Short Story: The 'Confession'...Episode 6

Siisi stood there, blinked twice in quick succession, with events of their last meeting flashing through his mind. A smile broke on his face, and he extended his hand for a handshake. “Oh, right! I remember you now, Agyeiwaa. How’s you doing?” Agyeiwaa shook his hand and answered the question, also with a warm smile. “An awkward moment it was last week, wasn’t it? Why did you leave like that? she asked. With his signature laughter, he tried to avoid answering the question. Agyeiwaa smirked, adamant at taking silence…or rather laughter, as an answer to her question. Luck shone when Agyeiwaa’s phone rang, and her countenance changed when she checked her time. “Gotta run, Siisi. T’was nice seeing you again”. He nodded, relieved. “You take care of yourself”.

He sat down again, and shook his head with a smirk on his face. He lifted up his head and met the prying eyes of Patricia. “Three questions, Grant. Who was that? What happened last weekend? And did they have any influence on your not visiting the washroom again?” she asked without an expression on her face. Siisi was confused, as he couldn’t tell whether or not she was actually expecting an answer to the first two. “Right…the washroom. I’ll be right back.” He was gone before Patricia could even think of an appropriate sarcastic remark. She smiled. She’d, since they first met in the common room at Douper Hall in Birmingham University, secretly admired the aura around Siisi – his sense of humour, high sense of fashion, deep thinking prowess, and his ability to turn an embarrassing moment into a jovial one with ease. These qualities came to mind now, as they had all been exhibited within their two-or-so hour conversation. She liked him now.

“You know what? Why don’t we go watch a movie together tomorrow evening?” Patricia asked immediately Siisi took his seat. “Is that telepathy at play, right now? I was just thinking same. I’d very much like that.” They both smiled.

*****

“Guess who I saw today?” Agyeiwaa asked Tina, who was on the other side of the phone hours after their second encounter.

“Angel Bishop Obinim?” she joked.

“Don’t be silly, wati?” She said amidst laughter.

“Ashanti Moses – Ahenema Kokoben Champion?” Tina continued guessing.

“Ei..chick wei…are you high on glue or something? Have you been drinking?” she asked, after another bout of laughter.

Tina laughed, and answered in the negative. “Who did you meet today?”

“Guess la…”

“I dunno, if you are not going to tell me.” Tina ended the guess work.

“Foolish young lady”, Agyeiwaa said and steupsed. “Walkaway Siisi.”

“I see… where?” Tina asked after some seconds of silence, during which his rather ‘uncouth’ actions the previous weekend flashed through her mind.

“At the Accra Mall – Barcelos, to be precise. He was with some nice lady bi.” Agyeiwaa gossiped. “I don’t think he made me out at first sight. I had to remind him, of course with his Craig David-like behaviour, before he could remember me.”

There was laughter at the other end.

“Speaking of which…has he responded to your message yet?” Agyeiwaa asked.

“Which message? The one asking about whether or not Philipp is hiding something?”

“Nanka which one? You guys have been chatting eh?”

“Oh no…he hasn’t responded yet. I don’t intend to ask him again. Whatever it is, it will be my own cross to carry.”

“Hmmm….true words, my sister…true words.”

“So let’s forget about Siisi and his unusual behaviour and talk about something else.”

They spoke for about five more minutes until another call came through on Tina’s phone. It was Philipp. “I’d have to call you back, if I’d call at all. Philipp is calling.”

“Ei…ɔdɔ yɛ wo dɛ papa…Extend my regards to him, and you take care of yourself.” Agyeiwaa teased and ended the call. Her last six words sounded alien to her after she had said them. She usually ended her calls to Tina with statements like “get your crazy self, off my line”, or “Alright dear, I’d talk to you later”.  “So where did this come from?” she asked herself mentally. She processed the day’s activities in her mind and realized she had unconsciously repeated Siisi’s parting words with her at the mall.

*****

Lying on his back, and resting his head on his orthopeadic pillow which leaned against the wooden slab between the two bedposts, Siisi was an active contributor to a conversation on his SSS Whatsapp group platform. He was in the middle of typing a funny comment against a picture which had been posted on the platform when his phone rang. He contemplated for a while and swiped from right to left, and continued typing. The call through again, by which time he had sent the comment which had sent the others into uncontrollable laughter. He answered the call but said nothing.

“Hello…” the caller spoke first.

“Hello…Siisi, are you there?” the caller spoke again when there was no response from Siisi.

“Yhup, Tina. I’m here. How’s you?” Siisi responded in an unfriendly tone. But Tina did not realize.

“How’re you?”

“I’m doing great. How’s you too?”

“Am I fine, Siisi? You tell me, especially when you have avoided my calls and not replied my messages for about a week now.” Tina asked, sounding emotional.

Siisi smirked and shook his head, as if Tina was right in front of him and would have understood whatever that was supposed to mean. “Tina, there’s nothing to talk about, that’s why.”

“Really? My fiancé blinks incessantly at you, ostensibly to tell you to keep mute. You actually keep mute, and walk away. It seemed to me and even my friend that you two have some history together which he obviously doesn’t want me to know, for reasons best known to both of you. This is someone I’m planning to spend the rest of my life with and it is only fair and proper that I know everything…well almost everything…about him. So please don’t tell me there’s nothing to talk about, Siisi?” Tina sounded convincing.

“There’s nothing to talk about, Tina.” Siisi maintained his stance, although it pained to know that he wielded the power to make or break a future marital union and yet was as impotent as a wet match stick being struck against a match box. He was pained, knowing he held information that could tilt the situation – the quest for Tina’s heart – in his favour and yet, he didn’t know the potency behind Philipp’s subtle threat – was it real? “Tina, I’d have to call you back. I need to answer an equally important call coming through” he lied. Tina knew it, but was helpless. “Okay” she conceded ‘defeat’. Her ploy of sounding all too emotional in a bid to cause Siisi to spill the beans had yielded zilch. He cussed after he ended the call.

Thoughts of the latest potential Mrs. Grant filled his thoughts as another petered away slowly, and he smiled. “That’s another fine babe, right there” he thought. “At least, I get to see her tomorrow”, he continued. He hit the power button on his i-Phone and the screen came alive. It was then that he realized they hadn’t exchanged phone numbers after their conversation at the mall. He frantically hit the blue icon with an ‘F’ on his screen and typed Patricia Manford in the search bar, and remembered she isn’t a social media fanatic, even from their days in Birmingham.

He cussed audibly.

To be continued  

P.S. If you missed the 5th Episode of The "Confession", you can read it here.