All in a Day's Work [Part Three]
a short story
Three
He hurriedly brushed his teeth and took a quick shower the following morning. He wanted to get to the lottery house as fast as he could. He met a dilemma when it was time to pick an outfit to wear. He didn’t want to appear flashy and on the other hand, he wanted to stand out. After rummaging through his clean clothes, he finally found the right outfit. He wore a rumpled white shirt, jean trousers, and his only pair of black boots.
He checked himself in the mirror and gave a nod of approval. He then grabbed his ticket and ran out the front door. Arnold checked his faux silver watch and saw it was eight o’clock. Most of the neighborhood was already awake and were out in the morning rush to attend to their jobs. Children with school bags and lunch boxes could be seen being bustled into cars by their disheveled parents. One neighbor recognized him.
“Hey, Arnold! I was just planning to come over to your house this morning. I saw you on the news yesterday.” It was an old man who had been divorced so many times that he himself had lost count. Rumor had it that he used to be a rich sportsman but after the series of divorces, he had lost almost all his money. He retired to the quiet neighborhood where Arnold lived and spent his days drinking.
He was obviously drunk this morning and his shout had turned heads towards Arnold. Recognition appeared in the facial expression of some, while others just continued with their activities. Arnold was not a people person so most of his neighbors hardly saw him and didn’t even know him very well.
Arnold had to move out of there fast. “Good morning Mr. Fejiro, How are you doing?”
Mr. Fejiro replied with a drunken slur. “I am doing very well, Thank you. Are you headed off to collect your prize money?”
Shit, He had to get the man to stop talking. “I’m in a rush right now. Maybe we can talk another time?” Arnold said dismissively.
Mr. Fejiro seemed to get the hint. “Alright, just be careful out there. People now know that you’ve got a bit of cash, so watch your steps.” Saying that Mr. Fejiro belched and turned to enter his house.
Despite the man’s ramblings, his advice made sense. The country was insecure and now that he had a few million, he could be a potential target for kidnappers. Arnold exhaled and started walking down the road, hoping to catch a taxi. Luckily, all the neighbors that were around him had left for work or school.
The road branched off into three other roads and formed a roundabout. Taxi cabs sped along with the early risers as passengers while others were parked with conductors yelling the routes they were plying. Arnold had no time to wait, so he chose a cab that was almost filled. He shared the cab with workers that were dressed in suits and a sole woman who was dressed in a blouse and wrapper. She clutched a nylon bag full of vegetables and dozed off occasionally.
The cab began its journey and Arnold asked to be dropped at the lottery house. Luckily for him, nobody in the taxicab recognized him from the television or asked him any questions. Maybe they just wanted to get to work quickly, so they didn’t have time for idle chatter. He paid off his transport fare and exited the vehicle.
Inside the building, it was colder. The Air Conditioner was on and everywhere was cool and he wished he wore something thicker. The Air Conditioner in his house had been damaged and since he seldom left his house, he almost forgot how it felt like.
A receptionist sat at the front desk and when Arnold announced the reason for his arrival, he was given some forms to fill. When he was told, the receptionist told him to wait while she called an official. Arnold tried his best to sit still but his excitement could barely be contained. He hummed to himself and tapped his foot.
After a few minutes, he directed towards the staircase.
“Second door by your left is the place you’re headed next,” the receptionist announced with a small smile.
He stood up and walked briskly to the staircase. The handrails reflected the rays of the bright light bulbs and Arnold tried his best to stop himself from breaking into a run.
He arrived at the door and took a deep breath to calm himself before he knocked. He was told to open it and he came into a small office. There was a large desk in the middle and two plastic chairs in front of the desk. The walls were decorated with pictures of the country’s President and Vice President. A black rug lay on the floor which made the room seem dim and smaller.
“Good morning Mr. Obi. Welcome to the BestPick lottery house. I am Isaac Shodipo, the finance officer.” The man was short and stocky, but he had an endearing smile and was confident. He was dressed in a white suit with a blue tie and his expensive watch made Arnold feel self-conscious.
He was nervous now, but he held out his hand to the shorter man. “Good morning Mr. Shodipo.”
Mr. Shodipo smiled and took his hands. “Please call me Isaac. You’re making me feel older than I am.” They both laughed and he continued. “Well, congratulations once again on your win.”
“Thank you, Isaac.”
“I’ll try to make things as quick as possible for you. You have won a sum of three million naira from our lottery, and you have two ways of accessing the money.”
Arnold listened attentively.
“We can send the money to you monthly on a salary basis or you can choose to withdraw the money at the moment, but you won’t get the full amount.”
Arnold paused and looked at Isaac. He needed the money immediately and would not have the patience to receive the money in installments. He had already made his mind up.
