ejikeabara

[ejikeabara]

He laughed lightly. God knows he'd seen more than enough highlighters in his lifetime. He tried to think back: what kind of flowers had they had most often at home? "Yellows, for sure." He took a closer look around the store, going to a spread of golden flowers. "You don't happen to have yellow trumpets or plumbagos by chance, do you?" Being in the shop reminded him of his time in Nigeria and the beautiful bouquets his family always had on their tables.

"bright, colorful, and smell wonderful... i could definitely do that !" winnie began glancing around the room, trying to gain inspiration from what was laid out in front of them. "bright and colorful... are we, uh, thinking yellows ? oranges ? pinks ? i call it, uh, the highlighter trio." winnie's smile grows a small bit at their own joke. "or, uh, would a different set of colors work better ?"

[ejikeabara]

He nodded and shook the man's hand. "Ejike Abara." He thanked the bartender and handed over his credit card to start a tab. "It's a lovely house; you can see it in the bones. I'm sure it will look great when it's done." He took a sip of the beer: incredibly rich and earthly with just a hint of fruitiness. Yes, he thought he could become a fan of this.

He looked Joe over: the man looked tired, yet dignified. Like a man that had seen and done many things in this life and those things had taken quite a toll on him. Of course, he'd heard whispers about the house and it's restorer around town, but he knew better than to trust second-hand information. "What made you want to restore it, if I can ask?"

Joe had only been there a few months but he had quickly gotten used to people in Starlight knowing his business. He was starting to feel like he'd caused some big stir by buying the seaside cabin, but it had been so abandoned and neglected when he'd moved in, that it surprised him that people were so aware of it. Or maybe people around here were just nosey.

"Yeah, that's me. Hoping to sort the deck out in the spring, when the weather is a little warmer and less stormy." Joe explained. He really wanted to get the deck done, it was an eyesore and it was dangerous if you didn't know where to step. "I'm Joseph Conway. Joe." He offered his hands for Ejike to shake.

[ejikeabara]

Ejike took the seat beside him and ordered two beer from the bartender in the other's taste preference. He'd had his fair share of beer and had yet to find one he really enjoyed, but maybe this would be the one. "You're the owner of that house on the beach, right? The one with the collapsing deck?" He and his father had taken a beach walk and his father pointed out the house. 'If I were a younger man, I'd have bought it to fix it myself. Fix it up nice for Nnenne and Ada,' he'd said. The two of them had looked at the house for a while and only moved when the current owner came out. If he was right (and he often was), the man sitting beside him had been that owner.

Joe was taking a break from the cabin. The kitchen was looking so much better, almost fully fitted with all the necessary components. After that, it would be decorating the inside of the cabin, and once the weather warmed up, he could start on the decking and the overgrown 'garden'. He was past the halfway point... and he needed a drink.

The offer surprised him, turning to look at the other man. There was no look of recognition on his face, so was he really just offering a free drink to a stranger? Maybe he was hitting on Joe... which wouldn't have been a bad thing.

"Sure, I'd love a drink. I'll take a beer, thanks."

[ejikeabara]

He stood up when she arrived, but wasn't expecting... He wasn't sure what he was expecting but it certainly wasn't her. "Oh, no, you're not late. I was early." He glanced at his watch. Okay, so she was a bit late, but he wasn't about to hold that over her head now. Everyone had lives, and she seemed like a woman with a lot on her plate (or at least more than he did). He stared at her a moment. "Yes, they're for you. I hope you like them." I hope it's not too much.

He couldn't call himself a journalist if he hadn't looked her up once they'd matched, but he'd found shockingly little about her through his usual connections: heir to a global wine company, private schools through to graduation, double degrees from a top fine arts school, now manager of a dispensary. There was obviously more to it and he needed to know more about his subject - no, his half sister. "I'm sure you found only good things." He said lightly, shooting for a joke but sure he missed the mark.

"I'm not usually an apologizer but I'm so SORRY that I'm late."

The last thing Adaeze wanted to do was show up like this 15 minutes late -- but how what was the appropriate way to show up to something like...this? Certainly not late. Something she had been learning about herself lately was that certain grudges she held ran deep. The one against her father? Almost 30 years worth. What did her anger mean for her ...half-brother. Maybe if she had let go of it, she'd have met him sooner.

