I couldn’t remember the last time I had smiled like that.
I had not planned this. I had simply driven, and my car had somehow found its way there, as if even the vehicle knew what Inemesit deserved.
We walked through the air-conditioned halls, past the boutiques and the perfume shops and the loud teenagers taking pictures of themselves. Inemesit walked beside me, her eyes wide, drinking everything in like a woman who had been thirsty for a long time.
“Have you ever been here before?” I asked.
“No,” she said quietly. “I have passed by it many times. But I have never been inside.”
“Well,” I said, “now you have.”
I took her to a women’s boutique — the kind of place my wife usually shopped at, the kind where a single dress cost more than some people’s monthly rent.
The salesgirl greeted us with a professional smile. “Good afternoon, sir. Good afternoon, ma. How can I help you?”
“She needs some new clothes,” I said. “Whatever she wants.”
Inemesit turned to me, her eyes wide with disbelief.
“Oga — I mean, Emmanuel — this is too much. I cannot —”
“Yes, you can,” I said. “Today is a special day. And you deserve nice things.”
She looked at me for a long moment. Then she turned to the salesgirl, and together they disappeared into the racks of clothes.
I sat on a leather chair near the entrance and watched.
She tried on a green dress first. Then a blue one. Then a red one that made her look like she belonged on a magazine cover. Each time she came out of the fitting room, she would look at me with that uncertain smile, asking with her eyes if it was okay.
Each time, I nodded.
🔥💖OGA I WAN KNACK💖 – EPISODE TEN – A DIFFERENT KIND OF FIRE 💖🔥