Incompatible…

AARON ANSAH-AGYEMAN

INCOMPATIBLE

A ChrisEffe Thriller

CHAPTER 14

Effe was in her luxurious office at Kedem Industries, sitting morosely behind her desk as she tried to concentrate on the excel worksheet opened on her laptop. Her focus kept shifting, and she could barely string a coherent operation together.

It was Monday, and she was still worried about what had happened on Saturday. The sight of Chris’ pained face still haunted her, and she wondered for the umpteenth time how she could possibly have forgotten to email his pitch video to the Eden Hotel Human Resource Manager.

She knew just how much the contract meant to Chris, and just how wholeheartedly he had applied himself to making his video presentation perfect…and now he had lost it without even being given the chance to showcase his talent, and she was to be blamed entirely.

What hurt her most was that she had refused to pick his calls or read his messages on Saturday. If she had, she could easily have avoided making him lose the contract, and she could have prevented hurting him so badly.

She had sent him messages throughout the rest of Saturday, saying how sorry she was. He had replied that he was okay, and Effe had asked him to go with her to the beach on Sunday afternoon after church.

He had replied promptly that he wouldn’t be available because he had to fix a client’s networking problems on Sunday. That had made Effe’s heart jump with trepidation because she knew Chris never worked on a Sunday unless the situation was extremely critical. It was a principle he kept almost religiously, and so she knew he just didn’t want to be with her.

She had known immediately that he was very hurt.

That was how he behaved when he was in pain: he simply went away where she could not see or hear from him for a while. Sometimes it did not take long, maybe a few hours, and sometimes he stayed out of sight for about a couple of days.

Early on Sunday morning, Effe drove over to his house, hoping to catch him before he left the house. Brand Bawa had informed her that Chris left at dawn, and said he would be late getting home. Effe called his number immediately and received the mechanical voice informing her that ‘the phone was either switched off or out of coverage area.”

She had known then that he was indeed he was hurting very deeply.

She left more messages on his WhatsApp line, telling him she had come to his house and not seen him. She begged him to call as soon as he got the messages.

However, the rest of Sunday had sped past and she had not heard from him, and now she was in the office, and still, there was no sign of Chris.

She checked her messages and ascertained that he had not sent any message. Effe was beginning to get a little bit angry now.

She could see that the text she had sent him had changed to double blue check marks, meaning he had read them but decided not to respond to them. And right there, exactly, was the source of one of their major problems.

When he was hurt, he stayed away from her!

To Effe, that was childish and impractical.

She always believed the best way forward, from any misunderstanding, was to sit down and face the problem, no matter how unpalatable the prospect was.

Yet, with Chris, she always had to put in very maximum efforts before she could get him to speak to her over something that had upset their relationship. Sometimes, during this ‘tracking down’ phase, she went through a lot of stress and emotional pains that really drained her.

She was going through her recent contacts lists to call Chris again when the office door opened, and Atswei Mavis walked in.

Effe immediately forgot her own problems and stood up with concern all over her face.

“Mave!” she said with concern as she looked at her best friend.

Mavis Atswei Solomons was in her late thirties and a beautiful woman. She was the Public Relations Officer at Kedem Industries. She and Effe had hit it off instantly ever since she joined the company.

Mavis was lovely and easy-going and had been around the Kedem residence on a lot of occasions.

She was in a fetching dark-blue skirt suit and a pink inner shirt.

Her usual cheerful and happy exuberance was clouded by her puffed-up eyes and pinched lips as she removed her dark shades.

Effe gave her a warm hug. They remained like that for a while, and then Mavis sighed miserably.

Effe led her to the comfortable Visitors’ Couch, and the two of them sat down.

“You want some tea, Mave?” Effe asked with concern, but Mavis shook her head and smiled painfully.

“I’m fine, Ef,” she said softly. “Took a hefty breakfast of waakye this morning. A hot one too. Absolutely enjoyable.”

They both giggled at that, and Effe took her friend’s hands in hers.

