We woke up this morning and there was something lethargic in the air.
Taiye didn’t reach for my whatchamacallit as we stirred.
She used the bathroom, then came back to the bed and snuggled up to me.
“Are you going to shave sometime, soon,” she asked and I shook my head.
“Not until this is over.”
She rubbed her hands over my stubble then kissed me before snuggling closer, her mouth and lips by my neck.
“Thank you for yesterday,” she whispered. “I really appreciate you for that.”
I turned her around so we were spooning then I held her close, the tenderness of the moment was suddenly amplified. I knew the feeling too well. It was a moment of transition, of sex metamorphosing into affection because truth is sex can only lead you down either of two paths – affection or disaffection.
Taiye and I were suddenly trundling down the boulevard of affection. I could feel it and as millennials would say, we were catching feelings.
We lay in bed for a while, our phones in hand. I checked my emails. Scrolled through my WebMD articles. One caught my eye and I scanned through it.
13 Things That Can Weaken Your Immune System
Lack of Sleep: Not getting enough sleep can make you more likely to catch viruses or germs. And you also may take longer to get better. That’s because your body can’t make as many infection-fighting cells and proteins called antibodies that help defend against illness. Your body releases certain proteins that help the immune system, called cytokines, only during sleep
Anxiety: Stress and worry aren’t great germ fighters. Just having anxious thoughts can weaken your immune response in as little as 30 minutes. Constant stress takes an even bigger toll and makes it harder to fend off the flu, herpes, shingles, and other viruses. Talk to your doctor if you can’t shake your worry or if it gets in the way of normal life.
Low Vitamin D: You may know you need it for strong bones and healthy blood cells. But vitamin D also helps boost your immune system. You can get it in eggs, fatty fish, and fortified foods like milk and cereal. Sunlight is another key source. In the summer, just 5-15 minutes of rays on your hands, face, and arms 2-3 times a week usually is enough. In the winter, you might need a bit more.
Certain Medications: They include drugs to treat allergies, arthritis, lupus, IBS, and organ transplant. Corticosteroids are one example, as are TNF inhibitors for inflammation and chemotherapy for cancer. Talk with your doctor before you adjust any prescription medication.
There were 13 of them in the list but I was done. These listicles, as they call them, are mostly commonsensical anyway. If you are anxious you won’t sleep much and if you are “social distancing” you may not get enough sun. It isn’t rocket science but I like reading WebMD.
My sister called from Abuja.
“I hope you have stocked up on food, o?” she asked
“Yes, sister.”
“Ok o. I hope you know that alcohol is not food?” she said
“I know sister,” I said and laughed.
“Be laughing there. Does that Awka woman still cook for you?” she asked and I told her yes.
“Please take your vitamin supplements. You are no longer a child o and as we age we need help.”
I thanked her then when the call was done, I went to the kitchen to brew tea. I was sitting on the balcony with the tea pot, two mugs and biscuits when Taiye walked out naked into the living room.
“Shoot, what are you doing outside,” she said standing by the door to the balcony, her breasts plastered again the burglary proofing.
“Getting my dose of vitamin D. Put something on then come join me.”
“Do, I have to?” she asked, making faces.
“Yup, I don’t want the whole world to see my woman naked,” I told her.
“Your woman, hmm. That’s a new one.”
“Put something on joor. I made your fave.”
We had breakfast together then we sat there in the morning sun and gisted. She told me about her childhood in England when her parents had just finished studying and were finding their feet before her father got a job with Federal Mortgage Bank and then NPA before the government appointments came calling.
I told her about growing up in Nsukka as the son of a lecturer, uni and then coming to Lagos to make it.
“So, how did you meet your ex-wife?”
“I met her in Abeokuta. My friend had died and we had gone home for the funeral. He had told me about her and believed that we would be good together but we hadn’t met before he died but the moment I saw her I knew she was the one. She still doesn’t believe that no one pointed her out to me.”
“How long were you married for?”
“10 years,” I said. “Did you ever attempt marriage?”
Taiye was quiet for a heart beat then she sighed and nodded.
“Yes, I did and it almost killed me.”
“Asshole? Sorry I asked,” I told her.
“No not at all. Edmund was the love of my life. A real gentleman. We met at uni, moved in together after school and were planning a big naija wedding after co-habiting together for four years. We came home for the wedding and on an evening out with my cousins just down in GRA, by that NITEL intersection, a car rammed into the car and killed him on the spot. I never went back to the UK.”
“What?” I screamed.
“Yep. Story of my life, man.”
“I am so sorry, T.”
“It’s alright. That was eight years ago. The pain is still fresh but hey. Let’s shower and go get stuff. Have you got water?”
“Yes, six kegs of CWay,” I told her as I pulled her into my arms.
“Thanks, Zeal,” she said as she pickled up the tray. We washed up then showered together. I waited for her to dress up and then we hit the streets.
Almost every supermarket had a long queue in front of it from Spar to Hubmart. But we finally queued, got doused with sanitizer and then waited for our turn to go in since they were allowing shoppers in 15 at a time to maintain social distancing.
“Shoot, I need to get more sanitary pads. Not sure how this lockdown is going to last.”
“Is your period due?” I asked and she had leaned forward and kissed me
“Not yet darling, but wait a second,” she said, reaching for her phone. “My period app says in 12 days. We have fucking time boo boo,” she said as she sashayed away.
“Would you like some pasta?” Taiye asked as soon as we were done offloading our purchases. She had insisted on paying for her half.
“That would be nice. I have a kitchen full. A client who works at Dangote gave me several cartons. Make the sauce and I will boil some.
After lunch, we sat in her living room and listened to music and drank red wine. Taiye insisted the artist was Andra Day but each time she opened her mouth all I heard was Amy Winehouse.
I called my kids and their mum and then while scrolling through twitter I chanced upon a piece of good news. Chloroquine had been approved by the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) as an emergency treatment for Covid-19.
“Trump must be patting himself on the back,” Taiye said as I showed her.
“I really don’t care who is right, so long as we get a silver bullet to shut this thing down.”
There was some bad news though. The rate of positive diagnosis in Nigeria was jumping. From 11 the previous day, it had jumped by 20 new cases to 131 and another death had been recorded.
“What is a man going to do with himself for 14 long days?” I asked scratching my beard.
“Come, I will give you a shower and then some rimming,” Taiye said as she set down her glass and took my hand.
“Rimming? What’s that?” I asked but she placed her finger on her lips.
We showered together with Taiye taking her time to scrub between my legs and then when she was done, she dried me and led me to her bed.
“Lie down and open your legs,” she commanded, her body glistening with drops of water.
I obeyed.
Taiye leaned in close and took my pingolo in her mouth, her fingers massaging my balls and then when I was really beginning to enjoy it, she pulled off me, ran her lips up and down my shaft and then descended to my balls. She took one then the other in her mouth, sucking on them ever so tenderly then I felt her tongue on my perineum, that space between the balls and the back end. I couldn’t see what she was doing but it was fucking good. Suddenly, I felt her grab my pingolo as her tongue flipped over my back end and then she was licking and sucking.
“Is is is that rimming?” I managed to stutter.
“Hush,” she cooed as I felt her tongue go in slow motion from my balls past my perineum and down to the back end.
My legs were shaking as I felt unbelievable pleasure.
Continues tomorrow – Edited by Toni Kan