Chapter 36—Sisterly Fall Out

"Good afternoon, madam. Welcome to Beauty Sparks. How may I help you?" The receptionist beamed at the counter as Korede approached.

"Good day. I booked an appointment last week under the name Korede Aboyegi," Korede replied.

The receptionist swiped three times at her tab before speaking.

"Oh, right. I remember you now!" she exclaimed after confirming Korede's identity. "Please take a seat. Our chief stylist will be with you shortly."

"Alright."

No sooner had Korede sat down than her friends arrived at the salon, causing heads to turn at the sound of high-pitched voices.

"Hey, girls."

They all took rounds kissing the air in the direction of their cheeks as they embraced each other.

Tracy wondered why she wasn't being attended to yet. "Why are you still here?"

"Relax, I just got here." Korede put whatever anger that was about to brew off.

"Oh." Tracy gaped.

"See girls, my timing is impeccable as always. Never again shall anyone say that I arrive late at meetings. I clearly know what I'm doing."

"Indeed," Esther teased.

"So what are they waiting for? Someone should attend to us, na!" Tracy yelled in a manner that turned the heads of the stylists and customers alike.

"Babe, calm down." Korede plea was short-lived by the presence of a tall, slim woman.

"Good afternoon, ladies. I apologize for whatever inconveniences I have caused by keeping you here."

One glance at her, and anyone could tell that she meant business. Her hair was short—a buzz cut complemented by two large round earrings and a dotted mole on the side of her mouth that brought out her small face. She wore a shirt branded by the salon's logo and a pair of faded black jean trousers over white sneakers: a true representation of the salon's image.

When she was sure that none of them bore any ill feelings at all, she continued. "Good afternoon, ma," she said to Korede.

"Good afternoon, Agnes." Korede smiled.

"Shall we?" Agnes motioned and led them to their seats.

"So according to what you booked, you want full conditioning and retouching before styling your hair and also manicure and pedicure treatments for the four of you. Am I correct?"

"Yes." Korede nodded.

"Great!" Agnes clapped. "These guys over here would be handling the first part." She motioned to the four stylists standing by her side.

Korede and her friends batted their eyes at the tall slender man who stood among the four. Before they could speak up, the four stylists began to approach each person they were assigned to.

"Hold on, what is that guy doing?" Fatima frowned as she gestured to the tall, slender man.

"Cjay is the one I assigned to Miss Korede," Agnes answered firmly.

"Hmm, are you sure about that?" Tracy raised a wary brow.

"Madam, Cjay is good. Trust me," Madam Agnes reassured.

"The chief specialist isn’t treating Korede ? Oh, tomorrow is her wedding," Fatima hummed.

"Fatima, he knows!" Esther snapped.

The stylist only chuckled at their squabble and reached for a bottle.

"I'm just saying I don't want people to say one of the bridesmaids was prettier than one bride herself on her special day day—and by one of the bridesmaids, I meant me, by the way." Fatima wiggled her fingers close to her face, and all the girls laughed.

Korede turned to Cjay. "Don't mind her."

"It's alright, madam," said Cjay. "And don't worry. You're in safe hands."

She nodded, resting her back on the chair and closing her eyes as he began to rub the conditioner tenderly all over her air with his fingers, as did the three other stylists who were assigned to her friends. It went on quietly for a while until Fatima who could no longer stand the silence and spoke up.

"So, Korede, tell us about that romantic getaway, na," she said in a whim.

Korede opened her eyes and pouted as she glanced at Fatima. "But I already told you girls about how it went on the phone."

"You said it went fine," Esther reminded with her eyes still closed. "Easy," she said to the stylists.

"Sorry, madam."

"See, we know you're holding out on us." Fatima grinned. "You better spill now."

"But there's no way I'm going to say something personal out here in public!" Korede countered.

Fatima bit her lip sharply, knowing Korede had beaten her. "Okay, fine," she muttered. "If we can't get the details out of you now, we will get it later tonight…Speaking of which, are we meeting at Esther's tonight? Or do you want me to come up with something?"

"Yes, we are," Korede snapped. "And no, I don't want you planning anything."

"Why is that?" Fatima glared.

"Because Korede wants something simple, and you are the direct opposite," Tracy teased, and the rest laughed, including the stylists.

