AllFreeNovel
Share Us
* * *
Chi-Chi unlocked the safe and was beginning to put the jewelry on display when her phone rang. It was her brother. “Hello, sister. I am an hour away.” His cheerful voice was loud and clear.
“Abeo! I thought you were coming day after tomorrow.” Chi-Chi’s voice was nervous.
“Do you not want to see your older brother?” he kidded. “I have those stones you asked Father to send from Nigeria.”
“Of course I want to see you. And yes, I need the stones.”
“What is the problem, then?”
“I wasn’t expecting you until Monday, and I made plans for the weekend.” Chi-Chi wasn’t sure what might unfold and she didn’t want her brother to interfere.
“Should I turn around and go home?” he asked with a hint of sarcasm.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Chi-Chi knew he had driven fifteen hours. “I cannot change the plans, so you will have to be on your own for the evening.”
“I think I can manage that. What are your plans for the evening?”
“I am having dinner with a friend.”
Abeo’s voice brightened. “And what kind of friend?”
“A friend. Must you be so nosy?”
“Oh, do not disrespect me.” Abeo was half serious.
“You are being ridiculous again. I am not disrespecting you. But I am a grown woman and capable of making plans with friends without your permission.” Chi-Chi knew she was being curt, but she couldn’t help it. She wasn’t prepared for this kind of monkey wrench being thrown into her evening.
“Oh my. Are you in a mood today?”
“Sorry. No. I am trying to get the shop ready, and now you surprised me with an early arrival. That’s all.”
“I see. So let me come to the shop and help you today,” Abeo offered.
Chi-Chi wasn’t sure that was a good idea either, but she knew she had no choice. “That would be very nice. See you soon.” Chi-Chi thought she might throw up in the back of her mouth.
A little over an hour later, Abeo arrived at Silver & Stone. “I am very impressed.” He scanned her shop from one end to the other.
“Thank you.” Chi-Chi smiled demurely, hiding her anxiety. She didn’t know what to say if Cullen came into her shop. Of course, she would introduce him to her brother. He was a friend after all. But she knew her brother was a bit nosy and might press her for details about her dinner arrangements. Why did her brother have to come to town so soon? It was just like him to disturb her plans. Ever since they were teens, Abeo enjoyed getting under his little sister’s skin. She loved him dearly, but there were times she wanted to smack him with a stick.
“Lebici, what have you done with your hair?” He peered closely at the pin-straight ponytail that ran the length of her back. “I don’t remember your wearing it like this?”
“I thought I would try something new,” Chi-Chi replied. The night before, after she had braided Luna’s hair, Luna returned the favor by flat-ironing Chi-Chi’s.
“Do you not like it?” She really didn’t care if he did or not, but she had to be polite.
“It looks lovely.” Abeo hugged her. “Tell me about your plans for the weekend.”
Chi-Chi maintained her reticence. “I am having dinner with a friend. His sister is away for the weekend.” She wasn’t sure why she had thrown that into the conversation. Maybe because she didn’t want her brother to think it was a date date. Just as she wasn’t sure if it was a real date, but it felt like it might be. Even though her family accepted the idea that Chi-Chi might not marry a Nigerian, they were far more concerned that she might never marry at all. Single women over the age of twenty-six were considered “thornbacks,” while women aged twenty-three to twenty-six were “spinsters.” But nowadays, it’s not unusual for a woman to marry well into her thirties. Chi-Chi must have explained that to her parents ad nauseam.
“But you are almost halfway to forty,” her mother reminded her at every opportunity.
“Is it that Cullen fellow? His sister is Luna?” Abeo hadn’t met them before, but Chi-Chi had spoken about them numerous times. Her parents had met them at the grand opening almost a year ago while Abeo was in Nigeria doing business for his father.
Chi-Chi was taken aback. “Yes, if you must know.”
“I didn’t mean anything by that, dear sister, but you speak of them often. I am sorry I will not be able to meet your friend.”