"Someone at work had a flat but we are SO short staffed that I needed to pick one of their asses up and whatever," feed them, roll them one as she promised to bring them whatever food they liked for their lunch.

"I'm paying though, obviously. So get whatever you want and I mean that. I'm gonna need a drink or two as well," A.D.'s tone was casual even as it started to dawn on her that he was a PERSON. He wasn't just a 23 and Me product of her imagination. Or an article. "I'll be honest. I've been spying on you a bit. Are the flowers for me, by the way?" What a stupid question.

[ejikeabara]

Interviewee: @adaezeabara Locale: Café del Luna

Ejike was nervous. Ever since his father mentioned that he had other siblings, he wanted to meet them. He signed up for 23&Me, Ancestry, and made sure his profiles were public and up to date. When a sibling reached out, however, he was hesitant. What if it wasn't what he expected? What if he wasn't what they expected? There were so many ways the meeting could go: they could hate each other, they could like each other, they could have had completely different lives, they could have had similar lives. It was all up in the air and ambiguity wasn't on the list of things he liked.

He sat at the table, a small bouquet of flowers on the table setting across from him. They agreed to meet at Café del Luna, and now that he was there the nerves were setting in. Which was odd for him, since he made his career on meeting people for the first time. Then again, the other was rarely related to him. Maybe being 15 minutes early was a bad idea.

[ejikeabara]

Interviewee: @josephconway Locale: Cosmo Bar

Ejike was exhausted. Quite frankly, he couldn't remember a time when he'd been this tired. He'd always felt guilty that his father was in a home, but after having him at home for a couple days he remembered why he made the decision in the first place.

He yawned as he walked into Cosmo Bar. The place was fairly busy for a Friday night, but it would certainly get busier as the night wore on and the band started to play. His preferred seat at the bar was taken, along with most others. Scanning the available seats, he saw a familiar face and walked over. "Buy you a drink?" He asked, flagging over the bartender.

[ejikeabara]

He shook his head, looking at the flowers around the shop. "I don't have much in mind, no. All I ask is that they're bright, colorful, and smell wonderful." Despite his great plans, he hadn't put any thought into what kind of flowers his father might like - did he prefer roses? Daffodils? Lillies? Orchids? He had no idea. Hopefully it would work either way. "I trust your expert opinion."

it was still fairly early in the day, so the shop had been fairly quiet. they had updated their displays, cleaned the windows, done inventory, and ordered more flowers for the rest of the week. early, but they had still been quite productive. the day couldn't be a failure if they had gotten so much done, right ? that thought completely went out the window once the bell indicating the door had rung. she whipped around and offered the other a smile. she'd recognized him from the neighborhood. "hi ! uh, yes of course ! do you have anything specific in mind ? color scheme, flower type ? or we could, um, we could pick them out together !"

[ejikeabara]

Interviewee: @ofwinnies Locale: Celestial Petal

"Flowers, flowers, flowers." Ejike muttered to himself as he walked down the street. His father was coming home for a visit this weekend, doctor's orders, and he thought it would be nice to get the house together and give him a pleasant visit. All the shopping had been done, the linens were all washed, the house cleaned top to bottom. Last, the flowers. His mother had always had fresh cut flowers around the house growing up and he thought it might jog his father back to a happier time, when his mother was still alive and they were a happy family. Before the pressures of careers drove them all apart.

He stopped in front of Celestial Petal. There were other flower shops in town, but he'd been told this was the place to get the best bouquets. Taking a deep breath, he took a step inside and was hit by a wall of humidity, rich earth, and every imaginable shade of green. Whatever he'd been expecting, it foolishly wasn't this. He walked up to the counter and spoke to directly to the woman behind it. "Can you assist me with a bouquet?"

