From Africa

Paris, 1955

'But I don't understand… why would he do it?' I asked Henriette.

'I can't tell you, Mon Amie… but we will find out.'

We sat in her living room, staring at a letter that I'd received from my solicitor. I was faced with yet another mystery; Olu seemed to plague my life like nothing else, and I thought that I would lose my mind if I didn't get to the bottom of things pretty soon.

'He was supposed to meet me here, months ago… and he never came,' I lamented. 'And now, he does this… it makes me worry…'

'Olivia, don't upset yourself… I'm sure that there is a simple explanation for it.'

'Simple explanation… for Olu sending me all of this money? It must be the bulk of his savings… I can't help but think…'

'Olusegun is a strong man, he's very resourceful… I think it means that you will definitely see him again.'

'Henriette, I'm afraid…' I admitted.

'Afraid?'

'I just have this feeling that something bad is going to happen… I've had it for a few weeks now… things have been strange… and now this.'

'What are you talking about? Please, tell me more.'

'I… I think that someone has been following me. I know it sounds paranoid, but… I see him, the same man, almost everywhere that I go…'

'Maybe he is just an avid admirer?'

'He's never spoken to me… never approaches me… he's just always there.'

'He may live in the neighborhood…'

'No… I've seen him in too many different places.'

'Have you said anything to anyone else about this?'

'No. I thought I was imagining it at first… but I saw him today, before I came here.'

'Maybe you should stay the night…'

'No, I can't let this get to me. I'll tell Eugene about it. I'm sure he'll hire someone to protect me.'

'Maybe he already has, Olivia. Maybe this man is a bodyguard for you.'

'But why would Eugene hire a guard for me and not tell me about it?'

'You have a good point… the only other thing that I can think of…'

'Yes?'

'…Is maybe that Anna…' she paused.

'You mean, a spy for Anna? That makes even more sense. I think you may be right, Henriette,' I could feel myself growing angry. 'The nerve of her! She still thinks she can run my life! She wants nothing to do with me, until it comes down to my money…'

'Ah, Olivia… I'm sure that it's not exactly that way… she's your sister…'

'Anna's just like that greedy husband of hers… lazy and controlling. They're all the same… even Chad…'

'Maybe you should stay with him, Mon Amie,' Henriette said in a worried voice, 'Just to be safe.'

'Chad's never home anyway. I bought that huge house, all for nothing!' I tried not to sound bitter. 'Chad prefers to spend his time with his latest conquest… I think it's a condition that he proposes before he begins any new relationship… she's got to have her own place…'

'You sound so disenchanted.'

'Why shouldn't I be? Everyone else can do what ever the hell they please… why can't I?'

'Well, maybe you should have Mademoiselle Peake stay with you for a while.'

'My apartment is not large enough for her to stay there with me… and the house is too far away from the city for me to travel easily… I think I'll just sell it…'

'But what about Chad? Won't he object?'

'He doesn't care about anything… as long as I pay him his allowance in a timely fashion, and as long as I turn a blind eye to his philandering, he'll let me do as I please.'

'Does he… does he know exactly how much you're worth, Olivia?'

'Chad? I don't think so… Eugene knows, but I don't think Chad is very interested in that yet… he's still young and foolish. Besides, he has a small trust fund of his own.'

'Money changes people, Mon Amie… it makes them do evil things.'

'But why is Olu sending me all of his money?'

'I wish I could tell you,' she sighed, handing the letter back to me.

'I don't even know how… oh, I remember now…' I thought back to the day that I last saw him, the day that my piano arrived at the house. Olu had given me the delivery paperwork to sign, but when I was distracted, he'd given me another slip to sign, but I'd never bothered to read it.

'I wonder what his plan is?'

'He will come back to you, Olivia… I am sure of it,' she smiled.

'But when?' I puzzled.

'Time will tell, Mon Amie…'

'Oh, well… speaking of time,' I looked at my watch. 'It's getting late, I should go.'

'You can stay, if you like. You know that you are always welcome here, Olivia.'

'Thank you, Henriette,' I stood up. 'I appreciate everything you've done for me, but I can't let this get to me. I won't stop living my life just because Anna's decided to hire some thug to follow me around…'

'Well, be careful… maybe you should take a taxi…'

'No, I'll be fine. I'll just walk, I need to clear my head anyway… besides, why waste money on a taxi when I live close enough to walk?'

