SUNNY WEDNESDAYS (IVIE)

       

II

                                            

Rubbing her foot and reluctantly agreeing to lift her feet off the terrace floor of her office, which truth be told was the only place which had a bit of furnishing than the basic ambience and style of the rest of the company’s space.

She was glad to have an assistant that was willing to also butt into her personal life after experiencing her upheaval relationship with her husband.

She had waited severally for Rita Ndubisi to bring up what she had witnessed that unfortunate day but rather all she got from her assistant was consistent show of care and a message of God’s love sent to her WhatsApp three days later.

“I hope I didn’t rush you,” Ivie raised her brows in concern.

“No Ma, not at all. I got it all jotted down”

“Good”.

Silence sifted through the room and made company with them. Rita adjusted her newly installed wig strand that found its way to her red glossy painted lips.

She made a mental note not to break the ice, she focused on her tablet as she inputed bullets to the minutes she took during the meeting.

“I’m leaving him, for good this time”, Ivie heaved a sigh of relief as she finally voiced what she had refused to voice out since she made the decision.

Rita stared at her boss with a smile, “can we pray about it?”

Ivie shook her head as her world came crumbling before her eyes in hot tears.

Rita crossed the barrier made by the little office table and hugged her boss.

“Let it out, let it out.”

Muffled by the gray blazer that Rita had folded her into by embracing her, she cried her heart out.

^^^^^^

Many years ago                                                                          

“Osa babe, where are we heading to tonight,”

She hurriedly texted her boyfriend before the lecturer could turn towards her direction.

She smiled as he gave her a stern look, Prof Lasibi definitely suspected that she was up to no good.

She pouted as her phone vibrated on her lap, Osa babe had obviously replied, fighting the urge to peep at the latest hangout spot for tonight, she focused on learning why Post-Colonial African Personalities was of any use to her Marketing degree.

^^^^^^

The relief she got as she inhaled the flavored tobacco from the lips of Osa babe.

The party was bubbling and the slit on her sequin purple halter neckline gave Osa babe access to her laps.

The air was heavily filled with tobacco and a mixture of molasses and fruit flavors.

She twirled and fell on Osa babe’s lap. “I’m gonna marry you,” he whispered in her left ear, she hid her coloured cheeks which was responding to his statement and peered close to his face, “ uhn? What did you say?”

The dark-skinned slim guy with charcoal eyes chuckled knowingly as he grabbed her bosom and drew her in for a kiss.

^^^^^^

Waking up to a room filled with ladies and guys equally as drunk as her, she removed the tube tied to her arm as she tried recalling last night escapades, wincing as a banging headache strolled into her head, she pushed remembering till further notice.

Picking her items at different corners of the room, she walked out to see Osa babe's lips intertwined with another coursemate of hers.

She twirled and scurried out of the flat, hot tears flowed down her sticky face.

^^^^^^

Present Day

Scurrying into bed after the third trip to her bathroom to throw up, she eased into her king-sized bed.

“Take this Ma,” Rita shifted a strand of her boss braid into her oversized hair net.

She squeezed the already warm cloth into the small bowl of hot water placed on the dresser close to the bed.

Placing it on Ivie’s forehead produced a relief sigh from her boss.

 Rita was really pleased that her boss called out to her. She had packed some few clothes and hurriedly made her way to her boss’s apartment. 

She tiptoed out of the room as she checked for the umpteenth time that her boss was sound asleep. 

Picking up the takeout plates and dumping them into the wastebasket close to the mini gas cooker. She hummed a song and sauntered into a full blown worship session as she cleaned up her boss’s apartment. 

“I bless your name Lord for the life of Mrs Ivie Osato, I thank you for the triplets and how you constantly comfort Mrs Ivie during this period of her life, Lord, strengthen her, help her depend on you, help her know that you are with her, and Lord help me also to speak as you direct, to be a good sister in love to her and to love her as you want of me. Thank you Lord for you dwell with us and in us for in Jesus’ name, I have prayed, A...”

"Amen," Ivie smiled as she walked into her living room.