Chapter 25

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By the time he dropped her off at her home on Wednesday afternoon, she had had about enough of his incessant talks of their impending date. She had been tempted to just look him in the eye and say this to him: Would you shut the fuck up you chin wagging bastard?! I'm sick and tired of your incessant chatter! She was extremely sure that she would feel some sort of glorious relief if she did so. Well, she thought because she could not muster enough courage to do so. She didn't dare. She sighed as he once again described how the night sky was beautiful from the yacht's deck. She tried to pretend as if she was listening, engrossed in his blabber when whereas she wasn't. Well, he thought she was, buying her fake stance of interest for he launched into another series of description that had her nearly cringing aloud. Though, she understood that he was enthusiastic, completely looking forward to their time together. Therefore, she saw no valid reason why she should quell his avidness even after a thorough brainstorm. So, she let it be, listening to every word of his with all the patience that she could muster, bearing with his redundancy and anger stirring rigmarole. She was in a good mood anyways. That was one of the reasons why she was being so outrageously nice. He had ordered her a very pretty dress for their dinner date. The dress as he had told her came with accessories like a purse and shoes. So, on account of the dress, she was feeling pretty good and acting benign. After what seemed like forever, he stopped talking or rather abruptly ended the talk to stare behind her steadily. She stared back at him, wondering what was making him stare so hard, lost. She turned in the direction he was staring pointedly at to satisfy her own curiosity. Her triplet sisters stood on her porch watching her intently with unfathomable looks on their faces.

'They look so much like you,' he said after a moment. 'I understand now why my father said he accidentally called his interior designer Chloe thrice and she kept correcting him, telling him that it was Melody and not Chloe. You all could stand as one another and no one would suspect a thing from your appearance,' he stated with fascination. 'You could all commit a crime easily and accuse one another until the police get tired of the three of you,' he said to her.

'I think that is where finger prints comes in,' she told him in a matter of fact way. 'The police would find us out as swift as the wind with our finger prints,' she stated sarcastically, fed up at the way he was staring at her sisters appreciatively.

'You are right,' he said. 'Why are they staring at both of us so?' he asked her with lifted brows, only realizing the intensity of their stares in that instant.

'I don't know,' she snapped at him. What on earth was wrong with her? Why was she suddenly feeling so angry and...and jealous? Jealous?! God! She scoffed softly. She was indeed stupid. Yes, she was jealous, jealous at the way he was staring at her sisters like he could never take his eyes off them. She wanted him to stare at only her that way, just her and no one else. She stilled for a moment and inhaled slowly in a bid to calm her raging emotions and seize the reins once more. 'How on earth am I supposed to know that? But, you can ask them that,' she said in a more calm tone, taking her handbag and makeup box from the backseat of his automobile. She realized then that he hadn't even taken note of the change in her tone, completely engrossed in looking at her simulacrums. Her anger came back, fiercer.

'How am I supposed to do that if I-'

'You are going over to them with me,' she stated in a matter of fact way, thinking up on the spot the perfect punishment for him. She smirked. Let him face Corinne and Melody alone and let's see if he would continue to stare at them as if they fell out of the moon all glittery and beautiful. 'I am going to introduce you to them and you can ask whatever you want to, alright?' she said to him. He didn't even have the time to answer or to even nod for she opened the car door and was out of it in half of a nanosecond. He hurried to follow suit and relieved her of her handbag and makeup box. She did not offer him any thanks when he did so and he realized then that something was wrong. He noticed then that her countenance was drooping and wondered whatever had happened to make it so. Was she not happy to see her sisters?

'Are you alright mi querida?' he asked her as they approached her sisters who were glaring at him like dogs who just saw an intruder, a subtle threat.

'I'm quite fine thank you,' she said with a snap that nearly made him recoil. He knew that she could snap like this, but she hadn't done so since they had officially began dating. He wondered if he might be the cause of her anger. He thought on what his offense could be, searching his mind and coming up with nothing, as blank as a clean slate on the matter.

'Chinwem,' Melody said the moment they were within earshot. She knew that tone. It was a tone to warn her to tread easy with Corinne.

