don't think I have an answer for that, but now that I think about it, why did you give me your number?"
She shrugged. "I thought you were handsome."
"Thought?" He raised a brow in question.
"Yes, thought. Now I know better."
He laughed. "We could be friends, you know?"
She sneezed. "Excuse me, I'm allergic to bullshit." Then she walked away from him.
He turned to watch her leave, smiling, her ego must be soaring right now. He saw Alhaji raise a glass to him. "Very possessive," he murmured and then continued his search for Edegbe. Did the man plan on spending the whole evening with his woman? He was bored and he wanted to leave.
The evening had turned to something he did not expect. That it was the funeral for the girl was the first shocker, that his boss and the woman had showed a public display of suppressed emotion on Edegbe's part was another. It thrilled him, especially that Edegbe would justify his action with a foolish excuse when he would tease him. His feet led him to the interior of the hall where the guests were few and he considered calling his boss. But somebody waved him to a stop, somebody whose acquaintanceship with Edegbe started off on the wrong foot and may continue to be on the wrong foot for as long as they stayed up north. Maybe he should leave and pretend like he didn't see the man, but Edegbe had already spoilt the evening, he didn't want to probe further, so he waited until he man got to him.
"How may I help you?" It was the second time in less than ten minutes he said those words, and each time it was to people he really didn't want to talk with.
Mr Bilal's ugly face was not smiling. "You are a friend to that one, abi? I don't know why you think you it was okay to come here. Not only did you come, but you also disrespected me and my daughter."
"Is that why you stopped me? I thought you had something important to say."
Mr. Bilal could not believe his ears, such disrespect? "You and your friend should go back."
"If you're free tomorrow let's go and beg Edegbe about that, maybe he would listen to you."
"I may not have been the one who pulled the trigger this time, but if I do, your friend won't survive it and have enough strength to fuck a woman on a burial ground. Don't say I did not warn you."
Efe's phone rang and it interrupted what he had to say and the man, on seeing him bring his phone out, walked away. It was Edegbe. "Hello?"
"I'm waiting for you outside, do you plan on sleeping over?"
"Your voice sounds too harsh for someone who received a kiss of life," he teased, watching the retreating figure of the man. He would not tell Edegbe, okay, he would not tell him any time soon. It was not that he took the man's threat with levity, but Edegbe would bark and bark and get himself into more trouble.
"If you're not down in five minutes, Victor and I will leave."
"Jeez, relax." He arrived in three and got into the backseat. "Xup, lover boy."
"Even a teenager doesn't answer such stupid names nowadays," he loosened his tie.
"So what now, you're an adult? You kissed her in the middle of a crowd, Edegbe."
"Jesus!" The words flew out of Victor's mouth before he could stop it. "Sorry sah, sorry sah."
Edegbe ignored him. "She dared me to do it."
"Would you kiss me if I dared you to do it?"
"Blood of God! Are you mad?"
Efe laughed. "Do you know see how invalid your excuse is?"
"It's different, she's a woman, with soft lips and body."
"Oh, I see you've touched her already."
"Guy," he drawled.
"What? Anything can happen within those moments you ran away."
"I didn't run."
"Whatever. I mean, who knows what you both did, probably you must have rolled up her wrapper—"
"Shut up, I'm not as spoilt as you are."
"I don't see a good reason not to be. You know she won't stop you."
"I'm going to throw you out of this car if you don't shut up." He cleared his throat remembering their outing tomorrow, she had not given him her words but he wanted to be prepared. He cleared his throat again.
"You want to say something that makes your throat itchy?" Efe asked.
"What do people do when they go out?" He asked.
"Like?"
"A man and a woman. If they go out, what do they do?"
In the front seat, Victor couldn't believe his ears.