Black Sparkle Romance (10 page)

It was two months after the fire and the tabloids and the public had forgotten about it; there were enough happenings in Lagos to overshadow arson at a magazine launch.
Black Sparkle
did the same, trying to move beyond the disaster. The office was closed for two days and sales were halted. The crew visited the injured and their families with cash tokens and Lauren covered costs for their medical expenses. The week was also spent receiving goodwill messages from fans and staff at other magazines. But, as the days slipped into weeks and months, things returned to normal and the company reopened business.

Mira did the same. Her ankle had almost healed and she returned to work in the third week, eager to move on with her life. She didn’t mention the break-up to anyone, not that anyone cared; the office was busy trying to recuperate. Thankfully, Lauren never mentioned her relationship with Dominic, and, as the days passed by, Mira began to forget about it – until T.J. and Sade confronted her. They had been wondering why she no longer mentioned him and they kept bringing it up no matter how she ignored them. She finally told them one morning at breakfast. They looked more shocked than sympathetic, staring at her like wooden effigies. Sade was the first to speak. “You’re joking!”

Mira shrugged. “I’m not. I broke it off.” And she told them everything. They listened quietly, both their faces confused.

T.J. breathed loudly. “My goodness.” She folded her arms across her chest, forlorn. “I don’t even have a comeback or swearword for the guy … I honestly liked him.”

“So that’s it?” Sade asked tearfully. “You’ll never get back together again?”

Mira smiled mirthlessly, without needing to answer.

“But you two were so perfect together!” Sade wailed. “Christ, this sucks. I’m going to bake before I lose my mind.” She hurried away to the kitchen.

T.J. pushed away her breakfast and hung her head, muttering, “This shouldn’t happen to you, Mira, not you. You’re a good person. Why should you experience such crap, why? Ki lo de, what is this?”

At least my friends feel sorry for me, she thought wryly to herself.

But now, as she sat in her office, she thought about it. Had she overreacted? It seemed easy to blame Dominic for his secret and the danger it had posed to her life but why had she really called their relationship off? She had to be honest – he had done nothing wrong. So he had slept with Ajoke, but that was before she came into the picture. Was this whole thing a sham to mask the real reason why she had broken the relationship off? Had she done it to prove a point? That she could break men’s hearts the way
they had broken hers? The questions fell over each other like bowling pins at the end of an alley. Sighing, she walked to the large window, watching the bustling traffic below as people went about their business. Things were back to normal. Sales had resumed; Lauren was back to barking orders and ranting about deadlines. A couple of metres away from a roundabout she spotted a billboard with Ifeoma Ogendu’s face on it, the August edition of the magazine in her hands. The edition was making waves – two months after publication it still remained on bookstands. The fire incident had helped to boost sales, and so far
Black Sparkle
had sold over fifty thousand copies nationwide.

Business was good, it seemed. But she felt empty inside, and she knew why.

She missed him. God, she missed him so badly it hurt like an open sore sprinkled with salt. She could still recall his handsome face as it went through the phases of shock when she had called it off. She had not seen him since then; his contract was over and he had stopped coming around to the office. It hurt her that he had moved on so soon. Often she was tempted to call him, but she always lost her nerve at the last minute. But now her nerves pulsated with the feverish need to contact him and she dialled his number, the sound of the dial tone humming in her ear like a thousand bees. It was only when the line went dead that she realised she had been holding her breath. He hadn’t answered. She felt defeated.

Some things are not meant to be, Mira,
her Rational Mind said so softly that the words felt like the caress of a lover. She could almost feel its presence, as if it was a person standing beside her, a warm hand on her shoulder.
You shouldn’t hurt this way … let it go.

Tears blurred her vision as she gazed at his number. Let it go. With a heavy heart she held down the delete button and watched as his contact disappeared from the screen.

Let him go.

“Mira.”

Her eyes fluttered open. Lauren was standing over her, her face a mask of concern. Disorientated, Mira sat up – she had fallen asleep on the visitors’ sofa in her office. She checked her watch – it was a few minutes to one. She had dozed off for more than an hour. “I-I’m sorry, I fell asleep,” she apologised, her voice still husky with drowsiness. “I think my medication is—”

“I understand,” her boss said. “You have a visitor.” She turned to the door, and there at the threshold stood Helen Heinz.

Mira gaped at her, dumbstruck. The woman was petite and beautiful, and had a striking resemblance to her son. Her eyes were hazel like his, and her smile was just as endearing. “That’s Helen Heinz,” she muttered.

