Cold At Dusk

Chapter Eleven

The cars crawled slowly and it infuriated him. All he wanted was to get home and rest. The traffic was draining him. Another big truck had left the route that was normally used by the big trucks and fell at the centre of the road. All cars moving to and fro were now in one lane. The line of cars moved and he moved along with it, slowly driving in and out of pot holes.

Joseph Nwoko looked out of the window briefly. The queue was still a long one till they passed the fallen truck. He groaned.

There was a fuel station close by. It also had a fast food and supermarket. He swerved and drove into the fast food once the line moved and he was close enough to get in.

Their meter was good and measured correctly. That was probably the only thing good about the place. As far as he knew, the fast food was nearing extinction. It could be change of management because once upon a time, it had been alive. Now it sold just snacks like a local woman's kiosk.
He loved all that, he loved the place; The crowd was less which meant less noise. On few occasions he had been the only one in the large hall of the restaurant.

"Oga! Na you for infinity tenure," the door man hailed him as he held the door open for Joseph.

Without bothering to understand what the door man meant, he smiled as he stuffed some notes of money into his hands.

"Baba, na only you I know. "

The way the door man hailed him, you would think he was a candidate for election. He was not one to run for election. He was the unseen money funding elections of candidates of his choice. It had got him more money, connections and more importantly, freedom for him to be on the streets without attracting attention.

There were two showcases, one used to sell food and drinks but nothing was there anymore. It was just the show case for snacks that had two girls that did not even bother to wear the uniform of the fast food. Close to that showcase was a table occupied by a man and a woman. The man was backing the door . The back of his head looked like his younger brorther's but he knew better, Mark would talk low of a place like this and would not step foot in it. The girl was facing the door. She was a skinny girl who looked like a girl in the age bracket of twenty to twenty two.

He walked to the far end of the restaurant, a place where he could look out the window. He could sit in the restaurant till evening and nobody would ask what he wanted because he still dropped money on the counter for them without even buying a thing.

His phone beeped and he looked at it, it was a message on whatssap from his wife, Michelle. It read: " I went shopping . Pick a gown for me. "

He zoomed the pictures she sent to him . He had a hard time choosing but he finally chose a flare gown. Recently, he loved the way flare gowns looked on her. They were beautiful on her especially the flowery ones.

He looked at the counter hoping to get somebody's attention to get him water then he saw him. It was Mark. He paid attention to the girl he was with, trying to recall knowing the face but he could not. Mark? It was a whisper but Mark heard it. Their eyes jammed then Mark got up and crossed over to him, maintaining the strut of someone that owned the entire Okigwe.

Joseph looked down at the table then scrolled through his almost empty gallery as he waited for his brother to get to him. He was the bigger brother; he had to be the bigger man. He had to remain composed.

" Joe. "

Mark plopped down on the seat facing his older brother.

Mark was silent like a theif that had no pleas to render and Joseph did not want to entertain him. His eyes darted from the girl waiting for him and back at him. The girl's eyes remained on him even as he turned again, she did not look away.

"Why is that one attempting to wound my skin with her eyes?" he asked Mark, turning back to his phone.

" Joe, she's.. My friend. "

"I don't like being lied to, " He replied, looking at him briefly then back at his phone. He finally got the attention of one of the girls at the counter and signalled for water.

"Joe, it's not really like that, " Mark tried again.

"Does your wife know you are here with a friend while she's at home, preparing food for you? " he asked.

Mark was silent, tapping the table with a finger.

"I would be a liar if I do not say I'm disappointed. Really disappointed. "

He uncocked the bottle of water the girl brought and continued after he took a gulp.

"Mark, do what is right. She does not deserve this. Kamsi does not deserve this"

Mark's silence was an affirmation of what Joseph thought; the girl was no ordinary friend. His eyes moved to Mark's finger which was without his wedding ring . He shook his head and scoffed. He took another gulp of his water. Energised and ready for  whatever the road had, he stood up.

Mark was still silent. Joseph found it irritating that a man that chose to cheat on his wife did not have good lies prepared incase he was caught.

"Even on the bare finger, I can still see your ring marks," Joseph said.

He walked to the counter and made payments. He cast one last look at the girl before walking out.

The fuel attendant at the fuel pump refueled his car. All the time he could not stop thinking of Kamsi. He had never paid attention to her more than greeting. He had never bothered to ask her how she was faring patiently or ask his wife. His wife had only told him the girl needed a job.

He drove out to the road once again. The cars were moving at a faster pace, no more a slow movement, imitating snails in a straight line. Once again, he mentally scolded himself for not caring enough. He had not even known the girl had been sitting at home like a house wife. To him, he did not feel it was the best occupation for any woman. He could not understand himself. He was not the one that cheated yet he was beating himself up, apologies at the tip of his tongue to render whenever he met her  again.

He managed to make it past where the huge truck blocked the road and he increased his speed and sped home . He tried severally to get Kamsi out of his head but it was difficult. He could still remember Mark's face, the look of a man busted and with nothing to say. But he was not decieved ; that was not remorse.

The aroma of food he perceived as he got into the compound was enough to tell him his woman was at home even without seeing her car parked there.

He held the envelope containing the letters and invitations he had received and walked to the front door. He did not have to knock because the door was open before he knocked. Michelle was there, carrying the baby, all smiles.

"Sunshine, " he called, placing a long noisy kiss on her lips.

"How was work?" she asked, walking back inside in a hurry.

" I won't be going there for the next one month, " he replied as a joke, strolling in after her. After the stress he went through that day, he would actually appreciate a vacation. He deserved it.

She turned. "Take the baby, let me finish cooking. "

Even if he wanted to resist, he could not. She was already dumping the baby in his arms.

"What if I did not come back? "

"Fortunately or unfortunately, you did baby."

She got back into the kitchen and Joseph followed.

"Brief me on your day na," he asked as he watched her stir the contents of the pot on the burner.

"I asked first, " she retorted.

He laughed. "Okay. My day, I spent it on the road like a hawker then you know, a truck fell on the road and the traffic was maddening.. "
He continued on and on while Michelle listened with rapt attention. He left out Mark and his mistress not wanting to allow Mark face his wife's rebuke. Only one person deserved to know.