The moment I met you (chapter 17)

 By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

Was he going to be her Romeo?   She imagined his mesmerising face. He was obviously the most handsome man she had ever seen. With his passionate gaze any woman would want to swallow him whole. Could he be thinking the same? She wondered with a shrug.                                           

‘Eat,’ Louisa shovelled food into Chioma’s mouth. ‘What are you thinking about?’                                                                                                              

‘Nothing,’ Chioma shrugged, feeling a bit shy.                                                

‘Are you thinking about him?’ Andrew noticed Chioma had stopped eating and couldn’t help but wonder what could be occupying her thoughts. He could see Chioma’s face blushing attractively. ‘You seem to be in...’ Andrew stopped when he saw Louisa’s curious gaze. If he says Chioma was in love, Louisa would obviously demand to know who.  He wasn’t even sure if his hunch was right. But then, he knows the look of someone who was in love.                                                                    

  ‘I’m just happy for our simple life’, Chioma chuckled, trying to change the subject.                                                                                                        

‘Don’t be silly. I know your mind is occupied’. Louisa gave Chioma an odd sort of look. ‘Who is it that is occupying your mind?’                                    

Andrew looked at Chioma as he lifted one eyebrow and asked, ‘Are you thinking about marrying rich and enjoying the good things of life?’                                                                                                                                 Of course not, she wouldn’t mind marrying poor.

 Andrew knew what she was thinking but didn’t want to ask further questions. Since Chioma didn’t want to say just yet he thought it wasn’t proper to ask more, so she wouldn’t have to lie. But he knew that Chioma’s heart was occupied with something that has to do with a man.  Who was he? Could she have met him today? He had every reason to think this way because today was the first time of seeing Chioma acting like someone in love!

The moment I met you(chapter 16)

 By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

Just then, Chioma’s thoughts raced towards the man she had bumped into this afternoon. She imagined him living in golden houses and drinking with diamond cups. What if she became his wife, would she be able to cope with his table etiquette? Chioma thought. She wasn’t used to living the life of the rich. She was only used to a simple lifestyle which was peaceful.   She, her brother and mother had led a very poor life after their father died here in Abuja road accident early this year January.                                                                                         

The fatal accident that claimed the life of her lovely father had occurred at sheda village, along the Abuja-Lokoja highway. Chioma’s father, Magnus, had left early in the morning to meet a friend who was supposed to pay him the Contract of 500,000 naira he owed him for the building work he had done. Magnus was a builder before he died. Unfortunately for Magnus on that bitter day, a truck loaded with cows ran into a pothole and crashed into a ditch, which was close to where Magnus stood, thereby killing him and two other persons on the spot.                                                                                      

  Chioma   had thought that if the truck wasn’t on speed as well as the driver trying to avoid a pothole perhaps her father would still be alive.    If her father hadn’t gone to get the money for the family’s upkeep he would still be alive. If and only if, that day never came, she was sure her father would still be a breathing man.                                        

  Since the day she lost her father, Chioma began to hate the word if.   Her father was dead already, and it became useless saying the word if, because nothing was going to be done to bring him back to his feet. But after bumping into this graceful, handsome man, she began to like the word if again. She wanted to meet him again. If she would have the chance to meet him again, she definitely wouldn’t waste every single seconds of being together with him. She would let him hug her. She would be the luckiest woman on earth if she ended up marrying the god-like man.

The moment I met you (Chapter 15)

 By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

She beamed proudly at her son who was often praised by his boss to be physically and mentally fit, had a solid knowledge of mechanic’s tools, service, and diagnostic equipment. He started the job two months ago and had been known as the best mechanic here in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. Louisa wished he got a better job that would be stress free. Hopefully, someday, he would find a better job. Perhaps, a white collar-job or any lucrative work that will fit his profession as a mechanical engineering graduate or even own a big garage of his own.                                     

