“… and after, he now called me, saying oh, he’s so thankful I was gracious enough to bail him out, and ehh, he doesn’t know why he keeps doing it, but he’ll change, and bla bla bla. The way I blasted him, eh! He thinks I bailed him out because it’s him; it’s because it’s Mummy’s money. If it was his money, like I won’t even mind him! Silly boy!”

“Mmmm,” I hummed as I sat on my bed, listening to a pretty riled up Eleanor. It was Sunday afternoon and having come home from church, she was filling me in on what was going on while I was away.

So one of her recalcitrant cousins lost her mother’s money to betting, and he apparently begged her to help him replace the money after Mrs. Eshun got super aggressive with him.

Like she said, the only reason she had bothered to help out was that it was her mother’s money. She’s been warning that young man several times to stop betting, but it’s like the boy just won’t listen.

“Richie, I’m pissed. How many times haven’t I told this boy to stop betting? Eh? How many times?”

“Plenty of times, babe. Plenty. I remember I even sent you that article about the petrol station attendant going to prison for using the money for betting. Chale, this boy is treading on slippery ground oo.”

“You leave him. Abi I’ve warned him. The next time he loses money and he dares to pick up a phone and call me that I should help him, he’ll regret even thinking about it! Nonsense!”

My wife is sweet and cuddly and all, but she definitely has things and people that tick her off. And that cousin of hers and his devil-may-care attitude to life is a major one. The boy really isn’t serious about life, and everyone’s getting tired of him. He used to take Ellie for a joke until one day, he got a major slap for saying he doesn’t need to stay in school, because the likes of Bill Gates dropped out of school and still made it big in life.

Yeah, Ellie really let him have it, and I don’t blame her, coz the boy was undoubtedly stupid with that statement. Using Bill Gates as a reason for not taking school serious? Does he even know what school the man dropped out of? Smh.

But yeah, an angry Ellie is not one you’ll enjoy.

“Relax, babe,” I soothed her. “As for Cory, I don’t know what’s doing him, but I beg you, don’t let him raise your pressure like that. I beg you.”

“Hmmm. You’re right. It’s just that… he really makes my blood boil. You alone, everybody is angry with you because you are not serious in this life. What sort of behaviour is that?”

“I know, baby, I know. Abi I’ve seen it for myself, so I know very well. But like I said, forget him. At least you replaced Maa Sakyibea’s money. That’s all there is to it. Forget him and think about better things, okay?”

Eleanor took a few deep breaths over the line, then sighed. “You’re right. Lemme focus on happy thoughts. Happy thoughts… no wait, you said better things. Yeahh… better things like Waakye All Day and their good food…”

I rolled my eyes. I really dunno why she gives their food a 70-star rating so much. I mean, the waakye isn’t trash, not at all. But she just harps on and on about them like their waakye was borrowed from heaven’s banquet table.

As I listened in amusement, the call waiting beep started up.

I looked to see who it was.

It was Marilyn.

Ei. Well, I wonder what she wants, I wondered as I continued to listen to Eleanor calm her peeved heart with all the things she likes. I’ll have to call her back after this.

“Alright, honey, I’m calm now,” Eleanor declared.

“Great, great. Don’t let that boy and his foolishness stress you. You’ve still got a week left to go on this celibacy thing, and I can see it’s yielding major results…”

“Richie, I said I’m calm. Don’t return me to angry mode. I beg you.”

I laughed.

Three more minutes of chatting, then we said our goodbyes and hung up. As I ended the call, I returned to the call log and dialled Marilyn’s number. “I wonder what Miss Marilyn next door wants.”

She answered the call almost immediately. “Hey, Richie! What’s up?”

“Uh, I’m good. Just finished chatting with my wife, so there’s nothing much going on.”

“Oh, okay. I’m kinda bored right now. Wanna come over and chat?”

That took me aback.

My eyebrows furrowed as my heartbeat increased. Now why in the world would she want me to come to her room just to chat?

“Ummm… don’t you wanna, like, go to the bar or something? Isn’t your room… too personal?” I asked.

“Nahh, I like peaceful places. Too many people at the bar and the poolside and all that. Come on, Richie, I just wanna have more conversation with you. And don’t worry, it’s not like I’m half naked and ready to pounce on you!”

She laughed as I stewed over her request.

A strange, strange request.

I mean, yeah, we had a really nice chat at the bar, and it was really cool getting to know her a bit. An extra chance at conversation? I definitely didn’t mind. But in her room?

“Come onnn, Richie! I promise I’ve got nothing funny up my sleeve!”

I don’t know what it was, but the way she said that had my inner defenses melting. Somehow, I pictured her adorably sweet face, and that brought more wreckage to the Jericho walls.

