CHAPTER THIRTY

Monday, 22nd February 2016.

The following day, I was up bright and early. Dressed in a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans, I made my way downstairs where I spotted Mr Jacobs in one of the restaurants. He was also casually dressed so I didn’t feel out of place.

“Good morning, sir,” I said as I took a seat.

“Good morning Miss Fayola, did you sleep well?” He smiled and I blinked in surprise.

Well, he looked happy that morning.

“Y-yes sir,” I stuttered. “Did you?”

“Best sleep I’ve had in a while.”

Oh, that explained his cheerful mood. I guessed being away from the office worked wonders for him. Once we had breakfast, we discussed the schedule for the day. The plan was to accompany him to inspect an apartment building under construction.

By noon, we arrived at the site where we were given protective gear before we could carry out any inspection. My attention wandered over to a section of the building where labourers carried cement and bricks from one level to another.

I frowned when I saw a young boy who looked about two years old under a tree. A slightly older girl was asleep beside him. I assumed they were the children of one of the workers but I didn’t understand why anyone would allow their children near a construction site.

I looked around for Mr Jacobs but I couldn’t find him. I was supposed to stay by his side and now I had no idea where he was. I was just about to leave and search for my boss when it happened. The boy wandered away from the tree and closer to the building.

My feet led me towards him just before the commotion began.

A startled yell came from one of the higher floors and suddenly debris tumbled down several floors. People made a mad dash and shoved one another out of the way. I broke into a run and snatched the boy out the way of trampling feet just as huge bricks and debris landed right in the spot we had vacated. The sobbing child clung to me and wailed in distress. I forced my way towards a safe place when I heard a woman cry out in panic for her child. The young girl from earlier held on to her as they searched wildly.

I tried to go over to them when someone shoved me roughly from behind and the momentum caused me to tumble forward. I let go of the child’s hand and pushed him away from me just before I fell into a gutter. The muddy water immediately seeped through my clothes and unto my skin. The loud splash must have gotten some attention because moments later, I heard Mr Jacobs call my name as he approached.

“I looked away for one second and you were gone! How on earth did this happen?”

I dared not open my mouth to speak. I didn’t want the muddy water to get past my lips. Some of it had already splashed on my face. Then he noticed the child who whimpered as he stared at us.

“Whose child is this?” He asked as he pulled me out of the gutter.

I was worried the mud on my clothes would get on him but he did not seem to care about that.

I gestured to the woman who hadn’t seen us yet. Mr Jacobs signalled the attention of one of the workers nearby. By this time, everywhere was calm since the immediate threat was gone. The woman was brought to confirm if he was her son. She wept with relief when she saw the boy and blessed us with all manner of blessings.

“You really should pay more attention to your child. Do you work on this site too?” He asked.

“No sir, I sell food to the workers.”

“Take your child somewhere safer.”

She lowered her head and nodded. He turned to look at me and frowned at the state I was in.

“Follow me, you need to get yourself cleaned up.”

When we got to the car, Bode got out and as soon as he saw me his eyes widened in horror. He quickly placed a seat cover over the passenger seat before I got in. I saw the necessity in his actions so I really couldn’t take offence. I was a mess.

Back at the hotel, the first thing I did was have a warm bath. There were scrapes and bruises from the incident which stung when the water ran over them. I might not have made the safest decision but something had led me there, probably just because of that child and I didn't regret it. I had just pulled slipped on a sleeveless shirt over my head when I heard a knock at the door. I adjusted the shirt and went to check who it was.

“Mr Jacobs, what are you doing here?”

“May I come in?” He slipped his hands into his trouser pockets.

I stepped aside without a word.

“How are you feeling?”

“To be honest, sir, not so great.”

“What you did back there was brave but dangerous. I won’t have you risking yourself again as you did. If you need anything let me know. You can have tomorrow off to rest. I'll be leaving the hotel in the morning for a meeting.”

“I'm sure I'll be fine, sir. I can go with you tomorrow.”

“No, it's okay. I need to meet with the site project manager, some workers need medical attention and we have a few other things to discuss.”

I worried about how those who were injured in the building fared.

“Was the damage really bad?”

“They'll be fine. You just take care of yourself.”

When he left, I went into the bathroom and treated my wounds with some antiseptic. I placed a couple of bandages where I had bruises and applied some ice to reduce swelling. As I endured the throbbing pain, one thing I was sure of was that it certainly wasn’t how I imagined I would spend the first few days in Abuja.