HEAR ME TOO!

PART TWENTY

Ben was in the sitting room, trying to get some work done when he heard noises coming from outside. He thought it was just passersby at first until the voices got louder.
"Can't a man get a moment of peace in his own house?" he grumbled, annoyed at having his work disrupted. Everyone knew how much he hated obstructions while working and that the only people allowed to disturb him were his parents and whichever woman he was seeing. Even Uche knew to keep his distance. He would always say "It's the Grumpy Ben time folks!" and just stay away until Ben was done.
Just as he stood up to check what the racket was all about, he heard a knock at the door and went to open it. His gateman stood there, looking just as frustrated as Ben felt.
"Yusuf, what is going on? Why is there so much noise at the gate?" he asked. The young man took a deep breath before proceeding to answer.
"Oga, one woman de find you. I tell am say you no alert me say any visitor dey come wey I no sabi but she talk say una two sabi each other well well. So I talk say make I come ask you first before I open gate for her."(1)
"A woman?" Ben asked, perplexed. The only woman who came to his house to look for him was his mother. Isabel hadn't even visited his house yet and he never brought colleagues over. Maybe it's Isabel, a small voice in his head said and a tiny flicker of hope stirred within him. He wondered if he looked presentable enough.
"Okay, let her in please,"he said.
"Oga, she carry box o, you sure say you want make I open the gate for am?" Yusuf asked, hanging his head. (2)
Carrying a box? Why would Isabel bring a box to his house by this time of the night? Ben pondered over this information for a few seconds before replying his gateman.
"Just let her in Yusuf."
"Okay sir."
Yusuf ran back to the gate to let the mystery lady in. She pushed him aside when he finally opened the gate wide enough and went into the compound, muttering something under her breath. Not wanting to leave his employer alone in case the woman was a threat, the overzealous gateman followed her.
When Ben saw who it was, he suddenly became frozen in place. Even in the dim lights of the compound, he could clearly recognize her. It was as if time stopped moving for a moment and all he wanted to do was take back the command to let her in. He hadn't seen Tina in over a year and just looking at her brought back memories he had tried so hard to forget. They both stood there without saying anything while Yusuf looked from one to the other in confusion.
"Oga, na the woman be dis," he said. (3)
"Yes I can see that Yusuf, thank you. You can go back to your duty post," Ben said. After he was sure the other man was out of earshot, he turned to Tina.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, looking everywhere else but at the woman in front of him. The woman whose memories he wanted to erase forever.
"You got a new gateman," she said in reply.
"What are you doing here?" Ben repeated,
even though he was sure she heard him the first time.
"I tried calling but you didn't pick up. I had no other option but to show up unannounced," she said, still not answering his question.
Ben didn't hear his phone ring because he left it in the bedroom and now he wished he had spent the night at Uche's house like he planned earlier. A night of games with his buddy would have kept him away from this unpleasant situation.
"Why are you here with a box?"
"I didn't want to bother you but Alex suddenly threw me out of his house and I didn't have anywhere else to go."
"And you came here? My house of all places?"
"I didn't want to come at first but I was left with no choice. I'm sorry I barged in on you but I just want to stay here for a few days until I can get a new apartment. Please help me out Ben."
"My goodness Tina, You're so cruel!" Ben said, wondering how she could be so brazen to come to his house after being thrown out by the same man she left him for.
"I know you hate me but there's nobody I can turn to right now except you. Regardless of what happened between us, I still consider you a friend at least."
"A friend? We're not friends Tina. Please find someone else to help you because I can't," he said and then started to make his way inside when she grabbed his hand.
"Please Ben, you wouldn't even notice I'm here. I'll look for an apartment and leave as soon as possible," she pleaded, her eyes filled with tears.
Ben wanted to choke her but he couldn't refuse to help. This helpful nature was his Achilles heel and right now, he hated it.
"I can give you some money to book a hotel and also call you an Uber."
"You know how I feel about hotels Ben, I can't sleep there."
He remembered all too well. The way she could never sleep at a hotel no matter how nice it was. The memories crashed into each other and he felt pain shoot through him. He wanted to walk away from her and the pain she dredged up but he just wasn't the type to turn his back on someone that was helpless. Maybe he should have bought a second house, it would have come in really handy at this moment.
"Damn it!" he swore loudly, making her jump a little.
"I'm really sorry for disturbing you," Tina said.
"Come in," he said, opening the door to let her enter. He watched her struggle with lifting her box but he didn't try to help. He had been enough of a gentleman tonight and so deserved one moment of pettiness at least. When they got inside, Ben took a glass, went over to the dispenser, poured her a glass of water and handed it to her. In the bright light, he could clearly see her face and it dawned on him that she had been crying. Her face was all blotchy, her eyes red and her right cheek looked swollen.
"Thanks," she muttered, and gulped down the water. Setting the empty glass on the table, she looked up at him, waiting for him to say something else.
"You can use the guest room downstairs, you know where it is already. If you're hungry, there's food in the fridge and you can microwave it. The rooms upstairs are off-limits and you'll need to leave in two days tops. I don't want anyone to misunderstand this situation," he told her, his voice clear and cool.
"Okay, I will. Thank you so much for this, I owe you one."
"No. You owe me nothing. I'm not doing this for your sake."
She didn't say anything else and just watched him. He gathered his laptop and the papers strewn across the sofa then headed up the stairs, not looking back even once.

A/N
Yusuf's speech is written in Nigerian Pidgin English so here are the explanations for those who don't understand.
(1) Sir, there's a woman looking for you. I told her I wasn't aware of any unknown visitors coming but she said you both know each other really well. So I came to inform you before I let her in
(2) Sir, she's carrying a box. Are you sure you want me to open the gate for her?
(3) Sir, this is the woman.

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