My Prayer For 2016

"Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts"-Psalm 90:12

"Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil" -Ephesians 5:16

I pray lord, that year 2016 will not be just another new year…

Help me to make the most of every single day

Help me to live each day in it, better than I lived the previous

Help me to make year 2016 count

Help me to see it as a blank slate and write the story of my life as if it has just begun

Help me to learn from my mistakes so that I can be a better person

Help me to redeem each day prayerfully

Help me to pursue purpose and walk in Your will

Give me foresight; lemme see farther than I can look

Help me to detect and lock down opportunities in whatever form they come in

Give me a discerning heart; let me not associate will those that will poison my purpose

Separate me from destiny devourers, life and time wasters

Let my enemies become Your enemies and let evil be far from me

Do not cast me away from Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me

Let my soul find rest under the shadow of Your wings

Let me see the goodness of the lord in the land of the living

Let the earth bring forth goodness for me and let me not eat the bread of sorrow

Let those be ashamed and humiliated together who rejoice at my distress;
Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me.

Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication and want what is right for me

These I pray for in the new year

I surrender 2016 to You O lord…take the wheel

Picture Credit (c) issacharinitiative.org

© 2015 Lanre Olagbaju All Rights Reserved

Temptation Alley (Part 15)

I could not go to work the following day…I went to Irene’s office, hoping to find her there but she didn’t come to work. Her boss said she had called in to request a few days off to take care of some family issues. Her boss asked me if everything was ok; I’m sure I must have responded with some ridiculous answer.
I wanted to ask for the number that Irene called from but I was already raising suspicion so I had to leave. At that point, I knew I could not help but get our families involved...so I called my younger sister.

My sister was quiet for a while after I told her what happened…then she said
“I knew your leopard could never change its skin…I knew you would find a way to ruin this”

She went on and on about how disappointed she was and how she thought I had changed. She told me how Irene used to swear, when they were growing up, that any infidelity in her marriage would automatically end the marriage. How she broke up with a guy she had dated for 5 years and was engaged to, because he cheated on her.

Irene had told me about this guy and how she would have married him but he ‘messed up’…she never told me what he did though.

“You really crossed a line…that’s why I was not fully in support of this relationship when it started. I knew there was no way on earth you could pull it off” My sister continued.

I was like a thief caught red-handed, I couldn’t even defend myself…I just kept begging my sister to see if she could find any clues to Irene’s whereabouts. She promised to make some calls and get back to me. When I didn’t hear from her that evening, I summoned courage and called my mother-in-law, I figured Irene had to be with her…after all, I had sown some goodness that way and it was time to pull out the 'goodwill card'. To my surprise, Irene was not with her mum…she hadn’t even told her what happened.

Mama told me she heard from her, earlier that day, but it was from an unknown number. She said she had even tried to call her back but her phone was switched off.
I had to come clean before her mum, I told her everything that happened and begged her to help me appeal to Irene. Mama said it was not a big deal especially since I was sober and sorry for what I did…however she mentioned that Irene was not very forgiving when it came to infidelity. She also mentioned the guy Irene was engaged to, and how she tried to mediate when Irene called off the engagement but she wouldn’t budge. Mama promised to call me as soon as she heard from her again. I felt a little relief because someone had heard from my wife and I was on the path to reconciliation

“There’s no way she wouldn’t forgive me…Haba! We have a son and we are expecting another baby. If she doesn’t consider me, she’ll consider the children” I thought to myself as I laid on the couch and later slept off.

I got Mama’s call at about 6:30am, she said she had spoken to Irene over the phone but her response was that there’s nothing to talk about…however she would be coming home that weekend so I should try to be there as well. She said she would call some family members and they would help us to resolve it. I thanked her for the information and promised to be there

I couldn’t wait for the weekend…I was a completely different man at work. Even the guys knew something was different about me…Akin made a sly comment that I had become ‘born again’. Every night when I got home, I would beg God to intervene and help me restore my marriage. I made many promises and vows…thing I would do if God helped me.

I left Lagos around 5am on Saturday morning and was in Ibadan by 6:15am…I went straight to my mother-in-law's house but didn’t let her know I was around till about 8am. She let me in and scolded me for what I did. She told me how her husband (Irene’s dad) was an unrepentant chronic womanizer and had met his waterloo when he left the house without telling anyone where he was going…he never returned from that journey. They later found out that he had actually gone to drop off one of his girl friends at the University of Ife but was attacked by armed robbers on his way back; they killed him, dropped his body in the bush and made away with his car.
It took the family 2 weeks to find out…they had searched everywhere and there were no mobile phones at that time. Mama said it was a terrible experience that scarred Irene for life.
I had never heard that story before; I only knew Irene’s dad had passed…but I never knew that was how.

