5/6
REPLACEMENT GIRL
CHAPTER 5
*HUMAIRAH POV*
The following day, Aunty Aminah took me to her friend. The place wasn’t as close as I thought, it was in the middle of the city.
“This is the restaurant” she said immediately we reached a two sto-rey building, it was really awesome. I wonder why most of the buildings in the city were all about sto-rey, even shops! You couldn’t pas-s a line without seeing sto-reys, how I wish that was the same case in the countryside too!
We went into the restaurant and surprisedly, there were lot of customers at such early morning hour. One of the waiters recognised Aunty Aminah and welcomed us humbly.
“Madam is very busy now, you can plea-se have a seat over there and wait for her” He said pointing at an empty table.
“Alright, thank you” Aunty Aminah said.
“You are welcome, ma” He said smiling.
We headed to the empty table and got ourselves comfortable. Aunty Aminah ordered coffee for both of us which we took while waiting to be called.
The place was so nice, you could see lovers dining and enjoying themselves. I didn’t want to keep looking around like a fool so I composed myself and enjoyed my coffee.
Minutes later, we were summoned and directed to an office. Seated on a swivel chair was a beautiful woman in her Ankara going throu-gh some files. She looked pretty much like someone in her late thirties. She welcomed us wholeheartedly and asked us to occu-py the two visitors’ chairs facing her.
“You c@m£ unannounced, Aminah. I hope everything is fine?” The beautiful woman said with a wrinkled brow as soon as we settled down.
“Yes,” Aunty Aminah cleared her throat and continued. “This girl here is my husband’s niece, she c@m£ from the village just yesterday. She wants to learn how to brew coffee”
“Hmm” The woman glanced at me with a sigh. “Actually, we alre-ady have enough brewers” She said and continued. “But if she can be our delivery girl, she’s welcome”
“Delivery girl you say?!” Aunty Aminah squealed. “But she can’t ride a bicycle, nor can she handle a bike” She added.
“Hhhh” the woman busted into laughter. “We have car and a driver, Aminah but it’s for longer routes. If she can cope with that then she’s welcome”
“Can you?” Aunty Aminah turned to me with a wrinkled brow.
“Yes” I nodded my head, and that was it. She got me registered and I was given a blue Polo t©p and a face cap containing the logo of the restaurant’s br@nd.
“Your work starts tomorrow!” The woman apprised while beaming at me.
***************
*AHMAD POV*
“Wallahi (I swear) Ahmad when I held that baby I felt as if I was the one that delivered it, I felt as if I could hold it forever” Naziha said as we got back into my car, we had just paid her sister a visit – the one that just gave birth.
“Yes, that’s because the baby is yours too!” I huffed igniting the engine into action. “What belongs to your sister belongs to you too, my love” I added.
“Ahmad this is Sister Hannatu’s 5th child, I held the rest before but didn’t felt anything like this I swear” She said.
“Toh (okay), maybe it’s because our own is on its way coming” I uttered turning ‘on’ the A/C.
“I hope so” She heaved a sigh and relaxed as we drove away.
On reaching the junction of our area, some Joint Task officers st©pped us. That was when I realised we were late. It was a combination of well armed Army, Police, and Civil Defence Corps. I quic-kly lowered my wind-glas-s.
“Hello guys” I greeted them with a gritted teeth.
“Hold your greetings, don’t you know that there is a curfew?!” One of them yelled at me.
“Ehm, actually… yes, but…”
“Just turn around and go back to where you are coming from” The officer boldly said.
“Come on man, I am the son of Jaa…”
“Turn around, now!” He yelled again.
I tried to bribe throu-gh but to no avail, thus I turned and drove away from the scene. Anything that has to do with the army, don’t expect it to be likely.
“We can just find a h0tel nearby and lodge in for the night” I suggested.
“What?” Naziha squealed. “No, Ahmad”
“Why?” I puzzled.
“I don’t like that idea, just drive us to Baba’s house. I missed mama” she said.
“What?” My heart fli-pped a little by the mentioning of ‘Baba’ which means my father, someone that didn’t like her. I tried to change her mind but she was adamant. That was how we ended up in my father’s house.
