Young, wild & free - Pilot

YW&F

The bus dipped violently into one of the potholes on the road waking Dami from his brief sleep or so he thought till he looked at his battered G-shock ; he had been asleep for an hour and some, his back and buttocks felt sore so he sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes and looking around the bus searchingly looking for nothing in particular - the two ladies at the back were talking about their aunties now in rapid Hausa , they did not know each other from anywhere but the fact that they were both uncomely and unmarried sparked some sort of amity between them, the elderly woman beside Dami had been sleeping since the bus left the Abuja her head swaying side to side like a displaced pendulum even the boy sitting beside her who had been typing and smiling at his phone at the start of the journey was asleep his head resting uncomfortably on his arm but the aged man riding shotgun who had been reading a newspaper even before they boarded the bus had a stern demeanor that reminded Dami of his dad especially the way he pursed his lips and looked at the driver whenever he took a dangerous swerve or when he was over speeding. Dami turned his head towards the window and tried to picture his father, it was not difficult the grim and melancholic face of Rev. D.D. Bamidele founder of Peniel global ministries took form in Dami's head and the memory replayed ; They were in his father's study, the air thick with old literature and coffee. Rev. Bamidele sat across the room, Bible open on his lap his eyes fixed on Dami.

"How could you do this, Damilola" Rev. Bamidele said his face full of unnecessary anguish,Damilola stirred in his chair; the cushion suddenly full of tiny needles ,

" Daddy," Dami started .

"Don't Daddy me " Rev. Bamidele sat up angered.

" alright,... I honestly didn't mean to anger you.. or shame you when I recorded that track. It was just a one time thing and the guys at the studio liked it a lot and decided to promote it. That's all" Dami spread his hands to emphasize his honesty, but he wasn't really being honest he had secretly switched from gospel to secular music a year ago and he had been recording a great deal. In fact, he had nine secular tracks but only 'Lomo' had been a hit and had massive airplay on several local radio stations and that was how deacon Bade's son heard it,then told his dad who in turn had to tell his general overseer; Rev. Bamidele so he could prevent his son from being a disgrace to the church and here Dami sat being objurgated by his enraged clergy father. He hated being treated like this, he was twenty two. Twenty two for Christ sake.

"Listen to yourself, Damilola... we brought you up better than this - your mother and I, we brought you up in the fear and finesse of God. Now you are making music with unbelievers and you say... that's all? " Rev. Bamidele angled his neck to observe his errant son, disappointed plainly "I'll give you twenty four hours to disengage yourself from these wayward loons you've made your friends...twenty four hours! decide if you belong to God or with these profane people." By the next day Dami had decided, he packed his bag and scratched out a do-not-look-for-me note and now he was sitting in a bus, Lagos-bound going to meet more 'profane people ' . The bus shot forward still leaving a cloud of laterite behind it swerved softly away from the dirt road galloping lightly on the main road the scenery came alive almost immediately ; the traffic, the people and the sun, the bus slowed into the park and as the doors came open a mob of hawkers and goons thronged the bus Dami grabbed his valise and pushed through them until he was yards away from the bus he pulled at his shirt and dusted his trousers as he moved through the park towards the stalls he heard his name. A distant baritone "Dami" he turned anxiously to see Lekan striding through the buses towards him with his cheeky smile " Dami Dutch,  bad man " Dami replied with a smile slapping Lekan's palm; shaking it, they knocked shoulders and pat their backs lightly and moved towards the road where Lekan parked his thrashed out Mercedes.

" I have been waiting for your bus for the past thirty minutes ,man what took you guys so long " Lekan asked, trying to be chatty.

"Mehn... we left Abuja late and the bus developed  radiator problems at Ilesha...gee am hungry men.... hold on a minute, let me grab some snacks before we head out " Dami said sliding the valise into the back seat, he had only eaten a bunch of banana and two Gala throughout the journey, Lekan stood by the open door on the drivers side " OK hurry I think those guys should have drinks and snacks " he said pointing to a shop across the road, Dami shoved his hand into his pocket and made a  face, he tapped over his other pocket and felt across his shirt "Damn!" he sighed

"what? " Lekan asked anxious. "My wallet is gone " Dami said, Lekan chuckled lightly "come on, let's go I think I have some indomie at home..... Welcome to Lasgidi".

