by Myne Whitman
He’d not wanted to leave her so angry, but that was what he’d done. Had he also sent her into his rival’s arms? He couldn’t bear it if so, and this wasn’t just about Stanley. It was about just the two of them. He still loved Efe, and wanted to resolve things so they could start again. There was no use pretending otherwise.
Kevwe stepped out of the car and stretched his legs, the cold harmattan air dry on his face. He licked his lips and marched to her apartment, knocking on the front door.
“Who’s there?”
“It’s me, Kevwe. I’d like to talk.”
She opened the door but didn’t let him in, a defiant look on her face.
Kevwe hoped she wouldn’t close the door on him. “I waited outside for you. I want our promise, Efe. I want to marry you.”
Efe was stunned, and opening the door wider, she walked to take a seat. In her nightmares, she’d often railed against him for breaking their promises. No other words could have been more effective, and he must know it.
Kevwe followed to the settee. Yes, he remembered her words from the first time they met. At Ofure’s office, he hadn’t been prepared. Feeling wronged, he’d wanted to protect himself. After their night together, he’d gotten defensive again and attacked her by involving Adetiba in their misunderstanding.
“I’m ready to talk. I’ll tell you what happened after our last discussion about your US travel plans.” He took a deep breath. “I had an accident in March 2002. It was terrible, and when I finally left the hospitals, I remained bed-ridden for months. Ofure started searching for you in May, and I continued till I gave up in December. If you doubt me, you can ask Ofure.”
“I don’t doubt you.” She looked up at him and paused. “But you have to accept your family never told me about the accident. They turned me away because of my tribe.”
Kevwe had guessed as much. “Tell me how it happened.”
Efe exhaled, “After our quarrel when you left for Lagos, I called my parents to convince them to allow me finish at UniBen. They agreed, but said I needed to come to Warri without delay. I had to complete the document processing, or I would miss the visa. They ordered me home, but I couldn’t go, not with our relationship so unsettled.”
Kevwe looked on in silence. How many times had he gone over the series of events that had transpired in Benin seven years ago? With what he’d been told, it always worked out quite simply. Efe already had the visa lottery. With her fiancé incapacitated by an accident, she’d then decided to abandon him and relocate abroad without further ado. He had to accept that somehow, someone had lied to him. Now, the truth would be revealed.
Efe gained strength from the openness on his face. “I was worried when I didn’t hear from you. I made up my mind to go to your apartment in Upper Lawani to tell you about it. It was vacant, making me even more worried. I then went up to GRA to ask at your parents’, but your father turned me away, saying you’d heeded his advice to dump me because I was Itsekiri…” The memory of his father’s cruel words was like a dark cloud, but she pushed past it and continued.
“I returned to school devastated, but hoping you’d get in touch with me. Then Ovie said she’d seen you with another girl around town.”
Kevwe was unprepared. “That cannot be true.”
Efe cut him mid-speech. “Who is Ugome?”
She watched his face, and the surprise he couldn’t hide. Her heart sank to the bottom of her chest. “You didn’t think I would find out, did you? Ovie provided the details. When did you date her, before or after our quarrel?”
“I didn’t date her, and surely not while we were together.” Kevwe said. “I know Ugome, but we met while I was recovering from my accident, and I never squired her around town.”
“Then who did Ovie see? Before I left the country in May, I heard they kept seeing both of you together around Benin. The news of the town was you were to be married to her before the end of the year. It was supposed to be the marriage of the year because she was from a royal Benin family.” Efe spat the last, his father’s insults burned in her mind.
“You’ve got it wrong,” Kevwe said, “They must have seen Ofure. He came back immediately I had the accident, and sometimes he had to go about the city with Ugome for some errands. Yes, she was there, either at my bedside or the house, but not because I wanted her there. My father introduced her to me, and he wanted me to marry her.”
As Kevwe spoke, his father’s hatred of the Itsekiri, and how he’d used the ethnic violence of those days to manipulate everything that had transpired with Efe became clear to him.
**
13
Abuja. November 29, 2009. 8pm
Efe considered Kevwe’s words in silence. It seemed his father’s role in the whole fiasco was even bigger than she thought. His explanation of the Ugome issue made sense in view of what his father said to her then.
She sighed and said, “Well, you can understand, I had no reason to disbelieve what Ovie said then. My emotions fluctuated from denial to anger and then heartbreak. I told my parents my mind was changed, and I wanted to travel to the United States immediately. They booked a taxi to move me home, but on my last day, I just couldn’t leave. I told the taxi driver to take me up to your parent’s house again.”
He nodded her on when she stopped.
“I already told you what happened. Your parents took my ring, and I walked away believing you were behind it.”
“I am so sorry,” Kevwe said, rubbing the scar under his ear. He accepted his father had deceived her and regretted his earlier doubts. The next steps would be to get to the bottom of what his parents had done.
“We have to speak to my mother,” he continued, “but not immediately. My father is dead…”
“What!” Efe could not believe her ears.
