Un-proofed draft copy

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and

incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are

used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any

resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or

persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Reunited – A Christmas Story

Copyright© 2011 Kiru Taye

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used

or reproduced electronically or in print without written

permission, except in the case of brief quotations

embodied in reviews.

Kiru Taye

www.kirutayewrites.blogspot.com

kiru.taye@yahoo.com

Eight Years Ago

Lara Johnson sat at her desk chatting with her friend Ada as they waited for their next teacher to arrive. The classroom full of final year Senior School students was rowdy with some of the boys playing games and cracking jokes, the rest of the class listening and laughing. It always took a while for the class to settle after a free study period in between classes, which they’d just completed.

“I hear there is a new geography tutor in school,” a boy known as Jimo spoke up, his voice cutting through the entire ruckus. He was the class clown and always made a joke about everything including himself.

Ada and Lara turned to face Jimo, as he stood in the middle of the class suddenly the focus of everyone’s attention.

“Where did you hear that one, Jimo?” Ada asked incredulously echoing the thoughts of many of her classmates. “Or have you suddenly disposed of Mrs Bello?”

Mrs Bello was their usual geography teacher and though currently pregnant was not due to have her baby for a few more months.

“Mrs Bello, as you all know, is pregnant.” Jimo stood there gesticulating like some seasoned orator, holding the classroom captive. “We recently completed a collection for her. As she will soon be away on maternity leave, the new teacher will be taking her place.”

“So have you seen this mysterious new teacher?” someone shouted from the back of the class.

“Of course. As it happens, I was on my way to pass a message to Mr Etuk in the staff room when I saw him.”

“Tell us then, what did he look like?” another student interjected.

“Well, let just say the girls will be falling over themselves to get his attention. But let me tell you, he isn’t better looking than me. Check me now.” He started doing the vogue pose causing everybody to break out into laughter.

At that moment, Mrs Bello walked into the class followed by a man they hadn’t seen before and everyone went quiet returning to their seats.

Standing, they all bid Mrs Bello a good morning and she returned the greeting.

“I would like to introduce you to the new Geography teacher. His name is Mr Thomas. He will teach the evening tutorials in preparation for your final exams in a few months. I know you will all join me in giving him a warm Hillcrest College welcome.”

“Hip Hip Hip!” the class monitor shouted to which the rest of the class replied, “Hooray!”

“Welcome Mr Thomas!” They all added.

Lara was fixated on the new geography tutor, had been since he walked into the class. She studied him as the rest of the class sat down, her friend pulling her down into her seat as she seemed to be slower sitting down.

“He is handsome,” Ada whispered conspiratorially next to Lara.

Lara just kept staring at the new teacher. To her handsome was not good enough to describe him. Striking was close but still couldn’t put him into words. He looked young, probably in his early twenties. Towering over everyone else, his dark skin a sharp contrast to the white shirt he was wearing. His face must have been carved out of granite by angels, the angular features softening when he smiled. But the most captivating thing about him was his eyes, they were bistre a colour she found peculiar and seemed to sparkle reminding her of the midnight sky awash with stars. As soon as he looked at her, she was lost in his eyes as if she was drawn into another world.

She smiled shyly at him and straightened her posture in the chair, suddenly self-conscious. Mrs Bello was still talking but Lara paid little attention focusing instead on the man who also seemed to have everyone else’s attention.

“My tutorial classes will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays afternoons. All those interested should register using the forms on the form-6 notice boards,” he spoke in a deep mellow voice capturing the whole class attention with his first words. For Lara he might as well have been talking to her alone. Because everyone else in the class momentarily vanished and she felt like she was connected to him by some invisible cord.

There was no doubt in her mind she was going to sign up for his course, although it wasn’t a major subject for her. Anything to ensure she saw him as often as possible.

“Turn to chapter 12 of Physical Geography textbook and read it. I’ll be back shortly,” Mrs Bello announced before walking out of the class with Mr Thomas.

As soon as they both left, the class was a-buzz again with everyone chattering about the hunky new teacher. Lara remained quiet, transported into a day-dream of just her and Mr Thomas in class with no one else around.

