“I promise never to leave you or break your heart, Elo”. I was surprised when she wiped a tear off her right eye.“What is it, Elo? Please stop crying”.“I’m not crying, just feeling a surge of emotions. I know you’re a nice guy, but please, if you’re gonna hurt me, do not let me know, okay?”“Elo, come on, look at me… I’ll never hurt you, okay?” She soon pulled out her mobile phone from her trouser pocket and swiped while she sniffled.“Here Pierre, have a look”. Elo handed me her mobile phone, before looking downwards. I took her phone and stared at her former boyfriend’s Facebook page. He was kissing, cuddling and playing with a red-haired Scottish girl in the snow. He was almost as tall as me, and the Scottish girl seemed really happy to be with him.“He left me for Gwendolyn Wallace. No goodbye, no break up, no apology… nothing”.I turned the mobile phone over, until the LCD lights went out. I gently handed the mobile phone to Elo and shook my head at what I just read and heard.
“I hope you like the soup, Pierre?”“Like? I love it, Elo. Where did you learn to cook like this?”“ Well, practice makes perfect, and I spent a lot of time with my mum, Aunts and grandmothers whenever they were cooking”.“I didn’t know fish could taste so good in vegetable”.“Stock fish, crayfish and smoked fish… with the chicken of course”. Elo’s countenance suddenly developed a sad look, as she swallowed a small morsel of garri.“What is it Elo. Did I say or do something offensive?”“No, not all, it’s just that you… well, I would be graduating next year and you’d still be here…”“Come on… brighten up. It’s still a long time away. We’ll keep in touch at every available moment. Please, smile a bit. I hate seeing you sad, baby”.A grin gradually developed on Elo’s face, before picking up a piece of smoked fish from the bowl of soup. She placed it between her teeth, leaving a considerable part exposed and managed to speak.“Come and take”, she managed to say.Slowly, I held onto the ex
“You are not cheap, Elo. You deserve it and much more. Or should I order a container load of it?”“Thank you so much, Pierre. A container, why not make that a nice wedding gift, my love?”“If that’s what you want… then that’s what you’d get baby, baby”.“Kiss me Pierre”, Elo whispered and dropped the perfume on the bed. The weather was cooler, and evening was fast approaching. This I could tell from the second window which faced the road, a large football field and the blue sky. I kissed Elo softly and slowly, while she kept rubbing her body on me seductively. She soon stretched her hand and changed the song that was playing on her mobile phone. A minute later, while Bed by J. Halliday was playing on Elo’s mobile phone, Elo took my right hand and stroked her belly with it. Next, she brought it down to her smooth shaven crotch. At that point, I tried to think of what to do, peradventure another bout of menstruation occurred. I stopped kissing her lips and watched her body jerk slightly
When the romantic movie ended forty minutes later, I was more than relieved, but didn’t let Elo realize that I disliked watching romantic movies.“I really had an awesome time, Elo”, I lied as we walked away from the rows and columns of seats.“It was splendid… felt like St. Valentine’s Day, my love”.I stared at the silver clutch purse she carried, and thought of how lucky I was to be her man.“I want to tell you something, Pierre…” Elo whispered.“Please proceed, my beloved”.Elo brought her mouth to my right ear, with one of her enchanting smiles.“I love you darling”.I squeezed her hand lovingly, as we turned and headed for the tarred road that led to the New Girls Hostel.“Oh my God, Aurelia”.“Elo, Jesus… you’re here?”I was stunned to know that Elo and Aurelia knew each other, and might even be close buddies, but simply remained calm and allowed things to take their ‘natural courses’.“Good evening Pierre… so nice of you to be here”. Aurelia turned to face me with her huge fra
One after the other, the exams came: Commercial law, criminal law, law of torts, family law and political science. I wrote the exams for the law courses and soon forgot about them. I didn’t stress myself about the remaining political science course, because the relevant courses had been dispensed with. Elo’s examination timetable was more complex because all the courses in the four levels were combined.I never told her I had one paper remaining. I simply called her one afternoon when I went to the Temporary Site (T. S.), when I paid her a visit with two dainty black cover shoes. They were packaged, well wrapped and concealed in a cellophane bag. The cellophane bag was branded with the inscription of a famous fast food joint in Benin. The original contents of the cellophane were lying inside my small refrigerator.I walked to the Department of Physiology and kept staring at the flowers and grasses around the sidewalks. I saw some statues and soon remembered my wing chun dummy back in
CHAPTER FOURTEENWhen I arrived at this particular book shop, the people who were around it were surprised. It was rare for a student to be visiting a bookshop when the session was almost coming at the end. The shopkeeper looked at me with suspicion, and I wished I had some of my ‘Crown Prince’s Aides’ at that moment. They’d have helped to instil the fear of God into him.“What particular book are you looking for sir?”.“Give me that 2009 Guinness Book of World Records…” I walked into the inner part of the book shop and excused myself after I belched.“This one is Six Thousand Naira”.“If you interrupt mw again, you won’t like what I’ll do to you…” The shopkeeper saw my countenance and left me alone, before going to fetch cellophane bag. He picked up the 2009 Guinness Book of World Records and bagged it, and waited patiently for me to pick another book. I soon picked The Family by Mario Puzo and Carol Gino. I was handing the novel to the shopkeeper, who was already with a calcula
Two hours later, I lay on my bed watching The Expendables movie on my Dell laptop computer when Elo called me. She was through with her exams, and was excited to hear my voice. I remembered what Patt had told me about girls in the university and decided not to make reference to it in our conversation.“Hello Baby… oh my God, I’ve missed your voice.”“Elo darling, what’s happening?”“I’m so happy my love… finally done with my exams.”That’s great…”“I know… and I’ll be coming around tomorrow as promised. I’m so excited.”“Vanilla spread on chocolate cake.”“Pierre, you haven’t forgotten?” Elo giggled loudly.“No, I haven’t forgotten?”“Tomorrow is my day, Pierre… Please do not forget.”“Elo baby, you know I won’t.” I smiled and recollected the menstruation fiasco. I’d definitely not forgotten, because my small refrigerator was stocked with processed foods, snacks, canned and packed drinks.“Hope you’ve eaten?”“I’ll eat later, once I finish watching this movie, honey.”“Alright… what
Elo was dressed in a yellow and white print gown made from Hollandis cloth material. It was wide from her waist down to her ankles, with puffy sleeves. A ‘gold’ necklace adorned her neck, but she didn’t bother to wear a necklace on this particular day. The white shoes she didn’t bother to wear a wristwatch on this particular visit. The white shoes she wore made her look chic. When she dropped her handkerchief on the, she backed me and requested that I undo her zip.Her shoulder and back were simply smooth and flawless. At that moment, I her ex-boyfriend must’ve been a fool.“Your back is smooth and flawless, Elo.”“Baby, let me cook first, then you can savour it like a Spanish guitar.”We giggled as she removed both arms from the sleeves, followed by her legs. The next minute, she spread the gown on the arm of my chair and stretched her arms. She was still backing me, as I beheld the white lacy brassiere and panty she was wearing. Indeed, it was vanilla spread on chocolate cake.“You