Hidden Currents (Lagos Romance Series) (15 page)

It was a good story, popular even, among a
certain type of people. The story of how a young engineer had met the youngest
daughter of the then serving minister of petroleum and left his wife and young
family to marry her. Her father’s career had been on the fast track since then,
and now as a big shot in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, he was a
prominent figure in the newspapers. His wife was beautiful too, one of those
socialites the gossip columns never got enough of, very few people knew
anything about his children from his previous marriage.

But of course Eddie would know, Ada
realized. Her father’s wife was one of his kinds of people. Someone in his
family was probably friends with her. She felt a bubble of resentment rise to
the surface. They were all the same, these privileged people, they always took
what they wanted, no matter who got hurt along the way.

“Are you alright?” He asked again, his
voice more tender than before.

She looked up into his eyes. No, it wasn’t
pity, or understanding that was there, it was concern. How could she never have
realized how much he cared about her? I am not fine, she wanted to say, I miss
you, I’m miserable, I am sorry, and I was foolish. But the words stuck in her
throat. Instead, she smiled at him. “I’m good, really.” She insisted.

“Ada…” He was going to say more. Ada
waited, her heart in her throat. All she needed was a little encouragement from
him and she would pour out all she was feeling.

“Eddie!”

The exclamation was spoken in a perfectly
pitched, perfectly accented, lilting voice. Ada stepped back as the perfumed
figure of a young woman glided past her straight into Eddie’s arms. She watched
in dismay as they hugged tightly. Her dismay intensified as the woman planted
two kisses on both of his cheeks, right on top of his dimples. She turned away,
feeling sick, and hurried towards the exits, away from them.

Ada had never worked as hard as she did in
the week that followed. It was the only way she could push the feelings of
helplessness, desperation and frustration that came with thoughts of Eddie, to the
back of her mind. He was all she thought about, she couldn’t eat or sleep, it
was only while she worked that she could forget, if only for a little while,
the sight of that woman in Eddie’s arms, kissing him.

It must have been hell for Clive as she drove
him like a slave master. She spent only a few hours in the office every day,
driving from one end of Lagos to another  for different projects - a two
page spread they were doing of a new hotel, a charity event, a comedy show, the
opening of an outdoor cinema- She was everywhere, she took pictures, wrote
content, and even interviewed people. When Sophie called her into her office
towards the end of the week, she didn’t know what to expect, she only hoped
Eddie wouldn’t come up in their conversation. She knew that Sophie must have
noticed that Eddie hadn’t spoken much to her at the awards. She hadn’t asked
why, but it was only a matter of time.

Sophie’s desk was a mess, she had been
dealing with so much more than usual and it showed. She looked tired but also
excited.

“Okay.” Sophie drew out the word as soon as
Ada walked in. “Sit, Sit, I want to ask you a question.” She eyed Ada
thoughtfully. “You look awful. Have you been sleeping?”

“Sometimes.” Ada forced a smile. “I’m not much
of a sleep person these days.”

Sophie frowned. “Maybe you should take some
days off.” She said. “But first, I have news you’ll like.” She paused. “The
Ministry of Arts and Culture is organizing an exhibition.” She said, her eyes
never leaving Ada’s face. “They have all these artists, sculptors, weavers, and
so on.”

Ada nodded. “And?”

“They want something more.” Sophie said.
“So my question is this. Would you like to exhibit your work? It’s a big deal.
A lot of people will be there.”

“Are you kidding?” Ada exclaimed. “Of
course! Need you ask? It’s a dream come true.”

“It is, right?” Sophie smiled. “I thought
you would say that.” She paused. “There’s a catch though.”

What catch? Ada’s roller coaster of
excitement ground to a halt. “What catch?” She asked.

Sophie seemed to be considering whether to
tell her. “This is what happened.” She said finally. “One of the organizers
called me and asked if I knew anyone with relevant work.”

“And you thought of me.” Ada nodded, then
frowned “But why would she call you.”

Sophie shrugged. “That’s the catch.” She
said.  “Apparently, she knows Eddie, the issue came up during a
conversation and he referred her to me.”

Ada sighed. How cleverly Sophie had roped
her in. If she had mentioned Eddie first, Ada would have been on the defensive.
So instead, she had dangled the opportunity in front of her.

“He knew I would recommend you.” Sophie was
saying, a cajoling note in her voice. “He obviously cares about your work.”

Yes, he did, Ada thought. Even she had to
accept that. And yet, she felt so guilty, that after everything she had said,
done, he would still think of her.

“I don’t know what to say.” Ada said
finally.

“Try thank you.” Sophie said. “Well you
would have to wait till he returns to the country. He’s in Angola, I think, some
oil thing.”

“Do you think he…?” Ada started, then
stopped and sighed. “I’m sure he’s very angry with me.” She said.

Sophie pursed her lips. “How angry can he
be?” She said with a shrug. “Listen, Eddie is a great guy, and a good person,
and he obviously likes you very much.” She smiled. “And I can see you have
feelings for him too. Just stop overthinking things. Stop vilifying him in your
mind and go for it.”

How exactly did a girl go for it? Ada
wondered, but she said nothing.

Sophie handed her a card. “Her name is Mrs.
Meg Aina, She is the head of the organizing committee, so she’s the one you
need to impress. Give her a call and arrange a meeting, I’m sure once she sees
your work it will be a done deal.”

And it was. Even though the woman had
sounded brisk during their short phone conversation, she was all friendliness
when Ada arrived for their meeting. Her eyes shone with delight as she studied
the pictures Ada had taken along, two large sized prints and a couple of small
ones. These are great! Mrs. Aina kept exclaiming as she studied picture after
picture. Ada couldn’t help feeling the spurt of pleasure all artists feel when
their work is sincerely admired, especially when some of the other members of
the committee came in and reacted in the same way.

