Hidden Currents (Lagos Romance Series) (14 page)

“Hello Eddie.” She whispered.

He smiled at her, a small smile, and then
he turned away towards the podium.

That was it! Just ‘Hello’? Ada couldn’t
believe it. Wasn’t he going to say anything else to her? She trained her eyes
on the podium too, uncomfortably aware of him, so close and yet so far away.

From the corner of her eye, she stole
glances at him, but he never turned towards her. It was excruciating. Everybody
else seemed to be enjoying themselves but she couldn’t hear anything. How could
he sit so silently beside her, as if she was a stranger? And not just any
stranger, but one he had no interest in whatsoever. Talk to me, she thought
desperately, please talk to me.

Nobody else at the table noticed her state
of distress. They were too engrossed in the program, clapping as the
nominations were called, laughing when someone said another joke. She wondered
if she could take it. Maybe she should just go home.

Soon it was time for their category. Ada
saw Eddie lean forward as they waited to hear the winner. It was Living Lagos.
The audience erupted into applause and they all got up. Sophie and Michael were
hugging as well as Fadeke, Clive, and Oliver, Ada stood awkwardly next to
Eddie, but he didn’t make any move to hug her. With the exception of Michael,
Eddie and Oliver’s date, they were all going to the podium to accept the award.
As Ada turned to leave the table, she stumbled. Whether it was the proximity to
him that had made her awkward, she couldn’t really say. He caught her
immediately, with both hands around her waist to steady her. His grip was
strong and yet gentle, it sent such a surge of desire through her that she was
afraid she would collapse. Her heart was beating so loudly she was sure he
could hear it. When he was certain that she was steady, he let go of her. He
didn’t say anything.

Living Lagos didn’t win the award for best
use of new media, but Sophie won the award for young person of the year beating
some musicians and actors. She looked ecstatic as she gave her acceptance
speech, thanking everybody from Michael to her parents, to Eddie and all the
staff.

As Sophie returned to the table, Eddie got
up and gave her a congratulatory handshake. He said something to her and
Michael, and Ada watched them nod with both understanding and regret. She
watched him straighten and wave a goodbye around the table, everybody waved
back. Why was he leaving? Where was he going? Did he have a date? Was there
some woman he was going to meet? The questions were driving her crazy.

He looked straight at her before he turned
to leave. Ada blinked in shock at the intensity of his stare. She looked away
quickly, afraid that he would see the dismay on her face. By the time she
looked up again, he had gone, leaving her with a sense of dissatisfaction,
confusion and unhappiness with the way the evening had gone.

Late afternoon the next day, Ada walked
into the spacious lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in Ikeja. Truth be told she
didn’t want to be there at all, she would have preferred to be alone at her
apartment, moping about Eddie, or out in the uncrowded Sunday Lagos, taking
some pictures.

But Zubi had insisted. Their father was in
town, and had asked to see them, and even though she wasn’t interested in
going, her brother had somehow convinced her to come along with him.

There was a knot of tension in her stomach
as she followed the direction of the front desk to the restaurant, so strong
that she was unable to appreciate the beauty around her. The gleaming marble
floors, paneled walls and ceilings, were all ignored.

Her memories of her father were not
pleasant. She had seen him about three times a year while growing up, when he
came to spend an afternoon at granny’s to look at their report cards and
invariably disapprove of everything about them. She had been sure, then, that
he wished they were dead, and not alive to trouble him and take him away from
his new family. She still thought so sometimes, but the thought no longer made
her cry.

She saw Zubi almost as soon as she entered
the restaurant. He was sitting at one of the tables for four, secluded but with
a good view of the door. The other man at the table had his side towards her,
not paying any attention to the entrance, but as Zubi rose from his seat, he
looked up at her.

It was like looking into a mirror.
Sometimes it still puzzled her, how she could look so much like a man who
couldn’t stand the sight of her. He regarded her coolly for a few moments and
then turned back to the table.

Ada walked forward, willing herself not to
be afraid of him. She was no longer a child in need of his love and approval,
she reminded herself. She reached the table, and hugged Zubi in greeting before
he pulled out a chair for her.

Her father still hadn’t said a word to her.
She allowed herself to look at him. He didn’t look his age, money could do
that, she thought almost resentfully. He was a distinguished looking man, she
conceded. He was tall, the same height as Zubi, and for his age, quite lean.
She watched as he glanced at his expensive Swiss watch, Ada almost let out a
sigh.

“Good evening.” She said to him.

“Good evening.” He replied. His cool eyes
regarded her again for a while, she knew he was finding fault, she almost
flinched, but decided to square her shoulders instead.

There were other people at the restaurant.
Some foreigners, British by their accents, were having an early dinner nearby.
On another table, a large one, a group of people were ordering wine amidst a
lot of conversation. Ada took them all in, as her father watched her.

Zubi tried to break the uncomfortable
silence. “I was just telling Dad about your promotion.” He said. He didn’t dare
say “your father’’ as he usually did, in the presence of the man in question.

Ada sighed. This was just what she needed,
another disparaging discussion about her ‘nonexistent’ career.

Her father made a dismissive sound. “It
seems you have decided that all you want for yourself is to be a
‘photographer’. He said it as if it was a dirty word, like prostitute or worse.

Ada didn’t reply. Too many conversations
with her father had taught her the art of the stubborn silence.

A waiter brought a bottle of wine, and
poured three glasses as they all sat there, silent and uncomfortable.

“We should order.” Zubi said, again trying
to break the silence.

Their father shrugged.

Zubi signaled a waiter. The silence
stretched again after they ordered. Ada looked around. More people had joined
the large table. They were all hugging each other and laughing, some sort of reunion
then. She decided. She wished she were one of them, anywhere else would be
better than sitting at this table with her father.

