4

After I had saved myself from suffering the tragedy of an allergic reaction to cauliflower, I caught a plane to Kenya, in Eastern Africa.

Ethan was still extremely furious, he wouldn't even accept that he was mistaken to have forgotten about my allergy. I could have an attack for all he cared, I shouldn't have ridiculed his ignorance in front of a strange man.

Now, he made me begin to feel guilty for even having had prior knowledge about the chocolate bars being made with cauliflower. I know Mrs. Carter loved to use vegetables in her desserts. It was quite unusual, but I had known it since I was a child. She called it healthy confectionery, and she fed all but cauliflower to me because she knew I was allergic to it.

Georgina abandoned her daughter to spend some quality time with her African heartthrob. He was called Chege and he was a bachelor, quite younger than Georgina.

"You should try as much as possible to enjoy yourself over here." Georgina had winked at me when Chege's bachelor friends had come over. I wanted to ask her why Sofia couldn't meet her father, but I waited for the right time.

I decided that I wouldn't think of anything during my stay in Africa. Africa was a beautiful continent that was perfect for a getaway. The sun was hot and not lazily bright, the people were free-spirited. They often didn't wear their worries on their faces, and their civilization alternated between the age of the caveman and the present tech-oriented time. I fancied that their food stung my tongue in a weirdly satisfying way.

However, I didn't recover from the sting of a Safari ant until I visited the hospital.

On the third day of my arrival, Sofia had skipped out to play when I settled down for breakfast.

"What are these called?" I asked Chege, as it had been my custom since I sat at his dinner for the first time. Over time, I learned a few things about Kenyan culture and practices, and it was exciting. I felt I could write something about the people and the country already.

"Here is mkate wa maya, as you can see, it's a sponge cake," he pointed at the baked slightly brown cake that was sitting prettily on my plate. I repeated after him. He chuckled, most probably because I didn't pronounce the word well. I knew learning Swahili was just like learning any other foreign language, and it could be quite difficult.

"And this," he continued. "This is uji... it's local porridge. I bet you take porridge in the US too..."

"Sure," I smiled.

"You can take it either with lemon juice or sugar. I prefer sugar, I have a sweet tooth." He laughed.

"I'd like to have a taste of both..."

He nodded. "Good."

"Lastly, this is called chai. Ever heard of it? It's a popular beverage in the Indian subcontinent. It's total coffee."

"Amazing. Latte and Americano are all I know..." I joked. He laughed again. I thought he was a nice man.

On the fifth day, when Sofia mentioned her father in front of Chege, I found out that Georgina had told Chege an entirely different story from the one I knew.

"Mommy said my daddy lives very far away." Sofia chirped.

"Really?" Chege twitched his brows.

"Yes, do you know him? Have you seen what he looks like?" Sofia queried inquisitively.

"No, but your mommy has told me about him," Chege responded.

"Oh," Sofia sighed.

"I'll be right back, I just remembered I have to talk to Charlene on the phone." She scooted up the stairs.

"What did Georgina tell you?" I was curious to know what Georgina had told her boyfriend about the father of her only daughter.

"Not much. She only told me he's mentally deranged, and so he's looked after in the asylum." Chege responded nonchalantly. I was shocked at the lie; Georgina was clever at the game she was playing. I felt Chege was deserving of the truth as he was a good man, but as Mrs. Carter had said, it was not my place and business.

"Okay." That was all I could say. I wondered if the truth would ever be known to him someday.

At night, I lay on my bed thinking about Ethan. What could he be doing at the moment? Did he miss me at all? He had not called me once since I left.

I knew he was still mad at me. I was starting to feel guilty. It was a sour feeling. I wanted to call him and ask how he was faring, so I dialed his number, but I was redirected to voicemail. I called him about three times, but he didn't answer the calls.

From that, I could surmise how busy he was with work. Truthfully, handling the general affairs of a company was no easy task, one couldn't lounge about at one's whim.

And Mrs. Carter? How was she doing? She had spoken to Georgina on the phone after we got here, but not directly to me. I missed her a little bit. I understood she was going through a tough phase in her life, the untimely loss of my father had shaken everyone. She had been quite dependent on my father, but I had never thought she'd be in want of money so much that she'd allow a perverted man to have sex with her. Had the company ceased to pay her salary? I should inquire when I return to the States.

I could hear Sofia excitedly talking about how she was loving her visit to Charlene in Kenya.

"And the monkeys and the little houses and the strange black children...ever seen a cultural troupe? Mommy says they are all here!" She was chirping endlessly.

"Aunt Layla, when will you have kids?" Sofia's question startled me the following day while we ate breakfast. She had told her mother she wanted a sibling, but her mother had laughed it off, so she had turned to me.

"Soon." I swallowed.

"Have a baby girl please, then she and I could play with Barbie in my tree house." She added. Chege chuckled.

"You want a baby sister, right?" He chewed on his food.

"Yes," She affirmed.

"Your wish will come through, your mum and I will make it happen." Chege smiled at Georgina.

"No!" She snapped and folded her arms in defiance.

"No? Don't you want a baby sister?" Chege asked coolly.

"I do, but mummy and daddy have to make my wish come true. You should not be a part of it."

