LAST HEARTBREAK

FOUR

Chapter Four

The day of the party as Hauwa had said, they were absolutely going for the party together and Hauwa initiated Kamsi to conspire and force her to play dress up. She wasn't mad about it as it had been long she had dressed very nicely to go anywhere but she didn't feel too good about the outing and when she said it, she was shunned by Hauwa and Kamsi's excitement.

The car ride to Mr Abudu's house last night with Mr Damola had been the most awkward ride she'd ever been on. She could hear both of their breathing pace, to understand how quiet the car was amidst the cars zooming on the road. He was probably still angry as he had his stern look throughout the ride to Mr Abudu's house, but immediately he got into the house, he had a huge smile like he had been smiling some minutes ago. It wasn't her first time at the Abudu's home, their house was always beautiful and his wife was always welcoming this time she was a lot more welcoming than Jemima can remember, especially towards Mr Damola. Jemima didn't overthink it and let it go. Mrs Abudu made sure they ate dinner before her husband started to talk about work which didn't take two minutes.

"I let Adanna go as we discussed." Mr Damola started, and Jemima paused her movement. Had he and her former boss planned for Adanna's unemployment?

"Oh yes yes. No matter my push, she wouldn't want to leave after all these years." Mr Abudu looked at Jemima and smiled, she understood almost immediately why she was summoned to his house. "I'm sure she advised against it." He said looking at Jemima

Mr Damola turned to Jemima's embarrassed face, he laughed as he nodded "Yes."

"Jemima Adams." Mr Abudu called "Adanna needed to start life away from Elinx. We let her go because she would never leave, she's been with us a year after we started Elinx, many left and I appreciate her but it was time." Jemima didn't understand why they didn't want her to leave on her own when she felt it was right for her to leave. But she tried to see sense in what Mr Abudu had explained.

"Approximately twelve years." Mr Damola calculated.

Jemima's mouth went agape, that was a lot for someone, she knew the back and front of the company more than anyone, Jemima realized now why Adanna had been calm when she handed the exclusion letter to her. "Wow!"

Kamsi pulled the rope of the short ankara dress Jemima was wearing, hers was almost modest unlike Hauwa's, even with the Hausa hair tie she had done to match her look, if her people had seen her they would have said 'it wasn't giving religious' just from her revealed breast. The green Ankara that had been shared after they had shifted the date of the retirement party which had been on purpose, a small gathering had become a large party, something Jemima knew Yoruba was fond of as she was from the tribe herself.

The dress style hadn't been her first pick, she didn't want to look like she was attending a wedding, so her tailor had shown her a lot of short dresses that gave exactly what she had requested but now looking at Hauwa's long skirt matching the blouse that it passed for a gown than a two-piece, she wondered if she hadn't downplayed the party. It was her first retirement party, she didn't know it was another excuse for Nigerians to throw a big party. The black lace net that the tailor had sewn at the top of the dress, covered her breast unlike Hauwa's breast held with the smallest cup fixed into her blouse. The short dress hugged Jemima's body so she opted to wear her long black bone straight wig instead of tying the gele like Hauwa, who had struggled with her headgear sitting on her bob wig at first before settling in her tribe's style of headgear and it fitted the dress more. Jemima paired her outfit with black Zara heels and with black Dior mini bag.

She looked at herself in the mirror and for a moment she appreciated her beauty, it was something she had grown up insecure about, she had doubted how beautiful she was, she didn't always feel like the prettiest lady in the room and underestimated her genes but as she continued to stare longer in the mirror she felt good and beautiful.