                                                                       ************

Tamara woke up finally by 9:35am,rolling lazily on the bed to rid herself of the blanket her arms were sore and laden,she sat up slowly reaching for her phone - eight missed calls; five from Jumoke, three from Chief Dabin and two pings from Lekan,she pinged him back and shuffled out of the room, like clockwork; she did her cardio, drank a mugful of hot organic tea with biscuits and honey then she showered. By the time she locked up and left her apartment she was feeling better but the ache in her back and arms lingered - she and the girls had worked till midnight yesterday, setting up the store for the brand launch. It had not seemed like a tedious job when she had it in her head, but the physical execution was cumbersome, but she was happy. She found herself smiling. This was what 'being made' felt like, after all the loan disappointments and declined assistance her fashion house was now a reality, she liked it...  She liked her life a lot now, she liked the thought of her own money in her own account, she liked the fact that Tam & Thick was now a building not just some picture in her head anymore. She hailed an empty taxi and paid for five passengers; now that she could she should enjoy a whole taxi to herself. She slid into the back seat and made herself comfortable.

" please stop at the first GT bank you see...I need to pick something up "

The taxi man observed her in the rear-view mirror briefly , nodded assent and pulled away from the curb joining the busy morning traffic. Tam's phone vibrated gingerly in her purse, she fished it out, it was Chief Dabin again, her stomach tightened she let it vibrate till it ceased; she knew she was going to have to answer it sooner or later, later was her best bet.  She observed the blackberry blankly her thoughts running wild, she started dialing to call Chief Dabin but then she called his daughter, she called Jumoke.

                                                            ***************

The horn sounded outside again,twice this time, Jumoke did a swift spin in front of the long standing mirror tugging at her gown, she grabbed her purse and hurried downstairs - switching the lights off and locking the door. She jumped into the car still tugging at her gown.

"Haba D.T what kind of brother are you sef? You cannot even be patient and let me dress well. " Jumoke said punching Dotun on his arm jovially "Don't you know i could meet your future in law there tonight?" She chuckled. Dotun regarded her smiling sheepishly " Sorry now, I did not know we where going for spouse audition... agbaya! Since 8:15 I got here you've been dressing. Which patience again do you want " he said laughing.

" Abeg jare, lets go.Tamara just pinged me."

Dotun turned on the ignition and flashed the headlights, the gate man opened the gates and the grey Honda rolled out silently and headed towards the mainland. The traffic was light but there were still  cars on the road ;island-bound majority of them going to the club for the friday night turn up. " still on spouses though" Dotun made a red light, braking softly " what's up with you and Fabian."

" Abeg, don't even start. " Jumoke turned towards the window sullen as the green came on.

 D.T smiled " I thought you guys were still going nicely ." 

" Nicely." Jumoke had to laugh " Fabian is great, I mean he is the ideal guy. But the distance is killing me." she said dismally. 

"I agree. " Dotun let off the accelerator " Lagos to Ghana is pretty far. "

 The bright Tam & Thick sign board with colourful lights appeared ahead welcoming them and as Dotun pulled into an empty spot in the parking area the place was teeming with people and P-square was blasting through the speakers.

" Is this you and Tam's idea of a small get together? " Dotun said getting out of the car.

" yes now! It's her brand launch. The more the people, the more the publicity" Jumoke said getting out of the car and tugging at her gown " you have no business head. We made sure we invited people that would bring their people, plus there is enough food to go round. I think." 

" you think." Dotun laughed, already moving towards the building, Jumoke shuffled along stifled by her gown and stiletto. Tamara seemed  to have  been  looking out for them , she saw Dotun first through the rows of clothing racks and people, she smiled  and waved catching Dotun's eye  and weaving through the people towards him. 

"What took you guys so long now?" she said embracing Dotun. 

"Ask your friend o" Dotun defended turning towards Jumoke who just appeared at the doorway searching for a familiar face, Tamara waved again and Jumoke replied with a smile moving towards them.

"Babes!" Jumoke screamed hugging Tamara "sorry we're late."

"I am happy you're here now, you know I'm lost without you guys." They all laughed. 

" That said, where's the party at? " Dotun asked looking around for where the party was, he seemed to have seen it because he gave Tam a peck and excused himself immediately. 

" come " Tamara said dragging Jumoke by the arm " there is somone I want you to meet " 

"Who?" Jumoke followed reluctantly. 

" Lekan's friend... Come jare, he's cute, you'll like him."

