On Trial – Episode 19

On Trial – Episode 19

© Onyinyechukwu Mbeledogu

Kaira didn’t hear from Koje after the morning she had spent in his home and she didn’t call him. However, he called her on Christmas day to wish her a Merry Christmas. He even had the guts to ask if she had missed him! Like she didn’t have enough to deal with?

She hadn’t realised that a lot of people were following his case until she got to Obosi and different people wanted to know why she was defending a rapist. Everyone accused of a crime is by the Constitution presumed innocent until proved guilty and that was the response she gave until she began to sound like a broken record.

Fortunately the pressure didn’t come from her parents. They had called her several times when it had gone viral that she was Koje’s lawyer, but she had informed them that she was simply doing her job. Her mother had then assured her that they would be praying for her all the time.

She was glad she had the weddings to keep her distracted and away from some nosey villagers. Had her schedule not been tight, this Christmas would have involved another round of introductions to single men. Thank God it was limited to three houses.

Koje sent her a message on Whatsapp on New Year’s Day. She enlarged his DP. It was the picture of his parents. His mother was dressed in an iro and buba and was smiling at her husband who was dressed in his native attire. She wasn’t a slim woman at all but she was pretty. Koje’s status read ‘Happy anniversary to the best parents ever’ and she wasn’t sure when he’d put up that status. She visited his Facebook page, telling herself that it was only so she could see more pictures from his parents’ anniversary and she noticed from the last message he had dropped on Facebook that he hadn’t been active in a long time.

She left Obosi on the 1 of January after attending the New Year Service and eating an early lunch just before noon. Koje called her not long after she had left Obosi and upon hearing the sound of vehicles honking, he asked where she was and she told him she was on her way back to Port Harcourt.

He was her first caller for the year. She got into Port Harcourt early and had enough time to rest and do her New Year cleaning. Her doorbell rang at about 6:30pm and for some reason she wasn’t surprised to find Koje at her door step. She was tempted to ignore him but she trusted him to make such a nuisance of himself and attract attention to his presence there.

‘ Eku odun tuntun ,’ he greeted.

‘And to think that I believed the Pastor when he said 2017 was going to be an amazing year for me,’ she complained as she shut the door behind him.

‘I’m sure your pastor was right.’

‘How could he be, when you’re the first visitor I’ve had this year?’

He smiled as he sprawled on the leather sofa.

‘And I missed you too, ife mi. ’ he told her. ‘Besides, this means that I’m going to play a very important role in your life this year.’

Did this man have a single serious bone in his body? She wondered.

He had never been to her home before and she had never given him her address but she wasn’t about to ask him how he’d found her home.

‘Why exactly are you here, Quadri?’ she asked him.

‘You know, it won’t hurt you if you call me Koje just once,’ he told her.

‘I prefer Quadri,’ was her simple response even as she placed her hands on both hips and glared at him. That was a bad idea because he looked really good and a lot fresher, as though he’d eaten all the amala and ewedu/gbegiri or efo riro his family served while he was in Ogun state. He’d obviously enjoyed the Christmas break and to think she had spent most of the time thinking of how to get him out of a possible conviction!

He was clean shaven and his dark skin glowed with life. He was dressed in a black blazer over a white shirt which had its top two buttons opened up and revealing the dark sprinkle of hairs on his chest and dark slacks. He looked like a man who was going on a date and she wondered who the woman in question was. And don’t anyone dare think she was jealous, because she wasn’t! She was just concerned.

Okay, so she was jealous. She had always believed that you had to care about a man before you would experience jealousy wherever he was concerned. And she didn’t like Koje Quadri. He was just her client.

‘You have a date?’ she heard herself asking, feeling the sudden need to slap herself on the back of the head for her stupidity.

He moved his head backwards and looked at her.

‘ Bẹẹ ni,’ he replied.

‘You should concentrate more on your case than women,’ she told him, giving an unsolicited advice.

‘I’m sure a date or two wouldn’t immediately result to my being re-arrested.’

‘You never can tell who has it out for you.’

‘Thanks for your concern…’

‘It has nothing to do with concern,’ she said, cutting him short. ‘I don’t want you complicating your case. You can leave everything pertaining to the opposite sex until we are done with your case.’

‘I doubt if my date would like that.’

‘If she gives a damn about you then she should. Focus on your case and save the dictates of your loins for a time after judgment is delivered.’

‘Dictates of my loins?’ he repeated, with a laugh. ‘Never heard of that before.’

