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After Service
It was an uneventful Friday afternoon, I had been on my phone all day surfing the Internet. I became bored, my battery was low so I plugged my phone charger in the socket and charged my phone, then decided to read a novel instead.
I had been reading the novel for a while when my phone began to ring, I strained my neck to check who the caller was and it was Rebecca, I picked up the phone and connected…
“Hey, girlfriend, what’s up?” Came her soft voice
“Hi, Becky, nothing much, how are you doing?” I asked delighted her hearing her voice
“I’m doing good girl, you know I’m always good” she replied goofy.
“Aren’t you at work?” I asked
“It’s three in the afternoon on a Friday girl, I’m about closing” she replied
“Alright, that’s cool, what’s up?” I asked because I know Becky doesn’t call me at work except she has something urgent to tell me
“I know you are curious to know why I called but I want you to guess”
“Oh, Becky you know I’m not good at guessing”
“Guess girlfriend, don’t be a bore”
“You got a new job?” I let out because she seems to get so damn good at switching jobs while I had not been able to get one.
If not for my talent at a painting which got me freelance gigs which my dad does not approve of by the way. He told me to get a good job and get a life.
“Well, not that, I’m not bored with this job yet” she muttered with emphasis on the ‘bored’.
“Then tell me what it is, I already told you I’m not so good at guessing,” I said with obvious interest
“Well, Bimpe called me” “Bimpe? Which Bimpe?”
“Our Bimpe now, which other Bimpe do we both know?
” Wow, what did she say?”
“Well she invited us to her birthday party”
“Birthday? She didn’t tell me she was having a party when we spoke last two weeks” I said “I guess she must have only just decided to have a party then” Becky explained
“Why didn’t she call to tell me then?” I asked confused “She told me to tell you about it”
“Alright, so when is the party?”
“It’s tomorrow evening”
“Tomorrow? That’s soon” I said in surprise
“I know, she also told me today, let’s be there together” she pleaded
“Alright, I will be there” I promised
“And Mary, Lara will be there and Richard as well” she mentioned Richard gently almost as a whisper
“I heard they broke up,” she said
“Really?” I asked my curiosity tremendously piqued.
Even though I had felt betrayed by Lara my feelings for Richard had been lurking, even though I shut it out of my mind but it didn’t go away.
“Don’t sound excited?” Becky said sternly
“I’m not excited” I replied as cool as possible, even though I was so excited to hear about the breakup
“Well you will get to see him again, I heard Richard is coming with his friends, one of his friends that we work together told me about it, and of course Lara will be invited since we were all roommates”
“It’s fine, I’m sure I have nothing to worry about, I feel nothing for the both of them, not even anger” I said sternly
“That’s better,” Becky said with relieve
“So I’ll see you tomorrow?” she asked
“Sure, see you tomorrow” I replied and hung up.
The evening the next day I dressed up in a long red party gown, dabbed my face with some light makeup, styled my hair and finally wore my favourite black heels.
I sprayed some perfume and picked up my small purse, locking the house door and made my way to the road to hail a cab.
A cabman stopped, I gave him my address and sat comfortably in the back seat. The cabman asked if I cared for some music but I told him I preferred riding in tranquillity.
He paid no heed to me anyway as he played a song to entertain himself, indicating that him asking me about playing music or not to play was just him being polite.
We had driven a fair distance when his car suddenly began to jerk, then it finally stopped. He tried to turn the car back on but it wouldn’t budge.
I asked him what is wrong, he first said it was nothing but after a while of trying to get the car to start again, he later spoke
“Aunty abeg, help me push this car,” he said
“Push which car?” I inquired confused
“Abeg no vex, help me push am small maybe he go start”
“What’s the meaning of this nonsense? didn’t you check the condition of your car before you left home?” I shouted at him in anger
“Aunty e never reach to shout now, just small push and we go continue our journey, no vex”
I got out of the car embarrassed thinking so much for dressing nice and looking good. I tried to help him push the car while he continued to turn the key but nothing worked
“So what’s going to happen now?” I asked frustrated
“Aunty abeg help me with part of the money you wan give me for the carry wey I carry you make I take use am carry bike go call one mechanic wey dey front,” he said
“Mechanic? At this time? When am I going to get to where I’m going?”
