Incompatible…

AARON ANSAH-AGYEMAN

INCOMPATIBLE

A ChrisEffe Thriller

CHAPTER 10

Chris called again, and Effe cut the call, three times.

The doorbell chimed, but she walked on into her room.

There was a melodious ding on her phone. It was a WhatsApp message from Chris. He was using a beautiful picture of her as his DP.

She opened the message.

CHRIS: I’m very sorry, Angelface. I’m at the gate. The security man won’t open it. Pls, come out, Ef.

Effe typed angrily.

EFFE: You went away! So go away, Chris!

She threw the phone on the sofa and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, and she could hear the phone ringing over and over.

It was the tone she had saved Chris’ name with, but she ignored it.

***

It was a big business dinner in the plush Eden Hotel.

The dinner was being held in the exotic gardens on the eastern wing of the hotel. The food was superb, and the atmosphere was almost magical with an almost surreal quality. The music was soft, and the general air was superb. The lights played across the beautiful S-shaped swimming-pool in the garden.

After the various speeches, business advice and talks, they all ate, and then the live band played smooth sensual music and some couples went to the dance floor.

Effe was present with her parents, her sister, and Baaba. Also present were Eyram’s boyfriend, Wachipa Sey, and Baaba’s boyfriend, Jonathan Afful. They were all seated at a table near the pool, chatting happily…except for Effe, of course.

She was holding her phone and flipping through her WhatsApp chats. She was remembering how she had treated Chris in the afternoon, and she was feeling more than a twinge of regret and guilt now. It was true he had infuriated her to the extreme, but telling the guard to keep him out, and not responding to his calls or chats were not good enough, and she knew it. She knew he would be hurting rather badly, and unnecessarily of course, and that pained her a whole lot, especially with his brain all fuddled up with the fact that she could be with some other man.

Ridden with guilt, she had called him before setting off, but his phone was off. Effe had sent him messages saying sorry for her behaviour and explaining that the guy who had called him was actually called Jude Lorlornyo-Lawer, the boyfriend of her close friend. His name had been too long to store and that was why she had simply added an ‘L’ to it.

Effe explained that her best friend, Atswei Mavis, had broken off with Jude, and he was suicidal and desperate, and that was why she had spent so much time with him on the call trying to calm him down.

Although Chris had replied with a curt “Ok. I’m cool” he had not bothered to call, which was so unlike him. And so Effe had called, but his phone was still off.

“You should’ve invited him over,” Eyram said suddenly, and Effe looked at her and smiled.

“You know I couldn’t, Rammy,” Effe said sadly. “Mom would’ve roasted him alive, and Dad would’ve had a fit.”

Eyram smiled and pushed Wachipa’s lips away as he tried to lick her ear.

“Stop it, Chipa!” she said with a giggle, and then she turned back to her sister with raised eyebrows. “Learnt you kept him out of the house today. That was mean, Ef.”

Effe nodded miserably and rubbed her temples.

“Yes, and I’m beginning to feel so bad for that,” she said. “That boy pushes me too far and too hard sometimes, and yet I can’t stop loving him. That the problem, you know…my heart just wouldn’t accept the inevitable, and just wouldn’t stop beating for him.”

“More than Romeo and Juliet,” Baaba chipped in, and they all laughed.

“I think you’re courting trouble, Effe,” Jonathan Afful said. “I don’t think your parents will ever allow you to marry Chris! And he would be forced to beat them up mercilessly.”

The others laughed again.

Effe smiled.

“Ain’t you supposed to be his bestie, Jon?” she asked sarcastically.

“Sure, sure, and that’s why I always speak the truth to the two of you,” Jonathan said, and his face was serious now. “Too many things working against you two. For starters, you two are seriously incompatible! Whereas you love to blow time, Effe, he likes to burrow like a worm! Plus, he has a World War blowing with your folks over this land case. You mother simply hates Chris so much that she would gladly destroy his very shadow if she could. There was a time I overheard your old man telling Josh just how much he hates Chris. Even Josh, who used to be Chris’ pal, has fallen out with him.”

“And what are you driving at, Jon?” Eyram asked with raised eyebrows.

“They’re two sensible people, or at least, Effe is,” Jonathan said, joining in the general laughter again. “Chris is madly in love, and wouldn’t listen to anything I tell him! He’s simply besotted with Effe.”

