Sunday, January 25, 2009

Mr Randy Landlord

Hi peeps, hope you had a good week. And that you're well rested for the coming one...i was going to write another memoir from my childhood but right now i'm feeling quite lazy so i thought i'd put up one of my short stories and you guys can let me know what you think. Hope you have a nice read.
Please don't forget to visit the blog aloted and i are cohosting if you haven't been there.

The Randy Landlord

‘Come out now and defend yourself’, I heard a distant voice behind my bedroom window. I refused to respond thinking it was Bola and his wife my next door neighbours who were constantly at each other’s throat. His wife was always accusing him of cheating on her and in return he would beat her mercilessly. I had gone to separate them while fighting on several occasions. I decided to ignore them and thought they would see reason and carry the fight to their flat.
I turned to the other side, covering my head with the pillow, then I heard loud banging on my door and decided to check the clock by my bedside, it was 12 midnight. ‘Won’t these people just leave me alone?’ I said as I decided to ignore the knock, hoping the caller would take the hint they were unwelcome and go away. It seemed the caller was hell bent on waking me because the knock became louder and more persistent. I listened, trying to grasp what the person was saying. Which of the other tenants would be calling on me at this time of the night? I concluded it could only be Bola and his wife and I got up, ready to go and give them a piece of my mind. If they could not stay married in peace then it was best they separated from each other.
As I wore my dressing gown over my night dress, I could make out the voice of my landlord, ‘useless woman, come out now and defend yourself on why you’ve been rude to my wife’. It was my landlord’s voice alright and I wondered what he was talking about. Did this man know the time was the thought in my head as I stumbled to my door, sleep still very heavy in my eyes.
I opened the door and he was standing right there, half naked, just a wrapper wrapped around his waist. I didn’t even know some men still wore that these days. ‘Good evening sir or should I say good morning? To what do I owe this honour of you waking me up at this time of the night?’
I expected him to be shouting considering what I heard before opening the door but he was all smiles, grinning like an overfed cat, his pot belly thumping up and down
‘Won’t you ask me in?’ He said revealing the gap between his teeth.
‘No sir, I will not let you in, it is the middle of the night and you should go and sleep in your house while you let me sleep.’
‘You’re being rude to me this girl’, he said, holding on to my door so I wouldn’t close it in his face.
‘It’s late sir, we can discuss whatever you need to discuss with me when day breaks’
‘No this cannot wait’, he said as he pointed to the bulge under his towel
‘God forbid! I am a respectably married woman and I will not take kindly to such things. Please leave now before I get very nasty’
‘Relax, young woman, you claim to be married, yet your husband leaves you alone in this house almost half of the year. Let me keep you warm when your husband is away. I can do that very well’
I wondered what to say to this man. I had wondered at the attention he was paying my son and I recently. He would go out and stop by our flat some evenings claiming to have a gift for him. My 4 year old son had even taken to calling him Grandpa and was growing very fond of him. It all made sense now; his sudden interest in our well being, his constant stopping by, his gifts, offering to call his mechanic when my car had a fault, everything made sense now. Wale my husband had told me to be careful with him the last time I hinted him of how nice our landlord was. I playfully told him he was being jealous since he was far away. He told me he was only protecting his family and that he had a feeling the man was not genuine. We did not conclude on what to do but I was not going to treat a nice man with disdain.
Now it all made sense. Why did Wale’s office have to station him outside the city where we live for months on end? His company only allowed him come home for a few weekends. I had complained, prayed and hoped. Now I was just accepting it and hoping our situation would change soon. If my husband was home with me, this old goat would not stand at my door asking me to let him keep me warm.
I came back to the present and shouted so other tenants would hear. ‘Please sir, leave now, my son is sleeping and I would not want you to wake him up’. What was he even thinking standing there in his loin cloth? What would other tenants think if they saw him coming from my door like that? Bisi and Angela were the house gossips; they both lived in the mini flats at the back of the house and made every other person’s business theirs. Rumour had it that Angela was the cause of the fight between Bola and his wife and she endlessly tempted the young man when his wife was not around.
I succeeded at sending our landlord away that night but for the next two months, I constantly received such knocks on my door every night. I complained to my husband who said I should be careful and make sure the door was always locked when we were around at home. He was sorry he could not come home yet, he was on a project and he could nto leave. What kind of job would make a man desert his family in time of need, I wondered. I was upset with him and we had a fight on the phone. He was neglecting me and our son, I told him in plain words. For several months, I had endured the loneliness of a married woman living as a single woman. I lashed out at him with all the frustration I felt and all he could say was how he was sorry for putting me through hell. I ended the call and told him when he had worked something out, he could call me.
Amidst all this, my landlord did not relent in his effort to get me into his bed, he constantly harassed me when other people were there shouting that I was being rude to his wife, then at midnight he would sneak to my window and beg me to open the door just that once and how he would satisfy me. He told me of how he knew I could not be enjoying life with my husband so far away.
My husband continued sending me text messages to say how sorry he was but I knew something was wrong. One of the days when I thought deeply of our situation and how much I loved my husband and was not willing to give up on our marriage, I replied him and asked what was going on. All he could say was ‘I will explain in due time but for now, bear with me, I can’t come home yet’. What was going on? Then, he stopped communicating; he had not sent money to us in the past two months. First month, I thought he was broke and overlooked it, this was the second month and he was incommunicado. I was devastated, I knew I declared the war but it was not like my husband to have both his cell phones turned off. He was not replying his emails either. I thought something bad must have happened to him, but reasoned with myself that his office would have called me. I decided to be brave and called his Lagos office. What I heard was a rude shock, ‘your husband no longer works with us’, the receptionist said in an icy voice, ‘’Do you know why’’? I asked her. Her response sounded impatient: ‘’madam, there was a fraud, your husband was involved in it, any other thing you want to find out?’’ ‘’No, thank you’’, I replied. My world came crashing down. The project he was working on now made sense. My husband was jobless and was now avoiding getting in touch with me. What did he think I would do??? .....to be continued

27 comments:

olusimeon said...

