FSWG Series is part of my short Nigerian Fiction Stories. Read Episode 2 of The Moguls… Enjoy.
It was the weekend and they had agreed to meet at The Office Rooftop Bar to blow off steam from a hectic work week. They also planned on celebrating Mo’s birthday. They usually had their own kind of private birthday celebration after their families must have done theirs for them. It was a ritual they had kept for years and they all valued it because, it gave them time to reflect on the celebrant’s life and make jest of him as much as they wanted. They also had little perks that made the day more exciting as each utilized that opportunity to explore and experiment.
Ralph smiled at the thought of that and took a deep drag of his coffee flavored cigar. His doctor had warned him severally against an early death but the damn thing was just too addictive so he couldn’t quit. Even Ella; his wife of twenty years had warned him non stop of the dangers of the cigar to his health but even she knew it would take a miracle for him to stop. He loved the rich aromatic smell of the cocoa or whatever was added to heighten his senses. Each drag felt like the height of erotic pleasure all wrapped in one fat stick of cigar and he loved it.
He spotted Mo and Dike coming through the swinging doors and this brought a smile to his well chiseled face. He allowed the smile to spread across his face liberally as he crossed his long legs to the left, simultaneously adjusting his body weight to properly appreciate these two rascals he called “friends”. Since he sat close to the fence facing the doors directly, he could see that while Mo wore his usual senator outfit, looking tall and elegant, Dike wore black joggers, a pair of red leisure sneakers and a white polo shirt looking round and brief beside Mo.
…………………………………….
“Ralph The Don Himself!” Dike hailed while signaling the waiter to bring him the menu.
Ralph laughed heavily before responding. “Old Boy! Look at You! You look like you own the weekend.” He turned to Mo who was surveying the environment like he was looking for something or someone.
“And you Mo, you look like the typical birthday boy, right Old Boy?”
“Yes indeed.” Dike replied but was now conversing with the waiter to bring them a bottle of Hennessy and some soda to mix with.
Mo didn’t reply. He seemed engrossed in his environment. Both Ralph and Dike knew what was on his mind then they exchanged knowing glances, a sign of not interfering in his thoughts. This was a familiar mood. Mo wasn’t melancholic but he was a man of deep thoughts and whenever he was in this mood, they knew not to disturb him. He would come out of it before the evening was over because, the remedy would join them in thirty minutes.
…………………………………….
It was over thirty minutes and Mo had ran out of patience. He couldn’t wait anymore so he excused himself from his friends and left for the gents. In the gents, he brought out his phone, scrolled down to his call history and dialed “Black Tar”. It rang several times but no one picked. He called three more times but still there was no response then he dialed the same number with his other phone and there was a blip from the other end. He sighed to control his breathing and then without formalities, he started talking.
“What took you so long to pick up the damn phone?”
No response
“Don’t do this now. You know the rules”
No response
“You should be here by now. You can’t keep us waiting for too long. You know”
No response
Exasperated with the silent treatment, Mo cursed softly under his breath He hated when this happened. He wasn’t a man of much words thus he found it irritating when he tried having a conversation and he had to do all the talking.
“I’ll take your silence as a No. Bye then” he was about hanging up when he heard the familiar voice.
“I’m in the elevator. I’ll see you in a minute”
The line went dead.
………………………………
Mo smiled, his evening was about to begin.
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