Chapter 18 THE DOG WALK

E V E

Ebere dog-walks up the short steps that lead directly into the sitting room.

And no -- I'm not making a mistake about the dog walk. She puts two legs on either side of her, and walks like she has a D in the middle of her depths instead of a V. Her huge stomach waddles, or gallops, not quite sure the word to use, but it definitely wobbles, making her look like one giant moving cannon ball with arms and legs.

It's not until she gets close to me that I see her wincing. She either had it sizes too big for her, or she grew a gigantic-sized boil. Either way, the way she keeps wincing and dog - walking is hilarious to me. My eyes expand to twice their size as I take in her bump. It seems to have grown a lot in the past few months.

So that's the reason for her weird walk.

Has it really been that long?

Time sure flies these days like it's going out of fashion.

I try, I really do try not to giggle, but this laughter just doesn't want to stay inside. It flows out of my mouth as an unlady-like snort.

"Bestiiiiieee!" She screams and launches herself at me, almost throwing us both onto the floor. I flail my hands in the air, and just in time, latch onto the back of the chair, but even that doesn't stop the fall. Luckily, it's a soft landing. We both fall onto the sofa with her landing on top of me.

My breath gets knocked out of me immediately and I can hardly breathe. She struggles to get off me and it seems like ages. Just when I'm almost passing out from lack of air, she hefts herself up and I sieze the opportunity to greedily suck in large gulps of air.

She has definitely put on a lot of weight. She was plump-sized before the pregnancy, but now, she's . . .

She launches herself at me --- again, this time, clinging to my neck for dear life. Thankfully, it's short lived as she releases me almost immediately and launches into a tirade of words. "Baaabe, I've missed you so much. Can't believe this is the first time we're seeing since you came back to Lagos, haba, it's not fair o. So if Femi hadn't called for a truce between Segun and Dipo, our friendship would have gone down the drain, just like that?"

When I'm eventually able to sit up, I hug her tightly. "I'm terribly sorry, things have just been wierd lately between Segun and I, plus I've been really busy." Doing nothing. I add silently.

Truth is, I've actually been avoiding her, my best friend. I'm ashamed to tell her this, but I really needed to be alone so as to stay afloat, mentally. I haven't been in the right head space to talk to anyone, least of all her, because Ebere is the question police, and I'm not just ready to answer questions about my relationship with Aurey, knowing fully well I wouldn't be able to answer any of them when I don't quite understand what's going on.

It just feels like things are slowly, but steadily going down the drain between him and I.

Ever since Tina caught him and I having sex against her wall, I've felt somewhat dirty. She'd taken one look at us and the ear splitting grin that slipped onto her face was wierd, to say the least.

I remember Aureliano had both his hands firmly holding my butt, carrying most of my weight, and sadly I was just about to cum, but the feeling dissipated as suddenly as it came, when Tina walked in.

She'd clapped her hands together like a little child and was about advancing towards us, forgetting the fact that we were partially naked, when Aureliano told her to please turn around and give us some privacy so we could dress up.

I couldn't even look at her after that. Aureliano was cool about it, and even joked wih Tina, and she'd enthused about how cute we looked together.

Can you imagine walking into your business residence and catching two people having sex against the wall and calling them cute?

That's absolutely wierd, to say the least. It felt awkward, at best, but as I stated earlier on, Aureliano was cool about it, which led me to the belief that this wasn't his first time of banging a girl against the wall in Tina's place, but I'd kept my thoughts to myself and asked to be taken home shortly after.

He was obviously reluctant in doing so, and so we'd argued a bit, but finally we ended up at his place instead, where we'd continued what we didn't get to finish earlier.

At least I finally got to cum.

After that day though, things between us have been weird. Yes, we're still a couple and we see each other every other day, and he even took me to his fath ----- Femi's house and dropped off the car he gave me there, leaving the keys in the ignition, but things still feel off between us.

The peace I felt being with him initially has completely dissipated, leaving an empty hollow feeling in its wake.

