Tears for a Lifetime: The Lunch (Part 1)

I only stayed back to make sure Kemi had gotten comfortable before leaving the house. I got to the market to pick up all that was needed and I got back home to start cooking. As soon as I walked into the house, I met Kemi in the sitting room watching TV when she was supposed to be at her Saturday classes. ‘Kemi baby, you didn’t go for lessons?’ She got up and helped to carry some bags from me. She pouted ‘No’. I was concerned so I felt her temple ‘Why? Are you sick?’ She shook her head and said ‘No. I want to stay with you today.’ My heart felt so full.

I said to her ‘Ah, Kemi… I won’t have time oh. I’ll be cooking all through. Uncle Jide has invited some of his friends and he wants me to cook different things for them.’ She said ‘Ehn. I’ll cook with you.’ I said to her ‘Ha, Kemi. You don’t know how to cook now.’ She said ‘I will learn. I can help you do little things.’ She seemed so eager to help so I agreed after insisting that she wouldn't touch anything that I didn’t tell her to or go near a knife. She agreed and we moved into the kitchen.

What gave Kemi the sudden interest in learning how to cook when she was never interested in helping in the kitchen on a normal day? I thought about it for a split-second but I had too many things waiting to be done so I left it. Kemi ended up doing more chatting than helping and for someone who liked to cook in silence, it took a lot to endure her many stories though they were very interesting. After a while, she got bored and she asked to go watch a TV program which I gladly agreed to.

In an hours’ time maybe around 12:30, I had a soup that was boiling away and soon to be brought down, a vegetable stew that was done and cooling away, rice that I just mixed into the tomato sauce for Jollof rice with the rest waiting to be boiled full as white rice or to be mixed as fried rice and I was cutting up vegetables. (Yes oh, I tried) I was on time and very happy with myself. Sometime before 2pm, I had a pepper soup boiling away as an accompaniment and that was the last thing being cooked.

None of the guests had arrived so I went up to take my bath as the pepper soup was not yet half-done. Because there were guests coming, I put on one of my pretty dresses (the short pink one that Jide really liked) and I had Kemi do the same since she was to help me serve them downstairs. I was leaving my room to go check on the soup when Jide came out of his room. He looked really good in his matching shirt and shorts. I could see him but he couldn't see me until he turned the corner. He looked at me and he smiled. I didn't say anything and I pretended to not have seen him.

I had gotten downstairs when he said ‘Hmmn, Rita. Everything smells so good today. Nawa oh.’ Jide didn't talk like that; he was always so proper so I could tell that he was looking for my attention and I didn't give it him. As soon as I brought down the pepper soup, I heard the doorbell sound out indicating that the first guest had arrived. I left the kitchen to open the door when I heard Jide laughing out loud with someone else – a man. They walked into the sitting room till they reached where I was. He was a young man… he seemed younger than Jide. I greeted him and he replied after which I walked back into the kitchen but I left the door open.

I heard him say ‘Guy, na she be dat?’ He was asking Jide. I didn't hear Jide’s reply but he laughed and said ‘You be bad guy! She dey oh’ I could tell they were talking about me but I didn't know what they meant so I walked out of the kitchen into the dining room so I could hide and listen.

#GreenNews

Share on Google Plus

About NaijaInfoGists®