If You Stay Away From Her

It was as though Chidinma has been waiting for Lanre’s arrival the whole day, she threw herself at Lanre in a hug immediately Lanre entered the beauty parlour. “Aunty!” She cried. Lanre felt unhappy. She asked Chidinma if she was a baby crying like that. She didn’t want the girl to act weak. Just when Chidinma was about to say something, K came in view.

“Aunty, you promised mama you will not have anything to do with them”. Chidinma said. She could remember vividly that K was the same guy who came to look for Lanre and had kissed her in the house. She was sure he was the young man engaged to Ify because Lanre had asked him to leave, and she mentioned this to her mother the day her mother pleaded with her not to get involved with it Ify and anything that has to do with her.

Lanre turned only to see that K had followed her into the beauty parlour. She noticed the eye with which everyone stared at K. She sighed. Then she asked Chidinma to lead K to her office while she speaks with her workers. Chidinma was reluctant but had no other choice.

“Sir, I hope you and your fiancée don’t put aunty Lanre in trouble. She is a good person and I will not be happy if you rich people hurt her”. Chidinma had said to K when they got to the office. She was trying to warn him off. K asked her if his fiancée did anything to hurt Lanre. Chidinma scoffed. She told him his fiancée came to their house when Lanre’s mother was around to create a scene. And that that had caused Lanre’s mother to cry.

“Mama said that she should stay away from you people. So I will really appreciate it if you stay away from my aunty”. Chidinma said. K sighed. He asked Chidinma for a book and a pen. She wondered what he wanted to do with it. But she gave him a piece of paper and a pen as he had requested for. He wrote down his contact info and handed it to Chidinma.

“I am on your side. I won’t hurt your aunty if you help me. Inform me of anything that has to do with your aunty. If she’s sick, if my fiancée shows up or tries to hurt her. Even if a rat or a cockroach scares her, let me know”. K said to Chidinma who took the paper containing K’s contact info.

“Why?” Chidinma asked, her eyes were focused on the figures drawn out in the paper. K told her he wanted to be Lanre’s 911, her emergency contact. Chidinma took it to be ridiculous.

“Nothing bad will happen to her if you stay away from her”. Chidinma said and walked away but with the paper still in her hand.

K hoped for Chidinma to actually do as he had said. She seem to be quite as thickheaded as Lanre. Well, they say you start acting a little bit like a person once you start living with the person.