Her meeting with Victoria was scheduled to hold soon. But she wasn’t sure she was going yet. She wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to leave Sekemi alone in the store. But it also wasn’t necessary for her to meet Olumide’s fiancée. She and Victoria had nothing linking them except a dead weight in the name of Olumide.

The girl kept flitting from one end of the store to another. Romola had lost interest in watching Sekemi play assistant to everyone who entered in the store. While Romola was concerned with watching the shoppers on the security monitor, Sekemi kept following them around.

“You know, people are capable of making their choices by themselves.”

Sekemi walked past her like she hadn’t said anything. Romola shook her head as Sekemi zoned in on another victim at the end of the aisle beside their desk. The man dropped the can he held on the biscuit shelf and backed away till he left the store. That was the third customer that had left the store without approaching the check-out table.

“These people don’t even know how to keep things well.” Sekemi complained, picking up the can drink and moving towards the large freezer in the store. “Romola, can you go and get Iya Bunmi to come and man the shelves. I want to mop the floor.”

“Honestly, Sekemi, I think you are doing too much. You mopped the floor like what, two hours ago?”

“And so?” Sekemi placed her hand on her hips then eyed her. “Don’t you know there is a plandemic in the country?”

“Pandemic.”

“Plandemic. I’m sure they planned this thing so that they can kill everyone in Africa but look at them. They are the ones suffering now.”

Romola rolled her eyes and turned over her phone as she continued to update the inventory. The price of dollar was on the steady rise and Iya Tobi wanted her good to match the rise even though her goods were old stick bought long before the increase.

“Romola, come and stand in front of the store.”

“No.” Romola shook her head. “I’m not paid to do me-guard work.”

“You are so lazy. I can’t believe baba Tobi talks about you like you are gold.” Sekemi hissed, walking past her into the inner staff room.

Romola rolled her eyes as she scrolled down the list on her phone. She came to the next line. Special white wheat bread. Sunbo’s favourite.

Romola placed her elbows on the counter. She actually hadn’t heard from her sister all week. She wondered if Sunbo was fine or if the poor girl hadn’t broken down and been thrown off the dance platform into prison. One of the reasons, she had refused the job was because her bones were stiff and it would take more than a week’s training to get her back in shape The second reason wasn’t something she could fix.

A notification ping had her picking up her phone. A scowl stole the space on her lips. She hoped Iya Tobi was not sending an updated list of the things she had already updated. Iya Tonbi better not be marking up the dollar price.

The message featured her mother’s name.

MOM: My dear, can you please send me 10,000 naira? I will pay you back when I get money.

Romola’s brow rose. This was the second time this week. Did her mother think she was a money tree? Even trees bore fruits in seasons. Was this the same mother that didn’t care to know about her job? Romola picked up her phone just as Sekemi entered the main space pushing the purple mop bucket in front of her.

Romola stepped out of the paying desk and marched into the toilet. She dialled her mother’s number.

“Hel-”

“Mummy, it’s not funny now.”

“Are you okay Romola? Do you know who you are talking to?”

Romola heard the threat in her mother’s voice. That threat had usually been followed by a shoe aimed at her head.

Romola took a deep breath. “Maami, it’s not like that. I just don’t understand.”

“What?” For someone asking for money, her mother’s words were abrupt.

“What do you need ten thousand for?”

“Kini omo de so?”

Trans: What is this child saying?

“I just sent you 15,000 on Thursday na. I don’t have money again oh.” She would have to draw money from her savings for her to live properly.

“Moromola Grace Ibikunle, It’s like something is wrong with you. Why would I ask you for money?”

“But you just sent me a message.”

“It’s like the drugs you are talking is affecting your brain.”

A beep signalled that her mother had ended the call.

Romola pushed the stall door open and walked down the narrow passageway that led to the main store.

“She doesn’t even want to do anything. She just sits on her phone all day.”

“My dear, that one is a normal thing.” Romola recognized Iya Bunmi’s voice. “When the other man before you was here, if you see the way she treated him, a grown man, like her servant. I am sure it was because of her he got fired.”

“Hmm.” Sekemi continued, “Every time I’m talking to her, she is saying, ‘I’m busy. I’m busy.’ Busy doing what? On that Chinese phone of hers.”

Romola stepped out of the corner with long strides. She stood between each woman, looking at both of them. Whatever had possessed her to return to Iya Tobi’s place when she had a better paying job where her co-workers actually treated her more like friends than business rivals?

“If you too are sharing market gossip about me, I would like to be invited to the conversation.”

Bunmi turned away and hurried towards the staff room but Sekemi met her eye-to-eye. “Yes, I’m talking about you and so what?”

“And so what?” What had given this girl this audacity? “Do you think all your ‘yes ma’ deeds is what will impress Iya Tobi?”

“If you are not careful, you will be the one unimpressing Iya Tobi.”

“Sure Sekemi. Sure,” Romola’s smile widened. “That woman begged me to come back.”

“Well, you better be careful anyways because nobody else would to want to hire you cheap lying B***h.”

Romola’s mouth hung open. Sekemi’s word hit her with force. A picture flashed in her mind’s eye. One of her standing before Olumide—a younger angrier man.

She struggled to understand what she had seen and if it had any business with Sekemi’s word.  “What did you say?”

“I called you a cheap lying B. Is that not what you are? Iya Tobi told me everything. From how your nudes leaked online. And the rest I went to find for myself. Second class prostitute.” Sekemi spat, pushing past her and marched along with the mop bucket.

Romola stood, fixated and staring at the tiles. Sekemi’s words hardly bothered her. She had expected something of this sort but not like this. The image she had seen bothered her even more. It belonged to the treasury of memories she had forced herself to forget. Some of them had gone on their own, others she had to struggle with but this one where Olumide said those words.

Romola shook her head. No. She had to have imagined it.

But what if she didn’t? She forced her legs to move as she sucked in the sides of her cheek. Her hands reached for her phone in her pocket and she scrolled down the contact list. Victoria could help.

But did she really want to bother Olumide’s wife with such a little detail? What did it matter anyways?

She set the phone down and tried to concentrate on her task of punching numbers into the system. A slight pounding around the top of her right eye seized her attention. She placed her hand there and tried to massage the area but it only added to the pain. It began to pound worse and worse as she held it.

Cheap Lying b***h

The image came again sharper and clearer then the memory attached to it. She had slapped Olumide after this. And she had mentioned his brother’s death and walked to the hotel to—

“Jesus. My head.” Romola cradled her head in her arms now.

The headache had spread to the space between and around both eyes. Her hands reached for the phone and she punched the button and dialled Victoria number.