Memoirs of A Lagos PLAYBOY Episode 23

Memoirs of A Lagos PLAYBOY………. Episode 23 
 
You’re probably wondering why I got all worked up about this Kunle. Well, I will tell you. In my short time on earth, I’ve come to realize that for every woman, there’s always this one man that knows how to push your buttons in such a way that you kind of become jelly or potty in their hands. The same goes for us guys. It really doesn’t matter if the person is single, dating or married; they always have that weakening and knee-buckling effect on you because they always seem to say or do the right thing all the time. I’m convinced the most perfect marriages are made of these two persons who possess such mutual feelings.
I’m sure a couple of persons can relate to this. Most of us always have that one person that we crushed on in our formative stages in life and its either we had a brief but blissful taste of the pie and wish we could have more or we admired and constantly perceived its aroma from a distance, having never had the guts to go all out for it. Sometimes, its never really about the guts to go all out for it; Its about the need be in love with and cling to an idea, a symbol of perfection which is utopian in real life.
Before I came to be, there was Kunle. Kunle was that Utopian symbol of perfection. How did I get to know? I saw the glow in Christy’s eyes when she spoke about him. It was on one of those weekend nights we shared together. She suddenly wanted to know about my past; something I was always vague and cagey about for obvious reasons. That night, I rehearsed a mental selection of the best of affairs. On the rebound, she unfolded like a blossoming flower and spilled all.
Kunle’s father was a civil engineer like her father and a very dear friend of the family. As a result, Kunle and Christy practically grew up together as playmates till their late teens when Kunle and his family relocated to the United States. By then, young Kunle who was the only child of his parents had grown into a dashing young man that she was already infatuated with though he seemed never to notice…until the news came that they were about to relocate. Kunle, 17 then, had come to her house in the dead of night, scaled the then uncompleted fence and hurled stones at her window till she woke up and came down to meet him. There, he professed his undying love for her which came as a pleasant shock. His house was a couple of streets away from hers and they spent the rest of the night outside, in each others arms promising heaven and earth to each other: you know how it is with youthful love, uninhibited in terms of the outflow of feelings. Well, he finally traveled and she moved on until he returned a couple of years later. This time, there was no holding back.
I saw the glow in her eyes as she dug into pleasant memories of the past. I had wondered if she glowed the same way when she thought about me. Bouts of jealousy and depression that I couldn’t mask properly set in and I think she noticed, because she stopped and never spoke of Kunle again. I had to probe persistently to discover that he played professional basketball for one of the smaller clubs in the NBA. That gave me a measure of security. He would get lost in the sea of the best groupies America had to offer. How wrong I was!
I saw how disconcerted she was after seeing him even though she tried unsuccessfully to hide it. She introduced me to her father who was warm and friendly.
“How are you my boy?” He said shaking my hand and giving me a pat on the back.
“I’m great sir. You have a beautiful home and a wonderful family.”
“Hmm. Thank you.” To Christy, he said, “So you finally bring a man home?” He winked mischievously.
“Dad!” She yelled, a bit embarrassed.
“Its ok…its ok…I’ll say no more. You’re welcome son. Please, feel at home.”
I saw a frown on Kunle’s face but it went as quick as it came. I suppressed a chuckle.
Christy finally went to Kunle and gave him a hug. They spoke in hushed tones so I cast my glance elsewhere in order not to intrude. Mr Ademola-Brown watched the exchange between Kunle and Christy with interest. He had the look of a man who was privy to something yet to be revealed. His face spread into a satisfied smile before he headed to the direction of the big double door which he opened and disappeared into.
As the door shut, I heard voices and I looked up to see Chris came down with Clarisse and for a moment, the world stood still. She had on blue shorts and a black tank top. Her skin shone like polished gold under the morning sun and contrasted nicely with the black she wore. Her huge and pointy br-asts moved from side to side in unison as she came down the stairs, one at a time while completely engrossed in her blackberry device. She stopped for a second and looked down. Our eyes met and she smiled.
Wow! I thought. There are no words to describe that smile so I smiled back, weakly.
“Michael, I want you to meet Kunle.” Christy’s voice jolted me back to reality. Kunle stood beside her, holding her hand. I noted this with interest.