Chioma stared at the spaghetti in the plate. The spaghetti had egg toppings, a few beef slices and fresh fried fish. She had gotten a few cookbooks from Chisom and had learnt this particular way of cooking spaghetti and taught her mother.  In the end, her mother’s spaghetti cooking skills had exceeded hers.  Chioma knew that this simple dish, which smelled pleasing, was able to whet anyone’s appetite. She wasn’t that hungry but the dish before her was no doubt irresistible.                            

Without looking up, she took giant bites of her food, nodding with satisfaction. ‘You’re simply the best cook, mum. I’m sure you are better than those chefs who cook in hotels and mansions’, she praised her mother, raising her thumbs up.                                                                

Louisa waved a hand. ‘It’s no big deal. Anyone could do it even better’, she said, not wanting to take the credit. ‘Besides, you taught me how to cook spaghetti.'                                                                                      

‘Yea, I did but you cook it better now. I’m good with simple dishes’, Chioma pouted.                                                                                               

‘The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’, Andrew said, picking up his glass of water. ‘Rich men love good cooks’. He raised the glass to his lips. ‘You might be fortunate to bump into a rich guy’, he glanced at Chioma. ‘You ought to learn how to be a perfect cook, just like mum’. He sipped his water.                                                                    

Chioma chuckled, skillfully holding up the spaghetti with her fork. ‘I will try my best’, she said, stuffing her mouth with food in large portions.’ If my husband to-be hates my poor cooking skills, then I will invite mother over’, she joked, and they laughed.                                                        

‘What about table etiquette?’ Louisa asked, still laughing.                      

‘Who cares about table etiquette? For the poor, we should only care about our stomachs first. We’re not the rich that will mind those things. For the rich everything must be done in an aristocratic manner. But for me, if am very hungry I will be too lazy to bother about table etiquette and who is before me,’ she pouted.                                               

Andrew nodded. ‘Honestly, the etiquette of aristocrats is so boring’, he said, gobbling his food down.                                                             

‘The rich don’t know what it means to be poor and eat without minding table etiquette. Sometimes, am glad to be poor and free,’ Chioma said and they chuckled.                                                                      

The moment I met you (Chapter 14)

 By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

‘Tomorrow is another day,’ Andrew said with a reassuring smile.                

‘Thanks big brother, Andrew.’                                                                            

Louisa returned from the kitchen with plates and forks in hand and saw that Andrew had already started stuffing the food into his mouth as he sat casually on his seat. The food was very delicious that anyone would be tempted to devour it even without saying grace.  Louisa was very skilled as a cook and could make dishes that would make anyone want some more just like Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist.                   

‘Andrew?’ Louisa frowned at Andrew’s behaviour and Chioma laughed.                                                                                                                       

Andrew raised an eyebrow as he licked the food stains from his lips with the tip of his tongue. It was obvious he was very hungry. He hadn’t eaten since afternoon and was starving.                                                         

‘Mum, big brother was very hungry. You know the nature of his work, right?’ Chioma said, trying to defend her brother’s attitude. 'He barely had time to eat and when he returns home after a hard-working day, he deserves to full his stomach’.                                                                            

Louisa sighed but didn’t say another word. Instead, she ladled spaghetti into their plates. She knew her son was always piled with work. As a mechanic whose work was to perform repairs and regular maintenance on motorised vehicles, he was always cautious of doing a good job so as to attract customers in the garage where he worked, and also to make his boss proud of him. Being a mechanic involved a great deal of hands-on-work which Louisa was aware. She knew how much Andrew got his hands dirty in the process. But he wasn’t afraid of dirt because his family having food on the table was all that mattered. And she was aware how Andrew most at times skipped his lunch for the sake of the customers who are always in a hurry to drive away. 

The moment I met you (Chapter 13)

 By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

Chioma went home after having a good time with Chisom. Her mother was in the bedroom when she came home while her elder brother Andrew was taking his bath in the bathroom. Chioma went to her mother and greeted her. Louisa was already wearing her pale pink  night dress.             

