Chapter 43

Violet didn't even bother to reach for the presents, instead, a confused frown appeared on her face. "Me? By who?"

"Colonel Anthony, ma'am." Replied the Sergeant.

Violet's countenance suddenly changed to the one of disdain now. "What for?" 

"Ma'am, he didn't say. My duty is just to deliver the presents to you and leave."

"I see, well, please take them back to him and tell your Colonel to choke on the flowers on my behalf!" Violet hissed and the Sergeant and Stephen stared at her in surprise before exchanging uncomfortable looks between themselves.

"Ma'am..." The Sergeant tentatively began because he sure didn't want to deliver such a message to the Colonel at his own detriment. "Did you hear whom I said they were from? I meant the Colonel, Colonel Anthony, the one in charge of this barrack." He elaborated.

"Well, I heard you loud and clear the first time, Sergeant! Take that trash back to your Colonel or I'll beat your head with those flowers! Or is it by force?!"

The Sergeant gave her yet another surprising look. To save her from putting herself in trouble with her callous mouth, Stephen decided to intervene. "Sergeant, what she actually means is that she's not in the mood for gifts right now. Simply tell the Colonel that you didn't meet her at home."

The Sergeant humbly withdrew the presents and held them to his body now. "Ba matsala, Oga. Nagode. (No problem boss, thank you.)" He turned and started to leave when Violet suddenly spoke, stopping him:

"Hey, come back here! I changed my mind!" She said and the Sergeant turned partially to look at her then glance at Stephen who was also flustered, wondering what she was up to this time.

Violet walked to end of the porch and stretched her hands towards the Sergeant as she said, "Bani su (Let me have them.)" When the Sergeant hesitated by glancing at Stephen as if seeking for approval, Violet impatiently asked. "Menene? Bani! (What is it? Give me!)" 

Having no choice and also relieved that he wouldn't have to return them to the Colonel, the Sergeant handed the gifts to Violet. Violet haughtily examined the presents and said: "When you see him, tell him to upgrade a little and buy more expensive flowers and chocolates and not this cheap rubbish meant to impress barrack or Mami girls, Ka fahimta? (Is that clear?)" She asked.

The Sergeant nodded. "Eh." He answered, turned and walked away without another word.

Tucking the flowers under her arm, Violet unwrapped the box of chocolate, opened it, took one from it and took a bite. When she turned to go back into the apartment, she paused when she saw Stephen giving her a mean look. "What?!" She snapped.

"What was that all about?!" He angrily asked. "What's with the rude attitude? Did you realize that that was a soldier you had just spoken to like some errand boy?!" He pointed a finger down the direction the Sergeant had taken.

"So?! How does that concern you?!" She apathetically asked, "Since your Colonel made him an errand boy, is that not what he is?!"

"What has gotten into you, Violet?! Ever since the party, you have completely changed! You have been acting all strange and rude lately even when it's so uncalled for! You have suddenly brought on a bad attitude that I don't even know where the hell you got it from! This is so unlike you!"

"Oh, so now you think you are in the right position to speak about bad attitude?! Mtcheeww, kettle calling pot, black!" She retorted.

"Well, that's not the point here, Violet!" Stephen vehemently stated. "We all have our issues, but you really need to put that attitude of yours in check before you get us both into trouble! I'll not be given a query or penalized because of your insolence, so, fix it!"

"You have no right whatsoever to tell me what to do, Stephen! I took a lot of shit from you and I'm done! In fact, from now on, I want to be paid for every single work I do here! I'm not going to keep playing the role of a wife to a zombie who's so mean and is still hung up on his ex!"

"Oh! Is that what this is all about?! Well, if this is your way of trying to get back at me, you're actually doing a very terrible job with this bad attitude of yours! So, you know, nothing you do can get at me because I don't feel a thing for you! And concerning being paid for all the chores that you do, last time I checked, you aren't paying for the accommodation, are you?!" He fired back.

