Results + HAITI + Seun Adebiyi

Firstly, the votes are in and more people want to have Chinedu on the phone. Does she pick the phone? What does he say? Why hasn't he called since? Our next contributor is Mr. FunnyHoneyMoney and the post will be up by Sunday. Remember the giveaway is on till Jan 31 and the first person to comment on the next chapter wins a free copy of my eBook "Love Happens" or you can download it on lulu. Find out more information on my website and enjoy this book trailer video.



Second, I'm sure most people have heard about the earthquake in Haiti. My heart goes out to all the people of that country and I'm praying for them. So many people are dead and more wounded and dying. There are many ways to help and these are just a few. Please do what you can.
Text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10
Text YELE to 501501 to donate $5
Visit www.worldvision.org to donate any amount directly.
Click on the relief button on my sidebar to donate to the American Red Cross.



Finally, I saw this on several places and got this from TORI's blog..."this article online today about 26 year old Seun Adebiyi, born in Lagos, moved here when he was 6 and is a Yale Law grad who is trying to be the FIRST EVER Nigerian Winter Olympian. Except he was diagnosed with cancer. Leukemia.

He's been through weeks and weeks of chemotherapy, but his doctors say his only chance for survival is a bone marrow transplant.

Sadly, only 8% of bone marrow list registrants are of African descent/African American. And for a match, the person needs to be practically IDENTICAL to you. So his chances of finding a match will be upped dramatically if there are more Nigerians on the list."

You can go to Seuns blog to read more. You may be able to help save his life.

A man should provide for his Family...Myne + Aeedeeaee

“What are you doing here!?” Iphey screamed.

“Please let me come in, I have to talk to you.” He pleaded.

“You!?” He looked the same as when she’d seen him earlier in the cab but now his face was softer, more like the brother-in-law she’d known. He was James, her sister’s husband.

Not knowing how to process the information her eyes were feeding her, her first impulse was to choke him by the collar and demand reparation for all the pain he’d caused her family. Since she couldn’t do that, the next best thing was to slam the door smack in his face. She did just that but James caught the door with his foot.

“Iphey! Please wait!” He begged again.

“Are you James or not?”

“Yes…” He breathed with downcast eyes.

“I knew it! I knew it was you.” She opened the door wider. “How did you find me?”

“I knew where you lived…”

“Damn you, James! Damn you to hell!” Iphey cried hitting his chest repeatedly with both hands till he caught them in his.

“Iphey, please calm down… listen to me!”

“Please, shut up! Shut the hell up! Why did you deny it when I called your name in the cab?”

“Iphey…I’m sorry but I had to…” He pushed her back into her apartment and closed the door. “I was shocked as much as you were, Iphey. I needed time to put myself together…”

James had managed to push her into one of the living room chairs at this time but remained standing. A tense silence ensued.

“Where have you been all this while?” Iphey asked in a low voice. Her hands hung between her knees.

“I’ve been here in Lagos…”

“My God! James, you live here? Ngoo waited…she pined for you all this time and you live here in Lagos?!”

Pictures of her nephew in his bed during the most recent stay in the hospital flashed before her eyes…Her sister’s depression…The fear in her mother’s eyes…Her own tears.

“Please Iphey, You need to relax…hear me out at least…”

She sprang to her feet. “How dare you come here after all these years and tell me to relax?! Why are you even here? What am I hearing you out on? That you abandoned my sister and her child, YOUR SON!?”

Iphey knew she was getting hysterical but couldn’t stop it. “How am I going to break this to Ngozi? How will I tell my sister that her long lost husband is infact alive? That he has lived in this same state all the while she was crying herself to sleep?” Several thoughts ran through her mind at once.

James came to stand before her. “See, I had to do what I did…I didn’t want to but it was the best thing I could’ve done at the time.”

Iphey was confused. She hadn't thought there was a happier couple than her sister and James at the time. She’d just gotten into University when they got married seven years ago. A year later Obi had been born and everyone had been overjoyed. He was three when to everyone’s shock, James had gone missing.

James went on...“Almost four years ago, something happened.”

Iphey’s shook her head vigorously. “What is it, James? What happened?” She cried, perplexed.

James breathed out and turned around. “I lost my job.”

