Taiwo arrived on time, the way he always did, the one dependable thing about a cousin who was late for nothing and early for everything. If Yetunde hadn’t left in the mood she’d left in, unreadable and in a hurry, she would have still been there when he came, and Jide thought that Taiwo might have talked some sense into the room simply by being decent company for ten minutes.

He found Taiwo already sitting at the small table, working through the leftover porridge from the cooler.

“You had a feast already,” Taiwo said, spoon halfway to his mouth, “I thought we needed to branch somewhere to eat before we left. I was hungry.”

“You’re in luck. There is more where that came from.” Jide dropped into the chair across from him. “My fiancée cooked. There’s extra.”

Taiwo paused mid bite. “Fiancée. Since when.”

“Since this morning.”

“Ah.” Taiwo took another spoonful, chewing slowly, thoughtfully. “If she wasn’t your fiancée I’d have married her myself. Anybody who can cook like this understands my love language. But who knows, she probably didn’t cook it herself.”

“She didn’t buy it, if that’s what you’re implying.”

“I wasn’t.”

“You were.”

“Fine, not that it matters anyway.” Taiwo pointed the spoon at him. “But seriously, Jide, tell me what’s happening here. Why are you going to bury your ex-girlfriend’s father when you already have a woman you are serious about? Isn’t that just awkward on its own?”

“It’s not a secret, if that’s what you mean. Yetunde encouraged it herself, back when it was still simple. It’s the way Elizabeth’s been behaving that’s made it complicated. She showed up at my gym this morning. Held my arm. Yetunde walked in and saw the whole thing.” He rubbed his forehead. “And apparently she sent Yetunde a message too. Telling her to back off.”

“You’re the one who caused all of that,” Taiwo said, without much sympathy. “I don’t know why you agreed to this in the first place. It’s awkward, Jide. I’m not saying I mind the drive to Ibadan, I don’t. But if it was me, I would never have signed up for this. Now I’m the one who has to sit here today looking like I support it.”

“I don’t know how I got myself into it either. But it’s done now. I’m paying my last respects, that’s all this is. Her father was a good man to me. He deserves that much.”

“He deserves you sending his daughter a decent message and maybe cash support. He doesn’t need you personally travelling to a family meeting, sitting through a burial, playing chauffeur for a whole trip.” Taiwo shook his head. “There are no two ways to look at it. You’re sending the wrong message, whether you mean to or not.”

“And I know I’m hurting Yetunde with it.” Jide said, sighing deeply. “She’s not fighting me on it, that’s the thing. She’s just gone quiet. If it was Elizabeth in her shoes, she’d have kept malice with me by now, made sure I felt it. But that’s not who Yetunde is.”

“And you’re taking that for granted.” Taiwo set the spoon down. “Fear the quiet ones, my brother. They don’t shout. They just check out one day, and you’ll turn around and realize you don’t have a girlfriend anymore.”

“I’m not taking her for granted.” Jide’s voice sharpened slightly. “If it was up to me I’d marry that woman today. I’m serious. I want to marry her before I go back to England.”

Taiwo raised an eyebrow. “Marry her. Like, wedding, marry her?”

“Something small. Quick. I always thought I wanted the big thing, the hall, the aso ebi, all of it. Not anymore. I’ll go and see her people properly, do a small introduction, pay her bride price, then go straight to the registry. Do you know how it can be arranged?”

“Ah, I’ve never done it myself. But Aunty Bimbo works there, if you want, she could get you the license, fast track it. It’s not even hard if you know who to ask.”

“Hopefully.”

“I still don’t understand you, though.” Taiwo pushed the empty plate away. “You love a woman this much, enough to be talking about marriage, and you’re on your way right now to escort another one to bury her father.”

“I’m going to finish what I started properly. That’s all this is.” Jide stood and reached for his bag by the door. “I gave my word before any of this got complicated, and I’m not going to be the kind of man who backs out just because it’s inconvenient now. Integrity has to mean something, Taiwo, even when it’s costing you.”

“Integrity.” Taiwo said the word back at him slowly, testing it. “And this woman showing up unannounced at your hotel, holding your arm in front of your fiancée, sending your fiancée messages telling her to back off, that’s showing you integrity how, exactly?”

