Tuwo Shinkafa

For the land, Edegbe called Mrs. Yasmin. He had thought the probs and the cons through, Mr. Abdullah was more prone to give him at a cheaper price, but he lacked something Mrs. Yasmin had, connection. If the woman was pleased by his decision, she did not show it, she only sat at a shade while her lawyer showed where the land started and ended. Edegbe had honestly thought they would ignore him like a plague since the dinner had placed him in a bad spot with a few of them, but he was surprised when Ahmed greeted him the next morning, a hearty greeting, and Edegbe watched, as he waved, the way the layers of fat under his arm wobbled. Alhaji had visited and they talked about agriculture, and the man had left him a few numbers of reputable people in the industry.

"I heard Alhaji visited you?" Mrs. Yasmin asked Edegbe who had left Efe to the transaction and sat under the shade with her, scrolling through his phone so much that he became oblivious of her presence.

The sound of her voice jerked him. "What?"

"I heard Alhaji visited you." She fanned herself with her hands and Edegbe wondered why she didn't remove her hijab since it was hot. The drawings on her hijab was mosaical and it did not have any missing stones. Some strands of hair was displayed on her forehead, curly hair, and Edegbe didn't know if it was curly because it was slick with sweat, or because it was naturally curly.

"You heard well." He went back to his phone.

"I don't know why he's bothering himself with you. You're merely rich, not wealthy. A wealthy man would not do that," she nodded towards Efe who was intensely bargaining with the lawyer, telling him they had other offers, asking him if he would eat the land if he didn't sell it.

"Yes." Edegbe smiled at his P.A, not bothered to offer any explanation.

"What does your name mean? I checked on Google, most of your tribal name are prefixed with —Osa."

The question caught him off guard, he dropped his phone. "What did you say?"

"You're not deaf, there's no way you would not have heard me."

Edegbe wondered where the question and the snapping were coming from. He wondered if he made a mistake calling her. Physically, she looked younger than he was, and he didn't want to bruise his ego bantering words with a younger person. He remembered the scene from the bus where the man adjacent to his seat had an argument with the woman at the back, the look of disbelief on his face that he had allowed himself the unnerving tendency to be stultified when he could not exchange punches and pull out teeth. Then he remembered the woman whose child had died, remembered her mournful dance, and wondered if she was alright, if she had died too. She could not be less than Mrs. Yasmin in age, although poverty had made it hard to tell. He wondered if Mrs. Yasmin would loose her insanity like that if her child died, or she would remain poise and unsmiling, and wad off condolences. Then he wondered if she had any children at all.

"Does the meaning of your name takes that long to remember?"

He shook his head. "There was a woman in the same bus I was when I was traveling down here—"

Mrs. Yasmin had a horrid look on her face. "You came by bus?"

Edegbe wondered why Efe was taking so long to finalize the purchase, whether the woman was starting an acquaintanceship with him or she wanted to annoy him more than her questioning already did, he didn't like it.

"Yes, I came by bus."

"I hope it's not because of a stupid fulfillment reason?"

Edegbe had decided he would not like the woman, the same way the woman had decided she didn't like him. He excused himself and walked to where Efe was with the lawyer. "Are you done here?"

"Yes, sir." He looked over his shoulder, "Are you done there?"

"I don't know if you want to sleep here, but let's get out of this place." He signed the papers, Efe collected them, and they walked to the car where Victor had stretched his leg on the dashboard, his fingers entwined and placed on his pelvic. "What is this fool doing?!"

He jerked and dropped his leg hurriedly to the floor, blinking the grogginess away. "Sorry, sah, sorry sah."

"Sometimes I wonder how many mistake I keep making." He opened the back of the car to seat.

"The first being coming to this place. Yasmin is pretty, right?"

Edegbe shrugged, flipping through the paper. "She's okay. Wait, what? Is that why you didn't finalize the purchase on time."

"It looked like you were having a good time."

The document dropped from Edegbe's hand. "You're crazy, that is a fact."

Efe paused for a while. "Is there anything else? Anything work related?"

Edegbe shook his head.

"I'm going out."

He nodded.

