"Do you, Xaviera, take this man, Jacob, to be your lawful wedded husband, to love, honor and cherish him through sickness and in health, through times of happiness and travail, until death do you part? "I do"
Vivi's mind drifted off and the rest of the ceremony passed as in a haze. Suddenly, the words she had been waiting all her life for...
"You may now kiss the bride"
As Jake released her waist where he had placed his hand proprietorially, in defiance of anyone's opinions from the very first moment she walked down the aisle to him; as he slowly lifted the veil he had insisted she wear in spite of all her protests; she began a long slow exhale.
She continued exhaling as he lowered his head to hers, she knew he was an extremely passionate man and even though her mind was doing cartwheels, her body remained frozen as she waited, anticipating. Just before his lips made contact, she deeply inhaled and was immediately lost in the passion of the moment.
He ignored the fact that they were in church, in the presence of the priest and tons of friends and well wishers who had gathered to witness this joyous day as he proceeded to titillate her senses with promises of what was to come.
The catcalls and wolf whistles, the riotous applause, people climbing on the pews to get a better look, flashes as everyone suddenly turned paparazzi to capture this one moment of unbridled passion, this open display of love and devotion, all passed unnoticed as firmly but gently, Jake ensured he thoroughly kissed his bride.
As he finally let her go, he clutched her to his chest for one moment, more to shield her as she had streams of tears running down her face and ruining the expertly applied make up, then handing her over to the maid of honor, he turned to the loudest section of the audience where his friends were making their presence felt and noticed and slowly, took a bow. The church erupted and it took the officiating minister over 10 minutes to restore order.
Seizing the moment, Vivi, whose heart kept hammering as though it sought escape from her body had, with the help of her maid of honor, expertly touched up her make up and managed to maintain and regain some of her trademark composed facade. The joy coursing through her body, radiated on her face and gave her an almost other worldly look.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to introduce to you for the very first time, the newly joined: Mr and Mrs Udoh"
Since he had seen first hand how rambunctious this crowd could be, as he spoke the words, the officiating minister deftly stood aside and began walking backwards to his vestry as the congregation thronged the couple. There were hugs, kisses, tears, backslapping, catcalls... this crowd was happy to be alive and happy to be here and were determined to show it loud and clear.
========================================================================
Photographs - check
Wedding reception - check
Wedding dance - check
Cutting of the cake - check
Feeding each other - check
Presentation of gifts - check
Toasts and speeches - check
Tossing of the bouquet - check
Running off into the stretch limo - check
Aside from the unexpected well of emotions at the church service, Vivi had maintained her composure. There were no more tears and she had luxuriated and enjoyed every moment of her day. Jake had ensured she had a jolly good time. He was never too far from her and even when the surge of friends had somehow carried them apart almost to the different ends of the hall, she could always feel the warmth of his eyes on her. Whenever she made eye contact, he slowly winked. Whenever she was close enough, his hand was always on her waist or the small of her back. He was always leaning in for a kiss here, a peck there. Gawd he loved this lady, he had landed a jackpot all in one and he was determined to let the whole world know.
Once in the limo, she had quickly changed into her get away clothes and relaxed to await the surprise Jake had kept insinuating was in stock for her today.
Suddenly, he was on his knees in front of her, took both of her hands in his and looked into her eyes.
"My Love, My wife! Today, you have made me the happiest man in the entire universe. You are for me a dream come true, all my life I have prayed and hoped for a woman just like you. I still don't know what I have done to deserve you at the point of almost giving up, but I know that I am devoted to making everyday worth the while for as long as we both shall live. There will be good days and bad, there will be ups and downs, we may not always agree, but I promise, I will never let you go. You are my heartbeat and for as long as my heart beats, I promise to stay true to you!"
As the tears filled her eyes, he pulled himself into the seat beside her, clutched her close to him and rocked her gently back and forth.
As Vivi's mind traveled into the past, just two short years ago, she smiled at their first encounter and how she had almost let this one go...
========================================================================
As Vivi nursed a steaming cup of hot coffee at the Hammersmith Station, she was oblivious to the fact that tears were coursing down her face. In part due to the cold, in part due to the shock she had just experienced, she was entirely numb and unfeeling.
