Duel in the Savanna
By Wanjiru Waithaka
Copyright ©2015 All Rights Reserved
Sophie unfolded the collar of her black coat, zipped it right up to her neck and pushed her hands in the side pockets as the cold July wind nipped at her exposed ears. She wished she had carried a scarf to work last night. And a woollen hat.
Her black trousers and ankle boots helped to ward off the chill but she was still shivering. She quickened her pace trying to warm up as the sun tried in vain to break through the dark grey clouds.
Damn you Daniel!
He had received a warning letter after he failed to show up for his shift the previous week. It had put him in a foul mood, the slightest provocation causing him to snap at everyone. Martin rearranged the schedule so that he and Daniel worked the morning shift, Bill the afternoon and Sophie the night shift.
He always arrived at least 15 minutes before her shift ended to ensure she and Daniel didn’t cross paths and to give her time to get something to eat before the staff bus arrived at 8am to take the night shift staff to the city centre. Sophie would then go home, sleep until 2pm, eat lunch, then head to college to use the library until classes started at 5.30pm.
After class Sophie would linger for an hour or so chatting to her classmates or having a discussion group. Many of the students had full time jobs and could only meet for group work after class. She would then walk across town to catch the bus which picked up the night shift staff at 10pm.
The schedule had worked well for a week. Then last night Martin’s two-year-old daughter got sick necessitating a quick trip to the hospital. Daniel came to work late and Sophie missed the staff shuttle. To get home she would have to hike 2km to the highway to catch a matatu.
If not for the July cold she would have enjoyed the walk through Thatwa Ridge, the posh suburb which bordered Woodville with its large homes most sitting on half-an-acre, long paved driveways lined with mature trees, well-kept lawns and flower beds.
A white vehicle passed her at high speed then abruptly braked and stopped, before reversing slowly until it reached her. The passenger side window rolled down and a cheerful male voice called out, “Hi, need a lift?”
Sophie froze in recognition. She knew nothing about cars but Martin, a car buff, had gushed about this one. Toyota Celica GT-S Convertible with hidden headlamps, pronounced fender flares, deep-dish alloys and angular wedge shape. He had said a lot more, but it had all gone over her head. “I’m fine thanks.”
“Sure? It’s really cold.” Tony’s sensual lips curved into a smile. He arched one bushy eyebrow as Sophie hesitated. “Get in. I’ll drop you off at the main road.” He leaned over, released the latch and opened the passenger door.
Sophie pulled her coat tighter around her as a particularly strong gust of wind blew. She shivered then got into the car. Tony drove off and adjusted a knob on the dashboard filling the interior of the car with warm air. Sophie snuggled deeper into the seat grateful for the warmth. Tony didn’t seem to be feeling the cold at all in his tan sport coat and white t-shirt over dark blue jeans and brown canvas shoes.
“Going home?” She nodded. “Where do you live?” Tony glanced at her before checking the side mirrors to make sure the road was clear, then turned into the junction.
“Ngairo.”
“Wow, that’s quite a commute.” She nodded. “Is that why you prefer the night shift?”
“How did you know…?”
“You’ve worked every night for the last week.”
“Oh.” Sophie was surprised that he had kept tabs on her. “Actually, I prefer the night shift because I’m going to college part-time. It’s just easier to work around it.”
“What college? What are you studying?”
“Business management. You can drop me off here.” They had reached the main road but instead of stopping, Tony filtered seamlessly into the traffic heading into the city centre. “Weren’t you supposed to drop me off at the bus stop?” Sophie pointed over her shoulder.
“I’m going to town so I’ll drop you there.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Sophie stared out the window at the passing scenery and tried to relax but it was impossible. This wasn’t just any guy. He was her boss and a mighty attractive one at that. But she couldn’t let that fact distract her. She was at Woodville for a reason. Her plan was to do her job so well that at the end of her six-month internship, she would be guaranteed a full time-job offer.
She was taking the business diploma course at Bancushi Polytechnic to boost her chances of getting into the management trainee programme. Her mother needed her to succeed. So did Luke, so that she could help him and their mother educate her five siblings back home in Kinyani. She couldn’t afford any distractions. If the way he was looking at her was any indication, then she was in serious danger of becoming distracted.
He drove with one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting on a well-toned thigh which flexed each time he stepped on the clutch when changing gears. She glanced at his side profile, admiring the sensual lips framed by a thin moustache and stubble on a chiselled jaw-line.
He was so close that she could smell his cologne. A woody, musky scent with just a hint of citrus. The earthy scent suited him perfectly. Not overpowering. Subtle. Like a signature and wholly his.
He suddenly leaned over and switched on the radio and the soothing sounds of James Ingram filled the interior of the car. Good. He didn’t want to talk. That was fine by her. He made her really nervous. And nervousness always made her babble. She needed all her wits around him.
You’ve worked every night for the last week.
She bit her lip and tried to still the warning voice that rose in her mind. He had a reputation for being a playboy. Maggie had told her that he prowled the corridors of the hotel at night looking to seduce young employees. Many had fallen for his charms. Sophie was not about to join the list no matter how handsome and charming he was.
She snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed the route he was taking. “Where are you going? This doesn’t lead to the CBD.” She sat up and turned to him in confusion.
