“Already?”
Tina asked, wearing a bemused countenance. “My shift starts at 4pm today”
Philipp answered, whilst dropping two freshly minted, crispy GHS 50.00 notes on
the table. The confusion in Tina’s mind grew some more. “Today is Saturday, Dr.
Philipp Ayensu, and you have the day off, remember?” Tina shot back. “Huh?”
Philipp feigned inattentiveness whilst searching his perplexed mind for an
appropriate answer. “The hospital called whilst I was in the washroom…
Apparently, Dr. Agyiri is indisposed, so I have to be in the consulting room in
his stead”. Both ladies exchanged looks, and then stared at him. Philipp
immediately knew he’d messed up with that lie.
“I’m
very sorry, ladies. I’ll make it up to you, I promise” he tried to butter them up.
Agyeiwaa’s started out to protest, but was prevented by a phone call that was
coming through. Her attempt at multitasking by answering the phone call and
still listening to the conversation between her best friend and her bae
failed. She moved a few meters away from the two to talk to her younger sister.
Tina’s had hung her Dolce & Gabbana bag on her left shoulder
when she joined the two, who were waiting for her. “Philipp will drop us off at
the junction, so we can get a cab to your place.” Tina said. Agyeiwaa
acquiesced.
*****
“You
know his phone was on the table when he went to the washroom, right?” Agyeiwaa
asked, when they were riding in the back seat of the Hyundai i10 cab. “So how
was he contacted?” “I’m as confused as you are, girlfriend. I really am. Really
weird things have happened today.” Tina answered. “Speaking of weird, let’s
talk about Sebastian, or what’s his name?” Agyeiwaa resuscitated the issue.
“Siisi, you mean? You like him eh? I saw the way you were looking at him
when I introduced you two. I have his number oo”, Tina teased. “Well,
he’s good looking, and wouldn’t have been a bad idea kwraa” Agyeiwaa
replied. The cab driver adjusted the mirror, and smiled. “Driver, hwe’m na
twi car no, na gyae konkonsa no” Agyeiwaa joked. They all laughed. “But let’s focus, Tina”,
she turned her attention to her best friend. “You mean to tell me you didn’t
see Philipp’s incessant blinks at him? There something fishy about Philipp,
although I can’t place a finger on it. I just know it.”
Infuriation
swelled up in Tina. It irked her that her friend was impugning wrongdoing to
her fiancé – the very man she’ll walk not-so-directly behind in some six months
from now. It irked her Agyeiwaa would be the one to point an accusing finger at
Philipp – the very man through whom she had gained employment at the
state-owned oil marketing company after a year of unemployment when her
previous employer filed for bankruptcy. Tina’s countenance however, betrayed
her feelings as she smiled all the while.
“You
know what, I’ll just call Siisi and find out what it is. It’s probably nothing.
Maybe, he wasn’t even blinked at, and your eyes were playing tricks on you. You
were not even wearing your spectacles with lens as thick as the bottom of a Coca
Cola bottle.” Tina sarcastically remarked and acquiesced to Agyeiwaa’s
subtle attempts. “Madam, please oo…don’t insult my intelligence. Are you now
calling me a Blind Messiah? And even if my spectacles are as thick as
the lens of a magnifying glass - with or without it, I know what I saw.”
Agyeiwaa shot back. “Pray Siisi will bring out the skeletons from whichever
corner of the cupboard they have been disjointed and kept.” Agyeiwaa said,
adding insult to injury.
The
telecom operator at the other end answered Tina’s two attempts by confirming
that Siisi’s phone was switched off. “His phone is switched off. I’ll try again
when I get home.”
“Send
him a message – he’ll see it when he switches it on again” Agyeiwaa insisted.
Tina turned to give her friend a bewildered look. “Hmmm…your sudden distrust
for Philipp is very curious”, Tina remarked, whilst sending Siisi a message.
“Are you happy now?” Tina asked her friend when she was done. “Maybe if you had
‘Cc-ed’ me, then I would have been happy” Agyeiwaa sarcastically answered,
wearing a satisfied smile.
*****
The
Whatsapp notification tone beeped nonstop for about 30 seconds when
Siisi’s i-Phone came alive after being charged for some minutes. They
were expected – Mike and his other friends from the pub – and then Tina. The
former wanted to know the reason for his sudden departure from the pub without
any prior notice. Another enquired, albeit jokingly, why he left without paying
for the drinks. Even though he suspected what the contents of the message would
be, he still opened to read the following message from Tina:
“Hey! Is everything alright? You left in a rather bizarre,
unceremonious way…very unlike the gentleman I met some time ago. Did I say or
do something? Was it Agyeiwaa… or Philipp? Please call me when you get this.”
He
shook his head and put the phone on the TV stand, without any intention of
replying.
No
sooner had he spread himself in the long sofa and reached for the DSTV remote
than the phone rang. He let the first two ring without answering. “Why is she
bothering me now?” he steupsed afterwards. It was when he walked to the TV
stand to mute the incoming calls that he realized the number calling for the
third time was not Tina, but an unfamiliar one. It was on days like these that
he wished the Truecaller
application worked on Steve Job’s flagship device.
“Hello…”
he answered the phone.
“Siisi?”
“Speaking….”
“Good…Philipp
here…
Siisi
eyes widened. “Philipp from where?” he pretended.
“Philipp
from today…at Area Code…”
“How
did you get my number?”
“I’m
surprised you’d ask that. But that’s not necessary at this point.”
“What
is?”
“The
fact that I’d appreciate it very much if you do not mention anything to
Ewurama…Ernestina… in case she suspects something and asks.”
“Something
like what?”
“Don’t
play coy with me, dude. You know what I mean. We’ve got a good thing going on
and your utmost secrecy is required to ensure its continuance. Like she
mentioned, we are planning marriage.”
Siisi
sighed. “You’d have no problem with that.”
“I hope I don't." Philipp's tone grew stern. "Thanks.”.
Siisi
ended the call, stared at the phone, sighed and smirked whilst shaking his
head. "Did he just threaten me?" he asked audibly.
The word phrase here is,VERY INTRIGUING. Thumbs up
ReplyDeleteThank you, Konadu.
DeleteThumbs up!
ReplyDeleteThanks, 'Anonymous'.
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