“What?? What are you talking about?”

“You see Iphey; two years after we got married, I lost my precious oil company job.”

“What does that have to do with it?” A shiver went over Iphey. The talk of job loss was a bit close to home with the recent spate of lay-offs in the banking sector.

“I never told your sister. I kept going out to work for nearly six months afterwards and never breathed a word of it to her. I looked for other jobs, gambled, took to drinking, chased other women. Nothing helped.”

Iphey found the sofa. This is only a bad dream. If I shut my eyes, it will go away.

James continued. “The few people who knew advised me to tell her but I couldn’t face the disappointment on her face. When Obi’s asthma came up while she was still on maternity leave, we had agreed for her to remain at home. So there was no other source of income…”

He looked at her face. “I know what you’re thinking…I wouldn’t be first or last to lose my job but I was so proud! Your sister didn’t know, her behavior didn’t change but I became paranoid. I blamed her for my woes and our sickly son for my quickly dwindling savings. Then I blamed myself but still I did not tell her.”

“Oh my God. Oh my God.” Iphey kept saying.

“I began to resent everyone. My family, you and your mother, you all boasted so much about my status…”

She could see it was very painful for him but she wouldn’t let that go. “Leave us out of this.”

“OK.” He sat down. “The thing was, I was brought up to believe that a man should provide for his family. In those six months, that belief made me mad!" He was crying now, the tears trickled down his cheeks.

“Are you saying…?” Iphey started.

James cut in. “I’m not saying I became actually mad but I eventually did something insane.”

Iphey's phone began to ring.

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


And that's it folks. What did he do? Who's on the phone? You have to come back for the next chapter, vote on the left as usual.

This was a collabo I did with Aeedeeaee. I enjoyed the challenge and maybe I'll be doing more of that. My second book is progressing well and I'm loving this interactive story more and more. Thank you all for being a part of it.

Who is James?...by Aeedeeaee

“James…?” Iphey stared, mouth agape and eyes wide in shock.

“Wetin be that?" The driver asked. "You dey ok?”

“Are you not James?” She demanded as shock and all kinds of emotions coursed through her body. He looked exactly the same as her missing brother-in-law.

“That no be me oo. Who is James? Madam you well so?”

“I’m alright. It’s just that…you look like someone I know.” She continued looking at him intently. “My sister’s husband…”

“I say no be me,” said the cab driver in an unflinching tone. “Where you dey go?”

He did look different. Thinner harder, meaner. The voice was also a bit different from James'…or so she thought. It had been almost three years. She really couldn’t remember what James’ voice was like anymore; partly because of the time lapse and partly because she had almost believed he was dead…

Stop it Iphey, And tell the man where you’re headed!

“Lekki Phase 1…” She finally replied.

Scratching his head, the driver said “Oh…Sorry o! I no dey go that way…I’m closing for today and na Surulere side am going.”

Iphey pierced him with her gaze but again he remained unmoving, “Madam go now make I fit find another passenger.”

“Oh..ok. I’ll just get another cab.” She jumped out, hunger and tiredness now replaced by angst, memories of the nights when she had to stay with her sister. When Ngozi would cry herself sick; her son sick and her husband missing. Lost in her reverie, Iphey almost got knocked down by an Okada rider…

“See, no be me go kpai you o!” He cursed at her.

“Sorry! Sorry...” said a very confused Iphey. Cursing okada riders were the least of her problems at that point. Damn! This had to be the day devil came out with his entire clan. A stressful day at work and now a James look-alike!

She hailed another taxi. Thankfully, this one was headed her way. The thought of what happened a few minutes ago just wouldn’t leave her.

That driver had definitely put her on the edge. He looked so much like James…but that voice, or maybe that was because of the pidgin he was speaking. She had never heard James speak that before, and the taxi driver seemed very fluent. She cursed her car for not starting. Cursed the mechanic for not fixing whatever the problem was.

“Chei! I must be more fatigued than I thought.” She said aloud.

“You say wetin?”

“Abeg, no vex. I was talking to myself” She said embarrassed.

Something about this entire business smacked of lies…or was she paranoid?

Yes. She was paranoid alright. And hungry. And fagged out.

“Lord Help!” She said aloud.

