ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY

Rape?

That was the last thing on my mind although it was clear to me there was something amiss about Gina. I was lost for words. My body felt numb.

It was an experience I could not imagine as a man. All I could think of was how humiliating it must have felt for a person you didn’t want to pin you down and force entry into your body.

I sat there for a long time and could not utter a word. I could not find any statement of consolation to bring calm to Gina. She looked paralyzed. It seemed the best thing to do at the moment was not to say anything. Perhaps by not saying anything, I could pretend it did not happen.

ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1981 (Part Thirty-One)

Gina did not look glad or relaxed. I could read it in her posture, without even getting close to her.

Rufus said, “Moyo, Gina is back!”

Steve hardly allowed the bus to stop properly before jumping down to run and hug her.

“Is that her?” Adolo asked Felicia rather softly.

“Yes,” Felicia responded. “That’s her.”

I got down slowly, and took my time locking up the door. Then I went to Gina. She looked down and didn’t meet my eyes. I thought, “She must be mad because she didn’t see us at her father’s funeral.”

Gina sat on the floor by the doorstep waiting for us when we returned late to Benin City from Iludun. I didn’t she was sitting there until the headlamps lit up the spot where she was and Felicia said, “Hey, is that not Gina?”

It had been a long day spent mostly on the road and it took me a minute to adjust my mind to what was happening. I was exhausted from hours of driving on rough roads to and fro Iludun, Mama Rufus’s place.