“Na same thing we dey talk if I go call the mechanic now, sharp e go do am and we go continue our journey”
“I don’t have time or money for that, I said extremely irritated “Besides you’ve been working all day, you should have enough to take you to call the mechanic to come to fix your car”
“Aunty all this Oyinbo wey you dey speak no fit help us, pay your money make I dey go”
I opened the car door, took my purse and started walking away. When he pulled me from behind
“Aunty where you think say you dey go?”
“I’m leaving you to fix your car and calling another cab to take me where I’m going” I muttered infuriated
“Aunty, you no dey go anywhere until you give me my money”
“What money? Have you taken me to where I said I was going?” I shouted losing my temper making a move to walk past him but he blocked my path and said
“Look here, you no dey go anywhere, you must pay me the one wey I carry you reach here”
“E be like say you dey craze ehn” I outburst in an uneven Pidgin English
The driver stared at me agape and dumbfounded for a while
“Come put hands inside my pocket carry the money na” I walked past him and tried to hail another cab when he dramatically started shouting and calling for help.
His shout got a few people gathering around us as he exaggerated the matter to them. Different voices came at me telling me to not cheat the man and pay him his money “Aunty you self, pay him his money now,” said a woman in the crowd
“You self wicked, see as you dress fine you no wan pay the man his money,” another woman said
“Naso them dey do, she fit no get money to pay the man, she wan carry him money run” a man accused.
When I couldn’t bear the embarrassment any longer I opened my purse and took from it his money worth and threw it into the driver’s hand. The next minute I couldn’t wait for a cab so I hailed a motorcycle to take me to the venue.
All the while my phone had been ringing nonstop, I knew it was Becky so I didn’t pick it up. When I had gotten to the venue, I saw her waiting outside the gate looking for me.
When she sighted me on the motorcycle she ran to meet me and asked what happened, I paid my fare and told her while we walked into the venue all about it.
She then told me that most of the guests have arrived and I am one of the last to get there.
We went to join in the celebration and I walked to meet Bimpe and give her my good wishes and the small gift I had purchased for her early that day which was in my purse.
As I walked to her side, the first person I encountered was Lara, she blocked my path and I moved to walk around here when she said
“Thank you for coming,” she said with a wry smile
I wanted to ignore her but I turned around to answer her
“I didn’t come for you, I came for the celebrant,” I said
“Celebrant?” She asked as if surprised eyeing me
“Yes, I came for Bimpe’s birthday, which is also why you are here” I replied
“Mary!” A man’s voice called from behind and I turned to see who it was. It was Richard
“Hi Richard” I muttered trying not to sound enthusiastic
He hugged me and thanked me for coming
“Thank you for honouring our invitation, it’s been so long, we didn’t know you will be coming” I looked at him perplexed at what he was rambling about. When Bimpe walked up to me.
I hugged her eagerly and gave her my wishes and made to remove the gift from my purse and handed it to her.
“Happy Birthday Bimpe, even though I’m annoyed with you for not telling me when we spoke weeks ago that you have your birthday party coming up,” I said with a feigned frown
Bimpe did not smile or laughed at my joke and I felt she didn’t get the joke “I’m just kidding” I laughed
Bimpe spoke for the first time after a while
“It’s not my birthday Mary, my birthday has passed a long time ago”
I looked at her perplexed “what do you mean?” I asked
“Lara asked me to invite you tonight, she told me to be discreet about it, which was why I called Becky to tell you it was a birthday party”
“It’s Lara’s engagement party” she announced
“Engagement?” Becky had stood beside me at that moment and we turned to glare at Lara, it was the time she rubbed her right hand over her face and the ring she wore became evident, the stone on it flashed coldly as ice.
“Richard proposed to me,” she said in a dramatic voice that has a hint of mocking
Becky and I were dumbfounded for a long time, everyone began to clap and give their congratulations.
When the crowd gathered around the couple I drew back from the noise, Becky looked at me with an apologetic expression which intensified my embarrassment, and suddenly wanted to scream, I felt the tears coming into my eyes.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me out of the party, Becky ran after me but I did not stop, I stopped the first cab I saw, gave him my address and drove back home. Read the next chapter here!
You will definitely love this Fiction story titled 'Annabelle'. Click to read
Wahala no too much.