“Mad in love?” Eyram said, giggling. “Dead in love more like! Nothing shakes him, and nothing deters him. He’s just like a zombie, you know, following Effe around like a rabid dog. It is so humiliating sometimes! I shy give am paa sometimes for real.”

Again laughter.

“What I think is that you must break off with him in a nice way, Effe,” Jonathan continued. “It will be hard, yes, almost impossible. It will be definitely painful to both of you, worse in Chris’ case. But at least better to hurt now and avoid a real Holocaust in the future. The way he’s forcing you to treat him is so disgusting, Effe, and I won’t lie about it.”

Effe sighed.

“I love him, Jon, and I don’t think I can survive without him,” she said gently. “We’ll find a way through this, eventually, I believe.”

“Some ways are not worth finding, Effe, if you ask me,” Wachipa said as he popped a piece of chicken into his mouth. “His jealousies and your inability to live the sort of life he wants, and his inability to blend into your circles, will eventually cause both of you serious pains. I’m looking at marriage and beyond, Effe. What happens when you two get married, huh? The guy would literally put you in a dog leash and walk you around like a hardened prisoner.”

Effe laughed.

“Apostles of doom, don’t worry too much,” she said. “We’ll make it work, Chris and me, in our own way. He’ll come around eventually, I tell you.”

“And here comes Dad with competition,” Baaba announced, and they turned their heads and watched.

Mr. Ken Kedem, dressed in an excellent tuxedo, was approaching with one of his business partners, an elderly importer called Kojo Hollison.

The two of them had been friends for a while, and Kojo Hollison had been saying for some time now that he wanted his son, who was studying abroad, to marry Effe. It had started as a jest, but it had been going on for a while and lately, the man had been telling Effe that her ‘husband’ would be coming home very soon, much to Effe’s discomfiture.

As they approached the table Effe noticed that a younger man was following them. He looked like a younger version of Kojo Hollison. He was tall, dark and handsome in a clean sort of way.

The three of them stopped and Kojo Hollison held out his hand to Effe.

Reluctantly Effe put her hand in his, and he drew her up.

“Effe, come and meet my son, the boy I want you to marry!” Mr. Hollison said in a rush and smiled broadly.

“Just met him, Ef,” Ken Kedem said, also smiling. “Nice fella, nice young fella! You mother loved him on sight!”

The young man laughed and stepped forward, shaking his head with obvious irritation at the prospect of being discussed so openly.

“You oldies should give us a chance,” he said in a nicely-modulated voice. “This match-making stuff died a long time ago. But, hey, she indeed is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever set eyes on!”

They all laughed, and Effe smiled. The young man had sideburns and a thin moustache. He held out his hand, took Effe’s hand, and kissed the back of her hand lightly.

“Allow me to introduce myself, milady,” he said with a flourish, and then he noticed Eyram, and then he glanced up at Effe again. “Hey, excuse me! Am I seeing twins or I’m very drunk?”

“Twins, yes,” Effe said smoothly. “This is Eyram, my sister!”

“Hey!” the young man said with mock delight. “Do I get to marry both of them? If yes then I’m mightily interested. Does tomorrow sound good for a wedding day? Wow, the prospect of having both of  you on my honeymoon bed is making me develop a heart disease this very instant!”

They all laughed, and Wachipa got to his feet.

“Don’t you dare!” he said, giggling. “Eyram is taken already.”

The young man’s face dropped in the most ridiculous way of feigned anguish, and it made Effe laugh immediately, admitting to herself that this young man was a very likeable fellow indeed.

“Oh, how rude of me!” he said, peering intently at Effe. “How rude of me! Permit me to introduce myself. Steve Hollison is the name. Glad to finally make your acquaintance, Effe. And if you’re thinking of how I knew your name, you don’t have to think far. This old man has been drumming it into my ears forever!”

“Good you remembered,” Effe said, smiling.

“Alright, enjoy yourselves,” Ken Kedem said. “Kojo and I need to see the Minister. See you soon.”

As they walked away, Steve drew a chair and sat down beside Effe, and soon he had her and all of them laughing.

And by the time the night came to an end it felt as if he had been a part of them all along. He fitted in seamlessly with them and flowed blissfully with them, something Chris had never been able to achieve, and it was quite evident that they also liked him a lot.