i,a,t….5

Ade

He’d forgotten something.  He was pretty sure, but it had been a heck of a day.  The economic crises was really putting a dull sheen on his once so-shiny-he-could-have-blinded-Midas reputation.  Now wasn’t the time to take seemingly unnecessary risks.  The younger guys were getting better and better, so he leant on the one thing that he had over them, experience, to see him through.  He had once been as cocky as them, in his youth.  It was meant to be five years of hard graft and then out, but moving up and gathering power had taken over those naive dreams of setting up shop back home.  Besides back home was screwed anyways.  Just the thought made him shut it out.

What had he forgotten?  He would have called Ida, but he was still angry and there was no way he would give her the satisfaction of knowing how much he depended on her.  He had to win this battle.  Prove to her that she would have to crack eventually.

I,A & T…4

Ida
Weaving through the traffic, Ida hums quietly to some nondescripit tune on Classic fm. “Orange juice. Colgate toothpaste. 2 baguettes. 3 courgettes….” She mentally checks her shopping list. Pulling into the carpark of the supermarket, she scans for a parking space. Finally spotting a driver leaving, she waits, drumming on the wheel, before pulling in. Turning off the ignition, she checks her reflection, pats down a stray hair, re-applies her lipgloss, grabs her bag and keys and opens her door. Walking down the carpark, she grimaces at the young man, hand on crotch, looking longingly as she strides past. She fails to understand why young men insist on being so lewd. Why do they wear their trousers half off their behinds, and then leave some nasty, grey boxers or even worse… briefs!?!?! Shuddering at the thought, she walks into the supermarket. Somewhere in her reverie, she’d somehow acquired a shopping cart, and was already piling in a bunch of flowers.

Ida, Ade and Tayo… 3

Tayo

Yo Di-di,
dad & dat cow r fightin. ☺☺☺☺ finly!! Mayb soon he’ll c wot a loser cow she is. She’s such an anoyin btch!!!!!!!!! always tryin 2 cum btween me n dad. bt won’t let her. She’s eeevil!!! mst hv sum knd weird pwr ovr him. mum sayz it’s coz she’s catering 2 hs ego, coz she cooks ogbono 4 him. Mayb she puts sumink n ogbono 4 him. don’t realy bleev n all dat witchcraft stuffs, bt u nevr knw. Mummy says she’s village gurl n u knw dey hve lots of witchdoctors thr. wish Mum’d cum bck. uzd 2 b so happy. always remembr frm old tym pix dey took b4 I wz born. Always . mum said dad said he wtd a dvorce. So mum pakd her stuf n lft. rembr hw mch I cried d dy I cam bac n found dat mum lft.

Ida, Ade and Tayo… 2

Ade

His ex-wife had warned him and his daughter had only vocalized her disapproval by being rude to Ida.  He’d ignored them all and fallen for her energy.  She had been so refereshing, with her bouncy curls and twinkling smile, and the way she had trusted him and wanted to take care of him and let him be her strength.  She didn’t mind ironing his shirt and making sure his food was on the table when he got back from work.  She made sure that Tayo was fed, clothed, kept her grades up at school, but she performed it like it was a duty.  He had initially thought it was because she enjoyed doing these things, but more recently, he began to realise that she generally operated on automatic pilot.  Aside from the constant snide bickering between her and Tayo, Ida seemed to do everything because it was her duty to do so, rather than she actually enjoyed.  It had become like dealing with a zombie. 

Ida, Ade and Tayo… 1

Ida

Fluttering eyelids, she awakes, eyes still shut, to the insistent beep of her alarm clock. Rustling between the sheets, she opens one eye to assess the time of day through the amount of light filtering through her blinds. Turning to her alarm, she fumbles until the beeping stops and burrows further under her duvet, refusing to leave the warmth of her bed. Ten minutes later, the beeping starts again, but she can hear the shower through the thin walls and knowing that there is not much point emerging from the cosiness of her double bed, she switches off her alarm and thinks about the night before. She can feel him breathing next to her, envious of his ability to sleep through the incessant beep of his alarm. This morning he seems perturbed, a frown on his face as though still thinking of last night even in sleep. There are wrinkles around his eyes from laughing, that no longer fade away, and the familiar, grey hairs speckle his thick dark hair.