He met Hajia on a day he wasn’t even hunting. Osezua had gone to the hospital to visit a friend who had undergone a major surgery when he saw her alight from a chauffeur driven, hunter green BMW. She looked like she was made of money. Regal was the only word he could think of. She was light skinned, with an effervescence that was peculiar to some North-Eastern Nigerians.
He wondered if he could ever have a shot with someone like her. Dripping with diamond and looking stunning for a woman of a particular age.
He stole another glance at her, their eyes met and he quickly averted his eyes, but not before seeing her smirk.
Damn! He had messed this up thought, he should have kept his gaze locked and not let her think him intimidated.
He turned around to redeem himself, but she had walked away.
He came back to the reception a few minutes later to make a call when he saw her again. She was looking intently at a documentary on contemporary art and he knew this was fate giving him a second chance.
He dug into his inner Barry White and asked ‘Are you a collector?’
‘Are you an artist?’ she asked without turning around. He sensed she knew it was him. Her perfume was making him heady, sensual and all feminine.
‘No’ he said ‘just a young man with a penchant for all things exquisite’ He added suggestively.
She turned around, her eyes as cold as steel, up close she was even more stunning and breathe taking. She reminded Osezua of one of the senators from his state. He willed himself not to look away.
He held her gaze this time and she smiled, a smile that did not quite get to her eyes but did not diminish her aura.
‘Are you obedient?’ she asked pointedly
‘Depends on who is instructing?’ he replied
‘I’ll be’ she said, scrutinizing him unabashedly. ‘So, are you obedient?’ she asked again
Osezua looked at her and said ‘I am loyal and…’
She cut him mid-sentence. ‘I have a Daschund, Yoshi it its name. Yoshi is loyal but not very obedient. Two different virtues Mr.…?’ she waited for him to complete it.
‘Osezua Omijie’ he added quickly. He was not thrilled at the comparison with her dog, but she didn’t seem like one who should be kept waiting.
She whipped out a business card from a cold case holder. He reached for it and she held it back for a second ‘Write down your number behind my card, I will call you if I have a reason to’
He did as she instructed and she walked away without telling leaving her name.
He hoped she would call, but he also wanted her to respect him a little, so he did not ask either.
She called him a week later and he heard ‘So, Osezua Omijie, loyalty or obedience’ she asked the minute he said ‘hello’
‘Who is this?’ he feigned ignorance with fingers crossed that she did not hang up the phone.
‘Meet me at Chop Sticks in Maitama at 9pm, you do know where that is?’ she asked as though he wasn’t expected to know.
‘I know they make a crisp and tasty breaded prawn’ he said
‘A simple yes would have sufficed’ she said ‘Don’t keep me waiting’
He wondered what kind of relationship theirs would be, she sounded like a dominatrix.
Excerpt from the book WE ARE STILL BREATHING by Dianah Ose Aigiomawu
Dianah Ose Aigiomawu is a working mum who decided to write a collection of witty Nigerian stories that would see you laughing and experiencing the life like situations of each character in the book. According to her, she wanted to write a ‘Feel good’ book that busy people could read and still keep their busy lives uninterrupted.
WE ARE STILL BREATHING is a collection of 10 witty stories, all centred on topical issues in a light hearted style that mirrors you or someone you know in the characters.
Domestic Violence, Weddings, Romance, Poverty, Sex trade and many more are some of issues dealt with by characters that are as real as the person next door.
WE ARE STILL BREATHINGwas published by CompletelyNovel.com in Brighton,UK
Readers outside Nigeria can order on https://completelynovel.com/books/we-are-still-breathing--1/read
In Nigeria you can order on www.konga.com/bluewatersalso available at TerraKulture in Lagos.
For distributorship and personalised, autographed copies by the author, send a mail toinfo@bluewatersmarketing.com and a copy will be delivered to you.
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