Efe tapped Victor. "Stop the car."

He pulled over by the side and he got down. He knew Edegbe would be curious about where he was going, he smiled as he flaged down a taxi. Sometimes he did not have a particular reason for doing things, but just so that the young man would wonder. Unlike him who went out in a while, Edegbe's leisure activities started and ended at home, and aside from crowded places, another thing he did not like was the crowded places set aside.

Efe got down when the saw the gym he was looking for. That he was looking for a gym reminded him of the house in Sabon Tasha, he wouldn't say it was the best, but he could work out every morning. He suddenly regretted telling Edegbe not to buy it, the man had gone all the way to make sure the house in Unguwan Rimi did not have a gym even around the vicinity. If there was one person who knew how to give punishments, Edegbe was sure the one for it. The gym had class, he could tell from the door, the type that people hurriedly bought membership forms. But Efe was not going to buy any, he had since learnt from his friend not to spend money on unnecessary things.

As he walked into the gym, he felt the ogling eyes of girls in skimpy exercise dresses. It was something he was used to, the attention, and although he waved them off at times, it helped him in getting laid, something his carnal desire craved that night. As he thought of sex, he thought of Soliat and blood rushed to his groin. She would have been a good one. Although he could not decipher if her looks had been one of desire or romantic attraction. He feared the latter, feared that it was what he expected her to ask of him, and so throwing through the window his chance to find out was the wisest decision. As he paddled on the wheel, changed out of his work dress and into a gym one, he knew he was going to get laid that night.

He worked out until the gym closed, and spent the remaining evening drinking in bar and making eye contact with the girl on the next seat. It was hilarious to him and he would laugh when he would tell Edegbe of walking up to her, and she lowering her eyes as if to declare her innocence. He would laugh harder when he told him of how she bulked out when he asked her how much she cost, like she didn't understand the question. When he called a price doubled of her regular, she conceded her innocence was false and told him he had to pay first. He laughed less when he told him about asking her to bring her friend as pretty as she was because he also had a friend home.

As the rode to the house, Efe wondered what Edegbe's reaction would be, imagined the priceless look that would be on his face and longed for it. And so he raced past Victor who had a disbelieving look on his face, who wondered how he could bring girls to his boss's house, into the house where Edegbe was coming out of his study.

"You're back. You didn't say you would be coming back—" he noticed the girl latched to his side and his voice lowered, "this late." The girls wore short skirts and crop tops that showed their midriff. Their tops were exposing, did nothing to hide their breasts and hardened nipples. The sight reminded him of the last time he got laid, something just like this very much orchestrated by Efe. He had let the lady ride him, her breast bouncing as she went up and down on him, his entire shaft buried inside of her, and when she had clenched her walls around him in orgasm, he had spurted his seeds into the sheath he wore. He groaned in frustration at the memory, Efe was sure good at playing the devil's advocate.

"That's more like it," the devil said, smiling in satisfaction at his expression. "Choose one."

His eyes went from one girl to another, one chest to another, one thigh to another, making his comparison.

"I don't have all the time in the world, I'm pressed." Efe groaned when one of the girls touched his hard on.

Edegbe picked the other girl.

Just before Efe disappeared into his room, he threw a packet of rubber at him, knowing him like the back of his palm. In the room, the girl tried to make out first and he allowed her a few liberties, but he wanted his length warm and wet inside her and not inside her mouth. So he spun her around, getting her on all fours. Her buttocks stuck out and her closed legs covered her cunt. He placed a hand between her thigh and spread her legs, before running a finger through her clit. She shuddered in pleasure, leaned towards him, asking for more. He rubbed her sweet spot with one hand and wore the rubber with another, and when he entered her, he knew it was going to be a very long night.

Before Edegbe woke up the next morning, the girl on his bed had disappeared. He stretched and got out of the bed bare, damned if Efe didn't know what to do. The release had been good, he had needed it, did not realize how much he needed it until he had actually had it. Sex was like that for him. He brought out his phone to look at the time, it was past six. He wondered how Efe had slipped the girl out if his room without him knowing.

