The Crabs of Bangui

Chapter Seven

57 Chapter Seven O n a very damp and rainy day ten days after they returned from Kumba a letter came into Hansel’s possession which changed his life for good. He had been offered a very lucrative International Job with a very rich Chinese company. The first person he thought of disclosing the secret to was not Marion, his wife, but Salomey, his girl friend. He braved the deluge that still raged on since dawn and drove out. Surprisingly, the rain gradually reduced in intensity until it was a mere drizzle by the time he arrived Salomey’s house. He knew she would be in, what with the rains. He parked his car in front of the JANNA SUPERMARKET, and walked to the house. When he arrived she had long returned from work, cooked and fed the children and also had a good rest. “This rain seems to be scared of you,” Salomey remarked. “We have not had a breathing space since morning. The dresses I washed since yesterday are still piled up in the room. Very soon mildew will attack them.” “Mildew cannot touch you. Is it not scared of me too?” He went on to enquire: “So how was the day, sa?” he greeted. Between them they addressed themselves “sa” in the phone and in notes. “Not bad,” she said. When Hansel came in, as his nature was, you couldn’t tell whether he had any exciting news or not. She said nothing else. In Hansel’s presence, you would have to do all the talking while he showed that he was listening by uttering short monosyllabic answers. He was a very good listener. Salomey was used to his cool, calm and unexcited way of going about his things. 58 Linus T. Asong She brought him his usual drink, a small coke and he himself asked for some roasted maize to go with it. The two boys, Leonard and Bernard were engrossed in their TV cartoon programme, Bugs Bunny and Friends. After he had eaten the maize he filled his glass and served Salomey. “Cheers!” he said and after a sip he put his glass on the side stool to his left. “Come and actually sit here,” he told Salomey, pointing to the arm of his chair. Salomey promptly did. “I have come and sat,” she told him. Hansel smiled and placed his left hand on Salomey’s. With his right he pulled out a long khaki envelope from the left breast pocket which he held out to her. For a brief second, Salomey was frightened. “What’s it?” she asked nervously. She instantly recalled the day she brought a letter to Hansel announcing the end of their relationship during her abortive marriage arrangement years ago. “Read it,” he said. “Don’t panic. It is good news,” he entreated her. She studied the stamp, weighed the letter and then flipped it open and read. Hansel was pulling at a stray strand of hair below his Adam’s apple which stood like some fruit that was stuck in his throat. He was looking round the building for which he had provided much of the furniture and which he hoped to change as soon as he returned from Bangui. There were three bedrooms, one for the kids, one for visitors and the third for Salomey herself. There was a large sitting area cut off from the dining section by a large cabinet. Actually they were two identical cabinets, one placed on top of the other, so meticulously designed that it was easy to conclude that it was one gigantic piece. Each of the two main sectors had four compartments. The compartments above were 59 The Crabs of Bangui completely sealed and could be opened and locked with keys. The middle compartments of the lower sector were covered with transparent glass. They were also keyed, although one could clearly see the array of chinaware and cutlery. The left section was a display box with a wide variety of collectables, memorabilia, sea shells, corals as well as volcanic rocks. There were four very large speakers at different angles in the sitting area. She usually operated the music from her room. There was a visible similarity in the carpentry and wood between the dining and sitting room. The dining table and the chairs were made of mahogany varnished black to look like ebony. The cushion chairs in the sitting room...