She had heard him calling her as she walked briskly down Iffley Road and had broken into a light jog. Rather than go through the Main Street, she had darted under the bridge to the King's mall and promptly gotten herself mixed up among the throng of shoppers flocking in and out of the malls, all the while, keeping a wary eye out for him.
She had traveled all the way from Nigeria to meet Chuks,well, maybe not just to meet him, but since she was around and had added on a few days from her vacation to her trainingschedule, she had decided to track him down. Somehow, in the past three months, he had grown more and more distant, ignoring her calls and messages, showing up once in a while with a mouth full of excuses and hell bent on getting one thing and one thing only. It had been frustrating and she had run a gamut of emotions but the worst part for her had been the mind games.
Whenever he remembered to call her or had taken one of her calls, he would pick offence at the slightest provocation, claim an overflow of emotions and drop the phone on her, pleading he needed time to sort his riotous emotions out. Her head would jump in and immediately begin to advise her on how to effectively be the bigger person and end the relationship, but her heart, o treacherous heart, would convince her to just hang in there and understand with "all he was going through".
He had suddenly shown up one day and announced that he needed to get back to London to "sort out a few things". As usual, he had finagled a fast fuck out of her on her living room rug (that was another thing that bothered her about their relationship, he could never be bothered to woo her properly or even lead her into the bedroom). It was always "wham-bam", he would help her up from the rug, plant a kiss on her forehead, zip up and would be gone like a flash in the dark until whenever he felt the urge for her again.
This time, he was even faster than usual and went mechanically about his business, not even bothering or noticing if she was ready, his mind obviously elsewhere. Done, he stood up, zipped up and focused on his Blackberry, responding furiously as the phone pinged away! After a few minutes, she had rolled over, stood up, adjusted her dress and moved into the adjoining bedroom where she sat with her head in her palms, wondering what had just happened.
She was jolted back to the present by his sudden appearance in the room. He dropped a kiss on her forehead, pulled her to her feet, hugged her tight and requested she opened the door to let him out. She had moved like a zombie and after he left, dropped back to the bed and lay cuddled up in the fetal position until she dropped into an uneasy sleep.
Well, here she was in London. He had been a bit more frequent with his calls since arriving London, but evaded any personal questions and got off the line as quickly as he possibly could. She was not one to leave any stone un turned and had come prepared to talk this relationship through and map out a way forward. What she was not prepared for was what she saw when she knocked on the door...
She had vaguely remembered him mention Number 75 Iffley Road while on a telephone conversation with a friend and had purposely not informed him she would be in London. Two days and she was done with the training. At six am on Friday morning, she steeled herself and set off for Hammersmith, an area she was slightly familiar with.
As she hit the knocker twice on the door, she heard the scurry of little feet and then a soft thump on the door at about shin height How cute, she thought, he has a dog. As she knocked again, the door opened and she stared into the bluest pair of eyes she had ever come across in the universe.
"Sorry," the lady muttered breathlessly, "Adrian is always quick to get the door".
She looked down and noticed a dark skinned boy of about two with extremely curly hair, happily nattering away.
As she looked up at the white woman staring questioningly back at her, she saw a pair of slipper clad feet descending the staircase, bringing into view Chuks!
"Hey Chels, who is....." his voice spluttered into nothingness as he saw her.
She could see in the hallway, framed pictures of him and Chelsea, each alone, together, with three kids the eldest not more than six. Obviously, he was home.
Impulsively, she said the first thing that came into her mind, "Does Mr. Blenkinsop stay here?"
"Oh no Darling, you have a wrong address" replied Chelsea while Chuks stood with his mouth open.
"Oh, my bad. Sorry for the bother".
She pivoted on her heels and turned back up Iffley road and ten minutes later, heard him call out her name.
She ran.
As she recollected her thoughts, she saw a hand holding out an handkerchief to her:
"Go on Angel, a pretty lady like you should not be sitting alone crying, whatever the circumstances"
She looked into the eyes of the man standing in front of her. Tall, light skinned (but obviously African), a sole diamond glittered in his ear. As he came into focus and placed the handkerchief in her hand, she jerked back and split some of the coffee down her coat. She snatched the handkerchief and wiping herself down, turned for the door.
