“Kambi The Love Goddess signing out. Stay tuned for the news at nine from Love 100.5 FM. Let’s meet here same time tomorrow evening. Goodnight.”
Kambi removed her headphones and took a deep breath. Through the studio window, she could see DJ Upbeat getting ready to play a song during the break before the news.
The disc jockey looked at her and saw her thumbs up, cheering him on. He smiled and nodded. Pushing her chair back, she rose. She tucked her blue file in her bag and sighed. Her head ached.
Chaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody sounded in the studio. She smiled. The song was her personal favourite. Now, hearing Chaka Khan’s voice wailing those words transported her back to the moments she had spent with Beba.
After having spent most of her time since parting from him revising the poems, she was able to control the urge to see him, to kiss him. Almost fifty poems penned down and memories of him remained fresh in her mind.
She was free, but not as happy as she’d expected. Tima was out there in the book publishing world, trying to negotiate a deal with a publisher. Kambi didn’t know what to expect from the unpredictable publishing business. There were no guarantees. It didn’t matter that her agent had gushed over the poems, especially the haiku verses. She could only hope for the best. Completing the manuscript made her feel wonderful.
Could I have done it without him? Perhaps. Beba had made the trip much more exciting for her. But with the end of the romance came a dull ache in her heart. Her legs weakened when she remembered him. Sometimes, she grew angry with herself and even angry at Beba, for putting her through such emotional turmoil and then walking away afterwards.
Strolling beside the line of cars stuck in a traffic jam, she thought back to her first kiss with Beba.
Where is he now? What is he doing? Does he think of me as much as I think of him?
She tried to shake thoughts of him from her mind. It was eight days since they’d said their goodbyes. Why hadn’t the heartache faded?
Two blocks from the glass-walled, two-storey radio house, she dialled his number again. It was unreachable. Hissing, she frowned. She had kept both her holiday and regular phone lines active, but Beba hadn’t phoned.
In the beginning, she had expected that it would be easy to forget his smile, his piercing eyes, and his voice. And he had called shortly after she had left the resort, but Kambi neither answered nor returned his calls. She had hoped that snubbing him would hasten the process of forgetting him. But it hadn’t worked out that way.
Tossing her smartphone into her big handbag, she crossed the road and walked towards BountyBites.
Kaycee had invited Kambi to meet her there to celebrate God-knows-what. Kaycee was like that, always looking for a reason to celebrate.
People trooped in and out of BountyBites clutching plastic bags, talking and chatting. Kambi walked in and climbed up the stairs. Kaycee had been specific in her description – upstairs, by the window.
“Kambi, over here!” a familiar voice called. Kambi saw the waving hand before she saw Diana shining with an inexplicable happiness. What had changed her so much, Kambi wondered. Sitting next to Diana was Kaycee, who was looking over her shoulder and winking at Kambi.
“Diana, how are the twins?” Kambi asked.
Diana nodded. “They’re fine. They’re with their father now.”
“I’ve been meaning to come to your place but work pressure …” Kambi said, as she hugged her sister. Turning to Kaycee, she said, “Fashionista, what are you doing in PH?” Slowly, she removed her handbag and tossed it under the table.
Diana began apologising for the long silence, but she paused when Kaycee started saying, “Business and boyfriend.”
Diana raised her eyebrows questioningly. And Kaycee rephrased her response.
“Did I say boyfriend? Forgive me.” Kaycee placed her left hand on the table and wriggled her ring finger.
“Pararapaparaaaa!” she shrieked.
Kambi blocked her ears. From the corner of her eyes, she could see that many people were staring at them.
Oh, let them look. Why can’t they mind their food? The least she could do was jig-dance with her friend. So she pushed back her chair, oohing and aahing as she rose.
“Tonye the architect finally put a ring on it. After five years of off-and-on loving,” Kambi said, as she twirled around. Her heart felt lighter now there was good news to take her mind off Beba and the pending book contract.
“Tonye weds Kaycee. It’s about time you two stepped up your game,” Diana added, sipping her Fanta. Divorced 30-year-old that she was, she had a keen interest in blossoming love relationships. “Speaking of engagements … Kambi, why aren’t you wearing your ring?” Diana said.