I apologized profusely and promised never to do it again. We waited and waited for Irene but she didn’t show up. At around 5pm, I was beginning to get worried…then mama’s phone rang and it was Irene. She was really mad at her mother for telling me that she would be there. She said she saw my car when she got to the gate and turned back. Mama tried to calm her down but she said her mum should choose between her daughter and I…


PART 14                                                                                       PART 16 

Picture Credit (c) beyondblackandwhite.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental 

© 2015 Lanre Olagbaju All Rights Reserved

Temptation Alley (Part 14)

I kept stuttering and mumbling…my brain could not seem to catch up with my mouth.

“I can explain” that was all I could manage to say after almost 5 minutes of awkwardness.

“You don’t have to” Irene said and she reminded me of the ONLY thing she asked of me before she agreed to marry me. She was sobbing as she told me the story of a 'loud' girl that came to the Salon about an hour after she got there. The girl seemed to be good friends with the hairdresser as there were no details spared in all the gist she had for her. One could tell that they attended the same secondary school.

Irene said she wasn’t interested in the lecherous things they were talking about at first…but when the hairdresser asked where the 'loud' lady had been all the while and she mentioned a conference in Abuja, she (Irene) started to pay attention.

The lady asked the hairdresser if she remembered the cute 'corper', Mr. B, that ‘served’ when they were seniors at their secondary school in Ibadan…the hairdresser was still racking her brains when the lady added “Mr. Babs…my life crush”. At that point, the hairdresser remembered and asked for more details.

The lady then started the story of how they met in the plane, how he was even sexier and more handsome than he was back then. How fate put them in the same hotel, how she paid ten thousand naira to the man at the counter so she could get the room that was directly opposite his.

She talked about how Mr. Babs was playing hard to get at first, but finally fell for the old ‘flaunt what you got’ trick and played ball…hard. She shared everything that happened without sparing any details.

“At first I thought it was all a weird coincidence and I was trying to process the information in my head…but then she showed the hairdresser a wristwatch.”

 “She said she took it as a souvenir…to remind herself, that if she set her heart to anything she could achieve it” Irene said.

She said there was no way she would not recognize the wrist watch because she bought it through a friend that travelled to the United Kingdom from her office and it was customized.

To be doubly sure, she checked the wristwatch on the lady’s hand while pretending to check the time.

At that point, I knew the game was up…I started to beg Irene, blaming the devil for my unfaithfulness.
I told her how hard I tried to keep away from the girl and all the things I did, to avoid being entrapped...but my wife just sat on the floor, sobbed hard and said nothing.

It was as if someone died in our house…I must have begged from afternoon till midnight. Nobody ate…she only got up to feed our son who was crying. Irene cried and cried till she slept off. I was thinking of what to do to pacify her or the gift I could get to make her forgive me. That night, I regretted everything I did at Abuja…I regretted the kind of company I had been keeping at work and how that contributed, in a way, to the mess I got myself in.

We couldn’t go to church on Sunday…Irene just stayed in the room and wouldn’t come out. My son sat with her and consoled her in his own little way. He was a little over 2.

“Stop crying mummy…who beat you?” he said as he put his right hand on her head (a gesture meant to console a crying child)

Irene held him and tried to stop crying but I could tell that her heart was shattered. I felt really bad…I even cried at a point.

I started to pray in my heart that God should let her forgive me. My mind went back to the promise I made when I cheated on her with Dammy.

Later in the evening, I went out to get some food so she could eat…I begged her to eat, even if it’s because of the baby. The mention of the baby even made her cry some more.

I must have slept off at around Midnight…it was a sad weekend in our house. I had to go to work the next morning because I had a presentation; Irene had called her boss that she wasn’t coming to work, because she wasn’t feeling too good.

I begged Irene that I would come as soon as I was done with the presentation…she looked at me but didn’t say anything. I got back home around 2pm but Irene was not there. I called out but nobody responded…I called her phone, it was switched off. At first I thought maybe she went to the Daycare to get our son since he didn’t really have to stay there all day

I sat in the living room for a while and decided to go check the room...that was when I noticed she had taken some of her stuff. I called the Daycare to check if she had been there but they said our son was absent on that day.

