You are posted in Jinja but have traveled to the city on an errand.
And because that errand takes so long to execute- things of "wait a bit, come back at 5pm", you end up picking whatever you have to at 7pm.
It is too late to travel back to Jinja, and besides that, it is raining.
And so you opt to go to a friend’s place- that place where you always stay when you come into town. That kind of friend who does not mind if you walked in at midnight. She’s your “tight”.
You arrive at a few minutes to 8pm. There are three pairs of footwear at the door. Nurse pumps, orange rubber slippers and a man’s black shoes.
Knock! Knock!
She comes to the door. You hug and exchange niceties as she leads you into the warm sitting room.
The first thing you notice is the man reclining comfortably in the sofa, a two-seater, with his stockinged feet resting on the chair right opposite. Shirt is open at the top button, sleeves folded, tie off. His voice carries over the bulango on the radio which is blaring loudly in the corner of the room. On a side-table sits a plate with fried egg, the deep yellow maggi maganda type. And close by is a mug of steaming milky tea.
Your eyes meet. He looks stunned. Like someone caught with his hand in the till. His sentence stops midway. His gaping mouth is like the entrance of a cave and you can see some of the yellow egg that he is chewing.
You don’t know whether to greet him because this scenario doesn’t look right. For one, its just the two of them in this house on this rainy evening; two, he seems extra comfy in her company; three, for as long as you’ve known her- you went to school together, she has never mentioned this man. And four— you are certain that he is someone else’s husband. Someone you know very well because you were at their wedding.
Before you can open your mouth or let your handbag drop to the floor, he suddenly excuses himself, “Ka nkomewo katono!”, and practically flees into the confines of the one bedroom of the house, that one bedroom which has one bed and one mattress which you and your friend share on the days when you spend the night.
Now that Mr. is here, you start wondering where you will spend the night. Should you leave and run through the rain again for the late night (unsafe) taxi?
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