Amara stared at the lady for a while, trying to process what she had just heard.
Touch her small? How? From where to where?
"Aunty, sorry. I don't understand. Where are they touching? My hand abi my head?" Amara asked, and the lady gave her a pointed look.
"Which one is head abi hand? Why are you talking like a kid? And what is with the aunty? I'm not that old. Just call me Valerie or say sist if you must add something to my name. See, this thing I'm telling you is not by force. I won't fire you if you say you won't do it. I'm just trying to help you the best way I can because I feel sorry for you. Family problem nuh Dey finish o. And this your cleaning job won't take you anywhere," Valerie said, and Amara sighed deeply.
"I sew, too," Amara said, and Valerie nodded.
"That's good. So, has the sewing given you money?" She asked, and Amara shook her head.
"Come with me," Valerie said, and Amara rose and followed as she led her to her bedroom.
"Sit here," the lady said, pulling out the vanity stool by her dresser.
Amara did as she was told, and then the lady took out one of her black 18-inch bone straight wigs and put it on Amara's head, covering Amara's rough cornrow.
Amara looked at her reflection in the mirror as Valerie brushed the wig. Even without makeup, the wig had enhanced her looks.
"Don't you like how pretty you look? Won't you like to wear nice clothes and be able to take care of your family? Do you want to clean people's forever?" Valerie asked, holding her gaze through the rearview mirror.
Amara didn't say anything. She couldn't. Her heart was beating fast now. How did they get to the point?
"Won't you like to go to the university? You can make enough money and see yourself through school. You can even open a big fashion design company. Right now, you're just a local tailor. The difference between you and a fashion designer is education. You need money, my dear. There is so much that money can do for you."
Amara drew in a deep breath but still said nothing. She had no idea what to say.
All that Valerie was saying made sense to her, yet a part of her knew that it was wrong.
"Listen, just think about it, you hear? I know many men that will rush a fine girl like you. Instead of having sex with one broke boyfriend who wouldn't give you any money but would use you and still cheat on you, it's better to have sex with a man who will pay you good money for it. If you still decide you don't want to do it, no problem. You can keep cleaning my house. I need to go out now. When you finish, you know where to leave the key," Valerie said as she stepped away from Amara.
Valerie picked up her handbag from her bed and opened it. She took out five new one thousand naira notes and handed them to Amara, "Don't trek when you're going. I'm in a hurry now, but before you come next week, I'll sort through the clothes I'm not wearing again and keep some for you. One advice for you. You see that hundred thousand? Don't send them everything. I'm telling you from experience. If you send everything, they will think you have, and they will use the money anyhow and then come and ask you again. Send them like twenty thousand and ask them to manage it that you don't have. Keep that eighty thousand. When they ask again another time, delay a little before you send it. It works all the time for me," Valerie said with a small laugh before walking away.
As much as the advice sounded wise, what would twenty thousand do for them at home? Would she have eighty thousand naira in her account while her family was merely managing to survive? Amara mused as she took the wig off her head.
She reminded herself that if Valerie had not sent her that amount, she wouldn't have had it to send in the first place, so she sent the twenty thousand naira as Valeria suggested.
She then called her mother to inform her that she had sent the money. Immediately, her mother prayed and blessed her.
"God will bless the work of your hands, my daughter. Like your name, God's hands of mercy will be upon your life. You will marry a good man. Your children will take care of you. You will…"
"Amen. Amen. It's enough. Thank you. I need to go and start working now," Amara said, knowing that if she didn't stop her mother the prayer would go on and on and then they will enter marriage talk.
After the call ended, she resumed cleaning the house. As she scrubbed the place clean, Valerie's words kept replaying in her head over and over again.
After cleaning the house, she showered, as Valerie suggested, before going to find a can to pour her coke into. Then she went home.
All through the night she tossed and turned on the mat as she thought about the conversation with Valerie.
She thought about how easy it had been for Valerie to dash her hundred thousand naira. If she had that kind of money to dash, she could only imagine how much more Valerie had.
Maybe this was it. Perhaps this was the way out for her.
It might not be a Christian thing, but what had Christianity done for her thus far? What had God done for her?
All the church people she had been sharing her problems with this whole time, including her choir coordinator, all they ever did was give her advice after advice and prayer after prayer. None had offered her so much as two hundred naira.
Yet here was Valerie. She had just mentioned it, hoping for advance payment, yet she had not only given her money but also shared a way to make money with her.
Taking a deep breath, Amara decided that she was going to do it.
Yes. She was going to do this, and damn the consequences.
Maybe if she did it for a year or two, she would have more than enough money to set up herself and her family, and then she would stop.
Having made her decision, Amara slept.
The following day, she called Valerie early in the morning, "I thought about what you said. I will do it."
Valerie screeched happily, "Wonderful! You've made the best decision for yourself. Come over to the house."
Immediately, Amara showered, and her phone started ringing as she prepared to leave for Valerie's house.
She looked at the phone and hissed when she saw it was her pastor calling. She did not doubt that he was calling because his wife had reported what happened to him.
She ignored the call, but he kept calling and then a text came in from him asking her to come over that he wanted them to discuss something with her and someone wanted to meet her.
Not wanting to hear whatever he had to say, she blocked his number and that of his wife.
"Nonsense people. They will hide behind God's name to use people," Amara hissed angrily.
She arrived at Valerie's house shortly after.
"First of all, I want you to know that you made the right decision," Valerie said as she led her inside after opening the door.
"Now we have a lot of work to do. We need to prep you. I've been trying to calculate how much it would cost, and I will be honest with you: it's going to cost a whole lot," she said, and Amara frowned.
Cost a lot? She was looking for a way to make money, not spend money. She didn't even have the money to spend. Before she could say a word of protest, Valerie raised a finger.
"But don't worry. I've got it all figured out. Here is what we are going to do. I'm going to cover all the expenses. You can think of me as your manager. I'll clean you up and fix you up. I will arrange the clients for you, and then I will take eighty percent of any money you make."
Amara's brows pulled together. Eighty percent? Although she didn't know maths much, she knew eighty percent meant eighty thousand naira out of every hundred thousand naira.
"Isn't that too much?" She asked cautiously.
Valerie's smile faltered. "Too much? You have no idea how much I'm about to spend on you. But I'm not complaining. I'm thinking of it as an investment. You see you? You need a complete makeover. You're not doing something local like these local girls. You have to be classy. Look and dress classy. That means you need good clothes, wigs, a good phone, you need to get your nails done and all of that. You even need to learn to do makeup. So much work needs to be done on you. But do not worry. By the time we are done, you won't even recognize yourself," Valerie promised.
"So, how long would I need to do this before you stop taking the eighty percent? And can I stop after I get enough money to set up things for myself and my family?" She asked, and Valerie smiled, although it didn't reach her eyes.
"Of course. You can stop when you have enough money. I can't tell when I'll stop taking the eighty percent. It depends on how well you work and how soon you're able to pay up. Are you up for it? If you are, we can start now. But I'll have to call my lawyer so that we can sign an agreement first," she said, and Amara nodded.
"I'm ready."