Chapter VII
VII
As she closed the gate and spun around, she bumped into a man, who steadied her with his hand.
“Sorry.”
“Ah,” he said, and waved away her apology.
The man loomed over her, and she was by no means short.
She took a few steps back and noticed that he was younger than she had first thought.
It was the hair. It was close-cropped and beginning to grey, and his jawline was hidden behind a luxurious black-and-white beard.
He was a good-looking man, with twinkling eyes.
And despite the heat, he was in an interesting black T-shirt, black blazer, black jeans combo.
But he had to be sweating like a pig. She moved her swim bag from her right shoulder to her left and prepared to walk away.
“Umm,” he said, causing her to pause. “Is Ebun…is she home?”
Suddenly she was a little more interested in the stranger.
“Depends on who’s asking.”
He cleared his throat. He looked nervous. He rubbed a palm on his thigh, and she realised he was holding a bouquet of flowers. She raised an eyebrow—Ebun had an admirer?
“My name is Osagie.”
“Doesn’t ring any bells. How do you know my mother?”
Was he blushing? Something about the man was endearing; he seemed not to know what to do with himself.
“You’re Eniiyi.”
“The one and only.”
He put out his hand, and after a moment’s hesitation she shook it. Strictly speaking, she should have been curtsying for him, but the man didn’t seem to want that formality.
“Is she expecting you?”
“No. I mean, yes. Well, not right now.” Then he started laughing—a booming Santa Claus sound.
“So…you’re a stalker?” He stopped laughing then, and stared at his shoes, saying nothing, and she felt a little guilty for teasing him. “Give her a call. If she wants to see you, she will come down and open the gate.”
She didn’t know the man from Adam, so she wasn’t about to let him in herself. She gave him a smile and walked away. She would find out about this mystery courter on another day.
As she walked to the main road to locate an okada, she felt her phone vibrating.
It was Funsho. He had been calling at least once a day since the night at the bar, a fortnight ago.
He had reassured her over and over again that he categorically did not fancy her, unless, unless of course, she wanted him to fancy her, LOL.
She ignored the call, but a WhatsApp message came through:
I’m at Elegushi with Tobias and crew. You should turn up.
It was the opposite of what she probably needed, but would be more interesting than going to the pool to swim on her own, at least. She replied with a thumbs-up emoji.