Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Uyai, Affiong and Gift were in the shopping mal, precisely in the clothing section . Mrs. Ekpenyong was outside talking to an apparently long lost friend. Judging from the ticking clock placed on the purple and pink painted wall, it had been over an hour and Uyai could still hear their girlish giggles as the reminisced old times.

Uyai and Affiong sat on the long fluffy red sofa with beautiful patterns decorating it's edges while waiting for Gift who was taking three hundred and sixty seconds in the closet to try on a blue coloured gown she had sworn was "the one".

Three hundred and sixty one...

The pink satin curtain that separated the changing room from the room flew to the side and Gift came out in all her glory and Uyai couldn't help but admire the gorgeous blue gown which highlighted well her skin tone, the fluffy white lace at the bottom of the skirt that flared slightly before falling to her knees. She looked beautiful with her pigtails hanging loosely on his either side of her face wearing a wide grin as she gauged their expression.

Apparently Uyai's expression gave her the result she wanted because her grin widened.

"I am so taking this." she cried in excitement and skipped to the in built mirror by the side of the room.

"You should it's fine." Uyai gave a thumbs up in approval and nudged Affiong who was quiet all this while. Uyai followed the direction of Affiong's eyes and found that her sister's gaze was fixated on gorgeous red gown that seemed too revealing for Uyai's liking.

Trust Affiong to like that, Uyai rolled her eyes.

"Ah fine girl, see how the cloth fit you." a female voice said and Uyai whipped her head to the direction of her voice.

A lady stood beside the sales lady who was straightening out a wrinkled gray skirt that hung from the metallic hanger. Her bulging eyes with the thick lashes that looked too artificial to be real appraised Gift's dress with a friendly smile.

"I know." Gift replied bluntly. Her tone appearing rude.

"Gift why don't you tell her thank you?" Uyai laughed nervously while looking at Gift with pleading eyes.

"Why would I? I already know it fits me." she shot Uyai a frown and turned back to the mirror without acknowledging the woman.

Uyai stole a glance at the woman and her eyes widened when she saw the lady walking towards her.

Gift and her mouth. This girl would be the death of me.

"Aunty I like your hair." Uyai stood up immediately leaving Affiong whose eyes couldn't leave the red dress and complimented the lady when she had neared her.

"Thank you." The lady grinned widely exposing her lipstick stain teeth due to the too bright beige colour she had donned. She flicked the hair behind her as if...

Uyai struggled hard to resist wrinkling her nose. What she had failed to admit was that she liked the maroon colour of her hair but disliked it on her black complexion and worse her outfit was a colour riot and Uyai was tempted to ask her if she was colour blind.

Uyai forced a smile. Unlike Gift, she knew how to hold it in; she knew how to be diplomatic.

"Aunty Uyai it's your tur-" Gift began when she was done admiring herself in the mirror, but her speech was cut short when she saw the lady fully.

Uyai didn't need to tell you or anyone exactly the expression Gift wore. You guys can guess alright.

Yes, Gift mouth was agape, she could swallow a whole building with it, her eyes were rounded like saucers. She stood staring at the woman for over twenty seconds before she got back herself.

"Jesus!" was her remark.

Uyai chuckled nervously "Gift you like her hair right? Its pretty."

"Pretty..." Gift trailed off as if in a trance, before Uyai knew it, she let out a loud laugh shocking everyone.

Uyai wanted to hide. She wanted the earth to swallow her up. Gift continued laughing without a care in the world.

"Gift, Gift." Uyai tried to shush her, but it was futile. The girl kept laughing till tears escaped her eyes.

"Y-You, you look like a rain-" she started.

"Don't complete that!" Uyai went forward to clamp her mouth with her fingers making it look like that of a duck.

"Mmph..."

"Why is she laughing? Is she okay?" The woman quirked a confused eyebrow.

Uyai sighed in relief. Thank goodness you're dense.

"Y-Yes! As a matter of fact yes. She has a fever." Uyai told the woman, her fingers still holding gifts lips together.

"Mmph.... Lef goofme!"

Uyai released her.

Gift exhaled loudly and looked up to shoot Uyai a harsh glare.

Uyai returned it with a shrug.

"Gift, have you tried on any dress yet... Wow! That's a beautiful dress you got on there." Mrs. Ekpenyong praised coming to a halt in front of Gift, her beautiful tiger print handbag hung round her shoulder. It even had furs rounding it's edges. Gift had told her it was monkey fur.

Gift seeing her grandma smiled all of a sudden. "I know right? Grandma, can I have this one." she asked with a cute voice that screamed innocence.