He yawned, rubbing a hand over his stomach. He was hungry. Maybe he should bathe before going to eat, maybe he should eat first. He grabbed his robe and wore it over his naked body, fastening it before leaving his room, his decision made. He opened the kitchen drawers trying to decide on what to cook. He had started to learn some of northern cuisine, the first being the infamous Tuwo Shinkafa. He couldn't believe they were just rice balls eaten with soup, the northern own type of swallow. He put the local rice in the pressure pot and covered the grains with water. As he let it cool he began preparing the soup whose name he could not remember. At intervals he would open the pot and check to make sure the rice was turning into a pudding. He had always hated to eat rice like that, but now he was cooking it. He cocked the rice until it was soft enough to become pulpy when he mashed them between his fingers. He turned off the heat and rolled the rice into a doughy pudding with a wooden ladle. Then he served the pudding and soup on the same plate as he had seen online and nodded his head in satisfaction, although he could not imagine him eating rice pudding.

A noise at the side drew his attention. "Good morning," he said to Efe who walked in with a glass of water.

"Good morning. What is this?" He eyed the food suspiciously.

"Tuwo Shinkafa, you'd be thrilled when you taste this." He started to clear the kitchen counter.

Efe looked like he wouldn't be.

"When did they leave?"Edegbe asked.

He gulped down the water in his mouth. "By five."

Edegbe paused the plate he was washing. "Is it that you're so sneaky that I didn't wake up?"

"You sleep like a log of wood. Well, I wouldn't blame you, you must have been stressed out last night." He had a knowing smirk.

"Shut up!" Then he scoffed, "You're waking up now and accusing me of being stressed out?"

"I was busy throughout the night, didn't sleep a wink. If that was you, we wouldn't be here right now."

Edegbe glared at him, thought of a comeback but didn't find one. "Let me get dressed, and tell Victor to join us for breakfast."

"Since when does he join us for breakfast?" Then he laughed. "You want to use him as a scapegoat to see if you'll die from eating this thing you cooked."

Victor looked like he could die out if excitement when he joined them at the table. They would normally call him to take the food or they wouldn't call him at all since the boy's quarters had lots of foodstuffs and a kitchen. But that he had been asked to join them made him feel ecstatic, and he forgot about reporting Efe's bad behaviour, something he had swore to do as soon as he saw the boss. Did Efe think he didn't see him sneaking the girls out of the house earlier that morning?

"Ah, sah, see how well you prepared this food, and it has not even been up to two months you came here o." He said as he licked his fingers.

"It's nice, right?" Edegbe asked expectantly.

"Very delicious, sah. You should eat." He looked at the two men who didn't touch their plates.

"Efe, you heard that. Now, can you stop looking at the food like it's a biological specimen?"

Efe who was yet to touch his plate looked up. "What's the difference between the both of us? You haven't even tasted the food you prepared."

He raised his cutlery. "I have a spoon and a fork."

He picked up his spoon and fork. "What else is the difference?"

"I'm going to eat now." He looked down at the food, wondering how he could eat it. He risked a glance up and saw tow pairs of eyes waiting on him, then as if he remembered something he dropped his spoon. "What time do we leave today? I want to make sure they start something on that land today, at least with the tillage."

"I spoke to the agriculturalist, he'll be on site by ten. He'll also bring an experienced farmer, so we're sure of having workers."

"Have you discussed the payment method?"

"We have no relationship with the workers, we'll pay the agriculturalist, he'll pay the chief farmer which will in turn pay the workers."

He nodded. "That's okay." Then picked up his cutlery. "Oh, and when do we leave?" He dropped the cutlery back again.

Efe was fighting a smile. "By ten, the agriculturalist agreed to meet by ten."

He picked up the cutlery again, pausing.

"Sah the food is delicious o," Victor reminded him, unsure what the problem was.

He glared at him. "I know." Then turned back to Efe. "Is—"

"We can have this discussion later, let's eat this delicious meal you cooked."

Edegbe eyed him and returned back to his food. He cut the rice and dipped it into the soup, and raised it to his mouth. Defeatedly he dropped his spoon. "I mean, how am I expected to eat rice pudding?"

Unable to hold back, Efe threw his head back and laughed.