Henriette shook her head, laughing. 'You sound more and more like your father every day now.'

The streets were practically deserted when I left Henriette's apartment. It was dark and foggy, and despite my bold speech to Henriette, I couldn't help feeling a little nervous. I turned my collar up against the chill and hastened my steps, wondering if the stranger was lurking somewhere in the shadows, watching me. I heaved a small sigh of relief each time I saw someone else walking down the street, hoping that I would make it to the security of my apartment before long.

As I turned a corner to walk down a familiar lane, I noticed that a few of the lights were out. I turned around, wondering if I should take a different route, but it was then that I saw him, walking from the opposite direction, leading me to quickly turn down the darkened street. I thought that I could slip into a bar or some other public place, maybe stay long enough to get a taxi from there. I walked all the way down the alley, frowning when I discovered that there were no signs of life anywhere on the street.

I sped up my pace when I noticed footsteps behind me, getting closer as the street grew darker. I worried that I wouldn't be able to outrun my pursuer, so I tried to think of some way to defend myself. I was almost running now, but he was fast on my heels, and when he grabbed me, I was scared into shock. He held me close to him for an instant, holding his large hand over my mouth to keep me quiet.

'Listen to me,' he whispered roughly in English. 'Whatever you do, don't scream…'

My heart began to pound in my chest as I recognized the voice. When I tried to turn to look at him, he clenched my body tighter so that I couldn't move.

'Just run! As fast as you can… run home…'

Before I could say anything, Olu gave me a rough shove and shouted again, 'Go, now!'

He'd pushed me so hard that I stumbled and fell to the ground. As I turned to get up, I saw that he was in a scuffle with another man, the man who'd been following me. They exchanged a few blows, and then, Olu pushed his arm into the man, causing him to fall away from him. Olu moved backward toward me for a moment, watching as the other man staggered away.

I stood speechless, unable to move. Olu grabbed me again, and led me down the street, running at breakneck speed, towards my apartment. He took the key from me and pushed me inside, looking around behind him as he locked us in. I led him upstairs to my apartment and stood against the wall as he immediately rushed to the window to peer down at the street.

I watched him in silence. My shock was fading, and I was fruitlessly trying to hold in a hot trail of tears. I wondered if he was going to leave as soon as it looked safe enough. I bit my lip to keep it from trembling from my nervousness.

He finally left the window after a few minutes, and walked across the dark room toward me. When he saw me move to turn the light on, he grunted, 'Not yet.'

'Just close the drapes. You can't see the light from outside then.'

He walked away again, moving through the apartment as if it was his own. It made me wonder if he'd been there before. I flipped the switch when he nodded to me, blinking my eyes as light flooded into the large space. I couldn't help staring at him. He looked a little grizzled, probably from living like he had been for the last few years, but despite my nervousness, I still wanted to smile at him.

He had a pained expression on his face, and he stood in front of me, reaching beneath his shirt, feeling for something. When he brought his hand out again, his fingers were covered with blood.

'Oh, my god… Olu,' I gasped. I immediately forgot about my nervousness and rushed to help him out of his clothes. His coat and shirt had been sliced open, and were soaked with a dark red stain.

'He stabbed you?' I breathed.

Olu frowned, taking the shirt and pressing it into his wound.

'I'll call a doctor,' I moved to get the telephone.

'No!' he yelled.

'But, Olu… you're bleeding everywhere… I can't…'

'I'll have to do without for now… I just need you to help me clean it.'

I rummaged through the bathroom and the closets, trying to find something that would stop his bleeding. I finally took a clean sheet and cut it into strips, taking that and the little bit of antiseptic I had with me to where he stood in the hall.

'That won't be enough,' he looked at the small bottle. 'Do you have any liquor?'

'I think so… I may have some whiskey here,' I searched the kitchen and found an unopened bottle of scotch.

'I don't know how bad it is…' he looked at me. 'You'll want to take that dress off…'

'I don't care about that,' I led him to the bathroom, turning the water on in the bathtub. 'Here, let me help you.'

I carefully removed the rest of his clothes, leaving him standing completely naked, with nothing but the crushed shirt that he was using to stem the flow of blood. I tried not to get distracted by the lean muscular beauty of his dark body, so I kept looking up at his face.

'How does it look?' he asked after he stepped into the bathtub.

