Love's Second Chance (11 page)

Efe felt her eyes cloud and
swiped at her eyes and nose. She swallowed, and her mouth opened and then shut again.

“
You know, if Mohammed won’t go to the mountain…”

As her friend’s cheerful voice continued, Efe felt herself become light-headed as all her feelings peaked in raw sadness.

“
Efe, are you there? What’s wrong?” Nneka asked with concern.

Stars popped in her vision, and merged into blinding brightness. She felt the dam in her head break and the memories she’d been keeping at bay consumed her. Efe tried to hold them, but instead she burst into noisy tears.

The agony drove her to the ground, and she wept like she never had before, not even during or after the first breakup. Her chest expanded and then contracted as if to squeeze the life from her.

“
What is it?” She heard Nneka ask as if miles away. The alarm was evident in her voice. “Efe, what is the matter?” Nneka shouted.

Efe couldn’t answer. Her sobs choked her.

“
I’ll be right there, okay? Just hold on for some minutes, I’ll be there before you know it.” Nneka finally dropped the connection.

Efe put the phone down and buried her head in her arms. Her sobs gradually died away. She was confused and exasperated with herself. One minute she didn’t want Kevwe and then the next, she was overcome with the need for him. What was wrong with her? She propped herself against the wall with knees drawn up to the chest. Her hands were tucked up beneath her armpits as tears trickled down her face.

Ten minutes later, Nneka’s car purred to a stop in the driveway. Still seated against the door, Efe listened to light steps running to her front door and guessed Nneka had the
baby strapped to her chest. Efe opened the door and stood back for her friend to enter, and sure enough, Anuli was in her favorite position against her mother’s breasts. S
he locked the door, leaning her head for a brief second on the wood.

Nneka turned to Efe as she released Anuli and placed her on the
floor with some toys. She watched with impatience as Efe bent to chuck the little girl on the chin, drawing out her quick bubbly laughter.
Nneka drew her up, and they both sat down on the couch,
a gasp escaping
as Efe raised her tear-ravaged
face.

“
Oh my God! Look at you. What happened?
”

Efe did not know how to start.

“
Please talk to me,” Nneka continued, “
We’ve never hidden anything from each other.
Is it Kevwe’s brother, the doctor?
Tell me w
hat happened, please.
”

“
It wasn’t just his brother I saw yesterday, I saw Kevwe too.”

“
What! Are you sure? Did they plan it?” Nneka fired off the questions. “Does he live in Abuja? Why was he there?”

“
He’s not based in Abuja.” Efe stroked her throbbing temples. “I never did confirm where
...”

“
It was mere coincidence then?” Nneka asked.

Efe shook her head.
“He came for a confrontation, or maybe it was reconciliation.
He felt he got the short end of the stick at our breakup. His parents told him I dumped him.”

“
What?” Nneka looked confused. “Abeg, start at the top.”

Efe sighed. “OK, I left you at Wakkis and got to the hospital with minutes to spare for our appointment.
When I entered the office, Kevwe was
the first person I saw; he was the only one
seated at the desk
. The recognition was undeniable, but I didn’t think
it was possible. I greeted him as Dr. Mukoro, and that was when Ofure his twin answered from the window
.”

“
Drama…” Nneka said.

“
I think I fainted because by the time I came to, the doctor was the only one around. At first, I
thought it was a hallucination, but as I asked the doctor
some questions, Kevwe himself stepped
in. H
e’d gone to get some
snacks and a soft drink. It became clear it was a set-up, one I wasn’t ready for, and I decided to get out of there. But he made a strange comment before I could leave.”

“
What did he say?”

Efe sighed, reminded again of everything that had happened and how, like her other friends, Kevwe had turned out similar yet different from the person she’d known and loved in UniBen.

When she finally started speaking, the details of her meeting with Kevwe at the hospital spilled from her in torrents.
Nneka interjected with, “What the hell?”, “How could he ask?”, “He had an accident?”, “Did he say that?”, as the story progressed.

“
We never heard of any accident in school, or, did you?
When did it happen?
”
Nneka asked,
picking up Anuli
.

“
It must have been around the time we split up,” Efe said, pacing the room. “He has scars to prove it, and he has a slight limp too.”

“
My goodness, it must have been serious, but how come no one told you
?”

“
That’s the million dollar question! His father told him I was informed, but I chose to break up with him.”

“
Impossible!” Nneka’s interjection warmed Efe’s heart.
“Why did Kevwe accept such a story? He knew you better, I mean; your
relationship
lasted three years
. Y
ou guys were engaged.”

“
I think his physical condition - the fact he couldn’t get around - may have had something to do with it.” Efe tried to see it from his point of view. “They told him and his brother I said I couldn’t marry someone who could be crippled for life. That I preferred to travel abroad on my lottery visa.”

“
Rubbish,” Nneka said. “Did he agree to go with your side of the story to his parents? I’ll vouch for you.”

Efe shrugged. “It became confused at that point. He doesn’t want to believe his mother could have lied to me and to him too. I found it strange he doesn’t want to ask her.”

“
But do you think maybe his father conscripted his mother against her will?”

“
That’s possible; he was a pompous manipulator. But she should have told Kevwe when he got better, don’t you think?”

Nneka agreed. “So what will you do now? Wait o, I assume you both do want to patch up things?” Nneka asked. “I know about your feelings, but does Kevwe still care for you? Is he single?” Her eyes opened wider with each question.

“
I don’t know what to think.” Efe recalled the scene in this same flat yesterday when Kevwe first arrived. He’d been vulnerable and open with his feelings. But then there was his harsh response to her insecurity this morning, and then finding he knew about Stanley.