"No, I'm not but not like you made me feel at home, Stephen! I've been sleeping on the couch for almost three weeks and you have no idea just how uncomfortable that is! Simply play your role and I'll play mine! I can't even wait to be out of this damn barrack and be far away from you!"

"Yeah? So that you can go back to the club and pick up where you left up right?! Well, good riddance!"

"Yes, after all, I'm a stripper and that's what I live for!" She retorted, trying to conceal how his words had hurt her. He was always fond of using her profession against her. She ought to have been used to it by now but she just couldn't, not when it was coming from him.

"You really need to have your head checked!" Stephen tapped a finger against the side of his own head to indicate that she has gone mad. "Checked! You have either gone insane or you have no iota of shame!" When he saw her take another bite from the chocolate, he asked now, his countenance darkening. "And when did you start taking gifts from the Colonel? I thought you disliked him! I expected you to turn it down... politely though."

"And why would I want to do that? Have you ever bought me any gifts?!"

"It doesn't matter if I have or not! What actually matters right now is that you are passing a message to him that you're interested in his advances. Don't you have any sense at all?!"

"Sense kee both of you there! And since two of you have decided to pass me between each other like some object who doesn't have her own say or have any feelings of her own, well, let's see how you two like what I've decided to do to you both!" Violet stated.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Stephen gave her a questioning look in partial dread.

"Just watch and see." She said in an indifferent manner and started to walk past him when he suddenly grabbed her upper arm and pulled her back.

"Well, listen to me Violet and listen good! I don't want you taking any more gifts from the Colonel again! Let this be the first and last time that you do such! Is that clear?!" He asked in an authoritative tone.

She gave him a disgruntled look then roughly snatched her arm from him. "You are not the boss of me, Stephen so you have no right to dictate what I should do or not!" She hissed. "Now, you listen loud and clear, I'll keep taking gifts and even go as far as going out with whomever I deem fit!" She defiantly said and walked into the apartment.

"Violet!" Stephen called her sternly now, provoked by her outright defiance. "Violet!!" He moved closer to the door but suddenly flinched back when she suddenly slammed the door on his face and said from inside the apartment:

"Mr. Man go to work!"

Pursing his lips in anger, Stephen exhaled, turned, walked away got into his car and drove off while he fumed.

                                                                                 ★★★

Three days later...

Stephen arrived from work early that evening and saw Violet sitting outside the apartment on the concrete floor dressed in one of his camouflage t-shirts which she had deliberately cut into a crop top to piss him off but he ignored it because he knew that she was just waiting for an opportunity to explode. 

She was filing her fingernails after self-painting her natural toenails which glistened in the evening sun. As he approached her, she didn't say anything to him and without saying anything to her too, he walked past her into the apartment and this had been occurring for the past three days now. 

A few minutes later, he returned still dressed in his uniform pants but without his hat, shirt and boots this time. He stood there for some seconds as he stared far off into the distance as if trying to think of what to say. 

Ever since what had transpired between them three days ago, she had suddenly become so withdrawn towards him and only spoke to him when necessary, as if she was a vengeful quest to do as she had threatened and despite himself, it was really taking a toll on Stephen.

"So, you aren't even going to say anything to me?" He finally asked now as he towered over her, his back leaned against the wall and his arms folded under his chest which made his biceps bulge.

"Like what?" She stiffly asked, trying so hard not to stare at those biceps.

"Didn't you see that I just returned from work?" He said carefully.

"So?" She sounded nonchalant. "Is it the first time that you are returning from work? The only difference is that you came earlier today." She returned her attention to her toe nails.

"And you are not even going to acknowledge my presence by welcoming me back from work?" He was practically pleading for some attention or acknowledgment.

"Was that important before? You never did like it when I used to. You even hardly ever replied me, so why are you craving for it now?"

"Well, I've gotten used to it, Violet and you have to continue." He grumbled like a little boy.

