FRAILTY 2

CLICK HERE FOR FIRST PART

As reggae music played in the background, the waiters bustled around but somehow managed to blend with the décor in their Dashiki’s and shorts, male and female.

Azeez served them himself. He served them first with fruit juice and “holy herb” he sat with them and led them through a prayer which he asked then to repeat after him. They were really supposed to say it in unison but it worked better this way, since they didn’t know it. “Glory be to the fathers and to the maker of creation as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end. Jah Rastafari: Eternal God Selassie I (To appreciate this benediction one must hear it spoken. The “I” in Rastafari, rhymes with the “I” in Selassie). He took several strong pulls of smoke and deeply inhaled then passed the spliff on to  Tayo on his right, Tayo did the same then passed it to Zauditu, who passed it to Laky who passed it to Taofeek, who passed it to Azeez until the end. The guys then lit up individual joints and they chatted as thy smoked. The girls giggled a lot.

Tayo had once fancied himself a Rastafarian. He fancied himself later in life a dread locked doctor, so cool all the chicks just wanted to get with him. His extensive research had dissuaded him of this funky fantasy though. He discovered that the movement was not just about the revelatory dimensions brought about by the impact of the “holy herb”, but that they also have strict lifestyles. Ah well, the grass alone was good enough.

This high was special though, the atmosphere contributed greatly to the surrealism of the moment. Even though he was aware that the signet was a tourist trap, his home, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja Lagos was another life time away. He wanted to put this moment on pause forever. Turning to Zauditu he felt her electricity but the smoke had upped the voltage of her power. The weed traveled its mysterious path, and hit the stomach. Azeez was a guru at the groove. The signet served a weird eclectic selection of intercontinental fast food. They all settled for burgers and fries. Fresh glasses of juice were served with the grub. The ladies forgot their esteemed, status and joined the men folk in wolfing down the food in spliff induced ravenousness. Meal done, they listened to music a while before saying their goodbyes to Azeez and piled into their ride.

The sound of the phone ringing at nine the next morning dragged him out of deep slumber. Fumbling without his glasses for the phone, his hands touched warm flesh and he smiled as the night before flooded his memory. Tayo was in love. He couldn’t let Zauditu out of his sight. She never said much, just giggled and gave in the numerous times he wanted to. He lost his virginity in style, watching all that porn had paid off. There were no more tourist trips round Addis, they barely came up for air.

Friday morning of Tayo’s seventh day in Addis Ababa, Zauditu had tears in her eyes as she watched him cross the immigration point. He turned and took a last look at her. Taofeek and Laky waited patiently for him. She was surrounded by customers but she stared at him. She was a coffee girl at the departure hall of the Bole International airport (Addis Ababa). Garbed seductively in a black and gold Ethiopian national costume; she twinkled with gold and her smile. Male tourists crowded around her, for a five dollar cup of coffee.

On the flight to Dubai, Laky was especially sweet to Tayo. She sat in between the two guys on a centre aisle seat. They mostly talked about Zauditu, she’d had to stay back because her sister just had a baby and it was her duty to be with her. Laky promised to try to get her over within the two weeks he was around for.

They drove straight to Al baraha in Deira district, a nice clean area where foreigners lived. There Taofeek had a cute, two bedroom apartment. Tayo sank on the bed in gloom as he took in the atmosphere of Taofeek’s place. He missed Zauditu. He’d only known her for a week yet it felt like forever and so right too. He enjoyed his stay in Dubai tremendously. The only dark cloud in his sky, being Zauditu’s absence. Talking to her on the phone wasn’t much good; it only increased the ache in his heart. She said next to nothing, but in that, she told him how much she missed him. Taofeek tried to introduce him to several beautiful girls of different nationalities. Tayo wasn’t interested, he yearned only for Zauditu. Taofeek couldn’t understand it and felt put out that Tayo kept turning down his offer of female companionship. He got into fights with Laky over it. She saw it as a reflection of his attitude when they weren’t together.  

