Chapter 4 Four

This time I heard my alarm and my eyes opened widely. I stretched my right hand without looking and took hold of my phone and turned off the alarm. After praying, I pushed the bathroom door open and found that woman inside. How was she silently inside the whole time? At that moment I thought she was a demon. She was on a very short, lemon towel and something like a fancy thick nylon bag on her head and a red sponge in her hand, I don't know why I gave her a head to toe look but she slammed the door at my face-my own bathroom door.

I didn't know if I should be angry or sorry but I decided to just act like nothing happened. I got what I would wear together and sat at the edge of my bed to polish my shoe, as I did, she came out of the bathroom and stood just at the entrance. I looked up at the woman I noticed wouldn't move from one spot and she was looking angrily at me but then I unintentionally looked down her body and noticed she was on a dark blue flowery dress that stopped at her knee. When I got to her feet, I took my eyes back to my shoe but she didn't move.

"To knock: you make a fist like a man and hit the door" She said then she walked out of her spot to her wardrobe. I said nothing in reply, I just sighed and stood up to use the bathroom. "Good morning by the way" she added. It was an awkward time to reply a greeting, it's not like I answered on a normal day. I just got my things together and entered the bathroom, a fresh new scent greeted me. I liked the scent of the bathroom, I realised it was her soap, the scent was a soft fragrance, it just made me feel good. If I had my way, I planned to cut it in pieces and maybe use it as an air freshener in my living room but I didn't know how to make an air freshener so I let the troublesome thought slide.

As I walked out of my room, I tried knotting my tie with my key in my hand but then she appeared in my front with a dirty pot in her hand and a spoon.

" By chance did you eat the beans last night 'cause I don't understand" she said and I wondered if the beans she cooked wasn't mine but just as I thought, I remembered I didn't have ripe plantains in my store so it was very possible the beans wasn't mine but the gas she used in cooking was mine but anyway, I twisted my answer, I would've ignored her but she was obstructing my passage.

"Did you check if it poured?" I asked lamely and the look she gave me made me struggle to look at my tie in order to avoid her eyes. I couldn't believe I was avoiding someone's eyes in guilt, my life was changing and I wasn't even aware of it.

"You ate it" she accused and her lips broke into a smile. "And you can't just admit it. Would I beat you if you say you did?"

I closed my eyes for a while to imagine her absence.

"What did we discuss about not getting into each other's path?" I rather asked. It was an attempt to escape.

"You ate my food" she said with an overwhelming smile, I had never seen her smile like that. "You got in my path first. Did you like it? Should I cook for you this evening?" She was smiling and watching my eyes like she was not the woman I had lived those few hours with. I watched her for a while and noticed that the way she was staring at me had great strange effects on me.

"No thanks" I said but she did not give way. Her smile faded.

"I will Cook something different, do you like swallow?"

"I said I don't need your food" I said impatiently. She watched me shortly and I felt very uncomfortable with the way she was staring.

"But you ate my food yesterday" she said and leaned on the wall with her eyes still up at me.

"See, I'm late and I need to go" I told her but she didn't give way.

"How come your boss didn't give you a break?" she asked me.

"I'm my boss" I told her and I don't know if it was admiration in her eyes or did she realise something I didn't know.

"I forgot" she said. "That's where your pride came from"

My Pride! She said I was proud. I didn't find this one funny, I watched her for a while and it shocked me how she returned my stare in confidence and a smile. I wondered what she wanted, why she was getting on my nerves, not excusing me, making me feel weird. Was it because of the food?

"If you're your own boss, why are you going to work?" She asked and that was when it dawned on me that she was not after my progress at all.

"Are you a devil or what?" I asked in a frown. "You're delaying me and now you're discouraging me from going to work". Her mouth was open in dismay.

"A devil? I only asked you a question" she defended.

"Please get out of my way" I said in a warning and she left but after hesitating.

