-: By Olayiwola Faith Adedolapo
They sat around the round wooden table while the sun behind the window turned yellow and blinded their eyes. The red glass vase laid at the centre of the table with dead flowers in it. The sour smell from the rotten flowers filled the whole room. ‘Throw that thing away Janet,’ Jude shouted and looked away. He stared towards the kitchen door. That was where it had all began. She stared further inside the kitchen and saw the kitchen table. It moved. She saw it. It moved just has their body had moved it. Janet had left to see to her new client’s complaint. It is urgent, she said as she had always done. Jude had not said anything since she left. He held the coffee mug close to his nose. She was not sure if he was trying to smell it but it had stayed too long there. He sniffed. She moved. She looked around the room. It was not different as it had always been but it smelt differently. It smelt like a peeled lemon with it juice spilt all over the room. Her heart hurt for cinnamon and mango. The room was empty without Janet. Her garden boots lay beside the cupboard. The cupboard had no door. It revealed its enormous content: sugar, butter, pasta and paste. They were small but expensive.
They had to work through sweat and smile to get their two meals a day. But Janet was all they had. She did it all; the professional and menial ones. She would work as a cleaner, babysitter, part-time nurse, everything. She and Jude could not do it. They would rather starve than to degrade themselves. ‘Jude?’ she asked while staring at the man across the road with a mower. Hmmm, he replied without looking up. She looked away for few seconds and then turned back to face him. ‘Are you fine?’ She stared harder. ‘Yea’ Everywhere was silent again. She looked toward the empty vase and watched as the black ant crawled across the table. ‘You are sure you are okay?’ She asked again. ‘Do you mind getting me another cup of coffee?’ He stretched out the mug towards her. She took the mug from his hand and walked towards the table. ‘Mary!’ He called out. But the call was silent; cold and distant. She stood abruptly in front of the kitchen door. He stood up and walked slowly around the table dragging his middle and ring fingers along the edge of the table. She stared at him. He looked different. He looked up at her. She saw him smile. Was he happy that he made her feel so uncomfortable?
She felt the butterflies warm up her stomach at he walked towards her. He held her tiny hands at raised them towards his face. He moves backwards. Please Jane! He murmured. He drove his nails into her brown hair and released strength into her shaky lips. He was hungry. She resisted. He forced hard; asked for more. She felt her legs weaken. She could not resist. She gave him.
‘Jude’
‘Hmmm’, he replied without looking up
‘Are you fine?’
