Page 21 of Cursed Daughters
Mo had never experienced jealousy. She knew what it was, had heard friends describe it as an unpleasant feeling that twisted your insides and made you prone to doing irrational things. She had felt sorry for the girls who were forced to trail boyfriends and warn other females off their man.
But here she was, insides twisting.
Thirty minutes went by, and then forty-five minutes, and then an hour. Kalu’s friends had long since floated away, perhaps because she had stopped engaging them. She was sitting alone in a party where she knew no one, and her boyfriend was nowhere in sight. She should have asked Ebun to come along, but she hadn’t anticipated being abandoned.
She stood up. She would have to find him. Or perhaps she would leave; walk outside the estate and see if she could find a way home.
“I don’t think we have been introduced.”
She turned to face the speaker, a dude with a body that looked as though it had been built on steroids. She was about to tell him to find his square root, and then she remembered that her boyfriend was at this party and he had left her to sink or swim. Just then, the DJ began to blast Salt-N-Pepa’s “Shoop.”
“I’m Mo. Do you dance?”
“Ah, it’s your lucky day. I am the best stepper here.”
“Fantastic.” She headed to the dance floor, scanning the crowd for Golden Boy as she moved. She didn’t bother to check if her dance partner was following her—she knew he would. She started dancing, confident in the way her hips moved, the places her feet landed, the way her arms lifted, dropped and circled the air. He moved behind her. A few people were looking at them. He was matching her pace and style. She resisted the urge to slap the guy’s hand from her waist. She would endure him, at least until Kalu spotted her and was appropriately enraged.
But when Kalu appeared, he simply placed a light hand on her dance partner’s shoulder and said, “Ola, that’s my girl, man.”
“Oh shit. Kalu. Damn. My bad.” The guy took his hands off her as if she were hot coal. He backed away and disappeared into the crowd. He didn’t even bother to say goodbye. Mo was even more irritated, and so she turned away from Golden Boy and walked off—but not without glancing back to check that he was following her.
“I’m thirsty,” she said to no one in particular.
“Are we going to talk about what just—”
“I want something to drink.”
He sighed and placed his hands on his hips.
“You are being really immature right now.”
“I was just dancing.”
“Mo. Mo…you were not just dancing.”
“You left me here for over an hour.”
“I…I am really sorry about that. I thought you would be okay. But you could have just found me and told me how you felt. I would have corrected myself.”
She opened her mouth, and then shut it again. He was right, she could have looked for him. She didn’t want him to think she was childish. Still, he’d abandoned her and it had hurt.
“You just…you left me.”
He pressed his lips together, and for a few beats they stared at each other. “Come, let’s sit,” he finally said, gesturing to some free chairs. They would be shielded by huge potted plants, and it was quieter.
“I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“What did you think would happen when you left me in a place where I knew no one?”
“You’ve always been so…I didn’t even think you would look for me.”
She glanced away. He reached out for her hand, and she held it from him.
“Talk to me, Mo.”
She couldn’t tell him the truth. He had two parents who showered him with love. How could he understand how easy it was for a person who purported to love you to abandon you?
“Just go and chill with Lisa. I’ll be fine.”