“So how much money would I receive if I decided to withdraw it from your lottery house?” Arnold asked.
“You would only get one-third of the money, so that would be one million naira.” Isaac said with a smile.
Arnold thought deeply. One million naira seemed like a huge loss, but it wasn’t his money, to begin with, so he opted for the withdrawal. It would be enough to clear his debts and invest in the increasingly popular cryptocurrency everybody was talking about.
“I’ll withdraw the money.”
“That’s fine, you’ll just have to provide your account details to us and we’ll transfer the money to your bank account.”
Arnold finished all the paperwork and by midmorning, he was officially a millionaire. He walked out of BestPick Lotteries as a new man. Everything around him seemed brighter and better and he could hear the birds singing, it was like something out of the scene of a movie.
He was walking down the road and smiling at passersby when he received a text message on his phone. It was from Eleanor.
Hey honey,
I’m back and I realized how much I missed you. I wanted to call you, but I didn’t want to disturb you, in case you were busy. I’m at the house right now and I can’t wait for you to arrive.
Your one and only.
After reading the text message, he smiled and thought about how fickle people were. This was the same person that had left to have her “space” and now he had a bit of money, she realized that she was his love. He was on his way home, so he couldn’t avoid her. He would have to see her.
He hailed a cab and requested to be taken home.
At his front door, he saw two dispatch riders’ bikes. They were from Jumia, and he tried to figure out the reason that they would be parked in front of his house.
Arnold opened the creaking front door and peeped inside. Eleanor was talking animatedly to two men dressed in delivery uniforms. They didn’t seem to hear the creak, so he pushed open the door and walked into the stuffy sitting room. There was no electricity because ‘NEPA’ had cut off the power.
They all turned to see who it was, and Eleanor screamed with joy as she leaped on Arnold. Days of eating an unbalanced diet were taking their toll on and he almost buckled from her weight.
“Oh babe, I missed you so much.” She said as she hugged him and stroked his face over-animatedly. The delivery men were showing signs of discomfort.
“Did you enjoy taking your space? I didn’t expect you to be home this quickly,” he replied, ignoring her statement.
“Oh Arnold, you know that I love you and I would never think of leaving you. That was just foolish talk from me.”
“Alright. Why are these guys here? Did you buy something?” he asked Eleanor. He felt dread but still decided to hear her reply first.
She smiled and motioned toward the men. “Yes, I ordered some things online.”
“Wow, things like what? You must have really come into money during your break.”
“Just some shoes, food, make-up kits, wigs, and a few dresses.”
“How much does everything cost?”
She hesitated. “Just over three hundred thousand naira. We’re rich now, so we can afford it.”
Arnold’s heart stopped. She was still the same, calculating and looking for easy money to spend. It baffled him that she had no source of income or means of livelihood but felt entitled to anything that belonged to him. However, he regained his position and walked to the delivery men. He had to pay for the goods, if not he wouldn’t be able to hear the end of her nagging.
He sidestepped her and stood in front of the men with calm composure. “How much is everything she ordered?” He put an emphasis on ‘she’.
The taller and bulkier man looked at his clipboard and moved closer to him. “Three hundred and twenty-four thousand, four hundred and eighty naira.”
Arnold took in a deep breath and smiled. “Alright then, how can I pay?”
“You can pay in cash or transfer to this bank account.”
Arnold was given a form to fill out, and he transferred the money to them using his mobile banking application. He received a notification on his Jumia account about the successful transaction and he turned to face Eleanor. The men had already left the house.
“Never ever try that stunt again. If you believe that money grows on trees, then you can pluck yours from there, but leave me out of it.”
He was boiling hot inside of him, but he tried to be calm. He studied her expression, so he could know how she felt. She just sat on the worn-out sofa and tried to make herself as small as possible. She made small whimpering noises and sounded like she might break down at any moment. He knew it was just a form of manipulation.
“I don’t know why you’re making me sound like the bad person here. Other men buy things for their girlfriends, so why should mine be so different?” She looked into his eyes and tried to decipher his thoughts. “I just wanted to make things comfortable for both of us.”
“Look around you and check if I can provide all our basic needs before you start comparing me to other men. I lost my job, and the situation of the country is getting worse every day, but you’re concerned about clothes and wigs.” He picked up a packaged green wig for emphasis and threw it back.
He felt his voice rising, but luckily, he was saved from exploding by a phone call.
He didn’t check the caller’s I.D. before answering. He was just looking for an excuse to get away from the heat of the moment.
Glossary
NEPA- The unofficial name for PHED (the electricity distribution company in Nigeria).
Jumia- An online retailer like Amazon.