He wasn’t that happy seeing us but my mother was. We chitchat for almost an hour before finally bidding each other goodnight.
Naziha and I went to my old room, almost all my leftover things were intact. I smiled at my old gaming console and its controllers, I was hell of a gamer in the past. My friends and I would pl@yFIFA 24-7, we ha-rd ly even used to pray in time. How I missed those days, I couldn’t go a day without…
“Come over here, my lawful husband!”
My thought was intercepted by Naziha’s cool voice, she was alre-ady on the be-d with her hijab thrown aside.
“It’s been a whole week, so don’t tell me you are tired today” She S-xily uttered blinking her eyes.
“Oh yeah” I beamed at her and gently walked over to the be-d. It had really been a week since we made love and that was because I was always busy at work during the day, and in the night I used to be exhausted. But today, I guess there wouldn’t be excuses. I climbe-d the be-d, took off my clothes, and the rest is history!
…
The following day in the morning, while having breakfast in the dining island my mother cleared her throat and broke the silence that had crept upon us ever since we started eating. “Naziha!” She called out.
“Na’am (yes), Mama” Naziha answered.
“I know this is a bit early for me to start asking questions like this but, have you and Ahmad seen the doctor? This is two and half years since your marriage and you haven’t conceived yet”
“Ehhm” I cleared my throat about to chime into their conversation when my father vehemently intruded.
“She’s talking to your wife, not you!”
“Okay… okay” I nodded and gulped.
Naziha pathetically looked me in the eyes as if asking me to help her out, I only huffed and held her hand. “Just tell them the truth, my love” I said to her. I didn’t want to see her tears so I turned my face away from her.
“I… I am infertile” I heard her said after a moment of silence. “I am sorry, Mama” She added as she quic-kly stood to her feet. “I should have told you this a long time” She broke into tears and left the dining, she was heading out of the mansion.
“This is all your fault!” I yelled at my father as I promptly withdrew to my feet. “You did this all and I promise I will not suc¢v-mb to your selfish de-sire. I don’t care if Naziha is barren or not, I love her and will always love her the way she is!” I said and left as well.
“Ahmad wait…”
My mother tried to st©p me but I pretended deaf ears. I ran out after Naziha to the parking lot, she was crying bitterly. I tried to embr@ce her but she kept pushing me away.
“Calm down plea-se, Naziha…”
“You telling me to… to calm down?”
“Yes plea-se, we can see things throu-gh”
“No!” She screamed.
“plea-se st©p all these,” I implored leaning my back on the car with my heart alre-ady aching. “Seeing you crying like this makes me… makes me sick” I said while p@n-ting.
Hearing that, she st©pped and rushed to me. “Hey,” she sniffed. “I am sorry” she gulped shaking her head. “I am no more crying, plea-se be fine”
“I will be fine only if you don’t react like this again” I looked de-ep into her eyes. “plea-se don’t react like this again, Naziha”
“I won’t, I promise. I just don’t want to loose you that’s why” She blinked away the tears in her eyes.
“You won’t loose me, Naziha” I said getting hold of her hands. “I promise”
***************
Your own barrenness may not be infertility but money and some other things. As you type amen, Every yoke of the curse of barreness in your life will break by fire in the name of Jesus.
CHAPTER 6
“AHMAD POV*
Ever since Naziha and I returned from my father’s house, things had not been the same. She talked less and often replied me with two words. I had told her I wouldn’t divorce her but she just didn’t believe me. She thought I was a coward, someone that practically didn’t know his rights… but I was heck of a stone, someone that would never take self-centered orders from even his parents. I wish I could tell her that in the language she would un-derstand.
Today, I deliberately refused to go to work because seeing my father around makes me sick. I was alre-ady tired of working with him. If only I could find another job that would be paying me in millions just the way he was doing, I would have left his company for good!
“Naziha, this is quarter past two. Ain’t you gonna make lunch today?” I queried immediately I bounced into our room but she didn’t reply me, she only heaved a sigh and kept swiping throu-gh her phone as if too busy to reply me. That was actually weird. “Naziha, I am talking to you!” I exclaimed.
