Sorry Love, I Cheated
Ihuogu could only find solace outside his home.
The clouds in their defiance made a mockery of the heat of the Sun. It was 9:15 am, and the morning still looked like evening. Ihuogu was annoyed with the confusion of the moving clouds. They occasionally blurted out drizzles. And he had to cover the sofas he was working on whenever the drizzles passed by. He gave up after the fourth time. He sat there waiting for the rain to come or for the Sun to prove itself the king of the day sky. Ihuogu loathed the dilapidation of his shed. He would have been able to work if the roofing did not have those openings. He had saved money to repair the fallen parts, but important things had come up. It was either his children’s school fees or his pleasure giver. It was more of the latter — his wife paid the school fees most times. He did not see the need of going to school to end up a carpenter as was his case. But his wife, Ifeyinwa, would not listen — she wanted to raise a lawyer.
He liked to see his sweetheart on dull mornings like this. The pleasure of such visits outweighed the anxiety that accompanied him from home and the tiredness work promised. Ihuogu did not have enough money for his Sweetness, but he needed comfort. He could not remember when he last found such solace in his wife. She complained too much. And she was too serious about raising the kids as if they did not belong to him too. With the little money he had, Ihuogu rose to visit his treasured one.
Tingling waves of desire surged through him, and his heart responded accordingly. Why are you beating this fast kwanụ? Ihuogu asked his heart as he sauntered along the muddy path. If it had not drizzled, the path would have been firmer. He wished he could climb into the clouds and make the rains feel his pain. The angry carpenter finally cursed the rain when he slipped. His clothes did not meet the mud because his hands paid the filthy price. He sulked like a child denied a wish as he wiped his hand on a tree. His anger got worse when he sighted Akummuo coming from the opposite direction.
Nonsense snitch, Ihuogu said to himself as Akummuo drew closer. The latter had leaked Ihuogu’s previous rendezvous point with his sweetheart to his wife, Ifenyinwa. The carpenter has hated Akummuo since then. How could a man involve himself in women’s gossip? Tufia! Ihuogu thought.
“Ihuogu, good morning. Where are you going to in this rain?”
I am going to your burial site, ozu! Ihuogu raged in his mind. What was this gossip’s concern with his destination? He wondered. Akummuo must have lacked something to say to Ifeyinwa, Ihuogu continued. Rubbish.
“Good morning, Akummuo,” he smiled, “I am going to Oye market to get some glue for work.”
“I am just coming from Oye. It is still a ghost town there. You may want to wait.”
“I will move on to Eke if Oye fails. Have a nice day,” Ihuogu said and quickly moved on. Akummuo’s questions were working him up. And he did not want to spit the dislike he had for Akummuo on him.
The Sun peeped through the retreating clouds as Ihuogu continued his muddy journey to his sweetheart. He saw a figure coming down the path and towards him. It was Ifeyinwa. Or was it? He paused, screened his eyes, and decided to divert into the wet bush. He would wait there until the woman passed by. He could not lie to Ifeyinwa about glue. She had visited the workshop the day before. He felt his cloth soak with water from the plants that embraced him. His shirt had enjoyed much water before Ihuogu could tell that it was not his wife. He emerged from the bush like one who had gone to ease himself. The lady greeted him without looking at him. He would not reply to that kind of greeting.
Ihuogu paused at Enjoyment Bar, a shabby arrangement of benches and beer. He made sure no familiar person or snitch was around. Then he spoke to the bar attendant, Alika, a wiry-looking man. The carpenter would wait for his pleasure giver here. And his eyes widened when he saw his treasured one. He smiled as it danced to the rhythm of Alika’s movement inside its green-bottle attire.
Tufia — this is an Igbo exclamation used to show disgust.
Ozu — means dead body in Igbo.