Dubai is beautiful and Toafeek tried really hard to ensure that his friend had a nice time. Tayo was! Infact, he was having a ball. He just missed Zauditu. Was it possible? He thought, could he have fallen in love in a week? When he called her she didn’t say much as usual, just giggled delightedly and delightfully. Laky understood. She took out time to be with him and urged him to ignore Taofeek’s attempts at giving him “a good time”.

One Saturday a week into his stay, Laky had to go to Ethiopia. He wished he could go with her. He went with Taofeek to Sharjah (the next emirate from Dubai)instead and they had a nice time. He met Stephanie, a calabar girl whose parents lived in Dubai. He had sex with her. Taofeek was proud of him. He bragged about it to Laky on their way back from the airport to pick her up as Stephanie was quite impressed. She caught Tayo’s eyes from the side view mirror and eyed him. She dug into her bag and withdrew an envelope which she flung angrily at him. Tayo read Zauditu’s letter, her words tugged at his heart strings but he rationalized that it wouldn’t work anyway with him all the way in Nigeria and she in Ethiopia. He might as well do what any youngman his age would do. So why was Laky taking it so personal? He glanced again at the side mirrors and caught Laky scowling at him. Did he see tears in her eyes? She was cold to him for days after.

One morning he woke to find just Laky in the house. He enquired after Taofeek and was woodenly informed that he had to go and cargo his mums goods to Nigeria. He returned to his room to smoke a joint. Just as his brain turned to cotton wool, Laky walked in. He looked her over in appreciation. Laky was a very attractive girl very athletic and pretty. She wasn’t your typical Ethiopian girl but she maintained the exoticness in looks of the Ethiopian women. She sat beside him on the bed and stretched out her left hand, fingers bent save for fore and index fingers stretched out in smokers language “pass the joint”. He passed it to her and watched her braless chest heave as she dragged, inhaled and sucked for the hit. She let out the smoke and turned to Tayo. “She probably wants some of me too”. He thought. He’d started seeing himself as a stud. The two women he’d been with, had been very complimentary in their responses. He reached out and cupped her cheeks. “What’s wrong? We used to be such good friends”. He asked softly. She looked down, then up at him again. “I know I shouldn’t but I was disappointed, I thought you were different, you know deeper”. He smiled as he watched the smoke stream from out of her mouth as she exhaled. “Why is it important to you that I’m different? He asked as he reached for the smoke and inhaled, watching her as he played with her fingers. Grass always made him feel stronger than he really was. He was the total opposite without this “holy weed”. She glanced up at Tayo, then down, again silently. Tayo’s heartbeat sped up as his body responded to the softness of her touch. Marijuana induces an alteration of sensory perception including a more vivid sense of touch, sight, smell, taste, and sound. It would therefore be correct to say that it heightens the pleasures of sexual encounters. He laid the dope in the ashtray and pulled her to him. She willingly melted into his arms.

Fifteen minutes, later, they were both lost in passion; Laky begged and Tayo pleasured and didn’t see Taofeek open the door and reel in shock. They heard him though, when he spluttered and gasped. They froze, caught in the act and stared at Taofeek. It played like a slow motion movie scene. Taofeeks eyes popped wide, his left hand garbed at his throat desperately; his right hand splayed out and a half eaten apple dropped to the floor. Suddenly the scene normalized and real time pacing commenced as it dawned on them that Taofeek was choking. He’d come in eating an apple and had been about to speak when he sighted them. The apple went down the wrong way. Tayo jumped off Laky and the bed. Forgetting his nudity, he paused only to pick up his glasses. H e rushed to his friend and gave him a sub diaphragmatic abdominal thrust (Heimlich maneuver). The force pushed out the piece of apple. Tears stream down Taofeek eyes as he groped for a seat to steady himself. He took a few deep breaths and turned to Tayo who was hurriedly pulling on his jeans, then to Laky who’d quickly slipped into her clothes. He stared at them silently then broke down in tears.

