Resurgence

11. Lone Ranger

“Let me tell you this, if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, its not because they enjoy solitude. It’s because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.” – Jodi Picoult.

•••

Tari couldn’t help but liken the sight before him to that of an ongoing Tetris game. The laborers at work sliding and affixing ledges of concrete into appropriate places in the building, like tetrominoes under the control of a superintendent presiding power playing the video game. In the past month, the men had toiled immensely, putting in overtime work hours to ensure that their envisaged time frame was still on track and the effort had indeed paid off. Here they were, with a month to go and the house was very much completed.

Would be in the next couple of days.

“Happy new year, Kid.” A deep drawl pulled him out of his thoughts, but he didn’t crane his neck in the direction of its origin to know its owner.

“Happy new year, John.” He nodded curtly. His keen attention on the men remained unwavering.

“Ah, I see that none of your New Year resolutions was to pull your head out of your ass and stop being an asshole.” John said, nudging him gently on the side. “I get it that I’m not as good looking as Dayo Tijani or fat like he’s paycheck for your work, but still courtesy demands that you at least act like you’re happy to see someone when they greet you. And given the fact that said person is in a pioneer position to cause you doom, like I could―throwing a smile into the mix shouldn’t be so bad.”

Tari arched a brow, turning to the right and leveling John up with his gaze. They were about ten meters away from the front porch of the building. “You said it yourself this is a New Year, it’s just twenty one days after New Year’s day. Isn’t it a little bit too early to start creating another public holiday when people are still in the new year spirit?”

“What are you talking about th―”

“Doomsday, of course.” He replied. “Or what did you mean by cause me doom? Weren’t you just making a pun at the DC comic books character in relation to today?”

John shook his head. “I’m tempted to mould you into a ball and punch the life out of you, but it’s a new site. It’s a little bit early to start burying people in it. Besides, I don’t think Mr. Tijani would be that considerate no matter how beautiful the house turns out to be. Plus, he’s a billionaire and has a lot of money. If it gets to a point where the bank can’t hold his funds, he might have no choice than to take the excess cash and bury it here himself. So, I wouldn’t want to use up his space.”

“How considerate of you to actually factor in his feelings into this equation of yours,” Tari spat. “And yet for some reason you don’t want to consider mine and just, you know―bury yourself and end my misery? If it’s about you not having space in your house, no qualms—you could come to mine. I’m very hospitable to my enemies. I don’t mind your grave beneath my garage.” Tari shrugged.

“Shh! Don’t let the rest of the workers hear your words.” John said. “If they do, they’d come to know of the many privileges I’m enjoying as your enemy, which they don’t know of. Why do you think I signed up for the position in the first place?”

“I don’t know, cos you’re an asshole―and it’s like in the job description? I know you to be a very diligent man in everything you do, hence your brilliance in the job. I wonder how they pay you though? It has to be the higher the rate at which you annoy your clients, the higher your pay? Something like that.”

“You’re so intuitive, and you can bet they’d pay me extra because I’m here pissing of an architect who spends his entire life building the dream house of others. So in a way I’m pissing the shit out of everyone you’ve worked for, because your work is a very integral part of their life.”