It had been a week since the kiss, and Yomi was advertently avoiding her. She knew this in her bones.
If the awkwardness in the drives to school wasn't enough reason, then the fact that they almost never met at home was indeed. And the few times they did meet, he desperately tried to avoid her gazes.
Dinma was growing wary, the fact that she enjoyed every bit of that kiss, made his rejection sting. And she saw herself wondering why she let herself fall from his charms. He was the one who had initiated the kiss in the first place.
The situation at school wasn't helping either. The kids were crankier and so was she. And so when her phone rang during the kids' lunch time, a quick glance at the phone telling her it was Temi, she realized that that was what she needed. A distraction.
“Hun.” Her friend's bubbly voice came through, instantly making her nostalgic.
“Tems.” She breathed.
“Are you okay?”
“Just stressed.” Dinma pressed the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh in exhaustion.
There were some rustling of papers on the other end, and she wondered if her friend was working, something Temi was not very good at.
“Do you ever read your WhatsApp messages?” The rustling had stopped.
“No.” Dinma replied, wondering where the conversation was headed. “You know I'm not good with social media.”
“You sound like an old woman, my step mom is even on Instagram–”
Dinma cut her, “What does that got to do with me?”
She knew one thing, her friend was very verbose with words, she never got to a point until she was done coating it. This was one characteristic she had always admired in her friend, she was glib and had her way with words. But not this time, she wanted Temi out with whatever she had to say, as quickly as possible.
“Yeah, so Omolara's decided to host LAWSAN's reunion for our set.” There was an excitement in her voice.
“It's not up to ten years since we graduated.”
Well since she was a Law student of the prestigious University of Lagos, she was an avid member of the LAWSAN, the Law Students Association of Nigeria. And just like the rest of her colleagues at school, she and Temi went to Law school upon graduation from the University, and the only difference between her and her colleagues, was that while some of them practiced law, she was a nursery school teacher.
Reunions, she had learned, were mostly about people showing off their achievements, and wanting to know that of their neighbors'. It was no different for her, she would love to know how far her colleagues had achieved. But it was only bad enough that Omolara was hosting the reunion. She would rub it on the faces of those who cared, that she was a mom, married to a white billionaire, and was a successful elite blogger.
Dinma wouldn't say she had not achieved anything, at least she was a millionaire, that is if she were to get married, she enjoyed her job and was doing great at it, at least that was what the proprietor had said. But it could not be in comparison to Omolara, the young girl she had always spited.
“It doesn't matter.” Temi was speaking, “It's been eight years, that's enough for a reunion.”
“Why is Omolara hosting?”
Dinma had always despised the young lady, and it was not unknown to Temi who had always seen their fights as petty. Omolara competed with everything Dinma did, from the guys that sought her attention, to school work.
“She has the money to. And please don't tell me you're still beefing her. We are going to have so much fun. It's a paid weekend getaway.”
Wow.
A child's juice box toppled over and fell on the floor, and Dinma was quick to pick it up before it spilled, for if it had, it would have earned her a screaming child. Ensuring the little girl had her juice box safely in her hand, Dinma walked back to her seat, at the front of the class, her phone still pressed to her ears.
“I'm not coming.” She said when she plopped into her seat.
She was met with silence at the other end, making her question if Temi was still on the line.
Temi replied in a breathe, “Is this about Mike?”
Truthfully, she had forgotten all about Mike. The guy who caused her a heartbreak, the guy who she had envisioned a future with, and all of a sudden, it seemed as though he only existed as a memory. For there was one who was haunting her already, Yomi.
“This has nothing to do with Mike.” She found herself explaining.
“So why are you not coming? And don't tell me it's because Lara's hosting. Please it would be so nice, I'll be coming with Toju, and you can invite Yomi too.”
Dinma frowned at the statement. Now she had better reasons to avoid the reunion. One, every one would have a date, or a husband, and she wouldn't. She already felt pressured as it was, that Lara would be expressively showing off her husband to everyone. She knew that she might act as though it didn't bother her, but it did, and she wasn't going to tell Temi that, instead she said, “I don't have anything to wear.”
Back at home, nothing changed. Yomi was ignoring her, and she kept herself busy by going through his late wife's possession. Today, She found a couple of old books in the wardrobe. So in curiosity she sat on the floor in front of this wardrobe, carefully going through the books. She noticed however, that not one of the pages of each book was creased , and they all had some pointer markings on their pages, an indication of careful studying. Kamsi Oguike, the name written on the front of every book in neat calligraphy, was indeed a meticulous young lady.
After a while of aimless browsing of the books, Dinma grew bored and made to return the books back when a lone picture fell out of the pages, on to the floor.
Dinma picked it up, and peered closely at the picture. It wasn't a recent one, as its quality was a poor one, but she could recognize the lady in the picture. It was Kamsi. She had an annoying semblance with miss Grace, but in the picture, she looked bubbly. She had her hair slicked back into a bun, and her smile was dazzling. Dinma knew she couldn't compete with that. The lady was simply elegant, her eyes mocking Dinma for thinking She had wormed her way into Yomi's life and that of Zara's. But Dinma knew not to bother, for she could never win Kamsi Johnson. She felt a lump behind her throat, the one threatening the tears that stung in her eyes to fall.
She sniffled just as the door bell rang, echoing in all of the house.
Yomi should get it. It could be Grace. She thought.
Her subconscious sneered at her, reminding her that she was being petty. So she stood, throwing and shoving the books haphazardly into the wardrobe.
The bell rung again, this time Zara who was colouring in the living room yelled.
“Aunty Dee! Somewan is outside.”
As she made to leave the room, she stubbed her little toe against the wall. She yelped loudly and bit back a curse, only leaping a little to the door. She walked in to Yomi halfway to the living room with an oomph. His eyes scanned hers with worry evident in his features, and she realized that he had raced down the stairs when she heard him trying to calm his breaths.
“I heard you scream. Are you okay?”
Great! He was talking to her because she was in pain. How pathetic!
Not giving in to the urges of rolling her eyes, she replied. “I'm fine.”
He nodded, and she noticed he was on nothing but a black sweatpants that hung dangerously low on his waist. His bare chest and taut stomach was made of well sculpted abs. Her hands itched to run them over his body. He was barefoot too. Her eyes went up to his face, and she met him hiding a smirk. He had caught her staring. She flushed, grateful when the bell rang again.
She walked around him, taking a whiff of his after shave and cologne, to the living room. And when she got to the door, she looked through the door hole. It was Temi.
With look over her shoulder, ensuring that he hadn't followed her. She opened the door. She didn't want her best friend mis understanding things. Not when he was shirtless.
“What took you so long?”
“Sorry.”
Hey oh!
Thanks for sticking with me, and my sloppy writing schedule.
I love you.
Don't forget to vote.