I frowned slightly at being forced to inspect his body so closely. I was quickly falling prey to my feelings again; just being in his presence was causing an unwanted reaction.

'It's not as bad as I thought… I'll still try my best to clean it thoroughly, though.'

I soaked a cloth with the scotch and pressed it into his wound, causing Olu to immediately wince at the painful sensation.

'It's almost over,' I tried to soothe him, running my hand over the curve of his taut ass.

He turned to stare at me, looking at me as if I'd done something wrong.

'I'll need to bathe,' he said.

'Of course.'

'Alone.'

'Yes… of course…' I was surprised by his terse manner. 'Should I bandage you first? Or do you want me to do that after?'

'After, I guess.'

'I'll wash your trousers for you… but I must warn you that I don't have anything else for you to wear.'

'Doesn't your husband have clothes here?'

'Yes, Chad has a few things here… but they're much too small for you.'

'Well, I guess you've seen me naked before…' he grumbled.

'Look, I'll help you bathe. You needn't worry about propriety… my marriage is meaningless, anyway…'

'But… it's still a marriage.'

'Olu…' I moved so that I could see his face. 'I had no choice… I was going to have a child, what was I supposed to do? You weren't there, in any case…'

I watched him as he tried to bathe himself. The wound was obviously causing him a great amount of pain, and he had trouble moving around.

'Here… don't be stubborn. Let me,' I took the cloth from him and lathered it up with soap, gently running it across every part of his body that I could reach.

'What would your husband say if he walked in and saw us this way?' Olu asked.

'Chad?' I laughed. 'He never comes here. And if he did… he'd probably call me a selfish slag and walk out in disgust…'

'You're getting wet,' he observed, pointing out the front of my dress, which was soaked.

'All right… if it bothers you that much, I'll take it off.'

I stood and took the dress off, throwing it in a heap on the floor. I kept my slip on, but took off my stockings and garters, so that I could move about more freely and not worry about getting wet.

'There. Is that better?' I stood over him, smirking. He looked away from me for a moment, and as I knelt beside the bathtub again, I noticed that his cock was sticking up through the surface of the water.

He must have been reading my mind, because when I reached out to wrap my hand around it, he grabbed my arm.

'No.'

'Olu…'

'Rinse me.'

I carefully rinsed him, feeling my mouth water at the sight of his wet black skin. I was noticeably moist between my legs, but my knees were shaking. I was nervous, because I could no longer read his face. I couldn't tell what mood he was in, and I didn't know what to say to him.

'I'll need some towels to dry myself,' he barked.

I handed him a clean towel, and rushed to find a few more. By the time I made it back to the bathroom, Olu was standing with a towel wrapped around his hips. His cock was still semi-hard, making a tent in the towel.

I stood and recleaned his wound, wrapping the cloth around his waist. I led him to the bedroom, where I'd turned down the bed already. He lay across the bed on his stomach, so that he wouldn't put pressure on the wound in his back.

I left him there so that I could tidy the bathroom. When I came back to the bedroom, I'd expected him to be asleep, but he was still awake, just staring into space.

'How are you feeling?' I asked him, staring at the contrast of his dark skin as he lay wrapped in the cream colored towel atop my white sheets.

He didn't respond right away, so I spoke again. 'Is there anything you need?'

When he refused to answer me, I began to get incensed.

'I won't be treated this way in my own home!' I shouted. 'I'm not a child anymore Olu…'

'Well then, don't act like one. I'll not be shouted at. It's disrespectful.'

'Disrespectful!' I balked. 'You're lucky that I let you stay here… especially when I remember how you broke my father's heart!'

'I saved your life tonight… or did you not notice that?' he hissed. 'And as for your father…' he winced, groaning from the pain of his wound.

'What about my father?' I demanded to know, too angry to care about his injured back. 'How could you just leave like that Olu? Dad was devastated. He hasn't been the same since…'

'Are you sure you're talking about him? Or are you speaking of yourself?'

'What do you mean?'

'Aren't you romanticizing things?'

'No. You can ask Anna… I'm surprised you never took the time to, I've heard that you're on quite intimate terms with her…'

'So… you're still jealous of her, when you have no reason in the world to be… such a spoiled, selfish child you are!'

'How am I spoiled? What makes me selfish? Of all the things that I've ever wanted in this life, I've been constantly denied the one thing that would make me truly happy. How does that make me spoiled?'

