Chapter 7 INCREMENT STORMS

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It never gets old --- recieving texts from Aurey.

Upon waking the next morning, I find about five text messages from him, all with different heart emojis, showcasing his undying love for me and also informing me he would be busy for the next few days and would unfortunately not be able to see me.

I take it in good stride, because things got quite heated while we were in Abeokuta and my mind needs to recover from it, but most especially my body.

So the next few days are spent contemplating how to get rid of the gifts from my 'almost married state.' I keep coming in contact with them every time I step out of my room. They're so much, they fill the whole corridor, almost flowing into the staircase landing.

I don't know what to do with them.

I wish I could burn them and never again be reminded of what almost happened. Mum thinks I should keep them and use them for myself. Dad of course shares the same view as me, he will obviously go with whatever I want.

Making up my mind after what seems like a lot of deliberation, I write out thank you notes, sprinkled with words of regrets, to some of the senders of the gifts that I know, and send them back. The rest of the gifts I load inside the car and drive to the nearest home for widowed women. After a tete a tete with the people in charge, I drive back home with an empty car and a lighter heart.

On a Saturday two days later, Aureliano informs me he's coming to take me out for the day. Feeling some withdrawal symptoms after being apart, I happily skip to the bathroom, making sure to use a generous amount of my strawberry scented bath wash and some Epsom salt for a good soak. Some thirty minutes later when the water is lukewarm, I step out, feeling deliciously relaxed from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

Strolling to my wardrobe which is already open, I spy my favourite shorts and tee, and after my usual after - bath routine, I don them and cap it all up with my Nike sneakers. After a few tweaks with my hair, I stand back to assess myself in the mirror.

The end result makes my hair look like Leela James.

Satisfied at the outcome, I finish up the look by spraying some perfume on my erogenous zones.

I honestly can't believe I'm dating Aureliano now, especially after all the ups and downs we've gone through and the people who tried to keep us apart. I need us to discuss the best method of sending Femi's car back to him. I have a feeling he will appreciate my involving him.

He shows up an hour later, wearing jeans from head to toe, a leather face cap and a smile. "Hi princess!"

I angle my neck, expecting a kiss on the cheek, but he bypasses it, and plants one on my forehead, lingering for a bit, probably breathing in my scent. I try not to lean into him, because I might be giving mother a show as she's in the habit of peeking from the sitting room window to see what I'm up to once I step outside the house. "You smell amazing, baby. Did you miss me?" One of his hand strays to my head and finds its home there, smoothing down stray hairs at my nape.

"I liked your text messages." I reply, smiling, deflecting his question.

"Yeah?" He snakes an arm around my waist and pulls me to him. His arousal presses into me, hard and unyielding. "Then you'll definitely like the gift I have for you."

"You're such a pervert." I joke, hitting him on the arm and pushing him away.

From behind him he produces a small beautifully wrapped box in red wrapping paper with gold highlights. It's got a cute little bow tied in front. He hands it to me, watching keenly as I collect it from him. "Open it." I lift my eyes to him, noticing the longing in his eyes. "Please."

Needing no further nudge, I open it up, excitement burblig inside me. I'm trying to be careful so as not to rip the bow apart. This beautifully wrapped box is going onto my dresser as a monument to the first --- alright, second gift from Aurey, the first one having been ruined by his own hands. A sudden image of sinful yellow canary flits into my mind, sending delicious tingles through me.

I put my wayward thoughts aside and center them squarely on the gift in my hand. Once I'm finally able to get it open, it reveals a small red hard suede box. I lift wide eyes to Aurey, biting my lips to stifle the excitement threatening to engulf me.

Is this what I think it is?

Anticipaton courses through me in waves as I gently pry the lid open with slightly trembling fingers.

What I see, reduces my excitement to a flat line --- literally.

A necklace stares up at me from it's silky sheath and I'm left staring at it foolishly. I know Aureliano is watching me, but I can't help the frown that's currently finding it's way to my forehead.

"Do you like it?" I can't bring myself to look at him, not yet anyway, so I force myself to swallow the bitter pill of dissapointnent and force my lips into a smile. I believe it looks more like a grimace, but hey, I'm trying.

"It's . . . beautiful." I choke out.

If it were a ring, yes.

He must obviously sense my dissappointnent, because he tilts my chin to look up at him. "I could return it if you don't like it, and get another one of your choice. We can go together and --- " I stop his word flow with my fingers against his lips.

"It really is beautiful." I lift it out of the box to look at it more closely. Burnished silver catches the light of the sun, glinting as the rays bounce off it. I trace the smooth edges with my fingertips, marvelling when I realise there's a clasp that opens up to reveal a woman.