[ejikeabara]

Ejike sat down at the bar with a heavy sigh. His editor at AP was hounding him for the article he'd started a month ago, his family in Toronto were desperate for him to come visit, and his father was getting seemingly much worse every day. He could handle one of those things happening, possibly two, but all three had him stretched quite thin. He rubbed long fingers over his temples, trying to ease the chatter in his brain. He was so in his head he didn't see the bartender approach and her voice caught him off-guard. "Oh, sorry. Ah, an old fashioned, please, and start a tab if you could." He fished his wallet out of his pocket for his credit card.

open to: all

location: cosmo bar

@starteroaks

Bartending, admittedly, was something Sloane had grown accustomed to. This certainly wasn't her first gig behind the bar - and she was sure it wouldn't be her last. Although, she supposed a massive part of that was supposed to be getting to know the clientele but... Well, she'd never claimed to be a people person. She couldn't be entirely sure if she recognised the person opposite or not, but she offered a small smile as she spoke, regardless, "What can I get you?"

[ejikeabara]

The Journalist

Name: Ejike Nnamdi Abara Nickname: Eji, Nam if you're close. Birthday: June 27, 1972 Gender and pronouns: Male, he/him Sexuality: Heterosexual Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario Occupation: Semi-retired journalist Current Residence: Oak Grove, Starlight Oaks Length of stay: 1 year Three positive traits: Inquisitive, persistent, determined Three negative traits: Abrasive, hypocritical, conceited

Biography tw: parent death, dementia

Ejike was born to Nigerian diplomats Nnenne and Chidi Abara while they were stationed in Toronto. The family stayed there while Ejike was in elementary school and later moved to Ottawa when he was 13 and his parents were requested in the nation's capital. He was bullied for his "unusual" name all through school, but he didn't let that get to him and used it as fuel to well at everything he did. He was a captain of the speech and debate team, high performer in model UN, and, at the urging of his parents and English teachers, the editor of the school newspaper.

After graduation, he went on to get a Bachelor of Arts in English from University of Toronto. At the time, moving 5 hours away was all his parents would allow him to do. They had always been a close family, but there had been several (not too credible) threats to his parents lives and they wanted him close should anything happen. Bachelors complete, his parents got him a job at a well respected paper while he tried desperately to get out from under their thumbs.

Following a fight with his parents about his life, his lack of relationships, and his career, he moved to the other side of the country to get his Masters in Journalism at UBC. He was able to secure a job with AP and began a beloved career as a traveling journalist centered primarily in Africa.

He rarely spoke with his parents, instead deciding to hear how they were doing from his family in Nigeria that he was newly connecting with. It was from them that he heard his mother had died while he was covering Boko Haram. Despite having not spoken directly to his parents in almost 10 years, he flew back to Canada to attend her funeral and possibly rebuild his relationship with his father. The homecoming was strained and they struggled to bond after so long apart.

Ejike decided to relocate to NYC to be in the same timezone as his father. He still traveled often, but maintained the weekly phone calls they had agreed to. Chidi retired to Starlight Oaks a few years later, having visited several times over the years. About a year prior to his own move during one of their calls, his father mentioned he'd been feeling unwell himself and was undergoing various tests with his doctor. He was told not to worry, but having already lost one parent he couldn't pass up the opportunity to help.

He moved to Seattle and helped wherever he could. Eventually, his father was diagnosed with Dementia. Ejike went into a semi-retirement and moved into the home in Oak Grove to care for him. As his father's condition worsened, he started describing siblings he didn't have and trips they never went on. When pressed, he swore they were real and eventually he found photos to prove it: his father had had several affairs and somewhere out there he had 2 siblings.

Not long after that revelation, he received a phone call from the police while out covering a story that his father had somehow made his way to Seattle and had no recollection of how he'd gotten there. After talking with his doctor, he decided to move his father into a nursing home so he could be better monitored.

An empty home, a father in a nursing home, half siblings he'd never met, and a looming early retirement. What will he do now: go back to traveling the world to report the news or stay in Starlight Oaks and see where this leg of his life will take him? Only time will tell.

Wanted Connections

Colleagues: He's been a journalist for 25 years; there's got to be former or current journalists he knows.

Neighbors: He's only been here a year, but in that time he became close enough with the locals to ask their help in keeping an eye on his father while he's gone.

Siblings: Maybe his two half siblings got to know his father better than he did?

[ejikeabara]

Chiwetel Ejiofor photographed by Emilia Staugaard for The Laterals (2022)

[ejikeabara]

Homme