One of the ushers signaled me to sit somewhere else…normally I would argue but somehow, I just obliged and sat where she pointed. It was during the offering time that the person next to me handed me a note
“Been looking at you all through the service
Is this M.B.?”
M.B. was the nickname they called me at home, only my sisters and a few family friends knew that name. A lady that sat some seats away from me had sent the note. I responded that it was me and was anxiously waiting to know the person. She walked up to me and it was Irene…she was gorgeous. I remembered her immediately and we hugged.
We spent the next 4 hours at a restaurant on the island chatting. She was also done with her University education and had just gotten a job with the Human Resources department of a company that had its head office in Lagos.
She said she had only been in Lagos for a couple of weeks and the company put her in a hotel while trying to get her apartment sorted out. That must have been my best conversation with any woman in my entire life…it was quite nostalgic as we talked about life growing up. She asked about my sisters and how they were doing…I definitely wanted to see her again. I dropped her off at her hotel and for whatever reason; sleeping with her did not even cross my mind.
She was just so easy to talk to and she was really cute and charming (she still is). I made an effort to see Irene at least every other day…I would call her from my office phone but she hardly had time to take my calls. It was a sweet relief when the GSM phones finally got to Nigeria; it made it easier to stay in touch. It was around her birthday and one of the carriers had a ‘buy one, get one free’ offer going so I bought two and gave her one as a gift. She said I didn’t have to but I insisted that I didn’t know what else to give her.
I desperately wanted to ask her out on an official date but I didn’t know what to say or how to go about it. I remember the day I sat up till midnight trying to figure out how to go about it. When I realized it was past 12, I laughed at myself and wondered what had happened to me…Michael Babs, the smooth operator; the man with a honeycomb instead of a tongue.
What was it about this girl?
What did she do to me?
I finally asked her, about 3 months after I met her at the church, and she said no.
I almost could not believe my ears; no girl had ever said that word to me before. I was stunned and asked why, her answer was “I know you Mike, I grew up with you…besides, I’m a child of God and I cannot date an unbeliever”
I told Irene that I had changed and old things had passed away (I had attended the church for a while and I already knew some Bible verses). I said she was using the sins of the old Mike to punish the new Mike. I did everything to convince her but she said we should just be friends. I could sense that she liked me but my past scared here.
I really wanted this girl; she was like the missing ‘thing’ I had been searching for all along. Everything I wanted was in her…she had something that all the other girls didn’t and I wanted that thing.
I got more serious with church activities and even joined the ushering team just to show Irene that I could be the kind of man she wanted. She didn’t have a boyfriend, that I was sure of…otherwise; I would have met the guy. We stayed friends, I stopped bugging her but kept working on her emotions…I was using actions (after all, they speak louder than words).
I believe I got my big break the day I went to see Irene (she had moved to her own apartment). It was a Saturday right around noon and she said she had to "do" her hair but the hair salon was closed when she got there. I told her I could fix it, she thought I was kidding. It took over 6 hours for the braids she wanted but by the time I was done, she could not believe her eyes. She said jokingly that she could marry me just for that...
PART 4 PART 6
Picture Credit (c) clutchmagonline.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
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