Gift went home again bruised. It was the evidence of her time with Francis.
It was a souvenir from him.
He had asked her if she would rather not stay and she had made him a promise to come back as soon as she possibly could.
She had gone from his house to the market to get some things with which to prepare some thing for Nonso.
She knew that as soon as she left, Chinonso would call back his cook and that was okay but she wanted to leave him with something.
When she got back, she prepared a delicious soup for him.
When he got home that evening, he was treated to a feast.
'What are we celebrating?'
'Must we celebrate anything before I cook you something nice?'
'Do you call this nice? It is not merely nice. It is fabulous. And you always cook and make great dishes but you have outdone yourself this time. So what's the occasion?'
'The occasion is a great stay here with you. Of course you haven't forgotten that I am travelling back tomorrow?'