Even when Mrs Bello returned to take her class, Lara remained in the dreamlike state for most of the day barely registering anything else going on around her. She couldn’t believe how awe-struck she was about this young man that had newly arrived at their school.

In the dormitory after their classes everyone seemed to be talking about the new teacher. They’d had young male teachers before but none seemed as virile and good-looking as Mr Thomas and a lot of the young girls wondered if he had a girlfriend or was already in a relationship.

Lara simply kept out of the conversations. She’d never had a boyfriend before, not that no boy had ever asked her out. She just never got into it. As the first child of a strict father, she was brought up to save herself for her marriage bed. Her mother had died after giving birth to her younger sister Lola. Apparently, she had been advised not to have another child after having Lara but had wanted to give their father another child preferably male. After her mother’s death, her father never remarried so brought the children up single-handedly. Lara had to grow up quickly and became a kind of mother to Lola especially since there was an eight-year gap between them. Their family were close and Lara had never felt the need to get involved romantically with boys of her age. For one she found them immature anyway. Nevertheless, she still had very good friends both male and female.

A few days later she walked into the class for her tutorial and found Mr Thomas already seated at the teacher’s desk.

Her steps faltered and she stopped just inside the doorway.

Looking up, he smiled causing her heart to take off on a sprint. “Come in and sit down,” he said and she could have sworn it was an angel that spoke to her as his deep voice rumbled through her. She wasn’t sure how she moved. Next thing, she was sitting down in front of him staring at him sheepishly forgetting the reason she was there in the first place.

“You are Lara Johnson?” he looked at the sheet of paper with the list of names before looking up at her again.

“Y-yes s-sir,” she stuttered suddenly tongue tied.

“Relax, these sessions are informal and you can call me Ike instead of sir. Otherwise you make me feel like a fifty year old man with grey hairs and full beard and I don’t think I’m that old, am I?” He smiled benevolently and Lara relaxed instantaneously, a shy smile breaking out on her face.

“That’s better. You should smile more often, you have a lovely smile.”

At his words, Lara’s heart pounded in her chest furiously. There and then she knew she was in love with him. It was crazy. Love at first sight. She’d read about it in her romance novels, had occasionally dreamt of being swept away by a dashing hero. And here he was – her dashing hero in flesh not print. All he’d done was given her a compliment but he changed her world from that moment on. At that point she swore she would do whatever it took to please him, to get him to notice her.

So she studied hard, Geography became her number one subject; she topped the class in all the tests and mock exams. She lapped up everything that was thrown at her. If Ike commented on her hair, she kept that style. Her friend suggested she try out her black eye-liner. When she put it on and Ike didn’t say anything she stopped using it. Apart from holidays when she went home to see her sister and father, even those she prayed to go quickly so she could return to school, the only other thing she looked forward to was her afternoons in class with Ike.

When Mrs Bello went off on maternity leave, Ike started teaching the main class twice a week as well as the tutorials, so she saw more of him. All this time, he made no overt gestures to her of his feelings, simply remained the courteous, friendly and professional teacher to her mild irritation. Even when it was just the two of them sitting in the class room, he never said anything that could be misinterpreted as romantic. Still she knew there was something between them because each time he spoke to her, looked at her, she felt special, felt a bond between them that went beyond teacher-student. Even when she couldn’t see him, she could feel his presence. She hoped that one day he would say something to her.

The problem was he was her tutor. In their school, teacher-student involvement was frowned upon. However she didn’t care; she would have happily kept their relationship a secret, given up her inhibitions and surrendered to his charm, his touch, his love, if he’d asked her.

In accordance to her wish, that time eventually came and he spoke to her and changed her life yet again.

***

“Come on Lara. We’ve just finished our final exams. You need to let your hair down,” Ada said as she sat on the chair by the study table in the dormitory room they both shared fiddling with her hair, twirling one long braid round her finger as she spoke.

“I know but I haven’t been to this kind of party before. I’m not sure I should come along,” Lara replied biting her bottom lip as she put the novel she was reading down beside her on the bed.

