PROLOGUE
It was one of those days that you pity yourself for being a girl.
It was raining…hard, I had no umbrella and was practically in the middle of nowhere- smack right in the middle of Mobolaji Bank Anthony way. The “no man’s land” part of it.
Damn!
Yeah, damn the rain.
It gets worse. I am in heels – the very high Christian Louboutin look-alikes and a flower- patterned print silk dress- yea, flimsy as it can get right?
So, it wasn’t a surprise I got soaked pretty quickly.
Hide I hear you say?
If only it was possible. If you know Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way well, you will know there is no place to hide, especially if you are on the other side of the road (the Lagos country Club end) facing oncoming traffic from the airport, the GRA and Ikeja.
Why walk that distance and from where to where? I hear you ask again….
It wouldn’t have been a bad idea in strategic and tactical maneuvering if the blasted rain had not decided to make me look silly and thoroughly embarrassed.
From Goodies Superstore just adjacent the road from the Lagos country Club and Unity Bus stop, where I have my beauty salon, is a long and slightly winding stretch of sidewalk where a girl like me can showcase myself and get the attention I deserve (especially, if one is on the other side facing the coming traffic from the airport and Ikeja end like I was).
This was my exact intention on the fateful afternoon. And I was totally dressed for the part too. A nice dress gown, with a petticoat jacket on top, my Louboutin adaptation and a graceful body to fit it all into.
I was out to make a kill.
But, I was only halfway on my wickedly waltzing walk when it suddenly began to rain. How it would have been nicer if the rain had started while I was still at Goodies…at least I’d have been able to take a vantage seat and watch the men.
Men! That is a game I really know how to play.
I like to seat or stand in a corner of a store, hotel or airport lounge or even at street corners and bus stops, and size up guys picking out those with potentials to make me feel good. I could almost tell, with a high percentage of accuracy, the guys who have money and are not afraid to spend it on a woman…those who have money but won’t spend a dime for or on a woman….those without money but stupid enough to want a piece of quality ass… and the worst kind, those who want the quality ass and all the money that ass will fling their way – those are the lappy dog kind of guys. You might have seen them around – saggy jeans, awkwardly perched caps, funny haircuts, all kinds of weird body piercing and tattoos. Yeah, you definitely have seen, met or being with some of these boys before.
Let’s leave the men and boys for now (There will be enough time for that later).
Anyways, there I was walking down MBA way in all my resplendent glory when the rain conspired to make a mockery of me and my makeup, shoes, hair and barely knee-length gown.
I cursed the rain as I walked faster towards the Ikeja end, in hope I’d find a shed or shelter where I can hide from the rain (although I knew that was not possible…at least not until I get to unity bus stop).
There was nothing for it than to brave the rain and hope that one of these boys in their cars has seen enough of me to make their minds go ballistic.
All might not be lost after all.
With this heart lifting, confidence-boosting thought I crossed the road to the other side, the side I should have been on but for my intention to make a kill. I had only walked a few steps when I heard the honking of a car horn. A blue Honda Civic car 2012 model parked a few feet ahead and flashed on the parking lights.
A smile flitted across my face.
It was not all doom and gloom after all. Here is my kill! I walked up to the car still dripping wet and stooped to look at the occupant….
It was how I met Kenni…how I got married and how I became even worse than I already was. Bad girl turned worse…and how this story came about.
But, this was almost at the end – in fact, it is at the end in a sense.
Let me start from the beginning……