"Are you just going to sit there and stare into space?" Ebere wrenches me from my thoughts.

I smile at her fondly. I've missed her like crazy, but my waking moments have been mostly filled with spending time with Aureliano, having sex.

Yup.

That's all we've been doing, really. Having oodles and oodles of it. I honestly can't call it love making, because the intensity is high, plus the act in itself is very primal. He can't keep his hands off me when we're together, and frankly speaking, I don't want him to. Every time we slap skins --- I think that's a better word --- it feels like he's trying to reach into my soul, and it leaves me feeling satiated, but exhausted, both of us actually.

Worst of it, is, we hardly talk. Once we set eyes on each other, it's light, camera and animalistic copulating.

"Sorry, I just zoned out for a bit, so what's up?" I sit up straight and fix my eyes on her.

"Seriously, babe, I haven't seen you in two months and all I get is a 'whats up'? How have you been, though? Look at you. Those hips of yours have grown bigger." Her eyes narrow as she assesses me. "Hmm! someone’s been having lots of sex." She wiggles her eyebrows at me and it's all I can do not to slap the look off her face, instead I end up laughing, something I haven't done in a while.

"I really have missed you and your nasty jokes, and look at your stomach, you're so big now. How far along are you --- four, five months?"

"Oooh! Someone's been keeping track. Yes, I'm five months gone and I must tell you, it's been a bitch so far. My body feels like it's got a mind of it's own, it's a very alien feeling. The worst of it is I'm not able to sleep in the night, even though I feel so damn tired all the time." She shakes her head and raises her forefinger in warning. "It's a trap, don't ever get pregnant, I tell you," and my face falls. Oblivious of my inner turmoil, she keeps talking non-stop. "The only good thing about getting pregnant in my estimation is the fact that Dipo spoils me silly. He never allows me to do anything."

It's definitely going to take some time listening to her talk, might as well get comfortable, so I put my feet up on the sofa as she continues rambling.

"Now that Dipo and Segun are on talking terms again, we're proposing a trip --- a couple's trip. Dipo and I, you and Segun and Femi and Fiku, at Femi's beach house in Lekki. I'm sure by now Segun has gotten the invite from Femi."

I raise my brows at her in surprise. Dipo and Aurey have finally made up, yes, but there's still some undercurrent friction running beneath the surface and I can bet this goes way back in time when they were in the states, schooling together.

That's a story I'd love for Aurey to finish. Last time he was talking to me about it, I'd slept off and we've never really gotten back to it since then.

Ebere continues speaking as I zone in and out of what she's saying. " . . . so we're looking at next week for this trip, and girl, I've got to tell you that I'm soo looking forward to it. Imagine waking up to the sound of the sea, and basking at the water side just doing nothing. Hmm! I can't wait." She throws her hands up in the air in a form of victory, brings it down again and claps her hands in delight before turning towards me again. "Now that Stacy is going to be living with her real dad, I'd like to spend some time with her when we get back, before she finally makes the move to Segun's place. It's going to be so lonely, especially during the day when Dipo is out and . . ."

"Wait, hold up!" My head is suddenly reeling. I put a hand up to stop her word flow. "Back up a bit to the part where Stacy is going to be living with her real dad."

"Um . . ." Her eyes go big and round as she looks at me. Now I get to fully understand the meaning of 'silence is meaningful,' because she keeps quiet and begins to fidget. After a short while, she expels air through her mouth noisily and whispers. "Didn't you know? Segun didn't tell you?" When she sees the shocked look on my face, her face falls. "I'm so sorry babes, I'm so sorry to be the one to break this news to you. Come here!" This time, I'm the one that launches into her arms, as tears flow freely from my eyes.

Why didn't Aurey tell me?

Why did he keep me in the dark about this?

When was this decision was even made?

I love him to the moon and back, but I don't know how much more of this drama I can take.

If it's not one thing, it's another.

Can't I ever get a break?

I know Stacy is his daughter and at some point in time he's got to fess up and be a father to her, and I also know I promised to be by his side through thick and thin, but what about me?