“I know.”
“I’m going to the main bus park. That way.” Sophie pointed to the left as he accelerated up the right turn he had taken at the Bukina roundabout.
“Relax. We’re going to Ngairo.”
“What?” She frowned in puzzlement.
“I’m taking you home.”
“Why?”
“I want to.”
“I didn’t ask you to take me home.” He shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road. “It’s really far.”
“So?”
“Don’t you have somewhere you have to be? Work maybe?” She couldn’t resist a dig at him. In the time she’d been at Woodville all she’d ever seen him do was play golf and drink at the bar, usually with his buddies Freddo and Isaiah.
“You’re in luck. My meeting got cancelled so I have some spare time.”
“Mr Karenga, I’m fine. You don’t have to take me home.”
“Call me Tony.”
Yeah right. No way in hell.
He turned to her and smiled. “Sophie relax. It’s just a lift and you must be tired after working all night. This way you’ll get home faster.”
Sophie was teetering on the edge of panic. This was the last thing she expected leaving work this morning. She cursed Daniel again under her breath. If it wasn’t for his lateness, she would have caught the staff shuttle and wouldn’t be in a car with her boss – scratch that – her boss’s boss, struggling to find any excuse to escape.
“Mr Karenga please, I appreciate the gesture but it’s not necessary for you to go all the way to Ngairo. I’m not really tired at all.”
“We’re halfway there so you might as well relax.”
They drove the rest of the way in silence. James Ingram continued to croon from the radio. On any other day and in any other car, Sophie would have enjoyed the music but not today. She bit her lip and clutched her hands in her lap, wondering what he was up to. Tony concentrated on driving and although he glanced at her a few times, didn’t break the silence.
Traffic on Sobi Road, the main artery linking Lavangwa to Ngairo, a fast growing town located 20km to the south-west of the city, crawled as people made their way to work. Tony however, made good time as they sped in the opposite direction with little traffic. Her nervousness increased as they got closer to their destination.
As they passed Lavangwa National Park, a wildlife reserve, the landscape noticeably changed. From the close packed residential estates in Sobi from which the road had derived its name, the terrain changed to the savannah so synonymous with Sub-Saharan Africa. Short brown grass broken here and there by low-lying scrub and scattered Acacia trees stretched far into the horizon.
This section of the road between the national park and Ngairo reminded her a lot of her hometown of Kinyani, located just north of the equator and northwest of Mt. Nyake, Bancushi’s highest mountain which rose to a peak of 5,200 metres.
Kinyani was a major base for the Bancushi Air Force and training base for the British Army. Surrounded by huge farms, ranches, game parks and conservancies, one would be forgiven for assuming it was a playground for the rich and famous.
The small town mostly served as a supply and administrative hub for the wealthy, mostly white ranch owners who flew to Lavangwa when they wanted to play. Many of them used personal planes to fly their children to private schools in the capital city every day.
When she was a little girl, Sophie often tried to visualise what it was like living on a 10,000 acre ranch and flying to Lavangwa to run errands instead of driving, or taking a matatu. In her view Kinyani was three places in one. The ultra-rich, which she could only imagine, the middle class in the suburbs who she saw often and whose ranks she aspired to join and her reality, living in Maili Saba slums on the outskirts of Kinyani.
The three bedroom houses which her mother cleaned for a living seemed huge compared to her home, a room measuring less than 10 square metres. She still remembered the first time she had seen a toilet flush in one of those maisonettes in the suburbs and asking her mother what it was used for.
Although she had come a long way since then, she couldn’t help but contrast the modest two-bedroom flat she shared with her brother with the world that Tony inhabited. He could easily fit into the ultra-rich lifestyles of many of those Kinyani ranchers. Their worlds were so far apart, it made her wonder again what she was doing in his car.
“Why don’t you drop me off here?”
They had entered the outer edges of Ngairo town with its narrow, dusty alleys that served as roads. The town seemed to have sprung up overnight, catching the municipal planners unawares. Blocks of flats, some as high as seven floors, jostled for space with shops, bars, churches, roadside vegetable markets, open air car washes and garages, petrol stations, and a few old bungalows here and there which looked like they had lost the battle for survival in the building frenzy that was still visible in the town.
“I’ll take you to your house. Tell me where to turn off.”
“That’s not necessary. You’ve been more than kind. It’s walking distance from here.”
Tony frowned. “You don’t want me to see where you live?”
“I just don’t want to inconvenience you. I’ve taken up too much of your time as it is.”
He slowed down but didn’t stop. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Sophie come on.”
“I just…” She wrung her hands in her lap and stared stonily out the windshield.
He turned the steering wheel and parked the car on the road reserve then turned to face her as he switched off the ignition. “Why don’t you want me to drop you at your house?”
She scrambled for the door latch. “Thank you for the lift. I really appreciate it.” She opened the door and was out of the car in seconds.
He knitted his brow, a perplexed look in his eyes. “You’re sure you’re okay here?”
“Yes.” She glanced at their surroundings and turned back to him. “This is home ground.” She walked away with long even strides. Only when she heard the engine start did she look back. He reversed and went back in the direction they had come. She sighed with relief and hurried home.