The cab driver obviously worried about the young lady constantly talking to herself said “Take it easy o madam, It is well.”

The first thing she did when she came in was to call her best friend.

“The strangest thing happened today o, Aisha!”

“What happen…Iphey abeg, Hold on, I don’t know what TJ dey call me for now…”

“No wahala…I’m here.”Iphey said in between nervous laughter. Who would believe it? She thought to herself. Should she tell her sister?

Aisha was soon back on the line, hissing “Walai! Can you imagine! It’s that rubbish Mutallab boy that TJ called me to come see!”

Iphey laughed at her. “Say after me, Mutallab is a mu-mu.”

Aisha hissed again. “Tell me joo, wetin happen today? Has Chinedu finally called?”

“Please don’t talk to me about Chinedu!” She had thought of him at work most of her free time but what happened on the way home had pushed him to the back of her mind. And she preferred him to remain there.

“You want make I speak with him again?” Aisha interrupted her thoughts.

Iphey was mortified. “Did you already call him?”

“I’m sorry Iphey, I called him for something to do with Habib, but your name came up.”

Iphey sighed. “It’s OK. I’m tired of that guy oo, and no I won’t call him. After kissing him in public, I think the ball is now firmly in his court."

Aisha agreed. “So wetin you call to tell me?”

“Aisha you won’t believe it…” Just then her doorbell rang.

“Aisha, hold on, someone is at the door.” Iphey she sprang up off the bed and headed back towards to door. It was just as well she had not changed out of her work clothes.

Aisha went on, mischief in her tone “At this time? Or is it him?”

Iphey was busy peering through her windows when Aisha blared in her ears “It’s him! Bad child! You you were just pulling my legs abi?”

“Aisha please go jo!” Iphey said chuckling, one hand unlocking the door. “I’ll call you.”

She froze when she saw who rang her bell. He who now stood in front of her on her doormat that said “WELCOME”.

“Can I come in?”

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

So that's it folks. This was a long one so I had to split it into two. That means no vote till the next concluding part. And I tell you don't miss it! LOL...it will be up by Wednesday.

Our contributor is Aeedeeaee of THE SOUNDING BOARD OF A BUSY BEE. And while she is a bizzy bee indeed, she is also very creative. Check out her last Dr. Doolittle-type post with the talking books and stuff. Also Aeedeeaee is a trained script writer and writes for both Radio and TV. I'm honored to host her on the blog.

Votes + Award + Book Buzz

So the votes are in and more people want to know what happens with the missing in-law. Is it really him? Does Iphey confront him? Our next contributor is Aeedeeaee and the post will be up by Sunday. Remember the giveaway is on till Jan 31 and the first person to comment on the next chapter wins a free copy of my eBook "Love Happens" or you can download it on lulu. Find out more information on my website



So I got this award from Honey91 of Dear Diary and La-Pimpette of Straight from the Heart. I want to say a big thanks to both of them. I'm glad people think of this blog as a place they can come and read stories, not just Myne but fellow bloggers. I appreciate you all both contributor, commenters and readers. Please keep coming and telling us what you think. I read and comment on loads of blogs and think you all deserve the award. But since I'm limited, I will pass on the award to the following people. They're great bloggers who get me thinking, smiling, laughing or crying with their blogs. I think they're very human and their lives are quite realistic.

Shorty of My Diary
Andrea of My Life
YankeeNaija babe of YNC Lounge
Blowing Blessings of Blessings Outlet
HisTreasure of A Fabulous Mother's World
Neefemi of Diary of an unpaid Intern

And this is what people have been saying about the book. Hope you've bought your copy?

Linda Ikeji: A HEART TO MEND will bring tears to the eyes and cheers at the end especially for those who have experienced the search for a career or tumultuous family and emotional relationships. Readers will be pleasantly surprised by the description of Lagos, the Nigerian stock market, and other business intrigues.

Review on Sylva Nze Ifedigbo's weblog: Myne Whitman’s book, A Heart to Mend, makes a bold statement to the contrary. It shows that we do not only fall in love and marry for love, we also use love to conquer a wide range of situations that could have ordinarily been a bit difficult to shoulder alone.

