Where Women are Kings (16 page)

Elijah had never had a barbecue but he didn’t tell Nikki that. Once, Mama had fried plantain on the balcony, but she liked it blackened, which was when it was the sweetest, she’d said. She’d forgotten to take it off the fire that she’d made from wrapping-paper and an old chair. And the armchair on the balcony had caught fire somehow and she’d had to throw the burning chair over the edge of the balcony. She’d burnt her hands and cried with pain.

Later that day, Nikki took Elijah with her to Aunty Chanel’s flat so that Obi could get the barbecue ready. The flat was covered in large posters that were Blu-tacked to the wall, of pop stars wearing not very much clothing. Jasmin rolled her eyes when she saw Elijah looking at them. ‘It’s Mum,’ she said. ‘So embarrassing.’ She looked around the room and leant
closer to Elijah. ‘She’s actually going to audition for
X-Factor
but you won’t know what that is because you don’t have a TV. It’s a singing competition but like the coolest show on earth.’

Elijah tried to imagine Aunty Chanel on the stage, singing. He giggled.

‘It’s not funny,’ whispered Jasmin. ‘Don’t tell anyone at school.’

‘I won’t,’ he said. He could hear Aunty Chanel in the shower, singing loudly. ‘Maybe she’ll win.’

Jasmin huffed. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. She’s too strange.’ She took Elijah’s hand and they went into her bedroom. It was funny being inside the room that he’d often looked at from across the road. He liked the way her curtains were always open and the horses on her duvet cover. She had a globe on her desk and a giant map on her wall, covered in tiny sticking-out pins. ‘These are all the places that I will visit when I’m older,’ she said. ‘I want to see the whole world.’ She ran her fingers over the map and read out the names: ‘Peru, Brazil, Australia, Russia, Mongolia, Sudan, Alaska—’

‘Ricardo is from Brazil,’ said Elijah. ‘He said there’s a great big forest.’

Jasmin looked up at the map. ‘Of course, I will have to go to Nigeria as well,’ she smiled. ‘Because, the way Granddad Ozo goes on about it, you would think it’s the best place in the world.’

Nigeria is a place like Heaven
. Elijah heard the voice inside him. He looked at Nigeria on Jasmin’s map. Russia was bigger. He always thought that Nigeria would be as big as the sky, but it was small, really, and squashed between other countries.

He put his thumb on Nigeria and moved across the other
countries. Nigeria felt no different on his skin. He’d expected it to be hot.

‘I’m going to see the whole world,’ said Jasmin.

Elijah reached into his pocket. He took out the postcard he’d seen in the shop and begged Nikki to let him buy. It was a photo of the Empire State Building in black and white, and it had the words
I Heart NYC
written underneath. ‘I got this for you,’ he said. He handed the card to Jasmin.

Her smile was big enough to fill up the room. ‘Thanks,’ she said. She looked closely at the photo. ‘It looks better in real life,’ she said. Then she shrugged. ‘You can come with me, if you want.’

‘Can I really?’

‘Of course. But you have to carry the bags. We need to take loads of sweets. You can’t get really good sweets in Russia, only potatoes.’

Elijah nodded fast. ‘OK,’ he said. And, as he touched the giant map, he felt his thumb get hot after all.

Jasmin propped up the card on the table next to her bed, then moved to stand beside Elijah. She reached out and put her thumb on top of his. ‘Wherever we touch thumbs on the map is where we’ll go, OK?’

Elijah nodded. They moved their stuck-together thumbs all over the map until there was hardly any place in the world where they wouldn’t go. As they did it, Elijah’s thumb became hotter and hotter but it wasn’t hot like when the wizard started fires using Elijah’s body. In fact, the wizard was not walking around inside him at all. It was true that whenever Jasmin was nearby, the wizard shrank to nothing. Maybe the wizard was scared of Jasmin’s superpower, scared that she wasn’t frightened of anything in the world. Maybe the wizard needed Elijah to feel scared so that it would grow. It was like
he was finally in charge of the wizard, or the wizard was starting to disappear. Whatever the reason, Elijah looked up at Jasmin, pressed his thumb hard against hers and whispered, ‘Thank you.’

She laughed. ‘That’s all right, silly. Of course you can come on my round-the-world trip.’ She raised her eyebrows. ‘Anyway. You need to be my lookout. In L.A., the police kidnap children to steal their skin and put it on the faces of old, wrinkly people.’

*

When they got back, Elijah could smell burning. Granddad arrived wearing a blanket wrapped around him. ‘I know your dad,’ he said to Elijah. ‘He wants to eat outside in the freezing cold.’

