Utianle

The Audi slowed to a stop as the traffic light turned red and a countdown began. My fingers reached for the radio knob, turning the volume down as the voice of a familiar male floated through the speakers. I couldn't get away from him, everyone was playing his song, radio and music stations. It was a hit. A hit I was sure I wanted to miss.

"Do you have money?" Faith asked. Her fingers ran across her seatbelt, she waited a few seconds, then shut the radio off. "How do people even listen to that rubbish song?"

My shoulders shook as I laughed, I was among those who listened to the song but it was only once and I would not spend another second discussing my ex with my best friend. His likes have been all over my latest Instagram posts, he even called me twice but I didn't pick or return his calls. Our relationship wasn't the best and it took meeting King, my love, for me to realise that. He was everything I didn't know I needed, a good man, the complete package.

"It depends on the amount," I said, pleased with the fact that Faith was asking for my help. Except for the clothes I made for her, I barely did any other thing for her, she would never ask. "How much do you need?"

The light switched to yellow, I turned the key in the ignition and my foot found the pedal, waiting for the light to turn green. It did, I stepped on the pedal and steered the wheel, bringing the car to an abrupt stop at the bombshell Faith dropped on my laps.

"I don't know yet; I want us to buy a gun."

My head whipped in her direction, honks from cars behind blasted my eardrums and I fussed with the key, trying to get the Audi to start. Some of the impatient drivers drove past me, a few of them shouting curse words as they rolled by. I heaved a sigh as the car roared to life, muttered a string of apologies to those who waited calmly. All of these happened in seconds but it felt longer.

"Faith," I started as we glided smoothly across the tarred roads, "he's not worth it." My eyes trailed to the radio where Umoh's song had been playing before we shut it off, then to her. "Nobody is buying any gun."

"Who's talking about Umoh?" She let out a long hiss and unbuckled her seatbelt as I neared the restaurant we were heading to. "That human being does not concern me."

A sigh escaped me, my shoulders relaxed and I chuckled, a bit disappointed at myself for thinking she would hurt him or anyone else. Faith never got physical, her fights always ended with words or a few accidental slips. The fashion show was still my favourite of the deliberate accidents.

The car grew quiet as I parked in front of the restaurant and none of us attempted to break the silence. Faith brought her leather bag to her laps, smiled at me and I shook my head when her hand moved to the door. A click sound followed, she wasn't leaving, not until I knew why she brought up the topic of a gun or the person it was for.

"Okay, who are we buying the gun for?"

She smiled cheekily at me. "King."

Her reply went over my head, I chuckled but the smile on my lips quickly froze at the seriousness etched on her face. She was not joking. Still, there were many people by that name, it could not be my King. The person who was currently at a park with my babies, trying to bond with them. King who has been the best lover, friend and support system, handling all my mood swings with grace. I shook my head; it couldn't be him.

"Which King?" I asked to be sure.

"Your King na, your future baby daddy," she replied with that cheeky grin and a small smile danced across my lips. I liked the idea of having more children for and with him. I loved him. Faith continued, "Junior's best friend. We are buying the gun for him."

She pouted and I shook my head, this could not be my best friend. Placing the back of my palm against her forehead, I asked, "Are you okay?" She nodded and I withdrew my hand. "Okay. What did King do? Tell me."

I folded my arms across my chest, upper body slanted in her direction while waiting for her explanation. She didn't like Umoh, I was stubborn and I didn't listen. But she has always been a fan of King and she has to remain his fan because he was here to stay.

A smile flitted to my lips as I thought about him and pleasant shivers ran down my spine. Emma loved him, Esther did too but she was better at masking her admiration for him. I turned to look at Faith who was frowning at me and sighed, if there was something that happened to change her mind about King, then I needed to hear it.

Whatever it was, I hoped it was something we could resolve peacefully, we didn't need any guns. I could talk to him, he would listen, he always did when it came to me.

"We are not really going to use the gun," she started and my head spun so fast it stopped the rest of her words from spilling out.

"We are not buying any gun," I stated.

"Listen first," she said with an eye roll, "you have to be calming down o." I sighed and a frown took over my lips. "We will just use it to threaten him small, once he says he loves you too, we will return the gun." Her face hardened and she crossed her arms. "He's not serious. How can he say he wants to marry you yet he can't even tell you he loves you? See, we need that gun. Two sef."