‘I was beginning to think you’d sleep over at Star restaurant,’ Louisa said, glancing at Chioma. 'What on earth have you been doing all this time? Anyway, I cooked your favourite’.                                                                                                                    

‘None of your business, mum,’ Chioma laughed, cheered by the fact that her mother cooked her favourite food; Spaghetti with fresh fish. She hopped into bed beside Louisa. She could smell the food from the bedroom. Anyone could follow the delicious fragrance and be able to trace the food.                                                                                     

‘We need to have our dinner else we might welcome worms’.           

Chioma chuckled. ‘I’ll love it,’ she pouted prettily.                                             

They walked from the bedroom into the living room which was small but comfortable, with a little dining table and four chairs.  Hand in hand, the mother and daughter happily walked into the kitchen.                    

‘Mum told me you didn’t get the job?’ Andrew asked Chioma when she appeared in the dining. He was already seated, looking fresh and dressed in blue pyjamas.                       

Chioma nodded with a smile, placing the big bowl of spaghetti she had carried from the kitchen, on the table.                      

The moment I met you (Chapter 12)

 By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

‘Where did you buy this afternoon tea?’ Michael asked between bites, feeling very happy. ‘It’s expensive and delicious. Robert, you’re so lavish. Tell me, did you win the Nairabet or did you steal from me?’ He didn’t seem appalled. He was happy today, which would make anyone close to him wonder why because it was rare for Michael to be this happy. Rare for anyone to see this gentle and happy side of him.                                  

‘I bought it at Galaxy coffee shop which is one of the most high-end coffee shops here in Abuja, frequented mostly by socialites since ordinary people could not afford it,’ he said proudly, trying to make Michael happy even more.                                                                           

‘Oh…’Michael’s voice trailed off. Following a long silence, his lips curled into a faint smile. Then, he glanced at the customised blue exquisite bag.                                                                                    

‘Do you want some more?’ Robert asked gently.                                           

Michael would have wanted a bag delivered to Chioma Chima. But then, he wasn’t sure where to find her. ‘I will want some another day.’ He smiled slightly at the thought of delivering food someday to Chioma. He was optimistic that destiny would make it happen.         

For the rich spending money was like buying chewing gum.  Robert had spent  30,000 naira for this afternoon tea, which was almost the same amount of the living expenses of most of the people, and being the national  minimum wage for federal workers   here in Nigeria, having such an amount at the end of every month was like  wining a lottery or bet, yet it was something Michael could spend without batting an eye.                                                                                                                                     

Robert left the office, and Michael gracefully  ate his afternoon tea.

The moment I met you (Chapter 11)

 By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

Robert came back later carrying a blue fancy plastic bag. ‘Here,’ he said, handing Michael the bag.                                                                                               

‘What is this?’ Michael asked, feigning a bit surprised.                                     

‘Afternoon tea, sir,’ Robert answered cheerfully.                                                             

‘Who eats afternoon tea by this time?’ Michael shrugged uncaringly as a lazy smile formed on his thin beautiful lips.                                                              

Robert didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. He had asked Michael if he wanted Afternoon tea and he gave him a nod    to go ahead and order for it. Why was his president acting surprised and uncaring? He was used to Michael’s cold nature. It was best not to anger his president to avoid his wrath.                                                                    

‘Maybe you could have it back’. Michael extended the bag back to Robert but as he was about to take it from him, Michael glared coldly at him. ‘You know how to rip me off.’                                                                         

Robert looked displeased. ‘If you don’t feel like eating the afternoon tea I could wolf it down for you.’ He folded his arms.                              

Michael frowned at him. Then, he slowly opened the exquisite bag and saw a box of blue chocolate scones, a box of buttermilk scones, blackberry meringue pie, a box of puffs, a cup of coffee, a box of fruit salad, apple, strawberries, and a bunch of banana.                                                                        

Everything looked fresh and yummy that Michael had to look at Robert with a blissful smile. ‘You know how to take care of your boss’, he said, and began to eat gracefully. ‘For being this good to me I will ask the finance department to give you a bonus this month’.                                   

Robert smiled. He was glad to hear such from his president. But then he knew that Michael’s happiness could not have come from the afternoon tea but from something else. That could obviously be from what or who he met in the afternoon. Perhaps, something from Jimmy Carter Street. What could it be? Robert was curious to know.