[size=14pt]The Thing around Your Waist[/size]


How does the human instinct affect the intellect?
How does your sexuality affect your intellectuality?
Does love juju exist?


Chapter 1


Calabar, Nigeria. Thursday August 5, 2010.


Hmm, this is life.
Ekaiete twitched.
A cock crowed.
She was itching for something. Her conscience was pricking her. She scratched her forehead as she gazed at the ceiling. She was seeing things. Flashbacks of her life crossed her mind and she could see the images on the white surface of the ceiling like a movie on the silver screen of a cinema.
Oh, Babbi, she smiled as she reminisced. He was as amusing as he played with her lace underwear after removing it. She wanted to snatch it from him, but he prevented her until he was through with amusing himself with it. He put it away and lowered his naked body in-between her slender legs.

Ebua mumbled. She looked at him and sighed.
Here I am lying naked in bed with the man I claim to love, but I am enraptured, musing over reminisces of the precious moments I had with Babbi.
If only he allowed her to visit him in Lagos last November, she would not have strayed and fallen into the arms of Ebua. Babbi thought their love was unbreakable, but he was wrong.

She heard the second cockcrow.

If he loved you, he would not have called you those nasty things to hurt you, Ebua said to console her after she broke up with Babbi and she concurred, but later thought otherwise. She could swear that Babbi loved her, but unleashed his furies on her when he found out that she was cheating on him.

She was turning restlessly in bed, but he was fast asleep and snoring aloud.
He had his fill of her body and thought she was happy as they were sweating after the hours of sex. But whilst he was stroking and thrusting in and out of her, her mind was a mile away. She was ill at ease. She glanced at her Nokia phone and saw that it was about 1.54 am. He turned and threw his arms to hold her. He wanted another round of sex. She looked at him and grunted. He was stocky and his virility was quite satisfactory and he was fun to be with. They both loved to dance and swim and sleeping-with whenever they wanted since she was now his live in lover. But intellectually, he was average. He could hardly contribute much to her term papers. She was no longer excited to share his carnal indulgences. She knew that he saw her more as a sex object than anything else.
Yes. Our kids will look like you.
He was over the moon when she said that to him and even posted it on her Facebook wall.
But now as she regarded him, their children would not make popular posters if they looked like him. He was not yet 30 and she was wondering what he would like at 40 or 50. Would she find him attractive at 40 as she found Babbi who was still making younger women to drool at 45? She tried to figure how Ebua would look like at 45 when he was already looking older than his age with early signs of mid-life flab.  Her mind was filled with the reminiscences of the precious moments she had with Babbi. They had three unforgettable nights in three different cities in Nigeria. The four hours they spent talking, playing and making love in Abuja remained in her heart. She recalled how she ran to embrace him as Godwin dropped her at the entrance into the guest house where Babbi lodged. She felt the wetness in her eyes. Oh, God! What went wrong?
Many things went wrong.  She knew he made her feel immature and insecure and publicly disgraced her as he insulted and taunted her for what he termed betrayal of trust and love. He called her a naughty woman, witch and love-peddler. She swallowed every bitter pill he threw at her. He never spared anyone who offended him. He despised people without scruples and would spit at promiscuous women. Dogs of the earth he called them. His words stung her and she got all riled up and thought the best way to hurt him was to throw herself at Ebua in rabid sex. Yes. Call me a naughty woman, witch or whatever you like. I do not care! She was screaming in her mind as she threw her legs wide apart in the air welcoming every penetration of Ebua's turgid manliness until she climaxed. That was her revenge. Let a younger man fork me badly madly.
You have only confirmed everything I called you last November, Babbi replied.

Then she found out that Babbi got another girlfriend who was even four years younger than her and with bigger bosoms too. He loved big bosoms. She hissed. How younger women still flocked to him in his late forties. He was not a babyface or beefcake, but he had unique looks. His bushy eyebrows, dark blue eyes, Greek nose, high cheekbones and square jaw made him attractive in an enigmatic way. His charisma and his gift of gab also made him outstanding with his six feet and three inches height and athletic physique. Babbi walked with a sexy swagger.
His eyes na wa, an excited young girl once remarked after meeting Babbi. And they just loved his name Babbi. They found it very romantic.
She missed his sweet early morning wakeup calls.
Ekaiete, Ebua muttered and his left hand stretched to his crotch. He had a massive erection and she knew what that meant. It was becoming a routine she had to live with if she would spend the rest of her life with him. She was not really in the mood, but she wanted to please him. She mounted him and his hard manliness entered into her dry womanliness. She began rocking him and he started muttering many words of ecstasy in their mother tongue of Efik.
I hope your womanliness will not make me mad.         
No my husband.   
He was stirred and he soon flipped her over and was entering her from under her round buttocks.
Ebua, she moaned as he ejaculated.



Lagos, Nigeria. Friday August 13, 2010.