My shoulders sagged, giggles spilled from my lips until she narrowed her eyes at me. A gun was too extreme. "He loves me."

King did love me, the way he looked at me, touched me, the things he did without us asking. He was attentive to my needs, mine and my babies. If he didn't love me he wouldn't do any of those things, he wouldn't know what I needed without me having to request for them. He loved me. He did.

My lips pulled into a frown and I sighed, King loved me. By his actions, it was easy to tell but I would love to hear him say it back. To know if my heart would race as fast or as slow as it does when my babies say it to me.

The way his eyes lighted up whenever I told him how much he meant to me, to us, the smile that would grace his lips and the furtive glances he would send my way when he thought I wasn't looking. He loved me too, I was sure of that but I wanted to hear those words, to have him chant them like the creed. God. I sighed, it shouldn't take him this long, even Umoh with all his troubles would have said it back. Since.

Sometimes I would catch him staring at me like I was unreal when he was the miracle in our lives. He knew all the right things to say and at the right time, everything except those three words. I was doing my best not to pressure him into saying it but I was getting tired of waiting this long. Faith's ears had also suffered enough from my ranting.

"He loves me," I repeated more for my sake.

"We know, let him say it," she replied.

Yes, I wanted him to say it too. To end our long phone calls and texts the same way I ended them. He liked hearing me say it. It always slipped easily from his lips whenever Emma told him he loved him, so I knew it was just me. I bit the insides of my cheek and cast Faith another glance. The gun was not such a bad idea after all.

"Do you think the gun will work?" I asked. Her jaw dropped and her nose scrunched, I giggled. She suggested it first. "What?"

"Madam, you are supposed to discourage me," she replied. "Please o, no guns. What happened to violence is not the answer?"

I squinted, pursed my lips and shook my head. Not on this one. It was not violence if we wouldn't use it. I shrugged and we got out of the car in our matching outfits. The beep sound that followed when I hit the button on the car remote signified the Audi was locked but I couldn't stop myself from opening the driver's door to confirm.

Joining Faith on the passenger side of the car, I pinched her cheeks when she bent to take another look at the side view mirror.

"Fine girl," I teased. "It's okay, let's be going."

She straightened up and with her eyes set on the Audi, she murmured, "I like this your car, come and give me na or let's exchange."

"It's not my car," I replied and the corners of my lips twitched. She said it like it was a toy.

No matter what she or King said, I refused to claim the car as mine. He let me use it for school runs because he wasn't comfortable with me taking Ubers when he had extra cars in his garage. I rolled my eyes, his excuse was lame but I had taken the Audi to avoid arguments, he was good at winning them.

He was also protective of us. Too stubborn. I didn't need a genius to know his plan was for me to keep it but I was not accepting this car. I would put my foot down on this one.

Faith nodded. "Whatever you say." She tilted her head to one side as if hit by a sudden realisation. "Even if you don't want, tell him you want, then you will give me, you hear?"

My hand reached to smack the back of her head or maybe pull down her wig when she twirled to face me. I laughed and shrugged when she narrowed her eyes, loving the advantage my height gave me over her.

"Don't even try it."

"Try what?" I asked as I tucked her hand into the crook of my elbow before she had a chance to reply. "Faith, I'm hungry."

"This one you are always hungry," she said with a sigh, her head cocked to my side. "What have you and King been doing?"

We have been doing a lot of things, a lot of bedroom activities included but she didn't need to hear that. I grinned and wiggled my eyebrows, let her figure it out herself. Faith shook her head like she was any more innocent than I was. The hickeys on her neck were proof, her wig was doing little to conceal them. They looked like bruises.

Manoeuvring through the other cars, we found ourselves at the glass doors which was pulled open by a guard. I took a seat by the window while Faith went off to get us soft drinks and I watched in fascination as the once clear, blue sky turned grey.

The drizzle that poured down betrayed the dark skies, I was anticipating a storm. Instead, rain pitter-pattered, settling on the car bonnets until the vehicles were covered in drops of water. I inhaled, waiting for my nose to pick up the curing smell of the rain.

I loved the rain. I had slept off to its sound, the soft beat as it danced on the hospital's roof with Emma tucked in my arms. His delivery was faster, the tiny child almost brought down the roof with his cries.

