Nicole didn't wait for the show to end.
Once she'd ankled her way up and down the runway, armed with a beautiful ankara and a smile that showed little of the passion in her countenance, she slipped into the backstage, then right through the backdoor.

Outside, swaths of darkness lingered before her eyes. She immediately drew her arms to her chest when a rabid draft crushed onto her frame and bruised her ears with a fiery whiz. The air smelled less of posh and more of city wastes. She fought through the gloom of the night and stumbled upon the facade of the building, where light twirled in plenty, so much that she flinched in sight.

Nicole searched her purse for her phone. She needed a ride home and since it was already late into the night, a minivan matatu would be a skewed option. Only few of those operated in such odd hours. Finding one would a hassle and Nicole was certain she was not up to the task. She felt the rough texture of her phone and immediately drew it out. Shit. Her phone was dead. It gave out a short vibration when she tried to stir it open. But that was all to it. It didn't budge further. Nicole cursed under her breath. Just great.

Putting her phone back to her purse, Nicole walked towards the little gate house where a wiry guard stood alert.
"Excuse me, where can I get a cab? I would have called for one but my phone is dead," she asked the thin faced guard.

"Just over there by the station. They tend to linger there most of the time." The guard pointed down across the road. "But honestly speaking, it's kinda late, you will probably have to wait for a long time before one shows up. Maybe you should wait for the show to end and ask someone for a ride." The guard sounded concerned.

"No. It's okay. I'll just wait by the station. Thank you," Nicole responded with a smile to her dial. She walked past the gate, crossed the asphalt and started to turn towards where the guard said the station was. She held tightly to her shawl, pulling it to her shoulders. She craved for warmth, something to stave off the cold that had now sought refuge on her body.

The asphalt was a large stretch of quaint silence. It played little to hush Nicole's troubled mind and more than once, Nicole felt her thoughts race back to Wayne like a metal to a magnet. His cold rejection had curled onto her skin, its patch of poison slinking round her bones, and settling to her heart where it scrubbed tirelessly. Nicole allowed the ache, allowed it to tore her insides, because then, she believed, it would be easier to forget all about it by the wake of the sun.

Tomorrow. It will all be okay. She'll numb her heart and mind and most importantly she will remember less. A great gin will go a long way too.

Nicole was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't see a car pull up ahead of her. When the car engine roared, Nicole startled and peered at it. It was Wayne's jeep. What the hell!

Nicole walked toward his Jeep and rapped on the passenger side window.
"What do you think you are doing?" she asked once the window was rolled down.

Wayne's glare matched hers. "No. What do you think you are doing walking by the roadside at this time of the night?"

"What does it look like am doing?" Nicole retorted, surprised at the frustration evident in her voice.

"You like finding trouble, don't you?" Wayne's eyes bore into her, fury poised on his chin, hands firm and hard on the steering, she feared he'd break it. But what was his deal? Why even care?

"It's crazy how trouble still finds me," Nicole murmured to herself and started to walk away from his jeep. She wished he would leave and let her be. He had already done too much as far as abrasion to her heart was concerned. Another graze would be fatal and she knew she'd eventually drown in her own pool of self inflicted misery.

Nicole was only a few distance away when Wayne drove his Jeep next to her, the engine still running. "Get the fuck in." He worked his jaw, then clipped his lips as though to cool himself down. "Please. I beg of you."

Nicole dulled her antlers and climbed into the jeep. "The only reason my ass is seated right here is cause I need to get home early enough to forget this night ever happened," she said and leaned back on her seat.

Wayne failed to respond. Typical of him.

Nicole dipped her head against the window, her arm on the window sill and willed sleep to her eyes. Darkness consumed her frame and she felt her taut muscles lax with each passing second. And then she felt nothing.

She woke to the sounds of soft music playing, an alluring whisper of instruments. Nicole almost ached for more until she scoped out her surrounding. "You missed my turn?" she gasped and looked to Wayne. His nonchalant demeanour irked her. She fought the urge to add colour to her tongue.

"I know," said Wayne, his voice a string of lilt and cadence. She hated the way he spoke with ease like he knew of a plan, a plan that she knew nothing of and was most definitely not looking forward to. He could be a villain, the night a backdrop to his dark thoughts. Nicole suddenly felt her nerves blur to a growing fear.

"Am starving." Wayne spoke as though he sensed her fear and wished to clarify. It worked. "What about you?"

"Am good."

"Your loss. I know a place that's still open."

Nicole strained an eye roll. Of course you do.

A couple of minutes later, Wayne parked by a food stall, a small fronted set up settled between two establishment; a bata shop and a boutique. All closed, except for the food stall that appeared to exude buoyance with the drape of the night. On its chipped awning read Mama Shiro's Heaven.

Nicole's brows quirked spiritedly and she watched Wayne with intense fervor. "You eat here?" she asked.

Wayne turned to her. "Yes, all the time, well not really all the time but mostly I do eat here. Serves the best matumbo."

If there was ever a definitive moment that brides talk of, then this was pretty much it. Nicole felt twinges in her stomach, heard a start to her heart and saw something in him that she didn't think existed like an outlier she didn't pay heed to. "Didn't know you'd eat in humble places," she said.

"There is a lot about me that you don't know. I'd like to change that." His eyes held hers, his face slack.

Nicole thought she heard wrong. "What?"

"After you walked down the runway and I couldn't find you, I became so restless and looked for you everywhere, when I saw you by the roadside alone I felt something tore me up." Wayne's voice had turned to a whisper, hoarse and poignant. "If something bad would have happened to you, I don't know what I would have done. I can't lose you. Am sorry it took me long to realize there is something special going on here."

Nicole was speechless, no word could best describe what she'd just heard. She tipped her chin, angled her body towards him and eyed him askance.

Wayne dragged a smile to his lips. " Am trying to pour out my heart and you are seriously not making this easy. Say something please."

Nicole worked the pulse in her face and drew a smirk. "So how did I look down the runway?"

Wayne laughed, soft and hoarse, meant only for her ears. "You have just bruised my feelings, remind me not to ever lay my heart bare to you." He still had a smile to his face when he reached out for her hand and gently clasped it, fraying her cold hardel. "You looked great, no one could match the anger in your eyes."

Nicole laughed and slapped off his hand. "Damn your stupid heart."

"Are you still not hungry?"

"I wanna try the matumbo."

"Come on then."

It was past midnight when Nicole stood outside her door, fumbling with her keys and feeling a little lightweight. She was drunk, somewhere between being tipsy and being of sharp mind. Right after Mama Shiro's Heaven Wayne drove her downturn, to some pub where they danced to the likes of Sauti Sol and drunk their souls out. It was a great night and Nicole loved that she could get lost in Wayne's eyes, his smile and most especially his never ending anecdotes. He was an addiction she craved for.

Nicole was still fumbling with her keys when suddenly the door swung open. She frayed at the figure holding onto the door. It wasn't Kiki, she could tell by size and weight of this figure. This person was short and had a knob to his stomach.

Nicole looked closely and saw warm, brown eyes stare back at her. Her blood suddenly ran cold.

"Father?"