A CONVERSATION IN BED

‘I keep wondering,’ Chuks says. He is lying on Folu’s bed, a careless leg her bare lap. They have just had a lengthy passionate release and he feels great, and loquacious. ‘What are you wondering? About sleeping with you?’

‘Yes. After the beautiful speech you gave me the other day.’

She smirks. ‘I wasn’t ready then.’

‘That handsome guy on the wall of the sitting room. He’s your boyfriend?’ This is a question, served in a bowl of accusation.

‘He was.’

‘He was your boyfriend?’

‘He was my fiancé. He still thinks he is.’ She sighs.

‘What happened?’

‘He’s not man enough. He’s been cheating on me.’

‘But most men cheat. I mean cheating makes a man a man. The guy’s man enough. Maybe a bad man, a coward, a heartbreaker et cetra but he’s certainly man enough.’

‘You don’t understand,’ she says.

‘Hmmm.’ He caresses her natural hair. ‘Why don’t you go for dreadlocks?’

‘Do you like it?’

‘I love it.’

‘Ok.’

Silence.

‘You are such a violent lover,’ she commends.

‘You are using me,’ he says.

‘For what? To hit back at my fiancé? Hell no. I am just enjoying myself…. I am not thinking about him.’

‘But I am. If someone sleeps with my fiancée I won’t be covered with love and affection for him.’

‘But you are free to cheat on your fiancée?’

‘I don’t have a fiancée.’

‘Your partner.’

‘I don’t have.’

‘What if you have?’

‘I don’t know.’

She sighs. ‘Women are always the ones upholding the sanctity of any relationship. When men cheat it’s casual, it’s because she ties wrapper, she nags, she isn’t romantic; she is this, that and whatnot. People always go to the woman in search of reasons why the man cheats. But when a woman cheats, heaven falls.’

‘You are cheating, and heaven is standing.’ He yawns. He is suddenly tired; conversations he is not sure of winning tire him, bore him, and Folu is ready for this. She has been memorising, he is sure. He glances at her, she is staring at him; he tries to return the eye-fire but looks away when he catches something like hurt in her eyes. ‘We’ll be late for work today?’ He is trying to change the topic.

‘Today is Saturday.’

He grunts. He searches the atmosphere for a new topic. His head is not cooperating. ‘I am a sucker for dreadlocks,’ he says.

‘I know.’

‘Make it for me.’

She smiles. ‘You men are a funny creature. I thought you had sympathy for my ex-fiancé. Now I see, it’s every man to his manhood.’

‘It is you women that are funny,’ Chuks says harshly. ‘Just a moment ago he is fiancé, now he is ex. In less than one minute. Mehn, you people are just something else.’ He even manages to shrug his shoulders lying the way he lay.

She laughs, slapping him on the chest. ‘You are such a confused piece of work.’

‘Nonsense.’ He fumes. She laughs louder.

Tweets to @Oke4chukwu

This is my novel in progress. More than two years now and it is looking like I am going to remain on it till I am carried away with ‘sweet by and by’ playing in the background. Sigh, God, epp me, Sir.

Tweets to @OKe4chukwu