Lauren smiled. “Yes, in the flesh. She wants to speak with you so I’ll leave you two alone.” She smiled at her
sister and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Mira swallowed, at a loss for words. What do you do when one of the world’s richest black women is standing in your office? Then she kicked herself. You welcome her, of course. She hastily pulled out a chair. “Please, ma … sit.” she offered, surprised that her voice was audible. Her nerves were shot to oblivion with fright. “What can I get you? Wow, this is an honour …”

Helen Heinz grinned, revealing small white teeth. “Oh, it’s alright … I’ll rather sit with you at that sofa,” she said with a slight British accent. “And don’t worry, I’m fine. I came for more pressing issues, my dear.”

Mira lowered her gaze to her hands on her lap. “I guess it involves your son, Dominic.”

“Yes, but not the way you think,” Helen said. “See, I arrived in Nigeria last month to find my son a wreck. He was far from the boisterous young man I know; he had lost weight and was excessively quiet and distant. He was locked up in his house in Badagry, pining away. I was persistent though, and with the help of my sister we broke in and got him talking. He didn’t say much, but from what I gathered it’s clear that my son is in love with you.”

Mira shut her eyes; the image Helen had painted was dismal. “I know but … I don’t think we can be together,” she said in a low voice.

Helen’s eyebrows went up. “Says who?”

“Well, there was this incident.” She told Helen about
the Ajoke’s obsession, the arson and the attempted murder. Helen listened quietly and when she was done the woman sighed.

“Lauren told me about it. It’s sad that someone would be so overcome by their emotions to put another in harm’s way, and I am sorry all this happened to you. But this isn’t about that girl – this is about you and Dominic, about the love you have for each other.” She smiled at Mira’s questioning look. “I’m sure you are surprised I know everything, but I do. You should have seen him when he talked about you. He was so animated, so … alive. Please, give him a chance to redeem himself. Sometimes experiences like this teach us to be cautious of the friends we keep, and I’m sure Dominic has learned this.”

She placed her hand over Mira’s. “He feels terrible, Mira; he’s broken; he can’t eat or sleep. The day after we saw him he left the country without informing us. We panicked at first, but from pictures on his blog we found out he was in Paris. I found out more about you from that blog: he put up a lot of your pictures and wrote a poem about you, called ‘Breaking Mira’.” She chuckled. “Dominic has never been the poetic one but you brought out that side in him … oh, you did. He’s got over a thousand hits from that poem alone, but couldn’t care less. He hasn’t blogged since then. So tell me, my dear, why did you break up with him?”

“B-Because I love him,” Mira sobbed, her tears
blurring her sight. “I love him but I’m too proud to admit it. I felt it was just a temporary attraction that would end, but it hasn’t. And I really do love him so much, you know. I miss him too … you have no idea.” She looked up at Helen. “I just wish I could tell him how I feel. But it’s too late … he’s far away from me now.”

Helen smiled. “He’s at Elegushi Beach.”

She drew back, her brows raised with surprise. “B-but you said he’s out of the country …”

“He came back two days ago … my relatives are celebrating their wedding anniversary today and they asked for Dominic to be their photographer. I sent the message on to him and I knew he’d agree to it.”

Mira sighed, tears in the corners of her eyes. “I wish I could make things right between us again.”

“Well, what’s stopping you?”

Mira stared at her hands for a moment, immobile. Then she turned to the woman, the truth dawning on her. “Nothing,” she said. “Nothing but my pride and …” she caught sight of her face in the mirror and cringed. “And probably my face … oh Lord, I look a mess.”

“You look beautiful,” Helen said as she tidied a stray curl of Mira’s hair.  “Remember, no more excuses, Mira.”

Mira nodded. Her face set with determination as she stood up and raised her chin. “Yes, no more excuses. I can do this. I mean, I can try, can’t I?”

“Yes you can, so go. Don’t lose out on happiness because of your pride, Mira. Sometimes happiness is all we need to make us proud of who we are.”

She was laughing excitedly as she enveloped the woman in a tight hug. “Thank you so much. Oh thank you … I’ll never forget this!”

“Hold on,” Helen said, stopping her. She held up a set of keys and winked at her. “Take my Bugatti. You’ll need fast wheels for this one.”

The anniversary party was in full swing when she arrived. It was on the beach, and Mira could see the canopies and the guests dressed in colourful traditional attire as a popular song by P-Square blared out. She began running towards the venue, forgetting she was dressed in a long satin adire halter dress and red jewelled Michael Kors sandals. Four sprints into the run she lost her footing on the sand and fell over – face first. The fine sand filled her mouth and stuck to her face like dusty crystals, and a metre away from her fingers she saw a dead crab. The panic and revulsion kicked in, but then she remembered why she was here. She wouldn’t let her fears overcome her. What was it that Dominic had told her that day in Badagry? It’s up to you to prove that you are above your fears, Mira. Nobody can do that for you. Squaring her shoulders, she took off her shoes, inhaled deeply and walked to the venue of the party, undeterred. Her toes dug into the wet sand; it was clean and fine and felt amazing. People were smiling everywhere, and the music was loud. She searched frantically for him; with his towering height he shouldn’t be hard to find. But after ten minutes of frantically looking for him she still hadn’t spotted Dominic’s familiar’s face.