I continued to call Irene but the phone was still turned off…I sent her many text messages, hoping she would get them as soon as the phone was turned on.
It was as if my whole world was collapsing around me, the thought of what this could mean and where this could lead, pervaded my mind. I called a friend of hers at church but she said she hadn’t heard from her since Friday.

I didn’t want to call family members at first…I was hoping she would see my text messages and respond. I couldn’t sleep all night as I kept calling Irene hoping she would have switched on her phone. I realized, around 3 in the morning that she left her SIM card on the little dresser by the bed...

PART 13                                                                                       PART 15

Picture Credit (c) swagg Trendz
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental 

© 2015 Lanre Olagbaju All Rights Reserved

Temptation Alley (Part 13)

She moved closer and at that point I caved…the temptation was too much for me to resist. I was way in too deep to turn back so ‘it’ happened.
 
Akin could not hide his joy when I told him what happened…I think he even hugged me and lifted me up. I told him I was being haunted by my conscience but Akin encouraged me to eat my fill since I already ‘tasted’ the treat.

“What’s the point of backing away now? Enjoy the remaining two days and go your separate ways…nobody has to know” He said
 
So I went with the flow and it was me and Toks for the rest of the conference. She was the wildest and most uninhibited girl I had ever been with, even with all my years of being a player. There was nothing she couldn’t do and there was nothing she wouldn’t do…at a point, I had to tell her to take it easy but she said she wanted me to remember her for the rest of my life.
 
Conference ended and true to her word, Toks did not take my number…neither did she give me hers. However, she took my wristwatch and said she wanted to remember me by it. I couldn’t object much as I was totally spent and couldn’t even get up when she left with the watch. I decided to reschedule my flight, just to avoid being on the same flight with Toks…I wouldn’t want any drama at the Lagos airport.

I had informed my wife of the change and she was there at the airport when I landed. It was so good to see her again and somehow, there was no guilt felt…I was a little surprised at this.
Could it be because she was now my wife and the chances of losing her were slimmer than when I hooked up with Dammy?
Could it be the fact that there was no trail whatsoever to what I had been doing for the past three days?
Or was I back to my old self?
I had rehearsed my lines and what to say for the times I missed her calls because Toks had me ‘pinned down’.

Akin and I, had a lot of gists for the guys at the office…he told them how I almost ‘slacked’ but later handled the situation like a pro.

About two weeks after I got back from the conference, Irene told me she was pregnant...she had been suspecting but wanted to confirm from the gynecologist before informing me. I was super excited at the news and promised to take her out for a treat that weekend. I told her to mention the place and we would go there.
The following Saturday morning, Irene left the house before I even got out of bed…she said she had an early morning appointment with her hairdresser. She told us (our son and I) to be ready before she got back. We had planned to go to a Chinese Restaurant on Victoria Island and just celebrate together as a family.

Irene got back around 1pm… she walked in and was looking at me. She looked terrible…her eyes were swollen like she had been crying for hours. I kept asking what happened but she didn’t say a word. I even went out to check the car but nothing was wrong with it (She left the engine running though). Tears were flowing freely from her eyes.

“What happened?” I said, as I tried to hold her

“DON’T…please don’t” she yelled at me

“Michael…where is the wristwatch I gave you for your last birthday?” She asked…

I was blank, I didn’t even know where to start connecting the dots…”It should be inside, on the dresser” I responded…still confused.

“Really?” She asked

I went in the room to go find it…I was ransacking the drawers in the dresser when, BOOM…it hit me.
I turned around and Irene was at the door…I doubt if I had ever seen this look on her face before. We hardly fought so I wasn’t used to her angry side.

The words that came out of her mouth after that, almost gave me a stroke…she looked at me and asked “What did you do at Abuja? And who is Toks?”

PART 12                                                                                       PART 14

 

Picture Credit (c) jetmag.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental  

 

© 2015 Lanre Olagbaju All Rights Reserved 

Temptation Alley (Part 12)

There was a post conference banquet that evening, and Toks was there; she kept calling me Mister B (What they called me back when I was a 'youth corper' at her school) She had a naughty way of calling it and I knew what she was trying to do.

I went to sit by myself to avoid trouble…I could see that my guys were already busy with some girls that came for the event. Toks found me and sat with me…that was when I got to know that she had switched her room for the one that was directly opposite mine. She said she was making it easy for me; that way I could be in and out without anyone knowing.

I was forced to ask why she wanted this to happen knowing fully well that I was married and I was reluctant…she said she had never backed down from anything and she always got everything she wanted. I was with Toks for the rest of the evening, we kept talking…I tried to keep it platonic but every now and then she would remind me of the ‘offer’.

