Lost But Satisfied - Episode 28

 

Jerry laid dazed and battered near a tepee while the silence kept being disturbed by the chirping of insects as they swarmed around him. He looked at them, yinmu and refused to beat them away.
 A scrawny, shrieking eternally-singing old bird stood on a pole opposite the workshop and he watched it as he rose to his feeding corner. After eating, he was tired, although tiredness was an emotion he knew he couldn’t afford . The door creaked and her head appeared, making his heart lurch.
‘Jessica… what….?’ He said, raising his voice.
‘Shhh! Let’s talk before Chioma wakes’.
Bidemi nodded as he moved to the back of the room, his leg disturbing a nut case and pouring the nuts to the ground. His hand smelled of grease and it felt like air to him.
‘Do you live here often?’
‘No…’
‘Let’s get to business…’

Saviour of the Rain
That day,
Shaking vigorously, Bidemi kept moving in the rain and in the mud of Sango road.
'Hello,' he said, as he picked his phone that had rung five times earlier,' Darling, I will be home soon'. He used his hand to shield himself from the rain as the wind of the heavy rain rushed towards him.
‘Where are you?’ Grace asked, shouting over the phone,' it’s 11:00 pm o'.
‘I know..

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. I know... I will be there soon', he answered with a quivering voice. His belly yearned desperately for a hot, liquid, and sweet substance.
‘I know....’ He said again as Grace disconnected the call.
Bidemi had left home since morning in hope of meeting Chief Thompson, his helper. He wanted to plead with him to give him a little money for his son's school fee but Chief Thompson didn’t return, even after 8.30 in the night when the rain started. And he had to find shelter somewhere till 10.00pm. But when the rain didn’t stop, he left for his house. His car had broken down.
 He wanted to get home, wrap himself in the arms of his always-loving wife, and to feel the hug of his beloved handsome son, and then he would share a cup of hot Lipton with his family if time permitted.
‘Help’, a frail voice filtered-in through the heavy and fierce rain.
He must have heard wrong. The wind that splashed on his thick skin made him increase his speed. 
He was shaking vigorously as the cold wind rushed at his chest beneath his wet shirt.
‘Help’, the frail voice cried again.
Bidemi was sure he heard the voice. So, he stood still. The cry came again, jolting him and making him run towards the place the voice was coming from: the canal.
Without thinking of the consequences, he ran towards a car that was slipping into the canal. The car was still dangling near the canal. Bidemi ran towards it and saw a lady trying to come out of the car, but seemed afraid of doing so because moving an inch would shift the weight of the car.
Bidemi held onto the slippery side of the trunk of the car.
‘Come to the rear', he shouted at the lady, who was looking at him as if she was in a trance. He wondered if she couldn’t hear him as the rain and the wind beat him; however, she started moving as he prepared himself to shout again.
She opened the door and jumped out. And immediately, the car jolted forward and crashed, headfirst into the canal, almost pulling Bidemi with him.
‘Thank you', the lady said and fainted.
‘What?' Bidemi shouted as he picked her, and raced for the nearest hospital.
The hours that followed saw him searching through her phone, calling her father, sleeping in the hospital, and later explaining to her father what had happened. 
Luckily for him, she was Chief’s daughter, Jessica. He gave Bidemi money and that helped him pay his son’s school fees. And when Chief discovered that Bidemi was good at driving, he offered him a job with a mouth-watery salary.
 He wanted to refuse the offer but it was too good to be true. All he needed to was to drive Jessica wherever she ought to be. Despite Jessica’s disapproval and Martha’s strangulating look, Bidemi got the job. He was excited that he would have free time for himself.
 When he was introduced to the people of the house, he wondered what they all were doing as a business but he allowed his business to be his business, minding what was his: driving. The house itself was fearsome and the people, repulsive.
 He decided to be with Rachael and Jessica always.
‘I like Rachael and I think we are getting along well’, Bidemi said to Jessica when she asked how he was coping with Rachael. He knew Rachael from somewhere but he couldn't place his hand. That must have been the reason he felt drawn to her all the time. They even had a code for deceiving Jessica.
‘Yeah, I noticed. She seemed happy, a lot too happy perhaps. As if there’s a sort of connection between you, people‘.
Bidemi raised his eyebrows,’ what are you insinuating?
‘That….’ Jessica said from the back of the car and winked. Bidemi gave her a weak smile and decided to change the topic.
‘So, what are you up to? What exactly do you do, I drive you about but don’t know your work’.
‘I’m more like a do-it-yourself-girl and even fought Baami when he said he wanted to recruit your-‘
‘Ehy-‘She and Bidemi shouted as he swerved out of the road into the bush. Another car missed crashing into them.
 ‘Suberu…’ Bidemi shouted after looking back to confirm Jessica was alright.
‘What does that mean?’ Jessica asked amidst her panting.
‘It’s like an idiot, you know’ Bidemi said as he looked at the rear-view and saw the driver coming out of the car. Nigerian Drivers, they run into one and still come down to fight.
‘Ehy! Bidemi, be careful. My father’s name is Suberu’.
Bidemi swelled as he took his eyes up into the eyelid as if he expected them to appear at the back of the head.
 The man that almost ran into them came towards them with an axe. Bidemi rushed out of the car to stop him. He had faced things like this before and knew the best way to counter him.
 He faced the man, stood his ground as the man headed for the bonnet, and began to axe it. When Bidemi got nearer, the man swirled with the aim of beheading Bidemi, but Bidemi was faster, he ducked and gave the man a bone-crunching punch at the side.
 He was swift and raked the guy, who landed backwards. Jessica came out, holding a pistol to the guy’s chest.
‘Stay down there….’ She said almost in a growl. She faced Bidemi,’ what does he want?’
‘Ax the man with the axe’, he said, trying to reduce the tension.
 Jessica smirked and bent forward.
‘I didn’t mean to kill him. I didn’t mean to injure him’.
Bidemi hit the axe into the ground.
‘Then, what’s this, a soft drink opener?’
The guy gave a hard-knock look, which made Bidemi cringe within.
‘That was to scare you and tell you to stop working on that thing’.
‘I should blow his crazy head off this minute’, Jessica said with a flared nose and a burning face as she tightened her grip on the gun. She sniffed.
Bidemi nodded as he helped her push the gun away from the guy’s heaving chest. The hot air from the guy’s nose touched his skin, making him scoff.
‘Let me’, Jessica said as she pushed him into the crunching sands.
 ‘Leave him… At least, I’m the one suffering here’.
 Jessica sniffed, heaved and left angrily.
‘Tell them, I’ve stopped. That, this is a big and tall mistake. Now ride off into the sunset and have a nice life’.
 The guy scrambled from the ground, racing to his car.
‘That guy is creepy’, Jessica said the moment Bidemi entered the car.’ He should be arrested’.
‘Police do not arrest people for being creepy’, Bidemi said, turning to her,’ what are you? I mean that thing with the gun. Are you a detective or something?’
 Jessica scoffed,’ you don’t want to know anything about me. keep driving. By the way, how did you know how to pull that stunt?’
Bidemi smiled at her and faced the front, his face, glowing with pride. He started the car.
'Last three years, I led some men in an undercover mission against Boko Haram sect. We thought we had overcome them until we discovered it was a trap. Only I and one other person escaped. We are still alive, happy and enjoying ourselves or something like that’.
 Gradually, their relationship moved from casual friendship to intimate one to the extent that she didn’t like leaving his side, making others think Bidemi was the one clinching to her and made them call him Leech. The name ‘leech’, which Jessica tried, fighting off, stuck to Bidemi like a Leech. One day, happy and contented, Bidemi entered Jessica’s room without knocking and met her n*ked on the chair.
‘Oh no!’ He exclaimed and turned swiftly. ‘I’m sorry’, he said as he tried to leave the room, but she was faster and seemed stronger.
 He pulled her hands off his but they stuck as though they were slimy and sticky. She kissed his torso.
‘I’m married’, he said, trying to move to the door but her will was stronger. He hated situations of lust, he could control half his will at those times, giving whoever it was the opportunity to have her way with him. His wife, Grace used this well to her advantage.
 In need of an opportunity to escape, he turned to her, held her gaze with his, and tried to overcome her will but he was wrong, she was high on hard drugs and that had overshadowed her reasoning. He didn’t know how it happened but they were already kissing and before long, he was already down the path he never planned, the path that led to her bed where their desires escalated.
 Afterwards, he tried to avoid her but she wouldn’t leave him; in fact, any opportunity would meet him panting by her side on her bed, much to his chagrin.
 Then, the eve of his supposed disappearance. It was like the normal Christmas Eve, reeked with a dryness one couldn’t fathom- one that one would want to fill by partying but still finds empty.

