Aunt Isioma shut the hot noon sun out when she closed the front door and walked into the cool interior of the house. At the top of the stairs, the open door on the right caught her eye. She walked over, her large purse trailing by her fingertips. What was Tolani, her new maid, doing with a mobile phone and in Gladys‘s room too?
The girl kept the phone at a safe distance from her ear as she stammered, “Oga, no one like that for here.”
“Oga, nobody dey for house.” Tolani repeated another couple of times.
“I no know who you ask for...” The girl put the phone down on the bedside table and only then noticed her standing by the door.
“Tolani, what are you doing with that phone?” Aunt Isioma asked. “Who gave you a phone and why are you here?” She trudged to the closest bed and sat down. Since Tolani arrived yesterday, she‘d given her more headache than Bunmi had in several years. She kicked off her slippers and stretched out her legs. She didn‘t have time for this; Christmas was just a few days away and she had a party to plan.
“Madam, no be my phone be dat. When the phone ring, I come here to pick am.”
“Give me the phone.” Tolani picked up the phone again and handed it to her. “Oh no, this phone belongs to Gladys. She must have forgotten it. Who was that calling?”
“One oga but I no know who him be.”
“It must have been a wrong number. Did he just call today?”
“Yes Madam, the oga don dey call here since morning.”
“He has been calling since morning? And who has he been asking for?”
“He say he wan speak to one Gladys. I tell am say the person no live for here...”
“What? But that is my niece‘s name!” Isioma shouted and sat up. “Don‘t you know that? You met her yesterday when you arrived and she just travelled this morning.”
“The small madam? Hey, I no know. You just say make I dey call her auntie…”
Aunt Isioma glared at her. “Did you get his name?”
“Him name na... hem...eh…”
“I‘m sure it was Edward…
“That‘s it. Yes madam, him name na Edward...”
“God! Why didn‘t you tell me this before now? I was in the house all morning.” Now this explained why Gladys hadn‘t called her all day to say how her trip was going.