Careless? (Part 5)

I couldn’t help the laughter but had to stop because I could see he was serious about this.

“It’s a simple request and I believe I have earned it

If only to compensate me for all the ill-treatment I have taken from you all along.

I am not asking for too much and there are many unlikely variables and factors involved.

So, will you do that for me?”

I wasn’t going to answer him but he threatened not to leave without a reply so I ended up agreeing to it and we shook hands on it. That was the first time we made physical contact in almost 2 years of seeing him regularly.

I was posted to Lagos for NYSC National Youth Service Corps; my uncle knew somebody, who knew somebody that made it happen.

He didn’t want me posted to the North…not even the supposedly peaceful regions. As far as he was concerned, every state there was a landmine zone with the potential of an explosion at the flimsiest of reasons.

The day I got my call-up letter, Aunty Titi called me into her room and had a heart-to-heart discussion with me. She said she was telling me what she would tell her own biological daughter.

She wanted to know if I was the one that STILL didn’t want a man in my life or if they were not coming.
"They are coming o, even with my rudeness" I had just been too afraid to get back on the horse. A guy’s niceness no longer meant a thing to me because I had learnt that it could be faked.

She drew closer and held my left hand, she squeezed it gently and said

“My dear, ilẹ̀ obìrin ò mà kí ńpẹ́ ṣú. (The shelf life of a woman is not indefinite)

B́ọ́kọ̀ kan ò dẹ̀ re ejìrìn, ẹgbẹgbẹ̀rún ẹ̀ á lọ (If one commercial bus refuses to take passengers to their destinations, others will)

I know you’ve been hurt, but you also need to consider that you are not getting any younger.

Tell me, tí a bá fi ogún ọdún pi lẹ̀ẹ wèrè, ọjọ́ wo la fẹ́ jájà? (If we spend eternity on rehearsals, when are we going to start the show itself?)

There is a wise saying that if we have to disqualify every wood that has an issue, there will be none to build a fire.

Men are crazy, I know…and that includes your uncle, but men are also nice, supportive and loving. If you are lucky to find your own”

“Lucky?

Aunty mi, did you say lucky?

You know my history with luck ma.

If luck is what it takes, I better give up now” I interrupted her

“Come on…it’s not that bad.

I am only appealing to you, as you go to camp, to open your heart and trust your instincts

After NYSC, your options will start to thin out. Work will be your focus and you will be too busy to be noticed by suitors.

Trust me; there are many ways to avoid what happened between you and the other crazy Bimbo guy.

Make abstinence one of your deal breakers…if a man truly wants you, he will wait and if he waits, you lose nothing.

It’s a win-win” she responded.

I knelt down and thanked her…she hugged me and encouraged me some more.

What she said made sense and I knew I needed to do something about it but I didn’t know where to start. It would require a complete overhaul of the men-processing part of my brain which had been non-functional for almost 3 years.

I moved on to NYSC camp and stayed for the duration of the orientation…I could go home, as those from Lagos were given that offer, but Aunty Titi insisted that I stayed to explore and meet new people. I tried to, God knows I tried but the men were not helping either…some came on too strong that you could tell they had girlfriends somewhere but were looking for those to pass the time with. The way some spoke English, you would wonder how they managed to graduate with such migraine-inducing grammatical blunders…it was slim pickings everywhere I looked.

One of my friends, who also served in Lagos, suggested we tried the Christian fellowship but I wasn’t interested…most of the Christian guys I had ever come in contact with were a little too drab for my liking

“I get the fact that you are serving God but come on, wear something nice and please use some deodorant…Haba!”

My friend laughed like crazy…she reminded me that those things were insignificant and totally fixable

“Says who? What if I die of mouth odor before I get the chance to introduce mouthwash to the brother?”

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Picture Credit (c) motherhood in style

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   

© 2019 Lanre Olagbaju All Rights Reserved