Femi when are you getting married?
Femi I don’t want an Oyibo man oo. Femi, are you listening to me?
Femi...Femi...Femi...
Femi panted
and increased her pace. She thought maybe if she ran faster, she could banish
her mother’s voice from her mind. She huffed and puffed. She knew she should
stop; for one thing, it was 9 in the night and her David would be worried; for
another, her thigh muscles were really cramping up.
She doubled
back and began the 10-minute race back to her apartment. The lights were on.
David, She thought with an inward groan. She
didn’t feel like seeing him, he always knew when something was wrong with her, and
she wasn’t ready to talk about it. He must have used his emergency key when she
didn’t show up for their 4 0’clock date. He probably thought she was lying on
the floor, half dead. He was such a worry wart.
She paused
with her hand on the door knob to compose herself. Her heart was still racing
from the exercise, and she could just make out David’s shadow as he paced the
length of the small living room.
As soon as
the door knob turned, he was in front of her in a flash
‘Where have
you been Femi? I’ve been worried sick-‘
‘You’re
always worrying, that’s not News’
‘What, we
have a date, you don’t show up, you don’t call and I’m not supposed to worry? I
CALLED YOU A THOUSAND TIMES!’
He dogged
her footsteps and continued ‘I called your work, I called your Bible study
group, I called your friends! did anyone know where you were? No! Did you
bother to call and let anyone know where you were? Of course not, why should
you? Let’s just give David a heart attack at 28, why don’t we? I came over here
and rang the doorbell for AGES-‘
She turned
around and held her hands up for peace. His hair was in spikes, he’d obviously
run his hands through it severally. His forehead was corrugated; his green
eyes, stormy, and his cheeks were flushed from either worry or temper, or both.
Her lips twitched in spite of her gloomy mood.
‘Look!’ She
said ‘I’m tired and sweaty-‘
‘And shiny,
and annoying, and-‘
She turned
around and continued walking ‘Look’ She said again ‘I’m going to take a shower,
okay? I’m sorry I got you worried, but I really need a shower’
She walked
into the bathroom
‘No, wait,
Femi, I’m not done yelling at you-‘
‘You can
continue when I get out’ she shut the door in his face and he heaved a sigh.
He knew she
would stay in there for another 30 minutes, and his feelings would have
dissipated when she showed up again. She knew what she was doing, alright.
Femi leaned
against the door and decided to take a bath instead of a shower, and let her
mind wander to the first time she met David.
She was new at the church, having just moved
to Canada from Nigeria for her Masters program. She didn’t know anyone but she
liked the church because the people were kind and the preacher spoke like he
was talking to her. Church had closed and she was just walking out when a
really tall guy walked up in front of her
‘Hey! I haven’t seen you before,
you’re new, right?’
She looked up, smiled shyly and
nodded.
‘I thought so. I’m not bragging but I
know everyone here’ he said with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. She was
instantly charmed.
‘I’m David’ he said, thrusting a big
hand in her face. ‘David Harvey’
‘Nice to meet you David’ She adjusted
her books and placed her hand in his. His hand dwarfed hers instantly. His eyes
flashed to hers, dancing with humour.
‘I was going to say something about your
size, but we only just met’
Her mouth opened in mock surprise
‘You were going to call me small, weren’t you?’
He grinned hugely ‘I was leaning more
toward little, but yeah’
‘What!’ She drew herself to her full
height ‘I am a whopping 5 foot 4!’
‘Yes, yes, you look very
intimidating, your size scares me’ he said.
‘It’s only because you’re so huge.
I’m not that small’
‘Yeah, sure, what’s your name, you
big giant?’
She laughed loudly ‘It’s Femi’
‘Femi. Hmmn. Where are you from,
Femi?’
‘Nigeria’
Just then, her phone shrieked out a
Casting Crowns song, interrupting them.
‘Um...my phone is ringing’ she said
‘Yes, Femi, I can hear it too’ he
looked confused
‘Um...I need my hand to answer it’
He looked down, only just realizing
he still held her hand He dropped it hastily and flushed. It was amazing to
her, the flushing. She had only read about that in books and seen it in movies.
It supposedly signified embarrassment. She stared for a second longer than
necessary.
‘Here, let me hold those for you’ he
said, reaching for her books.
‘Thanks’ she said, dug around in her
bag, found her phone ‘Oh, it’s my mum. I have to take this or she won’t stop
calling. I’ll be right back’
‘No worries, take your time’ he was
still red in the face.
