The devil next-door

‘Come on Tahir, don’t exaggerate. I was always here when you return from work. Just because I had to step out today, to attend to some emergency, doesn’t make me a serial offender. I was forced to respond to a distress call from my former neighbour Hajia Kulu.’ I explained, going over to put my […]

‘Come on Tahir, don’t exaggerate. I was always here when you return from work. Just because I had to step out today, to attend to some emergency, doesn’t make me a serial offender. I was forced to respond to a distress call from my former neighbour Hajia Kulu.’ I explained, going over to put my hands on his shoulder, while he sat on the bedroom chair watching his TV.
‘Same old story Bint, you are always available for your neighbours, old and new, at just the time you should be getting all prepared to welcome me home. I’m sure that woman’s problem wouldn’t go away because you showed up on the scene as early as you did. If you had remembered me and told her to wait a little while I returned from work, she wouldn’t have minded and I wouldn’t have felt so neglected.’ He complained.
‘Mid-life crisis must really be catching up with you hubby dearest, otherwise you would never have complained that you were neglected just because I came home thirty minutes after you returned from work. It’s just not like you.’ I observed sitting on the bed and smiling at him. ‘Any way if you had heard Hajiya Kulu’s distress call, you would have raced out to her house the same way I did.’ I added.
‘No, I wouldn’t Saint Bint. I would have reminded myself of what my priorities are and acted accordingly. Anyway what was the fire this time? Like a fire brigade, you seem always ready to be there to fight for them.’ Tahir said with sarcasm.
‘When a friend calls you crying and saying her life had been destroyed, I don’t think you’ll think twice about jumping into the next vehicle and racing to where she is. That was precisely what happened. I could hardly hear what she was saying on phone because she was crying so hard. In the end I had to offer to be with her immediately. I drove down there and was amazed when I saw nothing amiss from outside. Everything seemed calm even when I let myself into the sitting room. The sight of her two young daughters enjoying the garden swing confounded me further. I asked the house help where her madam was and she said Hajiya was in her room. I then took myself there and knocked the door. Only her odd-sounding voice made me sure I was at the right place. It had grown hoarse from crying.
”Assalamu alaikum, there was no sign of an emergency anywhere in your house when I came, I even wondered whether I was at the wrong place.” I said, reaching out to hug her.
‘No, there won’t be any sign of it anywhere because nobody else is aware of the emergency except me. Can you believe what I found out in the last one hour? That every night when my husband gave me an excuse to go for one official meeting or another, he only drove next door to meet the young lawyer who lives in the boy’s quarters flat?’ Hajiya Kulu wailed.
‘What? Who told you this? Are you sure this isn’t an unfounded rumour?’ I asked.
‘Unfounded rumour? I wish it was , but I saw everything myself last night. Just that I didn’t know what it meant until an hour ago. Can you believe that every security guard and possibly driver on this street knows about this affair? In other words I’ve been the laughing-stock of the whole neighbourhood, for long, without my knowledge.’ Kulu lamented.
‘No I don’t think so. But what do you mean by you saw everything last night. Did you follow him after he went out?’ 
‘No, our daughter Fatima swallowed a fish bone when having dinner. She was in such a distress and the bone wouldn’t come out that we had to rush her to our clinic. Iro had already showered, dressed up and gone out for another of his official evening appointments. I didn’t bother to call and tell him about Fatima’s condition because I thought it was something I could handle alone, without disturbing him. On our way back from the clinic, where we spent over an hour trying to get the fish bone out before we succeeded, I suddenly saw Iro’s car heading towards our street. “Isnt that Alhaji’s car?” I asked our driver. “Yes it is,” he answered in a low voice. “He’s a bit early from his meetings today” I observed, but the driver said nothing. Suddenly I noticed the head in the passenger seat, a female head complete a simple head gear and then said. “Oh there’s somebody with him, someone as big as Mariya (referring to our first born). I hope nothing happened to her too. Because it’s really unusual for Alhaji to go out with any of the children after night fall, unless it’s an emergency.’ Still the driver didn’t say a thing.
That was when I got suspicious and said “Please follow him fast so that we’ll know whether he is taking Mariya somewhere in a hurry.”  But the driver quickly responded, “Let us just go our own way Hajiya, so Fatima can get home and rest from her fish bone ordeal.” He suggested, rather firmly.
“Didn’t you hear what I said? I said another emergency might have happened after we left home because he is driving someone who looked like Mariya at this late hour. Just pick up speed and go after him. It looks like they took the left turn.” I insisted. At this point he had no choice but to follow the car though we were a few cars behind them. To my great surprise I found us back on this street and instead of stopping by our gate, I saw Iro’s car continue to drive on. Two gates after us he packed. Our driver was careful enough not to stop at our gate he stopped a few feet away by the hedges of our neighbours across the street. I think because he already knew about Iro’s relationship with the young lady, he didn’t want my husband to know he had been seen. Right there while I was watching, the lady opened the passenger seat, gave him a wide smile and then waved before walking away. While I sat there in total shock, my husband didn’t reverse and turn back the two gates to return home, he instead drove on to the u-turn at the end of the street. That prevented him from seeing us. When I finally found my voice, all I said was “Who was that woman?” “It’s the lady who lives in that house’s boy’s quarters. Alhaji must have given her a lift from somewhere. You know Alhaji is very kind.” My driver offered. “It seems more like she was returning from somewhere with him.” I found myself wondering aloud. Anyway in order not to give too much away, I simply kept mute till we entered our gate. But deep down I was greatly disturbed. What did I just see? I wondered to myself.
To be continued.