Maybe, You Will See Me Now

05

Suddenly, she relaxed her face and wore a wide smile on her face. Delight came closer and wrapped her arms around his waist. She rested her head on his shoulder. "I missed you."

He should've wrapped his arms around her right away and held her tightly. But, he couldn't. It wasn't as easy as it should. Instead, it was him telling himself he needed to do it. As a result, he awkwardly put his arms around her. For a relationship to work, two people needed to play their parts. Andrew was aware of how diligently Delight has been playing her part but he on the other hand was yet to feel it come natural to him. He felt the same way as the onset of their relationship. Andrew genuinely thought by now, he would've been head over heels in love with her or well on his way to feeling that way. Yet, it wasn't the case.

That night, he turned on his bed for the eighth time. Sleep eluded him and he could not pinpoint the exact reason for that. Every time he shut his eyes and tried to find peace, Ijeawele's face, followed by Delight's appeared simultaneously. He couldn't understand why he was burdened with strange feelings accompanied with that of guilt. According to his knowledge, he hasn't done anything wrong.

Finally, he got off the bed and made his way to the living room. Andrew looked around and then a thought crossed his mind. He should clean. Nothing seemed as clean as it should be. He convinced himself about that and went ahead to get the mop and bucket. He spent the time cleaning, from the floor to the table, chairs, television, every nook and cranny. He washed all the plates again. Andrew didn't stop till he felt satisfied and tired. Only then did he take a quick shower and hop on to bed. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, mostly because of exhaustion.

Meanwhile, Ijeawele slept off on the dining table where she'd been busy handling most of her work that she'd brought back home with her. Since her divorce, she has been having a hard time sleeping off and found only two remedies. Either she took a sleeping pill or she worked herself to exhaustion enough to fall asleep.

Ijeawele woke up. While she leaned back into her chair, she felt the stiffness in her neck and shoulder. She rubbed both sides of her neck, hoping to ease the pain. It worked a little and she looked at the time on her phone. It was a few minutes past five in the morning. She was glad she hadn't overslept. After a quick shower and dressing up, Ijeawele was in the kitchen making a cup of instant coffee for herself. She had it for breakfast along with two slices of bread. Then, she was on her way out of her apartment to her car parked in the compound. It was 6:32 a.m. Ijeawele gave her reflection one more look through the center mirror and started the car when she felt ready.

Andrew excused himself to use the restroom that early afternoon. He was about to walk through the open entrance when Ijeawele was suddenly in front of him. Both were fast to pull a brake on their steps in order not to bump into each other. The moment their eyes met, their recollection was of their last meeting and both felt flushed. Ijeawele stepped to the right and he did the same at once. He stepped to the left and she did the same. At this point, they seemed to make similar decisions and it became impossible to walk past each other. Ijeawele blamed the exit for also being the entrance to both the female and male restrooms.

Unexpectedly, she kept her hands on his arms, like to keep him still. Without meeting his eyes once more, Ijeawele walked past him, removing her hands as she did. Andrew looked back and watched her for a few seconds before he looked away. He looked at his arm where she had placed her hand and he lightly touched the spot.

Andrew took in a deep breath, released it at once while he gently shook his head to ward off unwanted thoughts. Then, he was able to continue his path towards the restroom.

Ijeawele was in her office when she received a text message. She went ahead to read it without first considering who it was from.

Have you done what I asked of you?

For a minute, her mind went blank after reading it. It was a message from her older brother, Ebenezer and she knew well what he was talking about. Ijeawele left the phone on the table and buried her face in her hands. It has been a long time since she spoke one on one with her ex-husband. The way he treated her was humiliating enough and now, her brother was asking her to humiliate herself further.

Ijeawele leaned back in her seat. The memories of the past were fresh in her mind and it pained her that she was the one in this state. There were many words and thoughts that she had to bite down on. She didn't get to say them on time and the time for it was never there again. Ijeawele didn't trust herself to face her ex-husband alone. The thought of it made her heart race with fear and uncertainty. She has to be over this. At least, that's what everyone expects. Ijeawele was aware that her brother was never going to let this go until she did as he asked.

Although Ijeawele held on to the steering wheel the evening a day later, she felt her hands tremble. Gently, she withdrew her hands from the wheel and tried to calm her racing heart and the panic that threatened to engulf her. She stared at the hair salon ahead. Her solution at best. Ijeawele assured herself that she wasn't going to tender an apology but rather clear the misunderstanding that has her brother thinking she needed to apologise.

The best person to speak with was the woman within the salon and Ijeawele was going to put on her strongest appearance yet. Because, she would be damned if she let her win against her again. 

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