The sun retired early that day and the moon was fully present, the large compound swallowed whatever sound signaled the presence of life despite the multiple cars parked around. Biola walked slowly on the driveway joyfully taking in her surroundings. The moonlight made the rose garden look purple; there were a couple lemon trees ahead but she wasn’t sure, the compound was quite large, she thought of walking towards the trees to make sure but she stopped herself because She didn’t want to be all sweaty when she meets Joy and Chief, Efe’s parents.
Two minutes away from the front door the door opened and out came Efe, Efe was very excited to have Biola over; she made sure everything in the house especially her room was in place
“Sorry about the long walk” Efe yelled, she wanted to walk to her but her medication was getting the best of her that day. It was the thought of Biola coming over that gave her the energy to put things in place; she even made her mother bake her special velvet cake which she was happy to do.
Joy was glad that Efe was beginning to have a life and she was also eager to meet this new friend of hers. Biola finally got to the front door
“Yaaaay you made it” Efe hugged her with enthusiasm
“Of course I did” Biola promised to visit and she always kept her promise.
“Come and meet my parents before we go upstairs” Efe didn’t even let her catch her breath before pulling her to the family room.
“Mummy! Daddy! This is my friend Biola” Biola knelt astride “good evening sir, good evening ma” they were speechless for a couple of seconds but Joy caught herself in time to reciprocate the greeting but Chief was helpless until Joy nudged him privately to stop staring
“Ehe!! My daughter, how are you?” Chief asked Biola still observing the marriage between her skin and the lights “fine sir” Biola was a little embarrassed but emotions were easy for her to hide “you went to school with Efe?” “No sir we…” “Oh! Yes! You worked at the bank together” Chief remembered before Efe open her mouth.
He asked Biola more questions about her background until it started looking like an interrogation “daddy! You are asking too many questions” Efe cut in and pulling her friend away. As they climbed the stairs she overheard her mother ask her father “is that a human being or a painting?”
It was very fun to have Biola over, they ate, danced, did their make up when they found Efe’s long-forgotten box of makeup products. “It’s almost time for me to go home” Biola looked at the Barbie clock on the wall “why don’t you just spend the night it’s very late, the driver will drop you off tomorrow morning, please …please” “I guess I could but I have to be out very early” Biola didn’t mind staying she was just afraid that Efe’s parents would think of her as a moocher.
Efe was genuinely happy to have her around which made her happy and at ease. She ran downstairs to tell her parents that Biola was staying over and came back really quick
“So I have a plan … I do have an idea about us moving to Lagos” Efe had a mischievous look on her face and Biola immediately began to regret telling Efe about moving to Lagos “when did ‘I’ become ‘we’?” she thought to herself.
“My father owns a couple of houses in Lagos and I know that they will let me move to Lagos if I tell them that both of us will live together because they won’t allow me live alone. What do you think?”
“Efe you know that I like living alone” Biola countered
“I know… I know but these houses are big as hell and you can go without seeing my face for a year if you want to, we can even stay in the one that has four duplexes in one compound…”
“Efe…Efe…” Biola stopped her “if I live with you without checking up on you for months, do you know what that would make me?”
“What would it make you?” Efe asked
“Look… you are still on medication; whoever lives with you must be there for you at least… I can’t live with you and pretend to live alone” Biola noticed Efe tearing up a little bit, before she could say anything Efe excused herself to the bathroom to sob. She cried because she felt Biola was trying to distance herself from her because she was sick
“You think I am trying to run away from you because you aren’t well” Biola’s observation surprised her, she nodded. Biola picked up a piece of paper towel and gently wiped Efe’s tears in a motherly manner “you are very wrong that’s not the reason, I just really love living alone plus… honestly… I am scared that you might not like me anymore when you get to really know me… I’m lazy I hate cleaning and cooking… we might die of hunger” Efe giggled “we have maids and cooks, you don’t have to worry about all that” “okay… although I doubt your parents will let you move…if they agree then I am in” Excitement brewed through Efe’s eyes.
