Patching Up Pieces

Chapter 5

He stopped by at a restaurant to eat on his way home. Cooking was out of the question as he would probably fall into the pot with such fatigue that enveloped him. Not eating was also not an option as he had skipped both breakfast and lunch.

Traffic was light. He could not have imagined spending hours on the road with how tired he was. He had his bath as soon as he got home and stretched out on his bed in his night clothes: white polo and deep blue loose knickers. Though his body was tired, his mind was still active. He went through the day in his head.

Nothing colourful came to mind except a bright green skirt which he could not remember who it belonged to but recalled seeing. What a choice of colour, he mused. In all, it was a fulfilled day. Except, of course, the call-gone-bad with Eva, he thought wearily. Nothing a bouquet of flowers and money for new clothes wouldn’t settle. He would have to do the calling the next day as his body was ready for sleep.

The chirp sound of the call tone surprised him. He blinked his drowsy eyes at his phone he had kept on the drawer by his bed and he reached for it. It was Eva. He sat up on the bed and stared at the phone screen for half a second before he accepted the call.

“Babe,” he began.

“So, you really did not show up.” Her voice was angry but a bit slur. Kelvin sighed. He knew she must have been drinking.

“Babe, I am really sorry I couldn’t make it for our date.”

He heard her scoff in the background. “Sorry? You are always sorry. I would fix a date, you would cancel. You would fix a date, you would still cancel. Yet, you are always sorry.” Kelvin heard the ting of a glass and Eva’s low grunts.

“Why did you drink again, Eva? I thought we talked about this.” Kelvin ran his hand over his face.

“Leave me alone. What do you care? After I had a beautiful evening planned for us, you cancelled at the last minute, and you don’t want me to console myself for your disappointment?” Eva spat into his ears before accompanying it with a loud belch.

Kelvin could imagine her sprawled on the floor in her sitting room, probably still in one of her skimpy, satin night wares she liked to be in as she prepared for an outing, a near empty – if not completely empty – bottle of white wine by her side, a forgotten wine glass toppled to its side away from the duo which she would have abandoned for the bottle after gulping from it twice. He had found her that way more times than he could count whenever she was feeling down. This always bothered him.

“Please, Eva. Stop doing this to yourself all the time. You know I don’t like it,” he said, exhaling slowly.

“Then stop making me do this to myself,” she whined. “Your work is more important than me. You never make out time for me. I waited and waited for you to come over today. I really thought you would come. But you didn’t. You are really cruel.”

“I’m sorry. Really. I will make it up to you. I promise. Now, leave that drink and go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You better come. I won’t forgive you if you don’t. I really won’t forgive you this time,” she said, then muttered almost inaudibly about the empty bottle before ending the call.

The sleep was far gone, though he still felt tired. He was feeling uneasy with the knowledge that Eva was alone in her two-bedroom flat, drunk. It was always her way of punishing him, because she knew he hated her drinking, and loved her so much to worry for her. Sometimes, he had run to her house after such calls to make sure she was okay. He knew she called him in that state just so he could run off to her as usual. However, he could not do that this time around. He was exhausted and he had a busy morning the following day that he could not risk it at all.

He dropped his phone back on the top of the drawer and lay back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He exhaled aloud, his left arm draped over his forehead in exasperation. He let his mind wander to the first moments he had with Eva.

Beautiful. Charming. Full of life. These and many more defined her. Their meeting had been at a supermarket. He was there to pick a few things he needed at home, mostly toiletries and other food supplies. He had approached one of the cashier’s counters after shopping when he heard the sharp voice of a petite woman. She was dressed in a short, maroon gown that floated easily with each movement she made. She had black stilettos on and her short hair was packed in a bun at the base of her neck. Her make-up was that of a make-up artist’s masterpiece, with the right shades and highlights which accentuated the already beautiful face. Her lip had on it the only popping colour, a deep red that shone out on her slightly light-complexioned skin.

Kelvin had thought she looked breathtaking.