What now? she wondered.

I can’t leave without seeing him, I have to see him! I
came this far – nothing will stop me.
Looking around, she spotted the M.C. on the stage, and a thought came to her. She hurried towards him and held up a bundle of notes. “Two thousand naira for your microphone,” she yelled at him.

Astonished, he gaped at her.

“OK, three thousand.”

“I – eh … OK.”

Mira climbed up onto the stage and calmly took the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen,” she said, “sorry to interrupt the, eh … owambe, but I am looking for someone. He’s very tall, six foot four inches, he has em – well, broad shoulders, and he’s a photographer. Has anyone seen him?”

The crowd gaped at her, too stunned to react. She blinked. “Anyone?” she repeated, her eyes roving around expectantly.

“Sho gbo, who be this party-crasher?” A fat woman with a thick Yoruba accent demanded. “Abeg Mr Deejay, collect that microphone from her o jare!” Angry murmurs supported her, and Mira knew when she was beaten.

“Sorry,” she apologised and handed the microphone back to the M.C. Great, so much for running in here like the fairy-tale Cinderella – clearly Dominic wasn’t here. Maybe he’d never come back. Maybe he was still in Paris and had even fallen in love with somebody else. She’d had her chance once and she’d blown it. Why did she think she would get another? People don’t get lucky twice. Her heart heavy, she got down from the stage.

Then an incredulous voice uttered her name from behind: “Mira?”

Her heart stopped beating for a moment, and she halted in her tracks.
I would know that voice in my sleep. I could hear it in my dreams, wake up and point him out any day, anywhere
. She turned towards the voice and there he was standing beside a table, a silhouette of a tall man dressed in blue-washed jeans and a blue and white shirt with a camera hanging from his neck. Adoration flooded through her and she hurried towards him. “Dominic,” she breathed, her heart feeling like it could burst out of her chest any minute, “I thought I’d never see you again.”

He was staring at her with surprise, not the raw desire she had hoped for, and question marks began popping into her brain. To make matters worse, he made no move to come near her. “W-what are you doing here?” he asked.

In the past she would have rolled her eyes dramatically, but this time Mira told the truth. “I came to see you.”

He looked over her head – the crowd was staring at them, and the music had long stopped. He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry about that,” he said in Yoruba. “I’ll take care of her now.” And he took her hand and led her out of the canopy. They waded through the fine sand, the ocean breeze ruffling their clothes and echoing in their ears. He finally stopped beside some disused raffia sheds and turned to face her, this time with a slightly clenched jaw. “What are you doing here?” he demanded again, his voice little more than a growl.

Her throat went dry. She sank her teeth into her lower lip, her hands fidgeting with her dress; where would she start? She had so much to say, but her pride stopped her from saying what she wanted to. Besides, the look on his face was not encouraging – it was like facing an oncoming storm, naked and without an umbrella. She decided to start with what she had. “Your mother came by my office today,” she began in a casual tone. “S-she’s really beautiful and nice in person.”

“Hmm,” he nodded, clearly not moved by the compliment. “So you met the famous Helen Heinz – I hope you asked for an autograph.”

She ignored the sarcasm. “She even let me take her car …”

“Aww, did she now? How sweet.”

She shut her mouth – this was already going downhill; best to let it topple over. It was humiliating that she had come here dreamy-eyed and hopeful that they would kiss and make up. Well, that was not happening. And those romance movies always made it seem so easy, damn them.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Well, is that it? Was that why you came over, Mira?”

Don’t you dare tell him you love him!
her Rational Mind yelled at her. “I-I um,” she swallowed the lump in her throat, feeling stupid. Crap, this was harder than she had thought. “I was in the neighbourhood and I thought —”

“The neighbourhood?” His eyebrows went up and he gave her a slow once-over. “You’re joking, right? This is a beach, Mira; this can’t be the neighbourhood unless you’re a fish, a crustacean or a mermaid. Don’t be ridiculous.”

Her lovey-dovey aura disappeared, and she sent him a dry look. “Do you always have to be so cynical?”

“Do you always have to be so evasive with your feelings?” he threw back.

She snorted. “Who’s being evasive? I always let you know how I felt about you, you jerk! I showed you by my actions, my words, my attitude, my speech, my stupid, spontaneous kiss! That … what we both shared that night at your place … for goodness’ sake, how much more expressive should I get?” She glared at him.

“Yes, I know all that, but did it matter to you? From my point of view that night seemed like it was just raw primal sex to you.”

