Sally Dadzie’s Pages: Novocaine Knights Episode 28

GENESIS

She sat on the bed with her expensive Vera Wang wedding dress in her hands. White stones and sequins on the bodice glittered in the diffusely-lit bedroom and reflected over the film of tears in her eyes. It was still a rude shock that she was not yet married to Dominic, that he had casually canceled the wedding due to his political appointments with the president. They had just been ten days away from the big day and Dominic told her they had to put their plans on hold because of political reasons. When she demanded an explanation, he got vague with her like he had been doing of late and her subsequent reaction plunged them into their most heated fight. The following morning, he left for Abuja and stayed there two whole weeks. He returned, remained a week in Lagos and left again. Now she counted, three more weeks just passed by, and he was yet to return.

She was angry and heartbroken. She felt disrespected and was already entertaining thoughts of ending the relationship. Once in a while, she saw him in the news and it irritated her. Wasn’t it he who told her he was going to be in the background during the presidential campaigns?

Genesis knew Dominic was yet to love her. He was enthralled by her, even infatuated, but that deep feeling of love a man was supposed to have for his woman was missing. These days she looked into their future and the things she once saw were no longer there; the picture was hazy. Their phone conversations lacked the warmth they used to have and this was mostly due to her reaction to him each time he called. She could say in all honesty, that he was still his old self in all their dialogues but she, because of her deep resentment toward him, often gave cold, short replies.

Her working hours were given her undivided attention, however; and on the outside no one knew what she struggled with. Now introduced to his circle of friends in Lagos, she was invited for parties and functions, which she dutifully attended. Tagged as Iyawo by the supercilious crowd, she was already pictured as his wife. The women wanted to befriend her and some were even bold enough to come out with their intentions to lobby for contracts in the government. They invited her to see movies, for lunch, for spa treatments and for shopping; all on their tabs. She carefully weeded out those her instincts told her not to trust and picked her own circle of three agreeable women. Not that she craved their friendship—she still had Nancy to fill that void—it was merely to keep herself occupied while she figured out what she wanted to do with Dominic. Never in her life had she encountered a man who didn’t give her his undivided attention, and if there was one thing she was not going to let happen to her, it was to be pushed to the sidelines or be considered a form of diversion to Dominic. That game was well-played in her past; God had given her a new lease and she saw herself in a different light.

“So what’s your plan now?”

Genesis looked at Nancy who was fingers-deep in a dish of Egusi soup. A healthy mound of pounded yam was neglected in a plate beside her as she faced her soup dish. Genesis wished she had her appetite but she had lost her need to eat as well as some fat on her body. Both women were supposed to have gone out for lunch earlier but Genesis woke up depressed that morning and chose rather to stay indoors all day. She rejected all phone calls, including Nancy’s, until Nancy was forced to drive down to see her. Not allowed in by the guards at the gate, Nancy called Dominic who gave them instructions to let her in. She entered the house and found Genesis sitting on her bed and moping into the air with tears in her eyes that refused to spill.

They talked, Genesis revealed her deepest fears about Dominic and Nancy offered advice. Now, it was time for Genesis to make a decision.

“I just need to see him first before I know what to do. Nance, I’m too old for this.”

“Old?” Nancy stared at a piece of bone in her hand. “You’re thirty-five,” she mumbled. “You’re not old.”

“I am,” Genesis reiterated, “and he can’t be playing me like this… why should my happiness or my life revolve around a man, Nance? Why am I left here waiting for him to plan my future?”

“Chill girl. You take things too seriously. You’ve known him for like what? Six months? To me, it’s not enough.”

“Is that what you’re telling me now?” Genesis’ tone was laced with anger.

“Yeah.” Nancy looked into her eyes. “It’s too early to ask him to commit, in my opinion.”

“But he already committed.”

“Give him more time.”

Genesis let go of the wedding dress and got off the bed. “You know this is new to me, Nance. This is like the first time I’m feeling this way about a guy. I don’t even know what to do with the feelings. It’s like I’m being invaded by all these emotions that I can’t control. And he knows!”

“Relax, baby.”

Genesis looked down at her toes as if in thought and sat hard on the bed again.

“You’re right. The proposal came too fast. It was what I wanted but… what was I thinking sef?”

“You weren’t thinking. You were in love,” Nancy teased. Genesis found herself smiling. She rubbed her eyes.

