Spice Rack: Chili

PREFACE
Spice Rack is a story series prepared with a mixture of six spicy characters – Cinnamon (Sin), Chili (Lilian), Cumin (Morayo), Cassia, Curry (Ray) and Celery (Lera). Although the persons on the cover picture are real, the stories are in no way about them. Spice rack is a work of fiction and bares no resemblance to persons either living or dead. I hope you enjoy reading each serving as much as I enjoyed cooking them up. Feel free to participate. Leave a comment or share an opinion
- Sketch.

Chili

Ray wove her hand in signal to Lillian in a bid to get her attention.
It worked.
She watched as she made her way towards her struggling with her shirt buttons while trying to finger comb her expensive looking hair extensions.
They embraced. “Girl did you change in the toilet again, I don’t know why you don’t like to move around in your uniform oh. Me I think it's sexy. You are the only policewoman I know who drives a jeep and has time to look as stylish as you do." She battled her lashes playfully at her. "You really must tell me your secret.” Lillian swatted at her jokingly . “Go jo. You are just a clown.” Climbing onto the stool opposite the one her friend occupied, she reached for the glass in front of her, took a sip from its contents, spat out almost immediately and squeezed her face in disgust. “wetin dey this cup?” Ray laughed. “Person force you drink am?” She pulled her glass away from Lillian’s reach and took a sip and smiled in mischief. “Its soda water mixed with natural herbs. This mixture is fabled to enhance the libido.” She scuffed. “ This concoction you mean? Wetin you wan use enhanced libido do abeg, you be man?” Ray leaned closer, pulled down her shirt so her breast were slightly exposed and winked at her while licking her lips suggestively. “We all have our little secrets.” Lillian pulled back and cringed in disgust eliciting a bout of laughter from Ray. “ You should see the look on your face girlfriend! Meanwhile, have you seen this?” she flipped through her cell phone, brought up a web page and slid the phone over to her. Lillan did a quick survey, returned the phone and looked at her in confusion. “Which one is Zika again?” Ray leaned back and sighed. “Apparently, it’s the new thing attacking man kind. Zika is a virus. For now we know mosquitoes and most recently bodily fluids transmit it. Although it has been around for a while, ordinarily when you have it you get the regular malaria symptoms you know; fever, aches and blah. You are sick for a couple of days and then you are done but sadly it becomes a problem when it's caught by a pregnant woman. It kind of affects the development of the baby and they end up giving birth to babies with birth defects.” Lilian gasped. “Gosh, that is terrible.” “Yeah I know. Luckily the outbreak hasn’t reached Nigeria yet.” Lilian signaled to a passing waitress. “So, are you guys like preparing for it or what?” She nodded. “Ever since the incidence of Ebola and now Lassa fever it helps to be aware of the ‘trending’ stuffs. Know their symptoms, treatment and how to prevent It.”
Their conversation was briefly interrupted by the waitress who arrived to take Lillian’s order.
Ray studied her friend while she spoke to the waitress. Something was off about her; she did not seem like her usual upbeat self.

