Chapter 2

She was a beautiful woman.

Absolutely stunning!

She seemed to glow as if from some inner light that threw a radiant luminescence into her body. Her skin was clear and tender, without blemish, a naturally-polished phenomenon that never ceased to baffle many a jealous woman.

Her curves were exquisite, placed with finesse by a master craftsman. And that face, in its elfin-shaped quaint and delicate features, spoke of angelic qualities and hinted at, perhaps, how special she had been crafted.

 Effe Kedem, wearing a blue-black skirt, white inner, and blue-black jacket, picked up her bag and began putting some documents in it.

Her luxurious hair was plaited into beautiful cornrows, leaving her beautiful face in breath-taking relief.

The bedroom door opened suddenly, and she turned sharply.

Her beautiful face melted when she saw the dark, handsome man in the doorway.

Tony Ogum, medium-height, medium-built, and with a beautiful smile, was wearing a black suit and sprinkling white shirt with a matching polka-dotted tie. His shoes were black and excellently-polished as usual.

Tony was one of the rising engineering wizards in the Kingdom of Eden. His classic construction ideas had received acclaim recently, and he had been contracted to design an international conference centre for the kingdom.

He and Effe were dating.

He stopped in the doorway and scowled a little when he looked at Effe.

"Tony, my love," Effe said with a weak smile as she walked towards him. "You're here early."

"Because I wanted to spend a little time with you before church," he said with a little smile as she leaned forward and kissed him on his right cheek. "You're going to church with us, aren't you?"

Effe stood back with a guilty look on her face and shook her head once.

"No, Tony, I'm sorry," she said in a voice that was filled with regret. "My boss called. I'm needed at the office."

The look of pain on his face was instant, and for a while, she saw wild resentment in his eyes.

"For God's sake, Effe!" he cried, exasperated. "Today is Sunday! We made plans to go to church together today!"

Effe's face was ripped with regret as she put her cold hands on his shoulders and looked at him with sadness.

"Oh, Tony, please, my love, understand," she said quickly.

He took a step back from her, and he looked angry now.

"Understand what, Effe?" he asked in a tight voice. "Understand what exactly? That this is how our life is going to be if we get married? That I'll hardly see you and you'll be globetrotting every blessed day to the whims and caprices of your bosses?"

Effe put her head to one side and looked at him for a moment, and her brow was furrowed with concern.

"Of course not, my darling," she said quickly. "But you know I work for Kingdom Security! Sometimes some call-ups are marked as urgent, and those calls can't be ignored because it might hinge on grave consequences, Tony. Lives could be at stake! I'm sorry, please forgive me. But that is my work."

"And your work takes everything, Effe!" he said sullenly. "Sometimes, I wonder if you notice that I even exist in your life."

"Now drop the dramatics, Tony, dear," she said and put her hands on his shoulders once again. "I'll make it up to you, I promise. This is not supposed to take long. I'll be home before you get back from church, I promise."

He looked at her for a while, and it was evident that he was not enthused. Effe stepped away from him and sat on the edge of her bed to put on her shoes. Tony squatted quickly in front of her, picked up a shoe, and gently lifted her foot to slide the shoe on it.

"You're sweet, Tony," she said as he fitted the other shoe too. "Please, forgive me. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

He sighed deeply.

"Sometimes I just wish to have you to myself, Ef," he said as he got to his feet. "And today happens to be one of those days."

"I'll be with you soon, my love. Please believe that."

They walked hand-in-hand downstairs where her family members were gathered and ready for church.

Her father, Ken Kedem, was a wealthy industrialist who had eventually convinced her mother, Ivy Kedem, to stop working at the KOE Ministries to join him. They were looking resplendent in their matching cloth outfits.

Her twin sister, Eyram, was looking incredibly beautiful in her multi-coloured kaba and slit, the same styled outfit that Effe would have worn. Eyram was a paediatrician at the Kingdom of Eden Hospital.

"Ef, darling!" Ivy cried with displeasure when she saw her daughter. "Don't tell me you're going to the office!"

"You know your daughter well, ma'am!" Tony said despondently.

"Effe, are you crazy?" Eyram said indignantly. "You told us today is your day off!"

"I did, yes, but something important came up," Effe said quickly, offended that they had managed to put her on the defensive so quickly. "It borders on the safety of KOE. Look, I'm sorry I had to disappoint you all, but this won't take long."

"That is beginning to sound like an anthem, dear," Ken Kedem said disapprovingly. "Whatever it is can't wait till tomorrow?"

"No, Dad," Effe replied quickly. "A matter of urgency and I need to attend to it."

"Oh, girl!" Ivy said with indignantly. "Why did you go into this tactical analysis whatever study? You're a woman, Effe! Your place is home beside your husband and your family! If you don't start getting your act together, some silly girl somewhere is going to steal Tony from you! You'll lose this fine gentleman!"

