My Sister, the Serial Killer - oyinkan braithwaite Page 0,17
the house girl in the kitchen. I head down to meet her and she gives me my usual glass of orange, lime, pineapple and ginger juice. There is nothing like fruit juice to wake up your body.
When the clock strikes 5, I leave the house and negotiate the early-morning rush. I am at the hospital by 5:30. It is so quiet at this time of day that one is tempted to speak in whispers. I drop my bag behind the reception desk and pull down the incident book from the shelf to see if anything worthy of note took place during the night. One of the doors behind me squeaks open and soon Chichi is by my side.
It is the end of Chichi’s shift, but she lingers. “Ah ah, are you wearing makeup?”
“Yes.”
“What’s the occasion?”
“I just decided to—”
“Wonders will never end, you even put plenty foundation!”
I resist the urge to grab the wipes out of my bag and remove every trace of makeup from my face right then and there.
“Abi, have you found boyfriend?”
“What?”
“You can tell me, I’m your friend.” I can’t tell her. Chichi will spread the news before I have finished telling it. And we are not friends. She smiles, hoping to put me at ease, but the expression does not sit comfortably on her face. Her forehead and cheeks are caked in a too-light concealer to hide her aggressive pimples (though she left puberty behind long before I was born), and her bright red lipstick has seeped into the cracks in her lips. I would be more at ease if the Joker were to smile at me.
Tade arrives at 9 a.m. He hasn’t slipped on his doctor’s coat yet and I can make out the muscles beneath his shirt. I try not to stare at them. I try not to dwell on the fact that they remind me of Femi’s. The first thing he asks is, “How is Ayoola?” He used to ask how I was. I tell him she is fine. He peers at my face curiously.
“I didn’t know you wore makeup.”
“I don’t really, I just thought I’d try something different…What do you think?”
He frowns as he considers my handiwork.
“I think I prefer you without it. You have nice skin, you know. Really smooth.”
He has noticed my skin…!
At the first opportunity, I sidle off to the toilet to remove the makeup, but freeze when I see Yinka pursing her lips at one of the mirrors over the bank of sinks. I take a couple of silent steps backward, but she turns her head in my direction and raises her eyebrow.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing. I’m leaving.”
“But you just came in…”
She narrows her eyes, instantly suspicious, as she draws closer to me. The moment she realizes I have makeup on, she sneers.
“My, my, how the ‘au natural’ have fallen.”
“It was just an experiment.”
“An experiment in the winning of Dr. Tade’s heart?”
“No! Of course not!”
“I’m playing with you. We both know Ayoola and Tade are meant to be. They look gorgeous together.”
“Yes. Exactly.”
Yinka smiles at me, but her smile is mocking. She sweeps past me as she leaves the toilet and I let go of the breath I’ve been holding. I rush to the sink and take a wipe from my bag, rubbing at my skin. When I’ve got the worst of it off, I splash my face with handfuls of water, rinsing away any traces of makeup and tears.
ORCHIDS
A bouquet of violently bright orchids is delivered to our house. For Ayoola. She leans forward and picks out the card that is tucked between the stems. She smiles.
“It is from Tade.”
Is this how he sees her? As an exotic beauty? I console myself with the knowledge that even the most beautiful flowers wither and die.
She takes out her phone and begins to type a message, narrating her text out loud—“I. Really. Prefer. Roses.” I should stop her, I really should. Tade is a man who puts a lot of thought into everything he does. I can see him in a flower shop, examining bouquet after bouquet, asking questions about varietals and feeding needs, making a well-informed choice. I select a vase from our collection and place the flowers on our center table. The walls are a solemn cream and the flowers light up the living room. “Send.”
He will be taken aback by her text, disappointed and hurt. But perhaps he will understand that she is not the one for him and he will finally back off.
At noon, a spectacular