1st again..i'm hot

Rebirth said...

great story!!!!!!!!1
wow, stupid landlord.... doesnt hos wife wonder where he goes at midnight every time...... eh ya, what ever happened to newly weds communicating excellently...... dont keep us waiting for part 2 o

The Activist said...

God start

I hope it will end the way I envisioned like Bola getting punished for beating his wife

And the landlord getting his penis cut

And your husband ... must he run away from his wife cos is in trouble? I dont know what to say o

I am impatiently waiting for the continuation

africa entertainment plus sports said...

Seems the nollywood pt 1,pt 2,....pt 10 stuff is catching on with the rest of us! But I can't wait for the continuation (and hopefully final part!).I remember a similar (this one is real !!!) stuff when growing up in surulere,only it was not a landlord involved.

LusciousRon said...

Lovely story, waiting for the conclusion.

It seems all you bloggers will be publishing short stories soon.

Writefreak said...

@simeone
You're indeed hot! Lol...did you even read the story?

@funms
Lol...watch this space for part 2 really soon!

@standtall
Ah lol...darling you harsh o!well watch this space..will complete it soon!
No be my husband o...hehehe..na the girl's husband..this is what I get for writing in the first person...hehehe

@africa entertainment
No it won't take long, I promise...I've actually completed the writing, just need to do some editing!

Writefreak said...

@ luscious
Thank you, hopefully will get them published, have a few...and a completed book..rest will be up soon.

Unknown said...

An entertaining read...don't forget to put up the conclusion.

LG said...

i want more

Anonymous said...

I love the story...
Why didnt u end it with what we were waiting for...?

O'Dee said...

9ce story.

men r very sensitive about their work & money. 4getting that their wives are there as helpmates.

olusimeon said...

i know stuff like this happens but in this particular case i'm happy it's fiction...i just read the story o..the fraud thing is a false allegation and he just got entangled...thats why he can't come home yet....who told me..?

aloted said...

this landlord is really randy!

LovePaprika said...

That landlord needs brain implant

Vera Ezimora said...

Dang. This one that the husband don lose him job, hope she doesn't fall for the landlord's temptations o. Chei.

But this kin land lord sha....! Nice story!!

NoLimit said...

Ahhh now my appetite has been whet...can't wait to read the continuation...there I was thinking hubby was cheating on her...landlord should be castrated once and for all!!!...I know...jungle justice right?lol
Beautiful write up...

TY Tha Mos Magnificent said...

LUVLY WRITE UP, PLS DONT END IT LIKE THE STUPID NOLLYWOOD MOVIES THAT RAPE OUR EYES SO MUCH

Afrobabe said...

At least it wasn't another woman...awwww...

great story babes..

Buttercup said...

foolish landlord..how will keeping something as vital as that away from ur wife solve a problem?? it seems like most men have communication problems..

looking forward to the continuation!

Original Mgbeke said...

Oooh, this is really interesting. Come and continue it o...

Nefertiti said...

The landlord na serious akoshibero. Abeg come and update dis tin o.

Thanks for stopping by my space. I love ur blog too. U have been added. I think ur other blog is awesome as well!

Favoured Girl said...

Good stuff... I remember this. Let's have the conclusion soon o!

Beulah! said...

Wow Girl, u can write!, i-n-t-e-r-e-s-t-i-n-g!!...I'm adding u to my blog list sharp sharp!

miz-cynic said...

communication is important, men and their pride sha...i loving this....want to see how he'll explain his way outta tht one

Anonymous said...

niiiice story.wen are we gettin part 2??hurry oh.u know how epileptic my internet is now

Writefreak said...

Sorry guys i disappeared! i had a lot going..but i'm back
@inmyhead
thanks, the conclusion is up now

@LG
Is your name oliver twist? I don complete the story sa, check it

@Severus snape
I don't know what you wanted me to end it with but i've out up the conclusion and even given you the opportunity to mention how you'd have loved it to end

@Oluwadee
yep you got a good point, i love the way my hubby talks to me about his work and his challenges..

@simeone
na you know, read the conclusion..lol

@aloted
lol...very randy indeed!

@MissLove
yep i agree with you, shallw e start raising funds for him to have the implant? lol

@Vera
Thank you, thank you...all you peeps with overactive imagination! lol

@NoLimit
Lol...real jungle justice o!

@TY
well i'll leave you to be the judge of the conclusion...i agree with you about Nollywood movies

@Afrobabe
thanks, i blush...lol

@buttercup
communication is very very key in a relationship, some men think when they keep things, they're sparing their wives the trouble but they cause more harm that way!

@Original Mgbeke
I have heard your plea and completed it, lol

@Nefertitit
lol, i like that word 'akoshibero'...lol..thanks for the compliment

@FG
Abi, you remember!

@Beulah
awww thanks, i am blushing, will be over at yours in a bit

@miz cynic
thank you, only a wise man will share what he's going through..two (good) heads are better than one

@qmoney
lol about your internet, we should give it a good beating!

doll (retired blogger) said...

well written