“When last did you hear from Mamisi since the…incident?” Nancy asked. Just like Dominic, she didn’t believe Mother had anything to do with Genesis’ miscarriage. Genesis wasn’t upset about it; Nancy had always been a disbeliever of Mother’s powers. Genesis felt she was in deep denial.

“She tries to call every now and then but I don’t take her calls.”

“She does the same thing to me too. Same reaction I give her.”

Nancy gave up her battle with the bone in her hand and dumped it. She went for a piece of fish.

Genesis’ eyes shifted to a clock on the wall beside her. It was almost 4pm.

“I have to go for this party in Banana Island,” she said in a yawn. “I don’t feel like it but it’s Nora’s baby’s birthday party.”

“You and your fake new friends sef. Am I invited?”

“No.”

Genesis stood up.

“It’s not fair o,” Nancy replied jokingly and Genesis smirked.

“You’re not stuck-up enough to be part of that society.”

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

The party was a bore. The main birthday celebration was done and most of the kids were gone. Now, the adults took center stage and bored Genesis to death. Her friends tried to make it fun for her but she wasn’t interested. At some point, she gave up and chose solitude at the poolside, away from the crowd. Staring into the blue of the swimming pool, she recalled Dominic’s last visit and how she had been too angry to let him touch her. Now, the need for him was strong and she regretted her actions.

A slight tickle ran up her arm from her elbow and she raised her other hand to brush it away, thinking it to be an insect, only to hit something solid that felt like a human finger. She turned around and caught the annoying smile of Bashorun in her face. His eyes danced from her cleavage to her lips.

“Lord Bash.”

“You’re not a very nice girl, Genesis.”

“Good evening.”

“We had a deal but you broke faith with me.”

Genesis was irritated at his smile.

“But I’m too crazy about you to count your betrayal as anything. The same way I allow you keep running Novo Nightclub at the mall.”

“Isn’t the real reason you allow me run it because it brings in business for you as well?”

He laughed.

“How are you, Lord Bash?” Genesis kept her composure. She wasn’t so comfortable, though. She could feel free spaces in the bodice of her dress due to her weight loss; and this gave her more cleavage than necessary and left Bashorun’s wanton eyes glued to her breasts.

“I am doing well, surprisingly, despite the fact that I’ve been abandoned by you.”

His tacky words left bile taste in her mouth. She flushed it down with some champagne.

“But I can see you’ve been abandoned as well. Dominic, I hear, is with the president these days. How is that going for you?”

“Great.”

“I’m surprised. I could have sworn you looked quite sad from afar but maybe I need my sight checked.” He smiled. “Up close and personal, though… the view’s not bad.”

Genesis was getting impatient with him.

“It’s really irresponsible what Dominic did to you. I mean, to cancel the wedding just like that? Baby, you were the talk of Lagos.”

Genesis’ insides churned. She didn’t need to be reminded of the embarrassment. Although no one said anything and the tabloids were kind enough not to speculate that something was wrong between herself and Dominic, she could tell people’s tongues’ wagged behind her back.

“It was a mutual agreement by both of us, Lord Bash.”

“I won’t dispute the words of a beautiful lady.” He grinned boyishly and stared at his watch. “Oops. It’s late and I’m here charming your wits off. I have to go, sweetheart.”

“Me too.” Genesis rose up. He did the same.

He took her hand and added some pressure in his hold as he spoke. “Dominic and I are still staunch enemies and it’s never going to change. Another thing that won’t change is how I feel for you.” He kissed her hand. “My offer is still open.”

“Good night, Lord Bash.”

Genesis broke away from him and aimed for the front gates of the house, the freezing night air causing goose flesh as she hurried out.

It was just 7:30pm and she needed Dominic badly.

 

WURA

“I am disappointed in you like I have never been before.”

Pastor Ralph’s words cut her at the core of her soul. She had expected this reaction but hearing the hurt in his voice was a different matter. He was still her best friend.

“My anger is not that you went and got yourself pregnant; it’s that I had to hear about it from the senior pastor who was told by Sister Kate. The whole church knows, Wuraola! And I am just finding out?!”

Wura slapped herself inside for her irrational behavior. It was one of the silliest things she had done, second to getting pregnant.

“I’m sorry.” She lowered her head. “I was so afraid of what you’ll say and how you’ll look at me.”

