5

5 Kofi was another cleaner on her payroll, a retired Ghanaian tailor who wanted to supplement his pension he was also older than most of her staff, yet he worked harder and never complained he had one deceased wife, five adult children, many grandchildren and a three-bedroom house in Herne Hill that he rented from the council for years, before they allowed him to buy it

he was also holding on to the remnants of bushy grey hair above his ears and on the crown of his head she wanted to tell him to shave it off he was bald, he should accept it Kofi invited her to a 'Ghanaian fusion music night' in a bar in a cinema called the Ritzy in Brixton other than church, this was her first time listening to live music in England she did n0t like the sound of the group who had a singer, drummer and guitarist, but she liked the mood lighting and the small-small tables where she and he could eat snacks, drink lemonade (for her), lager (for him) privately the other people were scruffy bohemian types who had not bothered to dress up she noticed all the races were mixing willy-nilly and two gay gentlemen were holding hands, and nobody seemed to mind, strangely Kofi looked at ease in this peculiar environment, he tapped his feet to the music, nodded and grinned back at strangers, in spite of the fact that his grey suit and tie was as out of place as her bright orange traditional dress and head-tie she liked the way Kofi looked at her across the table, as if she was the most beautiful woman in the world he asked her about her life, she just shrugged, what was there to say? a daughter, a business, a deceased husband when you are ready to talk, I am here to listen, he said he invited her to attend his Pentecostal church – she refused he invited her to watch his grandson play in a school football match – she accepted he invited her to his youngest daughter's wedding – it was too soon he invited her to a meal in his home, which she accepted, and enjoyed his palm-nut soup, fermented corn dough balls, lamb chops and cabbage she liked the fact that this was a man who could cook further, a man who wanted to cook for her

Kofi implied, after a respectable period of courtship, that he'd like to enjoy relations with her in his bed, which meant she had to decide if they were going to be more than friends and if so, what she was doing with a Ghana man? she asked herself if it was what she wanted she came to the conclusion it was what was offered Carole met him and said, he's a keeper, Mama, don't you think it's about time you removed your wedding ring? it took fifteen minutes to free herself, with washing-up liquid he invited her on holiday to his timeshare apartment on Gran Canaria, I will sleep on the sofa, he said, you can take the bed every morning she sat on the top floor balcony with a view of sandy, rippled roofs, and looked down on to the swimming pool where Kofi did forty laps surrounded by the kind of palm trees she recognized from home Bummi tried cocktails for the first time and liked them, especially Margaritas, which felt like a soft drink until she realized she was giggling like a girl they walked along the promenade in the evenings, arm in arm, under the parade of palm trees with the sea lapping the black rocks she told him the story of her early life – the water and oil of the Delta, the water and timber of the lagoon Kofi offered to escort her back to Opolo, to visit her people, she could not face it, she said, the situation had not improved there, it had worsened, whichever relatives remained were unknown to her she told him too many people in her life had died young she confided that every time he left her sight, she expected him to not return – a car accident, a bomb gone off, a stroke in the pool, a heart attack in the bathroom while she slept he reassured her he was not going to die for many a year yet, his own father was ninety-four years of age he himself took multivitamins and cod liver oil every morning she told him more about Carole, who worked in a bank in the City, and about Freddy, who was from English high society

she said how upset she had been when Carole told her she was marrying a white man, it was the beginning of the end of the pure Nigerian family line their children will be mixed, and their children will look white to be wiped out in two generations is this why we came to England? Bummi had been prepared to hate Freddy on sight the first time Carole brought him into the flat he practically leapt through the door with his blond hair flopping about, his gangly legs all over the place, he was full of good cheer, not snootily side-glancing her humble home, he said how cosy it was I'm so pleased to meet you at last, he said, you don't look old enough to be Carole's mother, I can see where she gets her looks from Freddy likes to watch Nollywood movies with her, jokes he's an honorary Nigerian and he simply adores eating her food, especially the yam porridge she makes for breakfast when they stay over, and Carole was even eating it again, which was a miracle she told Kofi that Freddy has turned Carole into a more relaxed and jolly person Freddy arranged for Bummi to meet his parents in a London restaurant, which she was looking forward to except he warned her that although they'd warmed to the idea of Carole, once they saw how classy, well-spoken and successful she was (most importantly for his mother, how slim and pretty, too) they're still old-fashioned snobs Freddy's father, Mark, looked uncomfortable, said little at the dinner, Carole sat there with a fake smile plastered on her face the whole time Pamela, his mother, smiled at Bummi as if she was a famine victim, when she started explaining the meaning of hors d'oeuvres to her, Freddy told her to stop it, Mummy, just stop it she gave Bummi a 'vintage' bottle of wine from their vault, which 'really needs to be divested of its crumbling cork before it's more sediment than liquid'

Bummi accepted the gift graciously and did not understand why English people thought old wine, probably poisonous, was so special let alone drinkable she herself had a nice gift for Pamela, five yards of indigo aso oke fabric Bummi hoped she would only have to see these people once more in her lifetime – at the wedding but Carole and Freddy married in a registry office without telling anyone because they said the thought of planning a proper wedding felt like a mountain lain with land mines Bummi should have been angry instead she was relieved.