Her Guest

“Friend no dey this life again; everybody don wicked” my mother used to say, trying to stick into my head that everyone that comes your way either has an ulterior motive or wants something in return. To her, at the end of every friendship, it’s war; an unending rivalry with probably little or no cause. So with the thought that no one out there is genuine, and with just having a brother whom I never got along with, I grew up alone. Started having friends at a certain age, but I’ve never had one that lasted for too long, if they last we ain’t too close. It’s either we lost touch or something happens to make the friendship go south. Yet, I’ve always wanted to prove my mother wrong. And somehow, I despised her so much while growing up, no wonder it was easy to not contact her after she told me I was no longer her child.

“So, what did you say your name was?” Clara asked me. She seemed curious, but also looked excited. She had first asked me to become friends with her. Turns out this is Clara’s father’s property…… well, as she had said.

After Clara dragged me away with her, letting Michael have his space with Tony, someone I presume to be her brother, she took me with her to greet some guests. It wasn’t settling for me, but it was not all that bad. I mean, I never thought I’d meet a few celebrities here, but I guess Michael perhaps could be that big to associate with this kind of crowd – not your regular kind of crowd, all seemed to be dignitaries in their own field. After greeting a few round of guest, she took me inside the building, and to a room upstairs, where a portrait of her sat hung on the wall. It was magnificent, just like her in person, a beauty gracing the wall of her room, her elegant teal dress suit her skin perfectly, her lips looked soft, it was as though the portrait was alive.

I turned to look at Clara, my eyes reluctantly pushing away from the portrait on the wall.

“Beatrice!” I said to her with a smile gracing my lips and my eyes fighting to fall to the ground. Perhaps I felt too low to stare into her eyes, or maybe I just wasn’t too used to people.

“Beatrice is a fine name, but it doesn’t go along with shyness,” Clara said as she placed her finger tips under my chin as if to raise my head up. Then she kissed my cheek, that, I was not expecting. But instead of drawing back or showing any form of surprise on my face, I just smiled at her and mouthed a “Thank you” to her. She smiled back and at that moment, I felt my body relaxing and embracing the atmosphere around me. Clara’s sweet, I could tell. She seemed like one to bring live to anything. Michael probably told me to stay away from her because she might want to be friends with me and find out that I’m no different from a hostage to Michael.

“You seem like a nice person,” I said to her. She smiled at me yet again, this time her perfect white teeth shone at me with the aid of the light in the room. Did I mention that her room was thrice the size of mine when I was in Warri. The bed a perfect king size, I’d die happily in such a bed, I had thought to myself. Anyone would…

“You flatter me Beatrice…..” she said, her lips pausing mid air, like she was trying to hold back something. Then she asked me how long I had known Michael for. It was out of the blue, and I didn’t know if I should give an answer to such a question. What if I tell her my situation?

“I was just wondering why he’d ask me to help pick a dress for his woman, one she’d wear to my party,” Clara said, her eyes screening my body. I pinched the side of the dress around my thigh. My head could not get over the fact that she picked the dress. I was wearing something Clara chose, a purple silk dress that ends just a few inches above my knees.

“It looks good on you though. I guess I have good eyes for beautiful things, just like I find you attractive,” Clara said to me, this time taking me aback. I was quite confused as to how to react. Should I just turn around or ask her what she meant by her finding me attractive? Was it a plain statement of admiration, or was it one of erotical attraction?

“Thank you,” those were the words that left my mouth, a completely different thing from the thoughts in my head. She nodded as if to acknowledge my thanks. Then she walked towards the bed in the room, she sat on it and tapped on her side, an indication that I should come sit, her eyes focused on me, the glass of champagne she had carried from the party still in her hand. I turned to look at the door through which we had entered the room, then I looked back at Clara. She was wearing a smile, one so enchanting that I thought if I were a man, I’d have her at that spot. But such thoughts do come and go.

“Laye!” Michael’s voice made me halt. I didn’t know if I should be grateful or regretful that he came. I was already approaching Clara without a thought of what would happen next.

“I told you to stick around with me,” Michael said through his teeth as he walked towards me. It was crazy that his voice was loud enough for me to hear. But then I just stood there in the middle of Clara’s room waiting for him to reach me, while Clara just sat there on her bed, her gaze intense as though she was waiting for something to happen. Maybe she wanted me to continue walking towards her.

“Let’s go!” Michael said when he finally reached me. He immediately grabbed my wrist, about to drag me with him.

“Michael, you shouldn’t be rude to my guest. I invited her here, not you,”

“I mean my room,” Clara said as though to clear of the confusion that had taken less than a second to settle in my head the moment she said she had invited me not Michael. Last I checked, it was Michael invited to the party, while I just accompanied him. But it turns out she was talking about her room.

“Well, she’s mine! SoI’m taking her with me,”

All the nerves in my brain cringed at Michael’s words, daring him to call me his again. But my demeanor was different, I stood there looking divided like a confused fellow.