“How
dare
you! Don’t you realise all that was hard for me? I had gone for over 3 years without a relationship, without a man in my life, and I was fine! So what – you thought I was just ready to fall straight into bed with you when you came along? Of course I had feelings for you, and that’s why I made love to you!” she exclaimed. “Don’t stand there telling me about evasive feelings when you’re the one who’s always got some … twisted secret!”

He shrugged. “Fine, so I’m the secretive guy … so what? You’re the opinionated smart alec with the
feminist ideas and sassy tongue and you don’t see me complaining about that, do you?” He ignored her loud gasp and continued. “And that’s because I love
you
for that, Mira. I love everything about you, your personality, your bossiness and smart mouth … and I laid the table for you to throw down whatever you wanted, but you didn’t! Mira, I care because I want you to know me. That’s why it’s a relationship – we’ve got to build it together. You can’t expect me to build everything on my own!”

“And you think I never wanted to do that?” she cried. “I wanted to – that’s if you had given me the freaking chance instead of breaking up with me!”

“Let’s just remember—”

She felt tears threaten to fall. “You know what, screw this … I’m done! I was wrong after all. I was so confident that this would work, that we both loved each other enough to give it another chance but you don’t care about —”

She didn’t get a chance to finish. In one long stride Dominic closed the space between them and covered her mouth with his. Blinking, she stared into his face as he passionately kissed her, confusion clouding her brain for a second. But then pleasure kicked in as she felt his tongue meet hers. Closing her eyes, she moaned deeply, her arms around his neck. He drew her into his arms and, oblivious, Mira threw her legs around his waist as she deepened the kiss, a tear escaping and sliding down her cheek. He finally broke off the kiss when he felt
the second tear, and when she opened her eyes he was smiling at her as he wiped it off.

“Lesson number one: Never crash a wedding anniversary. Lesson number two: Never cry while kissing. That just takes all the fun out of it,” he chided.

“Y-you caught me off guard!” she replied. “I mean, we were arguing and next thing you’re plundering my lips! How did you expect me to react?”

“Well, the natural thing would be just to kiss me back.”

“OK, o I hear you,” she laughed, and he joined in. Still holding her in his arms, he looked at her for a long time; his eyes clear with his emotions. “I’ve missed that. Your laughter, I’ve missed it so much I had to laugh just to keep myself sane. I’ve missed you so much, Mira, you have no idea.”

“I think I do. Your mother told me everything.”

He groaned. “I hope she left out the details of me locking her and Lauren out of my house?”

“In your dreams,” she laughed. “And she also said you weren’t eating or sleeping. Poor baby, were you that devastated?”

He snorted. “Ha, don’t flatter yourself. I was out clubbing every night … I almost forgot you existed.”

“Yeah, right.” She rolled her eyes and they chortled. She gazed at him, her eyes telling him everything she wanted to. “I’ve missed you too, Dominic and, the more I missed you, the more I realised how much I loved you. It scared me shitless, but then I couldn’t stop my feelings,
and that was why I looked for every reason to put you off me. But these past months have made me realise that I may be strong and independent, but I’m also human. I have feelings. I can fall in love with someone who cares as much for me as I care for him.” She looked deeply into his eyes. “Give me a chance, Dominic. I know I can be a control freak sometimes, but I’m asking for a chance to be with you, to see how far I can go with this … how far we can go. Life’s too short to worry about the perfect relationship; you make yours what it is.”

He kissed her. “I’m in,” he answered. He raised his fist and they fist bumped each other, grinning. Mira hugged him, her heart singing with joy. She did it! She wanted to yell to the blue skies, she wanted to shout it to the world and the birds flying above their heads. She went for the one she loved, and she wasn’t afraid to show it.

See?
her Rational Mind said to her.
Told you it was that easy.

Mira scowled inwardly at it.
Do me a favour – shut up!

Surprisingly, it obeyed her. She looked over at the party venue. “I embarrassed myself in front of those guests … I feel so stupid.”

He laughed. “Don’t sweat it. By the way, I accepted an offer to head my mum’s jewellery franchise but on condition that she opens it here in Lagos. I have too many memories and people I love here to move away from them.”

Mira smiled. “I get that. And I wouldn’t want to be
away from you either. I’ve been there and don’t want to do that again.” She sighed, and then her eyes caught something and her face lit up. “Speaking of memories … that’s Cocoa Burn across the street,” she pointed.

He followed the direction of her finger, grinning. “Right back to where it started.” He looked down at her. “Tell me, what would you say if I asked you, right now, on a date?”

“I’d say yes,” she said bashfully. “And can we sit on the balcony? There’s a beautiful view from there.”

He slung his arm across her shoulders as they headed for the café. “We’ll sit wherever you want, babe. I totally love you, Adaora.”

“I love you more, Dominic Xavier Odogwu.”

And, for the first time, she wasn’t surprised that she actually
meant
it.