"Have a nice day" she said from behind me and I wondered why. I mean I thought she was offended, the attitude made me feel like she was giving me clues for a big horrific puzzle I was to solve. I went to work that morning again with an empty stomach and I requested coffee like I did the previous day but I didn't request coffee because I felt sleepy, I requested it to put something in my stomach. I didn't like to buy food from the restaurant close to my company because the woman seemed careless and dirty, I felt like I would eat disease from eating from her.

"You can order food sir" My secretary told me. "There are many restaurants that deliver orders to customers these days"

"How long will it take the food to get here?" I asked after a brief consideration.

"About thirty minutes or maybe an hour, depending on the distance" she informed. I had a meeting in the next fifteen minutes and I hated to eat during work hours because I didn't want my employees to use me as an excuse for eating foolishly and being lazy. I turned down my receptionist's offer and held myself through out the meeting.

"So we need cartoon graphics for our advert and we need your help" My client said.

"Why cartoon graphics?" I asked. "I mean I could think of a better idea" I said.

"It'd capture children's attention and you know good parents are thrilled by what their children like" Mr Evans, my client stated. I nodded in agreement but then I wondered what could interest children in a soap producing company.

"But your product isn't for children" I said. "It's an adult thing and cartoons are nonsense for us adults". I saw Steven, my employee and business strategist nodding, his nod was encouraging. If I brought up a better idea, I would get a higher percent of pay when their product sells. I know my work was to just make the perfect graphics for adverts and printings and billboards and so on but a perfect work without a meaningful message was nothing. " what do you think?" I asked my client and watched him discuss something with his employee or maybe personal adviser but they seemed lost. "Here is what I think. I think you would sell your product in bulk if you attach an attachment to the cartons"

"An attachment like?" He asked in interest.

"Since it's a soap..." I thought then I remembered the small lemon towel I had seen earlier that morning. "You could attach a towel to every carton and inform the public in a mature advert. It will encourage them to try your product and when the sales become high, you stop the towel thing" I said and I smiled, applauding myself in my heart.

"So where do we come in?" My receptionist whispered in my ear and I cleared my throat. "We'd help you print your brand name on the towels and make a better design for your package"

My client discussed with his assistant and smiled at me.

"It's a very good idea you have there. It's perfect, I like it" he was excited and I was happy he was. He liked my idea.

"With a good advert, you'd go viral in no time. We'd make the design of your package more attractive" I assured.

"I trust you on that" my client said and we shook hands.

I couldn't get over the fact that, the woman's act and possession was the source of my idea. I had other meetings and they went well inspite of my hunger. They all dealt with packaging and few with billboards. For the billboard I advised my client based on the light I had seen in my other half's eyes the previous night and my client liked it. I made sure my employees got busy, there was no break for them just like there was none for me. Our work was plenty, I gave them a sample and watched them work according to my taste.

"I think light pink would go for the background of the soap" Nathaniel told me. "I mean, the soap is pink"

"What's wrong if we go with my lemon idea and use designs of pink?" I asked.

"But lemon and pink don't go"

"They do"

"But the soap is plainly pink" Nathaniel argued but I shrugged.

"I like this design and we're going with it" I finalized and I watched him leave my office. It was not the first time he was trying to change my idea but my word always stood.

When I went home that day, I was in a good mood, despite my empty stomach. She stood at the entrance this time and watched me until I walked to her. It was deep in dark already, about nine in the night and there was no light.

"Hey" I said to her when I was close enough to not shout.

"Welcome" was her reply then she gave way for me to enter the house but I went to the back of the house and I turned on the generator. She didn't move an inch until I was back or maybe she did and stood back where she had been. We went inside together and I locked the door. I had barely turned when she spoke. "So because of our little argument in the morning, you decided to come back late"

Argument? I had forgotten we argued. In my heart I felt like I owed her a big thanks but there she was accusing me of avoiding her when I was having a good time at work. I had no answer for her. My response was with narrowed brows she didn't see and I wondered why she followed me inside the room when I wanted to peacefully undress.