Efe threw the greatest tantrum of her life, she described it to Biola over the phone as ‘the last tantrum’. Her parents especially her mother tried to explain to her how dangerous it would be to live by herself “but I will be with Biola” she screamed “you mean the painting” her mother was always calm and Efe found it very annoying at heated moments like this.
She threatened to kill herself, to run away, she cried and screamed some more but this time her parents didn’t budge “moving is not a problem honey, nobody is stopping you from moving but your mother must go with you” Chief chipped in “your father is exactly right, so when your friend comes tonight you can tell her that you people’s plan didn’t work”
“Her name is Biola” Efe screamed and ran upstairs; she was pleasantly surprised to still have this spoilt brat behavior in her.
“Biola you have to make them change their minds tonight, you have to charm them… I am begging you” Efe was now getting dressed for her parents’ annual Christmas party while speaking to Biola over the phone.
“Do you think we are too hard on her?” Joy was torn, she wanted Efe to dream again and live a fulfilled life but at the same time leaving her alone in a large city scared her to death
“No… I don’t believe she came up with this idea on her own… it’s that friend of hers and I am going to have a word with her tonight” Chief was very upset “how can Efe just jump from working low key to resigning and moving… it’s that girl”
“I agree with you Chief… just be gentle when you talk to her but make sure she knows that she cannot use our daughter to get to us” Joy said struggling with a diamond-encrusted emerald necklace
“Oh I definitely will”.
Over the past three months Biola and Efe had gotten closer even though they had nothing in common as far as personality, likes and dislikes and background was concerned but there was something that always brought them together. They realized that they could talk to each other about anything and they understood each other more than anyone else. It surprised Biola how their friendship played out and she found herself looking forward to living with Efe
The party was halfway gone when Biola arrived, this time she made sure the car dropped her directly in front of the front door. As she walked in her eyes met with that of a former boss who didn’t recognize her, for a minute she wondered why he didn’t know her then she remembered why. She was glad he didn’t
Biola went straight to the bar which was at the pool area, she sat there and privately enjoyed a bloody mary as she texted Efe to let her know that she was around. The party looked fun, guests were having the time of their lives, laughing, eating and drinking but for some reason, she wanted out then she remembered the lemon trees and decided to go check them out.
The lemon garden was one of the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, the lemons were big and reflected the moonlight on each other, the tree branches stretched out in a symmetrical manner their right side imitating the left. Biola sat on the grass and lit a cigarette; she puffed and sipped her drink, it felt like heaven.
“The party is over there, what are you doing here?” it was Chief “I have been looking for you, we need to talk” Biola immediately knew what it was going to be about but she remained quiet as he expressed rudeness and massive disrespect in the name of tearing her and his daughter apart, he even threatened to make her life miserable if she didn’t act accordingly “do you understand me?” his eyes were scorching but Biola was not afraid and her eyes were never going to back down.
“Yes” she answered barely separating her lips. “You are very disrespectful” She stated, putting out her cigarette “your daughter is the one begging to live with me … as you can see it is quite obvious that I am a loner, so the person you have a problem with is your daughter you can…” Chief disturbed her sentence with a vicious kiss; she pushed him away when she gathered the awareness to.
Chief didn’t even understand what was going on with him, was it her wide almond-shaped eyes or her full lips or the way the red lip stick made them move seductively or maybe it was her confidence. She spoke to him like they were age mates; he didn’t know but he felt bewitched and couldn’t help himself. That was why he kissed her
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Biola was visibly appalled. Chief smiled assertively “now I see why my daughter is crazy about you, you didn’t need to use my daughter to get to me… you have my attention” he touched her chin and was gone before Biola could say anything.
Still thinking about the recent event Efe interrupted Biola’s thoughts “there you are I have been looking all over for you… guess what… I just saw Daddy and he agreed”
“Agreed to what?” Biola had totally forgotten about the plan to live with Efe “He said we can live together in Lagos as long as he and mum can visit often” Efe jumped out of excitement; and without giving Biola the chance to reject the offer a second time she hugged her and rushed away to get drinks
