Page 30 of Choosing the Chief

Maya

Iwake up to Adom furiously talking in Twi on his cellphone. His voice raises and he gives me a side glance. He gets up and walks away. Tired from our all-day sex-a-thon, I close my eyes and try to fall back asleep. Whatever he’s fussing about can wait.

As soon as I fall back into a semblance of sleep, I hear the shower running.What the hell!I look over at the clock and see that it is 1 a.m. Why is he taking a shower at this time? Then it clicks.He is going somewhere.Probably to the village to settle another flash war. Not tonight, Chief Annan! I’m not being left alone in this big house.

I get up and walk into the bathroom without even bothering to put on a night gown. He is facing away from me with one arm leaned against a shower wall and his head down. The water is rolling off of his rock-hard body like an avalanche. I’m tempted to open the door and step into the shower with him, but I shake it off. I’m here to stop him from leaving for whatever squabble he thinks he needs to solve.I could get in the shower and do things to his body that will make him forget he’s a chief, but I want him to choose to stay with me with a clear head.His health and our relationship need to be the priority.

“Adom,” I shout. He hears me on my first attempt. He’s always attuned to my voice in case I need something. He turns around abruptly and slips. He barely catches himself on the wall. When he gains his composure, his face is distorted into an angry scowl. He turns the water off and steps out of the shower. I run to get a towel.

“What the fuck, Maya? Why would you startle me like that while I’m standing on a slippery shower floor?”

“You should stay aware of your surroundings.” I smirk as I hand the towel to him. “You got to watch your back, with assassination attempts and all that.” I try to stifle my laugh, but it’s difficult. Adom is not laughing.

He snatches the towel and starts to roughly dry off his sexy body. “I can do that for you,” I purr.Damnit, Maya. Focus!He doesn’t take the bait.

He shoots me an annoyed look. “That’s OK, I got it. What are you doing up, anyway?”

I roll my eyes. “Someone woke me up with all that loud-ass whispering and removing their heavy ass body from the bed. Then said person had the nerve to turn on their super pressure shower, making the whole room sound like Niagara Falls. That’s why I’m awake.”

He shakes his head and pushes past me. “Maya, I don’t have time for this right now. I have to go.”

I don’t like this at all.I do not chase after men, even if it is Chief Adom Annan.

I reach out and grab his arm. “Why are you walking away from me when I’m talking to you?”

He pauses. “Because I have to go to the village, and it is an urgent matter.”

I scoff. “Oh, really? At 1 a.m.? What, are someone’s chickens loose? Are two elders fighting over mancala and spilled Guinness? What could possibly be so important at this hour?”

Adom’s eyes narrow. “Are you making fun of my people?”

“No! I’m making fun of you. What the hell, Adom? You have been chief a little over a week and I have seen you maybe twice. Not to mention, you are not getting enough rest. You finally come home and now you are ready to leave again. You weren’t even going to tell me! You were going to just sneak out like a thief in the night. I didn’t sign up for this. Shit, neither did you!”

He walks toward his closet and looks back at me. His eyes tell me I will have to follow him if I want to finish this conversation. “Maya, I am not sneaking out. This is my home. If I need to leave and handle village business, that is my business. You were asleep. I was going to leave a message with the servants. Everything is not about you. Some things are more important than Dr. Maya Taylor.” He steps into his walk-in closet and disappears.

He’s trying to rile me up so that I will walk away angry and leave him alone. He thinks that I won’t say what I want because it might offend him. He thinks I’m pressed to be in his good graces—that I am scared to lose him. He is wrong on all accounts.

“I’m well aware of whose house this is, Adom. But that’s not what this is about. You are running yourself crazy trying to prove you are a good chief. Instead, all you are doing is proving that you don’t know the function and level of your station. No chief is running behind a village matter at 1 a.m. I don’t believe your grandfather would ever entertain such nonsense, and the people know it. They are trying you…can’t you see that?”

He walks out of the closet dressed in yet another kente cloth and some sandals.Didn’t we just talk about this!He pushes his hand against the door, slamming into the wall. His eyes are brimming with anger, and for a second he’s unrecognizable to me. “Don’t talk about my grandfather like you know what kind of man he was. You met him once and charmed him with your beauty. I will not be satisfied unless I am better than my grandfather. If that means I commit to more than he did, then so be it. Tonight, there is a child missing from the village and his mother is distraught. I am going to comfort her until the rangers can find him. Is that OK with you? Is that worthy of Maya Taylor having to sleep alone? Let’s not pretend that your protests are about anyone else other than you.”

I turn away to suppress the tears that begin to fall. I lift my head to the ceiling and take deep breaths.He probably thinks I’m being dramatic.I just wish he would have told me the situation. A mother with a missing child is no joke.He should have led with that.I should go with him. I’m sure I can be of some help. I turn back to him.

“I’m here to help you. But I can’t help you if you shut me out and just leave me in this big house all day. I want to be a part of the work and help you figure out how to do this job. I want to be there for you the way you have always been here for me. You have to let me in. Let me come with you; I’m sure I can be of service.”

“No! I’ve never seen you comfort a soul. It is best if you stay here where it is safe and I don’t have to worry about you having what you need. I cannot serve you and the grieving mother at the same time.” He sighs heavily. “How could you question whether I’ve let you in?! You are the closest person to me! You are here, in Ghana, with me in my home. Before that you were with me in my home in Atlanta. I have made you my woman. I provide for you and I fuck you enough to make you forget your troubles. This is bigger than what you or I need; I am responsible for an entire village of people. If that is too much for you, then maybe I should send you back home to Atlanta. I don’t have time to be worried about you turning to alternative methods of comfort because I’m not here to serve you. I need you to figure out how to deal with this new life.”

The last sentence brings a flash of pain and regret to his face. He knows he crossed a line. He quickly adjusts to a blank stare.He’s pushing me away.If he doesn’t love himself enough to love me properly, there’s no reason to stay.

I turn around and walk back to the bed.

“If that’s the way it is, I have my own house in Atlanta that I can promptly return to. You also don’t have to worry about me and alternative methods of comfort. I am stronger and I love myself enough not to go there, and you know that!”

I turn on my heel, crawl back into bed, and pull the covers over me.

“Please cut the light off on your way out.”

Chapter Nineteen

---