The 'S' Hub

Buchi Agwu Julie had asked to spend the night at my place as we’d left Njideka’s very late and her house was in a mess. As always, I said Yes. I usually can’t say no to a lady’s request, except one for sex, that is. But last night, Julie hadn’t asked for sex. She’d asked for the opposite, in fact. When we got to the house, my parents were already asleep, but mom, inquisitive as ever, had still shuffled into the sitting room dopey-eyed to check who it was breaking into the house. I’ve warned her several times to be stealthy about these checks and to always take along with her an object for protection. There’s the heavy store padlock, now useless like the store itself, lying idle on the old fridge in the kitchen, the pestle behind the kitchen door, knives on their rack, and even the mopping stick, if she doesn’t want to hurt someone’s son. She seems to have grown certain that no intruder will break into her house. She smiled at seeing Julie and even hugged her, but that was...