‘So. Casting Crowns, huh’ he said
when she came back.
‘Yeah’ she smiled. ‘They’re my
favourite band. I hope to see them in concert someday. Listen I have to go. My
mum says the whole family is waiting for me on Skype’
‘Oh. Oh yeah, sure, sorry. Um, do you
need me to take these to your car or something?’
‘No, I don’t have a car. Don’t worry,
it’s cool, I’ve been carrying my books around for ages. Thanks, anyway.’
‘Yeah. It was nice to meet you, Femi’
‘You, as well’ she turned and walked
away.
She was almost at the door when he
yelled ‘So you’re coming next Sunday right?’
She turned. A couple of people were
staring. He seemed to notice to because he stuck his hands in his pockets and
lifted his shoulders.
She nodded.
That was how it began.
Days slithered into weeks and weeks
into months. He called her and texted her a lot. She thought about him a lot, too much for comfort.
She went to church every week. Joined
the youth Bible study group and made a few friends. She and David talked
regularly and hung out with other youths from their church. Sometimes they went
to the beach, sometimes they rented vans and took road trips.
Then one Sunday after church, he
approached her outside.
‘Hey!’
‘Hey David, what’s up’
He stared at her a moment longer than
necessary. ‘Are you alright? You look a little tired’
‘Oh. Yeah i was up late last night;
I’ve got a test on Wednesday’
‘Your nose is always stuck in a book.
Ugh, I hate tests’
She laughed. ‘You’re not even the one
taking it’
‘Right. Anyway I got you a present’
A wary look came into her eyes ‘What
is it?’
He laughed. ‘I said, a present, why
do you look so scared, don’t you like presents?’
‘Not really. I don’t know what to
expect, and I’m not that good at hiding my feelings. What if I don’t like it?’
He waved that away, with confidence
‘Don’t worry. Bet you’d like this one’ he handed it to her.
It was a brown envelope. She opened
it, looked inside and just stared.
‘David...’ she croaked. She cleared
her throat and tried again ‘David...’
He was looking down at her, amused.
‘There are tickets in here, David’
‘I know, I put them there’ he said
with exaggerated patience.
‘David, there are tickets in here.
Tickets, Casting Crown tickets’ she looked up again, worried he didn’t
understand.
‘I know, Femi’
‘You got me tickets to see Casting
Crowns?’ Both of them were alarmed when her eyes suddenly filled up
‘Woah...woah, what’s happening’ he
looked panicked.
‘I’m sorry!’
‘No, I’m sorry, I thought you wanted
them’
‘No I do, I do. I’m not really
crying, It’s...it’s just the sun’
‘It’s the middle of winter, Femi’
‘Fine, whatever. I’m crying’ she
dashed the traitorous tears off her cheeks in anger.
‘Why did you get me
these?’
‘Because you said they were your
favourite band!’ he was confused by her reaction
‘When did I say that to you?’
‘The first time we met, remember?
Your ringtone was one of their songs. It was Courageous’
There was a pause. A line formed
between her brows. ‘You...you remembered that? I only said it in passing’
‘I remember everything about you,
Femi’ he said with a shrug. His eyes widened when her eyes filled again ‘Don’t
start crying again, please’ he begged
‘I won’t. I don’t cry. I’m going home
before I embarrass myself further’ she sighed, and then looked up at him again.
‘You don’t know how much this means to me. Thank you so much for this. Will you
lean down a little so I can kiss your cheek’?
‘Oh’ He leaned down, and she gave him
a quick hug and kissed his cheek.
‘Thank you so much’ she said again
‘You’re welcome’ His face was red
‘Wait...there are two tickets in
here’
‘Yeah, i thought maybe you wouldn’t
want to go alone and you might want to take one of your friends.’
‘I feel my eyes filling again. I’m
just gonna go, okay? See you later, David’
That was the moment she fell in love
with him. She thought about him all the way home. It wasn’t her fault. How
could a person not fall in love with him? He was the nicest, most selfless,
God-loving guy she had ever met. And he listened. And why was he so tall? He
was her first everything. Her first real friend, he took her to her first
riding lesson, he took her to her first swimming lesson, he was the first
person who really listened when she talked. And he had kind eyes. You could
tell a lot about a person by just looking in their eyes.
She thought about him throughout the
day, when it was 6 0’ clock, she went over to his place and rang the doorbell.
‘We’re friends, right?’ she said as
soon as he opened the door
‘Um...yeah, what’s going on?’
