Act 1, Scene 2
Day: Monday
Time: 10.00am
Location: Lagos, Nigeria. 34°
Dad has an appointment and will leave the house at 2pm. Without fail. He needs me to run some errands but I must be back home on time to meet up with the plumber. I bathe hurriedly. I’m dressing up and I start to sweat so I sit in front of the fan then I start dressing up again.
My legs seem unable to slow down as I walk to the bus stop. My underarms are damp and sweat is trickling down my neck. Ten minutes later, I am on a bus heading to Obalende. I sit by the window as the bus speeds along on Third Mainland Bridge.
The conductor of the second bus I board jumps out yelling in a scratchy voice, ‘Tinubu, Tinubu eh, hold your N20 o, no change o‘. I rush in and sit down. I am squished between two women taking up a fair share of my seat space and they don’t care. I shift uncomfortably. ‘Abeg come down if you no wan siddon!’, the bigger of the two women hisses at me. I stay put. The ride is uneventful and thankfully very quick. I start my trek on the long stretch of Broad Street. Bank No. 1 – I am done in less than ten mins. Bank No. 2 – System goes down as it gets to my turn. I should have gone on to run more errands – something about the way the bank teller was so relaxed eating his boli and epa should have told me it would be a long wait. He probably knows the minimum wait time to get the system back up and running isn’t as short as the branch manager told us.
The manager changes the TV channel to African Magic and within seconds, everyone is watching Ukwa and his sons Aki and Pawpaw, I am not interested in the movie. Twenty minutes later I see the tellers shuffling and I can tell the system is ok. I rush to the front before the manager announces the system is back up. I go to Mr. Boli with a broad smile and hand full of cheques. People are murmuring behind me, ‘That sisi de back before dem put TV o’, ‘Aunty go back!’ ‘Hey, small girl go join line you think say we come here come play?’ An elderly man shakes his finger at me as I exit the bank. Oh well…
Four copies of Every Day with Jesus in my bag from the Christian Bookstore, I jog to Dad’s cousin’s store. She sells fabrics. I pick up a package, she is not around. She likes to tell stories, I don’t mind, but today I’m in a big hurry.
I step into Bank No 3. It is hot and the queue is very long. I am beginning to feel light-headed. I have noticed people get angry if you leave a queue and come back to it – they expect you to stand in your space, don’t leave, don’t sit – just stand there. I tell the man behind me, very loudly, ‘I am coming, I want to buy water outside’. I want people around to hear me, I don’t want to come back to an argument. It’s too hot. Instead, I dash into the Electronics store to check the price of deep freezers for Mom. Store flyers in hand, I walk back to the bank, thankfully this is my last errand. It eventually gets to my turn, I transact and leave.
Time check – 12.30pm
2 buses later and I’m heading home. It can’t get any worse than this, and it shouldn’t. The bus makes a turn and… TRRRAAAFFFIIICCC!!!!
I never experrerit!!!
It’s bumper to bumper. It’s hot in the buses but a little cooler outside, some people are walking ahead to join their buses in front. I never do that. I always think the bus will drive off and leave me stranded.
The traffic eventually clears up and we are on the move again. I get off at my stop, by this time I am a wreck, I am exhausted. I feel shorter, I must have shrunk a few inches from the sun beating down on me.
Time check – 1.45pm
‘Hello beautiful, you look familiar’. I turn, looking all defeated. ‘Is the sun not too hot for what you are doing?’. He certainly didn’t see that coming. ‘I am sorry, don’t be offended’, he stammers. ‘It’s OK, please help me carry this, I’m very tired’. He looks at me, he went from ‘toaster’ to helper in 5 seconds. I hand over the package. I try to make small talk in gratitude but I am breathless. He laughs and says ‘It’s ok’. He turns back as we get to my gate, I thank him. He didn’t ask for my name, he is laughing as he walks away.
Dad’s car is not here. There is a note on the dining table from him. The plumber came just as I left home. He will come back tomorrow.
I am fast asleep before my head hits the couch.
Kech
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