'Gini ka unu ne mme ebe?' she asked her sisters the moment she arrived afore them. She was unafraid of their crippling stares. 'I asked why the both of you are here,' she added when no answer was given.

'Where have you been since last night?' Corinne demanded. 'I was here a minute past nine and I haven't left since then. Melody arrived this morning when I phoned her and Lotenne and informed them both that you might possibly be missing. We were waiting for twenty four hours to come by so we could take the case to the police if you hadn't returned by then,' she informed her.

'I haven't gone missing,' Chinwem said. 'I only went to work,' she said.

'I called your organization when I waited till ten and you haven't arrived,' Corinne continued. 'I was told that you had a dance section which ended at about forty minutes past eight. Well, that was when I began to worry. I called you repeatedly all to no avail; it was as futile as cooking stones in water.' She paused for a breath of air. 'So, where have you been?'

'I went to-'

'Wait, don't tell me that,' her eyes went to Clement, 'you left work with him, stayed at his place all night and gave me a heart ache over nothing because if you dare to do so, I might go crazy,' she ended.

'Well, you won't because I'm about to tell you a different story and I could use a chair,' Chinwem said, sick and tired of their prying.

'Whatever,' Corinne snapped at her. Chinwem glared at her and her angry sister returned the stare, harder and fiercer.

'Who do we have here?' Melody asked smiling at Clement who returned the gesture.

'Hi! I'm-'

'It's none of your damn business!' Chinwem shrieked, 'You and you!' she followed pointing at each of her sisters, Melody first and Corinne, second. 'I have no idea why you are so angry at my absence,' she said. 'If you weren't here, would you know so?' no one made an attempt to answer her. Everyone was still shocked at her outburst, especially her sisters. None of them have ever since Chinwem this angry.

'Chinwem,' Melody started.

'Don't you dare Chinwem me!' she snapped. 'Look, I am no longer that little bookworm that you need to protect from the wolf. Stop taking me through that again; stop taking me back to the past,' she said. Then, she turned and began to storm into her home. Suddenly, she stopped halfway and whirled around. 'Clement, aren't you coming?' she asked.

'Oh, right, yes,' he said, jarred out of his astonishment. He hurried after her, flashing her sisters an apologetic smile. He caught up with her easily and followed her to the door. He held it open for her to go in and then he went in after her, just closing the door. He stood at the door and looked around. It was his first time here, inside her home. The corridor was wide and short, about fifteen feet. It led into the living room that described coziness.

Her home was just like home, warm and welcoming, pleasant to the five senses and the sixth inclusive. The walls were painted a soft baby blue like clouds on a good day. It was designed with finger prints of various sizes in noticeable clusters. The finger prints were of varying colours. There was white, lavender, yellow, gold, topaz, orange and oxblood. The curtains were in pairs of plain and patterned turquoise blue and aqua blue. The chairs were also turquoise blue with throw pillows shaped like humongous sweets. There was a rug the colour of the wall and a glass centre table. It was spherical, approximately nine inches in diameter. There was a smart television and other accessories on the wall to his left if he was standing in the corridor. The television was on and a nollywood movie was currently playing. Her sisters must have been keeping themselves busy with it in her absence. There was a large bowl of popcorn on the floor close to the television. There was two glasses of yellow liquid -which he assumed was fruit juice- close to it. Now, he was beginning to doubt if they had actually been worried for her, searching frantically for her because the scenery didn't look it, said otherwise, and betraying them.

'Your home is beautiful. I love the décor,' he complimented.

'I am not the interior decorator,' she said and he understood that it was her sister that had decorated the living room space. 'Have a seat,' she told him. He did so, setting her handbag and make up box beside him on the couch for two. She took the baggage and disappeared behind a curtain -to her bedroom he presumed. Her sisters came into the living room then.

'Where is Chinwem?' the one whom his girlfriend had yelled at earlier asked him. He was guessing that she wasn't the interior decorator, so she was Corinne and not Melody.

'Chloe you mean?' he asked despite knowing the answer.

'Yes Mr. Man,' she snapped. 'Was my sister at your house? If she was, I'll kill you here before you think twice.'