But when Aunty Chanel arrived, she was wearing a vest and no jumper. ‘Hey Jay-Z,’ she said. ‘You get more handsome every day, doesn’t he, Jas?’

Jasmin was standing behind her, wearing a big coat with the hood up but Elijah could see her face turning red inside the hood.

He could feel his own face turning red. He focused on the garden, on Nikki’s flowers and the small mud patch at the bottom where she said Elijah could grow vegetables. She said she thought he’d have green fingers, like hers.

‘Stop embarrassing the poor boy,’ said Nikki, walking past them carrying a big bowl of coleslaw that Elijah had helped make. ‘Come on now, you two, you can give me a hand.’

They carried bowls of food to the table outside: rice, salad, potatoes, sauces, cutlery, serviettes, a jug of juice, glasses, a bottle of red wine for Aunty Chanel and a can of beer for Granddad. Obi put on some music and then stood by the fire, turning pieces of chicken over. The garden filled with
music and the sound of talking and the smell of chicken with Obi’s special marinade, and Elijah closed his eyes for a few seconds to keep it all inside his body. Obi’s mobile phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket and spoke in a low voice, rushing back towards the house. ‘You be in charge of the chicken,’ he mouthed to Elijah, and winked before going back indoors. ‘Let’s do it together,’ said Nikki, rushing over and picking up the tongs.

‘I’ll probably live in California,’ said Jasmin. ‘That’s where all the cool people live. I’ll surf on the beach and see loads of famous people. I’ll probably have to get two or even three autograph books for all the names.’

Jasmin talked about America the same way Granddad talked about Nigeria, but differently as well. When Granddad talked about Nigeria, Elijah could see it in his head, but when Jasmin talked about America, all he could see was her looking for it.

They ate and ate, licking their fingers and the garden filled up with slurping happy noises. By the time Obi came back into the garden Elijah had eaten three pieces. Obi waved but was still on his mobile. ‘First thing, though, OK?’

Aunty Chanel sipped her wine and raised an eyebrow at Nikki.

‘I’m counting on you,’ Obi said. He tucked the phone back into his pocket. He came to sit the other side of Elijah, and Nikki reached out to grab his arm as he lowered himself to the ground.

‘I wish you’d put that thing away.’

‘It’s away!’ He held his hands up, showing they were empty.

She shook her head but Elijah could see her smile.

‘Did you like the chicken?’ Obi asked.

Everyone made satisfied noises and nodded.

‘You are some chef,’ Aunty Chanel told Elijah.

‘It is in his blood,’ said Granddad.

Aunty Chanel laughed and Jasmin went to sit in Granddad’s lap, even though he always said she was too big.

‘I think I’m going into a food coma,’ said Aunty Chanel.

Elijah looked up at the sky and, even though it was lit up orange with city lights, he could count many stars.

Ricardo was wearing purple flip-flops even though it was a really cold day and you could see your breath like a puff of smoke. He had new beads around his neck that he kept touching. If he went to the same school as Elijah, Mrs Pullen would have made him sit on his hands to stop him from fiddling. They were sitting in McDonald’s, which was a big treat for Elijah because Obi would never let him go. Nikki had taken him once and they’d both had a Happy Meal. ‘Let’s not mention it to Obi,’ Nikki had said, and they had laughed. Obi said that fast food was poison and he would never give such bad food to a loved one. That made Elijah smile.

‘So, how is everything going? You seem to be really settled! I can’t believe you’ve been with Nikki and Obi for three months already. It really has flown by!’ Ricardo bit into his veggie burger. He was vegetarian and ate no meat at all. He had told Elijah that was why he didn’t live in Brazil. ‘No vegetarians live in Brazil,’ he’d explained. ‘It’s against the law. When I cannot stay away from Brazil any longer, then I’ll have a good-quality steak. But, until that day, I’ll stick to this terrible vegetarian burger.’ He took another bite and pulled a face. ‘Nikki says you’re settling in really well.’

‘Obi is teaching me to play football. School is really good. And Nikki took me to her work and let me play with the
dogs.’ Elijah laughed. ‘They’re funny. They licked my face.’

‘Did you say school is really good? Fantastic. And Nikki said you’re a natural with the dogs,’ said Ricardo. ‘And that you’re a great helper.’ He paused. ‘But she also said it was a bit hard for you seeing the dogs. And that night you were angry.’

Elijah shrugged. ‘They looked very sad,’ he said, ‘which is why I want to help them, like Nikki.’

‘Well, I’m sure they’ll have a forever family, just like you do, before long. Nikki and Obi said the anger was only for a short time and then you were back to your old lovely self again. So you’ve now spent some time with all the family? Have you got to know everyone?’