“So this is Michael?” Clarisse said cutting in. She stood next to me now looking into my eyes. I mumbled an inaudible “hi” to her and she nodded in acknowledgment. She was such a beauty specimen and her body chemistry vibrated “I’m more interesting than my sister!” Obviously, this was the cause of the sibling rivalry, I surmised.
She gave me a hug that lasted longer than I had expected and I enjoyed every moment of it, inhaling her head-swirling scent.
“Merry Christmas sis.” Clarisse said as she left me to hug Christy. So, I faced the intimidating height of Kunle. He had finally let go of Christy. It felt a little embarrassing looking up to him but what could I do? As we shook hands, I noticed he purposely wanted me to know he had a strong grip by squeezing my hand a little h-rder than normal. I kept my expression bland and made no attempt to ass**t myself. It was too early to for that. In fact, I decided to be as friendly.
“Its nice to finally meet you. Heard a lot about you.” I said, smiling expansively.
“Cool. Good things, I hope. Haven’t heard nothing about you though but I’m sure we can remedy that.” He said with a well-blended American accent, and a confident smirk on his face.
I shrugged.
Strike one!
But I totally ignored the jibe. I was more concerned with Christy who seemed to be an explosive mix of emotions.
“You okay, love?” I asked gently, drawing her close and holding her face in my hands. I gave her an encouraging smile and she smiled back. Kunle and Clarrise kicked off a conversation and strolled to the other side of the large sitting room.
“I just have a little headache.” She said, her voice quivering and betraying her emotions.
“You hungry?” I asked, realizing we hadn’t had anything so far. She nodded, smiling again.
“Just sit down. Let me join my mom in the kitchen, ok?”
“Sure.” I sat down and focused on the screen. I could hear the dining table being set and shortly afterwards, we were all invited over. Candice and Ade hurried down to join us at the massive table with the glow of mischief fresh on their faces. She introduced us both as we shook hands and hit it off immediately. Ade was lanky and light skinned in contrast to Candice’s suppleness but with a totally agreeable character.
Ademola-Brown said the prayers after all nine of us were seated in front of a feast fit for kings and the feasting began. Healthy table talk and jokes flowed freely from the patriach who seemed very happy and in good spirits as bottles of red wine and a smorgasbord of soul food was passed round. Everyone laughed heartily when I threw in a couple of jokes, except for Kunle who seemed to be smoldering. After a lovely meal, everybody took turns to say what they were grateful for; something I found rather amusing. Ademola-Brown first, his wife next, Chris who sat closest to them and then Kunle. In his heavily accented voice, he said;
“It definitely feels good to be back in Nigeria after all this time to spend the Christmas holiday with a family I consider my family.” Applause.
“We’ve been close for as long as I can remember and my family’s relocation to the States didn’t change none of that…oh yeah, it did. It made the bond of friendsh¡p stronger. I’m thankful for that.” Another applause.
“I’m particularly thankful for the love of my life, Christy…” Dead silence.
“She was my high school sweetheart, still is. I remember she once told me that if I ever came back home to stay, she would take me seriously. Well, I’m here now…for you…”
Strike two!
I wiped my l-ips with the serviette and leaned back on the chair, rather flustered while everyone stared at Christy first and then at me. She sat still in shock, shaking. Clarisse clapped out gleefully in amusement.
“Here we go. That’s the spirit!” She said.
“Be quiet Clarisse!” Her mom chided.
“I’m sorry, I need some fresh air.” Christy said and rose from her chair.
“Chrissy?” Kunle called as he made to go after her.
“Stay right where you are!” She said curtly and went outside. Mom and Candice went after her.
Kunle sat down with a content smile on his face. I didn’t feel embarrassed or ashamed; I was just numb. Ade looked nervous but couldn’t help but suppress a wry smile. He excused himself immediately. Chris seemed disgusted with the wh0le show but just sat there deflated. Clarrise became engrossed once more in her mobile device and still managed to make small talk as if nothing happened. Deola began clearing the dishes but the expression on Mr Ademola-Brown’s face revealed he knew this was going to happen. He kept looking excitedly at both Kunle and I. His mischievous smile said it all – may the best man win!
So it is war then!
Malcolm
@saymalcolm