Effe raised her eyebrows at Tony.

"I'm not going to lose you, am I?" she asked softly.

He did not smile as she had expected, but he shook his head.

"No, I love you with my soul, Ef," he said quietly. "But it is about time you started factoring me into your plans too."

He sounded so down that Effe stopped smiling and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Tony," she said quickly. "You know you're my priority. But in my field of work, an issue that is not dealt with could have disastrous consequences."

He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes.

"I understand, darling," he said and linked his arm through hers. "Come, let me take you to your car. And hurry back quickly."

"Thank you, Tony," she said gratefully. "I love you, honey."

They went outside where she sat in her Lexus, blew him a kiss, and drove off in a hurry.

Tony stood gazing after the car long after it had disappeared, and that was how Eyram found him when she came outside.

She sighed as she stood beside her friend of many years; she had known Tony many months before introducing him to Effe.

"Effe forgot today is your birthday again, didn't she?" Eyram asked softly.

Tony sighed and rubbed his forehead rapidly with a grimace on his face. He was very disturbed and unhappy.

"She didn't even remember it," he said, his voice filled with pain. "That sister of yours has a brain that works like a computer! Hell, she's a master at what she does, a terrific forensics expert in the Bureau of Kingdom Investigation… and yet she never for once – just once – remembers my birthday! Isn't that simply wonderful?"

Eyram squeezed her friend's shoulder gently.

Tony's sister, Baaba, was Eyram's friend at Medical School, and through her, Eyram had become acquainted with Tony. She had liked him, but she had been in a troubled relationship with another man and had not encouraged Tony's obvious interest in her.

Instead, she had introduced the handsome young man to her sister.

It had not taken long for Tony to fall totally in love with Effe, whose busy and flippant attitude had intrigued him more than the reserved Eyram had been.

Eyram's relationship ended when her boyfriend, Ebow, died tragically in a road accident. That had been a year ago, and Eyram was yet to recover fully from that fractious trauma.

"I'm sorry, Tony," she said softly. "She's been like that all her life, you know. Kept surprising us with her intellect and analytical mind, solving complex issues even adults couldn't solve. No wonder she ended up as the top nerd at the BKI. But she has always sucked at remembering birthdays, always. Sometimes she forgets her own birthday. But, have faith. She'll come around."

 "I hope so, Eyram, I really hope so," Tony said despondently.

"But why didn't you remind her today is your birthday?"

Tony shrugged.

"Didn't want to spoil her mood," he replied. "What she's going to do is important, obviously. Let her come back, and then I'll pick up a fight with her over this."

They laughed and headed for their cars.

"Here," Eyram said suddenly and handed him a little wrapped gift- box in her hand. "Happy birthday, Tony."

"Oh, Eyram," he said, overcome with emotions. "Thank you. You're so thoughtful and nice."

 "You're welcome, Tony," she replied with a smile.

He took the gift from her with raised eyebrows and tried to hold her hand as she dashed ahead of him. He unwrapped the gift box and found an expensive wristwatch in its fold.

Tony sighed gravely and slowly put the watch around his wrist, and then he stared thoughtfully after Eyram as she hopped into her car.

True, he had seen her first and admired her greatly, maybe even fallen in love with her. He had tried to get her to go out with him on some occasions, but she had been too deeply into Ebow to give him a landing berth.

 But when she introduced him to Effe, he had been blown away instantly. Although twins, they were different; maybe not so noticeable by people who did not know them, but he had been swept off his feet by Effe.

Whereas Eyram was calm and gentle, caring and thoughtful with an introvert personality, Effe was buoyant with an inner bubbling joy that gave an added depth to her beauty.

Eyram was modest and a little prim-like in her choice of fashion, but Effe was bold and provocative without being indecent. She was a cauldron of beauty and brains wrapped in a beautiful outer covering that made her much more appealing.

And yet here they were!

 Effe, completely dedicated to the call of duty, and Eyram completely dedicated to the things of the heart, like remembering his birthday, and the very little things that mattered.

Yes, Eyram always remembered the little things, made no excuses, always had a smile, always present, his friend, closer than Effe sometimes...

He looked at Eyram's profile for a while with slightly-puckered eyebrows and wondered why he suddenly felt like going over to speak to her again.

He wondered what would have happened if he had met her after Ebow's death when she had been single and coping with the tragedy. Maybe, just maybe, he and Eyram would have been together now, and he knew if that had been the case, he would never have worried about his woman forgetting his birthdays...

"Stop it, Tony O!" he whispered fiercely to himself. "Stop that demon whisper, man!"

Tony sighed and walked slowly to his car, but he glanced at Eyram again.

He couldn't help it.