“I’ve been worried, Mave,” she said softly. “Jude called. He’s having it really tough, you know. He was so sentimental and suicidal that he scared me. What’s going on? I must admit I wasn’t expecting this…thought the two of you were headed for the altar.”

Mavis gave a shaky laugh and tossed her head back, staring blankly at the ceiling with tears shimmering in her eyes.

“That bastard won’t kill himself over any woman, Ef, so stop worrying yourself over him,” she said tremulously. “He loves himself too much for any crap like that. There were a lot of things I never told you about Jude, but it’s over now. I left him, and I definitely don’t want him back.”

“You sure?” Effe asked with a pained scowl. “He was weeping like a baby, begging for another chance. He sounded genuine to me, Mave. And I see you are hurting too, meaning he still means a lot to you. Life is all about second chances, Mave. You always tell me that.”

Mavis shut her eyes for a while, and her lips trembled.

“Fuck him, Ef,” she said quaveringly. “I gave the dude more than a second chance. This was one relationship I wanted to work, you know, and even though I caught him cheating on me on several occasions…twice on the bed, I bought myself and share with him in my own room…I always took him back. But not now, Ef. He impregnated two girls. One is a woman he told me was his cousin, and the other is Agnes, that little girl I send over to take food to him sometimes.”

“Goodness me!” Effe cried, aghast. “Agnes Tengey? The cleaner? Tell me it’s not her!”

“Welcome to my horror movie, Ef,” Mavis said and took a deep shuddering breath. “And the little girl had the audacity to come to me and tell me to leave her man alone because she’s pregnant for him, and she called me a barren woman, that little twerp!”

“My Lord!” Effe whispered, horrified. “That’s…that’s so damn gross! Maybe she’s lying, Mave. I just can’t conceive…”

“Jude admitted to it, Ef. Claims he didn’t know what came over him, blaming the witches from his home and all that nonsense!” Mavis said. “So, it’s over for me. He can have his life and impregnate as many women as he wishes. I’ve done my crying, Ef, and I’ve done my mourning. I move on again, as usual.”

“The stupid bastard!” Effe cried heatedly, hurting for her friend. “And I spent so many hours with him trying to calm him down!”

She held her friend, and Mavis cried for a while, and then she got up and went to the bathroom to freshen up.

When she came back she looked bright with her fresh make-up and radiant smile.

Effe, still in the lounge chair, looked at her friend with pain.

“What now?” she asked softly.

“Oh, nothing, life goes on,” Mavis said as she dropped into the seat beside her. “Boy turned out to be a crass idiot that thinks with his dick, so be it. I move on. I’ll eventually find someone, maybe someone as dedicated as your Chris.”

She saw the way Effe’s face fell almost immediately, and she raised her eyebrows in a silent query.

“Trouble with Chris again?” Mavis asked.

Effe looked at her friend with an exasperated and confused look.

“It never seems to end now, Mave,” she said in a distressed voice. “The fallout from the land tussle is really dragging us in different directions. My folks’ hatred of Chris is at an all-time high now! And yet, in spite of all the stress I’m going through, he still doesn’t want to give me breathing space. His jealousies and nagging are just driving me so crazy that it is slowly turning me into a beast toward him, and I don’t want that to happen, Mave.”

It was Mavis’ turn to take her friend’s hands.

“Tell me what happened,” she said slowly.

And, in a rush, Effe told Mavis everything that had happened over the weekend.

Mavis listened without interruption, and afterward, when Effe finally finished, she dropped the younger woman’s hands and sat for a long time without speaking, but her eyes never left Effe’s face.

Finally, with a sigh, she leaned forward slowly.

“And now Chris is hurt,” she said softly.

Effe nodded sadly.

“Hurt and angry, I suppose,” she said quietly. “That contract meant a lot to him.”

“And you forgot about it.”

“Yes, I forgot about it, Mave.”

“Because of this new boy – what’s his name again – Steve?”

Effe looked desperately at her friend.

