I'm sorry this chapter would have to end on such a bad note after me going on a short break for Christmas and New year. Happy New year to you by the way! :-)
Micheal and his sister wouldn't be here for another fifteen minutes, but here I am rummaging through my fully packed closet contemplating about what to wear. And it normally doesn't take me this long to get dressed, but somehow at the back of my mind, I wanted to impress Mike.
Maybe we could have a long conversation like mature adults at the end of tonight's dinner, even through we're not, and see where this takes us. I'm not specifically expecting it to end well since we both have our diverse opinions and fears, and it occured in my mind that it could also end in shouts— which is mostly on my part— or merriment, but whatever option comes first, I'll be ready to take it.
I had a feeling I would be drained of all ounces of strength in me by the end of dinner tonight.
"Ruth, you're taking too long! You've been in his crammed place for three good hours, and you're yet to pick anything to wear, are you getting dressed for the president or something?" Zoe panicked as she rushed into my room, gesturing towards the hangers of clothes laying around in a mess on the floor. "They should be here in ten minutes tops, and you haven't even done you hair yet."
I looked around my own bedroom and realized that she was indeed right, different attires and heels were scattered around. Thankfully, my makeup was the first thing I did when I came out of the bathroom so I didn't have to worry about that. If only I could get a suitable outfit, pack my already matted curls into a bun, wear my shoes, then I would be more than ready to conquer the night.
But sadly I wasn't.
I picked up a lovely dinner pastel yellow tiny strap sundress and held it up to my body to see if it'd fit since it had been a while I wore it. "Tell mum I'll be down soon, just give me ten minutes. It's not like they're already here anyway, stop stressing me."
I finally decided to wear the sundress, with an open toe heels to match. Zoe stood behind me as I tried to slick my hair back with a styling gel opposite the mirror, her hands poised on her hips. "To be sincere, I'm still trying to understand what's taking you so long to prepare for a simple dinner. It's not as if we're going out, neither is it a fancy dinner, so why the stress?"
If I told her the reason, she wouldn't understand, simply because she's not the one in my shoes to experience this. Love is beautiful, yet corny. Not only does it make you act out of character, it is also an element that confuses the individuals involved, that is if the love isn't one sided. I'm not sure if what I feel for Mike could be classified as love or anything close to that, but it's definitely an emotion that makes me require distance yet still try to impress.
I'm trying to impress Micheal, it's a fact I'm still trying to get a solid ground on.
"That's not your business. Will you get out of my room or do you need help to?" I clasped the hook of the tiny silva necklace on my neck and shifted back a little to smoothen the invisible creases on my dress.
Not bad.
I heard Zoe scoff behind me, then her quick angry footsteps traveling to the door of my room. "With all the makeup and heels on, you still look ugly. Just get down before mummy comes up here, you have less than five minutes left."
"You're just angry you can't seem to match my vibe." I called back to her amusedly, hearing the sound of the door banging against the wall as she made her departure. Her loud chuckle resonated through the hallway as her footsteps faded down the stairs.
With another nervous sigh, — an emotion that I shouldn't even be feeling in the first place — I smoothened the edges of my dress, tried to bend forward on my bed to pick up my small clutch without breaking my spinal cord in the process, and proceeded to walk out of my room, taking the stairs one step at a time like a baby who was just learning to walk.
The atmosphere down the stairs was a little bit different than the one I managed to creat in my room upstairs, both chaotic but still different. It felt like a ship was sinking and everyone was running around trying to protect themselves. The three differences though is that we're in a house, not a ship. A ship is capable of occupying thousands of people, while we're just five so to speak. Thirdly, we're on dry land, not on water.
I dropped my clutch on a couch and moved towards the dining table, my heels gently clicking against the tiled floor. Arranged neatly on the dining table was different types of food, raging from swallows to English meals. And then, wine glasses and a bottle of red wine in the middle.
Not a fancy dinner my ass. Hell, mum even managed to squeeze in a chocolate cake as well in the middle of the assortment, which just happens to be me and Zeke's favourite.
Weird if you think about it, but we used to be best friends and we had so many things in common, food included.