She waited outside for a few moments while
the committee members had a small meeting to deliberate on her work. Based on
their reactions to seeing the pictures, she knew she should feel confident that
they would want to show her work, but she was still nervous and apprehensive.

Her apprehension disappeared as she
returned to the meeting room and saw all the members were smiling at her.
“Congratulations.” Mrs. Aina said, smiling broadly. “I hope you can do fifteen
prints by next week Wednesday?”

So little time! But what did that matter.
Ada nodded, smiling jubilantly. “Thank You!” She exclaimed. Thank you Eddie,
she added silently.

“Then we’ll include your name in the
program.” Mrs. Aina said, getting up to shake Ada’s hand. “Congratulations
again.”

There was so little time. Ada’s mind
churned with plans as she filled the necessary forms and submitted some of her
biographical information, before returning to the office to share the good
news.

The next few days were hectic. First Ada
had to go through a heartbreaking process of selecting fifteen pictures from
her huge collection. It was hard, especially since she thought all her work
deserved a shot. Then there was the printing process. Thankfully, she had
completed most of her tasks at the office for at least three weeks, and Clive
was tying up loose ends efficiently.

Every day she went home exhausted, but
happy and thankful for the huge opportunity she had been given. No matter how
tired she was, every night before she went to sleep, her mind always went back
to Eddie. She tried to call his number a couple of times, although she always
cut the connection as soon as the call was redirected to the number in Angola.
She wanted to talk to him, to thank him for recommending her even after all
that had happened, She wanted to hear his voice, to imagine his dimples as he
smiled at something she had said, but all it took to tie her stomach up in
knots was the sound of the phone ringing on his end.

Time sped by so quickly that soon it was
the day of the exhibition. When she had dropped off her work, she had been
given a pass and told that she didn’t need to arrive early, that the organizers
would take care of everything, but more than thirty minutes before the event
was supposed to start she was already at the car park of the MUSON center,
waiting. Even though she knew there would be other artists there to share the
attention, she couldn’t help the weight of fear in her stomach. What if nobody
liked her pictures? What if nobody bought them? She could hear the mocking words
her father would say already echoing in her mind.

As she waited in the car park, she noticed
the significant number of mobile policemen around. That could only mean that
there were going to be lots of important people. She said a quick prayer in her
mind.

Her phone rang, it was Sophie. “Are you
ready for your triumph?” She asked without preamble.

“I don’t think so.” Ada replied.

“Don’t worry.” Sophie said encouragingly.
“It will be fine. Where are you?”

“I’m already there.” Ada told her.

“Early bird.” She could hear the smile in
Sophie’s voice. “All of us from Living Lagos will be there to bask in your
success, Michael is coming too, and I invited Eddie as well.”

Ada heart started to thump. “So he is
back?”

“Yes.” Sophie replied. “He arrived
yesterday. We spoke while he was gone, you know, he’s really glad your work is
going to be shown tonight.”

“Do you think he will come?” Ada asked.

“Do you want him to come?”

More than anything. “Yes.” Ada whispered.

“Then keep your fingers crossed, darling.”
Sophie laughed. “Don’t fret. I don’t think he will miss it for the world.”

He didn’t come.

Everybody was there except him. Zubi was
there with his wife, Sophie with her husband, everybody from Living Lagos, but
not him, where was he?

She pictured him somewhere having a good
time with the woman from at Sheraton. It was torture, but she couldn’t help it.
Maybe he was having such a good time, he forgot about the exhibition. Maybe he
had remembered and dismissed it, after all why would he come? For her? She
didn’t even deserve it.

While she fretted about Eddie, her work was
getting a very warm reception. Mrs. Aina personally introduced her to several
people who had shown interest in her work. Business cards were pressed into her
hand by all sorts of people as the word sold kept appearing in front of her
pictures.

She would have reveled in the success, but
she couldn’t. Even as she registered the delight on her friends’ faces at her
success, she couldn’t help looking towards the doors, over people’s heads,
trying to see if he had come.

She had already decided to call him, when
he walked in. She had been half listening to one of the other artists talk
about the advantages of ink over pastel - or was it the other way round - and
thinking of how best to sneak out of the hall, to some quiet place, call him,
ask him why he hadn’t come, and tell him how much she wanted him to be there,
when her eyes went to the doors again, and there he was.

Her breath caught in her throat. She wasn’t
cold, but she was shivering. She swallowed. He was looking straight at her and
she couldn’t tear her eyes away. It felt as if all her breath had been sucked
from her body, and the only thing keeping her upright was the sight of him
standing across from her.

The smile on his face was the most
beautiful thing she had seen all night. He wasn’t smiling at her or for her
benefit, but it didn’t matter. He looked magnificent as always, yet more so in
his black tux. How could she have let him get away? After all the sleepless nights
spent thinking about it, she still couldn’t comprehend that.

She wanted to go to him. She had been
thinking a lot about what she would say too him. Go for it, Sophie had said.
Well she would. She started to move, and then stopped.

He was with someone.

The girl was standing beside him, smiling
up at him, he turned towards her and whispered something in her ear and she
laughed. Ada watched, feeling a bitter taste in her mouth as they made their
way into the room. She turned back to her artist.

Something was going wrong with her heart.
It felt heavy, and painful and sore. How could he? She took a glass of wine
from a passing waiter and downed it in one gulp. How could he? 

The artist was asking her something,
waiting for an answer. She took a couple of deep breaths. What was she supposed
to say? Oil? Pastel? His face looked concerned. Maybe he had asked if she was
all right. She nodded vaguely, that seemed to satisfy him. He went on talking.