'She wasn-'

'I wasn't!' Chinwem interrupted, still angry. 'I already told you that I wasn't, didn't I?' she demanded. 'Stop bothering my man!'

'Oh!' Melody shrieked excitedly.

'Don't you dare squeal like a guinea pig!' she snapped at Melody.

'I wasn't about to Chinwem. I swear that I wasn't. I was just surprised that is all,' she said very quickly.

'Look Chinwem, we are not trying to bother you. If you just tell us where you were yesterday, this matter would go straight under the carpet,' Melody said.

'Wow! So that you can sweep it out some other day and use it against me?'

'Whoa! Calm down little sister. Why on earth are you so angry? I have never seen you like this since all the twenty one years that I've known you. You are always as quiet as a mouse, meek as a lamb even when someone was poking you with burning incense. What has come over you? What changed you?' Corinne asked her with an emotion that she detected as confusion in her thin voice. Chinwem sighed then; even she could not explain what had made her to explode like some overdue ticking time bomb.

'Chinwem, we were all just worried for you,' Melody said. 'Call us worrywarts, I do not care. You are our little sister baby girl. We have to protect you. By God! It is our job. If something were to happen to you Chinwem, mother would blame us and you will be the second to join her in heaven,' Melody said. She was a little angry. 'I was not even in town when Chinyem called me,' she said referring to Corinne. I was in Port Harcourt. I went there yesterday to get supplies. When she informed me that you could possibly be missing, I went out of my element. I arranged for the goods to be way billed and flew down to Imo as quick as I could. When I arrived this morning, Corinne was a crying mess. She thought something bad had happened to you. She said she called you repeatedly but your phone was switched off -all the more reason to worry. She had even called the police and was told to wait for twenty four hours before laying a complaint. But, the police promised to be on alert for you,' she said. By now, Chinwem was feeling guilty. She had no idea that they had done all these for her. 'Well, I consoled cry baby here and told her that it could be possible that you went on a rendezvous with the guy we saw you with the last time. You know, clothes falling or ripped apart, whispering to the floor, moans and groans and-'

'Melody!' Chinwem called. She was completely red in the face and Melody wondered if she was so close to the truth.

'By God! Must you always be corrupt?' Corinne snapped.

'I'm just saying,' she said with a shrug. 'Anyways, all that nonsense helped to pacify cry baby here and I got her to indulge in snacks and movie while we waited for you. We tried your number at intervals but it was still switched off. Lotenne said the same thing when she last called. She said she would come down here if you weren't home by seven. So, where were you sweetie? Give us a justifiable reason or Corinne might just explode with all what you put us through.' Chinwem shuffled her feet softly, quite remorseful about what she had done.

'I'm sorry that I bothered you three,' she apologized first and foremost, 'and I am sorry at the way I exploded at you both earlier. It was uncalled for.'

'Your apology is accepted,' Corinne said with a smile.

'That is good baby sis,' Melody said.

'Well,' Corinne prompted.

'Well,' she began, 'after my dance section last night, my battery ran out. I put it to charge and that caused me to forget it at Silver Fire. I left the phone in my cubicle, my changing room. Clement her picked me up and took me to dinner. Well, I drank quite a lot of wine and got a bit tipsy. Besides, it was late so I-'

'-decided to stay over and tumble into bed with your Adonis,' Melody said with a straight face and a blank expression. Chinwem wondered just how she could do that.

'No,' Chinwem said. 'No, not really,' she said after a second thought.

'Ahh, I see,' Melody said with a smile. She was enjoying teasing her.

'Oh you pest, it wasn't exactly like that. He only just put me in a room and slept on the couch,' she said.

'In the same room,' she pointed out. 'Are you being real?' Corinne asked her with a fake surprise expression on her face. 'Are you sure that nothing else happened?'

'Oh I'm pretty sure!' Chinwem snapped at them, fed up and irritated.

'Is that so my sister's man?' Melody asked in a playful tone.

'Yes it is my girlfriend's sister,' was his own reply with a satisfied smile on his face. Melody laughed, amused. Corinne was not moved.

'So, you both want me to believe that crap of room and couches? He could have easily brought you home, you know?'

