Must Read: My Friend, Her Boyfriend And I - Season 1 - Episode 22

6 years ago

Must Read: My Friend, Her Boyfriend And I - Season 1 - Episode 22

I walked gingerly to his side, touched him lightly on his shoulder to see if he was truly asleep. He was. I took the bottle from him and set it on the floor. I motioned to Tola to come help me carry him. She shook her head. I glared at her, she threw her hands up in frustration and came beside me. Together we took Niyi to my room.
She said,

‘Goodbye and good luck.’ And left my room.

I undressed Niyi to his boxers. I filled a bowl with water and soaked a towel in it. I moped him with the wet towel and covered him up with the towel. I went to the kitchen and fetched a bottle of water and a sachet of paracetamol. I placed him beside him by the table. I took a pillow and went to sleep on the couch. Before sleep claimed me, I prayed to God.

‘God, please have mercy.’

The sofa was uncomfortable to sleep in so I woke up also every hour. I checked on Niyi every time I woke up. I readjusted his head on the pillow and the duvet around him. I checked his temperature and I was glad that his fever has gone, he was snoring softly. When it was finally 5a.m I couldn’t go back to sleep. I tiptoed to my room fearing not to wake him up. I was still sleeping soundly. He was lying on his stomach and the duvet was almost off him, I didn’t bother to readjust it again. I quietly rampaged into my wardrobe and came up with some of his clothes he had left behind, thank goodness I still have them. I la!d a clean boxers, singlet, jeans and polo on the bed. I dropped a new toothbrush on it. I tiptoed into the bathroom, brushed my teeth and washed my face and retraced my steps out of my room, closing the door softly behind me.

For a full minutes, I sat down for a full minute thinking of the next line of action before Niyi wakes up. From generation to generation, mothers have past it down to their children that ‘a full stomach is the way to a man’s heart,’ it was time to find out. I knew prawn rice and dodo was Niyi’s best food, and luckily for me I have the ingredient in my freezer except prawn but I had shrimps which was a good substitute and an aphrodisiac, I wanted him Hot! I stood up with a new determination to win my man back and marched to the kitchen. I got all the ingredient I needed, which were, shrimps, chicken wings, cow flesh (ponmo), cow leg(bokoto), green and white onions, smoked fish, carrots, plantain, pepper, rice, seasoning, locust beans, salt, palm oil, vegetable oil, out of the freezer and cupboards. I got down to cooking.

First I blended my red pepper, tomato and onions together in the electric blende because of the unreliable power supply. I plugged in the electric kettle to make hot water.

I rinsed the chicken wings and cow leg(bokoto), three times, put it into a pot, and added water, salt, seasoning and onions. It was ready for the stove. I washed, peeled and diced my carrots, ponmo and green onions. Then I peeled the scales off my shrimps. I watched it, put it into a pot, added a bit of salt and small water, I covered it and put it on the gas cooker to boil. The smoked fishes were next to be cleaned. I removed the bones, the big and small bones and cut them into small pieces. I poured the hot water on them and covered it up. I dropped the boiled shrimps from the gas cooker and replaced it with a big pot filled with water. I washed my rice and put added it to the pot on the stove to per-boil. I sliced in some onions and splashed in little vegetable oil. I sliced my white onions and plantain and watched my locust beans while waiting for the rice to per-boil. I lit the second compartment of the gas cooker and put another pot on it. I left it to heat for 20seconds and added a good measure of vegetable oil. I added some onions, I turned the onions around in the pot so that it wouldn’t burn, after 10seconds, I added the pepper.

‘Sshhhrrrcchh,’ it purred as the hot oil met the cold pepper. I added my washed locust beans and stirred it. I covered it up. I was sneezing profusely. I sieved the ponmo, smoked fish, chicken wings and bokoto of its water and added it into the mixture in the pot. I divided the shrimps into two and poured half into the pot too, I added two cubes of seasoning. I stirred together and tasted to know the quantity of salt to add to my stew. I added some salt and tasted again.