“Oh, no, no, Mave, no,” she said earnestly. “It wasn’t because of Steve. I forgot to send the pitching video long before Steve came along, you know. I’m just saying that, suddenly, I’m confused, okay? I love Chris, yes, there’s no doubt about that. He’s my first true love, and we’ve revelled in this relationship for so long. But, he’s so jealous and possessive, Mave, and you know it! Plus, he’s so hot-headed, coming on so strongly at my parents, even daring to imply that my father is a thief. It is a warzone out there, Mave! And I feel so stressed out that I find it hard breathing!”

Mavis nodded.

“And in comes this handsome suave guy called Steve,” Mavis said gently. “Money-laden, attractive, easy-going and suddenly he slides next to you, and you feel the connection so greatly that it is dizzying! Plus, your parents and your family like this one, and suddenly your mind is getting divided, thinking this could be the release from all the stress.”

Mavis’ voice was soft, but there was an underlying quality of sadness about her overall chemistry that made Effe scowl slightly with unease. For a moment she felt as if Mavis was speaking of something else entirely.

“Yes, that about sums it all up,” Effe said carefully. “But, I don’t ever want to hurt Chris, you know. I’m not really sure if I can live without him, Mave. Sometimes, he infuriates me so much that I simply wish to end everything with him and find my peace. After all, most women do not end up with their first loves, you know. And there are times, becoming rarer by the day when I feel this flood of love and passion for him and know that he’s and will be the only one for me. It is all quite frustrating, Mave. But, right now, I just want him to forgive me for what I did.”

Mavis stared at the wall for a long time, and then she suddenly got to her feet and looked down at Effe with strange sad eyes.

“Come with me, Ef,” she said and began to walk out of the office.

“Mave?” Effe called, confused.

“Come on, girlfriend, follow me,” Mavis said as she opened the office door.

With a sigh and a heart filled with uneasiness, Effe stood up and followed her friend out of the office to the luxurious corridor outside. Her office door locked electronically behind her.

Eventually, after greeting some of the staff in the corridors, she entered Mavis’ beautiful office. She watched, still intrigued, as Mavis quickly moved to her huge desk and beckoned her over.

Effe raised her eyebrows as she joined Mavis behind the desk, and then the older woman picked up her handbag, unzipped a compartment inside, and extracted a small key which she fitted into the keyhole of the top drawer on the left right of the desk.

“Woah!” Effe said suddenly and reached out, putting her hand across Mavis’ hand and stopping her from opening the drawer. “What’s going on, Mave? I remember asking you what you keep inside that drawer that makes you act so mysteriously, and you always brushed me off. I don’t want you doing something you’re not ready for, please.”

 

Mavis pushed Effe’s hand aside, and then she opened the drawer and pulled it out.

Effe noticed that the drawer was lined with a lovely, soft feather-like mat, and lying on top was a medium-sized lovely photo album. Mavis looked at it for a long time, and then she sighed deeply, lifted it, and gave it to a stunned Effe.

“Mave?” Effe asked, bewildered.

“Go on, open it,” Mavis said as she moved to the window.

She held a slender rope and pulled, making the window blinds peel apart in two ways, and then she gazed out at the wonderful expanse of space beyond the window.

Effe slowly opened the album. Inside the flap cover were the printed words:

Ahmed and Mavis.

 

The pictures in the album were mostly heart-shaped, and depicted a very young Mavis with a strikingly handsome but stocky man in various poses inside rooms, at the beach, on farms, in photo studios, at waterfalls, in restaurants.

In all the pictures they seemed extremely happy. In a couple of them they were even kissing lightly, and in almost all of them, they were holding each other.

This was a part of Mavis that Effe had never seen, and the man inside was someone she did not know.

She looked over at Mavis, whose back was still turned, and she was leaning against the window frame with her arms crossed across her chest.

Effe walked slowly up to her friend and stood by her side with the album opened to the final picture, depicting Mavis and the young man sitting side-by-side on a rock at the beach, smiling lovingly at each other. Below it were the words:

I Miss Us So Much

Effe looked at Mavis. There was a serene look on the older woman’s face, but there were tears glistening on her cheeks too.

 

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