THE YOUNG LOVER WHO MADE ME FEEL YOUNGER........ 2

My plans began to unravel almost as soon as I walked in the door of my house. My mobile phone was ringing in my bag and I hurried to answer it. I said hello and heard the voice of my sister, Janet on the other end.

"Hi San," she said, "Have you heard Mom's news yet?"

"No," I answered, "I just walked in the door. What's going on?"

Jan replied, "She's going away for the weekend."

I was stunned. Mom? Going away? "What are you talking about, Jan? Where in the world would she be going?"

"There's a whole group," Jan said, "from the the PRESTIGE LADIES CLUB. They've rented a bus and they're going down to Calabar,to relax for the weekend."


I burst out laughing. My mother hadn't left Abia state  during all of the years that I had been alive. And, fun? My mother? Mom was the sort of person that thought that holding hands in public was some sort of sin! Janet surely must be putting me on.

As I gained some control over my laughter, Jan explained to me that it was all entirely true. In fact, the bus was probably already half of the way there as we spoke. "Mom said the funniest thing to me on the phone when she called to tell me about the trip, " Jan said. "When I asked her why she was doing this, she said ' I'm eighty-two years old and I thought it was high time that I let myself go a little wild.'".

This brought on another round of laughter from both of us, but in my heart I was happy for her. That woman had worked hard for her entire life and had never thought of herself first. She had always put my father and her children before her. I agreed with her -- It was high time that she had some fun.

"Well," I said, "It looks like it's just going to be the two of us this year, then."

"Actually," Jan said hesitantly, "Ngozi came home from school today with some kind of stomach bug. It looks like I'm going to be tied up here all weekend myself."

I told my sister not to worry about it. We could always schedule our gossip day some other time. I told her that I hoped that my niece would be feeling better and hung up. The silence in the house was almost deafening. What was I going to do with my weekend now?

As if in answer to my unspoken question, my phone rang again. This time it was my friend Maureen. I hadn't talked with her in a couple of months and it was so good to hear her voice again. Mo and I had been friends for more than twenty years and I must say that she is one of the more interesting people that I've ever known.

Everyone should have a friend like Maureen. She was wild and loud and absolutely carefree. In short, she was everything that I wasn't. People who are such opposites really have no business being friends, but I loved her like a sister. Mo could always make me laugh with her crazy sense of humor. I guess you might say that I lived vicariously through her.

She would always tell me all of the latest gossip. I'm not sure how she did it, but that woman seemed to have a satellite dish when it came to receiving all of the local dirt. She could make me laugh until tears came to my eyes as she regaled me with stories of her various flirtations with the opposite sex. I knew that she was happily married and would never even consider cheating on her husband, but that never stopped her from boldly flirting with any man that came within her range.

"Sandy, my love," she said, "What are you doing right now?"

"Well, Mo," I replied, "At this very second I'm talking to a crazy woman on the phone. Why?"

She practically shrieked, "Great! Why don't you come and stay for the weekend?"

Maureen and her husband, Ikenga, had moved about forty minutes away last year. We didn't see nearly enough of each other anymore. I was so exhausted after a full week of work that I almost said no. However, the prospects of facing this old empty house all weekend long wasn't exactly the most enticing idea either.

"Okay," I said, surprising even myself. I wasn't what you would ever call a spontaneous person.

"Really?," she screamed into the phone, "Take your keys and get in your car right now."

"Mo, I can't just --" I began before she cut me off.

"Yes, you can. San, I know you. If you stop and think about it, you'll never come."

"But, I have to pack a few things first," I protested.

"Nonsense," she replied, "I have plenty of clothes here. You don't need a thing."

I hesitated for a moment, then quietly said, "Okay."

"I mean it, San," Maureen said, "Just get in your car and go."

"Alright!", I answered while jiggling my keys near the phone and stamping my feet on the floor to simulate walking. "I'm heading out the door right now. Geez! You're such a nag!", I joked.

"And you're such a child," came her response. "I love you and I'll see you soon."

As soon as I hung up the phone I started having second doubts. This was just crazy -- taking off on a whim like this. I really should call a few people and let them know that I'm going out of town. What if somebody needs me in an emergency? What if one of the kids calls here and needs something? What if my mother ran into any troubles on her little trip?

Then I thought about the words that my mother had said to Janet. Maybe it was high time that I let myself go a little wild, too. Without thinking about it any further, I grabbed my purse and headed out the door. Maybe a weekend with Maureen and her husband was just the thing that I needed.

The drive out to Maureen's house passed quickly. One of the nice things about living in Umuahia is that we don't have to contend with the heavy traffic that people in big cities have to put up with. I had barely knocked on the door, when Maureen threw it wide open and screamed as she pulled me inside.

We hugged each other tightly and we both spoke a mile a minute at the same time. Mo always had such enthusiasm that you couldn't help but have it rub off on you. I was so glad that I had made the decision to come. I already felt more alive than I had since Ebere had left for university.

Ikenga stood quietly in the background while the two of us jabbered on like a couple of lunatics. He was quite used to how the two of us acted when we were around each other. He just shook his head and smiled at the two of us.

Maureen had found a gem of a husband in Ikenga. He was the most easy-going person you could ever hope to meet. Mo's ever present enthusiasm could wear down most people, but Ikenga would always just smile and let it roll right off of his back. You could tell that he adored her just as much as she loved him.

Maureen suddenly grabbed both of my hands and just looked at me. I could tell by that look in her eye that something was up.

"Ikenga came home with the most wonderful idea," she began.

I looked over at Ikenga for some kind of clue, but he just raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"Tonight is the town's big  costume Party!" Maureen exclaimed.

New Avana club was famous for their annual  costume Party. I had never been to one, but I had heard plenty of stories about how lavish they were and how people from all over would flock in just to attend.

"I don't know, Mo," I said, "I don't have a costume or anything."

Maureen waived her hands as if to dismiss any such notion. "I have extra costumes. I'm sure we can find something for you."

I looked over at Ikenga, hoping for some help in this matter. He just gave his customary shrug and said, "Really, Sandra...You really should go to one of these parties once in your life. You've never seen anything like them."

I looked back at Maureen who was practically jumping with excitement. "Please?", she begged.

I slowly smiled and gave a shrug of my own. That was all it took. Mo took me by the hand and quickly led me upstairs. I had to almost jog in order to keep up with her. This was the first time that I had been to her new house and it was indeed gorgeous. Ikenga may seem like a laid back person, but the truth was that he was a very skilled and successful lawyer. It was quite evident that he was doing very well financially indeed.

Maureen led me to one of the doors in the upstairs hallway. "This is the room you'll be staying in," she told me, "I keep some of my clothes in the closet in here that won't fit in the master bedroom. I think that there are some old costumes in here."

With her hands still buried inside the closet where I couldn't see them, Maureen turned to me with the mischievous grin of hers. "How about this?", she asked as she held up a Playboy Bunny outfit.

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