“
What’s the problem?” Nneka asked. “Did you tell him you never got over him?”

Efe shook her head. “How could I, when he wants us to sweep everything under the carpet. I want him but after all I went through, I can’t.”

“
I don’t blame you,” Nneka said, as she sat down beside Efe and started to bounce Anuli on one knee. “But it doesn’t solve anything. You’ll still have to meet his mother, or is that not in the plans he has for the future?”

Efe shrugged. She didn’t know Kevwe’s plans. “I got tired of our back and forth, and asked him to leave,” she told Nneka.

“
And then you spent the rest of the night crying. Did it help? You could’ve tried to reach a compromise.”

“
What compromise? By then, we’d hit a brick wall. I don’t even know why we did that to ourselves. It’s been over seven years! Come on!” Efe threw out her hands in frustration as she got to her feet and moved away.

Nneka was adamant. “But the problem is you haven’t moved on, Efe. You haven’t! Or maybe you think it’s not so bad if he feels the same way too.”

“
He said that at first…” Efe’s recollection of last night
trailed off into silence
as Anuli started crying. The baby had been nuzzling her mother and making hungry noises for a while.

“
You know what? Nneka asked in a strong voice. She’d placed Anuli to her breast and made sure she was comfortable. When she looked up again, she was gentler. “I’ll come over to your office
tomorrow, and we’ll go and see him.”

Efe knew it was time to give Nneka the full details. She took a deep breath. “Nneka, you may as well hear this now. I didn’t send Kevwe home last night.”

“
I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

“
He spent the night here. We slept together.”

Nneka opened and shut her mouth like a fish out of water.

“
You did what?!” She
must’ve decided to leave it open.

“
We had sex last night. I wanted it, and it was beautiful. Everything I had dreamed it would be…” Efe whispered, and wiped the dripping tears away roughly. She wilted into the armchair and supported her head on its arm. “I still don’t know why I did it; maybe it was the tension.” Efe shook her head. “I wished this day would come, but somehow I never thought it would. Kewve, still single, still in love with me…
But I blame myself now. I think I believed in a chimera. Before he left, Kevwe told me he’d met Stanley…”

“
He knows your Stanley?”

“
Yeah, and so now I think yesterday was all a colossal mistake.”

Nneka looked on but didn’t say anything.

“
Kevwe somehow - don’t ask me how - found out about Stanley and I, and Stanley’s visit to Abuja this weekend.”

“
That’s true,” Nneka said. “Will you still meet him tomorrow?”
Nneka re-arranged her blouse and shifted into a more comfortable position for Anuli, who had fallen asleep.

“
I’ll go. I already agreed,”
Efe moaned. “
My life is just so complicated right now.”
Efe rubbed a hand over her features. These tears would be the last she shed. She was glad it was finished. One reason she’d made love with Kevwe was to get closure. She took a deep breath and exhaled.

“
I’m glad it’s all over now.”

“
Are you sure?” Nneka asked in a dubious tone. “From where I sit, I don’t see it as you do. I think you made a mistake sleeping with Kevwe. I think it has only muddled things. Think about it.” Nneka stood up and went to put Anuli in her carrier. She strapped her in and then took the seat into the bedroom.

Efe considered Nneka’s words. The first time they broke up, she’d regretted not going the whole way with Kevwe, believing he’d left her for another girl who would. So no, she wouldn’t regret having sex with Kevwe. She’d learned it was better taking action even if it turned out to be a mistake, than to regret inaction later.

**

12

Abuja, November 29, 2009

Efe stood in the lobby bar of the Sheraton waiting for Stanley who’d arrived in Abuja in the morning, asking for them to meet by three. It was a quarter past the hour, and the lobby was crowded. It wasn’t like him to be late. The first time they had met, four years ago, he’d arrived early for a business lunch with her boss and had to wait in her office at the Hilton in Palm Beach.

She’d only just joined the hotel then as an intern in the accounts division. Stanley was good-looking, and dressed in a suit that showed off his tall frame. There were a lot of African-Americans in West Palm Beach, but it wasn’t everyday one met a fellow Nigerian.

That day, she and Stanley passed the time chatting about life in the United States, and being a Nigerian immigrant in the country. His witty style had made her laugh, and she found the conversation enjoyable. Before her boss arrived, he’d told her about a summer event, and convinced her not to miss it. At the venue of the party which she’d dragged Temi to, she’d met Stanley again.

He was with his girlfriend, whom he couldn’t keep his hands off, and his whole body language spoke volumes about how close they were. Efe felt a tug in her heart because she’d liked him the first time they met, and also, they reminded her of herself and Kevwe when they had been together.

It had been over three years then, but still, she hadn’t forgotten her first love. There was always the niggling hope that somehow she and Kevwe would find each other again and resolve their break-up. Tucking the painful memories aside, along with envy and jealousy, she went over to introduce herself.

They all got on well enough, yet when Temi was called away by her family, she was relieved to go. The old memories had left her with a nagging sense of loss and anger, and she just wanted to go home and sleep off those feelings. After that day, they moved in similar circles, and she got to know Stanley more. A year later, he was in her office again.

“
Hey, Efe,” he greeted.

She looked up from her computer. “Stanley, it’s been a while.”

“
Yeah, you moved up and started keeping to yourself.”

Just that month, her recent graduation had come with a promotion and change to a new office.

“
No need to answer,” Stanley continued with a flirtatious grin. “I’m just sorry I won’t be seeing you when I’m over here for meetings and stuff.” He stretched out a hand. “Congratulations.”