BENJY Benjy glanced at his watch. It was almost noon. He resisted the urge to pick up his phone to call Lizzy.He had been clear in his text message to her: I know you said I didn’t know what I wanted, but I think I do now. I know this baby is throwing a spanner […]

DEJI Do one nice thing for each other every day for the next week. This was Dr Amber’s assignment for them this week. They’d had two sessions with her and Deji felt like he couldn’t wait till they got to the good part because why did couple’s counselling seem like it was creating more of […]

ORE The news of their father’s remarriage was a welcome distraction for Ore.  Things had been tense since Wednesday when she had the text mix-up with Ramsey and Terry. At first, she had ignored Ramsey’s question mark message because her hands were trembling and she couldn’t seem to type anything. Her chest felt like it […]

BENJY The door opened and his sister walked in.When they were younger, it had been a running joke in their home that Ore was not friends with closed doors. She could walk into the most intimate spaces without a knock, expecting all to be well. When she grew older and her brothers began to demand […]

DEJI “So…Deji and Ivie, may I ask why you are here?” The way she said the why was what made Deji exchange looks with his wife. It was obvious why they were in the office of a marriage counsellor, wasn’t it? Their ship was sinking, they were drowning, they needed a life jacket or an […]

ORE The cell phone in her hand felt hot. It wasn’t a literal hotness, it was one generated by Ore’s mind. She had finally responded to Terry’s Facebook message that night at dinner. In the bathroom, a sudden recklessness had overtaken her. Maybe it was because her own husband had not bothered to check on […]

BENJY Benjy’s bombshell stunned Lizzy into silence. Stunned them both, actually. Benjy hadn’t known he had come to that conclusion until the words left his lips.“Are you sure? Are you serious?” she asked. “Don’t play with me, Benjy.”“I’m not. I mean, I don’t think so.”“For God’s sake, make up your damn mind. I’m sick of […]

DEJI Finding the appropriate marriage counsellor wasn’t as easy as Deji expected.  It wasn’t as if he could go about asking people for recommendations, not if he didn’t want people asking questions. It was interesting how people pretended that their marriages were perfect and they had never needed counselling. Before now, Deji would have placed […]

ORE Being in Terry’s presence was intoxicating. Ore felt like she had the first time she tasted alcohol. It was at her first house party in university. This one had been thrown by her next-door neighbour; a third year Law student whose father worked in the House of Assembly. He was asking Ore’s roommate out […]

BENJY Benjy had thought that he would feel a huge sense of relief when Lizzy finally got around to the idea of letting go of the baby instead he felt a sense of dread settle over him as he heard her words. He shook his head, a physical gesture that closely resembled the ones he […]