MChapter 3
He ordered his second bottle of Guinness Stout half way through the plate of chicken and chips in front of him. It was quite spicy, and it would have been wiser to buy a bottle of water to cool his mouth, but he had always hated drinking water while taking beer.
Bimpe had told him on the phone that she had gone to see one of her auntโs and would be back in school tonight. He felt there was no need to tell her he was on her campus at the moment. He would rather enjoy this alone time with some hot and spicy chicken and chips, cold beer, and eavesdrop on peopleโs conversations.
The table next to him was filled with middle aged men in Ankara attire. He guessed they were probably lecturers at the University, or maybe non academic staff. One of them was talking about his recent trip to Ghana, and how beer and most things were more expensive in Ghana compared to Nigeria. It amazed Ahmed as he had remembered how much cheaper alcohol was there back when he traveled to the country in 2008.
His phone started vibrating on the table. He dropped the greasy chicken lap back in the plate, whipped his hand clean with the serviette by his plate, and picked up the phone. He stared at the unfamiliar number for a couple of seconds before picking up. โHello!โ He said.
โHello. Please who is this?โ A female voice said on the other end of the line.
โYou called me.โ
โI know, but you called me first.โ
โWhat do you mean?โ Ahmed said, irritation in his voice.
โYouโฆโ She was about saying but stopped. He could hear another female voice saying something in the background, and then there was silence for a few seconds, like the other girl was coming to the phone, and then she said, โHello. Did you give your phone to a girl at the bank earlier today?โ
He thought for a few seconds, still vexed as he swiped flies away from his plate of chicken and chips. โYes. I did.โ
โOkay. That was me. Iโm so sorry.โ She said with a little chuckle.
โOh!โ
โYea, I called twice before my friend picked up. She must have seen the missed call and thought it was a new one.โ
โOkay.โ
โThanks once again for earlier.โ
โItโs no problem.โ He said and the line went quiet. In a micro second, a picture of her flashed through his mind, and he thought of sparking up a conversation, but he went on to say, โOkay. Have a lovely day.โ
โOkay. Bye.โ
โBye.โ He said, put the phone on the table and went back to his plate of chicken and chips. The bartender was approaching with his second bottle of Stout when he rushed back like he had forgotten something. When he came back out from the inner bar with the drink he bumped into a flashily dressed guy. He apologized and kept walking, but the guy seemed offended, and shouted out curse words at him, adjusting the gold watch on his wrist, and intermittently pushing his cap up. Ahmed didnโt know if the guy was doing that because of the girl on his arm, or maybe he was a cult boy who was power drunk. With the glass jug to his mouth about to gulp down its last content, he froze at who he saw. In the sexiest mini gown he had ever seen her wearing was his girlfriend, Bimpe, beside the wailing guy. She was calming him down with her hand around his waist. โOga, make I open am?โ The bartender was saying, but Ahmed was dazed. He dropped his mug on the table, with shaky hands he pulled out his wallet, counted two pieces of five hundred Naira bills, squeezed it in the bartenderโs hand, picked up his phone and almost tripped as he got up in a hurry to leave the scene.
His car keys fell to the floor as he pulled the bunch out of his pocket. โAhmed!โ he heard her call, and he quickened his pace. He pressed the key fob to unlock the car, got in, and quickly slammed the door. She was by his car window now, with fear in her eyes as she knocked on the glass. He didnโt know if he had become temporarily deaf, or the inside of his car was soundproof as he couldnโt hear anything she was saying. The red dress she had on was cleavage revealing, and the thought of her dressing sexy for another man vexed him even more. He slowly backed out of the spot he had parked, and then zoomed off.
