Chapter 15
15
Despite my protests that he will be late for his interview, Wale insists on walking me to the bus stop. After my public meltdown, I just want to go home.
En route, he catches a bit of attention. A couple of passers-by do a double-take and one guy even heckles his catchphrase. I find it rather hilarious, but Wale looks as though he wants the ground to swallow him whole.
At home, with a soulful house mix playing in the background, I continue working on Wale’s memoir, his reassuring words replaying in my ears. I decide to start a new chapter.
People assume that I was the popular kid
The truth is they called me Willy Wonky
I enter flow state quickly, even though it’s frustrating having to repeatedly press the keys that are not working properly. But once I get them to work, the words keep on coming. Which is why, after I glance at the time, I’m surprised to see it’s nearly three.
And then I remember:
Shit! Wale ’ s radio interview!
I type BBC 1Xtra into the search engine. Thankfully, there’s an audio recording of the interview. I put my earphones in and press play.
Ten minutes in and Wale is a complete natural. He’s talking about how he got on the show and then he addresses the fact that he’s not a ‘clout chaser’.
This is all useful research , I think to myself. One of the sections we agreed to cover was the misconceptions people have about him based on his appearance on TV. I write down the timestamps and jot a few notes.
‘Now, Wale,’ says Gary, the presenter, in a conspiratorial tone, ‘it’s not uncommon for cast members to say that they got a bad edit after they leave the show. What are your thoughts on this and your whole heartbreaker narrative?’
Wale makes a sound as though he’s laughing through his nose. ‘We need to remember, yeah, The Villa is a reality TV show. It’s all about ratings. It has to be entertaining. Now, if I’m a producer, how am I gonna do that? I’m going to repackage things, innit? I’m gonna chop and move footage around, show scenes without context. And play the most overdramatic music. Ever.’
I chuckle.
‘It’s true!’ Wale says over Gary’s laughs. ‘I’m telling you, The Villa is more over-the-top than any Nollywood movie. Trust me. Not sure if you seen any but at some point during the film, an aunty is going to throw herself on the ground – guaranteed. She’ll then start shaking her body like this.’ Gary begins to crack up as Wale, I assume, demonstrates by jiggling in his seat. Gosh, I wish there were visuals.
‘Now, going back to what I was saying? What was I saying? Oh, yeah. I’m not suggesting what the viewers saw didn’t happen. I take full accountability for everything; I mean, it’s all captured on camera. It just didn’t happen like that , if you know what I mean? In one scene I watched when I came back, they showed me flirting with Taleesha straight after I ended things with Sally, with just a quick toilet break in between!’
Gary says, ‘Yeah, that didn’t do you any favours.’
‘First of all, the producers told me to go and chat to Taleesha. And second of all, the conversation happened later on during the day – not right after. They didn’t bother to show how much I tried to amend my friendship with Sally and how she even admitted that we weren’t a right fit. So now, I just look like a complete dick who cracked it on with the new bombshell right after taking a piss.’
‘Yeah, man, you were trending on Twitter that week,’ Gary says good-naturedly. ‘Thanks for clearing that up. Now, talk to me about Kelechi. Where do the two of you stand?’
If I was connected to a heart-rate monitor, there’d be all spikes. I tell myself to calm down but, I swear, I can sense a smile on Wale’s face before he even speaks.
‘Kelechi and I are cool, y’know,’ he says in that easy-breezy way of his. ‘To be honest, I’m cool with all my castmates, including all the girls. I know it didn’t look that way on the reunion but you have to remember, it’s pre-recorded. I was also able to have a sit-down with them. Away from all the cameras.’
‘Oh yeah? When was this?’
‘Not long after the reunion. I’m not going to air all my business by sharing what was said. But to put it short, I had a lot going on in my personal life before I went on the show. I wasn’t in the right state of mind. At all. And so, I guess, what people saw on TV was me … overcompensating. You know, to mask how I was truly feeling.’
‘So, what I’m hearing, Wale, is that you shouldn’t have gone on the show?’
‘Yeah,’ he says. ‘I shouldn’t have gone on the damn show.’
Wale’s admission stirs something in me. I knew he was apologetic but to hear he’s regretful makes me feel less alone. Did he also miss me? Is that why he chose me to write his memoir? And what else did he have on, besides our break-up? I wish Wale would have let me in more on what was going on at home. Whatever it is, or was, I would have been there for him.
‘When I met up with Kelechi,’ Wale is now saying, ‘I gave her more context about what I was going through. Bless her, she understood.’
‘Did you apologize?’
‘Apologize? Gary, I was practically on my knees! Nah, in all seriousness, I apologized for not handling our situation with grace, for wasting her time. At the end of the day, if I had a sister or a daughter, I wouldn’t want her to be messed about like that. Especially not on TV.’
The presenter praises Wale for his introspection. Therapy is definitely helping.
‘So,’ Gary claps, ‘put us out of our misery, then. Should we hold our breaths for a Walechi rekindling?’
My heart speeds up again. Argh, this is fucking annoying! Why can’t I be like Shona and have tougher skin?
Wale laughs. ‘We’re just friends,’ he says finally.
I release a pent-up breath I didn’t know I was holding. Gosh, what is wrong with me? It must be because the break-up is still fresh.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, there you have it,’ Gary says. ‘They’re just friends. Time to carry on with our lives now.’
And that applies to you , Temi , I can’t help but think.
They move on to a different segment: Gary asks Wale a list of questions emailed in from the listeners. They range from light-hearted – ‘Who was the loudest snorer in the villa?’ – to pot-stirring – ‘Who was the biggest game player?’ A listener even asks Wale whether he’ll ever consider writing a book. (‘Never say never,’ Wale laughs.) But when Gary says, ‘Ho, ho, ho. This is a good one,’ I do not expect him to follow it up with, ‘Have you ever been in love before?’
I freeze.
I was not ready for this question.
People assume that I’m scared to love .
I’m back at the café again, Wale on the other side of the table.
And he never did say it back , a voice reminds me.
But what if he didn’t know how to? another counters.
I can hear myself breathing as I wait for Wale to speak, see my chest rising, feel it.
Finally, in a low voice, Wale says to Gary, ‘Yeah. About two years ago. I was madly in love with my ex-girlfriend.’
He does not elaborate.
He does not need to.
Because before there was me, there was Cammie.