African Loft interview: I was excited when I heard of Myne Whitman’s novel, “A heart to mend”. Written by a Nigerian — under the pan name “Myne Whitman”, with Nigerian characters and setting, “A heart to mend” is a fun and fast read. Myne Whitman was happy to talk to us about her book during the Christmas season. Enjoy the interview!

Youtube: Book Trailer

Jaguda Interview: I know growing up you must've been exposed to a good number of books and authors. From a literature standpoint, who would you say has been your biggest influence?

I wouldn't say I have a single influence, as I have read so widely, but some authors that come to mind are Barbara Cartland, Francine Rivers, Sidney Sheldon, Flora Nwapa, Buchi Emecheta, Cyprian Ekwensi, and more recently Chimamanda Adichie and Jude Dibia. Of all them I identify most strongly with Buchi Emechetas books.

Singing the Monday blues ....by Miss Fab

Welcome back feedbackers. Happy New Year to all and I hope 2010 is already treating you good. As usual vote for the next chapter when you're done enjoying this...

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

Iphey was having the worst possible Monday in the history of Mondays.

To begin with, she didn’t hear her alarm ring at 6am and flew out of bed at 6:43 instead. Rushing to get ready and stepping out of the house within an impressive 35 minutes, she was beginning to have faith that the day could still be salvaged when her car refused to start. Her mallam-cum-makeshift-mechanic insisted he could fix the problem in "pife" minutes. "Madam, only pife minutes I need,” he declared but Iphey had neither the patience nor the mood to wait and angrily stomped out into the sunless morning to hail a taxi.

Rapture or something like it must have occurred that morning – that was the only explanation she could think of for the practically standstill traffic, and she spent many angry minutes uncharacteristically cursing the taxi driver, the other drivers, the okada riders, the Lagos state government, the Nigerian government, and every other entity she could think of.

Walking into her 9am meeting at 9:26, she fumbled into the nearest empty seat, muttering a breathless “Sorry I’m late. Got caught in traffic.”

“And they say you're professional,” Funmi muttered. “Do you have the report?” She snapped more loudly.

“I’m really sorry,” Iphey said, shuffling through the papers she held in her hand. She picked out a couple and asked Bisi to pass them down. “Here they are.”

Funmi shot her a withering look before resuming her presentation.

Iphey could not have been more embarrassed. It’s this stupid Chinedu, she thought to herself. She had gone home fuming from the party, thinking she’d made a huge mistake. She didn’t even know what made her kiss him; it wasn’t like her to do so. She was never quite the forward type, but somehow Chinedu had waltzed in on his high horse and messed up her rhythm. She hadn’t been able to get much sleep the past few nights, tossing and turning and staring at the pitch-black darkness way into the early morning.

Feeling cranky from lack of sleep, she willed herself to disappear in her seat. It didn’t seem like she was doing a very good job because she caught Ayo winking at her. Suddenly she was very annoyed. What was wrong with this man? He'd shown up to a party on her mum's invitation as her boss but then proceeded to get chummy at every chance as if he’d just proposed. Had he no shame or sense of decency? Did he not care about his wife? What’s wrong with men these days even? It’s like they don’t know what they want.

She didn’t realize she’d hissed out loud until all eyes in the boardroom turned to her.

“Excuse me, did you have a problem with something I said?” Funmi asked, sounding irritated.

“I’m-I’m sorry,” Iphey stammered and for lack of a meaningful explanation to give, reorganized her papers and tried to look busy.

That was her Monday so far, and it wasn’t even 10 o’ clock yet.

Determined to make up for her double strike at the meeting, she decided to skip lunch and use the time to put in some extra work. Iphey felt upset with herself for being so careless, and she reminded herself that now was not the time to slack off. The recent spate of terminations all over the banking sector was nothing to joke with, especially now that she was due for confirmation.

Around 12:30, Bisi and one of the girls from Accounts Reconciliation stopped by to ask if she would join them for lunch.

“Oh, thanks for the invite,” Iphey smiled, “but I really have to finish all this work.”

The other girl excused herself for a phone call, and Bisi waited until she was out of sight before saying, “So when are you going to gist me about you and you-know-who at your party on Friday?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Iphey laughed nervously, she didn't want to talk about Chinedu.

