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4 As Chief Executive of BW Cleaning Services International Plc, Bummi advertised in the spendthrift people's supermarket, lined up a couple of cleaners and clients, domestic and business, only to quickly discover that they could all let her down at the last minute this was not going to be a walk in the park, but life was not a walk in the park, abi? there was only one person to be relied upon, herself she would start small and grow big, and allowed Sister Flora from church, who could not have children herself and wanted them, to look after

Carole when necessary, and sent herself out on jobs her first client was a lady called Penelope Halifax who lived in one of those big houses in Camberwell with attic rooms for the servants of olden times these days all these people could afford was a weekly cleaner when Bummi walked into the house with stained-glass windows on the front door, old-fashioned tiles on the hallway floor, high ceilings, large windows and many flights of stairs winding up, she realized how small her world had been thus far in England nobody she knew lived like this, not even her Nigerian friends from church who owned their own homes did not live like this Penelope was tall, a retired schoolteacher who was quite pleasant-looking with the kind of dyed hair that's neither blonde, grey nor white she wore ill-fitting clothes to hide her substantial womanliness Bummi never understood why English women did not show off the outline of their fulsomeness, the more fulsome the better, so long as it was done with decorum in her culture a substantial woman was a desirable one Penelope had been a schoolteacher at Carole's school, Bummi noticed a framed farewell card in the hallway she wanted to mention this to Penelope, to develop a friendly working relationship with her client because if people like you they are more likely to keep employing you but the lady told her, you're here to work, not to indulge in social discourse, she then instructed her never to open any drawers, cupboards or wardrobes or go into pockets or bags Bummi wanted to bite the woman's head off, but bit her tongue instead Penelope soon broke her own rule and talked non-stop to Bummi as she followed her around the house moaning about her awful first husband, Giles, an engineer, who was a sexist twat stuck in the dark ages, she said, and her godawful second husband, Phillip, a psychologist, who she discovered was a flea-bitten dog who chased any mangy, randy tart behind her back

Bummi thought the woman was sophisticated on the outside, uncouth on the inside yet she was also obviously lonely, her children had long ago left home Bummi felt sorry for her and every week discreetly cleared away the large supply of empty wine bottles left by the kitchen bin once she had several regular clients, Bummi started to recruit staff and produced a job description to show applicants she was serious 1/ highly skilled in cleaning and emptying waste containers and eliminating debris from designated areas 2/ good knowledge of tools and chemicals in cleaning process 3/ safe use of detergents and chemicals, good ability at vacuuming, proven record of sweeping, hand dusting, buffing and wiping 4/ demonstrated ability of sterilization of water coolers 5/ competency in dusting lighting fixtures and polishing metal hardware 6/ complete dedication to accuracy and attention to detail 7/ knowledge of the importance of protective clothing and self-care she soon had four Nigerians, two Polish and one Pakistani on her books who went through a training programme on the job to meet her professional standards she went to an evening class at the library to familiarize herself with computers and the internet, and found an accountant because she did not want to end up in Holloway Prison for tax avoidance by the time Carole began her banking career in the City, Bummi had a staff of ten one of them, Sister Omofe from church, was the most pleasant and diligent worker of them all her husband, Jimoh, had taken a second wife back in Port Harcourt where he ran his mobile phone business and left her to raise their two sons, Tayo and Wole, alone the two women became fast-fast friends as they mopped floors and polished desks you see that man? Omofe said, I hope his snake gets diseased, shrivels up and poisons him from the inside

I think you did not marry him to become wife Number One? Bummi replied I did not, I am a modern woman and I will put rat poison in his stew next time he comes to Britain, expects to stay with me, and as soon as he has dropped his bags and eaten my food, goes out drinking Guinness in those nightclubs filled with young girls wearing next to no clothes Sister Omofe, I have seen them with my own eyes on the tube-train late on Friday and Saturday night when I am going to work and they are going to party, the young girls in this country dress like prostitutes that is because they are, Sister Bummi, they have no self-respect, just like my two sons have no self-respect, they are running wild without their father to discipline them, they are making merry hell, only yesterday I had the police bobbies at my door saying my boys were suspects in the robbery of a woman on the top of the bus along with the other hooligans on the way home from school, did I not tell them to sit at the bottom of the bus with the law-abiding people? when I hit them, my hands bounce off when I threaten them with curfew, they break it and when I hid their computers in my bedroom, they kicked down the door they will either end up dead in a hoodie gangland shootout, or locked up, and I will spend the rest of my life either visiting their graves or visiting them once a week in the clink is this my fate? Sister Omofe, send them home to Nigeria, is that not the tried and tested solution? you are a woman of solutions, Sister Bummi, Omofe replied, taking Bummi's hand, squeezing it a few months later, Omofe told her sons they were going on holiday to Nigeria and upon arrival they were driven to a strict boarding school in Abuja, paid for with a loan from the bank now I too am alone, Omofe said to Bummi after they had left, as the two women sat on an expensive red leather sofa in an empty office reception room in an empty office building that was many storeys high, on an empty city street at three o'clock in the morning eating the chicken, rice and salad Bummi had prepared

