Cold At Dusk

Chapter Thirty four

Abuja

"Bwari"

The taxi driver brought out his head to look at the man very well.

"You are not carrying a bag. Won't you take three drops to the place? " he asked.

Joseph pushed in his glasses, and used his other hand to shield himself from the sun as he bent to converse with the driver.

"You no dey go? "

"Hian. I don't want when I tell you price you come dey fight me "

"Do I look like someone who is dressed up to fight? " Joseph asked entering the passenger seat.

"You no go like balance for back? It's not after you will say I no treat you well now reduce my money" the driver said, keying into the ignition.

"Don't worry " Joseph replied, placing his dark shades on his lap.

"No be 'don't worry ' matter " the driver said, already driving out from the gate of the hotel where Joseph had met him.

******************************

"Daddy " Ella called, tugging at Joseph's polo.

"Mmm" he hummed without looking at her. He was arranging his news papers in a shelf in the sitting room upstairs.

"Daddy look at me " She said.

"I'm coming, honey "

"Daddy look at me. I will cry now and break your heart " Ella threatened because he always tells her that her tears breaks his heart.

Joseph smiled and finally looked down to behold a riot of colors on his daughter's face.

"I used mummy's lipstick " she said proudly doing a little dance.

He laughed then quickly composed himself and stared at her face without a word. Her eyebrows were decorated with a red lipstick, her cheeks with dots of same red lipstick and her small lips down to her chin was painted luxuriously with a red lipstick.

"Has mummy seen you? "

"Yes! " She answered happily taking his hand and pulling the fingers. "She snapped me with her phone and said I look beautiful "

Joseph's tummy rumbled with laughter.

"Tell me your own " Ella urged him.

"You look beautiful " He said, holding himself back from laughing. Ella's arm immediately went round his leg and he knew even before she pulled away from hugging his legs, that his grey shorts had been tainted with colors from her face.

" Mummy said I should hug you if you say I'm beautiful " the little girl confessed innocently.

"Thank you, the both of you " he replied, picking her up from the floor. He was almost headed towards the room where his wife could be when the door bell rang and he redirected his foot steps to the stairs with Ella still in his arms.

"We have a kest! " Ella announced happily as they descended the stairs. That brought Joseph's attention back to her face.

"Go and clean your make up " He said dropping her on the stairs.

"but I want to stay with you " she cried holding tightly to his neck and her legs immediately flying back to encircle his waist.

He sighed in defeat and progressed to the door just before the door bell rang again.