Ex Gratia (#1 EX TRILOGY)

Chapter 6

Akoma blinked several times and bit her left little finger in deep thought. Nii was obviously not into her. Both of them had been friends shortly after she had moved into the apartment almost a year earlier, and there had been no occasion that had stirred any such feelings or thoughts of intimacy. She was beginning to like Rich, but she was unsure about what time he was going to turn up and any possibility of both men meeting each other. Akoma’s problem was not discomfiting Nii, but making Rich think Nii had anything to do with her. On the other hand, trying so hard not to make Nii appear like a boyfriend to her to disprove anything was also presumptuous because Rich had not spoken in any way about an intention to be in a relationship with her.

“Akoma?”

Akoma shook the thoughts off and remembered that she was driving, making her grip the steering wheel firmly and sit up. She cleared her throat and replied, “Mm-hmm? Yes? What?”

“Errm – you are quiet. What did I say wrong?” Rich asked.

“Oh well – it’s not like that. I just – “. Akoma thought about Rich’s answer and shrugged. “You said you’ll tell me when we meet. That’s fine. I can’t wait. But tonight eh - ?”

“Are you expecting someone?”

Akoma rolled her eyes. “Not exactly.”

“What kind of answer is that? I think it’s a yes or no question, isn’t it?”

“What time are you coming tonight?” Akoma asked abruptly.

The reply delayed a little bit. “I’ll be there at 7pm. Good?”

‘Then I can ask Nii to just drop the movie by 5:30pm. That means getting home at 4 to prepare for the date – whatever it is, huh?’ she thought and smirked. “All right. Don’t change your mind, all right? Keep it that way.”

“Well, if you think it’s a bad time, we can reschedule to a later time – “

“Rich!” Akoma found herself shouting and failed to restrain herself. She kept silent at once and held her breath, and she could hear the sound of Rich’s breathe on the line. She presumed he was probably offended and attempted to apologize, but she hesitated and shook her head. There was silence on the line for almost a minute. “Are you going to keep quiet long enough? I want to pay attention to the road. Do you mind?”

Rich chuckled. “I do mind. I am talking to you.”

Akoma frowned. “Is that supposed to silence me or what?”

“Oh don’t worry. Leave everything for tonight. We’ll talk at length about a lot of things, yeah?”

Akoma shrugged. “If you say so. I am not expecting a counselling session. It’s tiring.”

“Don’t worry. 7pm. You pay attention to the road. I will call you when I am coming, OK?”

“OK. Bye.”

“Do you want me to – “

Akoma tapped the end call button quickly before Rich could say the rest of the words. She drove in silence to work and locked herself in her office, flumped herself into her chair and swivelled idly, her eyes closed and her arms tucked behind her head. She kicked off her shoes and flexed her aching toes. She took out her tablet and started to scroll through her schedule to check how many weddings she had before her in the next four months and found them pretty loaded. The following day was a Saturday and it was already booked. Her plan was to ensure that Rich’s visit would never be a sleepover of any kind.

Akoma had never been in a relationship before, and she had practically turned down a lot of proposals ever since adolescence solely because she learned from the experiences of her older sisters and other girls in her neighbourhood at Fante New Town, how they ended up being dumped by some riffraff, impregnated too early or simply caged into a marriage that was literally ripping them apart. She had cultivated a strong shell of sass and independence to keep herself from falling prey to a love story that would later make her the talk of the day among her friends.

She heard a knock at the door and looked up, and before she could open the door, it opened to reveal Gracefield, her close friend. Gracefield was plump and about five feet eight, light skinned and attractive, and her natural hair extended a little below her shoulders, which was a feature most of her friends including Akoma found admirable. She would wave them off and compare herself to her mother whose hair was much longer.

Gracefield grinned to reveal a pleasant array of stubby teeth and cocked her head at Akoma, who leaned back and frowned.
“What are you doing here?”
  asked impolitely.

Gracefield rolled her eyes and sat down in the chair before her. “Relax. I am here to ask for your help.” She had this squeaky voice that fetched her the name ‘Gracie Mouse’ when she was in high school. As at that time, she had gotten used to it and did not mind anymore.

Akoma leaned over and peered at her. “Business or personal?”

Gracefield licked her lips. “Business and personal. Both.”

Akoma eyed her with suspicion. “What are you talking about here?”

Gracefield rose to her feet and walked slowly towards the window. She pulled up the blinds and sighed while staring at the sky outside. “I think I am in love,” she squeaked and hugged herself passionately. “He says he’s going to marry me.” She giggled and hopped happily. She turned around to check Akoma’s reaction and was amused to see the look on Akoma’s face looking like she had been slapped in the face with a rubber slipper.
“What?”

Akoma frowned, shook her head and rose to her feet to walk closer to Gracefield. “I didn’t know you were with someone now. And you’re already talking about marriage. Wow. When did this happen? Why have you hid it from me?” She finally grinned. “If you think this grin informs you of how happy I am for you, I am a liar and the truth is not in me.”

“Oh gyae (stop),” Gracefield whined and waved her off. “You are just jealous. It’s my time and season. Do you honestly think I should sit there and watch a man falling from the stars to come and marry me? Humph! I have lassoed one o. Look at his promise!” She averted her eyes and covered them with one hand, and held the other to Akoma to reveal the gleaming promise ring on her left hand. Akoma blinked and leaned closer to take the finger and look closely at it in admiration. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Is it real?”

“Akoma, stop!”

“Gracefield, who is this guy and why have you not introduced him to me?”

Gracefield smirked. “You will thank me for hiding him from you in the not too distant future. I tell you.” She smacked her lips and walked back to the chair. She giggled and rested her chin on her cupped hands over the table. “Silver and something – errm – carroty! Can they work?”

Akoma returned to her chair and stared at Gracefield. “Gracefield.”

“Yes, Akoma?” Gracefield looked embarrassingly bubbly to Akoma.

“What’s his name?”

Gracefield held her breath instantly and appeared to be calculating something. Akoma shook her head. Gracefield threw her arms up in the air and shut her eyes. “OK, OK. I will tell you. I am sorry for this, OK?”

“Sorry for what?”

“His name is Rich.”

Akoma blinked. “What? That’s his name? Richmond, Richard, or what?”

Gracefield scratched her head. “Is there a problem?”

There could be, as a matter of fact, because the man Akoma had been talking to was Richard, and in the last twenty seconds, Gracefield had expressed a hint of uneasiness about the identity of the man she was going to marry.