TRINITY (TWO)

He felt mocked so slammed the door very hard. She was laughing out loud now and that fuelled his anger. Aku always acted like a strong woman but he knew she was deeply cut. She just put up the act to make him feel she didn’t care if he was with her or not. He knew one thing for sure though and it was that she was never going to drool over him.

That hit him hard but then again what’s the point. He was a free man. Free from a woman whose combination of characteristics he knew he would never find in any other woman. An independent, controlling but very intelligent woman and many more.

Frank was up waiting and hoping that he had changed his mind along the line but when he came in, it was obvious that the deed was done. He was to travel the next day and apparently made preparations even before he told Aku about it. He didn’t feel right and frank was not going to console him.

He checked if everything was in order for the very last time and headed straight to bed. They said nothing to each other the next morning. Larry got up very late and dragged himself around the house. Frank was beginning to feel uncomfortable so broke the silence

‘Oh boy….you will be fine ‘Instead Larry laughed out loud. Frank who was at this point confused asked

‘Are we safe? ’Larry chuckled and told him what transpired the other day.

He advised Larry to move on with his life since he made that decision and jokingly added

‘For a while I thought you were going crazy…..was thinking of the best way to send you to the mental hospital close by’

 Larry retorted ’you are the one going nuts….i bet they would admit you instead when they see the two of us!’ They both laughed and decided to spend the few hours they had left together chatting. At 7pm frank drove his friend to the airport, wished him luck and said goodbye.

The days turned into weeks then months and soon it was two years since Larry left the country leaving her all alone. She blamed herself for putting up that show. She had loved him dearly but somehow felt relieved that he had taken that decision. She always felt the need to be with him. She couldn’t imagine a relationship with a partner being elsewhere. Her not being able to know where he was or who he was with would taunt her.

When she came back to her senses, she noticed that she had not touched her food. She was on break from work. Aku had been working very hard to get promoted and become the branch manager of the bank that she worked for. Her work had taken over her life and she was glad to have kept herself busy all this while.

She couldn’t afford to be going to night clubs or parties as her mates were doing. Most of them got married and some were already mothers. A few were allowed to work as most of them stayed home as house wives. She shook her head at the thought of going through tertiary education and ending up in the kitchen.

 Both her parents worked very hard and like some families, had risen from grass to grace. It was rough since they went through very difficult times. She was the eldest and also lost her sister at a tender age.

She couldn’t remember her and mostly didn’t like to think too much about her past. It would have been worse if not for the other two gals she grew up with. She giggled at the thought of them and it dawn on her that she had been a very bad friend. She kept in touch with them for a while but lost contact and have since not been able to go back in search of them.

 Growing up in Jamestown a suburb in Accra was something else. Too many things happened too fast. She had tasted the hardships in life and was forever grateful because it made her the strong woman that she was now. Most of her colleagues disliked her because they felt she was too strict and straight forward.

At thirty, she had no boyfriend and no social life but was so into her work that her boss felt she needed a break off work. She never filled any leave form. Aku was always the first to report to the office and the last to leave. She liked to check and cross-check everything to make sure that there was no mistake in her work. Everybody was pleased with her work but was only concerned about her attitude towards people.

She liked to chat on basis of work but shied away from any personal discussion which made her rigid. Aku was a tall beautiful lady with curvy hips and shapely legs. She had brown eyes and lips to die for. She carried herself confidently in the office that the men both in and out of the office were afraid to propose love to her because of the fear of being turned down. The ones that gathered courage in the office and tried their luck with her were humiliated. She turned each down outright but was too careful not to be hash.

Most respected her for that because they had thought that she was a rude person. She would look at you and smile, shake her head and say no and they would mostly turn and leave disappointed. If you persist she would raise her voice and say no making everybody hear of your intentions so as to get ridiculed in the office for a while. Aku worked in a very big bank and had chalked many successes but her quest to be the manager was still ahead. She was called into the office of her boss after her lunch break and handed a letter over to her.

 Mr. Ansah was the branch manager but was to be retired due to old age. He was a bulky old man with a deep voice that commanded respect. He licked his lips and laid back on his chair then cleared his throat but said nothing. Aku was sitting down waiting impatiently for what he had to say. He gave her a long gaze, looked away. When he noticed he had kept her in enough suspense, he smiled and said

 ’Congratulations…..you have been appointed as the new branch manager’.