"Hey...!"
She ignored him and walked briskly down into the train station, ignoring the call from behind her. As she walked down the steps, her train pulled into the station and she walked through the nearest door and through several coaches before settling in one that was almost full to capacity. She needed the distraction of other commuters to drown out the privacy of her thoughts.
========================================================================
Sunday morning, she got up bright and early and began to plan her day.
Having collapsed into bed on Friday and remained there until today, she thought a little bit of retail therapy could serve to soothe her frazzled nerves and prepared herself for the trip to the Liverpool street market.
As usual, when she needed to clear her head, she thought in gutter pidgin.
"Today na to chop all the money wey dey my hand o. After that yeye skrobbo don chop everytin wey de my body finish. Useless obote gorilla Chai, na wa for dis kain life o! How person wey get wife and many many pikin dem go dey lie put lef', rait and center. Im dey even ma wan mak I introduce am gee all my friends, my family, everybodi. If hin see me wit man, him go dey form annoyance. Ewu gambia"
She walked up to the mirror and looked at herself critically, pointing a finger at herself, she continued...
"Your mates na goat, you, you be ewu. Original ewu awusa, proper ewu gambia. So na so any man wey come near you, you go de gee am chop ba? See wetin u do urself? You even kukuma sef carry youa dead bodi come meet man all the way for ofesi, man wey no send you. You better learn youa lesson now, useless old woman"
Her thoughts swung back to Chuks and she began to curse him out roundly. She had a mouth like a drunken sailor, but only her closest friends knew about that side of her. To everyone else, she presented the highly polished public veneer, the cool lady exterior, the classy and high class genteel persona.
========================================================================
As she strolled down Petticoat Lane some hours later, her mind more settled now, she took in the sights and sounds of the market.
"One Pound, Two Pounds, Three Pounds look around"
"Anyone is a five pounds, anyone is a five pounds"
"Hot roasted chestnuts, peanuts, all nuts, you want nuts? "
The sing song call of the traders, the jostling of the patrons (she had her sling back bag close to her chest and underneath her sweater), the scrambles for bargains, the ever vigilant cops, the hordes and hordes of Nigerians dragging huge boxes behind them, she did not notice when she brushed against someone until the "brushee" reached out his arm and caught her lightly by the sleeve.
"Angel?"
She stared up into a pair of dreamy eyes. He was tall, light skinned (although he was obviously African) and a single diamond glittered in his ear. Broad chested, as her eyes skimmed quickly over his face and body, trying desperately to place him, she noticed the tail end of a tattoo on his neck, sneaking out from the end of his jacket. It looked like a tail, or a snake, or a letter. She sensed rather than smelt the perfume on him and though she could not readily place it, knew it must be expensive.
He spoke in a dreamy American accent, in a soft voice guaranteed to make a woman go weak in the knees...
"Fancy meeting you here Angel"
"Huh?"
"Yeah, of all the people I expected to bump into on Petticoat Lane, you were the least of them. Gosh, it is quite good seeing you again..."
She snatched her sleeve out of his grasp and proceeded to give him her classic pulverizing look. Quick as a flash, her face static, her eyeballs moved along the length of his body. Up, down, up, down, up, down in rapid succession! She followed it up with a long drawn out hiss
"Mtchewwwwwwwwwww"
As he felt the heat and resentment pouring out from her and the scorching eyes carving a path through his body as they seriously "eyed" him, he froze and the words died out on his lips. Hands still stretched out, he could not help but feel something rise in him as the vixen done with the eye washing, proceeded to hiss in unexpected Nigerian gutter style, turned and matched away. Her curvaceous but evenly distributed size 18, arresting his gaze until she disappeared around the corner.
"Damn!" He ran his hand over his head and down around his lips. Rubbing both hands together, he looked around, let out a soft whistle and said, almost to himself... "I want that!"
TO BE CONTINUED...... [maybe :-)]
No comments:
Post a Comment