Life With Tutu

I wake up in the middle of the night to the gnawing pain. It is as if, a knife is being used to tear at my veins, my flesh, my bones. I weakly reach out for my phone beside me to call my mother. She comes in and I weakly whisper ‘ pains, my drugs’ She rushes to get me my drugs, the pain meds. I use them and wash down with water. Weakly I lie back flat, groaning softly in pain. My eyes welling with tears It comes, often without warning, the pain. I rack my brain as to something I did wrong the previous day. Did I drink cold water? Was I stressed? Did I engage in any tiring activity? Was I dehydrated? Was my monthly cycle approaching? Was I anaemic? All these questions and more, I tried finding answers to with my mental check list My mother looks worriedly at me, her heart in her mouth. She prays for speedy relief from the pain. I cannot muster the strength to say the accompanying amen. She is done and whispers encouraging words, half of which I am not able to comprehend due to the in...

Remi looked into my eyes and smiled. He had ordered for chicken and chips and was eating as if his life depended on it. I looked away a trifle nauseous. Food was the last thing on my mind ‘ Of course you know there’s no free lunch in Freetown' My heart skipped a beat. ‘Here it comes', I thought, ‘blackmail!’ ‘ You’ll have to tango with me' he continued blandly. My mind instantly went to the salsa classes we used to take back then. We were both prolific dancers. ‘But why would Remi want us to resume dancing together?’ I thought. He smiled sardonically upon noticing my bewilderment. ‘ Wasn’t talking that kind of tango, Moji. I mean, we need to resume our relationship, by the side' his voice hardening' that is if you want to get married and stay married to my brother!’ I did not know how I made it home that night. My tommy, nay my whole body system was in turmoil. ‘ Who for God sakes does two brothers?!’ I didn’t sleep a wink. He had told me to go think abo...

You might be thinking, why couldn’t I just call the bluff of the idiot?! I thought so too. But he appeared to hold the aces, I was just the pawn. The headache didn’t get better the next day as I didn’t sleep a wink all through the night. I mean, if you were in my shoes, would you have slept?! I had to go see my physician first thing that morning who administered some really strong pain meds. It was a Sunday so I literally slept throughout the day. In the evening I woke up feeling better and just threw on some clothes. EMX is an eatery not far from my house and I was there in ten minutes, a minute short of the six pm rendezvous. Remi kept me waiting thirty minutes. When his royal majesty eventually sauntered in, I was careful to keep my facial expression, bland. I think the pain meds asides relieving me of the headache, had also made me very passive. I felt numb, immune to any shock, whatsoever. And yet, I felt strong emotionally. He looked me over carefully, I looked at him withou...

When someone shows up like a bad penny? Yes, that was how Remi showed up on the day Femi officially introduced me to his parents. I had been fussed over by his mother, hugged by his father when all of a sudden the door flung open to admit Remi. I looked at him dumbstruck! Femi with his arm flung over his shoulder introduced him to me as his rascally younger brother. Remi smiled guilessly  at me. I? I looked everywhere but his eyes, I was shaking inwardly. My thoughts were in turmoil. At a stage, I started feeling nauseous. Femi thankfully didn’t notice my discomfiture, he was engrossed with his younger brother whom he had'nt seen ,in years. I was expecting some sort of drama, which fortunately didn’t come. When Femi said it was time to go, I couldn’t have been happier. Remi gave me a sisterly peck but smiled at me with a disturbing glint in his eyes. As soon as I got home my head started aching. It ached like a dozen drummers were intent on giving their best and loudest perform...

I am not a shameless woman, regardless of what you may think. I’m just an ordinary woman trying to do whatever it takes to keep her marriage hence my two weekly sojourn to the hotel to meet with Remi, my husband’s younger brother and my first love. In life you have to do with what the cards have dealt you. The cards have not dealt fairly with me. How was I to know Remi was my husband's younger brother? I never set my eyes on Femi who was a busy pilot jetting all over the world throughout my relationship with Remi. Remi had mentioned him in passing, yes, but I never saw pictures. It was after Remi broke up callously with me that I met Femi on vacation in the Seychelles. I was pretty broken up, devastated by Remi's insensitivity to me. Femi was an apparition from Heaven, an Angel with healing in his wings. Psychologically I was a shell of myself. I had begged, pleaded with Remi for our relationship to remain but he had callously told me he was done with me and that he had some...

Our anniversary dinner was the bomb. We gazed into each others eyes with love and adoration. When I said yes, ten years before to Femi, I knew it was the best decision any woman could have made. I love my husband and I will always, always love him. Nothing can change that, nothing will. Femi literally came into my life to wipe away my tears. I had suffered heartbreak, heartbreak of such magnitude that could have sent me to the afterlife. Yeah, that bad. My first love, the man that had been the first to take me to cloud nine, had let me down. Treated me shabbily. Sometimes if you love too much, you can lose too hard. We left the restaurant well after midnight. I was full to bursting, my tummy was bulging slightly, I felt lazily happy. Femi drove. I have always loved being driven at the dead of night. Zero traffic,  ambience  exceedingly cool, and the quietness, soothing. We got home and my husband started undressing me from the sitting room, we giggled like kids as we mad...

I put on my clothes almost with the speed of light. I am late, I didn’t plan to be late, not today of all days, my wedding anniversary. 10th wedding anniversary, not a mean feat, not a mean feat at all. It is night time. My companion sleeps on, snoring softly. I look at him, without expression. I key in the last button on my blouse and glance at myself in the mirror. Not looking bad, at least my clothes were not torn off, like the last time. I grimace at the thought of the last time. Apparently I have sworn a pact with the Devil. I have sold my soul to him and I must dance to his tune. I have no choice. As I leave the hotel room, I put the sordidness of the ‘ relationship', I have with my companion behind me, for I am no longer the wanton actress that gave a superlative performance in the hotel room. I am now the very responsible, upstanding Mrs. Santos. I call for my uber driver, I never bring my car to these liaisons, not smart you know and anyone just might recognise it. He ...