I walked further into the kitchen where mum was busy cleaning the counter with Zeke and Zoe assisting her. Suddenly, I heard a snack sound on my back. "So you finally decided to join us now, after sending Zoe to call you for atleast six times. By the way, what are you wearing? Nobody informed me that we were going to a party, I would have dressed up for it too."
I rolled my eyes and rubbed the spot behind my back which I was sure was now sure and likely bruising. "I'm sorry I wasn't here to assist you, but there's nothing wrong with my clothes at all. I simply dressed up for myself, why would I dress up for Mike?"
I heard Zoe let out a hearty chuckle. "Nobody asked you if you got all dolled up for Micheal, you admitted to that by yourself."
I glared at her and blushed at the same time, embarrassed that I had managed to slip up in front of my room. Just as mum was about to raise an argument about a topic which I knew would start and end with Micheal, the doorbell rang, making me heave a sigh of relief.
"We're not done here." Mum cautioned, dropping her dusting rag and motioning for the three of us to go settle down, before moving towards the door way. I heard their voices before I saw them, making me bite on my lip. Everyone seemed calm — Dad and Zion included, their phones almost up on their faces — while I just couldn't help but feel jittery, my legs bouncing up on the table.
"I'm sorry we are a few minutes late, Lagos traffic was as its worst again today." I heard Micheal's sister, Aunt Toke say, her voice breaking like someone out of breath. Then came Micheal's cool and reserved voice, very quiet but still audible. "Good evening ma."
"How're you Micheal?" Mum's enthusiastic voice followed, then a short pause. "It's okay Toke, come on in before the food gets cold. You too Micheal, Ruth has been waiting for you."
I gnawed in my lip to hide my embarrassment, my cheeks feeling as hot as a frying pan on a fire. Besides me, Zoe tried to hide her laughter as she snickered, leaving me to glare at her. "Shut the hell up before I slap you now." I hissed, annoying and extremely embarrassed.
To top things off, Micheal was now sitting opposite me. Dad was at the head of the table, mum at his right with Aunt Toke at his left. Zoe and Zion were sitting opposite each other, leaving Micheal to sit on the only available chair which was right in front of me.
Zoe must have planned this, no wonder she pushed me out of my assigned seat when I tried to sit down, muttering about how sorry she was. She was trying to set me up with Michael without me even noticing.
That little devil.
Thankfully, the dinner seemed to be going fine, even though Mike and I never said a word to each other. Que the occasional glances, but nothing further than that. That was until mum dropped her fork and cleared her throat. "Ruth, why don't you show Micheal your room? It's been so long since you last saw each other, I'm sure he'd be willing to catch up."
I gritted my head and nodded my head. "Yes ma." I stood up and motioned for Mike to follow me, as we slowly climbed up the stairs together. I pushed my door open and allowed him to walk in first, leaving me take in his amused face as he ran his hands along my makeup vanity and picture frames.
Thank God I decided to arrange my clothes back in its place or this would have been an extremely embarrassing situation.
"This is my first time in here and I already like it," Came his usual soft voice as he settled on the chair before my desk. "You have a beautiful room by the way." By now, he was already flipping through my books as if he owned the place. But I simply couldn't be annoyed at him over a silly book, he meant so much to me than that.
"Thank you." I flashed him a light smile and subtly tugged on my dress, wiggling my heeled clad feet.
He nodded and silence ensured the awkward atmosphere. Just as I saw his mouth open to speak, my phone began to ring, hereby disrupting the moment. I picked up my phone was so happened to be on my desk in front of Mike, seeing him frown at Zeke's contact ID on my screen.
I ignored him and picked up the call, placing the phone against my left ear with a small smile on my face. "Hey Zeke."
The smile on my face swiftly disappeared as Zeke's broken voice came on the line, leaving Mike to look up at me with confusion all over his face.
"She's dead Ruth, she's dead." Then a strangled cry followed.
I willed myself not to cry as I began to think of the worst case scenarios. "What do you mean dead? Who's dead Zeke?" Micheal perked up at the mention of death, the annoyed look leaving his face instantly.
"My mum, it was too late. She died, this morning. Overdosed herself overnight. The doctors couldn't save her. I couldn't save her. No one could save her. She's dead Ruth, she's dead."