The Wall Between Us

Chapter 26 - Curiosity Killed The Cat

I slammed my hands against the wheels again. My head fell back on the headrest and it remained like that for almost half an hour.

I turned on the ignition with only one destination in mind. Ms. Maria's apartment. She owned a semidetached duplex in one of the neighbourhood on the Island, a few Kilometres from Avalon. I'd dropped her once when she was too sick to drive home and stopped by another time when her house was burgled.

I was going to give her the chance to explain why my father, her employer was sending her even more money than his company was paying her.

I stepped harder on the gas, hoping to beat the oncoming evening traffic.

I endured two hours stuck in the traffic and rain before finally pulling up in front of the sky-blue painted house. I alighted and before I could shut the door, my phone rang. I intended to let it ring but I saw my best friend's name displayed on the screen.

"Where the hell are you?" Patrick yelled over the phone while an afro-beat music boomed in the background. "How can you be running late for your own bachelor party?"

"Patrick, Man! I thought I asked you not to bother with that."

"Bro! You got to be kidding yourself. There's no way we're giving out the most eligible bachelor in Africa without shutting down Lagos!" I heard cheers of agreement from familiar voices in the background and I wondered how long they'd been drinking.

"Just get an Uber and go home, man. I'll see you in the morning."

Ignoring his drunk protests, I removed the phone from my ear and matched to the house. The large wooden door opened before my knuckles landed on it. A smiling Ms. Maria dressed in a yellow woollen sweater and white jean trousers stepped from behind the door.

"Oh, hey you. I thought I saw your car parked outside," her formal attitude was gone and replaced with a care-free smile. "You're not trying to run away from home, right?" She smiled.

I chuckled, biting back a smile.

With the oversized office suit and large circular medicated glasses gone, her face and body appeared slimmer. Her natural curly hair was tied in a high bun and her skin glowed even with little light. She was beautiful and could pass for a decade younger. Little wonder my father wanted her.

"It's too late to run away now, isn't it?" I shrugged.

She gave an understanding smile. "Why don't you come in?" She opened the door wider and stood aside. "I don't think the rain is about to stop drizzling anytime soon."

I nodded and walked into the average-size living area. Warmth and a mixture of ginger and fruity scent welcomed me. The only light in the room came from the medium sized TV screen and a variety of scented candles lined on the coffee table and side tables.

"One second," she said, before shuffling to the wall and toggling on the switch, lights from a number of bulbs in the POP ceiling came on in the process.

"Water? A drink? Or food?" she asked, pointing towards where I assumed to be the kitchen. I'd not even sat and she was already planning to fill up my stomach. Was this how she ensnared my father?

"For how long have you been sleeping with my father?" I asked, still standing with my hands in the back pocket of my trousers.