She handed him the tickets ‘You said
I could go with a friend. You said we’re friends. Do you want to go with me?’
‘Sure, that’d be great...I mean, if
you’re sure’
She glared at him. ‘I’d just like to
point out that I’m here. It’s six...’ she consulted her watch ‘...fifteen. It’s
the middle of winter. In Canada. Does any of that sound like what an unsure
person would do?’
He laughed. ‘Point taken’ he said.
‘You should come in. Want some tea? You look cold. The whole family is home.
Come meet everyone. Come on, don’t freak out’ he laughed and grabbed her arm
before she could make a run for it ‘They’re just my family, they don’t bite’
‘I only came here to invite you to go
with me to the concert!’ She was freaking out, meet his family? No way.
‘Mom, would you come to the door,
please?’ he yelled
‘Shh! I’m going to kill you’
That was how she met his family.
The day of the concert came and went.
She had the best time of her life.
‘Thanks for getting me these tickets,
David, I really appreciate it. This has been the
best day of my life’ she
gushed ‘And thanks for coming with me too. How did you get the tickets anyway?’
‘Oh my mum is friends with the
drummer, I think’
‘Wow. Your family is so cool’ she
said, as she turned her key in the lock
‘Thanks’ he shuffled from one foot to
another in her tiny apartment.
‘I’m gonna make some tea, you want?’
she called from the kitchen.
‘Sure’ he called back.
She put the kettle on to boil and
came back. He was still standing around, shuffling his feet.
‘Something on your mind?’ she asked
‘What...no, no...I mean, yeah...I
mean, not really’
She smiled indulgently, ‘David, you
don’t stutter. What’s going on?’
He was looking at her in a weird way.
His normally intense eyes were even more so, and he looked really nervous.
‘It’s not important’ he was staring
into her eyes. His very stance belied the statement.
‘David’
‘Do you want to pray about hanging
out more often’ he blurted out. He stuck his hands in his pockets and cringed.
She was confused.
‘Hanging out? You mean like we do
with the guys from church?’
‘Um...kind of’
‘Why do we need to pray about that, I
mean, we already hang out, is there a problem?’
‘Um...I meant...er...without the
others’ His color rose with every word he uttered.
There was a slight pause. When she
spoke, her voice was quieter.
‘You mean, just the two of us?’
‘Uh...yeah...yes. I mean...could you
stop looking at me for one second so I can concentrate on my...um...
suggestion?’ When she furrowed her brows, he said ‘It’s just...I kind of lose
my train of thought when you look at me for too long, you’ve got the most
incredible eyes I’ve ever seen’ he passed a hand through his blonde hair.
‘What, me!’ she gasped ‘You should
look in the mirror sometimes Dave’
They lapsed into an awkward silence,
looking into each other’s eyes and quickly looking away. It was pleasant, but
awkward.
‘Okay, fine, I’m not looking at
you...I’ll just look at...’ she turned around ‘Oh yeah, this flowerpot looks
like it wants to be looked at’
He chuckled. ‘Stop making me laugh,
Femi, I’m trying to be serious here’
‘I’m sorry’
‘Okay. So, I’m 26 years old...wait, I
never asked how old you are!’
‘22’
‘What! You don’t look a day older than
18 but you talk like a 23 or 24 year old so I was a little confused. Anyway, I’m
26. I’m not a bad guy, I love God as much as you do, I’ve got a good job and
it’s not like I’m, like, jumping or anything, but I just thought maybe we
could...maybe pray about, you know, getting into a relationship. Just pray,
nothing major, yet. But I like you. I really like you. I mean, i...’ he
breathed in deep ‘I really, really, really like you, I think you’re extremely
beautiful, inside and out. You’re on my mind like, all the time, and hanging
out with you, I mean just seeing you makes me so happy and...I promise, I had
more to say but you’re looking at me again’
She smiled and took his hand. The
kettle was whistling in the background.
‘I was also going to say, I love how
your hand fits in mine but you distracted me. So, do you want to pray about
it?’
‘Okay’
There was a
knock on the door. It was David.
‘Femi? Are
you alright? It’s been almost an hour’
‘Be right
out’
She got out
of the tub, towelled herself dry put on her pyjamas.
David was
standing at the table, holding a spatula. She could smell chicken pepper soup,
Nigerian style. The sudden rush of love that swamped her surprised her. She
walked to him and hugged him around the waist.