 They found Lekan and Dami at the make-shift bar talking to the bartenders and sipping apple punch. Lekan's friend was cute as Tam had pointed out, Jumoke liked him almost instantly, she liked the way he smiled with his eyes but, he had funny elf-like ears. Lekan hugged Jumoke lightly glass still in hand " Ju mama " he laughed "long time, no see... You scarce o"

"see who is talking " they all laughed, Dami just smiled. 

" This is Dami... " Tamara cut in to ease Dami into the fold. 

"Ha ahn, Tammy " Lekan interjected " shebi I brought him, I'll introduce him... This is Dami a.k.a Dami Dutch. He's new to Lag though so I'm his chaperone for the week " he japed. "Dutch this is Jumoke Dabin, daughter of Chief Falua Dabin. Jumoke,Dami. Dami,Jumoke." He finished with false fair,beaming. 

" shebi, you have introduced now... How much dem pay you? " Tamara joked. 

 "Hi, I am Damilola " Dami said shy.

" Jumoke." she offered her hand, Dami took it and kissed it. 

" Let me buy you a drink " he said motioning towards the bar. Jumoke agreed and followed. 

"so what would you have? "Dami asked looking at her coyly. 

" I'll have what you're having." 

Dami hailed the bartender and raised two fingers as they sat down on the barstools, Jumoke was having a little problem of tugging at her gown and still trying to sit, she finally adjusted to the stool tilting forward and crossing her legs in an uncomfortable fashion. The apple punch arrived, just as Lekan and Tamara joined them at the bar they ordered watered schnapps and Tamara gunned hers down in a gulp, and screwed her face up wincing. Lekan laughed at that and sipped his slowly. Tamara excused herself to go and attend to her guest, dragging Lekan along with her. Jumoke promised to join her when she was done with her punch. They started out conversation talking about the weather and how nice the brand launch was. 

"so... Who is Damilola? " Jumoke asked nonchalantly, spinning her third glass of apple punch on the counter. 

"Uhmmm... I am an RnB artiste, though I studied political science in school. First of three children. Uhh... My dad is a clergyman, my mum is a legal practioner and ...I think that's all" Dami smiled the punch was getting to him too. 

"Right, so why are you in Lagos?"

Dami laughed lightly, cocking his head to look into her eyes,she was preety in a funny kind of way. He liked her. 

"Because I ran away. "

"Ran away?" she asked amused. 

"yeah... I ran away from my dad... He did not agree with my life choices and type of music. So I decided to leave and decide my path. It was about time if I do say so myself " he said chuckling " my dad's not as popular as yours but you might know him...he appears on TV once in a while,  Rev.D.D Bamidele." he said raising his brows

 Recognition resigned on her face "the Peniel pastor? "

"that's my Dad" he said draining his glass. "enough about me though,tell me about yourself " 

Jumoke rolled her head as if in thought "well...I am your regular lasgidi chic... Daddy's little girl, as some put it. I graduated with honors in mass comm. From Dunley university in the UK. First of two kids,thats my brother" she pointed at Dotun through the throng of people and clothes "the one with the red shirt. And I currently work at Skits F.M I have a show on Tuesdays and fridays; Radiohead with Jumoke and I... I am not in a relationship " she said winking. 

"Ditto" Dami replied eagerly, beaming. 

Just then Tam took to the platform, lightly striking a cutlery on a champagne flute, she smiled airily looking from face to face." I want to use this opportunity to thank you all for coming... It really means alot to me and to Tam & Thick. I also want to appreciate all of you that took out time to go through the stock, but most importantly to those of you who took out cash to buy the stock " the hall buzzed with laughter "I want to implore everyone here to spread word about Tam & Thick to your  friends, family, spouse and every single person you meet. Thank you  all.  And finally a big thank you to all those that made this event possible- Jumoke; you are my rock, my boyfriend ; Lekki you've always been there, Mrs Gambo, all the T&T girls thank you so much... " . Almost instantly there was some sort of cacophony coming from outside, Tamara tilted her head towards the doorway to see, she saw his P.A first, his pinched fish like face  peeking through the doorway ; Obed entered as if to make room for him. As Chief Dabin entered the hall the aura changed instantly and people felt it. Tamara felt her gut wrench as he looked up to the platform, Into her eyes , she felt light headed . 

" Daddy is here " she heard Dotun whisper to Jumoke. What was he doing here? " oh my God " Tam whispered. "

What was Chief Dabin doing here?...

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