At the end of the banquet, I went straight to my room and locked my door behind me. I knew what was on ground and I had walked this road before, Toks reminded me so much of Dammy…with all the tempting/sultry talks and promises of the best sex of my life.

I woke up around 6:30 am and started to prepare for Day 1 of the conference...I had unhooked my hotel room telephone before going to bed and as soon as I connected it, it rang and it was Toks.

She thanked me (sarcastically) for leaving her hanging. She said she had been calling me all night but it wasn’t connecting. I told her I was tired and must have placed the receiver wrongly.

She wanted me to come over because there was something she needed to show me. I paused for a while and she quickly added that there would be no funny business. So I put on a Tee and went to her room, she opened the door and she was wearing the skimpiest and sexiest lingerie I have ever seen in my life. I simply couldn’t take my eyes off.

She bent down to pull a box from the side of the bed…that ‘view’ was my undoing. I later figured out that it was part of her plan to get me.

She said she needed me to help unlock the box because it contained her formal clothes and she wouldn’t be able to attend the conference without them. She knelt down next to me as I fidgeted with the box… she was bending and arching suggestively while pretending to help with the box. In my mind I was like “How could you be doing this, considering what you are wearing?” but I didn’t say anything.

Somehow, I managed to open the box…she hugged me and said I was a life saver. She then said she needed to get in the shower as soon as possible or she would be late…she jumped in the bathroom but left the door ajar. I could literally see her taking off the lingerie and getting in the bath tub…I quickly rushed out of the room into mine. I called my wife just to tell her how much I had missed her but her phone was switched off.

All through the first session of the conference, I couldn’t get that scenario at Toks’ room, earlier in the day, out of my mind. I kept reminding myself that I needed to keep it together and all I needed do, was avoid going back to her room.

During lunch break, I told Akin what happened…it was the first time I was seeing him after he left with a girl at the banquet. He said he didn’t understand why I was still deliberating this, as it was a completed job and I just had to go for it. He promised to tell the guys at the office if I passed on the opportunity.

I was resolute and unswerving…as soon as the afternoon session ended, I went straight to my room, ordered room service, unhooked my phone and turned off my cellphone I had texted my wife that I would be unreachable for the rest of the day as I had a presentation to work on.

At about 8 pm, I heard a knock on my door…I asked who it was, but there was no response. However, the knocking continued. I went to the door and looked through the peephole…it was Toks.
“I know you are in there, I’ve looked everywhere for you and I need to talk to you” she said. I responded that I was working on a presentation which made me turn in early…she asked if I was going to keep talking through the door or if I would open up to hear what she had to say. I opened the door and she came in.

She said she was sorry for coming on too strong and said she would not bother me again. I could see tears running down her face as she started to explain herself…she said she derives fulfillment from men finding her irresistible and what I was doing, made her feel like she was a nobody. I was shocked at such a twisted representation of what was happening…I wiped her tears and told her she’s a very attractive woman and if not for my marriage I would definitely play along.

She stood up and that was when I realized she was only wearing a bathrobe. She asked me “If truly I’m attractive, how then are you managing to say no to this…” as she dropped the robe. It was the same lingerie that almost gave me a ‘stroke’ earlier in the day that she had under the robe...

PART 11                                                                                       PART 13

Picture Credit (c) chickchick365.wordpress.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental 

 

© 2015 Lanre Olagbaju All Rights Reserved 

Temptation Alley (Part 11)

She asked if Akin could switch seats with her, Akin obliged her and she sat next to me. She leaned in, without any respect for personal space…she was still the very presumptuous girl I knew back then.
I could tell she was up to something, she was sending all the ‘signals’ while I kept flashing my wedding ring. She talked about how she knew she was going to meet me again in this life and had looked forward to that day. She said she couldn’t even count the number of times she had talked about me and called me her elusive boyfriend.

I asked what she was going to do in Abuja and coincidentally, she was representing her dad's company at same conference and would also be staying at our hotel.
In my mind, I had hatched a plan of passing her on to Akin so that she wouldn’t get me in trouble. At a point she held my hand and somehow managed to rest it on her left thigh, I quickly moved it…I couldn’t wait to get off the plane so I could get it over with.

As soon as our plane landed, I introduced Toks to Akin but the snobbish response from her made Akin walk away. She told me she knew what I was trying to do and it wasn’t going to work.

“What’s your excuse now?
Given that I was still in Secondary School the first time I met you but I am no longer a kid.
Ain’t we two consensual adults?” She asked me.