“That is ridiculous! What I’ll say?! Of course I will scold you for getting irresponsible and doing this to yourself! Of course, I’ll give you a hard time over it! But of course, I will have your back! How do you think I looked in the senior pastor’s office when he broke the news to me?! I felt like a fool! I hadn’t been that insulted and hurt in a while!”

Wura sniffled in an attempt to hold back tears but her efforts didn’t work. Two huge drops hit her hands resting on her laps.

“I’m sorry.”

That was all she could say for the moment. From her experience with Pastor Ralph, it was best to offer few words when he got angry. His anger had a short time limit and he was bound to calm soon.

She kept her face down. The air in Pastor Ralph’s car felt stifling and stirred some nausea in her but she remained composed as he scolded her some more. Luckily for her, each sentence from him came with less steam. In the end, he let out a sigh and muttered something she didn’t hear. She feared to ask him what he had said, in case he began another barrage of words.

“How far gone are you?” he asked and for the first time since she got in the car, looked at her.

“Five…five months.”

“God, Wuraola…” he murmured. “What do you want me to do now? How do I start explaining to the church leaders and…?”

He stopped and sighed again.

“I can face them myself,” Wura told him and then she remembered all she had been going through in the church of late—the whispers behind her back, the side glances, the demeaning stares, especially from Sister Kate, and the guilty eyes of Folake.

Wura knew the moment was coming soon, and she had prepared herself for it.

“What are your plans for Mahmud?” Pastor Ralph cut short her thoughts.

“Mm?”

“Your plans for him. What are they? Are you getting married to him or what?”

Wura took a while to answer. “I didn’t want to, at first, but my family insists.”

“Why didn’t you want to?”

“I don’t want my child torn between two worlds.”

“And you think not marrying Mahmud would stop that? Unless you’re trying to disappear to nowhere with the child.”

Wura said nothing.

“So…?”

“I’ll marry him; he’s my only choice and I love him. But I’m not in a hurry. I want the baby to be born first and grow up to be at most a year old. Then I’ll be double sure. Right now, I’m sure but I’m too drowned in love and everything else to make a clear decision.”

“As much as I’m angry, I can’t help but say that is the wisest thing that has come out in your mouth in long while.”

Her spirits uplifted a little, Wura wiped her tears and stared out. The street they were parked on could have been quiet if it wasn’t for the sound of music coming from a barbing salon nearby. People were littered about and an occasional car zoomed by. Such was the life around the Ditorusin mansion.

“You will be publicly shamed in church, you know that?”

“Yes.” Wura’s voice was a whisper to Pastor Ralph’s question.

“They’ll strip you of all ministerial duties and punish you. Are you ready?”

“Yeah.” Her voice shook beneath the second whisper. Music was her life. She couldn’t believe just one weekend with the man she loved was going to take that all away.

“But I’m with you, all the way, Wuraola,” Pastor Ralph assured, rubbing her back. She rested her elbows on her laps and her face in her hands while she wept.

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

“No, don’t be. You can never be sorry for a child God has given you. I told that to Eva so many years ago and I’m telling you the same thing now. The baby is from God. Thank him.”

Wura tried to stop the tears but she couldn’t. Pastor Ralph had to play soothing music before she found some respite.

“You’re my only sister now that Eva is gone, Wura. The things I was too ashamed to do with Eva, I will do them with you, spend time with you, mentor and protect you.”

“You’re already doing that.” Wura sniffled.

Pastor Ralph stretched to the back of his car and picked a tissue box. He handed it to her.

“Thanks.” She pulled out some sheets of tissue and did away with tears and snot. After that, she looked into his face.

“Thank you.”

He pinched her cheek and shook his head. “You’re such a basketful of wahala. And that Mahmud, he needs to come see me.”

“I’ll tell him.”

“Good. I have to go.”

Wura thanked him one more time and they booked an appointment for when she was to see the church leaders. She stepped down from the car and he drove away.

Having ignored Mahmud’s calls for over an hour, she felt it was the perfect time to call him back.

“Hey Mami, what’s up with you nau? I’ve been calling like forever.”

“I’m sorry. I was busy.”

“Have you forgotten we’re doing movie night today?”

She hadn’t forgotten.

“Want me to come pick you, abi?”

“No. I’ll get a bus.”

“Bus keh. You’re carrying my baby, madam. Call your cab guy; I’ll pay.”

