The next day, I switched
off all my phones and left home. My mum had called me at least 20times that
morning to keep reminding me that I should not throw away this opportunity to
settle down. I checked into a room in Penisula Resort, Ajah, away from everybody
to think. I knew I had but a few hours to make the call to Yomi. I needed to be
sure I said the right thing when I made it. I’ve seen all your comments and
(strong) opinions. But trust me, when you are in the shoes, you’ll find it’s
not that easy to do any of these things.
As I lay there, I began to
imagine what he would be doing now. Probably curled up somewhere with Adamu,
somewhere I should be. Lord! This was going to be all what my life would be if
I married Yomi. Well, two can play the game. I decided to practice what my life
would look like if I went ahead with the marriage.
I turned my private number
on and dialed Kalu’s number from memory. The moment I turned it on, three text
messages from mumsy came in. That woman can like to leave me alone now! After
the second try, Kalu’s phone rang. The cow was so full of himself, the caller
tune was one of those you recorded by yourself. Here’s what it went like
“Welcome to Kalu’s Phone. Hang on to speak with the hottest and flyest of them
all.” Arrrrrgh! I almost hung up, this guy was so childish at 38. Men, I
thought I was through with the likes of him. Anyways, he picked up and spoke
with a hint of surprise and amusement.
Kalu: The Lagos big girl
calls lowly us. To remind us to attend her wedding abi?
Me: it’s because of this
your goatiness that
I could never be serious with you. Where are you sha?
Kalu: Where you left me
noni. You? (He hadn’t lost his touch. He was already coding what I wanted)
Me: Somewhere in Ajah,
personal getaway before the wedding. All alone (this felt real silly)
Kalu: Really? Call the boo
to come around now (Kalu can like to make everything hard. If I could call the
boo, shay I will be calling him abi?)
Me: You know it’s bad luck
for the groom to see his bride before the wedding. So boo stays put. You won’t
come and say hi to your friend before she finally becomes a Mrs. abi?
Kalu: Ping me the details,
I’m coming.
I ended the call. It’s
funny how you can say a lot, without actually saying the specifics. I had just
booty-called (yes men get booty-called) Kalu without any mention of it. But
unlike the old days when I would phone select with no qualms, there was a knot
in my tummy. This just didn’t feel right. And this was what I was meant to do
for the rest of my life. I do something silly that I should confess here. If
you tell me now two people are dating, I unconsciously imagine them together in
bed. If the picture in my head gels, then I immediately support the
relationship. If e no gel, well, I believe the relationship will likewise not
gel. Hence I can never do an aristo. The picture won’t just gel.
I closed my eyes to imagine
being with Kalu… bad picture. I turned my phone off again. Kalu wasn’t getting
any pings from me.
I began to wander sort of
aimlessly around the grounds. If someone was watching me, I probably looked
like I was looking for some suicide spot. Eventually, I got to a stone bench
beside a beautiful stone arch running over a small spring of water and I sat on
it, eyes closed, lost in thought as I watched the water run over those smooth
white pebbles at the bottom of the pool.
Reminiscent of when we met
for the first time on the plane, it was the voice that drew me out of my
reverie. I opened my eyes and sure enough, Yomi was seated on the stone bench
right beside me. How he had found me, I couldn’t phantom. God, I loved him.
Even knowing what I knew, with him seating just a few inches from me, I wanted
to do nothing more than reach out and hold him in my arms.
This heart en, I will never
understand how it works. My head was saying all the right things to make me
loathe him, that he deceived me, that he could never love me cos I was a woman,
that I could never be happy with him and that I should hate him with all my
being. My mind even brought up the repulsive picture of him and Adamu replayed
like some picture by MopeBob, vivid and clear. But in spite of all my head was
saying, my heart was steadfastly, stupidly refusing to listen. The moment I saw
him, I melted like butter, sigh! (I see you rolling your eyes now, just don’t
let it fall out).
“Yomi, how did you find
me?”
“You always come here to
run away. It didn’t take long to figure out where you were when you were
unreachable and not at home.”
I had totally forgotten
that Yomi and I used this place for getaways. All he needed to do was make a
phone call and he woulda found me. But I didn’t think he would be looking for
me.
“So why did you find me? I
thought I was going to call you later”.
He placed a hand on mine
and looked me in the eye. My heart did a flip (this my gymnast of a heart en).
“Oyin, we both know that
whatever decision you are going to make is already made. So rather than wait
for a call, I came to get it first hand from you now”.
My palms became sweaty
“Yomi, I, I, I,” I stammered.
He moved closer, “You
haven’t made one yet? Then make one now”, he cut in.
What kind of tactic is
this? I looked into his eyes squarely. I knew what I was going to do. I decided
to marry Yomi.
... can't wait to know why!!
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