“No!” I screamed, pulling Ayoola even closer to me. My father was not around and, though I knew I would pay for my obstinacy later, later was a while away. His absence now gave me courage, and the promise of his return made me determined.
“Your father will hear of this,” Aunty Taiwo threatened. But I couldn’t have cared less. I had already begun to develop plans in my head for Ayoola’s and my escape. Ayoola held on to me tighter, even as I promised I would not let her go.
“Please,” Mother moaned from one of the corners in the room. “She is too young.”
“She should not have been flirting with her father’s guest, then.”
My mouth dropped open in disbelief. What lies had my father been telling? And why did he insist that Ayoola go to meet the chief man in his home, alone? I must have uttered the question out loud because Aunty Taiwo replied, “She will not be alone; I will be there.” As though that were any kind of reassurance. “Ayoola, it is important that you do this for your father,” she said in a wheedling voice. “This business opportunity is very critical. He will buy you whatever phone you want, when he gets the contract. Isn’t that exciting?!”
“Don’t make me go,” Ayoola cried.
“You are not going anywhere,” I told her.
“Ayoola,” Aunty Taiwo coaxed, “you are not a child anymore. You have started menstruating. Many girls would be excited about this. This man will give you anything you want. Anything.”
“Anything?” Ayoola asked between sniffs. I slapped her to bring her back to her senses. But I understood. Half of her fear was because I was afraid. She did not really know what they were demanding from her. Granted, she was fourteen, but fourteen then was younger than fourteen now.
This was my father’s last gift to us. This arrangement he had made with another man. But he had also passed on his strength to me, and I decided he was not getting his way, not this time. Ayoola was my responsibility and mine alone.
I grabbed the cane from its pedestal and waved it before me. “Aunty, if you come near us, I will beat you with this cane and I will not stop until he comes home.”
She was about to call my bluff. She was taller than I, heavier than I—but she looked into my eyes and took a few steps backward. Emboldened, I took a swipe at her. She retreated farther. I let go of Ayoola and chased Aunty Taiwo out of the house, brandishing the cane. When I returned, Ayoola was shaking.
“He will kill us,” she sobbed.
“Not if we kill him first.”
TRUTH
“Dr. Otumu states that he acted in self-defense and that you can verify this. He says, and I quote: ‘She warned me that Ayoola had killed before.’ Ms. Abebe, has your sister killed before?”
“No.”
“What did you mean when you told him that your sister had killed before?” My interviewers are well spoken and well educated. But this comes as no real surprise. Tade is a talented doctor at a prestigious hospital, Ayoola a beautiful woman from a “good” background. The case screams “high profile.” My hands are resting one atop the other on my lap. I would have preferred to place them on the table, but the table is grimy. There is a faint smile on my lips because I am humoring them and they should know that I am humoring them—but it is not enough of a smile to suggest that I find the circumstances at all humorous. My mind is clear.
“A man died of food poisoning on a trip with my sister. I was angry that she went with him, because he was married. I believed their actions led to his death.”
“What of her ex-boyfriend?”
“Tade?”
“Femi; the one who went missing.”
I lean forward; my eyes light up. “Has he come back? Has he said something?”
“No.”
I frown, lean back and lower my eyes. If I could, I would squeeze out a tear, but I have never been able to cry on cue.
“So why do you think she has anything to do with that?”
“We suspect that—”
“A hundred suspicions don’t make proof. She is five-two. What the hell do you think she did with him, if she hurt him?” My lips are firm, my eyes disbelieving. I shake my head slightly for good measure.
“So you believe she may have hurt him?”
“No. My sister is the sweetest person you’ll ever meet. Have you met her?” They shift uncomfortably. They have met her. They have looked into her eyes and fantasized about her. They are all the same.
“What do you think happened that day?”
“All I know is that he stabbed her, and that she was unarmed.”
“He said she brought the knife with her.”
“Why would she do that? How could she know he would attack her?”
“The knife is missing. Nurse Chichi states that she logged it in after it was removed during surgery. You would have known where it was kept.”
“All the nurses know…and all the doctors.”
“How long have you known Dr. Otumu?”
“Not very long.”
“Have you known him to be violent?” When I was picking my outfit, I chose a light gray skirt suit. It is solemn, feminine, and a subtle reminder that the police and I are not from the same social class.
“No.”
“So you admit that this is out of character for him…”
“I believe I just said I’ve not known him very long.”
GONE
Muhtar has gone home to begin his life anew. Room 313 is empty. I sit there anyway, in the spot I usually sat when Muhtar was still in the realm between life and death. I picture him on the bed and I feel an intense sense of loss, more so than the one I feel for Tade, who is also gone.
They had his license revoked, and he has to spend a few months in jail for assault. It could have been much worse, but many attested to the fact that he was kind and had never displayed a whit of violence. Still, there was no denying the fact that he stabbed Ayoola. And for that, society demanded that he pay.
I haven’t seen him since the day it happened. He was placed on suspension as soon as she accused him, so I don’t know what he is thinking or feeling. But I don’t much care. She was right. You have to choose a side, and my lot was cast long ago. She will always have me and I will always have her; no one else matters.
Muhtar gave me his number. He wrote it on a piece of paper that I put in the pocket of my uniform.
I still toy with the idea of telling Ayoola that there is someone out there, free and unconstrained, who knows her secret. That at any point, the things we’ve done could become public record. But I don’t think I will.