Page 54 of Cursed Daughters
Mo raised her eyebrows. For a moment she had allowed herself to forget that this was not a charitable endeavour; this woman was not trying to help her simply out of the kindness of her enlarged, congestive heart. Seventy was way more than she had anticipated paying.
“That’s…quite expensive.”
“Nothing good comes cheap. This one na quality. I even waka reach Israel to gather some of the ingredients. No be that rubbish wey person just mix anyhow—this one gives result.”
Cicera turned up with a cling-film pouch containing something brown and sandy. It was tightly packed and knotted at the end. And then of course there was the paper. It could have been torn from an exercise book, it could have been hand-made. It was hard to tell because it was grimy.
“You go put two spoon inside glass of water. Then you go drink am.”
“Is it…bitter?”
“It is okay. You will drink because you want to keep your man.”
“I didn’t bring enough cash.”
“I take cheques too,” Mama G said, flashing her wolfish grin again.
XV
Golden Boy arrived with flowers.
Perhaps she should have been suspicious then. Aunty Kemi had always warned that if a man came bearing gifts, he had something to apologise for. And she would know.
But the truth was, it wasn’t beyond Golden Boy to do this out of sheer thoughtfulness. She collected the flowers and gave him a small smile.
“I should be the one getting you flowers after the way I behaved.”
He took her free hand and squeezed it. “We both messed up. I should have been more sensitive to how the whole ish was making you feel. But these flowers aren’t about that.” He planted a kiss on her forehead. “Happy anniversary.”
“What?” She did the calculation quickly in her head. “Our anniversary isn’t for another month…”
“It’s the anniversary of the first time we set eyes on one another.”
She laughed. “You should have told me we were marking it.”
“We are marking it,” and he pulled her into a kiss. She felt safe and warm in his arms. Surely everything was okay. “Your hair is out. It smells good.”
“Thanks.”
He clapped his hands together. “So what’s on the agenda today? The beach? A buka? The waterside?”
“Can we just…stay here? Play cards or something.”
“You sure?”
“Yea.”
So they did. They hung out in the living room, on the sofa, with his arm wrapped around her waist and her head on his shoulder. And her family, for once, made themselves scarce; as though they sensed that she needed the privacy. He smelt freshly showered. She lifted his hand and pressed it to her lips. Then she bit him.
“Hey!”
“Relax, it’s a love bite.”
“I didn’t realise I was dating a vampire.”
She wished the moment would last for ever. That she could hold on to him till the end of time. It was so quiet here with him. But Golden Boy stretched and she knew he would leave soon.
“By the way,” he said, almost a little too casually, “my uncle’s funeral is next week, so I’ll be going to the village for a few days.” It was his grand uncle, who had paid his mother’s way through school. She owed him a massive debt. They would send him off in style. An invitation for Monife was notably absent.
