Now, We Touch

4.

Tosin and David came back with food. They talked and made jokes while they ate. Precious said something funny, and Eline laughed a little too loudly. She covered her mouth, trying to stifle her laugh.

Tosin smiled as he watched her from across his side of the table.

“What?” Eline asked, still laughing.

“Nothing! I just like it whenever you laugh like that.”

“You are a very odd man. Men don’t normally like women who laugh loudly.”

“That is their business. God forbid a woman is genuinely happy and free. Laugh as you please, jor.”

“I will try.”

“Good. So how is work going?”

She groaned. “Don’t even get me started on work. Should I talk about my annoying colleagues or Mr Adekunmi, who won’t stop hitting on me? I don’t want to talk about it, abeg.”

“You hate it there.”

“I do.”

“Then maybe we should start looking for another job for you.”

“I’ve thought about it, but I’m just scared to step into the job market again.”

“What if I help you?”

“You would?”

He rolled his eyes. “Did you miss the ‘we should start looking’ part?”

“Tosin, sassiness is unbecoming of a man. But seriously, that would be great. Thank you.”

“Sure! We can start tomorrow.”

“I will celebrate my freedom when I get out of there.”

After brunch, Precious and David left in a cab, leaving Tosin and Eline to go home alone. The drive to Eline’s house was filled with singing loudly to the songs on the radio. When an old Hillsong song came on, Eline screamed. Tosin regarded her with a knowing smile.

“This song! Remember when my mum bought that Hillsong Kids CD and I made us score it for our future band?” Eline said.

“Of course I remember. You were going to be the lead singer, and I was going to play keyboard since Remi was already playing drums.”

“But you didn’t know how to play the keyboard.”

“Then you made us go to music school the next August holiday.”

“I made us go, but you enjoyed it.”

Tosin nodded. “I can't deny it. You had me doing the most random things when we were children. Remember your ‘Tosin, I have an idea,’ era?”

“Courtesy of Phineas and Ferb.”

“That was how you said we were going to build a robot that would do all our chores,” Tosin said, laughing.

“And you just went with it, chipping in ideas like we knew the first thing about building a robot,” Eline added, joining in the mirth.

“Then there was the time you made us start a mini amusement park in your house.”

“Park Eline. It lasted for just a day!”

“But we followed through that one time, so give us credit for that.”

“True, true. We gathered all our toys and those old tires to build our park. It was actually cute.”

“It was. But those kids who came to visit their grandparents ruined it.”

“Ugh! Those dang kids ruined what would have been a million-dollar empire by now.”

“See ba?”

“Can you imagine? We would have gone on The Ellen Show back then.”

They sighed as nostalgia hit them.

“We had our work cut out for us, didn’t we?” Tosin asked.

“We did. Area 11 will always hold a special place in my heart. If we had a tagline, it would probably be: Evangeline and Tosin, conquering the world one ridiculous idea at a time with the power of friendship.”

An expression crossed Tosin’s face, but before Eline could interpret it, he looked straight ahead. The rest of the drive was quiet. Eline couldn’t tell what she had said wrong. She tried to retrace her steps. What was the last thing she had said? Wasn’t it about the power of friendship?

When they arrived at her house, she thanked Tosin for brunch and driving her home, and got out of the car. She was about to go through the gate, but changed her mind at the last minute. She walked up to Tosin’s window and tapped it. He rolled it down.

“Hey, I have to ask, did I do something wrong?”

He shook his head. “Nope!”

“Sure?”

“Yup!”

“You’re doing that thing you do when you’re trying to hide that you’re upset.”

“Am I?”

“Yes! Enunciating your ‘Ps’.”

“I did that?”

“Yes, you did.”

He sighed, a weary look cloaking his face. “Well, Evangeline, if you must know, I am just tired. I’ll talk to you tomorrow so we can start job hunting.”

“Before you go, give me your best Tosin charming smile.”

His mouth lifted in a tight-lipped smile.

“If that is the best you have to give, I’ll take it.”

“Good, because it is. Take care, Eline.”

“You too. Make sure you take your Sunday siesta so you won’t be cranky when I call you later.”

“I will,” he replied, a more genuine smile gracing his face.

“Ehen, that’s more like it. Bye.”

“Bye! Now get away from my car and go inside so I can drive home.”

Eline leaned away from the car, tapped it twice and waved before going inside.

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Writer's Note: Hey, you. Another day, another slay. Are you guys as tired as Tosin? Because why won’t this girl just admit that something more is happening? See you in the next one.

Until next time, beautiful one.