Episode 32 – Family Friend

Part 1

Rita and Bukola were sitting alone when Dave came over and joined them.

Dave: “Hello, beautiful ladies…”

Rita: “Hi… How are you?”

Dave said while smiling, “I was fine until now, but seeing you made me feel even better.”

Bukola: “Hey… Are you flirting with Rita?”

Dave: “Yes, sweetie… But tell your Rita to flirt back at least once in a while.”

Rita: “You’ll never change, will you?”

Dave: “I do want to change, but then I remember your face, and I lose my way.”

“And then I’ll make your face so unrecognizable that you’ll be scared to look at yourself in the mirror.”

Everyone turned to see who said that. And it was Olamide. He pulled a chair and sat down with them.

Dave is irritated now, “Oh man, what’s your problem? Why do you always interrupt?”

Olamide glared at him, “The problem is you.”

Bukola: “What happened, brother? Why are you so annoyed with Dave?”

Rita knew everything but still asked to tease him, “Yeah, what’s your problem? Why you always interrupt him…”

Bukola: “Brother, you scold Dave every time as if Rita is your girlfriend.”

Rita became shocked while hearing this, “What… No…”

Olamide immediately stopped her, “Shut up, silly, it’s nothing like that.”

Dave: “Okay, if you don’t like Rita, then why do you always interrupt? Do you like her or what?”

Rita also wanted to hear the answer to this question. Olamide didn’t want to answer but when Dave asked again, he avoided eye contact and said, “No, I don’t like her.”

Olamide’s response shattered the little hope Rita had left. She stood up, grabbed Dave’s hand and started to leave. “If you don’t like me, then you shouldn’t have a problem with me either. This is my life, okay? Come on Dave, let’s spend some time alone or else some people will never stop following us.”

Rita left with him and Olamide became very upset.

Seeing him so downcast Bukola couldn’t help but ask, “What happened, brother? Why are you so upset? And tell me honestly, do you not like Rita?”

Olamide: “No, Bukola… Don’t say such things. It’s nothing like that.”

Bukola: “You’re lying. When Rita told Gold about you, I overheard everything. I know everything but I don’t understand why you did this to Rita.”

Olamide: “You mean sister-in-law knows… And you didn’t tell anyone, did you?”

Bukola: “No, I didn’t tell anyone, but I want to know the full story. Please tell me. Anyone can see how much you like Rita. Then why did you reject her?”

Olamide: “I had my reasons, and I can’t tell you. Please don’t ask me about this.”

Bukola: “But brother…”

Olamide: “Bukola, please…”

And then Olamide got up and left.

Tunde was busy discussing business matters with his partners, while poor Gold was following him around, feeling utterly bored.

She had no interest in their conversation. Suddenly, one of the men noticed Gold and asked Tunde, “Who is this lady with you?”

Tunde glanced at Gold once and replied nonchalantly, “She’s our family friend, Gold.”

The man extended his hand toward Gold and said, “Oh, hello Miss Gold… Nice to meet you!”

But Gold wasn’t paying attention. She had expected Tunde to introduce her as his wife, but he had called her a family friend instead. This deeply hurt her.

She felt as though Tunde was ashamed of her, which was why he didn’t acknowledge her as his wife. His actions made Gold recall Amaka’s words, making her even more uneasy.

The man said again, “Hello??”

Gold snapped out of her thoughts, shook his hand and greeted him. The next moment, she walked away.

Tunde tried to stop her but Gold said she wanted to go sit with Bukola and Rita. Tunde didn’t insist further and let her go.

Gold walked over to Bukola’s table and sat down. Bukola, who had been sitting alone and bored, was delighted to see her. “I’m so glad you’re here, sister-in-law. I’ve been sitting here alone for so long. But how did brother let you come? He’s been dragging you around everywhere!” Bukola laughed.

Gold didn’t respond to Bukola’s comment. She was still thinking about Amaka. “Was Amaka right about everything? Am I really that boring? Yes, I am! And Mr. Grumpy likes modern, stylish women who are gorgeous. I’m nothing like that. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t like me. He’s even embarrassed to call me his wife in front of others. Oh God, what is happening to me? I care about him so much, but he…”

Gold sat there quietly. Noticing her silence, Bukola asked again, “What’s wrong, sister-in-law? You seem upset. Did brother say something to you again?”

Gold: “No, nothing happened.”

Bukola: “Then why are you—”

Before Bukola could finish her sentence, Amaka approached their table. Seeing her, Bukola frowned. “What are you doing here? Did you leave something unsaid earlier?”

Ignoring Bukola’s comment, Amaka sat down and said, “Oh, no, nothing like that. I just wanted to apologize to Gold. I shouldn’t have spoken to her the way I did.”

“Whatever you said wasn’t wrong. It was the truth,” Gold replied in a lost voice.

Amaka: “Oh, no, it wasn’t. Please forgive me. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”

Amaka’s seemingly genuine apology softened both Gold and Bukola.

Gold: “You don’t need to apologize. I’m not angry with you.”

Amaka: “Oh, great! Then how about we have a drink to celebrate?”

Gold and Bukola, in unison: “What?”

Amaka: “I mean soft drinks, of course. We can have that, right?”

Both Gold and Bukola nodded. Amaka called over a waiter. This was the same waiter she had bribed earlier and he carried the tray with the spiked drink.

The waiter gave Amaka a subtle signal, and Amaka picked up two glasses—handing the drugged one to Gold and the other to Bukola. She kept the third glass for herself and dismissed the waiter.

The three clinked glasses and began drinking.

Gold was still lost in thoughts about Tunde and angrily finished her glass in one go. She found the taste odd but ordered another glass.

Amaka was delighted. She thought to herself, “Wow, I didn’t even need to do much. She’s ordering another one herself.”

The same waiter brought Gold another glass and as Gold drank it, her head started to feel heavy. Noticing her condition, Bukola asked, “Are you okay, sister-in-law?”

Gold: “I’m fine, just feeling a bit dizzy.”

Bukola: “Are you sure everything is okay? Should I call brother?”

Gold: “No, don’t bother. I’ll be back soon.”

Gold turned to Amaka and asked, “Can you tell me where the washroom is?”

Amaka: “Sure, I’ll take you there.”

Amaka helped the now-dizzy Gold walk. Bukola was watching Amaka’s behavior, grew suspicious. “Why is this makeup queen suddenly behaves so friendly? And why is sister-in-law feeling dizzy all of a sudden? Something’s not right. I need to tell brother.”

Meanwhile, Gold was completely intoxicated and started talking about Tunde, “Do you know, Amaka? Tunde doesn’t love me at all. He never talks to me. And when he does, he calls me his friend. He never treats me like his wife. Who does that?”

END OF PART 1

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