Lillian folded her hands and rested her elbows on the table. “ There I was thinking that the worse thing I could hear today was how a man was nearly lynched by angry tenants for taking a dump besides a sign that read ‘do not defecate here.’ Meanwhile here you are giving me more reasons to be afraid of mosquitoes. It is a good thing we have doctors like you who are always updated and prepared.” Ray blinked, shook her head and held up her fingers. “Wait, go back. Why did the man pooh beside the sign?” Lillian laughed. “According to him, he was pressed. He was of the opinion that if he shat beside the sign and not directly below it, he wouldn’t be causing an offence.” Ray threw her head back and laughed. “Gosh that’s so hilarious.” Lillian leaned in. “speaking of hilarious, when last did you speak to Sin?” Ray scrunched her eyebrows in concentration. “About two – three days ago. Why?” The waitress arrived with her drink. Lillian smiled in gratitude and responded to the question. “I am not sure but I think I saw someone like her hiding behind a purse and sneaking out of her office complex on my way here.” Ray shrugged. “I wouldn’t put that behavior past Sin, she acts odd on occasion but she doesn’t fool around when it comes to work.” She caught a glimpse of the time on her wristwatch and cursed. “Lillian I have to leave now, I need to be home and well rested. Have an early shift tomorrow.” A pained expression crossed her face as she whined. “Haba, but I just got here now.” Ray contemplated for a moment before asking. “Chill are you okay?” In response to the question, she plastered an obviously fake smile on her face and wove her hand in dismissal. “I am okay girl!” Not believing her she shook her head in doubt and reached for her other hand and persisted. “I can tell something is wrong and I am going to make you tell me. We’d talk about it over the weekend. Hope you are still coming?” She replied flatly. “It's D-day we are talking about, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Ray dropped some notes on the table picked up her handbag, got up and gave her a kiss on the cheeks. “Babe sorry to leave you hanging. Please settle my bill for me, have to leave now before traffic starts.” Lillian nodded and wove her off. “Go, I want to chill out here for a bit, I will be fine.”
Watching her walk away from the bar, Lillian felt her shoulders drop in despair.
She was certain she was not going to be fine.

She felt like dying.

She was heartbroken, confused and disoriented.
She did not know how to react or what to do with the rest of her days. She had gotten so used to the life she had that she never thought of what she would do if anything changed.

Chief called her this morning to break things off with her.

She was still in shock.
She had been with the man for over eight years now. He had practically sponsored her and her siblings through school; provided them with a house, food and security. If she didn’t count the amazing sex they had on occasion, he was the closest thing she had to a father.
After graduation from university, when she was finding it difficult to secure a job, it was through his influence she became an Assistant Superintendent.

Chief had been married for up to twenty years she was happy to be his faithful mistress.
She loved him.
Why did he decide today that what they were doing was wrong? Why did he choose today of all days to be faithful to his wife?
Did he have to end things with her?

She suspected it was because the bloody woman had dangled that baby boy she miraculously gave birth to after twenty years in front of the man that he started singing the loyal, faithful and honest anthem.

She never would understand what the big deal was about having a male child. Weren’t all his six beautiful girls gifts from God? Why start making drastic decisions and acting irrational because another man was about to join the billion and one male population?

She took a swig directly from the bottle and ordered a second drink.

She needed to talk to someone.

Of the lot of them, it was only Morayo that knew about her affair with chief. She had to wait until the weekend before she could talk to her.
Faced with the possibility of drinking until she was drunk and breaching their agreement and drunk dialing Chief to demand that he talk to her.
Lillian signaled for the waitress to bring the bill.
She was going to go home and have a good cry.
She hoped by tomorrow morning she would not still be feeling as bad as she felt now.
They say life goes on, Chief or no Chief for her, it had to.

Spice Rack: Cinnamon

PREFACE
Spice Rack is a story series prepared with a mixture of six spicy characters – Cinnamon (Sin), Chili (Lilian), Cumin (Morayo), Cassia, Curry (Ray) and Celery (Lera). Although the persons on the cover picture are real, the stories are in no way about them. Spice rack is a work of fiction and bares no resemblance to persons either living or dead. I hope you enjoy reading each serving as much as I enjoyed cooking them up. Feel free to participate. Leave a comment or share an opinion
- Sketch.