'You think of nothing but yourself and what you don't have… have you ever stopped to think of anyone else?'

'What are you talking about?'

'Did you ever wonder why I left?'

'Yes! I've been wondering that everyday since you disappeared.'

'And what did you think… did you think that I would just leave, for no good reason? Did you think that something happened to me? Did you think that I had gotten into trouble? Or did you even think that far?'

'I… I don't know…'

'If you had really thought about it…' he said angrily, 'you probably would have guessed that your father was the cause of my leaving. But I see that you are more prepared to judge me than you are to question your father.'

'Olu… what are you saying?'

'Your father told me to leave.'

'I don't believe that.'

'You see? How can you stand there and profess your undying love to me one moment, and then not believe me when I tell you something?'

'I… I've never said that I loved you…' I blushed in spite of myself.

'You don't?'

'No… I mean… I've never thought…'

'Oh, come now, Olivia… you mean to tell me that you've spent untold amounts of money on detectives to track me down, all so that you can stand here and tell me that you don't love me?' He sat up, with more than a little effort.

'I don't have the patience for these games…'

'This is no game, Olivia. I don't see the need in telling you anything, if you can't even make up your mind on that simple point.'

'Olu… how can you torture me this way?' I started to cry, confused as to why he was being so brutal.

'Torture you?' his face clouded over in anger once again. 'Why is everything about you? I've given up six years of my life… and all you can think about is yourself!' He turned away from me.

'Please… I'm trying to understand. I didn't know what to think when you left… No one said anything to me…'

'The answer should have been obvious to you.'

'Please, Olu… I'm sorry… I need to know, and you're the only one who can tell me…' I knelt in front of him, wrapping my arms around his solid legs.

'I'm tired,' he sighed.

I released my hold on him, and stood up, helping him to reposition himself across the bed. I sat in a chair next to the bed, watching him as he slowly drifted to sleep. I thought all night about what he'd said. I couldn't believe that he would react that way, but what he'd been saying made sense. Still, I found it hard to imagine my father sending Olu away, but I knew that Olu would never lie to me.

I couldn't sleep, still nervous about what had happened on the way home. I still had no clue who the strange man was, and why he'd been following me. I wondered if Olu knew, and if he would tell me. I had a feeling that he might keep the information from me, in order to protect me from something.

He had a fitful sleep. He tossed and turned the entire night, and as the sun rose, I leaned forward to touch his brow. He was burning up with fever. I rushed to get a cold wet cloth to cool him off with. I ripped the covers off of him, noticing that his bandage had bled through to the sheet. I spent a long time nursing him, hoping that he would be all right. I was still tempted to call a doctor, but I remembered his manner from the night before.

'Olu? Are you awake now?' I whispered when I saw him open his eyes.

He stared at me for a long time, as if he were trying to remember where he was.

'You're awake,' I smiled at him, patting his brow with a cool cloth. 'I still think I should get a doctor… you're feverish.'

'No,' he breathed. 'I don't want you to leave…'

'I'm not going anywhere. I don't want to lose you again.'

'You're in danger,' he coughed.

'Here,' I wet his lips with some water.

'He might come back…'

'Who? Who was that man, Olu?'

'He…' he struggled to talk.

'It's okay. Just relax.' I leaned over him, and kissed his cheek.

'No… I have to tell you… in case I…'

'No! Don't say that! You're not going to die, Olu. Your wound is not that deep. I originally thought it was, because of all of the blood, but I was wrong.'

'Infection…'

I stood up, growing tense. 'Well, you were the one who insisted that I not call a doctor.'

He gave a weak laugh, watching me frown at him.

'Olivia… you have not changed at all…' he smiled.

'You have a fever. How do I take care of that?'

'Do you have aspirin anywhere?' he asked.

I burst out laughing at this, expecting him to give me some idea for a home remedy.

'Yes, I have aspirin… but what about infection? How do we ward that off?'

'More liquor.'

'You want to drink?'

'No,' he laughed. 'You'll have to clean me again.'

I blushed, feeling foolish.

'Olivia,' he called to me before I left the room. He took my hand and looked into my eyes as I stood over him. 'Thank you.'

'I must tell you, that I can only stay for another day. I have a concert in two days.'

'Cancel it…'

'I wish I could… but I can't…'