“Sorry” She huffed as she lazily kept her phone aside. “I was busy chatting with my friends, I didn’t check the time”
“Now what?” I yawned hungrily.
“Well, since you are hungry you can just order for food, or what do you think?” She said in what seemed like a whisper while adjusting her veil. “That would be easier”
“Order for food?” I snapped at her.
“Yes!” She cleared her throat and continued. “After all, I am very tired. I don’t think I can cook anything right now”
“Naziha, you are really changing!” I gro-an ed and continued. “So after keeping me hungry you are asking me to place an order for food, why can’t you just tell me you are tired of cooking in this house so I can get a cook for us?”
“What?” She wrinkled her brows.
“You heard me, Naziha!” I thun-dered.
“Wannan kai ya dama (That’s left for you)” She took back her phone and continued swiping throu-gh it.
I shook my head not knowing what else to say to her. God knows I had tried my best to make things right but all she did was to frustrate me, she had practically changed in the past few weeks.
“Suit yourself” I said and left the room.
___________
*HUMAIRAH POV*
Satisfied with how good I looked in my blue polo t©p, blue jeans, and a face cap containing the logo of the restaurant I was working in, I bounced out of the house after having bade everyone goodbye. These days, I was the first to leave home and the last to come back. I was so happy, I really didn’t used to have time for masturbation anymore!
“Where to?” A cabman asked as soon as I st©pped him. He was a very old man.
“Kumbashi Restaurant, opposite t©p Medical” I said storming into the cab.
“Alright” He said as we drove away.
It was a very slow ride, the old man was a very good Nigerian. He loved obeying traffic lights even in an empty street. I liked the idea at first but later got bored because I was alre-ady getting late.
We arrived at the restaurant quarter to 8am. I paid him and he drove away. Actually, it wasn’t nice boarding his cab and I wouldn’t board such a cab anymore!
“Good morning, everyone!” I greeted the brewers and waiters as I headed towards Madam’s office to write my name in the time book as usual. She was so surprised to see me at such time, I normally used to show up around 7am dot but reverse was today’s case. I was almost late. “It was the cab I boarded. The man drives slowly” I explained.
“Eyyah (Alas)” She uttered.
I wrote my name in the time book and quic-kly left her office to the telephone unit, a place dedicated to deliverers of the restaurant. “Morning, Sam” I greeted my p@rtner with a smile.
“Morning, Humairah” He sighed going throu-gh the delivery book. “Welcome!”
“Thank you, Sam” I sat close to him. “What orders do we have?” I asked.
“Coffee as usual. Both Cyril and Ali are on it, so relax for now” He calmly said.
“Alright” I huffed.
This was my third week at work, I should work even more ha-rder so that Madam could pay me my full salary. She had asked me to choose between salary and wages, and I chose the former. . said I was childish to even nurse the de-sire of choosing salary, but I preferred things in bulk!
Both Cyril and Ali c@m£ back hours later, thus Sam and I began our own delivery across the city. We started from Unguwan Sarki, up to Maitumbi with our van. He was the one driving while I deliver orders to people’s doorsteps.
To cut the story short, we returned back at around 2pm. I was so exhausted. We had so many customers placing orders everyday, our restaurant was the best in the whole city and everyb©dy wanted our food. That was a success to our boss.
Ring!
Ring!!
Ring!!!
The telephone began ringing. I was the one close to it so I stretched my hand and picked the call. “Hello, this is Kumbashi Restaurant’s h0tline. What can we do for you?” I said amicably.
“Ermm…” The person cleared his throat and continued. “Pizza, plea-se!” He said.
That moment, my heart nearly missed a bit. Like, I mean, of course I knew that voice. It sounded like that of the handsome man that hit my uncle’s car the first day I arrived at the city!
“Pizza? Okay, your address plea-se!” I chirped hoping to hear his voice again.
“House number 57, Peace Garden!” He said.
With that, my heart fli-pped a little. He was actually the one! I mean, my uncle told me that day that his name was Ahmad Jaafar and he lived in Peace Garden…
Tbc
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