Susan, have you finished reading the book? Babbi asked.
Susan looked up and shook her head.
She was sitting behind her office desk in an armchair. She was in a blue pantsuit and black court shoes with low heels. She braided her hair in a hairstyle that drew pleasant remarks from Babbi, her boss Mr. Joseph Deinde and others who admired her. She adjusted her plain spectacles as he spoke to her.
Babbi was wearing a blue long sleeved shirt with silver cufflinks, blue denim trousers and black loafers. He was sitting in front of the desktop PC and glancing once in a while at the small TV set placed on a wooden stand fixed to a wall in the general office. The TV was always on for them to monitor the news and other programmes for contents that might be useful to the Betty magazine the company published online and offline. Babbi was responsible for the content development and management. Susan smacked her lips and turned to the files she was going through. She was the receptionist and Babbi’s recommendation got her the job. Mr. Deinde fired her once, but Babbi soon intervened and she got her job back. She admired him for many reasons. The most important was the respect he gave her. He always treated her with dignity, integrity, humility and nobility as he treated her elders. She loved to see and hear him attending to their clients and visitors with confidence and not arrogance. Then on her last birthday he gave her an inspirational book written by one of his female friends and some money to buy anything she wished. He had planned to take her out, but he had malaria and was not fit enough for a date. She wished him speedy recuperation so that he would take her out and make love to her. They have had quality time to discuss things of mutual interest to them. She loved books and that was one of the most important things he actually appreciated. She always carried his love book like a handbook to guide and guard her on relationships. She knew about the unfortunate circumstances that destroyed his last relationship and she wanted to replace the girlfriend he had broken up with. But there was another young woman who was coming to visit him in the office. Nkiruka was a taller and more attractive woman he seemed to be excited about. She had seen the glints of excitement in his eyes whenever she visited and the last time she was lying in the office couch and enjoying his attention as he pampered her and Susan could swear that they would have been smooching if they were left alone in the office. And when she was leaving, he had his left hand around her slender shoulders. She must have felt ten feet tall! But Susan still believed that Babbi would be her lover whenever she wanted him, because she had seen it written all over him as he admired her sexuality and she always enhanced it whenever they were alone in their small office. She was smart and could make him to express his most passionate feelings. She gave him bait about a pretty and sexy young woman who wanted a lover and thought he would like to go for her, but Babbi said he was only interested in Susan. Gosh! She blushed and was glad to know how much he really wanted her. He was a very frank person and she loved that. Like the last song of Michael Jackson, This is it.     
Babbi’s mobile phone rang and he picked it up from where he placed it beside the PC.

You are coming this evening?
Susan wondered who was calling him. Nkiruka?
Gugu is coming with you. How did your meeting go?   
Oh, thank God, it was not Nkiruka.
Alright. I will be in the office. I am working on my next book and my first feature film. I also have an invitation to my partner’s film festival in Germany this September.     



Chapter 2

Saturday August 14, 2010.

Dear Pam,
I do not know whether you have read "The Prophet" by Khalil Gibran.
It is not how many books a writer writes that matters, but how much impact the writer makes in the world.
Harper Lee wrote only one book, "To Kill A Mockingbird" and that made it into the greatest 100 books of the 20th century.
I hope that I will end up touching millions of lives with my words. No matter the evils in the world today, good will eventually prevail as Robert Alden said, "There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle".

Thank you for your prayers and words of wise advice. In a way, you are like my muse.
I am in the midst of people ruled more by their instinct than their intellect. So, I think I am in an animal kingdom.
I have wasted my time and earnings on a brutish and impish companion who has shown me that she is impetuous, promiscuous and vacuous when I thought I could make a virtuous woman out of her.

You now know why my country has remained so backward in spite of all the decades of colonization and neocolonialism.
Apes will be apes as dogs will be dogs and pigs will be pigs no matter how best you dress them up like humans. 
They read only to pass their exams for the qualifications they need to get the jobs, titles and political posts they would cheat, steal and kill for in their desperation to catch up with the Joneses.

Pam, let me not bore you with the litany of the anomie plaguing my country
Karl Maier said it all in "This House Has Fallen" and indeed she has gone to the dogs.
Say a prayer for the innocent ones lest they would be infested by the cankerworms crawling all over the place.

Stay blessed.

Faithfully
Babbi.

Babbi went over his letter again and soon e-mailed it. His laptop was on the bed in-between his pillows.
He was in his boxer shorts. It was a cool Saturday morning on the Lagos Island. He could see the traffic from the open windows of his flat on the third floor in the apartment block on Osborne Road in Ikoyi.
I get my visa on Wednesday; I will be out of Nigeria before the end of the month.
At times I feel that I have wasted all the decades I have spent trying to do my best for my family and my country, because those I thought really needed my love have turned out to be brutes and  ingrates. Speaking sense to a people who do not have conscience is a bloody waste of time.

