Beneath chp 12 iii
What I experienced with Sophie was not just love, it was consuming like fire, it left hollow in its wake. Sophy had stripped layer by layer-Keside
it's been years since anyone got under my skin.
I don't miss the way Krystal narrows her eyes at him, her spine going stiff against my arm. He winks, he fucking winks at my girl.-Kes
keside
Yesterday had been so emotional, it was gut wrenching. I had new found respect for Mr Wokoma, even though he still hated my guts. He wasn't always like this to me, it had started when me and my Sophy Sopuruchuwku ran off to get married, when he refused to give us his blessing, claiming that we were so young to be committing to something that was forever. But you see, Sophie was etched to my heart. What I experienced with Sophie was not just love, it was consuming like fire, it left hollow in its wake. Sophy had stripped layer by layer, till I was held hostage with her love and bared in front of her, I could not think clearly without her, she was my map around life.
Now she was brutally taken from me, which led my thoughts to the woman that said she was Sophie, resurfacing a few weeks ago. That could not be her, call it gut, call it connection, her eyes from the picture were empty, whereas Sophie's eyes had this liveliness in them that was infectious, it rippled through her to the next person. My heart longed for her embrace, her love. As I continued in deep thoughts about her, the wind picked up, from the parisian style balcony of Kainene's room, the wind caressed my cheeks, it felt like Sophie stood there caressing my cheeks. Warmth nipped at my neck, I whispered, "don't leave, please," shutting my eyes, allowing her warmth to wrap around me like a hug. My fists curled at my sides, knuckles whitening against the balcony rail. A lone tear rolled down my cheeks, accompanied by a shiver. It left a hollow in its wake, a void that could not be filled, a space no one could contend for. I asked myself, how could I look at another woman and not see Sophie, no one could compare to her, her beauty, her eyes, her soul had a place amongst the heavens, she was too good to be placed on earth.
Another shadow danced through the mirror, catching my eyes like waves. I straightened without meaning to. She crashed through my thoughts, but I couldn't help but notice the woman in question, she was stuck in her own world. My eyes trailed from the length of her dress, which was a diamond blue pencil satin dress with a fish scale cut out, it gripped every perfectly made out curve of her hips like a second skin, the side looked like it was folded by two pins holding it. Then it trailed higher to the darker shade of diamond blue corset. I watched as she loosened her curls from the rollers, it bounced around her perfectly sculpted oval face, her striking feature that could put the fairest woman to shame, her full lips, her greyish silver eyes, her fair skin, and finally I watched her stain her lips with red lipstick, each time she traced it I felt all the heat rush to my groin. I dragged a hand down my jaw, forced my eyes to the floor, then let them crawl back up anyway. The waves of her hair cascading to her hips. The sun bounced through her skin like a translucent spotlight, made to worship every inch of her skin.
(Kainene’s dress -she looked exactly this )
She topped it off with a teardrop diamond earring, with depth as deep as the ocean, the sun caught through it, highlighting it, the reflection was so bright it looked like an angel appeared. That red lipstick and her lips were messing with my brain, it's been years since anyone got under my skin. As if that was not enough, she twirled around, my breath seized for a moment, my chest went tight, air caught somewhere behind my ribs and stayed there, then she turned her bare back to me, trying to lace her cloth, I could see the veins in my neck nearly pop off, this girl was eating at my soul. Nana and Lola stood beside her, lacing her up, I could see them signal her that I was staring at her, her deep blushed cheeks turned a shade of deep rose. She bit down on her lower lip, fighting a smile she didn't want me to see. Neato made "tsk, tsk, tsk" with his throat, capturing my attention, and I found something else to look at, fast, jaw tight.
Today is actually the town meeting, that means a long list of Umunna and the whole authorities, this was the first appearance for the Wokomas' town meeting since we got married. I wasn't in the mood for the regular isiagu, however I toned it down, wore a normal blue senator with the red cap. Neato helped me adjust, he said, "you are giving Jidenna, classic man." I chuckled. We walked down to the long garden, with a beautiful glass pavilion, past the glassed house that had the old bank architecture, with rounded ceilings that looked like an old bank architecture, then it had a beautiful silver that sat beautifully on it. We walked all the way, while the girls piled up in those hotel cars, then stopped right in front of the hall, it had the similar design, I didn't miss the drawings of Michelangelo carved to it. It had some Nsibidi art design, with kirikiri star design that blended well with the aesthetic, it looked newly renovated, no doubt to show off Kainene's skill, it was beautiful. A long aisle of tables was drawn for guests to make themselves comfortable, isi ewu, nkwobi, ofe aku, okwa, ofe nsala, ofe achara, ofe okasi, goat meat peppersoup, okpa, ugba, the list was endless. I got to taste their Abia side, they pulled their account book as nde ogo mu, my in-laws. The ogene drums flowed naturally, the flutes, and sometimes the soft Igbo music tunes that reminded us of our grandfathers' farm in the village.
We greeted them, even though Kai was so attractive I considered hiding her away, they hailed us, but as I got closer I watched her tense up, her shoulders rising a fraction toward her ears, she shifted and wrapped her diamond neck long thin scarf properly, I could see she was checking me out subtly, the goosebumps on her skin when she did that. The women, especially Kai's mom, officially gave her their meeting wrapper, just like that she was part of them, not just running errands. They had drums, the drums were all filled with old malt bottle, Fanta, Coke, it reminded me of childhood, children playing around, the joy in the atmosphere. The amount of times I had to fold my hands in, the way Kai's mum was busy dancing, pushing my mom to join her dancing, Somkele and Somebi taking Krystal along, who looked like she was at the verge of collapsing, with the same gown Kainene had on, but a blush pink one, her hair was in an updo bun, she had light makeup on. I opened my arms wide, she jumped, hugging me and saying, "thank you uncle Kes, you just saved me." Then Adora's son and daughter come to greet us. He winked. I don't miss the way Krystal narrows her eyes at him, her spine going stiff against my arm. He winks, he fucking winks at my girl. I give him a hard glare, hand tightening on Krystal's shoulder, he had better not do this in front of Neato, he would kill him on the spot. Hugging Krystal more tightly, while I go on to entertaining the kids.
We stay like that for hours, day blends into night, the dim orange hue fading away, resting just above, left a cozy glow to the atmosphere. Kai was peering at me, many emotions swirled on her face, then her hand went to her temple, she held her head, groaned deeply.
My phone beeped, alerting a message had come in, except this time it was a code.
Barbie as narrator
Keside's reaction to Kainene is diabolical. I love how he took his time with her, he spent a lot of time outlining her and singing praises to her in his mind. Also the way he held his niece Krystal, I had a feeling Chimarobi Adora's son was going to be a home wrecker, what was that, eyes Krystal was narrowing, they are fast becoming my fave.
Why was Kai having a headache, someone get this girl checked. And Kes, what code was that, I hate cliffhangers.
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