IZIGORA

Chapter 6

Kainye dropped his I-phone on the centre table in the sitting room and stretched out his long legs. He glanced at the newscaster on CNN, a scowl marring his handsome face. Izigora had been back from the hospital for nine days now and hobbled about in her crutches.

Before she was discharged, Dr Kobi had given her a long list of things to-do and things not-to-do. The things not-to-do included climbing a staircase, ladder (not even a stool) and refraining from anything that could be qualified as strenuous. And so Kainye had moved some of her things into the guestroom downstairs. It was supposed to be a temporary arrangement but Izigora doubted if she would be coming up any time soon.

Izigora still wore casts on her left leg and right arm and the doctor couldn't tell him the exact time she would be required to take off the cast. Three to six months he had said. Kainye suspected that either this Dr Kobi was an inexperienced doctor just fortunate to be working in a large hospital or there was something fishy going on.

I won't be surprised if she conspired with that young doctor to keep the casts on as a way of avoiding her responsibilities at her home and to her husband, Kainye thought.

Well, he was done being patient. He knew of a woman who had lost an arm as a result of an electrocution. The woman still fixed her husband and children's meals and cleaned her home.

He'd been compelled to engage the services of a housekeeper but the woman didn't have Izigora's culinary skills. He was also paying for a physiotherapist to see Izigora at home and he was glad it was a woman. He had been specific about not needing another man in his home unless it was a middle-aged man. But then couldn't they have found someone young and beautiful? The mid-forties physiotherapist, who looked like she could sit on top of a man and give him a good pummelling, gave Izigora exercises intended to improve the range of motion in her knee and strengthen her leg muscles.

How long was Izigora going to be like this? Yes, the doctor said it would take months for Izigora to recover but after all, didn't the same doctors advise women not to have sex until three months after childbirth? And yet he knew of women who had done so in less than two months without complications. So Izigora's case couldn't be different.

Mmachi wasn't in town. She was visiting her in-laws. His other girlfriends were not available except Rhoda and he wasn't in the mood for Rhoda's blend of loving. He also wasn't prepared to drive out and pick up a woman.

He had brought a woman home two nights ago to Izigora's consternation but she was to blame. A man had his needs and if his wife wasn't available to satisfy those needs then he would be morally justified in seeking his pleasures elsewhere.

Simple logic.

He picked his phone once more and scrolled down the numbers on his contact list. He stopped at Idara and called. A soft female voice responded.

'Hey sugar.'

'My darling. How are you doing?'

'I'm not good o. It's been a while since I saw my baby.'

Kainye smiled. 'Your baby has been very busy, but he needs you now.'

'Where do I meet you? Home or at the office?'

'Come home. Take a cab and I'll take care of the bill.'

'See you soon.'

Idara knew he was married but didn't really care whether they had sex in his home or in a hotel as long as she left with a fat purse. He paid her for her services and she was worth every naira. He'd heard while growing up that Calabar women were trained to satisfy a man's needs be it down there or involving his stomach and he had discovered it to be true. Unfortunately, he couldn't marry any of the women he slept with. That was why Izigora had been the perfect choice.