'I was so sleepy that I insisted on not going home Corinne. The fault is mine alone not his. Besides, if anything did happen it shouldn't bother you. We are both consenting adults Corinne, like you and Corinth.' Her last sentence made Corinne red in the face and Melody went into one of her huge laugh explosions.

'Me...me and Corinth is different Chin-'

'We are triplets Corinne and that makes us age mates,' she stressed.

'I'm older than you with about seven minutes,' Corinne argued.

'Corinne, if you are allowed to fuck around with Corinth, then so am I,' she retorted crudely. Chinwem's glare halted whatever argument Corinne wanted to begin. Clement smiled at the exchange, clearly amused by it. Melody laughed as well, equally surprised and amused. She had never seen her little sister that way, all sharp mouthed and pointed, crude even. Something kept telling her that the man sitting there and watching them had a hand in that change.

'You do have a point baby girl,' Melody intervened then, saving Corinne's ass from shame and embarrassment. 'You are entitled to such Chinwem. You know that Corinne is just being a mother hen. Don't be bothered. Anyways, I think it is time to introduce the both of us to your out of the couch to the house boyfriend,' she said. Clement chuckled. Melody's amusing sentiment was getting to him.

'We did not come straight from the motel if that is what you are implying. He took me to Silver Fire this morning for my section at twelve after nine. He left for work then while I stayed back for my eleven o'clock section. He picked me up after the section and then we had lunch, with no wines involved,' she added after a look at Melody. 'Then he brought me home now.'

'Yet, it did not occur to you for a moment that someone might just be trying to reach you on your still switched off phone,' Corinne resurrected with a good come back.

'I forgot, completely.' She sniffed angrily, glaring at her sister.

'Your man could have reminded you,' Corinne retorted despite the glare.

'Oh if you weren't here, all these would not be happening. Why couldn't you have stayed at your home Chinyem?' Chinwem shot at Corinne. 'Why on earth were you over at my place?'

'I was here to seek comfort, one you weren't around to give. Melody had offered some anyways,' she muttered.

'What comfort is that that you seek?' she asked her with a puzzled look.

'I broke up with the Corinth that you keep dangling in my face.' It was Corinne's turn to snap at her. Chinwem instantly felt bad for her sister. She and Corinth had been good. What suddenly happened? Mayhap it was just one of their minor lover's spat. Well, Corinne proved her wrong in the next sentence. 'Before you ask, it was huge. He is getting married next week to Delilah,' she said with so much spite in her voice. Corinne wondered who Delilah was.

'I think you mean Daniela,' Melody corrected her teasingly. It was hilarious, both of them. But, Chinwem chose not to laugh. She could not risk Corinne shifting her aggression to her. She had better keep to her lane. She wasn't Melody who was always ready for Corinne's spit fires.

'Whichever it is, I do not care. I can't believe he is getting married to my neighbor. It shows that they have been cheating on me behind my back, and I never suspected a thing.'

'It's all in the past Curry,' Chinwem said. 'He doesn't deserve you if he did that to you,' she consoled her sister.

'I waited so long to hear those healing words from you,' Corinne wailed as she hugged her tightly, nearly squeezing her guts out. 'Corinne, I can't breathe.' Her grip loosened a bit but Chinwem was grateful for it. Clement watched as the strong lady melted into the cry baby Melody had described her as. It was fascinating.

Chinwem led her to the sofa for two and made her sit the moment she let her come out of the embrace. She sniffed and cried while Chinwem cleaned her tears away.

'Oh the bastard,' she cussed.

'Yes, he's a bastard,' Chinwem supported.

'They are rotten and stupid, he and that Diana of a fool. They're nothing more than ruthless backstabbing people.'

'Yes they are,' Chinwem agreed. Clement took a seat beside Melody who had long done so when Corinne had embraced Chinwem. 'Let them be alright. They deserve each other, rotten and backstabbing. You deserve better and you will get better. So, just live your life, be free, alright?' Corinne nodded. A smile crossed her face.

'A few words from you and I feel much better than a whole morning of Melody's,' she said still smiling.

'I'm right here,' Melody said with a smirk. 'In actuality, I did my best. You should be grateful you ungrateful rat!'

