The Wolf at Number 4 by Ayo Tamakloe-Garr

Author:Ayo Tamakloe-Garr [Tamakloe-Garr, Ayo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ohio University Press
Published: 2018-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

13

JUNIOR STAYED WITH ME. HE SAID THERE WAS AN exhibition in a month and if he sold enough paintings, we could not only get married but relocate to Accra. He said I had a degree so it shouldn’t be too hard for me to get a job. And together we could support my mother and live a comfortable and happy life.

By the time he was done, things didn’t look so bad. I could even force a smile. After hearing my tummy rumble, he went back to his place to prepare something for me. He said my box of instant noodles didn’t qualify as food.

My eyes fell on the telephone, and I wondered if I should call my mother. Just when I decided that I couldn’t, it rang. I picked up the receiver hesitantly.

“Hello?”

“Sweetie?”

I kissed my teeth.

“Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry. I didn’t know that they would—”

I slammed the receiver down and went back to my couch.

The phone rang several times as I attempted to eat the sweet potatoes Junior had fried. I wasn’t hungry.

“Aren’t you going to answer it?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“Couldn’t it be someone important?”

I shook my head again.

Being the wonderful man he was, he let it go.

When he was about to leave, I asked him what would happen if he didn’t sell enough paintings. He looked down at the floor and back at me. “I have no choice but to sell them, then.”

The next morning, he brought me oats for breakfast.

“You’re not going to stay with me?” I asked as he handed the bowl over.

“I’ve got to go and meet some people for the exhibition,” he said.

“Okay.”

“So I’ll see you in the evening, then.”

I tried to be strong. I swept, washed the dishes I hadn’t touched in days, and dusted every surface I could find. I even removed the cobwebs hiding in the corners of the room. I tried to eat. But by noon I was having a drink. I cried. Then I started to pack some of my things back into my suitcases. Successful exhibition or not, I was done here.

At one o’clock, I tuned in to the quarter finals of Wonderkids on the radio. Wolf predictably dominated the entire thing, securing 26,500 of his team’s 27,000 points. I couldn’t help but smile.

When it was slightly after four, I peeked at number 4. There was no pickup in the driveway. Before I could knock on his door, he emerged.

“I saw you coming,” he said.

I wrapped my arms around him. He didn’t whine or complain but stood perfectly still. When I let him go, he said, “I’ll get a full-body scrub when you go away.”

I laughed. “Silly boy. Anyway you were great today. I listened on the radio. I’m really proud of you.”

He shook his head. “It was my worst performance.”

“Ah, what do you mean?”

“I had 26,500 points, the same as the last time. I stagnated. The gradient of my life should never be zero. That’s unacceptable.”

“Well, it’s better than the 2,000 points the other school picked up.

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