‘At least you get the general gist.’

‘Are you by any chance jealous, Ms Madukaife?’

‘You wish.’

‘You are jealous,’ he laughed. ‘And that’s a good feeling.’

‘You cannot be serious.’

He laughed. He had a good laugh and it came easily but she also found it annoying in the circumstances.

‘I am serious,’ she insisted.

‘Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?’ he asked her.

‘Nobody. I am not jealous.’

‘You can’t be jealous unless you like me,’ he said with a smile.

‘Oh puhleeze. Don’t repeat that before you start believing it.’

‘Liar, liar. Pants on fire.’

Next thing she knew, he was standing too close and breathing wasn’t easy any more.

‘Liar, liar!’ he repeated, his breath hot against her skin as he whispered into her ear. ‘This attraction between us isn’t going to go away just because you want to wish it away.’

He straightened up and she could breathe easily.

‘The only place the attraction exists in is your mind,’ she told him, glad that he wasn’t too close for comfort.

She moved away, putting a good distance between them.

‘If you say so. Unfortunately I can’t take you out on a proper date until I no longer have this trial hanging over my head.’

She wished he would stop talking about an attraction and dating her. She was his counsel and even if his case was a civil one he was still forbidden to her. That is if indeed she was interested in him as a man.

‘Why are you here?’ she asked him for the second time.

‘Isn’t it obvious?’ he returned.

‘Excuse me?’

‘It should be obvious. I wouldn’t be dressed up like this unless I had plans for the evening.’

‘That has been established. I’m just wondering what that’s got to do with me. I’m sure your girlfriend wouldn’t like the idea of you being in another woman’s home just before your date with her.’

‘I’m sure she wouldn’t, but you have everything to do with my being here,’ he smiled. ‘So get dressed, I want to buy you dinner.’

‘Huh?’ That had to be the dumbest reaction ever.

‘My earlier intention was to invite you to my place for dinner. I wouldn’t have cooked though, but Raphael would have made something delightful. Then again, I would have had to deal with you being reserved with the fear that I would jump your bones the moment you let your guard down or with the fear that the dinner details would be posted on all social media and your reputation would be smeared.’

She was staring at him as though he’d suddenly sprouted horns on his head. Finally she found her voice.

‘Thanks for the invitation but I’m afraid that…’

‘I’m not going to take no for an answer,’ he interjected quickly. ‘I drove all the way from Peter Odili Road down here to take you out for dinner and dine, we shall. And don’t worry, it’s not a date per se. You can see it as a grateful client treating his beautiful counsel to dinner.’

‘You should have called first,’ she told him.

‘So that you would have given me every excuse in and out of the books why you can’t have a simple dinner with me? I’m not asking you to go on a date. Like I said earlier, that will wait until I am no longer in court.’

‘Well, I’m not interested in having dinner with you tonight or any other time, Quadri.’

‘Rudeness isn’t going to get you out of this one,’ he simply told her, settling himself comfortably on the sofa and helping himself with the remote control and flipping through the channels.

She quickly grabbed the remote from him and said, ‘I’m not dining with you whether it’s a date or not. So, you may take your leave.’

‘The only way I’m leaving here is with you,’ he persisted. ‘It would be in your best interest to go into your bedroom and change into something suitable. Your legs look splendid beneath those shorts, ife mi , but it isn’t suitable for our outing.’

‘What part of I’m not interested in having dinner with you did you not understand?’

‘None. Hurry up my dear so that we can be back before your bedtime.’

The nerve of the man! Telling her what to do in her own home! She parted her lips to say something really hurtful to him but he silenced her with a raised palm: ‘Be warned that if you continue to protest I shall sit here and we will end up staring at each other all night.’

‘You’re not serious.’

‘Try me. I know you love looking at me and I shall return the favour, openly this time.’

‘What…?’ she stuttered. ‘I don’t look at you…’

‘Even you don’t believe that,’ he said with that annoying smile of his. ‘What are you afraid of? That you will end up falling in love with me if you spend more time in my company?’

‘ Love ko, like ni. Not in your wildest dreams.’

‘Then prove me wrong. Get dressed and let’s go out.’

It was a challenge he knew she would accept just so he didn’t have any ideas. Damn him!

‘All right, I’ll get dressed. But know this: I’m not doing this because of your challenge.’

The left side of his mouth quirked with amusement, but he didn’t utter a word. And just to show him that he wasn’t welcome in her home, she didn’t offer him anything. Call her inhospitable, she didn’t care right then. Her mother would faint fifteen times in a row if she heard that Kaira had a gentleman visitor and she wasn’t hospitable.

