Chapter Two

Sailing through the clear skies, the plane cruised into the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Ikeja, Lagos. It’s nose dipped as it approached the runway. Its tires protracted from its body and straightened out as the aircraft prepared for landing.

With a slight shudder, the plane touched down, and then it taxied along the clear tarmac until it came to a halt finally.

The next fifteen minutes were spent getting down and checking her luggage out which were two big boxes that had all she felt might be enough for her trip. She was still skeptical about that though, wondering if she should have brought the third one after all.

She stood at the entrance of the departure lounge, then she deactivated the airplane mode she had done on her phone. It was then she ordered an Uber to come pick her up. the driver promised to be there in ten minutes.

While waiting, she pulled her boxes back into the spacious lounge and settled herself into a chair. Just as she relaxed, her phone began to vibrate in her hand, when she looked at the screen she let out a sigh, it was her mom.

Of course, she was the only one that would have calculated the flight time and known the exact moment her plane would land. All the woman wanted to talk about was just the wedding, if it was not the wedding then it definitely was not worth talking about. She was getting tired of the whole thing, seriously.

Adaeze picked the call, she could not ignore her mother, she loved that woman too much, “hello Mom.”

“Ada Daddy ya…” That was her mother’s pet name for her, “I knew it was the right time to call you. How was the flight?”

“It was good Mom, I am waiting for the Uber to come pick me up.”

“Why are those  guys always late?” She muttered, “hope you are not too hungry? Do not starve yourself okay? You do not want to fall sick so close to your big day.”

“Yes Mom. How are the preparations coming on?”

“Everything is in order. I saw the model of the cake this afternoon, it is going to be so huge and beautiful you will want to put it in a glass box and donate it to a museum.”

“I doubt that, Mom.” Ada chuckled as she stretched out her leg to get more comfortable, “you know I am not too tall, if it is too high how will I cut it?”

“Ladders… besides, Eche will be there to carry you if need be.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“The event planner also contacted me, that woman is just mad.”

“What did she do this time?” Ada asked wearily, this was not the first time her mother was calling the event planner a mad woman or some other derogatory names. But she refused to fire her, probably because she had been recommended by her friends. Any other caterer would have been considered an insult considering it was the daughter of such a high standing member of the society that was getting wed.

Mrs. Onuoha hissed audibly, “can you imagine this woman, after all the money I have given her she has the temerity to say that it is not enough, the audacity!”

“How dare she?” Ada said, flowing along with her mother as she had learned to do from a young age. “How much was it you gave her again?”

“Millions Ada! And she is asking for an extra two hundred k. if not that she comes highly recommended, I would have fired her and that her stupid jerry curl head a long time ago.”

“Hmm… so I take it you will still give her the two hundred k.”

“Of course… I have no choice. I am not versed in the art of event planning, so whatever she says has to be gospel. She claims that the price of things have increased in the market, how does the dollar rate affect my daughter’s wedding?”

“Mom, I do not think the dollar rate cares about my wedding.” She burst into laughter.

Mrs. Onuoha hissed again, “anyway, I invited her to the house tomorrow. I will seat her down and talk to her, let her know that money does not grow on trees.”

“But you will give her the money.”

“I do not have a choice, do I? I will give it to her. Of which I am not happy about at all. The money your father budgeted for it is almost finished, and the wedding is still two weeks away and this woman wants to suck it all dry.”

“I trust you Mom, you will always make it work.”

“Of course, is it not me again?”

“What about your dress? Have you gotten it from the tailor?”

“I think I will be doing that tomorrow or next, she sent me a picture of it today and I was just wowed beyond measure. It was beautiful.”

Just then, Ada heard her phone began to beep. She checked her screen and saw that it was the Uber driver that was calling.

“Mom, I think my ride is here. I will call you once I get to the hotel okay?”

“Sure, take care of yourself okay? And make sure you call your father as well.”

“Where is he now?”

“He went to Guinea two days ago, you this girl I thought I told you already?”

“Mummy let me call you later biko,” with a laugh Ada cut the call and promptly picked the driver’s before it went off. “Hello?”

“I am here, madam.”

“Where exactly?” Ada asked as she got to her feet and looked around, she could not hold her phone and pull both boxes at the same time. So she put the phone in the crook of her elbow and used her hands to pull the boxes back towards  the exit.

“I am in front of the Departure Lounge, that is what you said right?”

“Yes, you should see me now.”

As she went through, she saw the driver waiting for her beside a Toyota Camry. It was a 2020 model, she knew it because Eche had driven it last year before he got his current car. At least this time the car was exactly what was said in his profile.

He hurried to her and took one box from her, as they approached the car, he unlocked the boot with the key in his hand. Soon, the boxes were loaded into the boot. She then took her place in the backseat of the car.

The driver got behind the wheel and gunned the engine, then with a clean swerve he reversed and they were on their way.

Ikeja was just and crowded as she had always remembered it. It was full of people and vehicles. There was barely space for both. Everyone just seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere. And also, the unending traffic. She had always wondered why Lagos roads were always congested and difficult to predict. And that is something that had not been resolved just yet.

This was one of the reasons she would never live in Lagos.

Relaxed in the backseat, she placed her head on the headrest and closed her eyes. She needed to tell Eche she had landed in Lagos.

She pulled her smartphone from her purse and dialed up his number, he picked on the first ring.

“Is that my baby?” he said the moment he came on. “Are you in Lagos already?”

“Yes, I am on my way to the hotel now.” She said, we should be getting there any time soon.