"I don't like staying alone" she said as she sat on the bed. "I mean at night" she emphasized. I wondered how that was my business then I remembered a statement she had made before.

"I thought you said you lived in your house before now and you had everything you wanted" I remembered. She rolled her eyes.

"My father's house is my house" she said and I scoffed. My father's house was not my house, it was an annoying place for me. I was my dad's P.A until I got my own house.

"Oh!" I only said and started unbuttoning my shirt but backing her, since she wouldn't give me space, I had to take it off there then I sat on the bed and took off my shoe.

"How was work?" She asked and watched me while I took a glimpse of her and turned back to my socks I was taking off, I hesitated and at one time, I saw her looking at my bare body. I surprisingly didn't care, I had taken my shirt off severally when I went to gym, I started doing it because Desmond did it but with time I found taking off my shirt of much advantage since my shirt wouldn't have much sweat. She only took few glimpses, it's not like she was lost in a gaze at my body.

"Fine" I said then I stood up. I picked my shirt and the socks and was about dumping them in my dirty clothes basket when I noticed the basket was empty whereas I had not washed in about two weeks.

"Are you hungry? I cooked vegetable soup and I made pounded yam" she informed. It made me shiver in temptation since I was practically walking on an empty stomach but I had to man up and not fall because of mere food. Yes, I was hungry but I couldn't ignore my missing clothes because of food.

"Where are my clothes?" I asked as I turned to her. She looked lost briefly then she spoke.

"Oh! In your wardrobe"

"Dirty clothes in my wardrobe!" I asked in shock and growing anger.

"No. Washed, rinsed, dried clean in your wardrobe. You're welcome. I didn't do it for you though, they disfigured the room and they gave the room a sweaty mixed with strong perfume smell, it disgusted me"

She washed my boxers too, what kind of a woman? She made me feel filthy. All the appreciation I wanted to pour on her turned to anger. I was angry she was not like Nathaniel who informed me of what he thought before he could even think of doing it, she just did whatever she felt like even with my things and ended up making me feel like i lost. I couldn't even tell her not to do it again because she said the smell disgusted her. I was offended. I silently had my bath and was grateful she was no longer in the room when I was done. I remembered I had bread in my fridge so I journeyed to the kitchen but she was in the dinning-the room before the kitchen. She was setting the table for me to eat her food, giving me more reasons why she thought she was better than me.

"Food is ready" she said in her tiny sing like voice. She said it like my mother would say to my father but what was missing was the rub my mother rubbed my father's shoulder. I had always wondered if the food was what I thought it was or if it was she herself because they had quite a long, strange time together before my father finally took his seat and started eating. Anyway, I didn't need that, neither did I need her food.

"Thanks. But no. You can eat it all" I said. She was quiet and I was grateful, I went to the kitchen and I was grateful my bread was still there. I took it and took a jar of peanut butter and a spread knife then I went to the palour and sat on the couch. I had eaten many slices when I noticed she was sitting at the table all alone. I recalled times when my parent had a misunderstanding, that was almost the same reaction my mother gave because my father used food against her. The only difference was that my mother used to bow her head on the table but the lady had joined her ten fingers together and placed her chin on them, she was staring at the food and I knew it was beyond a stare, she was thinking. When I rounded up the loaf of bread, she stood up and took the things to the kitchen then she came out of the kitchen and passed to the room. When I was sure she won't come back, I went to the kitchen to dump the bread nylon but then I thought I should search for the food and I found it in the microwave, I ate it and washed the plate but then I regretted. I remembered when she said I was proud and I honestly hated my act of eating her food. Anyway I had eaten it, I could not change things. I drank water, washed my mouth and got to the room but I was surprised she was not sleeping. She was on her knees with her head covered, she had her Bible open in front of her and I heard her sniffing, I didn't know she had cold and the air conditioner was high, I quickly reduced it and laid on the bed.

"When you're done please switch off the light" I said to her then I closed my eyes and let sleep take me.