“Okay.”

The call was ended and she was about dialing one of the cab men whose services she often used when a sleek Mercedes pulled up in front of her. She didn’t recognize it at first until Genesis poked out her head from the backseat.

“Going anywhere, Woo?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s drop you off.”

Wura got into the car and settled in the ambience of Genesis’ relaxing perfume. She was always captivated by the way the woman looked and smelled good at all times. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a chiffon shirt, tucked in neatly, she looked amazing. Wura dared to ask her where she was going.

“Just to visit someone I haven’t seen in a while,” Genesis replied and they fell into silence. They picked up conversation again about work-related stuff and Ebola and ISIS and Boko Haram until Wura got to her stop in Victoria Island.

“Say hi to Mahmud for me,” Genesis told her as she stepped out.

Wura watched the car drive away before she stopped a cab that took her straight to Mahmud’s doorstep. He received her with a kiss but she withdrew at the faint whiff of cigarette smoke.

“I thought you had quit.”

He scratched his head.

“Just one or two sticks a day? Please?”

“One.” Wura pointed a finger and he kissed it before taking her lips in a full kiss. He had her sit on a mattress he placed on the sitting room floor, and turned on the television.

“We’re watching Sex Tape first?” she asked.

“No, The Purge.”

“No, Sex Tape.”

They went back and forth on the issue until Wura suggested a different movie altogether.

“Hercules?”

“It’s not so clear.”

“So… Sex Tape!”

“If you let me touch your breasts for just one minute, we’ll watch your stupid Sex Tape.”

“Pervert, watch your Purge. Me, I’ll just sleep off.”

“So you can’t stand my hand for one minute on just one boob?”

“No.”

“Thirty seconds and some nipple action nko?”

“Tokunboh!” She smacked him with a throw pillow.

“Can we go back in time and let me take back that moment when I said I respected your wishes not to have sex anymore?”

Wura laughed. “Come here.” She drew him close and kissed him. “How is that for compensation?”

He feigned a sob. “I’ll manage.”

She got laughing and as she did so, he dove at her and planted kissed around her entire body. Minutes later, with a full meal for her and popcorn for him, they sat and began The Purge.

“You know I love you, right?”

Mahmud asked.

“Yeah.”

“Just checking.”

He had her settle in-between his legs. She felt comfortable with his body, his smell and even the sound of him chewing in her ear. The idea of spending the rest of her life with him at that moment didn’t seem so bad.

 

GENESIS/ DOMINIC

“He’s in King Hilton Guest Room Plus.”

Genesis wasn’t listening to Lisa, Dominic’s personal assistant. Her eyes were on a group of four men discussing in one corner of the spacious Transcorp Hilton lobby. After an hour and fifteen minutes aboard a plane, all she wanted was to see Dominic. However, she didn’t expect to find him so easily, and in a happy mood too, chatting up with friends while she was dying inside. The decision to fly into Abuja was out of a whim and even as she had Prince drive her to the airport, she had entertained thoughts of changing her mind, but for some reason she saw it through.

“Oh, there he is!” Lisa, the cheerful personal assistant said when she spotted her boss. “Do you want me to go get him?”

“No, thank you.”

Lisa had been nice and cooperative but Genesis suspected that if Dominic found out she had given details of his whereabouts to her without asking him first, she might get into some trouble.

“Just go back to bed, dear,” Genesis said to her and Lisa actually looked relieved. “Thanks.”

As the girl disappeared, Genesis held her handbag tight and strolled towards Dominic. His back was to her, so he didn’t notice when she walked up to him until she spoke.

“Hi, darling.” She put out her sexiest voice, the one that usually got men’s attention but she didn’t even need it, as the men had already lost all composure the moment she appeared. Dominic turned, surprise written only in his eyes that she alone read.

“And she came!” He chuckled and put his arm around her waist easily, drawing to give her a kiss on her cheek. “Your flight’s just coming in?”

She caught on quickly. “Yeah, I missed the one you booked for me. Luckily, there was another at 10:15. I’m sure you thought I was never going to show up.”

To reply her sarcasm, he delivered a long drugging kiss on her lips. The men with them got uncomfortable and one of them did the cliché throat-clearing before Dominic pulled away.

“Manners, young man,” he chided the guy playfully. “This is my woman here.”