Truth be told, she wasn’t into parties, especially not the kind of parties with much older boys – or rather, men - in it. She preferred relaxing with a good book or watching movies. They’d just completed their final exams and didn’t have to worry about studying for a while.

“Sure there’ll be people there mainly from the university. But that’s the whole idea. We need to start preparing for university and this is a good way to start. Plus the guy you like will be there too.” Ada stood up from her chair and joined Lara on the bed.

“Who do you mean?” Lara frowned at her friend. She didn’t like any of their schoolmates, at least not in a romantic way.

“You know who I mean. Ike, of course,” the girl replied laughing. “I know you like him. You practically follow him around like a puppy.”

As soon as his name was mentioned, her heart skipped a beat and her skin warmed. It was always the same reaction whenever she saw him too.

“I don’t,” She replied blushing, although she knew her friend could hear the quivering in her voice giving away her lie. “He is just my tutor.”

“Well, not any more. You don’t need to sit in his tutorials anymore unless it’s of a different kind.”

“Ada!” She loved her friend but sometimes the things she said were shocking. They were eighteen-year-old students and whilst some of the girls in their class had indulged in the act, sex was still off the cards for her at least. Ada didn’t have a regular boyfriend so she assumed she hadn’t. She peered at her friend curiously. She probably wouldn’t know if she had unless Ada divulged the secret.

Her friend was still laughing. “What? It’s no big deal. Moreover, everyone is doing it, right?”

She’d found out Ike was on a gap year Industrial Training in their school. He was like no other man she knew in her school. He had an air of authority that was tempered with a generous spirit and faith in others. According to their end-of-school year poll voted for by students, he was their best teacher and drew out the best from his students. In a strange way he reminded her of her father. Maybe that was part of the attraction.

There were times when she’d wished she was bold enough to go to him and declare how she felt about him in the hope that he would say something. Frustratingly for her, she’d never summoned the courage. Maybe tonight would be her opportunity to finally get her feelings out in the open. Ada was right, he was no longer her tutor and there was nothing stopping them.

“Anyway, he’s going to be there along with some hot boys from the campus. You certainly don’t want to miss this,” her friend’s words broke into her thoughts.

No, she didn’t want to miss out on what could be her final chance to get together with Ike. She would love to have the opportunity to see him outside the school premises before they went home at end of term. However there was still a problem. Not wanting him to see her as just another school girl with a crush on him. Rumours of his exploits with girls at the university campus were all over the school. Whilst she didn’t believe everything she heard about him, she couldn’t take any chance that he wouldn’t even look at her twice. So she needed to look like the kind of girl he’d be interested in - a grown up, not a school girl.

Lara stood up and walked over to the wardrobe that housed her meagre selection of clothes with a frown on her face.

“I don’t have anything to wear to a party.” Her clothes were not designed to seduce. They were just functional.

Ada joined her by the wardrobe and put her hand on Lara’s shoulder. “Well, that shouldn’t be a problem. We are about the same size and I’ve got some clothes you can borrow. So come on let’s get ready.”

She succumbed to the excitement and got ready for the party with her friend. She even had fun trying out the palette of make-up her friend spread in front of her. In the end she settled for a blue tank top and black mini-skirt held together with a wide black belt and wedge peep-toe shoes. She left her long dark braids which were usually up in a pony-tail-do to cascade down her back. When she looked in the mirror, she didn’t recognise the person staring back at her. For a moment, panic gripped her and she wanted to remove everything. Instead, her friend’s next words gave her confidence.

“You look stunning and if Ike doesn’t notice you in that outfit, he is blind and a fool. There’ll be plenty of guys who would quite happily sweep you off your feet. Trust me.”

At the party, there were lots of new faces as well as students from her school. Lara scanned the crowd looking for Ike but couldn’t see him anywhere. Sunny, Ada’s cousin, a university student was sitting with them. He was quite attentive to her and when he asked her to dance; she agreed not wanting to be rude.