Bummi looked forward to seeing Omofe at work and at church, where they sat together, she began to miss her when they were apart, found herself longing to touch her new friend in ways that were not acceptable she imagined them lying together as man and wife and instead of it feeling bad, it felt right Omofe invited Bummi to sleep at her flat in a tower block in New Cross one morning when they had finished work and were about to board the bus home their feet were sore, their eyes sleepy and bloodshot, their armpits sweaty the bus arrived and after the hordes of office workers, smelling of strong perfume and cologne, shampoo, coffee and even toothpaste had disembarked, they climbed on and sat comfortably pressed up together on the seat Bummi felt tingles down the side of her body that blended into Omofe my home is an empty nest, Omofe said, we can be company for each other after they had each bathed and were ready to sleep, Omofe went to the doorway of her bedroom and said, I have made up a bed for you in Tayo and Wole's room although as it is a bunk bed, it is not fitting for a woman such as yourself you are welcome to sleep in my double bed, which is more spacious it is up to you Omofe padded barefoot over the thick carpet of her bedroom wrapped up in a creamy bath towel, her plump brown upper back and backs of her legs shone, her wig was off and her natural brown hair was short and glistened it is up to you, she repeated over her shoulder, and when she reached her bed, with her back to Bummi, she let her towel drop Bummi followed her into the room as if in a trance, just as she could not help but allow Omofe to explore her relaxed and warm bath body they both had generous folds of flesh and luxurious breasts Omofe felt like home to Bummi and her expert activities culminated in the most intense pleasure as their activities progressed, she also found pleasure in reciprocating, as her mouth travelled wherever it wanted to go until Omofe cried out

Bummi stayed over at Omofe's as often as she could she admitted to herself she had been hungry for a long time, had ignored it because she would never consider taking on another husband to replace someone irreplaceable was impossible this was different, Omofe was a woman Tayo and Wole returned from Nigeria after several years, transformed into civilized teenagers who were angry with their father for only visiting them twice and at their mother for her betrayal although the two women carried on their communion at Bummi's flat, it was strange being with Omofe in the bedroom she had once shared with Augustine, and in the flat she shared with her daughter, the daughter she could never tell of this unmentionable thing that she did the shame she had tried to suppress began walking towards her she did not want to be that sort of person it was not who she was Bummi could no longer relax enough to enjoy herself, she turned over and went to sleep, stopped responding to Omofe's increasingly tentative touches tell me, what can I do to please you, Bummi? I will correct my actions accordingly Bummi did not know what to suggest when the problem lay not with Omofe she stopped inviting her friend to come and stay, and when Omofe invited herself, Bummi declined she also stopped taking the same shifts as her, stopped going shopping with her in the market, and started to avoid her in church Omofe, tired of asking Bummi what was wrong without getting an answer, cut herself off from her and eventually left to work for another cleaning company later she appeared at church with Sister Moto – of all people Sister Moto had been a plus-size model and liked herself too much, she wore traditional dress and posed as if she was the Queen of Peckham she had her own hairdressers' shop on the high road, her old catalogue photographs were plastered all over its walls, and she referred to it as the

Nigerian Ladies' Community Centre, South East London Chapter which Bummi thought arrogant and preposterous Sister Moto raised either suspicion or pity because she had never had a boyfriend to anyone's knowledge, or got engaged, married, had affairs with other women's husbands or even flirted with the men who wanted her and most of them did Bummi made sure to sit behind the two women Sister Moto with her back characteristically straight and proud, her light green bubu flattering her lighter skin Omofe, in contrast, was shorter, darker, with pleasantly rounded shoulders and attractively fleshy arms Bummi wanted to reach out and stroke, as well as her thick, dimpled thighs and her ample, delectable hips with the stretchmarks Bummi thought looked like art and felt like Braille Bummi noticed how the two women sat silently as the church filled up, as if they were not acquainted yet there was something intimate between them, she wondered if others had thought the same when she and Omofe had sat together when everybody stood to sing, she noticed their bodies instinctively lean towards each other Bummi was surprised at how quickly Omofe had moved on she was surprised at how upset she felt about this.