CHAPTER TWO: NO STITCH IN TIME

Alex stirred in shock as his eyes popped to check the place and time. Unusually he was still in his car, still breathing, and everything was in order. The crazy driver was able to maneuver his brakes fast enough to avoid the almost unavoidable collision.

Everything here seemed like a nightmare to him. Every day, there was a new drama or music and Alex did not like the dance. The whole place, people, and customs were just so different to anything he was used to. Suddenly he felt so homesick and realized how much he missed home. Being a British raised by tech-savvy parents, Alex placed his career above any other activities. If it demanded he gave his life for it, then he sure will. His mission to Nigeria was to secure a contract with a partner company in Africa. "It's either now or never. I can never come back here". Alex said as he thought of it.

Alex's grip on the steering wheel tightened as he cursed the traffic. The clock on his dashboard ticked away, each second mocking him. His parents' legacy, his aspirations—it was all on the line. The traffic felt like a malevolent force, conspiring against him, stealing precious minutes. 

Anxiety welled up so much that Alex felt like just jumping from the car and trekking in the burning scorching sun. Just about that, the traffic eased. The drivers all started to speed up in a frenzy. Some were willing to overtake and create another jam so Alex knew he had to level down a bit of civility and behave like the average Nigerian on the highway. His determination to meet his appointment made him so temporarily absent-minded that he forgot it was a highway. 

In the ticks of seconds, the car ran into a pedestrian trying to cross the road. "No! This is not happening." Alex jolted and rushed out of the car. By now, a crowd had gathered. 

"Let me see if there is any injury?" Alex said, desperate to analyze the situation. It was like his mouth was in his heart as he bent on the road. "Hey dude!", a guy from the crowd shouted. "You fool! Are you drinking or blind to see the road properly?"

If there was one thing Alex had come to realize, sometimes people loved the blame game. Nobody ever wanted to own up to any mistake talk less an apology. In this instance, Alex's most important objective was getting the injured to safety and signing the contract.

As he moved closer, he observed it was a lady in her twenties maybe. She lay the ground, graceful. Her skin, kissed by the Nigerian sun, seemed to pale slightly as her expression shifted from surprise to a mixture of pain and distress.

Her eyes, once alive with curiosity, were now filled with a raw mix of emotions. Fear, confusion, and a hint of anger danced within their depths. Her gaze locked with his, accusing and wounded, s if blaming him for the unexpected collision. He could almost hear her unspoken question: "Why?"

"I...I... I am sorry. Hope you are not hurt?". Jacob managed to stutter.

"Sorry for yourself! What would your sorry do to me? Can it fix my pain?" She retorted as she threw a sharp glance at Alex. A look at her sensed trouble and she was ready to do the damage done on her body with her mouth. 

Alex ignored the biting remarks as he helped her get to her feet. It was clear her forfeiture affected her as she could no longer stand. However, Alex had to carry her safely into his car and he drove straight heading to a nearby hospital. "Are you usually rude and ill-mannered?" Alex asked as he pushed his steering to continue to his new destination.

Julian's eyes popped at the expression of rude. "Who the hell did he think he was?" Frustration, anger and pain welled up almost instantly. She wanted to say something to relieve her pain but she burst into tears. Tears were her way of letting out stuck-up pain. If only they could take all of it.

 "I have got some handkerchiefs". Alex responded to the outburst. She was not just getting on his nerves but was beginning to irritate him. "Maybe they wouldn't do so I can buy a bucket if you insist. Your clumsiness got me here and now I am going to miss my appointment. If you had looked very well before you crossed, my life would have been happy. At least, I know what I would have been using this time to do. "But no, you brought your bad luck". Alex said, angry and confused.

Julian's lips stopped and she instantly froze. This must be a funny day or some nightmare. Speaking about bad luck, it was and would be a very unlucky day for her. All her dreams today were shattered. This was supposed to be her last paper for her professional exams to make her a chartered accountant and earn double promotions at her work. She had worked so hard for this day and yet, this dude from God-knows-where came and ruined it. Yet he was so rude as heck! "Hey, look at me very well," Julian said as she adjusted her seat and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. "You may have a very loose mouth but I do not want to think it has something to do with your brain. I have a professional exam I just missed simply because of your mistakes and yet you blame it on me? My legs are weak and I can no longer walk and this is the most you can say?". 