They were on the dance floor when Ike finally arrived in the hall. As usual when he walked into the room, everything seemed to gravitate towards him. He had this way of pulling people in. It was like everyone there wanted to be seen with him, to be acknowledged by him. It was almost like he was royalty – a prince. She nearly laughed out loud at the thought. Instead, she prayed that Ike would look in her direction but he didn’t.

When the music stopped, she went back and joined Ada at their table. Sunny went off to get some more drinks for them.

“Did you see Ike? He looks so hot...Oh, don’t turn around now but Princess Gloria is here.” Ada rolled her eyes upwards as Lara sat down.

Gloria Rawlins was also a final year student like they were but in a different class. The daughter of very wealthy parents, she walked around school premises looking down on everyone else and earned herself the tongue-in-cheek nickname ‘Princess’. Her family were also known to be close to Ike’s family through their business connections. The knowledge had unsettled Lara when she’d found out as she wasn’t sure if there was more going on between Gloria and Ike.

“Oh, look who’s here. It’s Miss four-eyes,” Gloria said as she walked over to Lara’s table with her entourage of friends who giggled at her comment.

“Don’t be so rude. Her name is Lara.” Ada came to her defence.

“Is it? I thought it was four-eyes. I’m just surprised to see her at this party. Oh well!” She turned around and sashayed off again, her lackeys in her wake.

“Oh that girl makes me so angry!”

“Don’t waste your energy on her. She is so not worth it,” Lara replied trying to calm her friend. She was more interested in getting an opportunity to talk to Ike. If she didn’t tonight, she was sure it would never happen. She wondered if he’d come over to her table to talk to her.

Another university student came over to chat with Ada, so Lara sought an excuse to leave them alone. “It’s hot in here. I’m just going outside for some air.”

As she stood outside the hall, starring into the city lights, she got a prickling sensation on her back and knew right away that Ike was standing behind her. Only his presence drew that kind of response from her body.

“What are you doing here?” The tone of his voice sounded more like a tiger’s growl and she felt its vibrations in the pit of her stomach.

Her heart pounding in her chest, she turned around and swallowed as she noticed his expression. He looked angry like a dark avenging angel and she didn’t understand why. A shiver travelled down her spine.

“It was getting stifling in there. I’m just getting some fresh air.” She waved her hand expressively.

“No, I mean at this party. Why are you here?” he snapped at her, his index finger jabbing downwards.

“My friend invited me. We are here to enjoy ourselves. No more exams, no more studying,” she replied nonchalantly still not understanding why he was so angry.

“This is not the place for you, Lara.”

“Why not? What’s wrong with me? Am I not good enough to be seen at one of your parties? Am I not worldly enough, sexy enough? Well, let me tell you something. I can have fun like anybody else. You and your friends are not the only ones with a licence for pleasure.” She was angry now and couldn’t control her outburst. The frustration of the past few months of not getting any response out of Ike was laced in every word.

“Is that what you were doing in there? Having fun, dancing with that guy?”

At last. He’d actually noticed her.

The realisation pleased her no end. It was great to finally get a reaction from him.

“Of course I was. I’m tired of sitting around waiting for you.” She lifted her chin insolently, her hands moving down to her hips, challenging him.

It seemed she’d finally pushed him over the edge. With a growl, he grabbed her shoulders, pulling her into her arms and crushed her lips with his. The kiss was rough, punishing, searing her straight to her core. Lara clung on, returning the kiss, matching his intensity as best as she could. She’d waited so long for him to say something, do something. Now she was finally getting her wish. She didn’t care that he’d been angry at her. As long as she was in his arms, she was happy.

“This is what you want.” It was a statement but she confirmed it.

“Yes,” she whispered back as she angled her neck giving him better access as he kissed her neck, sensitising her whole body.

“And this.” His husky voice melted her core. His hands roamed her body setting it ablaze in its wake.

“Yes,” she gasped not believing the sensations swarming her.

He stopped and pushed her back. Shocked she looked up at him, barely keeping upright; the chilling anger in his eyes was a splash of cold water on her ardour.

