32 The Missing Component.

"What do I buy so a woman will like me?"

The florist looked at him and smiled "she is a lucky woman" she said

Ikenna couldn't be bothered to flirt "which one?" he asked staring at the array of colours and petals and stalks

"What could anyone be angry with you about?" florist lady batted her lashes

"You should get sunflowers" Nabila chipped in

Ikenna turned and gave her a brief hug "Ah my guardian angel"

As he paid for the dozen stems, Nabila shooed away the sullen florist and calmly settled herself behind the work station. It was obvious she came here often

"So what else have you tried?" she trimmed the ends and began to arrange the bouquet in a glass vase. Ikenna told her and Nabila visibly cringed

"Haba Ikenna. That is so sickly sweet"

"Isn't the whole point to try harder?"

"No, it's to try better. White chocolate and large cards are way too fancy for Amaka's taste"

"I'm sort of getting to my last hurrah Nabsy"

Nabila completed her presentation with a few springs of green between petals, and looked at his lost expression.

"Amaka loves dark chocolate. The Ghanaian 75% cocoa, just one bar fa, something she can enjoy guilt free." Nabila then proceeded to tell him what to write as a personal message on the card

"That's what I meant" Ikenna said exasperated

"Then say it" Nabila handed him a pen

Amaka returned to her office from walking the kids to after school activities, she took off her peep toes replacing them with golf balls, rolling her feet along for a self-massage. There had been no more packages left on her desk, which was a shame seeing as she was becoming popular amongst her colleagues for having a full candy bowl. They ravaged it all- guests, clients, the twins, headmistress. All except her; it was a matter of principle, plus she hated those fancy, centre filled sugar cubes. Chocolate was most delicious in its purest form. Amaka startled when she heard the knock, Ikenna walked in and placed a chocolate bar on her desk gently. It was her favourite; this had Nabsy written all over it. She and Ikenna stared briefly

"I wouldn't think less of you if you ate it" he said with those naughty eyes. Like he meant something different, something cheeky

Amaka tore open the wrapper and bit off a square, oh this was good. It hit the spot. Ikenna got up then and disappeared behind the door returning with a vase of sunflowers. They were beautiful and the vase wore a fluffy white ribbon like fancy neck tie. Amaka played with it while she chewed on the sweet and bitter creamy goodness

"The flowers were my idea" he said with a grin. Amaka read the card: 'I was rude. I never meant to hurt you. I'm sorry. Please hear me out'."

"Why didn't you just say that?"

"I tried to" Ikenna rubbed his head, women!

Nabila made him promise to leave if everything was going well, which seemed to be the case, so with great difficulty, he got up

"Well I'll leave you to it"

He made it out the door before she called him back "Do you want a Ribena?"

"I love Ribena" he rushed back in. Amaka raised an eyebrow

"I mean I like Ribena. I think about it a lot, usually at the office but mostly before I go to sleep at night. I would love to get to know Ribena better. It seems very straightforward and honest and kind. It's also very pretty and looks good in red, I wonder if its lips taste like strawberry or red currant"

Amaka averted her gaze for a second "Ribena is made with blackcurrants"

"Ah that's right" Ikenna sat back down pulling his chair up to Amaka's desk. 

Rabi Bello placed her pillow over her head and turned her phone face down, it was silent but the flashing light from Jamal's call was pissing her off. She was pissed off a lot lately, at everything, everyone. She cancelled on Nabila; the thought of sitting next to her, knowing Jamal's child was sleeping in her tummy was too much to bear. Why was she angry? How long could she and Jamal last anyway? Something had to give, someone had to walk away, and someone had to get hurt. The conversation they had been dreading was just resolved for them. She had an 8 week niece/nephew and Rabi hated feeling that she would never love it. Jamal as usual thought they could sort it out with magic fairy dust or something. 

He now assaulted her at work of all places, saying nonsense. When she asked him, what else he proposed they do, he would only blink those eyes and say he needed her. Well she needed her sanity and right now even her lust could not justify her continued association with him. 'Go home to your pregnant wife' she said at the end, he would not. Rabi tried to explain to him, that he thought he loved her now, but once he held his child, it would be dwarfed in comparison, she was a doctor, she saw it all the time, men fell in love at the very end, in the delivery room. Rabi was not going to wait to be dumped and pitied, so she took the bold step and ended it first. Her extension rang

"Me ne ne- what is it?"