'Then there's no thank you for you, adviser cat!' Corinne retorted. It was obvious that whatever burden she had carried had left her. Chinwem watched the spat, smiling. Then, her eyes met Clement's which were gazing at her with what she discerned as adoration and love. He was marveling at what Chinwem had done with a touch and a few words of consolation.

'Oh whatever,' Melody said. 'Now that Corinne's settled with minimal grudges, please introduce your boyfriend dear sister. He must be tired of watching all this drama, maybe he even has work to do and is being caught up here.'

'You are right,' Corinne said surprisingly. 'I know his name is Clement and he's the lawyer who handles U and G limited, that much I can recall from our last meeting.'

'Wow! Wow! Wow!' Melody said with a short applause. 'You are surprisingly retentive,' she said with a laugh.

'What? I pay attention, which is all.'

'I'm actually all you said,' Clement said. 'What other thing do you wish to know ladies?' he asked them, his attention shifting from his lover to her sisters. 'You can just ask me?'

'What state are you from? How old are you? How long have you dated my sister? What's your heart stand with her?' Corinne bombarded him.

'Easy there with the questions,' Melody said to her laughing. It seemed that the lady was easily amused with everything.

'First and foremost, I love your sister deeply, unfathomably. I can't give the exact time we've been dating, but I pursued her since November and she agreed to be my girlfriend on the 21st of March. I'm twenty eight going on twenty nine. I'm from Imo here.'

'Where exactly-'

'We are not from the same village if that is what you are about to ask,' he interrupted her.

'Oh, that is actually what I wanted to ask,' she told him. 'You're good. I like him already. I am just overlooking the fact that he could have done something to you while you were asleep despite what he claims,' she mused playfully. He knew that she was just having fun.

'He indeed slept on the couch Corinne,' Chinwem said in a miserable voice. 'Won't you let this matter be? You promised it would be swept under the rug. Why then are you raising the rug and letting it out, haunting me with it?'

'I did not promise that lil sis, Melody did.'

'Yeah, it was I who did,' Melody agreed. 'But I was speaking on behalf of both of us Curry. Therefore, it stands.'

'Alright, whatever, though I was joking anyways,' she said with a mischievous smile.

'May God help you,' Melody prayed. Now, they all laughed. Clement stood then.

'Well ladies, I might as well be taking my leave. I have work waiting for me like Melody said,' he announced to the lot. Chinwem stood.

'Alright,' she said.

'There's still tomorrow?' he asked, side eying her sisters. She caught the gesture.

'Yes, tomorrow,' she promised him. He nodded and smiled radiantly.

'I'll see myself off then, don't bother,' he said. 'Goodbye mon amour, Au revoir. Goodbye Melody and Corinne,' he said.

'Goodbye,' the both chorused happily.

'Drop by later,' Melody said after his moving back. Chinwem watched him leave, ogling his broad back. She gazed at him till he turned the corridor and she could see him no more. She still stood there, staring at nothing until she heard the front door close. Moments later, the sound of his car leaving made her sigh softly. When she heard it no more, she noticed that her surrounding was extremely quiet. She turned to her sisters and noticed the reason for their tight lips. They were staring at her mischievously. She just knew that she was going to be the brunt of their brewing joke.

'What now?' she asked them.

'You must love him so much. You stared on even when there was nothing to stare at,' Melody teased her.

'I said he is my boyfriend. Would he be if I didn't love him?' she demanded.

'Well it was cute,' Corinne said, 'to watch you love struck.'

'I agree.'

'You always agree on the stupidest of things,' she told Melody without a hint of annoyance.

'A package arrived for you this morning,' Corinne informed her, preventing her from uttering the rest things she had for Melody.

'Thank you for taking it,' she said. 'I'm going to take a bath. Please, entertain yourselves my guest,' she jibed.

'We have already done so. I'm afraid your concern is too late our host,' Corinne said. Melody nodded in agreement, going to the front of the television and sitting beside the bowl of popcorn and the glasses of fruit juice after gesturing towards them for Chinwem to see if she hadn't. 'Chinwem, are you really sure nothing happened last night?' Chinwem did not answer her, going into her bedroom to do as she had told them.