Camie

                 ROMANTIC THURSDAY

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She twirled round on her toes before bending down halfway to roll her waist to the beat banging in her ears. With eyes closed she tried to mime the song but the lyrics turned to a low mumble. Tolu was in a world of her own and nothing  else mattered. The music was on replay and the soup would have to wait for awhile.

Baba angrily breezed into the kitchen only to pause on his heels when his blazing eyes fell on well-rounded hips twisting heatedly to sounds he could not hear. His eyes darkened and his eyebrow twitched with surprise as he tried to figure out who the alluring lady with her back turned towards him was. Her moves captured his fantasy. When the spoon in her hand was turned into a microphone as she slowly twisted and  sent unimaginable waves up his spine, Baba's lips curled in a mischievous smile that turned into a sneer when it dawned on him that the dancing lady was actually Tolu. A new and irresistible Tolu.

Turn around and run Baba, a voice yelled out in his head. He knew he should stay away from her but he was too ensnared to move an inch. Besides why would he resist the beautiful vision of a woman he once called his wife? He argued with himself while allowing his burning eyes to roam ravenously all over her voluptuous body accentuated by the flimsy sleeveless mini gown that clung to her sweaty back. 

When did she learn to dance like this? When did she lose all that weight she had gained after the arrival of Camie? Several questions whirled in Baba’s head as his eyes shredded the cloths off the seductively beautiful woman he had earlier wanted to scream at for reasons that suddenly seemed impulsive and immature. His pants tightened like the fist twisting his heart as he struggled with the raging emotions coursing through his athletic body; familiar emotions he thought had been repressed by years of marital loneliness.

Baba felt his heart spin the same way it used to when they were dating; when she could arouse him with just a wink of her beautiful eyes. That was before the arrival of their daughter and the resultant transformation. She lost her curves and was too lazy to work on it.  He ran out of patience with and eventually lost interest in her. Tolu was disappointed and initially fought him vehemently. His persistent withdrawal resulted in the colossal unconstrained coldness that grew between them. One day, he came back to notice she had moved into the vacant room behind the main house. Back then, he had felt like a man liberated from the most grueling bondage but his happiness was short lived when he eventually realized that nothing and no one could fill the void she left in his heart. It took him years to subdue his emotions. Her animosity suited his spirit as months would go by without him setting eyes on her. He hired a nanny for Camie and with time, Tolu became non-existent until that afternoon when he saw her car blocking the main gate. Having horned severally with no response from her, he had irately rushed into her kitchen to shout at her as usual.  

He could hear the beat filtering out of the headphone jammed to her ears and the melodious sound of her voice humming along. She was oblivious of his presence and what she was doing to his body and senses. Gently leaning against the open door, his fingers squeezed the door knob tightly as his breathing suddenly became more labored. He had sworn never to reveal how much he missed her, he had sworn never to love her again, yet, a glance at that cheap gown stuck to that curvaceous body he loved and still passionately adored was all it took to revive the dead embers of his affection for her. All he wanted was to hold her again. 

Baba took a step towards the mother of his only child and just then the spoon sprung off her fingers and clanged to the tiled floor; her eyes flew open. The sound startled him back to reality; he hastily whirled round and dashed out of the kitchen.

Tayo saw his receding back and smiled slowly…