She ignored him by looking away then began to blow air through her mouth at her fingernails after coating them with colorless nail polish. Sighing in surrender, he got down and sat down beside her, trying to make conversation. "So... what are you doing?" He asked now, watching the way she began to polish her nails with a wine color nail polish.

"You are not suddenly blind now, are you?" She asked coolly.

"Can you at least try to be a little polite? I was just asking a question." He said calmly, trying not to trigger her madder side which she had shown him in the past few days.

"What's your problem anyway?!" She suddenly asked, turning her head to give him a suspicious look. "Why are you acting all weird all of a sudden?"

"Weird how?" He feigned pretense. "Me? Weird? No, not at all." He awkwardly said.

"For the past three days now, you have been so suspiciously nice to me and very chatty too! What's up?!" She refused to be fooled by his act of playing ignorant.

"So, it has now become a crime now to be nice and chatty, ko?" He asked, being evasive.

"What's the catch, Stephen? Why the sudden change of attitude?" She persisted much to his dismay.

"Well..." He slightly shrugged a shoulder, elbows on knees. "I'm just trying to fix things between us. You know we started off on the wrong foot, so I'm only trying to make things right." He sheepishly said, staring ahead of him at the ground to deliberately avoid looking into her face.

She shot him a scornful look. "Oh, now you want to make things right, ko? After treating me like crap, you think that you can suddenly just come play the pipe and have me dance to your tune? Not happening!"

He sighed and asked in despair, "Why are you just suddenly cold, Violet? Why? What happened to you? What snapped? Where did the Violet I used to know go to?!"

"Well, she closed up shop when you decided to continue acting like a jerk!"

"Fine, accepted, I was a big idiot!" He confirmed.

"A tall one to be precise!" She corrected him.

"Right, that too!" He hesitantly agreed. "But can we just call a truce and start afresh?" He held an open hand sideways towards her.

"No." She stated after glancing a mean look down at his hand.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not interested!"

He sighed and withdrew his hand. "Why are you being so stubborn all of a sudden, Violet?" He asked in frustration now. "Here I'm, really trying my very best to be nice here and you are not making it any easier with your sour attitude! Have you been initiated into a coven?!"

"Speaking of sour attitude, you need to fix yourself! And if I were initiated into a coven, I'll kill you first!"

"Violet, isn't it obvious that I'm working on my attitude already?! You know too well that the Stephen you know will never even sit down this way with you! Why are you still mad at me anyway?! I already apologized a million times. What else do you want me to do, Violet? If you want me to buy you a bucket of ice cream, I will! You want a garage pack full of flowers and a truck of chocolate, I'll buy them!"

"And you think that I can easily be bought over by mere goodies? I might be a sweet-tooth, Stephen, but I'm not a fool!"

"Then what do you want? Just name it! What?" He sounded a bit desperate now.

"An item from all popular designers like Gucci, Versace, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and the likes." She answered.

He drew his head back to give her a look of disbelief. "You are kidding right?"

"Of course, I'm kidding!" She rolled her eyes after scoffing. "If you really want to make things right then you'll have to do a lot of things to make up for it."

"Alright, fine with me!" He clapped his hands once as if to show that he was prepared. "I'm down for anything, Violet! I'm game, just say it!"

"Really?" She gave him a skeptical look. 

"Yes." He answered confidently.

"So, you know..." She began now. "...whatever rules I'm going to give or requests that I'm going to make does not certify that things would just automatically be fine between us and go back to normal, they are just going to pave a way towards that, because if you really want my attention and good attitude once again, then you'll really have to sweat for it."

"Well, as long as your rules and requests are going to make you a little bit receptive towards me again, I'm good to go." He assured her. "It sucks leaving work and coming home to a mean and sulking woman who's hell-bent on making my life miserable! I just want us to be friends! Let's fix this, please."

"Alright then..." Violet smiled now, gathered her manicure stuff into a small fancy plastic basket and stood up. "Let's go in and have some fun then." She gestured with her head at the apartment.

"Okay!" Stephen rose too and followed her into the house, not knowing what she had in mind but dreading it all the same.