"This is me." I say excitedly, running my eyes across my features.

"That would be correct."

"But when ---- "

"Did I have the picture taken?" He finishes with a soft smile. "When we met at the eatery, the day before you almost got m----"

"Got it." I nod, not letting him finish his statement.

He takes a hold of the pendant and gently turns it round, and I come face to face with a picture of him on the other side of the pendant. "When I'm not with you, I want you to always keep me close to your heart, like now."

Who would have thought Aureliano was sentimental.

I lift up on tiptoes, steadying myself with a hand on the bonnet of the car, ready to give him a peck on the cheek, but he anticipates it and turns, bending low, such that the kiss lands directly on his lips. "Cheater!" I murmur, smiling against his lips.

"I love you, princess." His hands come up on either side of my face, capturing and anchoring it against his effectively.

"I love you too, Aurey." I smile, leaning into him, momentarily forgetting the fact that mother could be watching us. He holds me to him tightly.

"Alright! Enough of the mushy stuff. Can I take my beautiful girlfriend on a date?" One eyebrow is arched in anticipation of my response.

"Yes, I would very much like to go on a date with my handsome boyfriend." I joke back.

Suddenly, he sweeps me off my feet, knocking the wind out of me. "Oooooh! So you find me handsome, huh?! That why you couldn't resist me?"

I giggle against his chest, wondering why he's so crazy about outward show of affection. "That may be one of the reasons, yes." I lean into him, breathing in the scent of his musky perfume. I feel the pull of the movement as he carries me.

"Hmm! And what could the other reasons be?" He gently puts me down inside the passenger seat and buckles me in.

"It's your heart that I'm most in awe of." I place my hand against his chest, feeling as his heart picks up feverishly at my touch. "And your personality is quite amazing, also." I finish, smiling shyly at him.

A troubled look flits across his face which is so close to mine. It's gone in a flash, making me wonder if I dreamed it up. "You give me too much credit, princess. But thank you for loving me so much." He cups my face with his palms and I can feel their rough texture, a definite testament to his growing up. "So. . . I was thinking we could drive straight to Eko Atlantic City so you can see the land Dipo and I bought, and then we can have a picnic there. I've got all sorts of drinks and food of all kinds in the car," he shrugs. "We can make it a full day and if we get bored, we could wander off somewhere else, hmm. What do you think?"

"Sounds like a plan." I smile, nodding into his palms that are still clasped around my face. Satisfied, he gifts me with a slight peck on my lips and moves away.

The ride is fraught with stolen glances and tingly feelings. Every time Aurey changes the gear, his hand slides against mine, making sparks shoot straight up my hand, ricocheting straight to my spine, before pooling in my abdomen --- there it takes root, as mammoth - sized butterflies begin to swim around.

I think he feels it too, because everytime this happens, he slides a look my way, one filled with promises of love, desire, need and so much more emotions rolled into one.

"If you keep staring at me, I'll be forced to stop this car and do something we'll both find extremely pleasurable, but embarrassing for you, princess." He states, with his face staring straight ahead.

I whip my face away from him, mortified I'd been unknowingly staring at him so intently.

Seizing the moment, I decide to brave the question. "Don't you like it when I look at you?" I angle my body towards him in anticipation of his reply.

"You'd best believe it when I say I want not just your stares, but your whole body on mine as well." This time he gifts me with a look, as his eyes graze my face heatedly, dropping briefly to skim the length of my body, before lifting it back up to my face. He swings his attention back to the road once more after a brief perusal of my face.

That shuts me up temporarily, as I'm only able to anticipate when his hands would be all over me again. Whew!

The scenery quickly changes from sturdy - looking houses and bungalows, to the large churning body of ocean water, as we cross the third mainland bridge.

I notice Aurey gripping the steering with his two hands, as opposed to his left hand he had initially used, before we got to the bridge. His jaw is tightly clenched and he's begun to gnash his teeth.

Perplexed, I try to say something, but I'm equally gripped by a strange shock as I keep staring at him struggling to keep a reign on his emotions. This goes on for several minutes, with me debating on what to do.

The only thing that springs to my mouth is a squeak --- a tiny one that makes me sound like a rat.

So, not wanting to look weak, but knowing the damsel in distress act always works, I scrunch up my face and let out a high pitched wail that could either land us at the depths of the ocean, or take him out of his self - induced shock.