Jide didn’t answer that one. He zipped the bag and slung it over his shoulder.

“Finish the food,” he said. “We need to move. We’re picking Elizabeth up on the way.”

Taiwo stood, wiping his hands on his trousers, already reaching for the car keys. “Yes, boss.”

——————————————————————————————————————–

Sade did not read moods. That much Yetunde had learned in the years they’d known each other, and she’d made her peace with it mostly, except on days like this one, when she’d rather have been left alone with her needle and her thoughts and nothing else.

“So what did your oyinbo boyfriend bring me?” Sade asked, dropping into her usual chair, not even glancing up from her phone.

Yetunde didn’t answer. She kept sewing, head down, hoping the silence would do the work of asking to be left alone that she didn’t have the energy to do out loud.

A customer came in, which she was almost grateful for, and even more grateful when it gave her a reason to say no. “My hands are full already,” she told the woman. “I’m actually planning to close for the holidays soon. I don’t want to take on anything I can’t finish before then.”

“Ah, na wa. Which kind of tailor closes before the festivities? Tailors don’t rest until after.”

“But ma, I told you to bring your clothes earlier.”

“So now we have to book you.” The woman clicked her tongue. “Yetunde, you’ve become proud.”

“I am sorry.” Yetunde said, and smiled, which made the woman angry. She left with a last look that said this wasn’t finished between them. The moment the door shut, Sade was already talking.

“It’s true what she said. You have become proud. What do you mean you’re not taking work into the festivities. Every tailor in Lagos works during the festivities, even on Christmas day, that’s where the money is. The first week of January, that’s the only time you can rest.”

“But is that a good way to live? Life should not be about working only.” Yetunde didn’t look up from the seam. “Regardless, my boyfriend is around, you know that. He doesn’t live in this country, so when he’s here I have to actually be available. He’s spending his whole leave with me after his Ibadan trip. There will be days I close early for a date. There’s just a lot going on. I don’t want to take more than I can manage, especially with no staff.”

“Exactly, why don’t you have staff?”

“I don’t know my plans yet, Sade. Too many things are shifting for me right now. I’m trying to stay flexible.” She hesitated, then added, “I told you I sat for that English exam.”

“Ah, yes, the exam.” Sade sat up properly now, phone forgotten. “Not like I understand what it means but did you pass? Don’t keep me in the dark. Are you relocating?”

“Nothing is settled yet. I just know God has a plan, and He keeps telling me to stay flexible. That’s all I know for now.”

“Mm.” Sade let that sit a second, then moved on, the way she always did, restless for the next thing. “Where is this boyfriend, anyway? Shouldn’t he be following you to work today? Let us at least meet him.”

“He’s gone for his friend’s burial. His friend’s father’s.”

“Ah, Yetunde. Why didn’t you go with him?”

“You know I’m busy. And why would I go? I don’t even know the man they’re burying, it’s weird for me to be there. I don’t want to be that kind of woman, following her boyfriend to family events for people she’s never met.”

“What kind of woman is that, exactly?” Sade leaned forward. “Do you even know the kind of man you’ve caught? I went to check his social media properly. That’s a big boy, Yetunde. Do you know how many women out there are looking for exactly what you have? There are more women than men at a certain age, everybody knows this. Hold that man to your chest. Don’t lose him.”

“I don’t know how we became friends,” Yetunde said, half laughing despite herself. “You say the strangest things. I’m not holding anybody to my chest. If he’s meant for me, I won’t lose him.”

“Ha. Famous last words.”

For a second, Yetunde considered telling her all of it, who the burial was really for, the message from Elizabeth, the gym, the hand on his arm in the lobby that morning. 

She opened her mouth, and then closed it again. Sade would not hear any of the nuance in it. She would hear a woman showing up at a hotel and conclude, before Yetunde had even finished the sentence, that Jide was cheating, and there would be no walking her back from it, and it would sit on Jide’s name in a way he didn’t deserve.

“Sade, please, let me concentrate.”

Sade didn’t move, didn’t take the hint, just sat there scrolling her phone. Yetunde picked up her own phone too and called Jide, mostly to check on him, partly just to have something else to hold in her hands.