Gloria turned up at that moment making her humiliation complete. “Ike darling, let’s go back inside where it’s more enjoyable. The DJ is playing one of my favourite tunes,” she said clinging on to him as she glared maliciously at Lara.

“Go home Lara. You don’t belong here.” His last words to her before walking back into the party with Gloria.

Lara stood there feeling like the bottom just fell out of her world while tears welled up in her eyes blocking her view.

Present day.

“You have one week, Ms Johnson.”

The words echoed through Lara. Standing still, her hands clenched in front of her, as she struggled to keep her emotions under control. She wasn’t going to break down and start pleading again. She was done with that. The men standing in her living room were probably tired of hearing her cries for more time anyway. It was time for action; she needed to do something drastic. The situation called for it. However what could she do?

“Look, I understand your problem. Christmas is fast approaching and you want a roof over your head,” Mr Fashola continued. He was from the estate agency managing the building. “But my hands are tied. Your rent is overdue. You know that all payments are due on demand or you vacate the premises. It’s all in the tenancy agreement you took over from your parents. Our firm gave you some leeway because of your family tragedy but the grace period is now over. We need the due rent by the end of the week.” He turned to look at his colleague, whom she only knew as John, standing by the front door. They exchanged looks as if he was trying to confirm the validity of his words with his colleague.

Lara thought they were an odd couple to be working together. Mr Fashola who appeared older was short, soot-skinned and round like a blackened teapot and wore a more traditional green guinea buba and shokoto, while John was pale-skinned, tall and thin like a bleached stick insect and dressed in a stiff-collared white shirt, blue tie and black trousers; reminding her of some cartoon characters she’d watched as a child.

“John, you can wait for me outside,” Mr Fashola said to the other man who nodded his head and walked out of the front door, closing it behind him. That was the other thing, Lara thought, John hadn’t uttered a word since their arrival, and it seemed the older was the designated spokesman, the Oga by default.

Lara frowned, her body tensing as John stepped out. She didn’t like being left alone with Mr Fashola; there was just something about him that made her skin crawl. He took a few steps towards her, his face twisted in a sly leer that made her feel sick.

“Of course, if you are willing, we can arrange an alternative method of payment,” he said his leer widening.

Here we go again.

Lara knew what was coming. Ever since her father was killed in a car accident six months ago, she had received all sorts of propositions from men seeking to take advantage of her situation in the name of helping her out. Always able to dismiss their suggestions, she had hoped that things would improve. With a sixteen-year-old sister, Lola, who was taking her senior secondary school exams later this year and hoping to gain entry to the university afterwards, she had desperately prayed for her father’s life insurance policy to be paid out so she could clear their bills and secure their future.

Nevertheless the family solicitor had indicated that there were problems with the policy and was working on resolving them. That was five months ago. Nothing had changed since. In the end, she had rented out the spare bedroom to her friend Ada, to help with the expenses. Yet, it wasn’t enough to cover the arrears. They barely had enough to live on.

She needed to get a better paying job. Fast. She had only recently been promoted to deputy store manager for a national retailer and moved offices to the newly completed Springs Mall, yet it didn’t pay nearly enough and neither was it her preferred career choice.

“What kind of alternative payment do you have in mind, Mr Fashola?” she asked, lifting her chin and clenching her hands at her sides. She might be in debt, nevertheless she wasn’t going to allow a perverted man like him intimidate her.

Moving even closer to her, eyes flashing, his leer widened and his tongue darted out across his barrel lips as if he was contemplating eating a delicious meal of amala and ewedu soup. She caught a whiff of his body odour and had to hold her breathe to stop herself from throwing up.

“Come on, you are a beautiful young woman. Surely you understand what I mean. I can arrange a hotel room and you can meet me there. I will personally make sure your rent arrears are wiped out and you will no longer have a problem,” as he spoke, he touched her arm.

Lara could ignore the words; let them wash over her and down the drain, forgotten. They were merely words and couldn’t harm her. Still his hand on her body was a violation. She reacted on pure reflex, lashing out, her hand connecting with his face with a whack.