“Ahahn don’t form for me jo,” Bisi teased. “I heard he was all over you and even gave gifts to your mom.”

Iphey stared back at her blankly for a few seconds before realizing she was talking about Ayo.

“Oh you mean that one?” she said and then hissed. “I don’t understand why he won’t leave me alone.”

“It’s so obvious he likes you,” Bisi said, pausing to add, “He’s really rich you know. And I hear he and his wife haven’t lived together in over a year.”

Iphey was about to ask why Bisi was sharing this information with her when the other girl returned.

“You guys should enjoy your lunch,” Iphey said. “I’ve to return to this portfolio anyway.”

“We’ll talk later sha,” Bisi replied and left.

Iphey turned back to her monitor and thought about the conversation. A nagging feeling at the back of her mind told her trouble was breeding somewhere, but she convinced herself she was being ridiculous and tried to focus on her work.

At 8 pm, she decided to head home. Most of her co-workers had gone by then, so she packed her papers and hurriedly left the building. Stepping outside the gates of the bank, she suddenly realized she hadn’t eaten all day and she stood for a few minutes, the cacophony of the evening hustle and bustle interspersing her angrily growling tummy, until she spotted an empty taxi heading in her direction. She stretched out her hand to flag it down and, without a word, got into the backseat.

The driver turned around to ask where she was going, and Iphey gasped as she recognized the disheveled, unkempt stranger as James, her sister’s missing husband.


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

I think we're off to a running start with chapter from Miss Fab. who also writes on her Blog FABULOSITY UNWRITTEN. Go visit and add her to your blogrolls people. She needs feedback for her upcoming novel as she says in her last post excerpt below.

"Writing

I did a lot more creative writing this year than I've ever done
before, and I have you bloggers and readers to thank for that. All of
your feedback and support have been really encouraging, and I'm glad
that I finally rekindled my love for writing. Every year I promise
myself that I'll complete a novel before the end of the year, and
sadly this year, like all the others, I failed to accomplish that.
Hopefully with some support from you guys and a lot more
self-discipline from my end, I won't be saying the same thing this
time next year."

NEW YEAR + NEW WEBSITE

I want to use this opportunity to thank you all, my friends, fans, blog readers, feedbackers, contributors and those who've bought the book. You guys are really amazing. I love you all as if I know you personally. You all have been very supportive in the few months this blog has been up, and I cannot wait for more to come in 2010! Happy new year to you all!!!

I have launched a website to promote Myne Whitman and you can now buy an autographed copy of the book at http://www.mynewhitman.com. To celebrate, the contest to win a free copy of A Heart to Mend has been extended and modified. You'll find details on the new website.

Thanks for coming with me on the journey and I promise you that there will be more stories to come. This blog will continue the Blogsville interactive story on Sunday so don't forget to come back and catch up on other budding writers.

Once again, HAVE A GREAT 2010!!!!!!!!!

ps, enjoy this clip, Ms O reminded me of it. I never would have made it without you guys. Of course God is ABOVE ALL and believe me I am thankful!

WINNER ANNOUNCED!!! + Update

The winner for the contributors contest is Cerebrally Busy with a count of 77! Send your address to mulan.mine@gmail and you'll receive your autographed book ASAP!

The league table is as follows. Please blame my science side for this cut and dry method, LOL. I wanted it to be fair, transparent and to reward consistency. The numbers are the poll votes + chapter comments by readers + contributors feedback to the blog.

Fabulola = 2 + 45 + 5 = 52
Isha = 2 + 44 + 2 = 48
NaijaBloke = 2 + 43 + 1 = 46
CerebrallyBusy = 7 + 57 + 13 = 77
Bubbles = 6 + 47 + 5 = 58
David = 12 + 43 + 8 = 63
Leggy = 4 + 38 + 18 = 60

UPDATE

For readers, I have decided to extend the giveaway period to make it more open because it seems a lot of people are still away from blogsville on Christmas and the rest of the holidays. I received a couple of entries and one have complained that they're not on facebook or Twitter so the steps to enter doesn't favor them. Therefore I have modified the guidelines to make it easier for more people to take part and the dates have also been extended from end of December to 31st January.

Modified Guidelines for Readers/Feedbackers.