The second Ethiopian Airline flight was leaving Dubai at Nine thirty to Addis Ababa. Four hours transit at Addis Ababa then on to Lagos to land in Nigeria at seven thirty am. Tayo was on that flight. Courtesy of an agent he’d become friendly with, he’d been able to secure a booking for the day after. Taofeek had cried bitterly, Tayo had just stood looking at him, feeling the weight of the horns on his head. Laky knelt before Taofeek and pleaded, blaming the weed. He shook his head at her and managed to whisper, “it’s not about you” then he looked long and hard at Tayo, sorrow spilling from his eyes. Tayo’s brain gave a lot at suggestions but his body had a mind of its own. It remained frozen. Taofeek retreated to his room. Laky left the house to be seen no more by Tayo. An hour later, he’d returned from Diera palace, hotel, where he’d gone to see the agent, with his ticket. He only waited another thirty minutes before the call from the agent came through. He was confirmed for the next morning’s flight. Taofeeks Said boulevard apartment was cold and sad that night. Both guys smoked a lot of weed but while Tayo kept banging on Taofeeks door and pleading with him to open the door, Taofeek remained adamantly silent. Only the strains of Bob Marley from the CD player and the smell of weed indicated his presence in the room.

Tayo jerked awake as a pretty stewardess tapped him awake to straighten up his seat and put his seat belt on. They were landing in Addis Ababa. As he passed immigrations and walked towards the duty free shops, his heart dropped. He’d spied Zauditu at her duty post as coffee girl. She was surrounded by a throng of male tourists and a few females. The men all sat sipping coffee. Some, just looking stupidly at her, some just smiling and the bolder ones, trying to chat her up. He regained himself and passed quickly, adjusting his glasses as he went by. He browsed all the shops, killing time and avoiding Zauditu’s zone. Taofeek hadn’t let him spend his own money and as such, he had quite a bit of cash. He shopped unreservedly for his sisters. He normally would have, but this time his fervency was born of guilt. He felt he’d deserted them, by making this trip. He shopped some more. He felt like a total disappointment. The four hours passed quickly and his flight was announced. As he hurried away from the shops, he sighted Zauditu. She was laughing with a customer and suddenly looked up as though by divine command. Her smile froze and melted to despair. Tayo turned away from her and walked on. “Let Laky do the explaining” he thought but his heart cried rivers at the goof that his holiday had turned out to be.

 Days later, back home in Nigeria, he couldn’t shake off the blues. He smoked more. Back home again with the immensely weighty issues of home and the weighty issues of his mess, the marijuana made his burden lighter. He spent less time with his sisters. He just spent his time reading from his Rasta literature to his notes and handouts. He smoked more and more weed. Every time he felt the pressure of his life, he smoked. The sense of well being induced by this substance was matchless. He often wondered what the high of coke or heroin would be like.  He didn’t think he’d like it though. He preferred to able to “control” his high.

One evening he was strolling home from smoking when he bumped into Timi in a dark corner with a boy. They were just talking and laughing but something about Timi’s posture seemed to speak volumes. He walked straight to her and asked her to follow him inside. She objected, embarrassed by her brother’s behavior. He grabbed her left wrist and dragged her through the gate. She was ranting and raving as he dragged her into the house before he let go of her wrist. They got into a heated argument and he raved at her that at fifteen she had no business standing in a dark corner with a boy. She in turn raved at him that at seventeen he had no business smoking “Igbó”. Just then the sound of coughing drew their attention to their father who’d been standing silently by the kitchen door watching the scene. The thunder on his face frightened them and Oyinda who’d just descended the stairs burst into tears. Dr Omotayo looked at his wristwatch and catching both Tayo and Timi in an angry look, he promised to see them later, and walked out of the house, fury in his stride.

Saturday morning’s were not very pleasant, at least on Sundays everyone just slept and kept pretty much to themselves,. But Saturdays, were another matter altogether. In their muddled up existence, the Omotayo’s pretended that Saturday was family day. His mother would wake up bright and early to subject her family to breakfast together. They would all sit together at the table and force normalcy.

One of his parents would likely say something upsetting to the other who would probably retreat up stairs. An hour after breakfast, one of them would come down stairs and “be with the kids”. After barely an hour, the other would descend the stair’s “to be with the children” while the other goes out. An hour later, the other goes out finally ending the family day. By this time it’d be about one thirty pm and Tayo would be itching for a smoke.