Cinnamon
Four days to D-day, yeay!
Sin was looking forward to the break. She had been pushing herself to accomplish more than she knew was humanly possible these past weeks as a way of absolution since her company lost the Sawyer account. She somehow felt it was her fault because she knew that if she had not broken things off with the famous Sawyer grandson, her company would not only still have the account but by now, she would have been a constant on all the popular gossip columns.
Imagining how the rest of the gang would react to her ‘trending’ caused her to laugh out loud. She would not look bad in the papers though; being light complexioned, heavy chested with subtle curves that ended beneath an oval face crowned with a neat thick and long nappy hair would definitely warrant a second look. Standing at 5’8, she was the tallest of her ‘sistaz’ and the only one with unnaturally straight teeth thanks to years of braces therapy. She was not done with the bloody thing though; as she still wore a retainer to bed but obviously not when she had company. She sighed. It was not like she had had company in a long time.
She eyed the decorative brush on the wall bracket in the corner away from her desk and considered using it to dust her lady parts. That she was not getting any action did not mean it had to be all cobwebey and forsaken.

She checked her wristwatch "aha!" It was 4:30pm closing time her favorite hour of the day! Packing up her bags, she had begun to log out of her system when she looked up, caught a glimpse of him standing in an office facing her's and felt a wicked pang of regret.
Olise Sawyer.
Her pulse quickened. It felt like her racing heart would push past the walls of her chest, pop out of her body and explode right in her face. Ruining her makeup, nice office shirt and all that “What is he doing here?”
She watched as a female resembling a plastic doll complete with artificial hair, drawn on brows and ridiculously high heels came out from within the office he was in, wrapped her manicured fingers around him and swished her hair this way and that."Obanje" Sin did not realise she had hissed out the word until a colleague gave her a questioning look.
Although she knew they could not tell she was watching, she leaned away from her desk and hid her very unmanicured fingers under her desk. She tried not to strain her neck in a bid to codedly watch him.
Apparently, the girl had his undivided attention. It was because of people like her that she had turned down his advances. Olise belonged to the world of the rich and famous, with celebrity friends and colleagues who spent weekends in places with really expensive vowels in their names. Their girlfriends brought weaves that were 1million naira ‘only’ and brought their accessories straight off the runway.
While she was a regular girl with an average monthly pay that just about covered her expenses, he was a walking fantasy.
With an air of old money, a charming personality, the height and build of an athlete, skin the color of warm dark chocolate and lips that ah.
She kissed him.
Just once, right there in the office.
Kissing people she hardly knew was something she never did but did not regret at all.

She was working late that day, it was the first time she met him. Although she had no idea who he was, because of the way her boss was all over him she assumed he was an important client and was extra nice and courteous to him whatever that meant.
He turned out to be an interesting and engaging person to talk to. Well the fact that he was killer gorgeous as well might have made it difficult to find something wrong with him.
By the time he turned down her bosses offer for lunch and opted to stay with her instead, she was ready to move in with him and have his babies.
He sat by her desk all day and insisted on waiting till she was done so he could drop her at her place initially but settled for her bus stop.
Whatever it was they begun to have came to an end when they left the office complex and got to the car park and were ushered into his vehicle by a driver who had been waiting all day.
She stupidly spent the rest of the night googling him and came to the conclusion that the both of them would never work.
The dude had a wiki page!!
That was several weeks ago. From what she read in the papers, he had since moved on and forgotten about the nappy haired assistant he met once upon a time.

If that were true, what was he doing here?
Okay considering the fact there were like 10 other offices, a movie theater and a couple of eateries in the complex there was a possibility that he might not have come for her but still there were other places to go in Lagos, this was her building!
She cursed the architect/designer for making most of the offices partially see through, the complex was supposed to be a green building with energy saving and all that rubbish but today she was not feeling ecofriendly.
Holding her breath, she turned off the computer, picked up her purse and tried not to think of their earth shattering stolen kiss while she headed out of the building praying first that he would not spot her sneaking away and that the fact that he was here was a coincidence.
Sin was hardworking, happily single and believed she deserved a break. She was really looking forward to Saturday with all its multiple possibilities and was so not in the mood to let any man, whether gorgeous, sexy or rich ruin her mojo.

