Chapter 3 Part 2

Mrs Briggs called to say she would be at the shop soon.
‘I should have left earlier’. I muttered to myself checking my watch again. The traffic to Lekki was crazy in the mornings. I skipped back and forth between the Good Morning Nigeria Show on Coolfm with Dan Foster and Rhythm 93.7 with the Wildchild. I never understood why they bothered with the traffic update on Coolfm..it was always the same thing
‘Serious traffic for those of you on Eko Bridge coming towards the Island’
‘A broken down vehicle is obstructing traffic in Oworonshoki’
‘Osbourne, Kingsway, Falomo Bridge, slow but moving’
‘Road works on Ozumbe Mbadiwe’
All this with helicopter sounds in the background. I was always amazed by the speed with which they flew from Oworonshoki to Lekki. Super Helicopter!

My phone started ringing again and with dread I checked the caller ID. It was unknown, so it could only be one of two siblings calling me this early.
‘Hello Sis!’
‘What do you want?’
‘Is that any way to answer the phone? I was just calling to say hi.’
‘You never call just to say hi.’ I laughed, ‘Are you okay?’
‘Well sis, I am a bit cash strapped! I don’t even know how it happened. You know I’ve not asked you for money for a while. I just need 100 pounds till I get my pocket money’
‘My friend, what you need is a J-O-B! At twenty-three you should really not be expecting money from your parents.’
‘I know now, don’t you think it hurts my pride. I am a wounded man’ he said dramatically.
‘You are such a liar’
‘But for real, once I’m done with my masters, then I can focus on work abi you don’t want me to get a distinction?’
‘Please get one, because I can’t be fending for you the rest of my life. I don’t want you to have to come and live with me and my family.’
‘AMENNNN, so please when will I get it?’
‘I’ll send Micky to the bank today and learn to budget for your expenses instead of spending money on girls’ he had a reputation for being a Casanova and breaking all the young girls hearts.
‘Thanks sis. The credit on my card is finished. I’ll call you later so I can tell you about my new girlfriend. She’s one-third Chinese, one-third Brazilian and one-third Nigerian.’
‘How exotic, I can’t wait’, my voice was laced with sarcasm as I clicked off.

'Na Zuwa be that?' Micky asked
'Yes, please remind me to send some money to him later'
'Oh oh, I wan ask for something, you for tell me now' he said.
'Sorry, next time. Or better yet, go to a cyber cafe.' I informed him.
'Ah Zee zeeee, you wicked oh'. I laughed, Micky was a real comedian.

I finally got to Zena Couture at 9.15. I always felt a sense of pride at what I had been able to achieve in a few short years since I moved back home. I smiled as I saw the large pink letters in italics on the front of the store…Zena…The shop wasn’t huge but it was my baby, located on the ground floor of a shopping complex off the Lekki Expressway. I had 3 tailors, 4 seamstresses and one receptionist.

The smile didn’t stay on for long. Mrs. Briggs had been waiting fifteen whole minutes. She was livid.
‘Young girl don’t you know that time is money?’ she asked. She sat there, still very sexy at forty-five. Many women would kill for her looks and she knew it. She had this aura of confidence around her and thought that everything revolved around her. I tried to think of what she might do with her time and could only picture Owambe’s, society functions and exotic holidays.
‘I’m really sorry ma’ the less words the better. I didn’t know what would incense her.
‘I have already tried on two of the outfits, they were okay’, she said grudgingly. Thank God for his mercies I whispered to myself.
‘Which is the last one?’ I asked, a forced smile on my lips.
‘The pink one’ she picked it up and walked towards the fitting room, ‘I’ll be right out, this one already looks like it won’t fit right’
‘Would you like anything to drink?’ I said with all the patience I could muster.
‘No, I’m in a hurry if you hadn’t noticed’.
In a few minutes she was out, looking like a goddess. I was sure she really was the queen of the coast. The dress fit her snugly accentuating her curves and highlighting her long legs. I said a quick prayer to God to let me look half as good as she did when I got older.
‘This is the first time I haven’t had any issues here’ she said smiling into the large mirror on the wall. I guess it makes up for the hours you kept me waiting. Let it not repeat itself.’
‘Sorry again, I’m glad you like them all. Should I pack them up?’
‘Please do’. She wrote out a check as one of the seamstresses packed up the dresses in a pink and silver gift box.
I heaved a sigh of relief as she walked out and made a mental note to reward the stewardess who made the outfits. It was a real feat that none of the dresses needed alterations.

I loved my job as a designer. I dealt with several customers who needed African outfits for weddings, work, parties or just everyday wear. Western designs were influencing the outfits when it came to the younger generation and the mix was very fashionable. Boob tubes in Ankara, a-line dresses in lace, wrap skirts on woodin. It was great that we were appreciating our own prints and maintaining a sense of identity.

Throughout the day I got calls from complete strangers, well not complete, but I couldn’t remember talking to them in years. They would call under the pretext of saying hello or catching up, then would change the subject to weddings then would confirm if Ose was engaged. After a while I called her.
‘Ose, the Nigerian grapevine never ceases to amaze me’
‘I must have had like a million calls today you know.' she said, sounding flustered.
‘People are so nosy. It’s beyond me!’
‘Remember Ramatu?’ she asked. I had no idea who she was.
‘Ramatu, from our first year at university. She called to congratulate me. I don’t even know where she got my number from. Can’t you remember how much she disliked me for telling her to move out of the flat? She was so nice on the phone. Like we have been buddies since forever. I was shocked to say the least.’
‘I remember her, the one who kept looking for a place and ended up staying with us for months and eating our food without helping with the cleaning or groceries or bills.
‘That’s the one’ she said then hissed. ‘Anyway, how’s work going?’
‘It’s alright...Mrs. Bomb didn’t explode today. The clothes fit her perfectly’
‘Thank God for that. I have a meeting so I have to go. I think the girls are meeting up at Roberts Café this Friday. We’ll talk about it later’