“He died from a heart attack three months ago.” Kevwe replied, not knowing what the emotions flitting over her features meant.
Efe often thought about meeting Kevwe again, but never imagined Chief Mukoro would not be there. She stared at Kevwe’s face and was reminded of his father by their shared features. The grudge she’d held against Chief Mukoro pushed against her throat, lodging there like a hard ball. Animosity warred with disappointment, and she had to stop herself from screaming. To think he’d been dead just three months.
“Sorry for your loss,” she said finally. “Your mother?”
“She misses him a lot, that’s why I was defensive earlier.”
Efe exhaled gustily. She understood he didn’t want to bother his grieving mother. She was also sorry his father was dead, but not because she mourned him. Chief Mukoro had been such a proud man; it would have been satisfying to rub his face in his failure to break her away from his son. She shook her head clear of the vindictive images.
He gazed into her stolidly resigned face, willing her to look at him. He wanted her to see the message in his own eyes. He would do anything for them to pass through this and hoped she could see it.
Efe could see it, but she quashed the melt around her heart. “I accept your apology. I’m glad we’ve set the past straight. So what’s the way forward?”
“Please give us a chance,” Kevwe sat forward, palms flat.
She looked away. “I don’t know if I can,” she finally whispered, quailing within at Kevwe’s frown. Tears of frustration climbed in her chest, but she didn’t want Kevwe to see. It just seemed impossible to go on without an apology from his father. She didn’t know if she could forgive the dead man, or open her heart to unconditionally love his son again. Seven long years she’d fostered the animosity against them as a way to shield herself from total breakdown. The defenses now appeared more embedded than a simple apology could uproot.
“Will we acknowledge our true feelings or not, Efe? Do you think I’d be here if I didn’t believe we could make it?” He closed the gap between them, sitting down beside her and taking up the twisting fingers on her lap in one motion.
All those years without her, trying to put his hear
t and life together – it had all been futile. The months with Ugome when he’d thought to use her to quench his pain before realizing it wasn’t fair to either of them. And the years since, when he’d put all his energy and passion into his business, telling everyone it was all that mattered, when secretly he’d longed to share it with someone. And the person he had in mind when he started the business was Efe.
“Please let’s bury the past. I’m sorry for the pain my parents caused you. I love you, and I want us to have a future together.”
Efe stood up slowly. It all felt unreal. Chief Mukoro was dead? She recalled the day she’d been insulted by his father. The look in his mother’s eyes as she opened her palms to receive the ring without saying anything. The taste of bitter tears she’d cried as the taxi drove away now lashed her tongue.
She relived the barren years after she’d first moved to the United States, alone in a new place, feeling desolate and discarded. There were days she’d almost ended it all.
“Please,” he got to his feet too, “I know you still care for me.”
Efe knew it was not so simple. She had to find a way to forgive too, a way to go beyond her pain and his father’s betrayal. She did still care for Kevwe, but her feelings needed time to untangle. There was no need rushing into another relationship with him if she could not let go of the past, if it continued to haunt her.
It would not be fair on him, and it would not be fair on her too. She’d not decided to leave Stanley for good, only to enter another relationship where she could not be completely open with her emotions. One she knew from the get-go might end painfully.
She walked to the door, and opened it slowly. “Please give me time; I need to think about this.”
She did not meet his eyes as he stood for several long moments, just looking at her. When he walked past, she closed the door.
**
Abuja. November 30, 2009. 12.30pm
On Monday, Efe started work from a customer’s office, barely making it there in time. She’d only slept at dawn after a fretful night, during which she did everything but sleep. As she’d watched TV or listened to music, she’d decided to tie things up with Stanley first, and then call Kevwe later that day. She didn’t want it to seem like she was playing hard to get because she really cared a lot for him.
Over the night, she’d come up with a perfect plan to help them start on a new footing that would allow them be honest and free from the past. It would involve speaking with his mother, as well as her parents and siblings. Their break-up had involved them all, and it was only fair everyone had the chance to speak their mind and set the shadow of the past at peace.
At the hotel, an email waiting from her boss pushed away all personal thoughts, putting her in full work mode.
“Hi Sherry,” she greeted the group director’s secretary when she got upstairs.
The matronly assistant pointed her through, without saying why Mr. Akinyele wanted to see her. Efe pulled down her jacket and pinched her nose. Her boss was an even-tempered man, and she’d done nothing to expect a rebuff. Still, as she entered the inner sanctum after a brief knock, she hoped nothing was wrong.
“Come in Efe,” Mr. Akinyele said with a short smile. The bright overhead lights glinted off his glasses and showed up the thinning patch just behind his still full hairline.
“Good afternoon, sir,” Efe greeted.
“Afternoon, my dear,” he replied, waving her to one of the seats before his desk.
He was busy, so Efe sat down and crossed her legs. She rubbed her palms on her knees. Efe sensed the undercurrents of urgency and prayed it wasn’t what she thought.
“Do you know why I asked you here?” Mr. Akinyele asked after a while, fixing her with his gaze.