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For a couple of seconds, it seemed like they were the only things in existence. She squeezed her fist and whispered anxiously “will I see you again?” letting out a sigh, she did not expect a response because she already knew what it was going to be. She was confident though because no matter which way the tides turned, she knew, they would eventually be within reach if only for brief interludes.
For now, she just had to let go.

It was not an easy task, letting go never is.
She worked really hard to get to this point, she could hold on, it would not make her happy but since there was no way to let go and hold on at the same time, it was better to let go.
Everything that had transpired in life had led her to this point.
Time had nurtured her she had grown… evolved
She was however grateful for the experience, the time it took to get there and the amazing skills she picked up along the way.
She would survive.
With an air of finality, she let go of her ATM card and smiled at the cashier. “ I am ready, go on with the transaction.”
With a wiggle, a shove and some punching, the deed was done. She was alone once more. Without the comforting company of her hard earned Naira's to call her own. Grabbing her groceries with one hand, she solemnly returned her ATM card to her purse and headed towards the exit.

The end

Dear Maya

January, 2016.

It’s in the sway of my hips, the strength of my beliefs and the curve of my tolerance.
I am woman, hear me roar.

Dear Maya,
It seems like yesterday I got that call from my mum informing me of your passing. She called too late, I was grieving already, her message was no news.
A few weeks before, I had reviewed my bucket list and figured that in about 18 months from that day, my dream of sitting in your presence and listening to one of your lectures would be fulfilled.

I guess life had a more elaborate final plan for you.

Last night I was at the bus stop
It was really late and I was freezing.
I noticed a cluster of men up front. I was frightened till I remembered who I am. I smiled.

I guess they were more afraid of me than I was of them.

Hey Maya! How is the afterlife? I have been thinking of you all day and reminiscing;
do you remember the first time we crossed paths?
it was a Tyler Perry movie. I was touched by words of the poem in the wedding scene it was "in and out of time".
I rewound the movie for a second listen and then a third. I wanted more. More of the poetry, the prose oh and the recipes! The way you make chicken though, finger licking good!

I guess it was love at first touch.

Lately, I’ve been thinking of the color black and my, it suits me.
as a color, it is warm, it is rich, it is filled with so much potential and then it is more.
Black is the quality of a rich fertile land. It is the color of my beautiful skin and the history of my culture.
I don’t understand why people are so eager to trade.

I guess the grass seems greener on the other side.

I don’t know your position on this matter but still I’d like to talk about it okay?
I read in the papers today that children should be allowed to change their gender before they are 16.
In other words, they believe these kids are old enough to understand and make life changing decisions.
Has it occurred to them that once it is accepted that any kid is of age to make decisions, a predator who can prove a child made the rational decision to be molested, abused or humiliated for money becomes faultless?
A few pages away in the same newspaper, there was a campaign by a cosmetic company urging customers to love their bodies and be proud of who they are. They claimed our bodies are precious.
Liars!!
Why bother loving myself when with enough money, I can change the way I look, function or am perceived.
I grew up knowing effeminate males and masculine females who to date are loved and respected not because they are "different" but for their individuality, charisma and values.
They did not have to hack off their penis or breasts to ensure long life and prosperity. Rather, they accepted their "faults", made it work for them and danced to the music that is life.

I guess the rest of the world is now deaf to that sound.


Maya dear, maybe it's for the best that you are gone. I can't believe its 2 years already.
How is the reception where you are? Have you viewed the earth's latest selfie?
What do you make of our rapidly changing mentality, climate and values?
What drives our traditions today, do you know? Does religion still exist?
Are morality, logical thinking and human pride now based on popular demand?

I guess immediate gratification rates higher than future reward.

If there was a way you could write back, these are the things I'd like to know:
How long do we have till our world implodes? After economic success, what next?
How long would we wander around in this haze of confusion? When would the common good prevail?
I’d tell you something that makes me smile; you added richness to my color.
You were bold, brave and the most beautiful black I've loved.

I guess it’s time to go

Cheers!