He swings wild eyes at me that are threatening to pop out at any moment. Unfortunately for us, he stares at me for much longer than is necessary. By the time he swivels his head back to the road, he struggles to maintain a hold on the steering. This causes the car to swerve wildly to the left, almost hitting another car. Thankfully at the last moment, the driver of the other car preempts this and swerves to the right to avoid a collision. Luckily for all of us occupants, there are no other cars in the way, and that is how Aureliano screeches to a crescending stop at the foot of the bridge.

"Are you okay, princess?" He unlatches his seat belt, throws opens the car door and rushes to my side where I'm still sitting, dazed from what almost happened.

I should not have screamed.

"Answer me! Are you okay? Why aren't you saying something?" His hands roughly make a sweep of my body, skimming my chest and my ribs and then moving down to my hips, checking for injuries. He unbuckles the seat belt holding me and clutches me tightly to him. "I was so scared when you screamed. Please talk to me, tell me you're okay."

He pulls back a bit to look at me and I can't stand to see the abject look of worry in his eyes. "I . . . I'm sorry, I just wanted to get you out of the emotional turmoil you seemed to be in earlier on, and I didn't quite know what, nor how to go about it." I finish, looking down at my jean shorts, bracing myself for the burst of anger I know will follow my stupid, little speech.

A round of laughter gets me lifting my head up. Aureliano''s head is thrown back in the throes of mirthful glee. His adams apple bobs up and down and I notice some overgrown stubble on his jaw. He brings his face back to my line of vision and there's a twinkle in his eyes as he takes my face in between his rough palms. "Princess, baby." He shakes his head slowly from right to left. "You're so damn considerate, wanting to get me out of the mood I was in." He sighs as he continues speaking. "Well if you must know, I'm freaking scared of large body of water, but before you ask me, yes, I can swim -- very well, if I might add, but, crossing this bridge always sets me on edge, you know."

I file that one important piece of information in a corner of my brain and nod into his palms that are still cradling my face. I'm eager to know more about him, but all in good time.

"But you don't need to worry much, I won't allow us go to a watery grave." His laughter echoes upon seeing the incredulous look on my face as he buckles me back up and retreats to his own side of the car to begin driving once more.

Not long after, we arrive at Victoria Island, where the houses look more modern and beautiful. Aurey keeps driving on, until the houses become less and less and trees become more prevalent. Soon enough, I begin to spot white sand dotted here and there on the ground.

We get onto a narrow road and then I see it --- a large expanse of spacious sandy area as far as the eyes can see. The sun stands proudly in the sky, bathing everything in it's wake with orange and white hues of colour.

Aurey points and waves his hand expansively this way and that way, claiming it all belongs to him and Dipo, with equal share and equal payouts too.

He comes to an abrupt stop on the edge and we both get down as he excitedly begins talking about the genesis of Eko Atlantic Ocean city. "It's an initiative of the Lagos State government, carved out from the Atlantic ocean in order to create a totally different city altogether, and I think --- no, I definitely know we're up to something good here."

His excitement seeps into me and I begin to envisage it all through his eyes as his hands swirls around, creating an imaginary world of sparkle and colour, filled with beautiful high rise buildings, state of the art super malls and restaurants so large and daunting, yet welcoming, that they would open their arms wide to all and sundry.

"Do you see it, baby?" He turns to me and draws me close. "We could build a dynasty here, you and I."

A thunderous clap rings out in answer to his statement. I look up to the sky, shielding my eyes from the sun that's streaming down relentlessly.

That's odd. Where did the clap of thunder come from? The sun is still shining mercilessly down on it's earthly inhabitants.

I look into the far distance to see a mist, a fog, swirling around, looming close. From it, something materialises, like a ghoul --- a fiendish - looking ghoul, complete with hollow eyes and a spooky hat.

I lift shaky fingers to my lips and move closer to Aureliano. His brows furrow as he gazes at the apparition quickly gaining ground as it comes closer. His hands come around my shoulders and hold me tighter to him.

We both stare as this thing, apparition, ghost, or fiend --- now turning into something closely resembling a human, as it gets closer.

"Dipo?!" Aureliano gasps from beside me.

I squint at the form that's quite close enough now for me to decipher that it is indeed a human being.

Sure enough, he looks like Aureliano's friend, but he doesn't seem happy to see us. Matter of fact, he's frowning so heavily, I don't think he's too thrilled to see us.

He comes to stand not far from us, like an avenging angel that he's not, but more like an angry medium - sized young man that he is.

"If it isn't the love birds . . ." He claps his two hands together, the sound reminiscent of the thunderclap I heard few seconds ago.

