A WEEK LATER

Naakpe was a very excited person that sunny morning.
She had just received the good news about her UK based uncle procuring a visa for her to join him in London, and she just couldn’t wait to share the news with her friends at the Market Circle.
Since Aba Joan ceased selling at the market, she had felt she didn’t have any real friends there anymore. Even Aku had left that vicinity to occupy a stall near the smoked fish section. She found only Tiiwa at the place and she had added gari and rice to the pepper and tomatoes she sold.

“Eei, Tiiwa, very soon you’ll be selling fried rice.”
“Jollof rice mmom, gyimii,” Tiiwa said, laughing.
“I have missed you, mmom. But I will miss you more when I get to London.”
“You going to London? Tiiwa laughed, “Anka I’ll go to New Zealand, hahaha. Any way, I have also missed you.”
“Good, I’ll allow you to sell Alewa when I leave.”
Mamaga Ethel just sat at a far place in front of a big store and marvelled at the way they were conversing as if they were bosom friends.
“Eiii, wonders shall never end,” she mused and called out to her.

Naakpe went to her and said “I will call you when I go to London. I am sure that no one has called you from London before.”
She then went to visit Aku who screamed and embraced her to the amusement of onlookers.
“Please please, don’t infect me with your pregnancy wai, I am going to London,” she told Aku.
“Who said I am pregnant and who is taking you to London?”
“That my Uncle whose wife has put his brain on top of an Onyina tree has invited me to London. After I sent him a sticker of my Prophet.”
“Hahaha, let me call Aba Joan and tell her the good news then.”
Naakpe told her of the good news and they all jubilated with her

“Congratulations Naakpe, you are going to be my first friend to go to London.”
“Atell you. I saw Manager yesterday driving a Range Rover.”
“Yeah, it belongs to his American friend.”
“American burger?”
“No, a white American.”
“Wow, connect me before I go to London erh.”
“No problem, I am coming to Takoradi next week la.”
Aku then snatched the phone from her, said goodbye to Joan and ended the call.
“Abi you wanted to finish my credit,” she rebuked her.
“Don’t worry, I’ll buy you a dzomi selling machine when I get to London.”

Aba Joan took her academic work seriously. She did not allow promises of milk and honey from men to detract her from her academic goals. She had eyes for only Kobina Ferguson, and so after her week’s quiz on Friday, she packed a small bag and dashed off to the Winneba Junction to pick a bus to Takoradi. She settled herself in comfortably and fixed her earphones to listen to her favourite songs.
She didn’t even take a look at her home when the bus got to Eguase. All her thoughts were on Kobina whom she missed so much. She had fallen so much in love with him that she felt nothing or no one was going to be able to separate them.
“Not even a witch like Dzifa can separate us.”

Her mother, Maame Efua was a very prayerful and spiritual person and her fellowship with her maker had always been a close one, and so when the bus in which her daughter got to Eguase on her way to Takoradi, she felt it in her very bones. She felt her nearness and then her going away from her. She bowed her head in prayers for the Lord to protect her daughter from all evil. She prayed till calmness settled upon her soul.
Kobina meanwhile, had been facing some problems at work.

“I have been hearing from reliable sources that you have been doing some dealings that are detrimental to the fortunes of this company and you are hereby suspended for a month while investigations continue,” Mr Simbo said when he went to the Real Estate section and not even the protestations of Mr Freeman could make him change his mind.
“I don’t understand, how can there be allegations made against you without me being aware of it?” Mr Prosper said after the CEO had left.

“Don’t worry, Boss, I’ll be fine,” Kobina assured him.
Gregg, his American friend, when he heard of what had happened, offered him a job at his Company as his Personal Assistant, asking him to start work at the end of the month and encouraged him to work hard on his other business which he as Head of the Expatriate Community in Takoradi, had introduced him to.
“Aw Gregg, why, why are you so good to me?” he asked.
“You really wanna know?”
“Yeah, I want to know.”

“Later! I will tell you later, and you can start working at the beginning of the month which is two weeks away.”
So, when Joan knocked at his door in the night when he had long gone to bed, he had completely forgotten that she was coming that weekend. He got up and went to open the door.

He gaped at her and yawned.
“You are here?”
“Yes, I am here,” she said petulantly.
She quickly put her handbag on a chair and dashed off to the bathroom grabbing a T-shirt along the way.
“Would you care for any beverage?”
“No, I’m good.”

Within five minutes, they had gone to bed, both of them pretending to have fallen asleep.
Unfortunately for them, Dzifa who had kept away from Kobina for a while chose that very night to knock at the door.
He, when he got to know that it was her at the door, refused to open the door for her.
“Please go away, it’s late,” he told her and drew the tight-lipped Aba to him on the bed.
“Please, hold me tight,” he pleaded.
After a few persistent unanswered knocks, Dzifa went away.

***

Sister Mimi had also arrived in Takoradi that very Friday evening from her trip to Dubai and after refreshing herself, picked up a suitcase full of things she had bought for Kobina. She put the case that was full of items like T shirts, shoes, sneakers, suits, boxers, watches, and chains into her car and drove off to surprise Kobina with the hope of getting him to love her.
She got to the house just after the dejected Dzifa had left.
She parked the car, heaved the heavy suitcase out of the car and knocked at the door. When she got no response, she resorted to heavy pounding on the door disturbing the occupants of the house.

Joan got out of bed angrily, and ignored Kobina’s attempts to grab her hands, got to the door and jerked it open with the mind of telling Dzifa a piece of her mind. But it wasn’t Dzifa but a stylishly dressed woman who stood at the door.
“Sister Mimi, what are you doing here?” Kobina, who had followed Aba Joan to the door said.
“So, you are this adwaaman,” she accused and dropped the suitcase she was holding.
“Ohh Sis Mimi,” he said, stealing uneasy glances at Joan who was just observing what was going on.
“Anyway, this is for you. I came to see you immediately I arrived from Dubai and what do I see, another tramp warming your bed,” she said, turned around, walked back to her car and drove off almost hitting the kerb.

Kobina stared after her in dismay, and then glanced at Aba who avoided his look.
“I can explain,” he said .
“Explain,” Aba said and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Ok, he took in a deep breath and told her everything. About how she had drugged him, and how he ended up having sex with her and her persistent disturbing of him. He even told her about Dzifa’s angle in the whole equation.
“But it’s you I love.”
Aba said nothing. She got up, dressed up, picked up her bag and left the house wrenching her hands out of his when he tried to hold her back