45. The Affair

One desperate attempt to make everything better.

Kosi stared at his phone for the umpteenth time that morning. He had tried his best not to bother Eva. To give her the time she requested for, but then last night he broke. He just couldn’t continue going on without at least hearing her voice. He had called her with the intention of knowing… just knowing how she was or if she waa okay but he ended up telling her he loved her. How couldn’t he when she had told him not to worry.

‘Damn it!’ Kosi screamed, dropping the spoon that was in his hand. ‘Fuck it!’ He stood up from the dining table, a half-eaten plate of beans in his hands as he headed straight for the kitchen where he picked a clean plate from the plate rack, using it to cover his food before placing it carefully in the microwave. He moved to the dining table where he left his phone and put it in his pocket. On second thought, he took out his phone from his pocket and dialed a number. After a few rings, someone picked up.

‘Hey David, are you up?’ Kosi began as he entered his bedroom to collect his car keys and front door keys.

‘It’s a Saturday morning, Kosi. It is unreasonable for anyone to not be asleep at 8:00 am on a Saturday morning.’ David replied groggily.

Kosi smiled.

‘Put on some clothes, I’ll be at your house in a few minutes.’ Kosi replied as he locked the front door and walked straight to the car park.

‘I hope you have an accident and die.’

‘Fuck you too.’ Kosi said laughing as he reversed out his driveway and into the street.

---

‘You better be dying of cancer for you to drag me out of bed this fucking early.’ David stated with a straight face, staring Kosi right in the eyes, as he opened the door for him.

‘Just let me in.’

David only grunted as he turned his back to him. Kosi entered and shut the door behind him. He used that moment to look around David’s house. It hadn’t changed much since the last time he was here. A wedding photo of him and his wife hung at the left hand side of the TV, a bright smile plastered on his wife’s face as he looked at her lovingly. One of the rare moments he had seen David show affection. A picture of a little girl, about four years old in a graduation gown that seemed to wear her, hung a little to the right of the wedding picture. The smile on her face resembled that of her mother. To its right, hung a baby picture of a very cute boy. Kosi smiled and felt a slight twinge in his heart.

Will this ever be me and Eva? A forgotten memory creeped into his mind of when he had told Eva that nothing would please him more than seeing her belly swollen with his child. He cringed inwardly at the thought. Had he felt that threatened by Ebuka’s presence? He let out an exhausted sigh as he pushed the memory from his head.

When Kosi turned to face David, he was already seated on the couch, his left leg placed casually on his right knee.

‘If you’re finally done staring at my wall, could you tell me what the fuck you want?’

Kosi sat down on the seat next to David’s.

‘Is that any way to treat an old friend?’

David snorted. ‘Cut the crap. You usually call when you’ve messed up and need my help. So… what fucked-up shit did you get yourself into this time?’

Kosi scrubbed his face and let out a sigh, too tired for casual banter. ‘It’s Eva.’

David tilted his head to the side. ‘Your wife? What happened to her?’

David looked at Kosi and noticed he was fidgeting. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked really stressed. David narrowed his eyes on him.

‘Did you do something to her?’

‘Not exactly.’

‘Fucking speak up, you prick!’

‘I fucked Hope!’

David blinked multiple times.

‘You what?! Fucked Hope? You mean Hope, that loud midget with the nice ass?’

Kosi moaned in annoyance. ‘Don’t talk about her like that.’

‘Well I’ll be damned. I always wanted to hit that. How was she?’

‘Damn it David! Can’t you see I’m in trouble? Eva moved out of our house and won’t talk to me.’

‘Well duh! You fucked your best friend. There’s no coming back from that. Shit! I need to be awake for this. Let me make coffee.’ David said as he quickly got up from the couch and headed for the kitchen.

‘Yinka isn’t home?’ Kosi asked.

‘Nah. She took the kids to her parents’ house in Ogun State for the weekend. I needed peace and quiet. Take it from a man with two children, don’t fucking have any! Do you know how difficult it’s been for me to keep my language G? Not PG-13, just G!’

Kosi chuckled. Not long after, David came back into the parlour with a steaming cup of coffee.

‘Now, tell me how you single-handedly fucked up your marriage.’

Twenty minutes later

‘Hmm. That’s some messed-up shit. This Ebuka guy got you all insecure and the best way you felt you could handle the situation was to fuck your best friend. I’m sure it made you feel more like a man huh?’

Kosi had always known how blunt David was. He was not only blunt but practical and smart. David had helped Kosi get out of bad situations as far back as boarding school. It was mostly David’s fault he got into trouble in the first place but he was always right there to bring him out of it.

‘Yeah. That’s pretty much it.’ Kosi admitted.

David relaxed on the couch and brought the cup of coffee to his lips. He took a few sips then placed it back on the table.

‘What about Hope?’

‘What about her?’ Kosi asked in surprise.

‘Do you still want to fuck her?’

‘Damn it, Dave!’ Kosi got up in anger. David remained calm in contrast.

‘When you’re done throwing a tantrum, you can sit your ass right back on my chair or get the fuck out of my house.’

Kosi remained standing for a few seconds longer before finally resuming his seat.

‘You know I’ll always ask the important questions. If you aren’t ready to listen, you know where the door is but if you are, tell your ego to take a back seat and listen.’

David was quiet for a few seconds as if allowing Kosi to decide for himself. When Kosi didn’t make any move to leave, he continued.

‘You haven’t answered my question.’

‘No.’

‘No what?’

‘I’m done with Hope. I’ve… we aren’t on speaking terms anymore.’ Kosi explained as he hung his head.

‘Hmm… ok. Now that Hope is out of the picture, I’m guessing you want to win Eva back?’

‘Yes.’ Kosi eagerly replied.

‘Why?’

Kosi was confused. ‘What do you mean why? She’s my wife.’

‘That’s a fact and she was your wife when you cheated on her too. Or did I miss something?’ David said as he picked up the cup of coffee and brought it to his lips. His eyebrows were slightly raised in question. Kosi couldn’t respond.

‘So why do you want her back? And don’t give me crap about how you both belong together. That’s fucking bullshit because if you really believed that, you wouldn’t have done something as stupid as fuck your best friend just minutes after you kicked your wife out of her home!’

‘David.’ Kosi said in a strangled voice.

‘I need to know your conviction. You’re my guy and even with how fucked-up I can be, I know that Eva is a decent person. If you want to get back together with her then you need to really want it.’

Kosi was silent.

‘And you need to understand that it’s going to be hard. It’s going to be fucking difficult to win Eva’s trust back and get her to trust you enough to, at least, feel secure in your relationship. Hell! You may never ever win back her trust.’ David chuckled, ‘If it were me, I would be long gone and jumping on the next…’

‘David.’

He looked at Kosi and sighed. ‘My point is, if you don’t understand that then we can end this conversation right here and right now and talk about important things… like the Olympics.’

David picked up his coffee mug and raised it to his lips.

‘I want my wife back.’

Kosi said it in such a deep low voice that David almost missed it, the coffee mug halfway to his lip.

‘Wh…?’

‘I said I want my fucking wife back!’

David was so startled that his coffee would have spilled if it wasn’t half empty. He smiled at Kosi. ‘Now that’s the conviction I want to hear.’