Kambi frowned and shook her head. “It’s not. It wasn’t…”
“I heard you met a miracle worker. You went up that mountain single and in two weeks you were engaged,” Diana said. She folded her arms across her chest as she stared coolly at her younger sister. Kambi sensed Diana’s displeasure at her strange secretiveness, and shrugged.
“You seem to have heard more than you ought to know. I am not in the mood to make a case for myself,” Kambi said, smiling.
She missed confiding in her sister, but how was she supposed to explain that the engagement was all stage-managed? It wouldn’t make any sense to them. She suspected that Diana wouldn’t believe her, especially if she told them that she had sold the engagement ring and used the money towards schools fee for a charity she supported.
“It’s been a while, Kambi. I’m sorry, but I’ve been very busy these past few weeks. Work and life and …” Diana paused, and looked at both of them. Kambi suspected that she’d just managed to stop herself from giving too much information. Why was her sister smiling shyly? What was she hiding? Why were her eyes bright and hopeful? Diana’s eyes had been tired and sunken back when she was going through her divorce. Had she started seeing someone, Kambi wondered.
Trying to divert everyone’s attention, Kambi said, “You didn’t miss me.”
“Little sis, I did. Really. It’s complicated.”
“Uncomplicate it then,” Kaycee chipped in. Having grown up as an only child, she’d always been envious of Kambi and Diana’s relationship.
“Neither of you will understand. Kambi, what did you bring back from the mountain?” Diana asked, grinning from ear to ear. Her dimples sank deeper into her cheeks. Her dark brown skin gleamed like a polished ebony sculpture.
“Print wax materials,” Kambi replied.
“I hope you bought some for Mum. She’s been looking forward to seeing you. I told her about your new guy. She seemed excited. But she’s worried. Why are you shutting her out?” Diana asked. She touched Kambi’s shaky hand.
“Kambi, are you still upset with your mother?” Kaycee asked.
Kambi shook her head. Don’t they understand? Anger didn’t drive me away from family. It was shame.
“I was angry, but not so much. I was even more ashamed. I felt like a failure,” Kambi replied. Her voice was low. Distancing herself from family hadn’t been easy at all. She missed them but she wanted to prove that she could be successful at something, if not relationships and marriage. The publishing deal, she had hoped, would give her the confidence she sought. But now she wasn’t so sure.
Diana leaned closer to the table and asked, “What do you have to be ashamed of? You did your best to make the relationship work, didn’t you?” Kambi nodded. “Why are you being hard on yourself? Things go wrong. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’m 30 and divorced. Should I spend the rest of my life hugging high voltage transformers?”
Kaycee touched Kambi’s shoulder. “Please, go and visit your mother,” she said. “Diana will accompany you. Life is short.”
Look at the lengths Beba had to go to in order to find his mother … You have but one life to live and so does your mother.
Diana shrugged.
“Now that we’re done with the intervention, let’s get back to the Obudu gist,” Kaycee said, grinning from ear to ear. “Kambi, what happened between you and the fine guy? I told you to hold on to that good man; they’re hard to come by.”
Diana thrust her fist in the air, “Yes! I am a witness.”
Kambi looked at both of them and said, “Agreement happened.” She clicked her tongue and added, “Forget it.” Her head dropped.
“Anyway, Tonye and I already fixed the date. Next month. I don’t know why Tonye’s in a hurry,” Kaycee prattled. “Kambi, I want you to be my maid of honour.”
Kambi’s jaw dropped. Why me? she almost yelled, but she didn’t want to be a wet blanket. So she focused on the positive side of things. She had enjoyed being Diana’s maid of honour. She’d got so caught up in the excitement of the wedding that she’d almost felt like the bride. Nowadays, she was nervous of nuptials; they reminded her of the experience of her botched wedding and of Diana’s failed marriage.
What if something went wrong? I don’t want to jinx Kaycee’s big day.
Kambi imagined another upside to being maid of honour. She could help plan her friend’s wedding and even read a poem during the toast.
And it will take my mind off this whole book deal business and Beba.
“Of course, I’ll be your maid of honour,” Kambi said, smiling.
“As if you had a choice,” Kaycee joked. Her bangles jangled. Her weave bounced as she shook her head. Kambi stared as Kaycee rubbed her palms and continued talking about her plans.
Her phone announced the arrival of a text message. Kambi looked at the phone. Her heart skipped two beats. The text message was from her agent. It read:
I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU. MEET ME AT MY OFFICE AT 12 NOON, MONDAY.