"Baba na neman ki- Baba is looking for you"

Rabi wasn't aware her parents had returned from Dubai. She pulled an oversized t-shirt over her head and walked to the garden. She met Jamal waiting in the bushes and stared at the gardener as he pocketed the wad of naira notes before promptly walking away. He walked out the gates and bolted them behind him.

"Jamal ba ka jin magana- you don't hear word"

"Rabi Dan Allah"

"What? What are you begging me for? What do you want me---what else is there to do?"

"Just wait till after she puts to bed. Then I'll leave her"

"After you've held your baby, you'll walk away"

"Wallahi" he swore

Rabi shook her head, no father was able to and she was not willing to wait 7 months while Jamal realised that. 

"The marriage is dead, you know this" Jamal rubbed his sleep deprived eyes

"Marriages all over Abuja run on a lot less than mutual love for the children"

"I love you Rabi"

"No Jamal you love sex. That is the high you are used to, now you are going to have to find it elsewhere..."

"Rabi I LOVE YOU"

"Because" she continued "even I can't sink so low as to sleep with you while Nabila is pregnant" 

"Rabi please..." Jamal saw the finality in her eyes

"May Allah forgive me for what I've done"

Rabi turned and walked away, in her room she blocked Jamal's number and cried till she heard the call to morning prayers the following day.

Nabila Mujahid knocked heavily on the door, she banged with her fist till Amaka answered. Nabsy fell on her best friend and sobbed, she cried and cried and cried and could not be comforted. Somewhere in her ripped-to-shreds state she felt different hands on her shoulders, felt the lure of a pillow, the cold glass on her chapped lips. She resisted all, hanging on to Amaka for dear life and crying herself into a frenzy. Eventually she slept, with fingers tight on her friend's satin blouse. When Nabila woke up, she had a pounding headache, the whisperings of voices. Shouldn't the twins be sleeping? She thought; the tenor caught her attention. It was male, but it wasn't Jamal. Nabila blinked through her migraine in time to see and hear Ikenna say "She's waking up. Get the Panadol"

She tried to sit up; the splitting headache was too painful even with Ikenna assisting. Why did Amaka call him? This was so embarrassing. 

Amaka came into her blurry view and fed her a glass of water, cooing and rubbing her back. Nabila painfully swallowed the tablets, only because she was too tired to protest. With great difficulty, she forced her eyes as wide as they would go, to take in the complete view of Amaka and Ikenna sitting side by side on the coffee table and staring at her like a pair of worried parents at a wayward teenager. They looked nice, Nabila thought. Too nice in fact. Ikenna was wearing a suit with the now loosened tie and Amaka a red satin blouse and black pencil skirt. Ya Allah. She had interrupted a date. 

"I am so sorry"

"No" they both chorused

"I didn't know"

"Don't even say that" they hushed her every time

"Do you want to talk about it?" Amaka asked. Nabila nodded and by the time she sat upright, Ikenna had left the room.

"Jamal has been giving me a hard time since I told him about the baby. After telling me he never loved me, he promised to be around for the child but he hasn't. I take care of all doctors' appointments and go to them alone. He's moved out to the guest room and I –I -I"

"It's okay. Take your time"

"I just realised the toxic environment I'm would be bringing my child up in. 

"I know sweetie" Amaka patted her knee, urging her to continue

"I'm three months today and I felt the baby kick for the first time. He wasn't interested. I planned to tell my parents today as well, naively I thought by now Jamal would have come round to the idea, we could pretend to be civil but he told me to go find the baby's real father to drag along for my circus act. He said I ruined his life. That I was an evil witch and my baby a spawn" Nabila began to cry again, she didn't want to go back home. Not tonight.

"Stay here tonight" Amaka said hugging her "We'll talk more"

"Thank you. Ikenna fa?"

"Don't worry about him. He wasn't getting any anyway" 

Her phone vibrated causing her to break from Amaka's soothing hug and back rub; it was the landline at her parents. She pressed ignore, only to see a previous 10 missed calls. She called back right away, mama answered

"Ba ki dokan waya kowa- you don't answer anyone's phone calls?"

"Mama I'm sor-"

"Haba mana"

"Mama I already sai-"

"Rabi has formally accepted Alhaji Tukur's proposal. She 's getting married"