When do I get to have an out?

What about how I feel?

Does that even count anymore?

I don't know how much more I can take. Something has got to give soon, otherwise I might just break down soon.

- @ -

A U R E L I A N O

I often wonder why people wait for the night to make love.

If the feeling hits me, I'll go at it like a dog in heat, any time of the day.

With the way Eve and I have been going, it's a wonder she isn't pregnant ----- again.

Why, the other day we did it in the kitchen, on the dining table, on the sofa and, oh, let's not forget when she needed to take a bath and I joined her and our bodies fused, yet again and dare I say it, we never used protection.

What's the point?

We're both monogamous. Can't imagine sleeping with another woman at this rate.

I mean, what is the point, really?

Even if I wanted to, where would I get the energy for it?

Eve is all the woman I need.

It seems we're compensating this problem on our hands with our bodies.

We. just. can't. get. enough . of. each other.

One of two things is bound to happen . . .

Crash and burn or . . .

I frankly speaking, don't know.

What I do know, is, we can't continue this way.

We have to talk about it. We have to wade through these issues. We have to rise up and have to face them, head on.

But do we? Naah!

I think we're both scared. At least I know I am. And selfish, too. I don't want to let go of her. I'm fucking scared of loosing her, even though I know we both need some space from the drama that's my life.

Femi called me some days back, said he wanted to put out the feud between Dipo and I, and so he advised me to do a DNA sample to truly ascertain if Stacy is my daughter. That was hard, beause Dipo and I weren't on talking terms.

So you know what I did?

I got a six canned pack Budweiser, picked up some spicy suya on the way and arrived Dipo's doorstep with a smile on my face. Well it was more like a grimace, but that was all I could manage at the time.

Dipo opened the door, took one good look at me -- more like the things in my hands -- and broke out in a grin.

So we'd eaten and drank, and eaten, and drank and then we drank some more, until his tongue loosened, and the words had begun flowing out of him.

He was actually more dissapointed than angry at me. Angry that I didn't want to clean up the mess I'd created, and live up to my responsibilities by being a real dad to Stacy.

He just doesn't understand that the mess runs deep. It's a mess that started years ago, and till today he still doesn't know the extent of Roxy's madness. I shielded him from most of it.

I think she went easy on him because she wasn't remotely interested in him. Making my life a living hell was her way of actually showing she loved me, I know that now. It was a cry for attention.

Unfortunately for her, I wasn't in the mental state to love any female then.

How could I?

I hadn't even learnt to love myself, most of all another woman. I looked at dating as a huge chore and a great responsibility, one I wasn't ready to undertake, what with the man whom I thought was my father playing the abandonment card, I didn't have much of a mentor, if at all.

So I remained quiet after Dipo finished talking because I owed him that, and truth be told, Stacy is a reminder of my bitter past, one I didn't want to remember. Seeing her made me feel ill at ease, but I decided I needed to suck it up and do a DNA test once and for all, so I collected her blood sample from him, and the next day I visited a hospital. Days later, the result came back with a 99.99% match.

Shit!

It felt like my whole world had imploded.

I felt trapped, damn it, I still do, but anytime I feel the panic clawing it's way up to my chest, I push it down, willing myself to stay calm.

So I turned to Eve for succour, and did what I knew how to do best, and she let me. But I didn't tell her about the whole big drama, I just needed to spare her, 'cause she's already looking wan and I didn't want to aggravate her further.

After showing Dipo the test result, he decided it would make better sense if Roxy's ki ---- Stacy, comes to live with me. Imagine how much I'd kicked against that idea, but Femi came visiting, and sat me down, can you believe that?

Femi, the errant one, was finally settling down, talking to me about fatherhood and shit, when I'm still practically a kid at heart trying to navigate through life and not doing so very well at it.

Okay, forget the part about me still being a kid. I'm a twenty eight year old grown ass man, who doesn't know what the hell to do with his life here on out.

Tips ---- anyone?