Aureliano stiffens beside me, gently pushing me behind him, as he addresses Dipo in a voice I've never heard on him before. "You leave her out of this. She's an innocent bystander, no need to drag her into . . ." Realising he's said too much, he clamps up and stares venemously at his friend.

"Now now now, you and I know that's not possible. She's going to be Stacy's new mother, right? That is if you don't kick her to the curb and try to stick it into some other poor unsuspecting girl's . . . well you know what." He shrugs and cackles gleefully, as if what he said was the most hilarious thing ever.

Something doesn't seem right.

Something feels off.

What does he mean by I will become Stacy's new mother?

And who the heck is Stacy??

The name sounds vaguely familiar to me, yet I'm not able to put the dots together to form the full picture.

From my position behind him, Aureliano''s muscles bunch as he lifts an arm towards Dipo, as if to slap him, but Dipo deftly moves back tutting loudly with a smirk on his face. "I wouldn't try that if I were you. How do you think Stacy would feel, seeing her real father behaving in such a babaric manner?"

From behind him, a little girl materialises suddenly, staring forlornly at the ground. She's wearing a dress that looks like it was hurriedly worn. The threading clearly shows its being worn inside out. My eyes flit back up to her face, and I mentally will her to raise her head up. As if by mental telepathy, she lifts her head up slowly, and gazes directly at me.

An electric shock, quite like live wire jolts through me, leaving me weak with a sick feeling in my stomach. Sea green eyes that are filled with a woe - begotten expression stare back at me. Her blooming rose bud lips are trembling with an unknown emotion. Suddenly, a tear escapes an eye lid and slides down her cheek. I watch, mesmerized as it makes its descent.

I take a step towards her, what for, I don't know, but what I'm sure about is I don't want to see her cry. I want to cradle her in my arms and make whatever pain she's feeling go away.

I shuffle forward once again, but I'm stopped when Aureliano clamps a hand on my forearm. With a shake of his head, he grits out through his teeth, tersely. "No!"

Torn between the decision of going to the young girl to comfort her and obeying Aureliano, I watch, still mesmerised as the sadness lifts from her face, morphing into anger.

She furiously wipes at the lone tear that's dissapeared somewhere into the crevice of her dress and bunches her fists. Several emotions flit across her face, many I can't put a name to, except one I've seen on the face of the man I'm currently standing beside.

Then it clicks.

"You're her father." It comes out more as a statement, than a question, as I turn to face Aureliano, my suspicions confirmed when he's not able to meet my eyes. He throws murderous eyes at Dipo instead, bunching his fists, quite like the same way the little girl in front of us is also bunching her's.

I take two steps back from him, as his hand falls away from my arm going to hang limply at his side.

"Jackpot!" Dipo thunders, clapping once more. "You hit the nail on the head."

All I'm able to do is gape at him as I try to wrap my head around the fact that my new - found boyfriend of just one week, is a father to a grown up girl who looks to be seven years, the worst of it being that I'm not her mother.

That leaves only one thing that's certain on my mind.

Trouble is blooming.

Turning to Aureliano, Dipo puts a hand on his chin in meditative thought. "I do hope she's not going to have her grandfather's traits, though."

Aureliano eyes reduce to the size of slits. "Speak one more word and I'll show you who's boss of the fists, right here, right now." He takes two threatening steps towards him, but this time Dipo stands his ground.

"See, that's what I was afraid of." He shakes his head dissapointingly. "How can Stacy belong to a family of manipulators, cutthroats, and boxers." He pantomimes throwing punches into the air as his feet dance back and forth, swirling the sand beneath them.

A giggle escapes Stacy's lips as she watches her father --- well, former father, shuffle excitedly on his feet.

"What are you talking about?" Aureliano grits out tersely. I can feel the anger radiating off him in leaps and bounds now. I know he's barely holding it in by the length of a small thread. Any wrong statement from Dipo and he could snap. I've seen him in action on two different occasions and it was definitely not pretty.

Unfortunately I'm not able to do a damn thing about it, because I frankly don't know what on earth is going on. I'm curious for Dipo to reveal it all, seeing Aurey is reluctant in doing so.

Dipo turns away from us with a chuckle, and begins to walk away, but as if struck by an after thought, he stops, and throws over his shoulder "Ask mama, she'll give you all the details of who your absentee father really is." And with one last meaningful look thrown at Aureliano, he turns back, taking Stacy firmly by the hand, and they both dissapear back into the fog from which they came from, like two evil fiends, leaving a whole lot of questions in their wake.

I turn curious eyes to Aureliano, but he's already striding towards his car.

Now that's not right . . . he's got some serious explaining to do.