"Okay, rude!" Fatima huffed. "I don't make things complicated; I make things cool…Imagine Mide flexing with his friends in a club while we’re having a sleepover at Esther's house.”

"Still, that is the bride's wish, and we have to respect that," Esther objected.

"Yeah, whatever." Fatima closed her eyes at the end of her remark, giving her stylist more room to work on her.

They all slipped into another round of momentary bliss. The stylists continued without any obstruction this time and proceeded to wash their hair. Shortly after that was over, Korede and her friends sat under a set of bonnet hair driers, operating their phones while they waited for the next procedure.

Korede, at that moment, was waiting for her sister to arrive. Trying her best not to think too much about what Naomi wanted to talk about, she began taking a look at her pre-wedding photos, reminiscing on the joy she felt then and the joy she would be feeling the next twenty-four hours. She showed a couple to Tracy who was next to her.

Naomi arrived minutes later, with Esther being the first to be aware of her presence.

"Hey, Naomi," she said.

"Hi, Esther," she replied and greeted everyone as well.

"And here I was thinking you weren't going to show up." Korede smiled, but it seemed that Naomi wasn't in the mood. She replied with a shrug.

"Will you be coming over tonight also?" Fatima asked.

"Yeah, sure…Can I see you now?" Naomi asked Korede.

"Err, okay." Korede got to her feet and followed her outside. "So, what was it you wanted to say that couldn't be said over the phone?"

Naomi heaved a sigh and rubbed her hands together. "I'm sorry if I seem edgy. It's just that…I've gone over my words more than five times before coming here, and I still don't know how to start."

Korede blinked. "Okay, you are scaring me now. What's going on?"

"Uhm…Err," Naomi stammered.

"Naomi, spill!" Korede snapped.

"Okay, here goes: it's about your marriage with Mide. I don't think you should go ahead with it,"

Korede exploded immediately.

"What? You don't think I should marry him? And you're just objecting now, a day before the wedding!" She glared.

Naomi felt weak. She drove her hands down the back of her hair, trying to shake the numb feeling in her fingers.

"I know, and I'm sorry. The thing is, when you announced you brought him home, everyone liked him—mom and dad, even your friends…I didn't want to seem like the bad guy standing in the way of your happiness then, but now, I realize if you do marry him, you might not be truly happy."

"And what do you mean by that?" Korede demanded, doing her best not to raise her voice and alert her friends.

"Korede, I know Mide is a great guy, but the truth is he doesn't make you happy, not as happy as you always make yourself out to be," Naomi said with a candid face. "Maybe his feelings for you are genuine, but you don't love him as you say you do."

Korede scoffed. She tapped her feet rapidly and asked, "This is about David, isn't it?"

"You and Mide have only been together for a year, Korede, and you and David were together a lot longer than that. He was more than your partner; he was your family, your home…And the truth is you are not over him yet. You still love him."

Korede's heart skipped a beat at her sister's confrontation. She froze, studying her sister's gaze before she spoke. "So what? You expect me to run back to him just because of that?"

"No, I'm not saying that. What I'm trying to say is maybe you should reconsider why you are jumping so soon into this marriage. Is it because you think this is the best way to get over him? By giving him no chance of getting back into your life?"

The question made Korede angry—angry at herself because she knew Naomi was right. All she did before reconnecting with David was count the days to her wedding so she could erase him off her life, make him a distant memory. He didn't feel so distant anymore.

But what could she do?

"You know what? Just stop!" she yelled. "Everyone keeps bringing their opinions, making it seem like my decisions are always born out of the wrong reasons, and I'm tired of it."

Naomi knew then that she had struck a nerve, but Korede lashed out again before she could speak.

"And what would you know about happiness, huh? When was the last time you had someone who made you happy? All you do is work all day, and yet, you come to lecture me about my choices."

"Korede, I—"

"No, I've heard enough." Korede put a hand out. "And you know what? If you think me marrying Mide isn't such a great idea, then don't bother coming to the wedding!"

"Korede, I'm sorry."

It was too late. Korede had charged back into the salon. Upon getting to her seat, she was welcomed by questioning stares from her friends.

"What was that about?" Tracy asked.

Korede forced a weak smile. "It's nothing. I'm fine."