A smile settled on my lips, a smile stemming from a fountain of memories. It had been a while since those images came knocking on my mind's door, now they were here, I wanted to relive every single moment.

Scenes played behind my closed eyelids, taking me on a journey to the past. Warmth spread throughout my body, a warmth that was enough to keep the seeping cold at bay.

Giggles bubbled in the pit of my stomach, rose to my throat as a fond memory of Emma replayed itself over and over again. My hands instinctively moved to my chest, chuckles slipped from my lips. Emma loved to suckle on these small breasts, he had to get his baby nutrients directly from the source. No feeding bottles, straight from his mother's nipples. It was torture, painful, my nipples were sore for days but I couldn't deny him. It was a beautiful kind of pain.

Warm hands clamped down on mine and my eyelids fluttered open. Faith was staring at me, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips. "You are happy," she stated.

My head bobbed up and down, I was more than happy, I was fulfilled, content. He called me mummy, they both did, nothing could beat that. The joy that consumed my body at hearing them say that word was indescribable. If I had died at that moment, I would have died a happy woman. But I didn't want to go just yet, we had many more years together. The future was bright.

"He makes me happy," I said to no one in particular with a dreamy look. "This is the happiest I have been with a man... The happiest I have been in a long time, I like it."

"I like it too, you deserve to be happy," Faith said with a smile that did not reach her eyes and that set me off. I wanted her to share in my happiness, she has always been there for us, my number one fan and best friend.

Taking her hand in mine, I gave it a small squeeze to reassure both of us as a feeling of dread descended on me. "What is it?"

"Do you still like coke?" she asked.

"Sometimes."

We giggled but her expression turned serious real fast. Though I was thirsty, the bottles of soft drinks in the middle of the plastic table held no interest to me. Faith was not alright and I needed to know why.

"You know I love you, right? You are the only cockroach in my cupboard, the sugar in my tea, my one and only best friend."

"Faith." I was quick to ask, "Are you dying?"

"God forbid!"

Our friendship didn't require us voicing out our love for each other, in truth, words were not enough for it. I stared at Faith, at the box braids that had come to rest on her chest then back at her face, the tiny mole by the corner of her lips. What was the issue?

"I'm relocating," she said in a solemn voice.

"What?" I pulled my hand from her grasp, of all the things I expected to hear, this was the least of them. "Why? How? To where?"

Faith reached for her bottle of Fanta, took a long sip while I waited albeit impatiently for her response. She could drink that thing later, I needed answers right now.

Without meeting my eyes, she muttered in a flat voice, "I was transferred to Lagos."

"You hate Lagos," I countered. She shrugged and a heavy sigh left my lips. When she made to take another sip from the Fanta, I snatched the bottle. "Faith. You hate Lagos."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Her hands wrapped around the bottle. "But I have to still go."

There was a hint of sadness in her voice, the same sadness that gnawed at my throat. I didn't like this and I would gladly go with her to buy the gun we would use to threaten her superiors into changing their minds. My shoulders sagged, I sighed, this was unfair.

"What did Junior say?"

In response to my question, she took back the bottle and continued sipping. My eyes narrowed at her, she has not told him.

"Faith. You have not told him," I stated. To that, she pouted and I rolled my eyes, she was another big baby. "You should tell him."

"No," she murmured in a childish voice that reminded me so much of Emma. He was rubbing off on her. A knowing glint entered her eyes. "I'll tell him when I'm in Lagos."

The surprised laugh that escaped my lips caused her to giggle. King would have a fit if he found out I was aware and never told him. His bond with Junior was admirable and it was easy to see who his favourite was among their five-man group. He'd be upset.

"Don't even try it, I'll tell King," I said. Now, I sounded like Emma, he was rubbing off on everybody. "And he will tell Junior." She smiled like she could already tell I was bluffing. "Faith, make sure you tell him."

"I will," she said, "I wanted to tell you first."

A heaviness descended on my shoulder and I fought back the urge to tell her to stay back that I didn't want my best friend so far away from me. Or her godchildren. I wanted her here with me now that things were starting to look up for us. I wanted her here in the city we first met.

"I'll miss you every day," I said instead.

*****

I thought I liked drama until I read some of your comments, so, you people want fight? It's alright, I also want it too. You want fight, then fight you shall get. Nobody should come for me when I start.

Q: Who's your favourite side character?