The Irony of Life(15)😔😔

THE IRONY OF LIFE (15)😔😔

Duration: 4mins.

"Get me Jamani, and I will get you Cecilia. Deal?"

Fatima was almost not done talking when Ore jumped at the offer. That was not much price to pay to have Cecilia. Getting Jamani to change his mind should be a walkover. 

Knowing Jamani to be a player, he couldn't guarantee he would return to being exclusively Fatima's. But he could at least convince him to play home with Vivian, and away with Fatima. Little did he know he would do more than break a sweat. And still, getting Jamani would be like catching a cloud and pinning it down.

Fatima on the other hand knew what she was offering was a tough one. Cecilia was one of her mother's service girls and no more. They never got along like she made Ore believe. In fact, deep down, she was jealous of Cecilia for being more beautiful, and because she got more attention from the male patrons. But when there is a will, there is way. She swung into action at once, racking her brains.

                               ***

Everyone thought the shoes Monica left behind would be too big for Vivian. As though the latter had been understudying the former and had been longing to try it on for a size, she fitted in perfectly. 

Anytime Vivian needed to do anything masculine, like lifting heavy objects, she called for the help of no one but Jamani. As they worked closely together, they got closer by the day. And by the day, Fatima became more a thing of the past. 

Jamani and Vivian were often seen in corners, in each other's company, gisting and laughing. Jamani was finally getting the chance to sweet-talk her, which was having effect as did a spell. Things hadn't heated up between them, but from all indications, it was bound to be, till Steve abruptly showed his ugly face one morning and ruined Jamani's romantic overtures. 

As though he had been tipped off, Steve wasn't going to leave things to chance like he did with Monica. Like a mother hen, he was bent on keeping an eye on his chic this time around. He frequented the house, showed up when they weren't expecting, slept over at times, and took Vivian out as often as he could afford.

Jamani needed someone whom he could pour out his troubles to, someone who could raise some hopes in him even if it was just a flicker, someone who would tell him Steve was only wasting his time; he would soon get tired or busy with some other activities and stop coming. He could think of no other person than Ore, who happened to be, the wrong person.

Ore wore a straight, let-us-pray face while he listened to Jamani. But deep down, he was rejoicing, thinking of the best way to seize the sorry event to get Fatima back into his life.

"I understand how you feel. However, if you were Steve, I doubt you would want history to repeat itself. The guy is only being vigilant. I won't be surprised if he now has an eye in the house who keeps watch on happenings in his absence. Consider the consequences of being Steve's rival, and keep away from Vivian."

There was a moment's silence. With Jamani's still, lost face, it was hard to decipher what was going on in his mind.

Ore waited some more for his words to sink in deep before breaking the silence.

"Fatima asked of you."

"Who?"

As Ore repeated himself, Jamani's face went from looking as though he was suffering from memory loss, to looking like he just swallowed bile.

"Why bring Fatima up at this time?"

"C'mon man, give the girl the benefit of the doubt. In the true sense, what would she gain from making the video go viral? Even if she was dumb, she couldn't have mistakenly pressed the upload button."

"Whatever. I am done with her. Tell me, what sort of girl tells her mother every nitty-gritty details of moments spent with her man? I can deal with a spoilt, mama's girl no more."

Ore sensed Jamani came up with that only to discredit Fatima, how come he never mentioned it before? He was glad about one thing, even though Jamani didn't sound like it, he was more tolerant of hearing about Fatima unlike the last time he mentioned her. He let the matter rest till another time, hopeful that with more persistence, they will get back together.

                               ***

On a Friday afternoon, on a three-sitter couch where Fatima lounged at the living room, she drifted on and off a novel she was reading, thinking about Cecilia. A good number of ideas had crossed her mind in the last three days. One of which was try to befriend Cecilia. She discarded it as quickly as it came. The friendship they never had since they met two years ago wasn't going to start now. Even if, when could she possibly wield enough influence on Cecilia to get her to date Ore?

On a second thought, the more this stalled, the longer it took to have Jamani back. Besides, she didn't know about Cecilia's love life, what if she was seeing someone?

Fatima was torn in-between her dilemma when an idea suddenly popped up in her head. She reached for her phone, dialed Ore's number right away.

Valentine's Day was a week away, what better occasion to ask Cecilia out than on that? 

The idea settled well with Ore. But when Fatima suggested thrilling her with a bouquet and a bottle of the perfume she uses which both cost $350, the smile that formed on his face earlier faded away.

That would drain his savings to $10.

Whoever said 'love don't cost a thing'? 

With the way things were going, he hoped he wouldn't have to resort to asking Mrs. Penelope for an advance. 

Thereon, Ore counted down to February 14. All along, an inner voice kept resisting, bringing up the money he was going to part with. Each of those times, he countered with the phrase 'things we do for love'

Perhaps if someone had told him he was about seeing love in a different light, he may have reconsidered.

The D-Day finally arrived...

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To be continued same time, next week. Hope you enjoyed the read? Please leave a comment. Thank you.🙏🏻