Just as Alex was about to laugh hysterically, his phone rang. "Alex! Where the hell are you? I have been trying to reach you. We are in a big soup. The partner company has just cancelled the meeting. They have been waiting for hours. Why did you mess this up?" Jacob raised his voice as he spoke. Although they were friends, it was unprofessional of Alex to have missed an important appointment like that. Jacob reasoned with a sigh. He and Alex had come all the way down for this contract. Frankly, Alex had been in a bad mood since they got down here but common, he needed to fold his shits. They both knew the implications of this contract. This was a big fish! If it were someone else, Alex would state principles and all the rules the person broke. Now, this time, it was him.

 "Jacob, I am in a mess. I ran into this uncouth Nigerian lady here and I have to take her to the hospital. You know that it's unlike me. You have to help me."

 "Really?" Jacob answered in shock. "Hope she isn't hurt?" It was an unusual turn of events as there was no clue the Alex, he knew would be so careless to run anyone down. Bad enough, it was a female. Alex was usually very rude to them, except for one though. 

"Jacob, is that all you care about at the moment? Please fix this issue! It is very important and I insist". Alex fumed at Jacob's meddling attitude.

"Okay, Alex. It's fine, but don't be hard on her. She is just…" The phone line ended as it was possible it was from Alex. "Typical Alex!", Jacob said as he continued sorting out some files on the laptop in front of him. "I feel bad for the lady though. Alex Blackwood and his temper". Jacob shook his head as he thought of it.

Julian was quite distracted with her thoughts. She tried to fathom where this would lead. Her legs looked like it was going to need serious therapy. And what if she had some internal injury of some sort? All the selfish guy cared about was his so-called contract. What about hers? He didn't think about her pain. "Are they all this way in real life?" She asked herself as she had never had any interaction with any foreigner in the past, most of the ones she saw were in movies. The guy looked like he was just in a bad mood every time. On a second look, he was handsome, he looked like a model. He was quite tall, broad-shouldered, and blue-eyed and his hair was curly brown. His face looked like it was molded and finely structured. But he was the reason for her present predicament! The sharp realization of Julian's current situation brought her from her fantasy world. Anger welled up in her like a thunderbolt. Suddenly her phone beeped. It was her friend, Linda. Linda was the only family she had after the loss of her four siblings who had sickle cell anemia. The grief drew her mother to her early grave and Julian had been alone ever since. Her father married a second wife who didn't like her along with her step-sisters. Life had been a lot for her.

"Congratulations Babe! You are done with the last exam. After everything you have been through my friend. Where are you? We need to celebrate this. Don't tell me to wait for the results. I know how intelligent you are! This is a win any day girl." Linda's voice was quite cheery. She alone knew how many times Julian wanted to quit, how many times she fell ill, and how many loans she got to cover her expenses just to finish. Although being with an AA genotype, Julian had frail health with frequent occurrences of malaria. "Why are you cold? Is something wrong?"

"Linda, I couldn't write the exam," Julian replied even more coldly.

"What!" Linda was in shock with her response. "What happened? You forgot some important document for the exam or what?"

"Honestly, none of that happened. I was knocked by a car and I am heading to the hospital. We are even here already. I will text you the location. Later…" Julian dropped the call and removed her seatbelt. Alex had eventually gone down from the car and had gone to fetch a stretcher. A minute later, she was in a hospital bed with the doctor.

"Is she your wife?" The doctor asked after running some tests to be certain Julian was out of any form of injury. 

"She is a girl I met on the streets." Alex replied looking menacingly at Julian with the 'just say anything and hear from me later look'.

Julian was fuming. It was the nerve he had to lie. He couldn't even own up to his shit but was comfortable lying even right in her presence. She wondered how badly raised he must have been. "Doctor, my name is Julian. I do not even know his name and for the records, he hit me." Julian said as she fired shots into his eyes with the 'do your worst look'.