‘I’m still a
little mad, Femi’
‘I love you’
She breathed on his neck in a way that she knew tickled him. Sure enough, he
laughed a little
‘You’re too
small to give me so much grief. Sometimes I’m tempted to stuff you in my pocket
where you’ll be safe and I won’t have to worry. You can’t just go MIA for hours
Femi, you know I worry a lot.’
‘I’m sorry.
It won’t happen again’ She kissed his neck and let go. ‘So, you made me pepper soup’
‘Yes. And
you’re going to drink it all up and tell Uncle David what the matter is’
‘What makes
you think anything is the matter?’
‘Honey. You
went jogging. You don’t jog. You don’t exercise at all’
She laughed.
‘Maybe I was trying to surprise my heart. You know, with a little exercise. It
must have been surprised because I kind of feel it’s still racing’
He set a
bowl of soup in front of her and handed her a spoon. ‘Eat!’ he commanded. ‘And
tell me what’s going on’
She felt the
Spirit pricking her.
‘Guess what,
David?’
‘What?’
‘We’re going
to Nigeria’
Six months
later, David and Femi arrived in Nigeria. She had called her mum and told her
not to bother coming to pick them up, they would take a cab. She looked around
Lagos as the taxi sped by. There was the woman selling boli along the road. Hawkers came up to the cab when the inevitable
traffic caught up with them. She was nervous.
David rubbed
her shoulders. ‘Are you alright, honey?’
‘Yeah, I’m
fine, just a little nervous’
‘You? I’m
the only one allowed to be nervous here, I’m the one meeting your parents
for
the first time’
‘Good point.
Are you hungry?’
‘Not really,
but I could eat something’
‘You want
some boli?’
‘Yeah, sure.
Uh...what is it?’
She laughed
‘It’s just roasted plantain. It tastes nice with some groundnuts’
Five bolis and 2 yoghurts later, they arrived
at her parents’ house.
‘So...this
is it’
‘This is it’
he agreed. ‘I’ll get the bags, you go ring the bell’
‘Um...David,
there’s something I have to tell you’
He looked
down at her ‘Oh boy. I’m not going to like this, am I?’
‘Probably
not’ she agreed
‘What’s
going on?’
‘Um...they
kind of don’t know we’ve arrived’
‘Oh...that’s
not a problem, it’ll be a pleasant surprise’
‘Yeah, yeah,
sure...but’ she stopped him as he bent to retrieve the bags
‘What is
it?’
‘Um...they
um...kind of don’t know we’re in a relationship’
‘What? Femi,
come on. It’s been two years’
‘Yeah, yeah,
it’s just...my mum isn’t really comfortable with white...I mean Caucasians’
‘She doesn’t
like white people? How come?’
‘No she
likes white people okay, it’s just...she doesn’t really like the idea of her
daughter marrying a white person’
‘Why?’
‘She thinks
their divorce rate is through the roof’
‘Oh...well,
that’s true, but you and I are never getting divorced. Come on, let’s go in and
I’ll convince her. What about your dad?’
‘Oh my dad
is cool as a cucumber’ she shuffled her feet
‘Um...there’s
one more thing David’
‘Wow Femi,
what could they possibly not know about, this time?’
‘You...They
don’t know about you’
He dropped
the bags. ‘What? That’s...’ He was weak
‘So you just,
forgot to tell them you were in a relationship? What’s going on in your mind
Femi?’
‘I don’t
know!’ she cried ‘I thought maybe if they saw you, they would fall in love with
you and kind of...not notice you were...you know, white’ she finished lamely.
‘Maybe i
should just put some shoe polish on my face and arms and they won’t notice.
Sorry, lame joke, I know’ he said when she raised her brow.
They both
turned at the sound of footsteps.
‘Who is
there?’ a woman’s voice cane from behind the gate
‘Just, whatever
you do, don’t say ‘Hi, Mrs. Babajide’, okay?’
‘What! What
should I say’
‘Say Good
afternoon ma. Nigerian mothers like that’
‘Who’s
there’? The voice said again
‘Be cool’
she whispered to him
‘It’s me
mum. It’s Femi’
The woman
screamed and hurried to unlock the gate. She drank in her daughter’s face at
first, and then she looked at David, looked at the way her daughter was
clinging to David’s arm. Her eyes widened in alarm as she put two and two
together. David just caught her as she fainted.
‘I am going
to kill you, Femi’ said David.
To Be Continued...
p.s. sorry guys, I usually don't do this, but the story didn't want to end. I felt like it was too long and didn't want to give you guys undue stress. I'll post the next part later.