They laughed as he stole yet another kiss without warning. It was she who pulled away shyly this time.

“Genesis, meet my colleagues.”

He made introductions.

“And this is Genesis Raymond, my fiancée.” His hand was protective around her shoulder as she held on to his waist. “And I haven’t seen her in a while, so I hope you don’t mind if I take her upstairs and show her how much I’ve missed her?”

After laughter and mild jokes, the men left them. Dominic led Genesis into the elevator and all the way up to his suite. They were silent during the journey but the moment they were behind earshot, she exploded on him in anger. Her words came out in disjointed bits and from a bruised heart. She hadn’t planned to get so emotional but seeing him after three long weeks of him being away brought out a lot from her.

He was silent during her release. He leaned on an oval reading table, hands in his pockets watching her. She had no idea how much he had missed her and how badly he wanted to give up everything just to be with her.

He listened patiently to every word she said and agreed that she was right. He was an ass, and he needed to fix things.

“You’ve lost weight.” It was the first thing out of his lips when she was done. She looked like she might retort but she gave up with a sigh.

“We can’t go on like this, Nick. This is not what I signed up for.”

“I know.” His hands freed themselves from his pockets as he walked towards her. “But I couldn’t help it. When the president asks you to suspend every plan you have, you don’t say no.”

“I am not a plan, Nick! I am human and I have feelings!” Her veins on her neck stuck out as she expressed herself in his face.

“I am sorry, Gen. I didn’t want us to get married and the next day, I’m flying off to Kinshasa or Quebec or wherever with the president. And I felt the wedding plans were rushed. We want it done properly and to take that time out we’ve been wanting so we can enjoy our honeymoon. Please, understand, honeybun.”

She seemed to melt at his words quite effortlessly and she hated herself for it.

“I still don’t like this political person you’ve become. Plus the house is so big and lonely without you. It’s cold in Lagos these days and…” she couldn’t continue. “Domi…leave politics, please.”

It was a genuine plea and he truly wanted to let go for her sake, but he loved politics as much he loved business and he didn’t see himself letting go any time soon. If the death of his mother hadn’t stopped him, he doubted that anything else will.

“I’m sorry, Gen…I can’t.”

He tried to hold her but she moved away from and turned her back to him.

“You’re pushing me away from you,” she said. “And I don’t want to leave.”

“Don’t leave…please…”

He moved a step forward and put his arms around her. She didn’t fight him; rather her body relaxed in his embrace.

“Let’s go back home tomorrow.”

“I can’t,” he replied. She shut her eyes. “We have a conference in Accra and another in Stockholm.”

“Why don’t you go back to being a lobbyist, Nick? This new post you’re doing… I don’t like it.”

Dominic knew her too well to know she was in her stubborn place. Further argument with her could get them into a fight. She was at the pleading stage now; it usually came before the real drama began. The only way to ease her mind was to agree with her.

“I’ll speak to the president to free me after the Stockholm event.”

His answer seemed to satisfy her, so he ventured further with a kiss on her shoulder. The smoothness of her skin on his lips drove him crazy instantly and reminded him of how much he had missed her. His lips traveled all the way up to her neck and stopped on her earlobe as his desire rose full force.

“Not now, Dominic,” Genesis protested, albeit weakly. He ignored her and his fingers found the buttons of her shirt and undid them. From that moment on, it was a sweet blur for him, as they went from kisses to hungry caresses and finally to the bed. They lasted there a good part of the night, making love like it was their last time. They were both tired when the time clocked a few minutes shy of 4am. Genesis slept first and he followed, shortly after.

Somewhere in his sleep, he thought he felt her body leave his but he was too far gone to bother. It took Lisa’s phone call to wake him up at daylight before he realized that Genesis wasn’t on the bed with him. A quick check in the bathroom confirmed his fear that she was gone.

He dove for his phone, about to call her, but a call came through from the presidential villa. He was told that he was needed promptly.

Having little time, he flung his phone on his bed and dashed back to the bathroom. The thoughts of Genesis leaving him escaped his mind as he planned his day mentally under the shower. He returned to the room to dress up and more strategies and diplomacies filled his head as he thought about his journey to Accra later. He picked his suit and tie and hurried out the door in that same frame of mind, not noticing the glittering diamond ring that lay on the pillow that just hours ago, Genesis’ head was resting on.

^©Sally @moskedapages