His mobile phone rang and he turned to answer it.
Susan. He almost forgot that she said she would be coming to spend the day with him. She was at the door. He opened the door and she walked in. She was dressed in a grey tight fitting silk gown and black stiletto shoes. Babbi could sniff the perfume on her. She hung a small leather bag on her left shoulder.
You smell nice; he said smiling and hugged her passionately. 
Hmm, she cooed.
Where should we go today? He asked.
I prefer we stay indoors and spoil each other a little, she replied.
Alright sweetheart, he said and kissed her deeply.
Oh, Babbi, you are making me melt, she purred.
He was quick at undressing her and then saw a gold chain around her waist.
This is cute, he said touching the gold chain and using his fingers to play with it.
Oh, Babbi. But hold on, I have a present for you.
He was already out of his shorts and about to mount her when she sat up on the bed and reached for her handbag she had placed on one of the sofas in the apartment.
Tolstoy, she enthused as she brought out a hardcover copy of Leo Tolstoy’s Resurrection.
Thanks. But I have read it 20 years ago.
Okay. I will still want you to have this copy.
Alright, my darling.
She was handing it to him and as he was accepting it with his right hand, he was using his left hand to caress her bosoms. He put the novel aside and was kissing her from the crown of her head to the toes of her feet.
Babbi.
Yes.
Do you love me?
He did not reply and was thrusting deeper and deeper into her.
Babbi, do you love me?
I do. I do. I do.
She wanted to ask another question, but the sensation of heavenly feeling overwhelmed her and she could not help screaming his name.
Baaaabbbbiii!
They used every suitable furniture in the bedroom for their sexual intercourse, including the bed, sofa, the armchair, the stool and the table. After over two hours of passionate lovemaking, they relaxed to talk and then he reached for Resurrection.
I regard Resurrection as Tolstoy’s greatest novel, but most scholars say War and Peace, Babbi said.
I have not read any of his works, said Susan.
Then, you should start with Resurrection, Babbi said giving her the book.
Babbi, I am reading Helen Oyeyemi and I have more books I am yet to read, said Susan.
Well, add Resurrection to your reading list.
Alright Babbi.
She got up from the bed and went to the bathroom. He followed her and they made love as they showered.
Later they left for the Genesis Deluxe Cinema at The Palms Shopping Mall in Lekki.

Babbi and his partner Deinde were discussing in the office whilst Susan was listening to the discussion on the shortcomings in the entertainment industry in Nigeria.
The collapse of the music industry is responsible for the influx of charlatans and the falling standards. Most of the artistes simply record themselves and market their recordings. They pay the radio DJs and TV VJs to broadcast their songs and the constant rotation with hype help to attract many listeners and get them shows, said Deinde.   
Mediocrity is the order of the day, because the DJs and VJs do not care about quality once you pay for airplay, said Babbi.
I do not listen to most of the rubbish, said Susan.
Wow. What do you know about music? Deinde asked Susan.
You would be surprised sir. I watch a lot of music videos on cable, she replied.
And that makes you an expert? Deinde asked and smirked.
Well, she really knows the good ones from the bad ones, said Babbi.
Susan nodded and Deinde regarded her for a while and then turned to Babbi.
Our seminar should address the rot in the entertainment industry, said Deinde.
What date should we host the seminar? Babbi asked.
The last week of September is okay, said Deinde.
I will do the press release on the 50 Years of Entertainment in Nigeria, said Babbi.
We have to include the problems of Nollywood. Piracy and unprofessionalism, said Deinde.
Alright.
And include Susan’s input.
Susan smiled in appreciation.

i like this, simple, candid, very nigerian (something that still eludes me) and thoughtfully written with a good dose of sex, intrigue, controversy, conflict, the reader connects, sounds like some personal experience, anyway it grabbed my attention and i didnt notice any errors. next time i pass by you wont be that lucky

Chapter 3



Babbi’s mobile phone rang and he picked it from the top of a stool beside his office desk.
I am in town, said the caller.
It was the unmistakable voice of Ekaiete.
In town?
I am in Lagos.
Good. Who are you visiting?
I am visiting an elder sister.
Alright.
I want to see you?
Why?
Don’t you want to see me?
I don’t understand what you mean. Why should I see you? You have another man and I have another life.
I just want to see you.
Babbi swallowed a lump of saliva and sighed.
What does she want again? The seminar is my last assignment in Nigeria and I will say bye, bye to all these Nigerian nonsense.
Alright Ekaiete. Let me look at my schedule and know when we can see.
He did not even allow her to reply. He ended the call and put down the phone. He was alone since Susan had closed for the day and Deinde was not in the office. He turned his attention to the TV.

When Susan returned to her residence in the Akowonjo area on the outskirts of Lagos, Shade was cooking dinner in the kitchen. Shade was wearing a loose tunic and baggy shorts with rubber slippers. Susan could smell the beans and fried plantain.
The stew will soon be ready. Your face is glowing. How is Babbi? said Shade.
He is traveling soon. And I know that he is actually relocating.
Are you going to join him?
That’s part of his plan.
A certainty or probability?
Well, he has never lied to me.
You have to be sure, because mere words are not enough.
I was wearing the chain the last time I visited him.
Did you remove it before you did it?
No.
And he was not curious?
No. In fact, he loved it.
Then, you can relax. He is hooked for life.
I would do whatever possible to keep him for life.
You really love Babbi.
He will make me happy.
Amen.

