I bring out a soggy blackened mess. How could I have got so lost in thought? Now Ike would not have a chance to eat the chocolate cake I had hinted I would make this morning. For a woman who spent a lot of time at home, I seemed to find it hard to get anything done.
The doorbell rang and I debated whether to answer it. It was probably my neighbor Christy. She was also a stay at home mum and she was bored stiff of it. She had tried her hands at doing something. Opened a provision store and got bored and tired of it. Got a job at a company but it was too tiring. Her two children were older than mine. One was five and the other was seven and she was all alone at home till they came back. Apparently, she wasn’t bored and tired of coming to gist with me over some African Magic. The doorbell rang again, louder this time. Couldn’t Christy take a hint? I was in no mood for a discussion or speculation about whether our husbands were having affairs with their secretaries or not. People like her made me wish sometimes that I was not a stay at home mother.
“Chinelo, I know you are there now. Open the door,” she said.
I sighed. There was no escaping her.
I opened the door to let her in. The sight of her alone gave me a headache.
“What have you been doing since morning?” she demanded.
“I have a headache,” I said which was actually true. The veins in my head were starting to throb.
“Ndo o, take panadol now,” she offered as she sank on to my sofa. I wondered if I should bake another batch of cake. I’d already prepared the soup for dinner but I had promised Ike a special treat today. It would be good to deliver on the promise.
“Ehen Chinelo,”’ Christy’s grating voice cut into my thoughts. “Do you know we have a new neighbor on our street?”
How would I know, I mouthed inaudibly. It wasn’t any concern of mine. She suddenly got up from the sofa, walked to my refrigerator and took out a soft drink without asking. I fumed silently. The gall of that woman!
After popping open the drink, she continued. “I only saw one woman with two small children. I didn’t see her husband . The one that late Chief Baiyero was living in. I’m not sure they are that comfortable sha. I only saw one Jeep in the compound. She said her name is Titi Lawreence or something like that.”
I gave an involuntary shudder as I heard the name. Titi Lawrence was my arch enemy. What was she doing moving into my street? Life had suddenly become more interesting
