STRANGE NEIGHBOUR
EPISODE FIVE
I took my father’s food to his room and watched him closely as I remembered what Raymond Smith had told me that afternoon.
What was my father’s relationship with Chief Harry?
As I played the guess work game in my mind, I caught him staring at me.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Hope no problem?”. He asked surprisedly.
“No problem dad”.
He nodded and continued going through the newspaper in his hands.
I wanted to find out what contribution he had with my not getting married life.
After night prayers, I walked to the room that I was sharing with Christiana.
She was making night calls with Joel and laughing like a drug addict.
I relaxed on my bed and pondered on how I had lost Nigel in that fire.
(FLASH BACK)
I felt Nigel’s strong hands around me as we watched a movie together in silverbird cinema.
After the movie ended, we strolled out of the cinema like long lost lovers, holding each other closely.
I didn’t know much about Nigel but all I knew was that he was living with his grandmother at Ikeja.
But Nigel had known everything about me.
My family, my home.
I had felt so unnecessarily emotional that night as if I knew what was going to happen that same night.
I wrapped my hands around his neck. “I wish the day wouldn’t end and I will be able to spend all day with you, Nigel”.
“Same here. What do you want us to do tomorrow after lectures?”.
“Why don’t we go to the Singles Eve eatery? What do you think?”.
He nodded and smiled into my eyes. “I love you very much, Laura. I pray I remain in your life forever”.
“Me too”.
That painful night, I had heard the worst news ever.
(THE PRESENT)
I woke very tired the next morning and without even eating, I rushed to the bus station and grabbed a bus.
I heard an unnecessary noise behind me and I turned.
It was Joel, Christiana’s fiance.
He was also in the bus with me and was sleeping on the shoulder of a young lady.
I gasped and hid my face in the palm of my hands.
I had never trusted Joel from the onset and my suspicion had been confirmed.
He was cheating on my sister.
When I got to the office, unfortunately for me, the first person I saw was saucy Angela.
She smiled and walked towards me.
She gave me a package. “I bought this for you, Laura”.
I smiled to myself.
Both ladies were trying to win my favour because they felt that I was close to Raymond Smith.
I accepted the package. “Thanks Angela”.
“Er… Raymond Smith didn’t drop you at work today?”
“No”.
“Oh, okay then”.
“What about him?”. Annabelle walked into our midst, bopping curious eyes at us. “Why is Angela asking about Raymond Smith? Hope no problem?”.
Angela rolled her eyes at her. “Must there be a problem before I ask about Raymond Smith? Last I heard, he is still single”.
Annabelle remained calm and smiled. “Raymond Smith is not single”.
“Raymond Smith is single”. Someone said from behind.
It was Raymond Smith.
“Who is spreading the rumour that I am not single, huh?”. He met my eyes. “Hey, Laura! Come over to my office, I have something important to discuss with you”.
I followed him into his office as I avoided the fiery eyes of the two ladies.
He cleared his throat and sat on his desk as he watched me walk into the office. “I already arranged with the company that you will be working as my personal assistant from now on”.
I gasped. “Your personal assistant? But I have my job here already”.
“It is an order”. He said firmly and I reluctantly accepted the offer.
“My old personal assistant will brief you on my schedules”. He walked towards the door, about to leave the office before I stopped him.
“Raymond Smith”. I called . “Can you please be specific about your love life and stop making two elegant women fight over you?”.
He smirked. “I don’t need an elegant woman in my life”.
I was getting more confused. “You don’t need an elegant woman? Then what kind of woman do you need?”.
“I need the only woman that my heart longs for”. With that, he walked out of the office, leaving me confused again.
I stepped out of the company during closing hours to the bus station.
Two cars approached me.
Raymond Smith’s car and Michael Cole’s car.
Raymond Smith craned. “Get into the car, Laura”.
Michael Cole craned. “Don’t listen to him. Get into the car”.
I glared at Michael. “This will be the last time you ever use me to play your pranks again” I entered Raymond’s car and he pulled into the road.
Raymond nodded impressively at me. “You have finally learnt how to talk back to people”.
“I am sincerely angry, Ray. Who does Michael take me for? A dump ground?”.
Raymond shrugged. “People’s respect for you is based on the way you respect yourself”.
“What are you insinuating?”
“You think so lowly of yourself, Laura. That is why everyone around you always feel they can get their way with you. You are a softie”.
“I am not a softie!”. I defended.
“If you are not a softie, you wouldn’t tolerate intimidation from two ladies because they are more influential than you are. Their status doesn’t make you less of whom you are. Develop that mindset and people will never take you for granted”. He parked in front of our house. “You can get off my car”.
I pondered on his advise. “Thanks for giving me a ride, Ray”.
He nodded. “Thanks for choosing me over Michael Cole”. He zoomed into his compound.
When I got into the room I was sharing with my sister, she was on a call with Joel.
I waited for her to round up her call before I cleared my throat. “I will be a bad sister if I don’t tell you what I saw today in the bus. A young lady was resting on Joel’s shoulder in the bus. It felt so wierd. I am not telling you to break up with him but I just want you to be careful”.
She gave me her phone and there was an image of the same young lady I had seen, resting on his shoulder in the bus with him. “Yes, this is exactly the young lady I saw”.
She glared at me. “That is Mary, his younger sister!”.
My heart slipped.
I had been so quick to jump into conclusions.
She fumed at me and headed to the sitting room.
…and the next thing I heard was that she was ranting out to my parents.
I rushed to the sitting room.
My mother glared at me. “What is your problem, Laura? Why are you trying so hard to hinder your sister’s wedding? Is it her fault that you are three years, four months and two days older than her and still men are avoiding you? Is it her fault? Why are you trying to cause a rift with the fiances?”.
“I am sorry, mum. I won’t jump into conclusions again”.
“Joel has someone for you”. Christiana addressed me. ” He got someone for you because I have been complaining to him about you and he even tried to calm me down that you needed a man. Yes, the same Joel that you wanted to implicate just now. The name of the man he selected for you is alhaji Hakeem. He is looking for a second wife”.
That moment, my family felt like strangers to me…
I was thirty, not sixty.
Why were they making everything feel so hard?
With a heavy heart, I trudged out of the house.
A second wife to an Alhaji???
I sobbed into my hands as I trudged on.
I needed someone to talk to.
Anyone.
I didn’t even have a friend.
I walked towards Raymond’s big house at the left side of our house.
Can I trust him?
Will he give me a listening ear?
When I was close to the house, I heard Raymond making a phone call.
A strange phone call.
“Chief Harry is driving back home from the courtroom. His son had been sentenced to five years imprisonment for drug dealing. He is going to be back at exactly eight forty eight. I need to get to his house before he does”. Raymond Smith answered the caller and climbed on a power bike.
He headed to chief Harry’s house.
My strange neighbour was a spy.
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