"Of course dear, if you like it."

"Thanks grandma."

"Uyai, Affiong have you found something yet?" she looked them over. They still wore their normal boring clothes that made Gift walk a little farther away from them. On their way to the mall, she had whispered to Uyai "Pretend you don't know me."

Uyai didn't understand what she meant until Gift had eyed their clothes with distaste.

"No, no yet." Uyai replied for both of them. Affiong was still quiet.

"Affiong. Go try on a few clothes." Mrs. Ekpenyong said to Affiong who still sat staring admiringly at the red dress.

Uyai walked to her sister and kicked her in the shin. She jerked moving her eyes away from the dress.

"Go and try some clothes."

Immediately Affiong stood up and walked as if in a trance to the red dress.

"What is she doing?" Gift queried eyeing her sister strangely.

"Oh. That's is a nice dress. It will look beautiful on you."

Mrs. Ekpenyong eyed the said dress, Affiong and finally the horribly dressed woman.

"Ehe-ehe-ehe drop that."

The colourful dressed lady who Uyai had summed up was also a sales lady turned to Mrs. Ekpenyong eyeing her curiously.

"Are you the sales lady?"

"Yes Ma. Are you with them?"

"Yes. I am. Get her a loose gown let her try it on."

"okay. How about the red dress?"

"she wouldn't be trying that." Mrs. Ekpenyong shook her head with a frown.

Uyai noticed that her sister's face had pulled in a frown. She wondered if Affiong had forgotten that she was pregnant and soon there will be a large baby bump on her person.

The horribly dressed sales lady walked towards a section of the room where clothes of different sizes hung. She picked out five clothes Uyai couldn't see.

I really do hope she isn't colour blind, Uyai thought knowing Gift was more concerned than her.

After a while, she returned with five different gowns that looked-- dare she say, okay? It wasn't bad and it wasn't also great. Perhaps because it was an extra large size.

"Here, these are some of the loose gowns we have."

"Take it and go and try on." Mrs. Ekpenyong urged.

Affiong began to frown but Uyai nudged her and her frown turned into a grimace.

"Aunty Uyai, here." Uyai turned and looked down as little Gift held up, one, two three four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve... Goodness twelve dresses!

"Er... For me?" Uyai squeaked.

"Duh!" Gift rolled her eyes.

"That's true Uyai, go on! Go and try it on." Mrs. Ekpenyong said.

"Okay Aunty." Uyai carefully took five clothes which Gift had tutted shaking her head. Reluctantly she had to take on all of them.

***

Uyai and Affiong had emerged out of the changing closet at the same time. Instinctively she looked at sister. Uyai managed a straight face as she looked at her sister in the blue gown that swallowed her whole, then seeing her sister's face, with her nose scrunched up, Uyai couldn't hold it any longer, she let loose a guffaw.

"Well, well, well, not bad." Gift said after Uyai's laugh subsided.

"Eh?" Uyai was shocked. Was this not Gift, the fashion critique? Who was the one who blatantly condemned all their clothes and saying to 'burn them'.

"Yeah it's okay, but can you get her a smaller size?" Mrs. Ekpenyong told the sales lady who nodded immediately.

Affiong heaved a sigh of relief.

Uyai grinned amused. She had almost forgotten that she had changed into a sequin gown that fell to her knees until--

"Definitely not that one. Change!" Gift said. Well more like ordered.

Uyai didn't see anything wrong with with the dress-

We've come to bless your name...

"Let me take this call. Hello? Peter it's now you're calling ehn..." Mrs. Ekpenyong trailed off as she listened to the other voice on the line. With the phone to her ear, she went out of the building

"But it's fine." Uyai turned to Gift who was now had her back resting on the the red divan as she folded her legs beneath her.

"Change." Gift said in finality.

Uyai grudgingly went in to the changing room

To cut the story short, Uyai and Affiong were doing a fashion parade that attracted other customers who were like Gift also giving their opinions. Like can you imagine.

It went like this.

"No."

"But-"

"Definitely not."

"Is this-"

"Too plain."

"How about."

"Too glaring."

"I think this one is fine."

"Who said so." Gift scoffed. "Change."

"What if she tries the other one?" The fair woman with long black hair tied into a fancy bun interjected seeing Uyai frustrated expression. Uyai was sweating as if she ran a marathon.

"The black one?"

"Yes." Uyai nodded.

"Okay that's fair."

"What about me?" Affiong asked. Like Uyai she was also sweating and looked drained out.