“So what are you doing in Lagos?” She asked
him. He lived in Port Harcourt with his new family, and seldom came to Lagos.

“Family business.” His wife’s family then,
Ada concluded. It was definitely not theirs.

“How is your wife?” Ada asked him, out of
courtesy. Her stepmother was almost a complete stranger to her.

“She is upstairs, resting.” Her father
replied. Ada snorted. Apparently, her stepchildren were not important enough to
warrant her leaving her hotel room on a Sunday evening.

He caught her snort. “I invited your
brother here because I wanted to talk to him about the direction of his
career.” He said pointedly.

Not she then, Ada realized. She hadn’t been
invited. She turned to glare at Zubi. He was frowning at his glass of wine,
unable to meet her eyes. Had he thought he could make this some sort of happy
family reunion?

The food arrived. Ada watched silently as the
waiter set plate after plate on the table. She had no appetite. All she wanted
to do was leave. She wondered where Eddie was. She doubted he was stuck at an
unpleasant dinner. She busied herself with playing with her food as she watched
both her brother and her father eat.

“So your brother tells me you rented an
apartment.” Her father asked mid meal.

Ada nodded.

“Where did you get the money?” He asked.

“I work!” She couldn’t keep the
exasperation out of her voice.

He gave her a disparaging look. “As a photographer.”
He said disdainfully.

“Yes.” Ada said. “As a photographer,
graphic designer, and editor at a very good magazine.” She held his eyes. “It
is a job I like and it pays my bills.” She shrugged. “I don’t care what you
think about it.”

“Then why are you here?” He asked, she
could tell he was angry, even though his voice hadn’t risen. “Didn’t you come
to see if a promotion and a cheap car would make a difference in the way I feel
about what you do?” He shrugged. “Isn’t that why your brother had been going on
about your achievements?”

Ada’s temper rose, but she said nothing. If
Zubi was still trying to get their father’s approval after all these years,
well, she wasn’t.

“Isn’t that what you’re doing here?” Her
father asked again. “Because I still don’t approve, if you had any intellect,
if you weren’t so lazy, you would be doing something better with your time.”

Spoken by someone married to a woman who
had never worked a day in her life, Ada thought. “Maybe Mabel would come
downstairs and give me some pointers on how to have a successful career built
on intellect.” Ada challenged.

He glared at her for a moment, and then
smiled a small humorless smile. “Mabel was born with advantages people like you
can only dream about.” He said dismissively. “She never had to follow the same
rules as you.”

Ada saw red. “Of course not, rules like
‘leave other women’s husbands alone’ obviously never applied to her.”

“Ada!” Zubi cautioned. Ada ignored him. If
he had wanted to keep this civilized, he should never have invited her.

Her father was annoyed now. His look was
steely. “Don’t even get me started on that subject, you ungrateful girl.”

Ada sighed. “Now what am I supposed to be
grateful for? The school fees you paid, thank you! The years you were absent,
thank you! That you broke my mother’s heart after she gave you everything she
had so you could go marry some woman for her ‘advantages’! Thank you!” She
threw her napkin on the table and got up. She had had enough. “Talk about
Zubi’s career or whatever you came here for.” She said. “I am going home.”

She hurried towards the door feeling like
an errant teenager. It was impossible for her to be in the same room with her
father without getting upset. She was almost at the doors when they opened to
admit Eddie, the last person she expected to see.

She almost ran into him. His face
registered surprise as he realized it was her. Filled with an overwhelming urge
to rush into his arms or something equally stupid, she pushed past him into the
lobby.

He followed her.

“Ada!” He called, when she didn’t stop, he
reached out and caught her hand. “Are you all right?” He asked.

“I’m fine.” She took a deep breath. “I’m
fine.”

He nodded. Her hand was tingling where he
was holding it. She gave a little tug and he released it.

“Ada, are you okay?” This time it was Zubi,
he had followed her outside to the lobby.

Ada shrugged, exasperated. She was also a
little annoyed with her brother. “I’m fine.” She said again.

There was a short pause while Zubi and
Eddie measured each other up. She contemplated for a moment whether to keep
quiet and let it get very awkward.

“Zubi, this is Eddie Bakare.” She said
finally. “Eddie this is Zubi, my brother.”

They shook hands. “The Eddie Bakare?” Zubi
asked. “The one who started Living Lagos with Sophie Aliu?”

Ada and Eddie both nodded.

“I’ve heard about you.” Zubi said warmly.

“Don’t believe everything Ada tells you.”
Eddie replied smoothly, a smile on his face.

“Don’t worry, I know her too well for
that.” Zubi told him. They both laughed heartily.

Ada made a face, not too pleased that they
were amusing themselves at her expense. “You’re keeping ‘your father’ waiting,”
She told Zubi pointedly.

“Let him wait,” Zubi shrugged. “Are you all
right then?”

Ada sighed. “I said I’m fine.”

Zubi nodded. “She had a small argument with
our father,” He told Eddie. “I just wanted to make sure she didn’t mow anyone
down on the way out.”

They both laughed again before Zubi went
back into the restaurant. Traitor, Ada thought mutinously. The least he could
have done was storm out with her. That would have taught their father that he
couldn’t just push anybody around.

“So Chief Festus Arinze is your father?”
Eddie asked. He was looking through the glass doors into the restaurant. She
followed his gaze and saw that Zubi had returned to the table and resumed his
conversation with their father.

Ada looked up into his face, he was looking
at her, his face looked puzzled, but she could almost see the wheels turning in
his head. Was he remembering something someone had said? Something he had read
somewhere? His expression turned soft, with pity, she thought, or maybe
understanding. He knew. She frowned and turned away.