Kene’s sister Ifeoma, often described him as ‘impulsive.’
Kene however had not been hasty over his momentous trip to the part of Nigeria where Bobo resided. He had dithered. His schooldays’ friend, Bobo, who sometimes stayed with him in Abuja, had continually urged him to visit. ‘The pace of life is different in my town,’ Bobo had said. ‘I know nice hangouts. Just come and chill there for some time. My doors are open… oh, what’s wrong?’
On Bobo’s last trip to Abuja with his new wife Mira, the couple had spent a week as Kene’s guests. Mira had added her plea to her husband’s. ‘Our home is there for you. I’ll cook, cook, until you belleful! Just come. Maybe you’ll even find a wife there…’
‘I’ve a girlfriend,’ Kene had reminded her.
‘You go dey for girlfriend die?’ Bobo had chuckled. ‘Anyway, this is not about matchmaking.’
‘You want to “retaliate” my hospitality,’ jested Kene. ‘You don’t have to, you know.’ All three chuckled at the allusion. It was the famous faux pas of some public figure who said ‘retaliate’ when what he meant was ‘reciprocate.’
Suddenly, at a time of global alarm, Kene found he had before him a week that was free of commitments. He boarded a plane to Bobo’s home state. His visit offended rather than gratified Bobo, for Kene checked into a hotel, then phoned the couple to announce his arrival. His action was deliberate. He had reasoned that since Bobo was no longer a bachelor, he should not intrude upon his marital space. He had learnt that having a husband’s friend as a houseguest was irksome to some women.
Kene was also undergoing an inner struggle. It had rumbled fitfully in him for years. His coming to that town strangely expressed both avoidance and embracing of that urge. It was a yearning both adored and abhorred.
He had argued with his girlfriend, Bosede, before travelling. ‘You don’t want to say what you’re going for, suddenly deciding to leave Abuja for a week,’ she had grumbled. ‘Ok, you feel I’m going to see a woman there,’ Kene replied. ‘I know no one there except Bobo and his wife, and I’m not even staying with them. I want time alone, to look into myself.’
She was skeptical. ‘I see. Just be careful… Don’t bring back HIV, I beg you.’ Kene sighed, ‘So suspicious!’
When Bobo and Mira came to the hotel, Mira wept. ‘How could you stay in a hotel and be paying bills when our home is there? We have three empty bedrooms. How have we wronged you?’
‘We know you’re a bachelor,’ Bobo added. ‘Even if you want some woman to visit you in our place, we won’t mind.’
Kene strove to soothe them. They asked him to dinner the following evening, and gave him a lavish feast. He spent the day after roaming the town, preoccupied with his inner prodding. He felt he must embark on it, then decided he needed to attain certain milestones first.
On that day, he heard disquieting news. The Federal Government had ordered that in three days’ time, interstate travel would be banned in the federation. The Covid-19 pandemic had assumed terrifying proportions, and its spread had to be curtailed.
Kene chafed at the forced end to his holiday. He was savouring the town’s peculiarities, and had planned to be there for an entire week. However, he managed to change his travel date, enabling him to fly to Abuja in a couple of days. He could not have known how his stay in that town would be prolonged.
Knowing that the journey to the airport took about 50 minutes in normal traffic, Kene left his hotel two and a half hours before his flight. His taxi coursed along the streets. Less than ten minutes into the easy ride, they encountered a bottleneck. Kene felt panic stir within him, and quelled it. Five minutes later, the vehicle had not advanced, and a long line of cars was behind it.
‘Is there any other route we could take?’ he asked the driver.
‘Yes,’ replied the man, ‘but that one long pass this… but me, I no even fit get out of this now.’