Chapter II
II
“Hello.”
“Two weeks, four days and…twelve hours,” he replied.
“What?”
“Two weeks, four days and twelve hours is how long I’ve been waiting for you to call.”
“You can’t know who this is yet.”
“I don’t often give out my number, Eniiyi.”
There it was again, the tingle in her spine when he said her name. She held her phone tighter and closed her eyes.
“I’m glad you called,” he added.
They agreed to meet at the boat club. She brushed her hair into a high bun, lined her lips and slipped out of the house.
She didn’t need her mother or grandmothers asking her a thousand and one questions.
The weather was kind; there was a light breeze and just the right amount of sunshine.
She tried not to take it as a good omen, but it was hard not to.
When she arrived, Zubby was already at a table.
He looked a little smarter in a pale-blue polo shirt and jeans.
He had cut his curly hair quite low. He had made an effort.
“No Spider-Man today?”
He laughed. “Don’t worry. I have a bunch of Marvel tees.
You’ll eventually see them all.” She pretended she didn’t notice how easily he assumed her presence in his life would go beyond this date.
He pulled out her chair for her, and didn’t sit till she did; and then she noticed that behind his sunglasses were his rectangular glasses. She burst out laughing.
“What the hell? You know they do prescription sunglasses, right? Or those glasses that change colour.”
He shrugged. “I’ll get round to it one of these days.”
While they were waiting for their drinks, Zubby sat back in his chair. “Okay. Ask me.”
“Ask you what?”
“How I ended up nearly drowning. You’re curious, no?”
She laughed. “Yes. Fine. How did you even end up in the ocean? Most Lagosians have a healthy fear of the water.”
“And I’m no different from them. But I…I can’t explain it, Eniiyi. It was like being in a dream. One minute I was standing in the shallows, with the water barely at my ankles; the next, water was getting into my lungs. Then I lost consciousness.”
“Sounds like you’re saying Mami Wata pulled you into her murky depths.”
“Sounds like that…”
“You really don’t remember anything that happened between those two moments?”
“I really don’t.”
She chewed her lips. Mami Wata indeed. She turned and stared at the ocean surrounding Lagos, with its water the colour of clay.
“You know, the water here was once as good as the water in the Caribbean,” she said, changing the subject.
“There are some places that still have blue water.”
“In Lagos?”
He laughed. “Yes, in Lagos. They are protected, though, co-opted by white people and politicians.”
She whistled. “Interesting.”
“I’ll have to take you to one of them.”
“Yes. Yes please.”
A waiter turned up with their order of suya and asun on a platter, along with her mojito and Zubby’s cocktail.
Beside them, he lit a coffee and charcoal bowl to keep the flies at bay.
The wind was gentle and cool, nature’s very own air conditioner.
She closed her eyes. If she wasn’t looking at the brown sea, she could have been anywhere.
She opened her eyes and turned to face Zubby, who was using a cocktail stick to spear a piece of asun.
“Don’t be offended…” she began.
“I won’t be.”
“But…were you drunk? Or high?”
“The night I almost drowned?”
“Yes.”
He shook his head. “I actually don’t drink. Or smoke.”
“Not at all?”
“No. I’ve seen my dad…spiral. And it only happens when he drinks. He doesn’t indulge that much, but when he does, he takes it too far.”
She liked the way he spoke. He considered the things she said and answered honestly.
He was open and straightforward. She told him about her degree, about her interest in genetic counselling as a career, and he walked her through his job as a programmer.
She had the sudden urge to hold on to something of his; his key ring or his sunglasses perhaps.
A token to remind her of him. Perhaps she could take something without him noticing…
She quickly squashed the thought. She was behaving like a mad person.
“Perhaps you should stay away from the water going forward.”
“I’d actually like to learn how to swim…if you’d have me as your student.”
“You want me to teach you?”
He shrugged. “Yes. I’d rather not find myself quite as helpless again, and you’re clearly a strong swimmer. Plus, I’d like to spend more time…more time with you.”
She nearly choked on her asun. Her skin felt hot and it had nothing to do with the spiciness of the food. Even the cool breeze wasn’t doing much to keep her temperature in check.
“I…I’m a tough teacher. You might not like me much afterwards.”
He held out his hand. “I don’t think that’ll be an issue.” She took the offered hand and shook it.
“All right. Class starts Tuesday. I’ll send you the deets.”