He staggered backwards, holding his face, mouth agape.

“I may be broke, Mr Fashola but I’m not a harlot. Go and disturb someone else,” she spat out at him, shaking with rage. “This is still my home. Get out!”

The stunned man, still clutching his face, glowered at her furiously. His complexion was now a dark shade of purple. For a moment, she thought he was going to strike back.

“Stupid girl! How dare you? You will pay for this and I will make sure you are thrown out into the street,” he shouted at her before heaving his rotund body out of her flat.

As soon as Mr Fashola left, Lara locked the front door and managed to make it to the sofa before slumping. She was shivering like a leaf, surprised at her own violent outburst. She stared at her hand, which had started to ache slightly from the impact of the slap; she didn’t realise she could pack such a punch. Suddenly feeling distraught, she hugged herself, however she was too exhausted to cry.

What have I done? Have I just made things a lot worse than it was?

In hindsight, she wished she had controlled her temper better. Still, the man had it coming. How could he think that she would sleep with him? What kind of person did he take her for? Her situation might be bad, still she wasn’t that desperate. Moreover, he was married. For goodness sake, he had a wedding band in full view. The man repulsed her.

Sighing, she glanced around her living room. It was small yet tastefully decorated in warm, natural tones just like the rest of the flat. There were two cream upholstered sofas with patterned grey/brown cushions, a couple of armchairs on the other side formed a quadrangle with a low glass topped centre table and four matching glass-topped side tables set between the sofas and chairs. A medium-sized flat screen television and entertainment centre formed a focal point of the room, with family portraits hanging on the walls. In the corner was a large potted Bird of Paradise plant. Behind the longer sofa was a raised dais with an Iroko dining table and six upholstered chairs that matched the sofas. Two doors led away from the living room; one to the kitchen, another into the hallway with the three bedrooms and a family bathroom, though the master bedroom had an en suite bathroom.

Despite the modest proportions, it was a flat she was proud of, a place she called home. Her family had moved here six years ago, mainly to be closer to Lola’s school. There had been few residents in the area then. The block of flats had just been completed and the area outside the walled complex had been mainly grassland. Since then, the whole area had been developing fast, as commuter families moved from the congested Lagos suburbs. There were now more residential estates, schools, hospitals, shopping malls and hotels being built within the locale.

Hugging one of the cushions to her chest, Lara thought of her father who had been strict yet loving. After her mother’s death shortly after giving birth to her baby sister, her devastated father had become sole parent to both children. Lara had been eight years old at the time and he’d hired a nanny to take care of the children while he worked. Each night after work he had spent time with them, making sure they’d done their homework and reading to them before tucking them into bed. A few years ago, during one of her breaks from university, Lara had asked her father why he’d never remarried.

“I don’t need another woman in my life when I have two beautiful daughters,” he’d said smiling sadly. His eyes seemed to travel to a faraway place before he spoke again. “Moreover, I loved your mother very much. She was the love of my life. I don’t think it is possible to replace her.”

Lara had hugged her father and wondered how it was possible to love someone so deeply, even after they were no longer around. She had wanted to see her father laugh and joke the same way she had seen him behave when her mother was still alive. Of course, he’d still laughed and joked, however it was not the same.

After completing her National Youth Service, she had moved back home instead of sharing a flat with her friends who had suggested it. When she’d started a new job she had asked her father if she could refurnish the flat and he had given her the freedom to do so, which meant it now had her stamp on it. Each time she came in after a hard day at work, she felt soothed by her surroundings. Today, though, hugging the cushion didn’t alleviate her fears. She dropped it back on the sofa and started pacing.

She needed to earn more money to pay the rent arrears on their flat. As she wasn’t willing to sacrifice her body on the altar of her family debt, what else was there to sell? There were no family assets to speak of; the only assets they’d had was her father’s life insurance policy and the car. The car had been a total wreck after the collision, and it seemed the insurance policy was void since she hadn’t heard back from the solicitors.

Stopping suddenly, she picked up her mobile phone from the glass-topped coffee table.