Ehhh, I’ll just go. It’s not like anything’s gonna happen. If she is fully dressed, then there’s no problem.

“Alright, sure. I’ll be there in a moment.”

***

“Wait a minute, what?” I queried, the most puzzled of looks on my face.

She giggled gently before nodding her head, cross-legged as she sat on her bed. “Yep. I can’t pass that 37 area where the hospital is. If I need to go anywhere and I gotta pass that side, I’ll rather go down to that Lands Commission building and take the right.”

I shook my head.

I’ve heard strange things before, but this one had to be among the weirdest. “And you’ll do this just to stay away from the bats?”

She giggled as she nodded.

Here I was, in Miss Marilyn’s room, discovering that she despises the bats at the 37 area so much, she’ll do anything to prevent passing that road.

Yeah. Really weird. First chiroptophobic I’d ever met.

“Ah, wait. So you tell the Uber drivers to pass that road or something? Coz I don’t get it,” I enquired, the confused look still on my face.

She laughed out loud and shook her head. “I don’t take Ubers, actually. My driver takes me around.”

I sat back and raised an eyebrow. “Oh… uh, wow. You have a driver of your own?”

“Oh, I guess I’ve not given you a full picture of my life. So uh, I’m the daughter of Bismark Nana Aboaku, so I come from a pretty wealthy family. We’re not really that known; my dad keeps things extremely low-key. But yeah, I’m a rich kid, so I have these things at my disposal. Drivers, servants… yeah, that sort of thing.”

Yeah, I knew of that man. Owner of some major real estate company in the country. From Accra to Tema to Sunyani, he owns major property. “Wow, I never would’ve guessed that. I see. So you’re living the soft life, eh?”

She shrugged. “I guess.”

“So you go out of the country?”

She nodded. “Yep. Already did Germany, Turkey, and the Bahamas this year.”

“Ei! Wow!” I would never have guessed this girl was living the high life most of us only dream about. “That’s… well, awesome.”

She gave me the cutest grin as she cocked her head sideways. “Yeah. It is. Travelling the world is pretty awesome. Seeing different parts of the world, experiencing different cultures, and seeing different people from all walks of life. Yeah, it’s totally awesome.”

I nodded, more taken in by the astounding cuteness her smile radiated than the truth of travelling. I came to myself a second or so later, though, then asked, “So do you go with your parents or something?”

She shook her head, the sweet demeanour still on her face. “I move around by myself. Even like this trip. I came here by myself.”

I leaned back, an eyebrow raised. “Really? Why?”

“I just prefer moving around by myself, actually.”

“And they’re okay with that?”

She nodded.

“Wow, interesting. But uh, why? Is it that you and them… you don’t… you know…” I trailed off, knowing that question was going a little too deep into her personal life.

She shrugged and shook her head as her gaze moved from me to the window.

“There’s nothing wrong between me and my parents. It’s just… I’m built differently. They and my two older siblings, they’re all about work, work, work. They’re not interested in just living life; for them, it’s about getting work done. Everything else can wait. I’m different. I feel like… life is just to be lived. And enjoyed. You know what I mean?”

I nodded slowly. “Soooo, uh, if I’m getting you correctly, you’re like… a globetrotter?”

“Yes, yes, that’s it! I’m a globetrotter at heart!” she agreed passionately. “I just wanna live my life to the fullest, without these limitations of the stressful life society demands of us, you know. All that waking up at work, spending hours in traffic for a dry ass job, focusing on just work… my skin crawls at the thought of it. And yeah, I know I’m from a rich family and all, so I won’t have to struggle like others, but… I just wanna live. Feed my soul with the beauty of Mother Earth and all she has to offer. That’s just how I feel.”

I watched her as her gaze returned to the window, double-minded about that speech. I dunno why, but a part of me found it pretty opportunistic, and irritating to an extent, that a rich kid wanted to just focus on country-hopping and not do any work.

But then again, I understood her perfectly. I mean, who wouldn’t appreciate escaping the 8-5 life and just being able to experience different countries and all? I bet most of us would jump at that opportunity. In any case, that’s the sort of life I had in mind for Ellie and me once this Bons Farms thing succeeded.

Truthfully speaking, though, most of that was on the periphery of my mind.

My true attention was fixated on her.

At that moment, she looked so radiant and cute. Her purple turtleneck accentuating her childlike features, she looked so stunning.

Chale, I thought as I kept observing her, she’s such a dime.

I felt a fluttery sensation rise in my belly. My heartbeat began to pick up pace. My mouth dried up totally.

Scary vibes.

Why?

Simple. All those jittery feelings come up whenever…

… I have a crush.

Oh boy, Richie’s slipping! He’s badly slipping…