Two Princes and a choice

Chapter Twenty-One

The kiosk was just about ten yards away and it where he received direction to a cloth store where he could by a new dress for her. The price of the dress was way too cheap for him. A hundred Pounds. The dress was beautiful but he wondered if the owner of the store was blind to the quality of the dress that’s why he sold it at such a cheap price.

When he got back, she was sitting rigidly and no doubt seething. ‘Here,’ he held the bag out to her . She looked up at him but he look away. ‘It’s a dress. Change into it.’

‘Thanks,’ she said taking it from him. She brought the dress out, it was beautiful but it’s more of a formal wear than indoor. ‘Didn’t you find something more casual?’

‘What’s casual? That’s what I found. Wear it. And not here please, change somewhere else.’

Hayley snorted and went about a yard away to change. She came back a minute later wearing the dress. She spread her wet clothes on the steps.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘For letting you go.’

She didn’t reply. Sighing he looked down and saw a grass with a pretty purple flower growing out from a c***k beside his feet he reached down and pulled out the grass and held it out to her, ‘here.’

She looked down at the purple flower and then up at him. ‘What’s that for?’ she open the back cover of her phone took out the battery and placed the phone on the step behind them and the battery beside it.

‘What do you do that for?’ he asked her.

‘To dry the water in it. What’s the flower for?’

‘To say I’m sorry, girls accepts apology when you give them flowers.’

She snorted. ‘Who told you that? I don’t know why your opinion about girls is so low but I’m not accepting that flower.’

‘Then what do you want me to do? I even went shopping for you.’

‘I didn’t ask you to dump me in the water.’

‘You said let me go and I did. So what do you want me to do? Die?’

She smiled. ‘I’m still thinking of it. I’ll tell you when I know.’

‘Are you really pissed?’ he asked rolling the flower in his hand.

‘Not that much, it was a refreshing bath after that long walk. But you drowned my phone, there is no way I can call my family.’

‘I’m sorry. So take my flower, it’s pretty.’

‘It is pretty,’ she agreed, ‘but it’s purple.’

‘What’s wrong with purple? You were picking flowers this morning’

She shrugged. ‘Nothing, it’s just purple.’

‘All the more, you should wear it.’ he swept her braid away and put the flower in. ‘There,’ he said with a satisfied smile. ‘It brings out your eyes.’

She stared at the water. The steps curved round it in an arc. ‘I don’t like things in my hair. Are you always this cocky?’ She pulled the flower away.

‘I think so. Which type of girl doesn’t like flowers in her hair?’

‘My type of girl,’ she threw the flower into the water. ‘Oh light bulb!’ she suddenly exclaimed.

‘What?’

‘Can you give me your cell for a moment?’ she asked him.

‘Why?’

‘I need to call my friend.’ She held out her both hands in petition. ‘Please.’

Sighing he gave her.

‘Thanks,’ she said and dialled Hibiscus’ number. She picked it after the second ring. ‘Hibiscus?’

‘Hayley? Where are you and whose cell are you using to call?’

‘Long story, where you are now?’ she asked.

‘In the hospital, they are flushing the poisonous fluid outta him but it might take a while, Charta is here too but I’m not sure I’ll be with you soon.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that but I called to ask where you are and maybe to let you know that you can call on this cell if you want to tell me where you are next.’

Tan whispered: ‘you are wasting my credit.’

Hayley cast him an admonishing look.

‘What happened to your phone?’ Hibiscus queried.

‘Took a dip,’ she simply said. ‘I’m borrowing this phone from a moment.’

‘Oh, no wonder Darryl couldn’t get through; better call him he’s threatening to come down here if he can’t get through by nightfall.’

‘Oh, alright,’ she hung up and turned to face him.

Tan held his hand out for his phone but instead of giving him she looked at him beseechingly.

‘What now?’ he groaned.

‘Please just a few minutes I really need to call this person. Besides you owe me that much for dumping me in the water.’

‘Fine,’ he conceded.

Smiling she thanked him and dialled Darryl’s number, he answered after the third ring.

‘Hayley? Where are you? I’ve been calling your number for ages. Whose cell is this?’

‘A person,’ she looked from the corner of her eyes at Tan.

Tan rested his cheek on the back of his hand and watched with interest.

‘A call operator’s?’ Darryl wanted to know.

Hayley turned her head slightly to look at Tan again, ‘sorta.’

Tan scoffed.

‘What do you mean by sorta? Where are you? Doesn’t matter I’m coming to pick you up tomorrow,’ he informed her.

Hayley immediately protested: ‘there is no need for you to leave Lagos Darryl; I can work something out with Hibiscus.’

‘I’m in Ekiti with my uncle,’ he corrected her, ‘and there is no need to argue, I’ll be at Hibiscus’ doorstep before noon tomorrow even Hibiscus agrees. I’ll call you back okay? Bye.’

He hung up.

‘Phone operator, huh?’ Tan said as she took the phone from her ear.

‘What do you want me to say? That I’m with a guy?’ she gave it back to him.

‘If he’s not a jealous and obsessive type he’ll understand.’ He said teasingly.

‘I wouldn’t know that.’

‘Which type of girl doesn’t know what type of person her boyfriend is?’

‘I didn’t say he is my boyfriend.’

‘Then who is he?’

‘A friend.’

He snorted unbelieving. ‘Ahh right, a friend who picks your call at the very first ring.’ He said sarcastically.

‘Third,’ she corrected. ‘And he has his own girlfriend who will carve my head if she hears you say that.’ Hayley told him.

‘What an obsessive girl she must be!’ he remarked.

‘She’s doing her job, but are we going to stay here all day?’

‘Just still your phone dries. I owe you that much.’ He told her and to stop her from thinking he is nice added ‘which is bothersome.’

She smiled, ‘it wouldn’t have happened if you had dumped me in the cold river, it’s your entire fault.’

‘I only let you go at your orders,’ he insisted. ‘No matter how you do things for a girl she’s never satisfied,’ he said under his breath.

‘What did you say?’ she asked him.

‘That it’s your entire fault, eat your food.’

She chuckled.