SUNNY WEDNESDAYS: ATINUKE (Chapter Nine)

 

RAGE

“Demi, food is ready, come inside, it is raining,”

“Yes Mummy,” Bidemi Dairo jokingly answered.

She smiled as she moved past his stretched hand that was extending to grab her closer. “Abeg come and eat before the food gets cold”.

They ate while watching the heavy rain serenade the community with its beauty. They could hear mothers shouting for their children to stop playing in the rain, and also hear doors hurriedly shutting to avoid the heavy downpour waltzing into their homes.

“How has work been, you haven't been able to catch a break lately,” Demi asked with a little frown and concern clouding his face.

“It has been a lot sincerely, but I will soon be done, the event is tomorrow and then I am free, it is a blessing to cater for a big company like Lions Globe Company, we have successfully completed the contract for the 24th May, so the 27th of June own is tomorrow Orú mé (my head, my crown).

Demi gave a nod of disagreement “ you run a full capacity factory, your staff strength is impeccable, let Judi take some work off your hands. 'HolySpirit help me,' She had just thought Bidemi was concerned over her stressing regarding the upcoming event, but she had not noticed that he was this angry. “Okay babe, I will hand over the rest of the planning to Judi, is that better, hmmm?” She stretched her hand across the dining table to hold his.

He managed a smile, “Come here,” She hurried off her chair and sat on his lap as she took her time to reassure him with plenty of pecks planted on his face playfully. Bidemi softened as he broke out in a genuine laughter, the tension finally eased out.

ππππππ

“Where Bugo, I never see her for like some weeks now, hope everything dey fine,”

The young attendant, lanky and dust-covered in his rumpled uniform, glanced at her like she was invisible.

“Bros, Na you I dey follow talk Na”

“ I no be Bugo Keeper, she don stop work for here, you wan but fuel Abi you no wan buy?”

Atinuke restrained from the comment brewing in her heart to dish, she stared at his half broken name tag barely hanging on his shirt. “Musa, we no dey fight Na, I just wan know how she dey,”

Musa paused, his expression flickering with surprise, as though he'd forgotten his name was still visible. “She fight with Oga, them don sack am, Na the only thing I fit tell you,”. Atinuke stood still for a moment, blinking against the glare of the sun and the quiet hum of idling engines in the background. She nodded once and turned without another word, her sandals brushing against the dusty concrete as she made her way out of the filling station.

Bugo? she thought, her brows furrowed as she reached her car. Bugo was many things, but violent? That's hard to believe.

ππππππ

“Who dey there.”

The thunderous knock rattled the already fragile door, jerking Bugo out of the light sleep she had drifted into. Her heart leapt before her feet did.

“Open my door this girl wey dem dey call Bugo, where my house rent, Na charity I dey do for here?”

Bugo scrambled off her thin mattress, the springs creaking in protest. She hurriedly pulled on a faded black blouse and a pair of old, washed-out blue jeans.

“Oga landlord I dey come”

As she opened the door, she saw a fuming Baba Salami, “insults no dey for my mouth again, I no get wetin I was insult you with again, two months Bugo, two months rent, haba, I never try?” His oversized native shirt flapped slightly in the morning breeze, but nothing could soften the fire blazing in his eyes.

The spits flew in succession as he spoke, landing dangerously close to her face. Behind Baba Salami stood two hefty men with hard faces and folded arms. Their presence didn’t need explanation.

 “una well done oh,” she muttered dryly, her voice low but laced with quiet defiance. The grumbling scattered greeting that followed sealed the suspicion she had pampered for a while.

She was getting thrown out

ππππππ

Atinuke could hear the distant shouting and the sounds of struggling, of something heavy being tossed, carried through the thick air long before she parked in front of Bugo's residence. She recalled Bugo’s descriptions of this place: the rickety house, the smelly gutter running beside it, and the weak wooden planks that served as a bridge across it.

What is going on. Lord take control.

Her feet steady as she navigated the precarious wooden planks that had seen better days. The smell of stagnant water rose from the gutter as she hurried toward the noise, her thoughts clouded with worry.

“Oya boys, remove everything wey belong to this woman for here, pack her join sef” She saw the robust man, Baba Salami, who was fuming with two burly men, each of them hefting clothes and belongings from Bugo's small apartment. And then she saw Bugo, begging but still defiant. She was dragging her half-broken mirror, one of the hefty men gripping the other end as he yanked it away from her.

“Bugo!”

Atinuke heard herself blurt out, the whole scene came to a standstill for a moment. Baba Salami and the two men paused, their eyes flicking briefly over to her before continuing their ruthless task of tossing out Bugo's meager belongings. They barely acknowledged her presence, as though her arrival was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Bugo was transfixed.

“What is going on here Bugo,”

She stood motionless, her eyes wide, sweat tracing down her cheeks and neck, glistening against the worn fabric of her blouse. She looked lost, her feet planted firmly in the dirt. Bugo still was transfixed. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around Bugo, pulling her close, her hand running through Bugo’s damp hair as she whispered a prayer under her breath. The shock in Bugo’s eyes began to fade as the warmth of Atinuke’s embrace reached her. Bugo wailed.

ππππππ

 “Oga Landlord, I know you are a reputable man of society, a good citizen. I know that you’ve shown grace to my sister, and we are truly grateful for everything you’ve done.” She paused, a steady breath escaping her lips as she gathered her thoughts. “I apologize on behalf of my sister for the late payment of the...?”

Baba Salami shot her a disgusted, withering look, his lip curling in disdain. “Na two months rent!” he spat, his words harsh, the venom laced in every syllable.

“... Yes two months rent, we are grateful for your patience so far Sir,”

Baba Salami let out a loud, bitter hiss, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Atinuke. The two hefty men standing behind him, their muscles bulging under their worn shirts, glared down at her like predatory beasts.

“Abeg beg your men make dem help put back wetin dem don throw commot, abeg, I go pay the two months rent”.

Baba Salami gave Atinuke a side glance, while still breathing heavily, fuming, He really did come for a fight. “Oya Dedem, call my account number, Na 80,000 be the rent oh.” The hefty man to Atinuke’s right called out the account number and bank, and harshly told her to let him see the receipt.

“You no say fake alert dey,” he smiled with two broken front teeth. Atinuke showed his the bank receipt and repeatedly appreciated them as they grudgingly helped put the Bugo's belongings back.

“You see, these young women of nowadays, them no want to dey pay wetin dem dey own, I no dey do charity, make this thing never repeat again oh,” Baba Salami increased his voice perhaps to sound a warning to other occupants who may be owing or were about to owe.

“Thank you Oga Landlord” 

“Oya boys, make we dey go,” They left with one final glare thrown over their shoulders, still fuming with indignation.