She was ranting at a cashier about her balance and he helped her out with it like the gentleman he was. They got talking thereafter, exchanged numbers, met up several times, and before long, they began to date, months after they met. She was really sweet.

There were several things about her that appealed to him. Her bluntness was one. She was never shy or afraid to bare her mind on anything. He knew when she was upset and why – nothing was left to his imagination. He really could not stand a woman who expected him to figure out when and why she was angry. It had always irritated him in his past relationships. Eva also possessed an air of confidence and independence, which always made her tantrums seem cute. Her tantrums assured him of her affection, even though she could result to being very vulgar. It was a vice he could endure. Sometimes.

Her alcohol consumption he could not stand. He knew what it was to be wasted, drowning in the overflow of empty bottles, belly full but heart just as empty as the scattered bottles. He had been there, done that, and knew that it was wrong. He had escaped its lure by divine providence and having the love of his life indulge in its folly always reminded him of his past – one he never wanted to be reminded of. Why did Eva have to always result to it just to get under his skin?

Two years was enough time for her to know this, enough time for her to respect his stance on it. She knew, quite all right.

Kelvin sighed aloud again, followed by a long yawn. As his eyes flickered, a thought crossed his mind: it would never feel right because it is not right.

When he awoke few hours before dawn by his noisy alarm, the thought remained. Before he could ponder its meaning through the fogginess of his still drowsy mind, he saw the reminder on his phone regarding the meeting he had early that morning. He hastily got out of bed and went about his morning routine: few minutes of exercise, downing a glass of water followed by a hot cup of coffee, then getting ready for work. He contemplated fixing something to eat but on a second thought, decided he would unfailingly make out time for lunch. Skipping meals was becoming a regular due to his busy schedule. He had been skipping a lot of things lately to his detriment, yet, there was no time to adjust.

As he made his way into his car, he thought to call Eva. It was just some minutes to seven. Most likely, she was still asleep, after the hangover from the previous night, but she would need to be up. He did not mind being her alarm. She picked up at the second ring.

“Hey.” He placed his jacket at the back seat, before moving to the driver’s side.

“Hey.” She did not sound drowsy as he had expected.

“Hope you slept well? Did I wake you up?”

“You thought I won’t sleep well? You really think I would let my business suffer because of you? You think too highly of yourself, Kelvin,” Eva said with a soft scoff.

“You don’t have to talk like that, Eva,” Kelvin said, scowling. “I apologized to you.”

“You always apologize. Yet it repeats itself. Don’t worry, I am learning my place in your life and I’m making adjustments. Look, it’s too early for this. I am on my way to the shop. Let me follow in your footsteps. Have a good day.”

Before he could say anything else, she hung up. He would definitely have to see her before the day ended, if not, it would be almost impossible to get her to calm down. If there was anything Eva craved, it was attention. Not getting it as at when she wanted it was only calling for trouble.

As he took his seat behind the wheel and shut the door, Kelvin rested his head on the wheel for a few seconds. Why was it so hard to please a woman? For the first time in forever, he was serious about a relationship, but it very well appears that his reckless lifestyle with women in the past was the easier way to go. At least then, he had no commitment with them, no emotional attachment. No one had the power to frustrate him. He called the shots instead. He would date three, four women at the same time and make sure they would eventually meet, so he could watch them fight over him, as he made way to a new one.

Kelvin raised his head up and shook it from side to side. It was a past he had wilfully abandoned. A past he was ashamed of. He was young and stupid and rebellious. Since he became born again, he had made corrections, though not easy ones, and had – by God’s grace – made up for his wrongs.

He heaved a sigh. God was probably as upset with him as Eva was. He had also not had time for prayers, or quiet time, or even attending fellowships like he used to. With a new resolve, he started the car and pulled out of the compound. He would make it up to both of them at once. There was going to be a weekday service later that evening. He would take Eva with him and they both would spend time together in the presence of the One who had saved his life many times.

He would make everything right again.

Once again, the same thought of things not being right crossed his mind, but he willed himself to ignore and focus on the events of the day ahead as he made his way to the office.