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Note to readers -- the dialogue between the characters here may not be familiar to those who don't understand the lingo of "pidgin English", which is a common method of exchange in Nigeria. I try to make it understandable as much as I can.
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Over his next few visits to the estate, Femi made sure to stay out of trouble. After coming to his senses, his major fear was Bolanle reporting him as she had threatened, and knowing the sort of influence her father had, it wouldn't have ended well for him. He was even scared to go back. He had confronted Binta on his way home that evening, asking her why she hadn't warned him when Bolanle arrived. She had defended herself, stating she had even tried to call him. True to her words, he had seen several missed calls on his phone. She had indeed tried to. His anger quickly melted away and he apologized to her before leaving.
From then on, he made sure not to spend more time than was necessary on the grounds, and ensured he stayed out of everyone's way. That eventually did not become a problem as the only people he saw regularly were Binta and the guard. The only thing that seemed to have changed was his interactions with Binta. Though he never paid attention at first, she did seem to be a bit friendlier than before. Her behavior towards him even bordered on flirting. She always had a bright glitter in her eyes anytime he saw her. Every now and then, she brought out some refreshments for him as he worked around the compound. He just took that as normal as she was the only one who paid him any attention in the entire household. He hardly saw Bolanle, as she seemed to never show up by the pool anymore. After about three weeks of nothing happening, he realized Bolanle hadn't carried out her threat afterall. He began to relax.
Binta had meanwhile continued with her new jovial attitude to him. For the first time, he began to take notice of her. Though she was just a housegirl and she mostly spoke to him in pidgin English, she wasn't really that bad looking. She was relatively tall and almost stood head-to-head with him. She was quite modest; she dressed simply in her long jellabiyas and wore little to no make-up -- every now and then she would decorate her arms and hands with henna, and he once saw her with a small nose ring. Typical of her tribe, she was quite slim, with moderate-sized boobs, curvy waistline, and a round butt. She was very independent and hardworking too, and quite smart as well.
Several weeks later, his classmates in school informed him that their call-up letters had arrived. He was thrilled. He quickly went to school to find out where he had been posted. He was quite amused to find out he was posted to the neighboring Ogun State. That meant he could come to Lagos on the weekends to carry on his business. He had saved a tidy amount over the months he had been working, and he wanted to continue and establish it on a larger scale. Being in the next state will keep him within reach of his customers, who by now had grown to around seven homes.
He informed the Fagbeyes that he was going for his youth service but would be back once the three-weeks orientation camp was over and when he had found out his place of primary assignment. Binta was quite unhappy he was going to be away for some time. A couple of weeks earlier, she had told him she wanted to show him something, but each time he had asked her, she had told him to be patient. This her crazy game had gone on for a couple of weeks, and when he got tired of asking, he had decided to wait until she was ready.
That time came a week to his departure to camp. Femi had worked extraordinarily hard that day. He wanted to make sure he left an impression on his customers, which they already had in any case, so that they didn't go out and look for anyone else while he was away.
The last family he visited that day was the Fagbeyes. He spent quite a while there. Over time, the Fagbeyes had become his most valuable clientele and he made sure he gave them special attention. There was not a single blade of grass out of place, and their pool always sparkled, inviting the most novice of people to dive in. the compound was always neat. That evening, just as he did anytime he finished work, he took a quick shower in the pool house before leaving. He had just stepped out of the shower stall when to his mild surprise, standing there waiting with a pleasant smile on her face was Binta.
"Binta, how now?" he greeted her as he dried some water out of his hair with the towel he had around his shoulders.
"Bros, I dey as you leave me," she replied. Her bright eyes followed him around the small pool house as he walked to where he had placed his bag and clothes. Femi felt a bit uncomfortable under her intense gaze. He had only a pair of boxer briefs on and was aware of how much his package bulged in them.
"So you dey comot go NYSC next week ko?" she continued. Her eyes were fixed over his almost nude state, and she swallowed a couple of times.
"Yes oh, I dey go serve my fatherland."
"So that means say we no go see your brake light for here again."
"No oh, I will be away for just one month," he responded, looking around for his clothes. They had magically disappeared. He could have sworn he left them on his bag before he went in for his shower. He checked in his bag but they were not there.
"Wetin you dey find?" he heard her ask. He turned to Binta, and from the mischievous look she gave him, he was pretty sure she had something to do with the missing attire.
"Did you see my clothes?"
"Which one be my own and your kaya?"
"But I left them here," he responded.
"Na you sabi where you keep them." The smile grew brighter on her face.
"Anyways," she continued, "you remember I talk say I wan show you something?"
