The Lives We Lived

55: Ij's House

Monday morning, Kemi was back to her happy confident self. She was on her way to the office and Ijeoma's job was now legally hers.

Kehinde had called her to describe the scene between Ijeoma and Jude. It was worse than she imagined. According to the gossip report, it seemed like Ijeoma and Jude had done the deed on his desk.

She shivered as she pulled her car into the office driveway.

On a common office desk. She expected Ijeoma to have more class than that. As much as was within her power, she would avoid that desk.

"Good morning." She greeted the receptionist in a perky tone as she made her way to the office she had once shared with Kehinde, Ijeoma and Husseini.

Here, she didn't have to think of Osa and his fake excuse of a fast. He had returned home later that night. She hadn't bothered to contact him after he left for the Gala but he came to her and apologized. He brought her flowers, gave her a foot massage and explained that he was fasting for her and his future children because he did not want anything to go wrong.

She did not say a word to encourage or discourage him. Rather, she allowed him to continue to do as he pleased with her body. Not that he reached higher than her ankles anyway. It was a little drop water in a desert of starvation. She still wasn't speaking to him. He had put the flowers in a jar by himself, and this morning, he had watered it before leaving the house without a goodbye kiss.

He was teaching her to live without him and she was taking the lessons to heart. She hoped he wouldn't flip up when it was her turn to return the favour.

"Kemi?" It was Kehinde's voice that brought her back to her physical environment.

She had walked past their office without popping her head in to say hello as she used to.

"Hey." She rested by the door post, scanning the room. Her former desk was empty of anything useful but a new woman sat on Ijeoma's desk. Kemi ignored the rotund dark woman and eyed Kehinde. "Where's IJ?"

"You remember what I told you now. I can't even believe what I said was true."

Husseini spun around for a moment, frowning at the pregnant woman beside him. "I thought they told you not to talk about this rumour again."

"It is not a rumour. I saw it with my own eyes. The two of them naked on—"

"It's okay." Kemi put up a hand.

She didn't need Kehinde to repeat the graphic details as she had on the phone. She had caught enough of the picture before she left the office on Friday and every time she thought of the passion with which Jude had tried to consume Ijeoma, she missed Osa more.

"Is that why she isn't at the office?" Kemi asked.

"If it were you, wouldn't you be ashamed?" Kehinde asked.

Kemi snapped her fingers at the floor. "Olorunmaje, God forbid, I can never be in that position."

But as she did that, her conscience pricked her. She had thought of it several times and the thought had worsened until that accidental kiss. Now, she wondered if she would've taken the opportunity if she had been offered the chance and if she wasn't married to Osa. The answer came clearly to her. If she was a free bird, she might've snatched Jude from Ijeoma, the way she took the job. It wasn't snatching if Ijeoma and Jude's relationship was a secret.

"But didn't you hear, Kemi?" Husseini asked her. "I thought Ijeoma would've told you."

"Told me what?"

"She was fired."

"Ehn." Kemi placed her hands on her chest. "Fired? How?"

"Apparently, that was her last query and our GCEO found out. Turns out that he doesn't like her."