Read " Purified Tomorrow: The Mad Awakening " by the same author ( Akíntayo Akinjide )

. Sound of fireworks could be heard from far and near and the tantalizing smell of Jollof rice and meat flourished in the air. 
Chief organised a get-together and they were enjoying themselves until Bidemi moved away to talk to Chioma. After which, he left for the toilet, followed later by Chioma. Bidemi came out of the bathroom angrily and left for his house.
 Jessica didn’t see the need to follow Bidemi because she wanted him to interact with others but she saw the need to hate Chioma with passion, having the assurance that he left because she either did something to him or told him something.
‘Jessy, there’s trouble’, Rachael said the moment Jessica sat on one of the sofas with her glass of champagne still in her hand.
‘What happened?’
‘I received a tip from an anonymous fellow, I am sure it’s one of us, that Bidemi will be killed tonight’.
 Jessica rose and sat almost immediately, the glass she was holding slipped off her hand. The people around looked towards her direction and returned to their discussions as if nothing happened.
‘Why… Where?’ She said, whispering as she stared at the people partying. Every happiness, in her, deflated like a punctured balloon.
‘I don’t know… Chillex…’ 
‘What do we do…?’ Jessica said, jittering.’ What do we do, Rash…?
‘Chillex, Jessy, go to the room’.
 Jessica stood trembling, her lips doing the same.
‘I’ll follow him. And do everything to save him. Where is he?’ Rachael said and led her through the blaring speakers and the thick smell of alcohol to the door.
‘He left…’
 Rachael left that night, followed Bidemi home, and waited outside until she saw him coming out of his house again. She followed him and his attacker at a distant. Then, one thing led to another, Bidemi jumped into a river. Rachael dove after him saved him, took him to a doctor that treated him and under Rachael’s supervision, he was drugged to forget all things. Then, he was injected often with sleeping drugs until till July when she was sure nothing could get at him. 
But Rachael always had a plan.