THE SVELTE LADY

By Omoseye Bolaji

It had been a rather arduous day – a plethora of unexpected events had soured the day for me - and as “evening” approached, it gets dark very quickly in South Africa now because winter has more or less arrived, I wanted to leave the office and let my hair down a bit.

But I said politely enough to “Madam Maki”, the charming, amiable South African “Manager” of my Office: “Am I glad to leave the office now! I’m bushed, tired, finished,”

“Laelae!” (Never) Madam Maki said, smiling; displaying the full range of her West African vocabulary!

Anyway some time later, I was happy to relax at ATLAS where fine food and drinks are in abundance. But there was to be no peace for the wicked! (as they say) Even as I relaxed with a drink, with what I thought was a hostile, unfriendly expression etched on my face, a few people still came to me to chat intermittently.

One of them was a nice gentleman who works in the main toropo (city) library. “Hi!” he burst out. “We’ve been rather worried about you. You’ve not been to the library for quite some time now. We think it’s strange,” I stared at him.

“We?” I said “Yes my brother,” he replied. “You know people are always asking for you, you and Ntate Flaxman, Mr Lechesa, etc when they come to borrow your books from the library. Many of them are so much interested in literacy and literature and we have to tell them you’ve been ‘scarce’ at the library. I mean, a person like you has published so many books; why should you avoid the libraries?”

What type of logic was this? I wondered, still not in the best of moods. It seemed to me that the legendary Wole Soyinka would regard this type of logic as “casuistry” of the highest order! But I just nodded, muttered something and wondered whether anything could cheer me up. Meanwhile another male friend, or rather acquaintance, of mine had sat down beside me.

The librarian departed, but the acquaintance seated on my right was making “small talk,” and I listened in desultory fashion. Then he suddenly gripped my hand tightly and said: “Oh My! What a lovely lady! Look, my friend!” I stared at the entrance of the place, and a well dressed young lady, lovely to boot, was stepping inside. She had a svelte, streamlined figure. I said to the guy beside me.

“Come on, don’t be childish! There are many lovely ladies around, but it’s not our business."“ But the scamp was grinning. “She’s making a beeline towards you; she’s coming to you!” he announced. “No doubt she knows you,” I was about to say I had never seen the young lady before, but she had got to our table and in a coy way was smiling at me. Stunned, I wondered what was going on. She opened her bag and brought out a sort of exercise book. “I’m sorry if I’m embarrassing you Mr Bolaji,” she said. “I just want your autograph. I’ve read a few of your books and I loved them very much”

Maybe it’s human nature. I suddenly cheered up, whilst signing the autograph for her. The lady had somehow made me feel better; a veritable ray of sunshine!