She retired to her bedroom where she had a quick shower and took her time in selecting a suitable dress. Two can play that game, she thought. Of course she wasn’t dressing up for him. She was dressing to make a statement. Plus she was dressing up because she had no idea where she would meet her Mr Right.

I hear you , that mumu voice came again.

Get out , she told it.

She selected a knee length turquoise dress she had bought the previous year but didn’t know where to wear it to. It accentuated her tall, slim figure. She chose black stiletto heels and smiled as she looked at her reflection. She was about the same height as Quadri, perhaps just half an inch shorter. And with the heels she would top him in height, she thought impishly.

Her make-up was on point, thanks to the hours of lessons from the ‘you-tube’ videos. Since Ekene she hadn’t any reason to apply any serious makeup unless she had a wedding or other serious function. There was this confidence that came with looking good, she thought as she sprayed her perfume. She brushed her short weave-on and was good to go.

Quadri was on phone when she returned to the sitting room.

‘Ese gan, ma,’ he was saying over the phone. ‘We’ll put up the notice as requested. It’s always nice doing business with you and thanks for the referral. Od’aro, Ma. Mari e lola.’

He ended the call and looked up to find Kaira standing there. He swallowed hard.

‘Wow,’ was all he could say.

She might not have Laide’s curves but she could slay in her own right, Kaira thought, feeling good as a result of his stare.

Amaka m, kilibe m , that imbecilic voice sang and this time Kaira made no attempt to silence it.

‘Has anyone told you that it is a crime to look this good?’ he asked when he could talk.

‘Flattery will get you absolutely nowhere, Quadri.’

He laughed. ‘Your short skirt suits are beautiful but they make you look prim and proper. But this outfit, I like. You look less like a lawyer and that is one thing I don’t want you to be this evening.’

‘The dress doesn’t make the lawyer, you know.’

‘Really, you look good.’

‘Thanks.’

As he rose to his feet, she asked, ‘Where are we headed?’

‘That’s for me to know and for you to find out,’ she was told.

‘That’s good to know, Mr Evasive, but I need the information because I’m not sure that with the way you drive I can tail you.’

‘And why would you want to tail me?’ he asked, then raised a hand to silence her response. ‘I see. You don’t want anyone to see us arriving together.’

‘Right. In this age of social media, everything ends up on Facebook or Instagram and in some cases twitter and other social media apps. I don’t want anyone gossiping about me. I don’t need that right now.’

He looked at her for some time then said, ‘Far be it from me to embarrass you. Very well, I’ll drive ahead and ensure that you are able to drive behind me.’

‘Better.’

‘On second thought, I insist on driving us both. I’ll stop at the gate so that you can alight and walk into the restaurant while I park the car. I’ll give you three minutes to settle down and ascertain whether or not anyone you know is currently within the vicinity before I join you.’

It sounded like a scene from a movie but although she preferred her own option, she didn’t argue much. Perhaps because she had driven down from her hometown and wasn’t really in the mood to get behind the wheels before tomorrow. Plus she had no doubt that even if they quarrelled, he wouldn’t leave her there but would rather drop her at home so he could rub it in.

She quickly locked the kitchen back door and once they were outside her apartment, she put the change-over switch on neutral. She didn’t trust NEPA light and the fluctuations could damage something.

She tossed her phone into her purse as she followed him to his car, a black Toyota Corolla. Koje didn’t hold the door open for her and she teased him about not having a single romantic bone in his body and he laughed out loud.

‘If I had held the door open for you, you would say I should stop pretending to be a gentleman,’ he told her.

‘And he knows me so well,’ she said sarcastically as she fastened her seat belt.

‘And he wants to know her a whole lot better,’ he returned.

She looked at him but he was looking into his rear view mirror as he reversed out of the premises, a smile on his face. It was dark so there wasn’t the fear that her neighbours would have seen him. Day time and it would have been explained away as a client-counsel meeting but at night with her dressed and looking the way she did, there would be no doubt in the mind of even an idiot that this was an outing – well an outing that was not a date.

Translations

Eku odun tuntun (Yoruba) – Happy New Year

Amaka m, kilibe m (Igbo) – I’m fine, continue watching me

Od’aro, Ma. Mari e lola (Yoruba) – Good night Ma, see you later.

Ese gan (Yoruba) – thank you very much

To be continued

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