From Africa Ch. 10

Eugene crafted the entire plan. Chad and I were to elope, stay at the Riviera for a few days, and then I was to come back and resume my normal schedule. I think that Eugene had the dates on the marriage certificate changed, to make the whole thing look more innocent, by bribing a few people in the government office. He assured me that it had been done countless times before; he'd said that one of the officials had casually suggested it to him.

As I had expected, Anna was not happy to hear the news. She felt that I had no self-control, and she blamed the entire situation on my friendship with Henriette. She'd confronted me over brunch one day, angrily lecturing me on my foolish decisions and my free spirited ways.

'I've done so much for you! I sacrificed time from my life to ensure that you would make a smooth transition from the jungles to the concert hall... but you have tried to sabotage my efforts every step of the way!' she yelled at me venomously.

'Anna!'

'I put up with unmentionable things... I didn't say anything... I hid it from Dad, I...'

'What? What are you talking about?'

'I knew that Henriette was nothing but an agent from the devil... it's the fact that you insist on spending time with her that you've gotten yourself into this mess...'

'Henriette? What has she got to do with any of this?'

'I know that she put you and Olu together... and I know that she's been trying to bring him back to you... but I've successfully put a stop to that, only to find out that you've been whoring with anybody who'd give you the time of day!'

'Olu has been trying to find me?' I stared at her incredulously.

'I know she hired a detective... I paid him to stop looking...'

My mouth gaped in horror at what she was saying.

'But you still managed to get yourself into trouble, in spite of all of my hard work...'

'Anna, how long has he...'

'You think I'm going to tell you? You can't be seen with him, Olivia. Don't you see that now? Anyway, I'm sure he'll give up now that you're pregnant and going to be married...'

I almost burst into tears upon hearing this. How could I have been so stupid? Why did I decide to stop looking for him? I rushed away from the table, disgusted with myself, wondering how I would ever find any happiness, now that I knew that Olu had indeed been trying to contact me.

My father, surprisingly, was actually happy to hear that I had married, although he was anxious to know how Chad was doing in school. Eugene had found out about Chad's "travels" and promptly put an end to his nephew's loafing. I carried on, unable to lift the cloud of gloom from my everyday existence. Chad was always disagreeable, angry because he'd lost his newfound freedom, and I was heartbroken, over the fact that Olu was out there somewhere, and I couldn't find him.

I waited. Still carrying on my normal routine, I waited for something spectacular to happen. I waited for the morning sickness to begin, for my stomach to swell, for my moods to swing. I waited for Chad to throw a tantrum... anything that would signal the real beginning to my new nightmare. But nothing happened. I waited a month, and then, something did happen.

We were planning a move to a house in outskirts of the city. I took a week off to work with Chad on choosing the place, and picking out the furnishings and other details of the décor. By the time that we were moving into the new house, I knew for sure that things would be completely different, but I was devastated by the fact that it was too late to go back and undo everything.

'Chad...' I stood in the midst of several boxes and crates.

'And this one should go to the other room...' he was directing the moving men.

'Chad,' I called to him over all of the noise and business.

'Yes, Darling?'

I hated it when he called me that. He always said it with a sardonic flourish, and it usually made me grind my teeth in anger.

'I need to talk to you...'

'Can't it wait? Don't you see that I'm trying to sort out this mess?'

'Chad, I'm not pregnant...'

'I told you to put that crate in the other room!' He yelled at one of the men. 'You're what?" He turned to me.

'I'm not pregnant.'

'What? Do you mean that you were never expecting in the first place?'

'No. I was... at least, that's what the doctor said... I've gotten my period, Chad.'

He flashed an angry look at me.

'Stupid bitch!' he stalked away from me, throwing a picture frame down to the floor with a crash.

I stood speechless, trying to fight off tears, when another man walked up to me.

'Bon jour, Madame... we have the piano here for you now. Which room should we put it in?'

'I'm sorry,' I wiped my eyes, trying to hide my emotion. 'This room here is fine, next to the windows...'

'Nice choice, Madame... we'll be back in a few minutes.'

I stood in the room, waiting to watch as my piano was delivered. I'd purchased a new one specifically for this place. I was finally putting out the expense to live in a place where I could appropriately showcase the piano. The men decided to deliver it through the french doors, so I stood against a far wall, to watch the proceedings.

Someone brought me the bench, all glossy polished. When I directed him to place it against the wall, so that I could sit on it, I noticed that the man looked familiar to me. He was a tall, muscular African. I shook my head, thinking that I had finally lost my mind, because my first impression was that the man was the spitting image of Olu, but when he came back with a few papers for me to sign, I stood staring at him.

'Could you sign these please, Madame?' he asked me.

'Yes, of course...' I didn't want to turn away from him. I was so enraptured with his powerful presence that I wanted to reach out to touch him, to see if he was real. I was afraid though, afraid that I would be mistaken. So to avoid thoroughly embarrassing myself, I said nothing.

'Segun!' one of the other men yelled to him. 'We need your help with this.'

I blinked my eyes as he left me with the papers and rushed over to help the other men bring the body of the piano inside. I couldn't believe it... it was Olu! My hands started to shake, and my knees grew weak, so I sat on the bench, and scanning the paperwork before I signed each sheet. The men took a while to set the piano correctly, so I took my chance to watch him, staring so intently, that I blushed when I caught one of the other men looking at me. As soon as they finished, Olu walked over to me to retrieve the papers. I took a moment to stall him while the others were gathering their equipment by asking about some of the particulars in the paperwork.

'Did I sign in the right places?' I asked, almost breathless. I could feel my nipples hardening just from standing near him.

'Yes... Oh, I almost forgot... there is another one I'll need you to sign as well,' he pulled a folded paper from his pocket.

'Are you doing well?' I whispered, scratching my signature on the bottom line without bothering to read anything.

'I'm alive...' he muttered.

'Do you need anything?'

'Segun...' one of the workers approached us. 'We're ready now.'

'That is all I need, Madame...just your signature,' Olu said to me, turning to walk away.

'Wait...' I scrambled to think of some excuse to keep him just a moment longer. 'Could you please move the bench?'

'Oh, yes, of course.'

The other man left us alone. Olu picked the bench up and placed it in front of the piano.

'I'd like to play a tune, just to see if everything is all right... hopefully there's no damage...'

'Segun...' the foreman came in to see what was keeping Olu.

'I'm sorry...' I explained. 'I was just inspecting the piano, that's all.'

'Yes, Madame...'

He moved around the piano, checking for nicks in the paint and other damage, chattering the whole time. Olu stood in silence, and I frowned, wishing that I could get a moment alone with him. I decided to take a chance while the foreman was inspecting to get a message to Olu.

'What's this here?' I leaned over, pointing to some obscure spot underneath the piano.

He took the bait and knelt beside it, feeling around with his fingers for the imaginary spot. I found a slip of paper and wrote out Henriette's phone number and address on it, and slipped it into Olu's hand.

'Meet me there, in two days... if you can't make it, just tell her... she'll let me know.'

'Madame...' the foreman stood up before Olu could say anything. 'I didn't see anything unusual.'

'Oh, I'm sorry... Maybe I just worry too much... thank you for checking, anyway...'

'Not a problem. Segun, let's go now.'

Olu turned and followed his boss out of the house, without saying a word. I held my breath as I watched him disappear through the door, hoping that the time would fly by until I could meet him at Henriette's apartment.