“You are using an Uber?”

“Yes,” she said, even though she knew what was coming next.

“I thought I told you to use your father’s company vehicle? They are also in Lagos and they would gladly pick you up.”

“They have bigger things to do than worry themselves about me,” she said. While that was not entirely a lie, she had other reasons though. She did not want anyone in her father’s company knowing where she was staying. The kind of things she planned would be source of juicy news that could ruin her father’s company. So she had to be careful about it all, there was no space for being careless or everything will be blown to bits even before she truly began. And she could not allow that to happen.

The only people she had told of her hotel were her fiancée and her mother, and she had sworn them to secrecy. She did not want anyone else knowing.

She knew her husband would not pay her a surprise visit because she had told let him know a long time ago that she was not a fan of surprises. Because of that if he was going to come he would be sure to call her first. And even at that, he was still not going to come. Because of their upcoming wedding and subsequent honeymoon, he was working double the usual so that he would clear everything on his desk so they would have an uninterrupted month of honeymooning.

So, she would be safe.

And as for her mother, the woman would just be too busy planning the wedding she would not even consider leaving Owerri talk less of the state. So she was safe on that end as well.

Her father did not have to know because he was out of the country, and even if he did come back he would soon go out again than come visit her in the hotel.

As she listened to Eche’s voice, she looked out the window at the cars and buses that were driving alongside them on the road, their stark yellow and black color were bright. One of the most famous blend of colors in the country.

“You just have to be careful, okay?” Her fiancée was saying, pulling her back into the conversation, “that is Lagos and you have to shine your eye.”

“Baby… you have to shine your eye everywhere.”

“I know, I am just saying that you do not have to leave your hotel room unless you absolutely have to, that is all.”

“And when do I have to?”

“Uhm… when you want to eat, when you want to go and see Abike, when you are going out for essentials… you know what I mean.”

“Of course I do… I am just teasing you,” she let out a chuckle. “Where else do I have to go? I do not really know much people in this Lagos State, so I do not have much choice but to stay low key. If I do have to go out regularly, it might be to Abike’s house. She will give me the company I need if I get bored in my room.”

Abike was her friend who’s wedding she had come to attend.

“Okay, that should be able to work.” Eche muttered, “also you can also see movies. Your room will have TV and that should be connected to cable, you can see movies if you want. You love watching movies baby…”

“Hmm… I will see about that. That last hotel we lodged at the TV color was so poor I wanted to weep. If this hotel’s TV is like that I will not even bother, I don’t want anything that will ruin my week for me.”

“Okay baby… anything you want.”

She let out a sigh, looking out as the vehicle took a turn into a less crowded road, “so where are you?”

“Where else? I am at the office, I just took a break.”

“Ahh… how convenient.” She muttered, “when did this break start?”

“Uhm… the moment you called,” he chuckled.

She smiled into the phone, looking at her perfectly manicured fingers, “of course… and for how long will this break be?”

“Well, that depends. How long do you want it to be?”

“If you spend time talking to me, how will you make up for all the time we will spend on our honeymoon?”

“I will get it done, I am superman remember?”

“Yes baby, you are superman. The Superman.”

He laughed at that, what they had said was not really funny. But it seemed like there was an inside joke that was attached to it and that was what sent him into laughter.

“Baby…” he said. “Let us do video call. I am already missing your face. How will I stay one whole week without you like this? I am going to die. You are going to kill me for my mother!”

“Ahh… do not die o. Wait for us to get married first so I will pack all your money. You know it is because of your money I am getting married to you, right?”

“Hmm… which money? I do not have any money o. I am the one getting married to you because of your money and your father's company. I want to inherit everything.”

“Fool!” She said and they both burst into laughter once more.

In the front, the driver looked at the rearview mirror and studied her for a few seconds. She seemed lost in the conversation she was having.

“But I am seriously missing you here,” Eche said when they had calmed down.

“I am missing you already as well, this one week is going to be long but I promise you it is for our good. We will both reap the reward on our wedding night.” At that, she saw the driver steal another glance at the rearview mirror but she ignored him. “So, just endure okay? It will all pay off.”

“Yeah, I am sure it will. Although I still do not know why you have to go there a full week before the wedding and then choose not to stay at Abike’s place.”

“Not this again…” she groaned. “I thought we had already trashed it out.”

“Yeah, it is just that I am still baffled. That is all.”

“I just do not want to stay in her house. She is the only one I know, and the rest of her family will be there. I will not sleep well with soo many strangers walking about. I told you this, you said you understood.”

He let out a sigh, “yes, I did. And I still do. It is just that I am missing you so much, that is all.”

“I understand,” she told him. Looking through the windshield, she could see the giant signboard of the hotel up ahead as the car cruised closer to it. “Baby, we are almost at the hotel, I will need to call you later okay?”

“Okay, my love. Do not forget to do so.”

“It will be tonight before I fall asleep, then we can talk for as long as we want until we fall asleep.”

“Okay then, I even need to get back to work.”

“Your break is over?”

“The moment this call cuts, it will be.”

“Okay then, talk to you later baby.”

“Later, my love.”

She cut the call just as the driver turned the car into the hotel.

She took a deep breath and stared at her phone for a long time.

“Fuck this…” she cursed finally with a sigh of defeat and dialed up a number.

It rang for some time until it was picked by a man, he had a thick voice that sent shivers through her body, “hello Ada.”

“Hi Femi, I am finally in Lagos.”