It was in their final year at the University that Shade introduced the love chain to Susan. They were going to the bathroom in their hostel when Shade started his usual naughty tickle me and I tickle you touché game with her. She pulled Shade’s towel and felt something around her waist.
Shade, are you wearing Jigida?
No. God forbid! It is not Jigida.
Then, what is it?
I will show you.
When they were stark naked inside the bathroom, Shade was wearing a glittering chain around her slim waist. Susan could not wait to touch it.
Is it gold?
12-carat gold chain. I bought in Kano. But it is no ordinary gold chain.
Tell me something. What’s the secret?
It is a talisman from Saudi Arabia. Women put it on to seduce men and hold them for as long as they wish. Once a man sleeps with a woman while she is wearing it, he is chained to her, heart and soul, and he will be under her spell until the spell is broken.
How can I get one?
We have to go to the Mallam in Kano.

It cost Susan one hundred thousand naira to get her own gold waist chain. And she never regretted having it on her, because it worked as the Mallam swore it would bring the men she desired to her feet.
They enjoyed their dinner and talked about their jobs, men and marriage before going to bed.
Babbi is yours for life, said Shade tapping Susan’s waist chain before she flipped off the light in their bedroom.


Babbi told Ekaiete to see him at home and she agreed. Then he told Susan to join him at the same time on a weekend. It was the last Friday in August.
Susan, the weekend is special. Let’s make it sweet, Babbi said when they spoke on phone. He did not tell her that Ekaiete would be coming.

When Ekaiete arrived, Babbi welcomed her with a warm handshake and offered her a seat. She was in a cream silk evening gown and simple brown sandals and styled her hair in long Senegalese braids. She was beautiful, but he decided to overlook her attractive features. She sat down and looked at the interior décor of his cozy living room. On an ebony table at the centre of the room was a unique China vase shaped like nude woman carrying earthenware and she loved the carnations. The chic furniture looked like a picture from Home & Style magazine. There was shaded light to give the place a cool romantic ambience. She loved it. She looked at him standing tall and proud in embroidered white kaftan and baggy ankle length pants with leather slippers. He looked good and she was feeling a passion for him.
What would you like to drink? Red wine? Babbi asked with a smile.
She nodded and he fetched a bottle of wine from a nearby refrigerator. He opened it with a bottle opener and brought two wine glasses. He poured the wine until the glasses were half-full. He gave her one and raised his own with a grin.
To long life and more prosperity, Babbi said cheerfully.
Amen, she said as they clinked glasses.
He sat opposite her and turned on the TV. He chose to view the Cable News Network (CNN) channel.
I want to see Larry King, he said.
How’s work and life? Ekaiete asked lovingly.
Beautiful. God,
God knows how to take care of His children, she completed the sentence he always loved to say whenever you asked how he was faring.
Her pretty oval face was glowing and he remembered the best times they had when they were happy. He shook his head when he wondered how such a beautiful soul could use her innocent good looks and chicanery to cheat him.
Why are you shaking your head? Ekaiete asked.
Humans amuse me, Babbi replied.
Then Susan sauntered into the living room from behind a room divider in a transparent nightgown showing that she was nude. Ekaiete gasped and she nearly dropped her glass. The young woman was as pretty and sexy as the former Miss. USA, Kenya Moore.
Good evening, Susan greeted her with a smirk.
Goo, goo evening, Ekaiete stuttered.
She was surprised to see Susan.
Oh, Eka, meet Susan, my fiancée, said Babbi.
Susan deliberately sat on Babbi’s laps and kissed him. Then she looked at Ekaiete’s face for every nuance of grimace. Ekaiete felt uncomfortable and wished that she could simply disappear from the place. She could not finish her drink. She put the glass on the table and stood up to leave. Babbi got up and opened the door.
Eka, I will call you, he said.
Okay Babbi, Ekaiete said.
As she stepped out of the apartment, a teardrop rolled down her right cheek. She knew that Babbi planned the whole scenario to hurt her.
But I love him.

She had been a tear-away since she was manhandled by relations, acquaintances and even strangers until she met Babbi and wanted a fresh start. He did his best for her, but she disappointed him along the way. She concluded that they were star-crossed lovers and lived in constant fear of him dumping her. When she got to her elder sister’s home, Ekaiete broke down in tears. Babbi is engaged to a younger, prettier and sexier woman. Ekaiete described Susan to her elder sister and said Babbi wanted them to meet to let her know that he would never welcome her back again. He has moved on with another young woman that would make most men drool and jerk at first sight. Babbi always loved voluptuous young women. He said they captivated him and always triggered his genius.

Men would be men, said her elder sister.
I never realized how much I love him until I left him and now I wish I could turn the clock back, sobbed Ekaiete.
I blame you for losing him. You took many things for granted, said her elder sister.
How? Ekaiete asked.
You do not date Nigerian men empty-handed. I am sure that the woman you met would have jazzed him.
But I cannot use juju on Babbi. God forbid. I do not need any voodoo charm to make a man love me.
That’s why you keep on losing them to smarter and wiser women who know what to do to keep their men chained to their waist for as long as they wish.
But you lost Tony. So why did you fail to keep him?
I lost Tony, because his mother the witch broke my spell.
What of Tunji?
Oh, no! I dumped Tunji when I got tired of him. I found a better guy. Alex is not going anywhere. Do you want to bet?
Let’s wait and see how long your jazz will last on him.
Ekaiete sighed. Her elder sister shook her head as she regarded her dejected younger sister.
Eka?
Yes.
Do you really want Babbi back?
Ekaiete did not reply.
When you make up your mind, let me know. The world is a battlefield and you have to fight to win. But even if you will lose, not without a fight.
Ekaiete shook her head and yawned.
You are hungry?
I am. I thought Babbi was going to have dinner with me until his new lover appeared.
There is fried rice and fish in the pot.


Babbi, she never expected to meet me, said Susan.
I wanted her to see you. She would be wiser now, said Babbi.
He swept Susan off her feet and carried her into the bedroom. She was smiling happily. Shade advised her to get pregnant for him and she would wish for nothing more.

Chapter 4

December 21, 2010.

Maitama, Abuja, Nigeria.

It was a busy afternoon in Maitama and most people were feeling Christmassy as many places had glittering decorations of the festive season and popular stores were enjoying the brisk business of Christmas shopping.

A Honda saloon car suddenly screeched to a halt in the middle of the Alvan Ikoku Road and attracted the attention of other road users as another vehicle nearly crashed into the car. Some passersby reacted and paused to see what caused the car to stop abruptly.  A woman of average stature who looked middle aged came out of the car with a cheerless grimace. She styled her black hair in cornrows and was dressed in a multicoloured knee-length gown and high-heeled shoes. It was a flat tyre that forced her to stop suddenly in traffic. She grunted as she looked at the problem. It was about 15.00 in the afternoon.

Push your car out of the road!
You are blocking others!
Madam, if you no fit drive, go get driver oh! She ignored what other people were saying as she went to the booth of her car.

As she opened the booth, a Land Rover jeep was driven to the roadside behind her car.
What’s the problem? The man driving the jeep asked her.
I have a flat, she replied.

The man did not hesitate before coming out of his jeep to offer her a helping hand.
She regarded the tall and slender fair skinned man with shaved head and a thin moustache. He was in blue long sleeved shirt and blue denim trousers and leather boots. He had bushy eyebrows and dark blue eyes. She also noticed the gap in his front teeth. He looks like a very confident ladies man, she thought.
Let me help you with that, he said and helped her to bring out the spare tyre and the jack from the booth. Something punctured it, he said as he examined the flat tyre.  She bent down to look as he pointed at it.
A sharp object on the road must have done it, she said.
He nodded and soon changed the flat tyre. He brought out a plastic bottle of water from his jeep and used the water to rinse the dirt from his hands and then sighed.
Thank you, she said gratefully with a cheerful smile.
My pleasure madam, he said with a pleasant grin.
She extended her slim right hand for a handshake and as they shook hands he could see that she was a pretty lady with fine dentition. He found her very attractive, but thought that she must be married even though he did not see any wedding ring on her fingers.
You can call me Abba Babbi, he said.
I am Uwem, she said. She fetched her business card from a handbag in her car. Here’s my card.
He collected it and soon entered his jeep and left. She entered her car and drove off thanking God for the Good Samaritan. But why did he not give me his own card. Abba sounds like an Hausa name, but he did not have any Hausa accent.  And I felt drawn to him as if he is someone I have met before.

Babbi kept on thinking of Uwem as he relaxed in his suite at the Abuja Sheraton. Those big brown deer-like eyes seem familiar. She is so sexy. He made up his mind to spend extra four days in Abuja to befriend Uwem. There is nothing better than dating a matured woman. He had coordinated the seminar on the Betty magazine’s 50 years of the Entertainment Industry in Nigeria and left for the United States. He spent two months on Pam’s ranch in New Jersey where he completed a new book and then decided to return to Nigeria for the Christmas and for Susan. He came to Abuja to see if he could find interesting subjects to write about. A romantic encounter always excited him.  He imagined what it would be like to make love to a woman on the Zuma Rock.
The day after meeting Uwem, he called her and she agreed to join him for dinner at the Abuja Sheraton.

She was looking resplendent in a blue silk evening gown with sequins and low-heeled brown and black leather sandals and she still had her hair in cornrows. As he shook her right hand he kissed it lovingly. She blushed. They had dinner in the restaurant.
What do you do? Uwem asked.
I am an international media consultant, he replied.  
I work for NAPEP, a …, Uwem was saying.
I know NAPEP, the government agency set up to reduce poverty, he said.
Yeah. You’re right, she said.
I hope NAPEP can consult me on developing 21st century strategies for the alleviation of poverty, said Babbi.
Let’s see how we can work on a proposal, Uwem said.  
Babbi gazed at her and she seemed captivated.

The following day, he took her to the Silverbird Cinemas to see a movie and they chose to sit separated from the other people in the hall. As they were viewing the movie, Uwem said she was feeling cold and he told her to relax in his arms for warmth. They did not know when their lips met. She already told him that she was a single mother who lived in her own house in Kuje on the outskirts of Abuja.

After the movie she followed him to his suite and did not feel any inhibitions to sleep with him and passed the night making love until both of them fell asleep. He drove her home in the morning and waited for her to bathe and dress up for work. It was whilst he was sitting in her living room that he saw a group photograph in which he recognized Ekaiete posing with Uwem and two other young women he now knew were Uwem’s daughters. He felt cold shivers in his spine. He was sleeping with Ekaiete’s mother! Oh, my God! He knew that it would be terrible for Uwem to find out. He had to end the relationship.
You will spend this weekend with me? Uwem asked.
Uwem, I have to leave for Lagos tomorrow morning, replied Babbi.  
You want to leave now that I am about to start enjoying your presence in my life. I would be lonely without you, Uwem said.
Uwem, don’t worry. I will come back after the holidays. I have to celebrate the Christmas with my brothers in Lagos, said Babbi. Of course, he would not let her know about Susan.
Uwem was not happy that Babbi would not be with her on Christmas Day.
What of tonight? Uwem asked looking passionately at him.
Alright, Babbi nodded.
I love you, she said and kissed him.

He drove her to work and agreed to come for her after work. He did and she said her place would be more comfortable than the hotel.
What of your children? Babbi asked.
They have gone to Calabar for Christmas and I will join them for the New Year, Uwem said.
Uwem cooked a special dish and brought out a bottle of champagne she said was reserved for the Christmas.
Let’s have a candlelight dinner just for the two of us, said Uwem.

She wore a transparent evening dress that showed all the features of her hourglass figure and the fragrance of her Chanel perfume filled the whole living room. Babbi found Uwem irresistible.
Oh, God. How can I escape from this temptation? How would she react when she finds out the truth?  
As they dined and wined, his mind was filled with the thoughts of the likely consequences of his love affair with the mother of his ex-lover. It was not a comfortable situation, but he had to do his best not to hurt Uwem. So, after dinner, he responded to her fiery carnal desires. He perished all the negative thoughts and made love to her, heart and soul.

No man has ever made me feel this way. Did you see How Stella Got Her Groove Back? Uwem said as she lay in the king-size bed with her body eagle spread before Babbi who was crouching in-between her legs. He could see that she was still yearning for more sex and he was glad to continue until they fell asleep. Before Babbi left, Uwem brought out a gold necklace and put it on him.
Wear it for as long as you love me, she said with wet eyes and kissed him. He agreed to wear it.

Babbi left Abuja with the first Air Nigeria flight to Lagos. He knew that he would never return to Uwem again, but the memories of their precious moments would linger in his heart for years.

Dear Pam,
There are strange things in the affairs of life we cannot predict and cannot escape from until we have been caught in the net of unforeseen circumstances.
How would you react to what happened to me last December in Nigeria?
I never met the mother of my ex-girlfriend and never saw her picture until our paths crossed in unforeseen circumstances whilst I was visiting Abuja during the Christmas holidays. I saw an attractive woman whose car had a flat and I decided to help her change the tyre. Then we became friends and lovers within days of our meeting without knowing that she was the mother of my ex-girlfriend. I only found out when I followed her home and saw a photograph showing her and her three daughters including my ex-girlfriend! I enjoyed our sexual intercourse, but I regretted sleeping with her. It’s a taboo to sleep with the mother of your wife or girlfriend. I had to end the relationship, but I left her without telling her the truth, because I was afraid that she would be devastated by the gravity of our abominable sin.

I know it was not my fault, because I was ignorant of the fact until I made the shocking discovery. But I could not help feeling guilty as my conscience pricked me.

Why did God allow this predicament to happen?
Why did our paths cross?
Why did I not meet her when I was still dating her daughter?
God is not to blame for our ignorance.

We should find out more about someone before sleeping with the person.
There was a case of a man who met a young woman on the road and had a one night stand with her before he found out that she was his illegitimate daughter from an unwanted pregnancy he rejected decades ago when he had an affair with a girlfriend in high school.    

I wonder why such unforeseen things happen to humans.
One of the misadventures of life you would say. C’est la vie.

Pam, I will be returning to Long Island with my Susan in fulfillment of my promise. I really love her. But only God knows if our love will pass the test of time.

Take care always.

With my best wishes,
Babbi.
End.


PS: Even though The Thing Around Your Waist is fiction, it is based on the realities of contemporary lives of Nigerians in the first decade of the 21st century. Their escapist romantic lives have been defined by the appreciation of sexuality and the depreciation of the intellectuality as seen in the sexploitation of psychedelic Hip-hop music, erotic movies and a laissez-faire attitude to life.  

~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Saturday August 7, 2010.

dumodust:

i like this, simple, candid, very nigerian (something that still eludes me) and thoughtfully written with a good dose of sex, intrigue, controversy, conflict, the reader connects, sounds like some personal experience, anyway it grabbed my attention and i didnt notice any errors. next time i pass by you wont be that lucky

Thanks for reading.

@poster- is the story by orikinla or ajibecky- confused , nice sequel, loving the story. seeing a clash between the two women when they both have the jigida's, nice scenario ,

the story is very very interesting.is that the end?

See What's sex got to do with suicide?‎
Salon - Tracy Clark-Flory

The machine, designed by Japanese artist Hiromi Ozaki, wraps around your waist and is "fitted with a blood dispensing mechanism and ,

dumodust:

@poster- is the story by orikinla or ajibecky- confused , nice sequel, loving the story. seeing a clash between the two women when they both have the jigida's, nice scenario ,

Just guess.

married to him or something like that i guess or you're sharing the same pc

dumodust:

married to him or something like that i guess or you're sharing the same pc

We share our e-mail IDs in mutual trust.

ok o! so much for mutual trust, we all understand, so whose story is it?

Wait na, isn't this book supposed to be written by Chimamanda? Or what am i reading?

darqly:

Wait na, isn't this book supposed to be written by Chimamanda? Or what am i reading?

guess that's 'the thing around your neck' by adichie, havent read it but i hope,

Chapter 4

December 21, 2010.

Maitama, Abuja, Nigeria.

It was a busy afternoon in Maitama and most people were feeling Christmassy as many places had glittering decorations of the festive season and popular stores were enjoying the brisk business of Christmas shopping.

A Honda saloon car suddenly screeched to a halt in the middle of the Alvan Ikoku Road and attracted the attention of other road users as another vehicle nearly crashed into the car. Some passersby reacted and paused to see what caused the car to stop abruptly. A woman of average stature who looked middle aged came out of the car with a cheerless grimace. She styled her black hair in cornrows and was dressed in a multicoloured knee-length gown and high-heeled shoes. It was a flat tyre that forced her to stop suddenly in traffic. She grunted as she looked at the problem. It was about 15.00 in the afternoon.

Push your car out of the road!
You are blocking others!
Madam, if you no fit drive, go get driver oh! She ignored what other people were saying as she went to the booth of her car.

As she opened the booth, a Land Rover jeep was driven to the roadside behind her car.
What’s the problem? The man driving the jeep asked her.
I have a flat, she replied.

The man did not hesitate before coming out of his jeep to offer her a helping hand.
She regarded the tall and slender fair skinned man with shaved head and a thin moustache. He was in blue long sleeved shirt and blue denim trousers and leather boots. He had bushy eyebrows and dark blue eyes. She also noticed the gap in his front teeth. He looks like a very confident ladies man, she thought.
Let me help you with that, he said and helped her to bring out the spare tyre and the jack from the booth. Something punctured it, he said as he examined the flat tyre. She bent down to look as he pointed at it.
A sharp object on the road must have done it, she said.
He nodded and soon changed the flat tyre. He brought out a plastic bottle of water from his jeep and used the water to rinse the dirt from his hands and then sighed.
Thank you, she said gratefully with a cheerful smile.
My pleasure madam, he said with a pleasant grin.
She extended her slim right hand for a handshake and as they shook hands he could see that she was a pretty lady with fine dentition. He found her very attractive, but thought that she must be married even though he did not see any wedding ring on her fingers.
You can call me Abba Babbi, he said.
I am Uwem, she said. She fetched her business card from a handbag in her car. Here’s my card.
He collected it and soon entered his jeep and left. She entered her car and drove off thanking God for the Good Samaritan. But why did he not give me his own card. Abba sounds like an Hausa name, but he did not have any Hausa accent. And I felt drawn to him as if he is someone I have met before.

Babbi kept on thinking of Uwem as he relaxed in his suite at the Abuja Sheraton. Those big brown deer-like eyes seem familiar. She is so sexy. He made up his mind to spend extra four days in Abuja to befriend Uwem. There is nothing better than dating a matured woman. He had coordinated the seminar on the Betty magazine’s 50 years of the Entertainment Industry in Nigeria and left for the United States. He spent two months on Pam’s ranch in New Jersey where he completed a new book and then decided to return to Nigeria for the Christmas and for Susan. He came to Abuja to see if he could find interesting subjects to write about. A romantic encounter always excited him. He imagined what it would be like to make love to a woman on the Zuma Rock.
The day after meeting Uwem, he called her and she agreed to join him for dinner at the Abuja Sheraton.

She was looking resplendent in a blue silk evening gown with sequins and low-heeled brown and black leather sandals and she still had her hair in cornrows. As he shook her right hand he kissed it lovingly. She blushed. They had dinner in the restaurant.
What do you do? Uwem asked.
I am an international media consultant, he replied.
I work for NAPEP, a …, Uwem was saying.
I know NAPEP, the government agency set up to reduce poverty, he said.
Yeah. You’re right, she said.
I hope NAPEP can consult me on developing 21st century strategies for the alleviation of poverty, said Babbi.
Let’s see how we can work on a proposal, Uwem said.
Babbi gazed at her and she seemed captivated.

The following day, he took her to the Silverbird Cinemas to see a movie and they chose to sit separated from the other people in the hall. As they were viewing the movie, Uwem said she was feeling cold and he told her to relax in his arms for warmth. They did not know when their lips met. She already told him that she was a single mother who lived in her own house in Kuje on the outskirts of Abuja.

After the movie she followed him to his suite and did not feel any inhibitions to sleep with him and passed the night making love until both of them fell asleep. He drove her home in the morning and waited for her to bathe and dress up for work. It was whilst he was sitting in her living room that he saw a group photograph in which he recognized Ekaiete posing with Uwem and two other young women he now knew were Uwem’s daughters. He felt cold shivers in his spine. He was sleeping with Ekaiete’s mother! Oh, my God! He knew that it would be terrible for Uwem to find out. He had to end the relationship.
You will spend this weekend with me? Uwem asked.
Uwem, I have to leave for Lagos tomorrow morning, replied Babbi.
You want to leave now that I am about to start enjoying your presence in my life. I would be lonely without you, Uwem said.
Uwem, don’t worry. I will come back after the holidays. I have to celebrate the Christmas with my brothers in Lagos, said Babbi. Of course, he would not let her know about Susan.
Uwem was not happy that Babbi would not be with her on Christmas Day.
What of tonight? Uwem asked looking passionately at him.
Alright, Babbi nodded.
I love you, she said and kissed him.

He drove her to work and agreed to come for her after work. He did and she said her place would be more comfortable than the hotel.
What of your children? Babbi asked.
They have gone to Calabar for Christmas and I will join them for the New Year, Uwem said.
Uwem cooked a special dish and brought out a bottle of champagne she said was reserved for the Christmas.
Let’s have a candlelight dinner just for the two of us, said Uwem.

She wore a transparent evening dress that showed all the features of her hourglass figure and the fragrance of her Chanel perfume filled the whole living room. Babbi found Uwem irresistible.
Oh, God. How can I escape from this temptation? How would she react when she finds out the truth?
As they dined and wined, his mind was filled with the thoughts of the likely consequences of his love affair with the mother of his ex-lover. It was not a comfortable situation, but he had to do his best not to hurt Uwem. So, after dinner, he responded to her fiery carnal desires. He perished all the negative thoughts and made love to her, heart and soul.

No man has ever made me feel this way. Did you see How Stella Got Her Groove Back? Uwem said as she lay in the king-size bed with her body eagle spread before Babbi who was crouching in-between her legs. He could see that she was still yearning for more sex and he was glad to continue until they fell asleep. Before Babbi left, Uwem brought out a gold necklace and put it on him.
Wear it for as long as you love me, she said with wet eyes and kissed him. He agreed to wear it.

Babbi left Abuja with the first Air Nigeria flight to Lagos. He knew that he would never return to Uwem again, but the memories of their precious moments would linger in his heart for years.

Dear Pam,
There are strange things in the affairs of life we cannot predict and cannot escape from until we have been caught in the net of unforeseen circumstances.
How would you react to what happened to me last December in Nigeria?
I never met the mother of my ex-girlfriend and never saw her picture until our paths crossed in unforeseen circumstances whilst I was visiting Abuja during the Christmas holidays. I saw an attractive woman whose car had a flat and I decided to help her change the tyre. Then we became friends and lovers within days of our meeting without knowing that she was the mother of my ex-girlfriend. I only found out when I followed her home and saw a photograph showing her and her three daughters including my ex-girlfriend! I enjoyed our sexual intercourse, but I regretted sleeping with her. It’s a taboo to sleep with the mother of your wife or girlfriend. I had to end the relationship, but I left her without telling her the truth, because I was afraid that she would be devastated by the gravity of our abominable sin.

I know it was not my fault, because I was ignorant of the fact until I made the shocking discovery. But I could not help feeling guilty as my conscience pricked me.

Why did God allow this predicament to happen?
Why did our paths cross?
Why did I not meet her when I was still dating her daughter?
God is not to blame for our ignorance.

We should find out more about someone before sleeping with the person.
There was a case of a man who met a young woman on the road and had a one night stand with her before he found out that she was his illegitimate daughter from an unwanted pregnancy he rejected decades ago when he had an affair with a girlfriend in high school.

I wonder why such unforeseen things happen to humans.
One of the misadventures of life you would say. C’est la vie.

Pam, I will be returning to Long Island with my Susan in fulfillment of my promise. I really love her. But only God knows if our love will pass the test of time.

Take care always.

With my best wishes,
Babbi.
End.


PS: Even though The Thing Around Your Waist is fiction, it is based on the realities of contemporary lives of Nigerians in the first decade of the 21st century. Their escapist romantic lives have been defined by the appreciation of sexuality and the depreciation of the intellectuality as seen in the sexploitation of psychedelic Hip-hop music, erotic movies and a laissez-faire attitude to life.

~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Saturday August 7, 2010.

Nice story line but need a lot of editing. The description of the character's outfits sticks out like a sore thumb.

Myne White:

Nice story line but need a lot of editing. The description of the character's outfits sticks out like a sore thumb.

Thanks.

Your corrections would be appreciated.

9ice 1, my only comment is 13.00 am. in chapter 1.
you can only have 13.00 which is 1.00pm or 1.00 am.

My 1 butut.

likeme:

9ice 1, my only comment is 13.00 am. in chapter 1.
you can only have 13.00 which is 1.00pm or 1.00 am.

My 1 butut.

Thanks.
Corrected.

Her eyes were swollen from weeping all night long. Her pillow was wet with her tears. Ebua dumped her. Ekaiete felt miserable. "Is it her destiny?". Or she was a victim of nemesis. She now knew what it felt like to be cheated on. But Ebua rubbed salt into her wound. The wound he inflicted on her. So, it is really true. What goes around comes around. She reached for her BB. Q would laugh at her. If only she listened to her warning that Ebua would treat her like a b-i-t-ch. Dog eat dog indeed. She sighed and called Q. ""Queenie, please come over." She sobbed as she spoke.

The story continues on https://www.nairaland.com/1063609/past-comes-between-us#12397216