I told her I was married and she said she knew; as I almost stuck the wedding ring in her eyes during the flight. She said it didn’t matter to her because the way she saw it, I was an unfinished project and the deal was already on ground before marriage 'crept' in...therefore, marriage should not affect it.

I told her I couldn’t, even if I wanted to…she scoffed as she turned in front of me and said
“You really don’t want a taste of this?
Seriously?
I dare you to say No”.

I wanted to say No but it was as if the word just disappeared from my list of known words...She was indeed very attractive.
We got in the shuttle that took us to the venue of the conference…I could see the faces of my guys from work and I knew they were dying to ask questions.

When we got to the hotel, Toks whispered in my ear that the offer was on the table and that she wouldn’t even take my contact just to prove to me that it was nothing but a fling and a wild girl fulfilling one of her lustful desires.

She walked away and said she would see me around…as soon as I settled in the room, my guys came over. They were asking questions after questions; they wanted to know who the girl was, where I met her and what I planned to do. I had to tell them the story of my youth service days and how the lady they saw, was a student at that school. How she swore that she would sleep with me, even if that was the last thing she did.

The guys started to encourage me to go for it…Akin gave a detailed sensual description of Toks and how he would damn the consequences if a girl like that wanted him. I reminded Akin of what he said when he met my wife at the airport in Lagos…he responded that this case was different because it was a chapter of my life that I needed to close once and for all.

He made an analogy of how certain people 'owe' themselves things in this life and MUST pay it…he said I owed the girl, otherwise we would not have met again. How fate had orchestrated this and I had to seize the moment.

“I can’t believe that the trainee is now the trainer…what would you have told me to do if I was in your shoes?” Akin asked.

I started to think about it but the thought of what I would lose if caught, scared me...

PART 10                                                                                       PART 12

Picture Credit (c) openbuildings.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental   

© 2015 Lanre Olagbaju All Rights Reserved 

Temptation Alley (Part 10)

I was enjoying the new ‘brotherhood/fraternity’…we would talk about girls in the office, dirty talks and all that. We would pick a girl, in the office, that one of the guys had to ‘get’…within a period of time and if the guy failed, he would be the one to foot the bill the next time we hung out.

I was like the kingpin; the guys would come to me for advice if they were having difficulties getting the girls and I would give tips on what to do and what to say to make the girls ‘play ball’. We were the cool guys in the office…when any new girl came into the company; we would swoop in and ‘tag’ her.

I wasn’t chasing the girls but I was like the engine of the operation. Most of these guys were not married so they had the time and the resources. I, on the other hand, knew I couldn’t do it…but I got my ‘pump’ from making these things happen. I was always eager for the ‘progress report’ anytime we set one of our guys on another potential prey.

There’s one of those guys (Akin) that used to be what we called a big slacker, when it came to women…but after I trained him, he was jumping from one girl to another. Akin would stop by my office every morning and thank me for ‘what’ I made him. I remember the day he told me “your wife must be the perfect woman, if you have all these skills and do not put them to use, or maybe you just haven’t met the girl that will test your fidelity”…I laughed and told him I had been there, done that.

One morning, Irene told me we needed to pray because she dreamt that our marriage certificate was torn to shreds. I didn’t get it but she said it had deep spiritual meanings. I knelt with her and we prayed...she even made me fast on that day but the guys at work made a mess of the fasting with all the lewd talks they got me into.

A few months after that…I was sent, from work, to a conference at Abuja…it was a big international conference with people coming in from all over the world. It was held at the conference center of a prestigious hotel and we got to stay at that hotel as well. I was representing my company and two of ‘my guys’ went with me…Akin and the guy that attended the same University with me.

Irene dropped me off at the local wing of the Airport where I met the other guys…that was the first time they were meeting my wife. Irene hugged me and told me to be good…I promised to give her a call as soon as we landed.

As we were going through security checks, Akin said he could see why I had remained faithful to my wife and he would do the same if he had such an elegant and graceful wife. We got on the plane and as we took off, I noticed this lady that was sitting on the other side of the aisle…she kept looking at me in a way that I almost asked if there was a problem.

After the plane got to its cruising altitude, the lady bent over and said “I’m so sorry for staring all along, you look so much like someone I met some years ago…are you Mr. Babs? Did you serve at a Secondary School in Ibadan some years back?”
Then it came to me…it was Toks that girl that was on my case during my Youth Service in Ibadan. Oh my! Was she beautiful…


PART 9                                                                                       PART 11
 

Picture Credit (c) cnbc.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental