Picture Saturday - Northwest African American Museum, Seattle

As usual, the pictures of me will be going down at the end of the day. By the way, no mind my infrequent pulling of these supposed-to-be-regular memes out of the box.

Is the sun shining in your corner of the world? Well it doesn't do so often here but small small, Mr. Ball of heat has been making it's presence felt. Not that it is that hot, but to fulfil it's other function of light, it can get blinding.

I look like a ghost up there, don't I? LOL...

We had just come back from an outing to the North-West African American Musuem last weekend when I decided to play with the camera. Below is some pictures of the American experience for African Americans and a special display on Ethiopia and their migration to a new land (there are a lot of Eastern Africans in these parts and most are subsumed into the AA subculture). Enjoy.

Spend the rest of her life with him? ...by Tisha

Iphey looked up briefly in shock to see Chinedu waiting on her answer, half in anticipation, the other half as vulnerable as a child. His eyes glittered like lightning but held Iphey’s gaze and waited for her to do something, anything to show that this was what she wanted too. Iphey gazed into Chinedu’s eyes for a second or so and then she fluttered her own eyes shut to hide her confusion, nothing prepared her for this. Being with him was everything she had ever dreamed, in the short time they had been together, she had come to depend on him so much, she had tried to hold back many times in case it was not that serious and things did not work out but Chinedu had a lust for life that was contagious and what he wanted he got. He did all he did with passion, a quality sometimes alien to her except where work and family were concerned.

When they went out together, he was always the center of attention wherever they ended up. His full throaty laughter made her heart soar and then made her smile every time. She had tried to maintain her routine so that he could be a part of her life and not take over her world but many a times she would find herself listening for the sound of his car, the distinct slapping sound of his Joe Blogg shoes and the jingle of his keys. He invaded her space slowly and consequently her life. She could not deny how his eyes lit up and her heart jumped in her chest every time he turned up at her doorsteps and she looked forward to his warm embrace, she could hug him forever. Why could she not spend the rest of her life with him?

She weighed her options. It was true they had only been seriously dating for three months but their first date had been in November last year, six months ago. From that day, he had been making inroads into her emotions, her mind and her family. The fact was that if every thing worked out as planned, she would be gloriously happy and content but if not, she would never ever forget him. She would be torn and having her heart broken would be an understatement. She would forever miss his presence like a part of her; her soul most likely would be fragmented, forever lost to her. Her family, friends and her work would suffer because she would be unable
to ignore the loss.

She glanced up at him and wondered if she was willing to risk her life with him like that, who was she fooling, it had long been out of her hands, only the decision she would make was in her hands. Her lashes flirted with the silken texture of her face and her eyes widened with complete openness not caring who could see the naked emotions on her face. She saw the possibilities for all the good that could come and she saw the dangers flash before her eyes and she knew this was the moment she had been waiting for all her life.

"Babe? he called, "please don't keep me waiting too long."

She looked into Chinedu’s eyes, hers solemn and quiet, stretched her hand across the table and grasped his own. She looked into his eyes steady and sure, his features beautiful, they could be hard edges one moment and then suddenly soft and compassionate. She looked at his build, he was well toned all over with not a layer of fat, all pure muscle or at least that is what all the ladies say. He carried his brown slacks and neutral colored shirt like a work of art; he swore
his hair short and simple brown leather strapped Calvin Klein watch.

She searched his face, her mind wandering, praying to see the future, to see if he would hurt her, how much he would hurt her. What gave her the courage to go ahead was this: he was a man of integrity with strength of character and a heart full of courage, she looked at him from the corners of her eyes the way only a woman could watch and knew, this was the only man for her, a man comparable to her; they fit like a perfect waltz in all things. She turned limpid pools of her brown colored eyes at him and knew exactly what her answer would be. Yet when she spoke, her voice little more than a whisper.

“Yes.”

Chinedu met her soft gaze then but his face was hard, as if ready for battle prepared for whatever came, even a negative answer.

“What did you say?” he asked in a strong voice.

“Nedu,” her voice lifted an octave higher, “I love you and I’ll marry you,” she ended smiling.

She saw relief in his eyes and barely glimpsed his lips descend towards hers, she did not wait for him to land but met him halfway as their tongues dueled and clashed with the force of the attraction they felt one for another, absolutely unimaginable.

She was a bit taken aback and gasped as she felt like he consume her whole, she was vibrating from head to foot at the power behind the kiss they shared and could feel the desire pumping through her veins, she felt Chinedu deepen the kiss again and she made a move quickly as she placed her hand on his chest to stop him.

“Nedu…” she groaned in half surrender “We are in a restaurant...”

She tried to glance around but her gaze was caught in his. He kissed her a little slower, nibbling here and there and then he withdrew, removed a black object from his pocket then knelt in front of her, opened the box gingerly to reveal a simple silver band, nothing setting it apart, except for the fact that he was the one giving it to her.

“This is my mother’s…” he smiled “I have been carrying it around for the last few weeks hoping for a perfect time to give it to you.” He smiled simply “This is not an engagement ring, I didn't know I would propose today. But it is a gift to show you that you're the only one for me. As it is, I don’t think there will be a better time than this,” his voice was a whisper by this time.

Her passion-darkened eyes had filled with surprise he talked and now as slipped the ring he held in his hands to her already outstretched hand and unto her finger inch by inch, a strange calm came over her. Then the enormity of responsibility the ring on her finger placed on Iphey’s shoulders hit almost immediately. She had entrusted her heart, soul and mind to him with seven words, to the one man who had a chance at breaking her heart and she, though her logic tried to point her in another direction, refused to pick another, how difficult was it anyway?

“Nedu…” she whispered in fear and awe, "your mother's?"

"Yes and I want you to have it. You will be the mother of my children and mine too." His smile spread joy over her heart and she wrapped her fingers over the simple ring.

"I love you Nedu, thank you for this."

"I love you too." He punctuated this with a kiss.

Her phone began to ring almost immediately.

“I should have switched this off …” she muttered apologetically as she glanced down at her Nokia BlackBerry “…Oh, it’s James my sister’s husband and I need to take it.”

"Go on," Chinedu waved her ahead. "I'll go settle the bill."

Iphey smiled at him and admired his backside as he walked away. And then she focused on the phone and what James was saying.

"You want to see me? Can I come with Ngozi? No? OK, where? Alright, I'll soon be there."

She hung up just as Chinedu returned. "I have to go home now. James wants us to meet."

"No problem, I'll take you there if you want?"

Iphey was grateful for all his help so far in locating James but now she felt she should do this on her own. She had to speak sense to James to return to his family and best if he wasn't defensive already that she came with someone.

"No thanks," Iphey finally replied. "If you can just take me home?"

"Sure."

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Like I said the last time I love the direction of the closing of the series. Even I couldn't have predicted it would end like this. Now we're entering the eye of the storm, so brace yourselves. There is danger everywhere and I have to warn you that we may lose one or two people at the end of this. Anyways, leave your comments and vote for the next chapter.

Our main contributor is Tisha. You all know Tisha, she has contributed before and continues to surprise me with her poetic writing and good internalizations. Apart from the last bit, this is strictly her's. Show her some love please at her entry on Naija Stories.

Till the next time, have fun peeps. Enjoy the coming weekend.

Mr Handsome Guy (Poem) + Update

(Comment Verification has been removed)

Hey, Mr. handsome guy
You can’t really be shy
For you seemed so fly
Whenever you come by

With the magic you wove
In our own secret cove
I readily swore by Jove
Nowhere else to rove

If it were not for the fame
Or to keep a good name
I’ll never play any game
But wholly be your dame

If my burdens you’ll bear
Then all your calls I’ll hear
We’ll have nothing to fear
Love will last many a year.


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Hi peeps, how's your week going so far? I hope you like the poem, it was written tongue in cheek and I hope you can see the lighter side of it as well as the more serious bit towards the end. That is what love is for me...fun and depth. What about you?

In other news...I've been a bit busy with Naija Stories but I have to say I'm proud of how it's turning out. GO OVER and check it out. Anyway, before I digressed I wanted to say that my WIP manuscript has been suffering from neglect. I intend to focus again as of today, so expect an installment in my next post. I might actually show off from the second draft, we'll see.

Enjoy the rest of your week and I'll see you over at yours soon.

ps, Have you been waiting for an autographed copy of A Heart to Mend? Do you want to see Myne Whitman? Do you live in the MD/DC/NY area? Stay tuned...

Balderdash! Word Verification Meme

Some of you may have heard or played the word game Balderdash, well there's a blogger version. I first saw the Balderdash Word Verification meme played on this blog by the Petty Witter. It piqued my interest and after a few clicks I got to the originator, Sheila at Book Journey. When I read this on her blog, I thought someone had opened my head and written what they saw there, lol.

Ok… I admit it. I am a comment junkie. I love – love ♥ LOVE ♥ to read blogs, the discussions on books, author interviews, bookshelves, great bookish stories and adventures….

but along with loving to comment comes the ever dreaded endless… (dun dun dun dun…scary music) word verification.

I know it is a necessity… I get that. You leave a comment, chances are you going to be word verified. Yet being a comment junkie… it slows me down. So to make this a bit more enjoyable… I came up with a plan.

And her plan was the Balderdash word verification meme which has become quite popular that some bloggers do it weekly. For the month of May, I intend to host the meme every Monday. I am hoping you will play along with me so I will be accepting GUEST BLOGGERS! I hear some of you ask; What does that mean? How do you play? The answer is very simple indeed.

1. Write down all the word verifications you get while posting comments on other peoples blogs.
2. Pick your best five (or so) of them and come up with an authentic sounding definitions for them.

But to make this more exciting, I want you and everyone to get involved. So I have turned on my word verification. When you leave a comment, include the word Google throws at you and make up a definition for it. If you are given a real word, make up a more interesting definition, lol.

These are my own top 10 captchas and their funky definitions.

1. Jocontac: (n) A joke on a tack
(v)When you make a joke from a tack pin.

2. Garbio: A garbage bio. Look at it from three ways;
a) the biography of garbage
b) a biography that is garbage
c) biography of a garbage man.

3. Cavable: From the french word Ca'va. The reply is usually bien.
(n) one who can reply positively to the referenced question.

4. Fowlsway: Is this the sway of a fowl or it's way? I go with the first since we have catwalk right?
(n) A way in which a person's movement imitates that of a fowl.

5. Fingster: This gives me naughty ideas of what one can do with their fingers but I'll desist.
(v) To give someone the open palm with five fingers outstretched. You know like "waka"?

6. Jauntru: From the word Jaunt.
(n) A true life account of a person's jaunts in life.

7. Undenses: From the word dense - to make more stupid (yeah I said that, lol)
(v.tr) To make someone less stupid.

8. Dercobbl:
i - (v) To remove the cobbles on a street.
ii - (n) A handmade shoe

9. Zintux: A tuxedo of the highest order.

10. Ringbeau: This one is very obvious right? No?
(n) A beau who comes bearing a ring.

If none of the above words or meanings made any sense to you, then welcome to Balderdash! LOL.

I hope you all enjoyed the weekend and mother's day for those in the US. Have a great week everyone.

Naija Stories.Com - Blog Transition

BLOG IN TRANSITION

As most of you know, I manage the site NaijaStories.com, a blog for collecting and sharing stories and writings by Nigerian Writers. It started out as a pilot to see what the interest was like. The plan was always to move to a a more permanent space when the time was right, I didn't expect that it would be so soon. Naija Stories has reached the limit of 100 authors set by blogger and we're now moving to our own server. This new site will allow us so many functionalities not available on blogger including a community, groups and forums and a way of rewarding writers and all those who are active on the site.

The new site will be up within 24 - 48 hours but in the meantime, the old blog can still be accessed through BLOGSPOT at http://naijafictionwriters.blogspot.com/.  When completed, the site will still retain the original domain name of www.naijastories.com, however, it may take a while for the servers and hosts to figure it all out. While we go through this process, we ask for your patience and understanding. Please bear with us and we apologize in advance for any inconveniences.

All registered authors on the blogspot will be moved to the new website within this time frame, most probably before the end of the weekend. Please check your registration emails and click on the link to log on. Remember to change your passwords and indicate your nickname and other required fields.

I appreciate everyone who has been a part of this. Thank you all.


**************************************************


In other news, there is a proposal over on Cupid's Risk. Seaason two is winding down and things are beginning to speed up. This is a teaser...

“Iphey, the first day I saw you, I knew you were meant for me…” He paused as he saw Iphey frozen in fear, visibly shaking, he drew in a sharp breath and “…I know it has taken a while, me getting you to believe in me and what I am about…” he gazed steadily into her eyes, “…but even though I am not certain what the future holds, I know great things are in store for us, there is so much promise and so much greatness ahead of us, all we need to do is take each day as it comes trusting ourselves and trusting in God.”

Iphey smiled and seemed about to speak and then thought to herself, ‘This man is the man of my dreams, I am in such a wealthy place, my fears still speak, they tell me if I ever lost him, but would fall; my faith though speaks louder, it tells me this man was created just for me and that if I can just take God’s hands and trust him, we are in for the greatest adventure ever lived’ 

Iphey smiled and hugged Chinedu with everything she had in her slight frame.

He pulled away slightly after a short kiss and looked into her face. Iphey noticed he was avoiding looking into her eyes.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Nothing." He hedged.

"Nedu spit it out," she laughed. "I know you too well. What are you trying to hide from me?"

He laughed and finally met her gaze. Chinedu took a deep breath and took both her hands. "I did not plan to say this today or here or even this way..."

Iphey was confused. Was this the end? After the happy declarations of a few minutes ago? "Chinedu, what is it? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, no, of course not!" He moved closer. "You said and did everything right..." His phone began to ring. He did not even look at it before switching it off. He paused again.

"Chinedu, please tell me. Whatever it is, just say it!"

"OK, OK." Chinedu took another deep breath. "I want to marry you Iphey, I want you to be my wife..."

Her lips were rounding open by this time. Iphey's breath came quick and fast, and she pressed both their hands under her breast as if to stop her racing heart...

..................

READ THE FULL STORY ON THE BLOG


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Have a nice weekend everyone.Anyone going to see a movie?

Iphey will you marry me? ...by Tisha and Myne

Chinedu picked Iphey up at seven after work on a Friday evening. Iphey wore black pants, a burgundy camisole and black short sleeved classy jacket. Today was special and so it deserved the special concern. It was three months since she had got together with Chinedu and everyday was a revelation of how good they were together. She smiled to herself as she went to the ladies and slipped on silver filigree earrings, slid on some gloss and did her eye makeup sprinkling loose powder sparsely on her face.

Chinedu waited for her downstairs and she traipsed down in her heels and got into his car, smiling a hello and buckling her seatbelt as they headed for Surulere to one of the tasteful fast food places on Adeniran Ogunsanya way. They ordered and began chatting idly about their families, careers, hobbies and values, Iphey chatted on with no guile and Chinedu listened enraptured.

He murmured and added words that showed he was focused on the conversation as opposed to some of the other guys and richie wannabes she had been out with. He was not like most guys, he did not pretend to hear what she was saying and then launch into his own project and he actually listened to her. He must have a lot of practice she thought and then she stopped talking as she noticed he was watching her intently, different emotions moving across his face, too fast for her to decipher.

She stopped talking and laughed at Chinedu.

“What’s up? You are staring at me like…” she shook her head then waved her hand in front of her face “…I can’t explain the look.”

Chinedu glanced at her his gaze open and his look sincere.

“I am looking at you because…” he pausing swallowing, an Adam apple she hardly saw bobbing at his throat “I am humbled because I know that I could never have met you in twenty lifetimes if God did not lead you
to me”.

Iphey looked her Chinedu, blinked, looked at him again, she couldn't stop the tears that came to her eyes. She wanted to laugh but instead she just said, “you know you drive me crazy right?”

He just stroked the hand she laid on his thigh.

She smiled through the tears and blubbered, “when I think I have you figured, you find a way to break my defenses however small they are…”

“Iphey…”

“Wait, let me finish…” she blinked to clear her eyes. “I wanted to give you a chance but I needed to do it on my own terms…” she looked away like he caught her in a lie or something, “…with barriers so I could maintain a resemblance of safety. But every time I think I am safe, secure, you slam through my defenses like they're a pack of cards, disarming me with simple gestures, simple words."

"Listen to me..."

"No let me finish." Iphey shook her head. "I can’t but reveal all of me to you…” she sighed in exasperation “…you make it impossible for me to hold anything back from you”.

“Iphey…”

“Please, let me get it all off my chest, I have feelings for you. I fought it with all I had like I do everything else, I looked for everything, every reason why I couldn’t be with you, I counseled me, gave me all the logical equations that should make sense but it all failed and I am afraid…” she shook visibly “…I am in love with you.”

Chinedu could not keep quiet after that declaration. “Iphey, I love you too. Sometimes I feel it so much it scares me. That was what kept me coming back to you even at those early stages you were so busy pushing me away. I am in love with you too and I promise to do everything within my power to keep your heart safe.”

Iphey wiped away the tears that had started dripping again. “Every passion I feel is reserved for you alone,” she murmured her eyes glittering, her gaze was trapped in Chinedu’s.

Chinedu laughed and said, “Iphey, I want to grow old with you, I may not be perfect but be reassured that I love you more than my life.”

Iphey laughed and then she murmured “I can be so silly and fussy sometimes…” she muttered looking down and then she gazed into his eyes. “I am not usually like this, you bring out the unusual in me.”

“No Iphey…” Chinedu protested as he gazed into her eyes reassuring her “I love you cheerful or crying, it’s an adventure getting to know you and love all the different parts of you.”

“Chinedu…”

“Iphey”

Iphey turned her gaze on Chinedu and he froze in place, her heart slammed in her chest as she noticed the effect she had on him; and she wondered at the power he had over her. There was this great upheaval inside her and she knew that come what may, she would always be connected to Chinedu. There was no stopping this and no running away any longer; it was time she faced up to it.

“Chinedu, everyday with you is an adventure and it’s the ride of my life, I don’t know what tomorrow holds but I know this, God has got us…”

“Iphey, the first day I saw you, I knew you were meant for me…” He paused as he saw Iphey frozen in fear, visibly shaking, he drew in a sharp breath and “…I know it has taken a while, me getting you to believe in me and what I am about…” he gazed steadily into her eyes, “…but even though I am not certain what the future holds, I know great things are in store for us, there is so much promise and so much greatness ahead of us, all we need to do is take each day as it comes trusting ourselves and trusting in God.”

Iphey smiled and seemed about to speak and then thought to herself, ‘This man is the man of my dreams, I am in such a wealthy place, my fears still speak, they tell me if I ever lost him, but would fall; my faith though speaks louder, it tells me this man was created just for me and that if I can just take God’s hands and trust him, we are in for the greatest adventure ever lived’

Iphey smiled and hugged Chinedu with everything she had in her slight frame.

He pulled away slightly after a short kiss and looked into her face. Iphey noticed he was avoiding looking into her eyes.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Nothing." He hedged.

"Nedu spit it out," she laughed. "I know you too well. What are you trying to hide from me?"

He laughed and finally met her gaze. Chinedu took a deep breath and took both her hands. "I did not plan to say this today or here or even this way..."

Iphey was confused. Was this the end? After the happy declarations of a few minutes ago? "Chinedu, what is it? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, no, of course not!" He moved closer. "You said and did everything right..." His phone began to ring. He did not even look at it before switching it off. He paused again.

"Chinedu, please tell me. Whatever it is, just say it!"

"OK, OK." Chinedu took another deep breath. "I want to marry you Iphey, I want you to be my wife..."

Her lips were rounding open by this time. Iphey's breath came quick and fast, and she pressed both their hands under her breast as if to stop her racing heart.

"Iphey will you marry me?"

*********************

Well, the story is rolling along quickly isn't it? I love the direction of the closing of the series but I have to warn you that this is the eye of the storm. Dangerous events are brewing I tell you. Anyways, leave your comments and vote for the next chapter.

Our main contributor is Tisha. You all know Tisha, she has contributed before and this is another collabo with her. I have to say she is improving very quickly. Watch out for that talent.

Till the next time, have fun peeps. Enjoy the coming weekend.

Is there a good or happy marriage?

So a lot has been said recently in some blogging quarters on this issue of marriage, and I have decided to chip in my bit. Some may say I can't write about it because I'm fairly new to this business but that has it's own advantages too. The major one being that I'm not too far gone to remember what it was like BM (Before Marriage) and I'm not so jaded by the cumulative responsibilities that come with the institution to have lost my faith, lol. Anyway, let me not go on, read the article and tell me what you think, the complete write-up is up on the Love and Relationships section of Afrikan Goddess.

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Beauty they say is in the eye of the beholder, however, when it comes to marriage, a good one is defined by those who live it. See, as a writer I observe a lot. I have come to believe in nuances. There is rarely any black or white in relationships. I have observed that a lot of marriages have many shades of gray in between. I have also observed that there is no one size fits all. I read a lot of articles and can say some are timeless pieces, seeing that they’re on marriage.

Now I am a married woman, my mother is a married woman as are so many women, friends, colleagues and mentors. So while I appreciated the humor in some of the write-ups on marriage, it rubs me the wrong way that some writers will be propagating the idea that so many women are usually lying whenever they say they have a happy marriage. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to rubbish any article, I have no doubt that they’re very valid in their own right. After all, there is still almost a 50% rate of divorce in USA, the country I live in and more and more divorces and separation in Nigeria and other countries in Africa.

It is also not far-fetched to think that some of the women who end up divorced spoke of their marriages in glowing terms a few years, maybe months and even days before their marriages crashed. The question to ask though is how we can be sure that these women and even those who remain in their marriages were, or are, lying? Now that would be a very difficult one to answer I tell you. The thing is, a marriage you as an observer would call an unhappy marriage, may have its happy moments you may not be privy to. It may be those happy moments the women refer to when they say those things these articles consider public lies. Who are we, the outsiders to call them liars then?

I know that in the same vein, this means that it can be said that the happy marriages also have unhappy moments. Do you think I would deny that? No way! LOL…of course there are ‘down’ moments in every marriage. There are those times when you feel lonely, when you feel crowded, when you feel misunderstood, when you ARE misunderstood, when you agree to disagree with your spouse and even disagree to agree. Yes, there are those moody days when you blame all and everything including your marriage for your misery. But this does not negate the general happy state of the marriage. It also does not mean that your marriage or your spouse was the cause of the unhappiness. Let’s face it, you also felt like that when you were single, whether you are a student, a worker, or in between jobs.

I used the divorce statistic earlier and everyone seems to like quoting that 50%. What you will not find so common is people referring to the other 50%. Yes, we find it easy to forget that more than half of the people who get married do not get divorced. Most of that 50% remain together and celebrate their 20, 30, 40 and even 50 years of happy marriages. Yes I said happy marriages. If we are so quick to assume that all the ones that got divorced did so because they were unhappy, we should extend the same courtesy to those that remain together, no? What is good for the goose and all, LOL.

But I didn’t write this article just to rant. I wanted to respond to some of the issues raised by marriage bashers and make some points of my own about the mostly negative perspectives we usually see in the media about marriage. One thing I will say here is that you do have to marry the right person for you to reap the benefits of a good marriage. I did not say or mean a perfect person because none of us is perfect but it has to be someone we can cooperate with, someone we trust, someone we see in our future, whom we can be honest and open in communication with and best and over all, someone we love.

Tis is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So help me God.

The Charmer and Danger! ...by Happy BBB

Ngozi whisked the eggs steadily, slowly adding butter and sugar, swiftly turning them in, it was a very calming process, her mind wandered...

Since Iphey told her about James she hadn't been able to sleep well, had become easily distracted, even though she had also felt a bit relieved , a sense of closure because not knowing what happened to James had been tearing her apart. She had barely managed to fight off his relatives who had been adamant about declaring him dead.

Ngozi sighed again, she really needed someone to confide in. Iphey had been so busy lately, since she had gotten back with Chinedu two weeks ago so there really wasn't a good time to talk to her about it. She couldn't speak to her mum because she knew it would just escalate things, her mum was still with her throwing a spanner in the works for Otunba. But the truth was that who she really needed to speak to was James, to ask him why he left, explain to her why she didn't have a choice in the matter, how he could just walk out and leave hs son without a father. It had been a quick knee-jerk reaction to draw closer to Otunba but she had changed her mind since then. His proposal had clouded her mind coupled with James's continued aloofness.

She remembered the way they had met, back in Port Harcourt. Then her baking was truly a hobby. She baked for her mother's friends usually and only charged money if the job was really big to earn some spare cash. That day she had been baking a cake for a customer who she had never met. He had called three days previous, said he'd gotten a referral from one of her usual customers and he wanted a cake for his mums birthday. Usually she didn't take orders without at least a weeks's notice, but there had been something about that voice, so warm and friendly, the way he gently pleaded and nudged her to do his will, she wondered what type of face would go with that voice.

The birthday was later that day and as she completed the icing on the cake, she smiled in anticipation of finally meeting him. They had spoken twice more on the phone after his first call and he had confirmed that he would pick it up himself.She was expecting him in four hours so she had just about enough time to finish with the cake and get herself ready.

At exactly 5pm her doorbell rang, an hour earlier than planned, the icing was all on but not ready to go but she was in even worse shape. She caught a glance at herself at the mirror on the corridor, she looked a mess, she always looked scattered when baking. Her heart hammered in her chest but she didn't want to keep him waiting.

James was at the door, he hoped she had been able to bake the cake in three days. He had been really desperate and had pulled out all his charms in getting her to assist him. She had sounded stern on the phone but at the end of the phone call, she was laughing really hard. He remembered her laugh now, it had sounded like a happy song, it made him smile thinking about it.

Ngozi opened the door to a striking face, he looked just as he had sounded -a charmer- he was tall dark and handsome -a cliché- but that was all that came to mind looking at him, his smile completed the whole look and she felt her heart skip a beat.

Wow, she thought, that hadn't happened in a while.

"Hi," he said, "I am James, we've spoken on the phone, about the cake?"

"Yes, yes" Ngozi replied, "please come in."

"I am so sorry for the inconvenience, it was a last minute thought," James said.

"Oh no worries, you are definitely paying for it," she replied jokingly. "The cake is just about finished. I'll put it in a box for you soon as I return to the kitchen. I am sure your mum will be pleasantly surprised, wish I could see her face when you give her, I love surprises."

"You could, you know, she is having a small get-together, you could come if you wanted to."

Ngozi smiled, "its so nice of you to offer, but I couldn't possibly go. I am not even dressed and I have to clean up, I can't impose."

James insisted "You wouldn't be, and I could help clean up while you dress. After all it's my fault, I gave an order on short notice and now I'm here earlier then we scheduled." He smiled at this point sending her heart to skipping, "Also you would find that I'm a domesticated man."

Ngozi refused, "thanks for the offer but I wouldn't want to crash your mother's party."

"I insist, she wouldn't mind. In fact I am sure she would want to meet you after tasting this cake, and it'd be great for your business." James added.

"OK, but this is just a hobby." Ngozi had smiled, admitting defeat, "I'd go, let me just freshen up," she had left him in the kitchen after showing him where the utensils are kept.


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James washed up after his simple meal, a scowl staining his face. He forced himself to smile by thinking of Ngozi and his son Obi. His hope of seeing them again soon was being boosted by his new friend Habib. He had confided in him about his woes of the past and the young man had promised to help. He said he had friends in the police who would soon be on the case. James rinsed his plate reminded of the day he met Ngozi. He smiled to himself, just like that day, he had a feeling that something was about to change in his life.

He couldn't remember all he had said that day seven years ago but there had something about the lady he'd first seen at the door that appealed to him, she looked so adorable in her stained apron and tussled hair. With the facade of a cake, their mothers had schemed for them to meet each other and he had fallen for it without knowing. By the time they both found out about the match-making, it had been a moot point. They were in love with each other. They got married six months after that day and it had been bliss all the way till he had spoiled it with his own hands. He cursed the day he decided to try his hand at gambling. Thank God he had learnt his lesson before it was too late. Or was it? His family was still out there...

A knock broke through his consciousness.

"Oga James," the little boy that lived in the room opposite said, "one man say make I give you this." The prepubescent chap handed him a thin envelope and scampered off.

James closed the door and opened the enveloped. Dread washed over him even before he knew what was inside. He had never received parcels since he moved into this area of Ajegunle. Did this mean they had found him again? Just as he was about to hope again?

The five pictures sliding out of their cage, missed his waiting hands and scattered across the floor. There were pictures of him in his borrowed taxi, him and Iphey in the taxi, him and Iphey at the entrance to her house and then a couple of just Iphey, at work and at home.

James staggered back till he collapsed on the only furniture in the room apart from the thin mattress on the floor. The chair creaked underneath his slight weight as he leaned his head between his knees. The envelope was now also on the floor. It was only then he noticed the writing paper peeping out. He pulled at it quickly. Scrawled in pencil were the following words.

YOU AND YOUR NEW GIRLFRIEND WILL BE IN TROUBLE IF YOU DON'T GET OUR MONEY IMMEDIATELY!


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That's it folks. It seems things are still going to continue between Ngozi and James. It seems none of the contributors wanted Otunba in the picture, oh well. BUT! Did anyone see what I saw? Iphey is in Danger! Who gave James enemies the idea that she was his girlfriend, how did they find him and more important, how did they find her? Leave your comments and vote for who you want to hear from in the next chapter. Don't forget to check back always.

Our contributor is HappyBBB of WHO I AM!!!!! Her name already gives us an idea of who she is but her last post on the ten things I love meme sheds even more light.

"1) Smiles: i am a smiling person, i always smile that's my personality, its easy to know when am down you wont see a frown, there just wont be a smile, my brother calls me ismaila... hehehehe,
2) My blackberry: its my blogging and twitting machine, i am addicted to it i swear down, my mum has threatened to seize it times without number, what was i doing when i didn't have one,
3) Love: i totally love love, love stories,movies , novels,songs, they all speak to me, i love watching people fall in love, hearing people speak about love, i love weddings and d smile on the brides face, i love awwwwing and ooohhhing, i love giving love out, making TY feel loved, i love the four letter word in its entirety"

Abandoned (BlogFest)

So Lilah Pierce of The Good Grief writer is hosting a BlogFest for the The Last Line.

Endings have always been very important to me. Whether its the end of a book, chapter, scene, or even a paragraph, I always try to make sure its a good one. I usually want something that baits the reader; something that has a good kick to it. I had never put that much thought into what I did for my endings, until people pointed it out.

So, now I'm curious to see how others write endings. Do you like to end things intense and serious? Or maybe light and funny? Are you a cliffhanger addict? Or do you not even think about it at all? Let's find out.

This is my entry below, a short story I have shared earlier this week on Naija Stories.

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The last time I saw my mother was when I was in Junior Secondary School at fourteen years old. So I have not seen her for the better part of my life. Yet the events of that day were so clear in my mind that it seemed like only yesterday. Another thing that seemed not to have diminished with time was the hurt and pain that followed that last meeting.

We were having an Economics lesson with Mr. Ogbonna, the only young male teacher in the all-girls school. Midway through the lesson, a senior student walked into the class to speak with the teacher.

"Belle, you have a visitor at the principal's office."

A visitor ke? It was still Wednesday and visiting Sunday wasn't till the following week anyway. Not that I was expecting anybody to come. My parents were too busy quarrelling with each other to remember me most of the time.

When I saw my mother seated in the school reception chatting amiably with one of the vice principals, my face split with a hesitant smile. It had been over two months since I saw her last.

"Good afternoon Ma," I greeted responding awkwardly with one arm to her tight embrace. I replied in the affirmative as she asked about my welfare and how I was getting on with my studies. The walk to where her car was parked took just a couple of minutes. There was a strange man in the car reading a newspaper but she didn't introduce him. Still he was too well dressed to be her driver.

"How come you were able to come and visit? I asked. She usually found it difficult to take time off work and sometimes worked weekends as well. Maybe that was to be expected of a bank manager but I had always suspected that she worked such long hours to reduce the amount of time she spent at home. Especially when my dad was there, but that also meant we got to spend less time together than I would have liked. With me in the boarding house and seeing little of her during the holidays, we had drifted apart. Still I really loved her.

"Belle, I have something important to tell you. Your father doesn't know I'm here, he wouldn’t have agreed for me to come if he knew. So I think it is best this way."

I remained quiet. When was the last time they had both agreed on something?

"I can't live with your father anymore Belle. It is just not working out. If I remain in that house, one of us might end up committing murder."

I looked into her eyes and when I fully realized how serious she was I blurted, "But you're my mother and father, parents live together. I know father can be annoying sometimes but you have to stay. You have to stay for my sake."

"It's not as easy as that my child. I really have to go."

“But mother I need you. I want you to stay please?”

"Belle I'm sorry, truly I am. When I married your father, I didn't know it would end like this."

"But it doesn't have to! Who will be my mother when you go?" I interrupted the tears still streaming. I rebuffed her efforts to hug me or wipe my face with a hanky.

"One day when you're grown up you'll understand Belle. I'm leaving for America next month and will be settling there."

My tears dried at that. "You're going to live in another country? That means I'll never see you again!"

She did her best to reassure me, "You'll certainly see me. I can pay for you to pay us visit at least once a year. You remember how you enjoyed the trip to see Auntie Rose when you were ten. We'll have so much fun exploring my new place." She stopped and stole a look at the man in the car who I noticed was looking at us now. "Obike will be with us."

"Who is he?” I asked belligerently.

"He will be your new dad and we'll be together when you visit..."

I cut her off mid speech with a scream. "I don't want a new dad; I don't want to visit you anywhere! I want our family to remain as it is now." The tears were pouring in torrents now.

"You'll like him when..." She tried again to hold me but I shoved her off harshly.

“Never!” I wasn’t going to plead any more. The curses that followed were bitter. She was married to my father. She was my mother and had the duty to remain with me till I was grown up. “If you leave me, I would never forgive you or speak with you ever again. And divorce is a sin; God would certainly punish you if you leave us...”

“Belle stop it, you cannot say such things…”

"Then stay and make me stop!” She moved closer and I backed off. “Don't touch me! I hate you and I hate him!”

I ran off blindly and though we spoke a couple more times, that was the last I saw of her.

My father became even more morose after she left and started drinking at a point. I was angry at him for allowing or making my mother desert me and took it out on him and the lots of women who filed in and out of our lives. None lasted more than a year. We only made our peace several years ago after I graduated from University and started work in his legal chambers. I am happy we did because he died last year leaving me an orphan. Almost.

Yes my mother was still alive though we had not spoken in two decades. I didn't know her or care for her. She meant nothing to me after she chose another way of life over me. I heard through the family grapevine that she married Obike after they moved and as time went on, had two more children. She sent a few letters over the years but I never read them, tore them as soon as I received them.

Why did she have to come back? It had been so much simpler when she lived in the United States. Whatever she has to tell me, I did not want to hear. These thoughts ran through my head as I stared without emotion at the pattern of the carpet between my sandaled feet. Why am I thinking about these things you ask? Why now?

You see my mother is back in the country. In fact she is right here before me. But the more shocking news is that she has terminal cancer. She only has a few weeks at the most to live. God has to be playing a very sick joke on me. Or maybe she's really being punished for abandoning me.

My angel (Poem)

I dream the ringing up
From the depths of my wishes
Yet when I listen closely
The phone is really beeping
Are you really calling?
Or am I night dreaming again?
It is definitely not a figment
Of my fertile imagination
I’m filled with joy unspeakable
As I hear you through the earpiece
The happiness is unstoppable
And I break into a smile
A flush spreads over my skin
Your cool voice upon my senses
Brings relief to my scattered thoughts
There is no more need to worry
As above all these things is Love
There’s naught else to do
But to put a halo on you
You’re my angel...

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I can't wait for TGIF and the weekend, what about you? Enjoy a poem for today and check out some blogs from the right while at it. See you soon with something from the WIP.