Answer the following contest questions.
- What is on the cover of the novel A Heart to Mend?
- Who is your favorite character from the Gladys and Edward's story?
- Why do you like this character?
- If there's to be a sequel of A Heart to Mend, suggest a major character.
- Name your 5 favorite characters from the ongoing interactive story?

Send entries to mulan.mine@gmail Subject Line: A Heart to Mend contest
Entries should be received before 12:00AM (US Pacific) – Sunday 31st of January 2010.
Entries are open to all MWW readers, the books will be delivered to genuine postal addresses anywhere including Nigeria and Europe.
To promote transparency and fairness, a random.org widget will be used to select winners. Their names will also be published here on the blog.

Good Luck to everyone and I look forward to reading more submissions. I will also try to ensure that you receive your prize as quickly as possible when selected.

When do you take down the Christmas tree?

So we put up the Christmas tree in the run-up to Christmas. The story of how we shopped for the tree and the ornaments will fill this blog post so I'll leave that for now. The question is when to take it down. After all the stress of buying it and then putting it up with the plenty decorations, we should leave it up till next Christmas. OK I kid, I kid...maybe till the end of January. And it's so beautiful when lighted up, what do you think?

Merry Christmas, one and all...

I want to wish everyone a very merry Christmas, have a great day and remember the reason for the season. Have you read the last chapter by Leggy below this? So go on and update first. OK, now most of you know my novel 'A Heart to Mend' has been published, YAY!!! Your hardcopy can now be purchased from the publisher's website HERE.

In the spirit of Christmas and the New Year therefore, I have decided to give away two autographed copies of the paperback. This is to reward the readers of the blog and those who have made it what it has been recently, an interactive story hub.

Also, the virtual tour is off to a great start and I'm very happy at the buzz the book has been getting from all around. I'm sure some of you have seen the rave reviews on several websites including Olamild Entertainment, Afrogist TV, GidiLounge, Jaguda.com, The Bookaholic, and the Nigerian Village Square.

Now to the giveaway which will be in two formats as follows;

1. For Contributors.

Guidelines to select the winner.

They should leave a comment after this post to show interest
Blog about their contribution to the story and link it here.
The following numbers will be added to get the highest total.
- the comments after their contributed chapter.
- the vote count by readers for their favorite contributor.
- the total feedback they have contributed on this blog.
The poll runs until 12.00AM (US Pacific) 29th December 2009
Contributors are free to canvass and direct friends to vote.
In the case of a tie, there will be a random draw.


2. For Readers/Feedbackers.

Steps to Enter

Leave a comment after this post.
Join Myne Whitman Writes on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/Myne.Whitman
Tweet about the book mentioning @Myne_Whitman
If you're not already doing so, follow this blog.
Answer the following contest questions.
- What is on the cover of the novel A Heart to Mend?
- Who is your favorite character from the Gladys and Edward's story?
- Why do you like this character?
- If there's to be a sequel of A Heart to Mend, suggest a major character.
- Name your 5 favorite characters from the ongoing interactive story?

Guidelines

Send entries to mulan.mine@gmail (optional: indicate your FB/Tweet ID)
Subject Line: A Heart to Mend contest
Entries should be received before 12:00AM (US Pacific) – 31st December 2009.
Entries are open to all MWW readers, the books will be delivered to genuine postal addresses anywhere.
Only shortlisted entries will be contacted.
Winners will be chosen at random from this pool of top correct entries.
To promote transparency and fairness, a random.org widget will be used to select winners. Their names will also be published on the blog.


Good Luck to everyone and I look forward to reading your submissions. I will also try to ensure that you receive your prize as quickly as possible.

Match-making Mother....by Leggy

This is our last chapter for the year. So rather than voting for the next, you'll be voting for your favorite chapter (giveaway update). As usual vote on the left bar.

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

Chinedu stalked out of the party looking really mad. he couldn't even bear to face Iphey's mum and sister, he was that angry but confused at the same time. There was just a way that man hugged her with so much familiarity that he didn’t like, granted he had no reason to be mad. He wasn’t anything to her, not her boyfriend, not her brother, not even her friend, no matter how much he wanted to be the first.

