Between The Brackets

PROLOGUE

My sister and my husband.

The two have always meant a lot to me. They make me, support me and shower me with love. Everything a sister and a husband are obliged to do. And I mean to repay that. My point isn't that I don't repay the two enough but I'm thinking of doing something more after the most recent surprise I had the pleasure of experiencing.

I plopped between the two on the couch laid a few feet from the TV. 

"What're we watching?" Ozioma turned to me, a grin plastered on her heart shaped face. "I mean if you had to send Timi to bed early, it must be something on the lines of fifty shades."

I wrinkled my nose playfully. "Something like that, but without the sadist stuff." I grinned, holding my phone up for them to see. "It's in here so I just need to connect it to the TV."

"Can't you just download it on box office?" Korede played with one of my braids before tucking it behind my ear.

I turned to him with a grin plastered on my face. "This video was hard to come by." I rolled my eyes playfully. "Do you think I'd pay you both with some cheap movie that's easy to find?"

They gave me warm looks as I went on. "I had to lay on my belly and sweat to get this," Literally. "because you deserve this."

Korede planted a chaste kiss on my cheek before I made my way to the television to deal with the connections.

"Let me help y-."

"No!" I refused my sister's offer. "Just sit back and relax... You stress too much over me and I love you for that but today is your day."

That simple sentence was enough to put a smile on her face. 

It took a few minutes to work out the connections but I did so patiently. Once I was done, I sauntered over to them and took my normal position between them, phone in hand.

Ozi helped herself to the bowl of popcorn I microwaved earlier. Just like always, she hugged it to herself jokingly. At one point, she'll place the bowl on my thighs for everyone to enjoy. Our normal adults' night.

Korede took a sip of the champagne I bought for the special occasion while I assessed my handsome husband under the dim light supplied by the chandelier above. His light brown eyes are a contrast to his flawless dark skin. A drop of the champagne made its way down his neat aftershave.

 What's in his mind?  What's always in there? What was in there when you-?

"Aw come on!" Ozi whined, bringing me back to reality. "You have every other day to fawn over your husband. Press play already."

Korede burst into laughter as I glared at her playfully. "Alright, alright. Don't rush me."

"Don't rush me." She mimicked, rolling her eyes. I guffawed at the comical expression on her face.

"I love you both so much." I reminded them before pressing play. The air became tense at the sounds leaving the speakers; the sounds of the immense pleasure they shared in my bedroom that night.

Here's the gist: I teach Further Mathematics full time at a college and charge three thousand naira per hour for home lessons. It's a good deal because people never stop attending schools and parents of nowadays know the importance of home lessons. Plus a lot of students fail the subject and teaching is not a job that could shut down any moment. It's a win-win situation considering that I get to do what I love.

Anyway, so I turn down an offer from a parent to take me to a buffet to eat assorted meat for teaching her child, who got a scholarship to Harvard. Awesome, right? I turn down this offer because I have to cook for my husband but she insists on taking the both of us and turning it into a romantic dinner.