There was only one other thing she could sell. It was time to call in a much-needed favour.

***

“Yes mother, I’ll send the items over to you with the driver. Bye,” Ike spoke into his phone before switching it off. Groaning inwardly, he rolled his eyes and shook his head as he turned back to his friend Henry who was waiting for him to leave the restaurant where they’d just eaten lunch.

“Sorry about that. Mothers! What we have to do for them? She has a throng of domestic staff doing her bidding, yet I still have to run errands for her.”

As they stepped outside, he glanced around the shopping mall trying to determine which direction to go. The Springs Mall was one of the biggest shopping centres in Lagos, with several department stores, supermarkets, restaurants, a cinema complex and smaller, independent shops. Today - only weeks away from Christmas - it was busy with crowds of shoppers. The mall area and shops in it were decorated with tinsel and Christmas songs were playing from invisible speakers.

“I have to stop at a shop to pick up some items she ordered before I head back to the office,” Ike continued. He was exasperated that he’d now have to deal with fevered shoppers instead of heading back to the serenity of his office.

Henry laughed heartily. “Sure. My next appointment isn’t for another couple of hours. I’m in no hurry. That’s the good thing about being the boss, right?”

Ike Thomas and Henry Coker had been friends since they met at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Though their backgrounds were very different, Ike with wealthy parents who had their own businesses and real estate holding across the country and Henry whose parents were in the civil service had been on scholarship, their friendship remained steadfast over the years. Henry had saved Ike’s skin a few times in school and afterwards Ike helped Henry set up his construction business. Now they were both business magnates.

Ike laughed too. “Yes, I may be the boss in the boardroom but mother is definitely the matriarch of the family.”

He was a thirty-year-old man at the head of a successful multinational company, yet his mother still thought she knew the best thing for him. Especially when trying to match him with potential brides. He couldn’t help laughing at the notion.

“She isn’t on at you again about getting married?” his friend asked.

Yeah, that was the hot topic whenever he was at their family home for Sunday lunch. It was as if she was on a mission to get him hitched as soon as possible.

“When does she ever let up? You know I love my mother, yet sometimes I wish I could just walk away and do my own thing without interference.”

“Man, you know you can never walk away,” his friend replied as they strode through the mall heading to the shop he needed. “You are the first child, an only son for that matter – the apple of your mother’s eye. Walking away will break her heart and you know it. You just have to live with it. We all do.”

After the death of his father, Ike had to grow up pretty fast learning the ropes of the business in preparation for taking on the role of leadership. He had been raised for the role, and so had stepped into it with ease, however sometimes, just sometimes, the weight of his responsibilities seemed unbearable.

“I know, my friend. I would love to make my mother happy. Truly I would, however the thing is, I haven’t met the right girl yet. You know? The One,” Ike said as he turned the corner.

“You mean Gloria Rawlins wasn’t the one?” Henry couldn’t resist a smirk.

Ike frowned as he turned to face his friend. He could have sworn there was more to Henry’s words than humour, a definite edge of irritation. Henry was holding back something still Ike wasn’t sure what it was or why.

“Is something wrong?” Ike asked.

“Nothing’s wrong. Trust an African to answer a question with a question.”

Ike wasn’t buying it. “If I didn’t know better I’d say you had a thing for Gloria.” Gloria was Ike’s ex-girlfriend. The thought of her with Henry seemed outlandish. Still? He shook his head.

“Who? Gloria? You’re kidding me, right? You know very well that I don’t do love.” his friend laughed too, confirming the idea as far-fetched. “In any case, she was supposed to be the love of your life.”

“Certainly not and you know it-” Ike couldn’t finish the sentence as he collided with someone.

Instinctively he reached out, as the girl staggered back from the impact, pulling her to him. And he kept holding her, even after it was obvious she was no longer falling. Captivated by her caramel brown eyes, he felt rooted to the spot, the hairs on his back prickling. Something in her eyes triggered a memory that he couldn’t quite recall fully.

“Let go of me!” The shrill words snapped him out of his stupor and he stepped back, setting her free.