Chinedu got into his car and drove out of the parking lot into the dim lit streets, easily manipulating the steering of his brand new Porsche Carrera GT. What didn’t he have that Iphey could possibly want in a guy? He was handsome-going by what other girls said to him, he was rich, he had his own company, and he was living the good life. He had paid for his mistakes over and over again; he deserved to be happy now without the shadow of a terrible mistake of his youthful days crowding his life. An occupation that didn’t even last that long and one in which he was pushed into by necessity.

He had to admit that Iphey looked really good in those clothes, very casual, not even a bit of make up on that face and she still looked so good. After watching her sleep in her apartment on the day of her sister’s son’s crisis, his feeling that they had a connection had become stronger. She had tried to apologize before he left and he kept expecting her call or something. After over a week and he had not heard from her, he had accepted her mother’s invitation to come for the party. He had been hoping that Iphey secretly knew about the invitation and really wanted to him to come. If wishes were horses….

But why exactly am I mad? He thought to himself, she kissed me, she left him and she kissed me, he might be whatever to her but it was me she chose to kiss. So why exactly am I angry?

The truth was that he felt he was getting so fed up with her games, fed up with wondering- does she like me? Always asking himself, Is she just fronting? Is she like all those other girls?

He gently drove into his drive way and got out of the car, picked up his coat and phone from the backseat of the car and walked into his house. As he undressed slowly he thought back at the events of that night, the taste of her lips still lingered on his lips, he liked Iphey with all his heart but he felt like he was being manipulated, being tested, she kept opening up to him and withdrawing. Maybe she doesn’t even like men, he thought and as that crossed his mind he smiled, okay he was going crazy.

He stepped into his pajamas, picked up his phone and called her mum. After the fourth ring she picked up and yelled ‘hello’ into the phone, it was really loud in there.

"Good evening ma," he responded.

"Hey, my son, I heard you left, you didn’t even think to come say goodnight to us?"

"Ahn ahn mama, it’s not like that now. There was an emergency in the office I had to attend to, all these newbies in the office always messing up one file or the other." he answered. A little white lie couldn’t hurt, he thought.

"And they had to call the CEO to attend to such details on a Friday evening too? No problem my son, at least you thought to call. So is Iphey with you? I can’t find her anywhere around here and she isn’t picking up her phone." Iphey's mother sounded a little worried.

"No, ma," he replied. "When I was leaving she was still there. I’ll try and track her down for you and get back to you on her whereabouts, she’s probably somewhere around there and can’t hear her phone ring because of the loud music." Or maybe she has gone off with the other guy an inner voice taunted him.

"I hope so oh. I assumed that you both went off together, you know I saw you both." She laughed, 'well, call me when you speak to her oh. I'm just a little worried because the last time I saw her she looked upset."

"I think I upset her by coming without her knowledge, there was another guy..."

"Rubbish, of course that's not true. That guy works at her office that's all, he's still here."

"OK no problem, ma. I’ll call her right away. Bye bye ma," he replied, not in the least bit relieved and even a little worried.

"Bye bye my son" she answered back.

As iphey’s mother closed her phone, she smiled cunningly to Iphey’s sister, Ngozi who looked at her with a mixture of a frown and a smile.

Iphey is going to kill you if she finds out you are meddling in her personal business. Just because you were right about James and I getting together doesn’t mean you should consider yourself a matchmaker. Remember that we still don't know whether he only missing or he's deserted me," she said.

"I'm sure James will still come back, isn't Obi back home after what the doctors said? Trust me on this, I'm still the very good and wise mother who married you off single handedly. As for Iphey, she is being too much of a fool and I can’t just stand by and let her run this nice Chinedu off like all the others."

She smiled at Iphey who stood quietly with her colleagues looking sad and annoyed at the same time. Iphey's mum turned and winked at Ngozi; she could already hear the wedding bells ringing.

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


Our contributor is LEGGY. This is an excerpt from the last entry on her blog on the topic of marriage and would be matchmakers, LOL...

i hate it when people ask me if i dont want to get married.
marriage is something that will happen if it will happen
its not an institution that is an attractive venture for me.
well, unless someone pays me to marry them...that'd be super cool.
im 18, marriage is a thought that barely crosses my mind.
ill cross that bridge when im done living my life and feel like i need an extra hobby.