“Word just came in,” he continued after Efe shook her head. “You’ll have to travel to the United States, and you leave today. You’ll be going to Lagos first to catch the Delta Airlines evening flight out of Lagos to Atlanta, and from there you’ll take another flight to California.”
Mr. Akinyele gathered some papers on his desk, and Efe stared at him with an open mouth before sputtering, “But sir, I mean...”
He looked up at her. “Surely you knew about this?” he asked, spreading his arms along the edge of the desk.
Efe collected herself enough to answer in the affirmative. “Yes sir, of course, but not so soon. We only just wrapped up not more than a week ago. I was not aware...”
“But you were made to understand the case was urgent and you might have to leave all other things and return to the States,” her boss interrupted. He leaned back on the chair and folded his hands over his round stomach. “Anyway, to cut a long story short, you have less than three hours, so go home and get ready.”
Efe rubbed the bridge of her nose. Of course, she’d known about the proposed trip and had looked forward to a break in the States. But two weeks ago, her life had not been complicated like this. She was supposed to meet Stanley this afternoon, and the situation with Kevwe also had to be resolved.
The sound of Mr. Akinyele snapping his suspenders broke into her musings. “Reservations have been made by my secretary.”
For a moment, Efe regretted working so tirelessly on the fraud case now taking her to the United States. Last week, with the managing director’s help, she’d set up bait which the embezzler fell for, revealing the fraud wasn’t just at the Abuja and Palm Beach Hotels. She’d found similar scams in several other branches too.
The internal audit departments at the head office in Beverly Hills, California had then swung into action, and the noose had begun to tighten. Still, she’d thought it would take some time before the case was resolved to the extent that she would need to travel.
Mr. Akinyele brought her to the present as he stood up from his swivel chair and ambled over to her. Efe stood too. He handed her a file from the desk and followed her to the door.
“There must be no delay. They want you at headquarters not later than close of work tomorrow. Remember to keep it quiet as we’ve been doing; we don’t want to tip off our quarry. You already know why you’re going. You’re the best auditor here, and I hear too you’re familiar with most of the others working on the case. The team lead is Mr. Rookery, your former manager in West Palm Beach.”
Efe walked through the open door and to the secretary. Sherry extended her tickets and another file to her.
Outside, Mr. Akinyele urged her to represent the branch as best as she could. He did not want them implicated in any way and also wished to avoid financial losses.
Efe managed a smile as he shook her hand, and promised to do her best. She cursed both the owners of the account and the embezzler inwardly. Why now? Why had the case become urgent now Kevwe was in her life again, and now she expected to put her hurts to rest? Why?
**
14
Abuja. November 30, 2009. 1.20pm
There was no time to waste, and so as soon as she got home, Efe phoned her parents who wanted to know how long she would be away. She informed them it wasn’t certain, as she would have to stay as long as it took to unmask the people perpetuating the fraud and make sure the Abuja Hilton was let off the hook. After packing, she also called Nneka to make her aware of her imminent trip out of the country. Immediately she hung up, her phone rang. It was Stanley.
“Hi babe, I’m at your office. We were to meet, remember?”
“I’m sorry Stanley, I should have called you.” By the time she left the office, their meeting had utterly escaped her.
“Yeah, your office told me you’re on your way to Lagos.”
“Yes, it’s business. I’m on my way to the States.”
“You don’t mind if we leave for the airport together? I have a rental car, and I can come pick you.”
“Oh there’s no need. There’s an official car.”
“OK then, let’s meet at the airport. What time is your flight?”
“Erm…” Efe mumbled, wondering whether to tell him.
&nb
sp; Stanley cut through her stutter. “It must be the Arik Flight by three; that’s the only one before the evening shuttles start.”
Efe could do nothing else but agree to meet; it would have been too churlish to do otherwise. Stanley informed her he would change his flight plans and call ahead to get a seat on her plane. She said she would see him at the airport, and dropped the phone.
The call with Stanley had put her behind, and she rushed around getting ready. She decided to call Kevwe from the airport and left the house after one last check to be sure everything was in order.
At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Stanley met her at the front doors and took her luggage. They checked in together and took the elevator to the upper part of the departure lounge. As she watched him settle into the seat beside hers, she decided it was best to tell him what Kevwe’s presence had prevented the previous day.
“Stanley, I have something to tell you.”
It appeared he too had been waiting to talk.
“Efe, I want you to hear me out first. I don’t understand why you cut me out of your life. You didn’t answer my calls, or my text messages, and you even cut short our meeting yesterday. But see…” he clutched at her hands, “I don’t care about all that. All I care about is you. I don’t know what’s happening but just know this.” He paused till she looked up at him. “I don’t want to lose you again. I may have made mistakes in our relationship in the past, but I know what I want now. I have known since before you returned to the country. I followed you back, Efe.”
She had been shaking her head. “I’m so sorry Stanley, but it’s too late. I don’t love you. There’s someone else.”
Stanley hesitated. “Since you returned to Nigeria?”