Chege fell silent. I could sense the disappointment on his face.

"Sofia?" Her mother stared unbelievably at her.

"Go get me, daddy, mummy. Please don't be mean and just go get Daddy." Sofia began to cry.

"Shut it right now, Sofia!" Georgina gritted, but Sofia kept on howling like a little stray wolf.

"Sofia, come." I decided to take her away from the dinner.

"I'm sorry about that, honey." I heard Georgina say to Chege...

When Georgina couldn't endure her daughter's sauciness any longer, she sent us packing three days before the day of our intended return. I thought it would allow me to surprise and reconcile with Ethan. He'd never expected I'd be back earlier than planned. I bought a couple of bracelets the first time I went to a flea market. Though they were quite cheap, they only cost five Kenyan Shillings, they were unique and beautiful. I will make sure he wore his every day.

When we landed in the States, we stopped by a restaurant as Sofia requested.

"I want to have tagliatelle with wild mushroom sauce!" She had been crying at the airport. I couldn't convince her to wait until we got home, she'd create an awful scene, as she was already annoyed at her mother because of the sudden expulsion from black Kenya (as she preferred to call it.) I understood her feelings. It was the first time she had visited Africa.

Mrs. Carter and I spoke for a moment before I bid Sofia goodbye. Firstly, I had decided to go directly to his office, but I eventually made a detour and went to our house. I felt I wasn't looking good and I needed a shower. As the cab pulled over in front of our house, I alighted and hastily walked in. I glanced at the time, it was just a few minutes past lunch hour. I felt Ethan must have skipped lunch, as he usually did, so I chose to prepare a quick lunch box. He'd be pleased, I knew it. Once I reached the main door to the apartment, I punched out the password and the door opened. The lights were on, so I thought Ethan, in his routine haste, had forgotten to switch them off.

I went to the kitchen and washed my hands before going up the stairs. Everything seemed just as I had left it until I opened the bedroom door; I was in shock, wondering how on Earth my lingerie was lying carelessly on the floor. Did Ethan rummage through my stockings? Why? But then I looked closer around the room, Ethan's shirt and pants had also been flung on the bed. What was going on here?

To my astonishment, I heard a loud chuckle, it came from the bathroom, and it wasn't a man's it was a woman's! My heart sank. Ethan was with a woman? In our house?

"What the hell is going on here?" I yelled, flinging the bathroom door open. Ethan was unashamedly naked in the bath with a woman who was...

"Chloe?" I staggered, blinking profusely in disbelief. It couldn't be Chloe, no, I wasn't seeing right, I was hallucinating, no, not Ethan and Chloe, no, this wasn't happening, it wasn't real. I tried to convince myself as my heart painfully pounded in its cage.

"Oh, Layla." She came out of the bath in stark nudity. I could only find the strength to stand on my feet by leaning on the wall. Ethan was staring unaffectedly at me. I thought I was imagining things until Chloe touched my face with her wet hands.

"Tsk, tsk...poor Layla. She found us out, oh my gosh!" She mocked wickedly. Tears had begun to spill down my cheeks. I flung her hands away, but she hit me hard on the face, bruising my flesh.

"Who do you think you are?" She yelled at me.

"Be easy on her, my love. She's just arrived from a journey, you know, she's not as strong as you, she's feeble and weak and so frigid..." Ethan feigned sympathy. I became so weak, I couldn't move a limb. I was unable to talk, I just let them do all the talking, to my detriment. In all of my wildest imaginations, this scene had never shown a hint of ever happening. I was feeling like a character in a movie, a character whose peripeteia stemmed from her naivety. I was falling to pieces.

"What should we do now, huh? What should we do, dear Layla? Ethan loves me and not you." Chloe's bitter eyes gazed malevolently at me. I felt like strangling her at that moment, but I just couldn't. I didn't understand why, but I couldn't, I felt handicapped like I had always felt all my life. Not only that, but I felt like I was being thrust into a dark, bottomless pit where I could never clamber out to see the light of day. Furthermore, I felt I was in total darkness. Oh, how blind I was! I should have known.

"You should get your dirty ass out now while I go back to fucking my girl."

Ethan? He really did say that.

"One more thing, before you go...on the bed is a file. I need you to sign those divorce papers. Isn't it highly time she did, honey?"

"Of course love."

"Divorce papers?" I said. Had they planned this all along?

"Yes, Ethan wants you out of his life. You are no longer of use to him. You shouldn't waste your time here. There is nothing left for you, don't you get it?"

It was still impossible to believe that all of these hurtful words were coming from the lady I'd loved like a sister.

"Get the hell out! Come on Chloe..." My eyes were blurry with tears. I gasped as Chloe shut the door on my face. I slumped on the floor, feeling dizzy. Suddenly, I was unable to breathe. I held my chest; I felt like throwing up. Grabbing my purse and car key, I hurried out of the house and barfed all the pasta I had taken a while ago. When I was calm, I burst into fresh tears. But I couldn't stay there any longer, I felt I would do something stupid. I got in my car and for a second, I rested my aching head on the steering wheel in an attempt to regain my composure. However I tried, I just couldn't. I screamed.