"You're okay." Gift simply said and Affiong sighed. Thank goodness!

Uyai frowned at her own luck and looked with pleading eyes to Gift.

Hearing her unspoken plea. Gift shook her head.

Uyai skipped to the changing room with the black gown and when she came out...

"Whoa! That's the one." Affiong exclaimed.

"I know right. We're so taking it." Gift jumped, clapping loudly.

"Ah! See how the cloth fit you." one woman with a tribal mark adorning a side of her cheek said. She had called herself Charlistic and Uyai didn't know if it was her real name or a nickname.

"Eh… The thing fine for her body. See as e shape am( see how shapely it looks on her)." Charlistic's friend Mimi who had been snapping loudly a chewing gum to Uyai's irritation said.

"Abii, my own sef my stomach no go gree make I wear am (As for me, my stomach won't let me wear it)." A slim woman who had come to join them said with a frown as she caressed her protruded stomach.

Of course Uyai was shocked by their reaction. She had been expecting another. "No! Definitely not!" from Gift instead she got these and surprisingly she wasn't as excited. She was tired and wanted to just lie down.

"Aunty Uyai, you look like a model." Gift smiled wistfully.

"That's right." The sales lady, the one with the rainbow coloured clothes said, admiring the beautiful black gown that molded to the small curves Uyai didn't know she possessed down to her slim waist and finally to her slightly rounded hips until it fell to her knees making her legs look unending.

"Er...thank you." Uyai had no idea what being a model meant. Judging from their reactions it was probably a good thing. Thank goodness for that.

Uyai watched as Charlistic and co finally turn away to continue their own business. One went into the changing room Uyai exited from, the rest went on to browse clothes that hung freely from the hanger

"Does that mean no more changing?" Uyai asked hopefully.

Gift nodded.

"Thank God!"

"Er... Aunty Uyai you might want to take the other clothes." Gift pointed to the strewn clothes that draped the arm of the sofa.

"Er... Why?"

"Because you need them, to wear you know."

"I don't understand, didn't you condemn all of them?"

"Uhuh..."

"Then why do I have to wear them?"

"Because you're changing your wardrobe and you can't just buy one dress." She rolled her eyes, while she played with pigtails.

"But you said none were pretty! And now you want me to wear them?" Uyai huffed annoyed.

"Well, they're not obviously and they're not so bad either, but the only difference between them and this is that this one is the one." Gift shrugged nonchalantly.

"So you mean all this while--"

"Yes." Gift cut her off.

"What's a model?" a perplexed Affiong asked, her eyes on Gift as she awaited an answer. She had pondered on it for long especially when her younger sister was compared to one.

"You really have been living in a cave." Gift said in disbelief. Uyai was also curious about it too, but held in her curiosity. She wasn't prepared for Gift mockery.

"Are you ladies done? We need to go home." It was Mrs. Ekpenyong. She strolled in with two shopping bags in one hand while the other fiddled her phone.

"Yes. Grandma."

"Good." She pulled her eyes away from the phone, then noticing Uyai, her eyes widened at the transformation. She looked like those models her granddaughter kept watching on TV with her frame and all.

"You look nice like a model even."

"Thank you aunty." Uyai smiled politely. Again that comparison to a model. It increased her curiosity.

"That's better." she said to Affiong.

Affiong didn't know if that was a compliment or not, she didn't like it. She could only attempt a small smile that ended up as a grimace.

"Thank you Aunty." she said.

"Go change. I'll pay for them."

***

After Mrs. Ekpenyong had paid for their clothes. Before they left, Gift had maturely whispered to the rainbow dressed woman.

"You're really nice lady, so I am going to give you an advice. You'll thank me later for it.

"What--"

"You might need to change what you're wearing, it doesn't suit you." Gift said in a whisper.

Uyai had eavesdropped, so she heard the astonishing remark.

This girl ehn...

On their way to the parking lot where they driver waited in the white Benz car. Uyai and Gift had spotted Glory the housemaid dressed in beautiful but short gown that revealed more than was required. With makeup on she looked nothing like her usual self. She looked more beautiful and sophisticated and that was not all, she was walking with a man twice her age whose hand was caressing her derriere.

"Is that Aunty Glory's husband?" Uyai asked Gift who didn't look surprised at the sight.

"Husband?" Gift scoffed. "She's not married."

"Okay it's her fiance."

"Definitely not. Except she changes fiancé's every month." Gift mocked.

Uyai was confused and it showed in her expression 'cause gift shook her head.

"You're so dense."