‘Aunty Chanel is really funny. She’s an adult but she acts like a child. And Jasmin sits next to me at school. I like Jasmin. In the Easter holidays, we’re going to Wales so I can meet my other new nan and granddad. I’ve spoken to them on Skype and they made me laugh. And also,’ Elijah smiled widely, ‘Obi said he’d take me to Nigeria next year.’

Ricardo laughed. ‘Sounds busy! And how are you feeling about the adoption day?’

Elijah stopped eating. ‘Do I have to talk?’

‘No. An adoption day is just a special day in court when Nikki and Obi sign the papers to become your mum and dad forever. It’s a celebration when we can have cake and go for a special meal afterwards. You don’t have to talk, but you do need to look smart.’ Ricardo laughed. ‘For example, I will be wearing proper shoes. No sandals, no Havaianas. And my very best aftershave, that I save only for fabulous occasions.’

Elijah couldn’t imagine Ricardo wearing shoes.

‘So you like being with your forever family?’

Elijah thought about it. Living with Nikki and Obi was like nowhere else he’d ever lived. He didn’t want to go anywhere
else. He still missed Mama very much, but Nikki said that was OK. She said that was normal.

Forever
family.

‘When can I see Mama?’

‘She’s not well at all, Elijah, and as we discussed it might be better for you to stick to twice-yearly contact. Any more than that and it might make you not do so well.’

‘Is she still sick?’

‘Yes, she’s sick,’ said Ricardo, ‘and she has some other problems, which won’t get better. She can’t keep you safe, even when she’s not sick any more, and you deserve to be safe. You can keep contact with her. You might be ready to write a letter to Mama. Nikki and Obi will help you with that.’

Elijah slumped down. ‘Mama kept me safe.’

‘And now Nikki and Obi are keeping you safe too.’

Elijah sat upright. ‘I think so.’ He ate a chip, chewing it slowly. ‘I think the badness has gone.’

Ricardo put the rest of his burger down. ‘You haven’t mentioned being bad in a long time, Elijah.’ He paused. ‘Do you think that maybe, now you are settled with Nikki and Obi, you have stopped feeling like there is a badness inside you? Maybe you’ve started to believe me that you’re a good boy. Maybe you’re even ready to talk about what happened to you?’

Elijah popped a chicken nugget into his mouth. The wizard had not been in control for quite a while. The last time he felt it was on his first day at school, but, even then, being near to Jasmin meant the wizard’s powers were not strong at all. In fact, he couldn’t feel it creeping around at all any more. Elijah was in charge. He smiled. ‘The wizard might have gone,’ he said. He jumped off his seat and hugged Ricardo. He thought of Mama and how happy she’d be.

Elijah caught the look on Ricardo’s face: his eyes stuck open and his mouth was full of burger but not chewing. He had told Ricardo about the wizard; he would never see Mama again.

‘The wizard?’ said Ricardo, swallowing and wiping his mouth.

Elijah sat very still, but nothing happened. If the wizard was really gone, then maybe it didn’t matter?

‘Elijah?’

He opened his mouth to speak. He really couldn’t feel the wizard. ‘I am free of evil.’

Ricardo leant forwards. ‘But you said, “wizard”.’

Yes. He had said ‘wizard’, but the ground was still there and the sun was still up in the sky and no one was dragging him away or saying he couldn’t see Mama again. Elijah shrugged. ‘The evil inside me has gone.’ It was true. Mama was right – to be safe, all he had to do was find a Nigerian who believed in God, and he had found Granddad and Obi. And Nikki, who was not Nigerian but was covered in angel kisses called freckles, and Jasmin, who wasn’t scared of anything. Not even a wizard.

Ricardo nodded. ‘OK.’ He drew Elijah in for a hug.

Maybe Elijah could stay with Nikki and Obi until he was a bit older. And then perhaps he could live with Mama again? Maybe she’d get better now and be able to come and live with Nikki and Obi too.

*

After McDonald’s, Aunty Chanel took Elijah out so that Ricardo could have a chat with Nikki and Obi.

Aunty Chanel put her hand on top of Elijah’s head and laughed. ‘We get to hang out, Jay-Z! It’s going to be so cool.’ Aunty Chanel was wearing another set of butterflies on her
eyelids but they looked broken, like half their wings were missing, and it made her eyes look in different places, one near and one far. She had a pair of panda earmuffs covering her ears. He’d never seen an adult wear animal earmuffs. ‘We need to sort this hair out, little man,’ she said, and put her hand on Elijah’s head again. She was wearing four rings and, when she touched him, tiny sparks came between her hand and his shoulder, which made him jump. ‘You’re electric,’ she said.