"..." Part 3

"Hello, good evening", Ade answered the phone.
"Hi. Can I... May I speak to Ade please? Ade Oki?"
"Speaking. Who am I talking to?"
"It's Gina", she was able to muster before bursting out in tears.
"Oh wow. What's going on? Where are you?", he replied.
"Somewhere on I-80. I just slid over black ice. I managed to pull over, but my car wouldn't start anymore I don't have triple A, I didn't know who else to call. And I figured you knew about cars. Plus...", she stopped to sniff and wipe her face.
"And you're crying?"
"You know what? I knew this was a bad..."
"I'm sorry Gina. I'll come find you". Before hanging up, he got a better description of where he'd find her on the highway.

After dancing around for about an hour and some, he pulled up behind the Red Rav4. I wasn't until he got out to walk towards her car that he noticed how badly the snow was pouring down. He was thinking the entire drive down.
Should I be offended by the fact that she only called me when she needed something? Is it a problem that it took her 6 weeks to find a reason to call me? Should I have gone back to the store to find her? No! Maybe I'm just blowing things out of proportion. Maybe she simply needs me to check her car out, nothing more. Wait, why didn't she call her boyfriend? I should actually be happy she 'couldn't think of anyone else to call' yeah?
"Hey", he tapped on her window.
She laughed as she wiped tears of her face, "I really wish there was someone else I could call".
"Oh! Come on, you are happy that I'm the one that you called. I am too".
"There really wasn't anyone else to call. I didn't make that up"
"Yeah... OK. So what seems to be the problem?"
"I don't know, maybe the battery. Or my ignition..."
"Ooo, ignition..."
"Get your head out of the gutter jo". They both laughed.
"Why don't you go sit in the car. Let me take a look at this".

Gina smiled as she walked to his car. She was actually happy that she had to call him.
I mean look at all that candy. Yum! God spent extra time on some people... Wow! nice car.
She pushed on the radio button. Bob Marley and Lauryn Hill's Turn Your Lights Down Low. She closed her eyes and reclined the seat. She opened her eyes and sat up immediately as though she didn't want to be caught enjoying herself. She looked around the car. He had a Bible on the passenger's seat. She opened the portion with the bookmark; "'but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,' declares the LORD', was highlighted.
Wow, deep stuff. This guy seems like a keeper. I wonder what's going on with my car. He didn't even step out to check under the hood. Oh well... She closed her eyes again. Almost immediately, Ade knocked on the window.
"Comfy?"
"My bad"
"No, it's cool. You car's OK now"
" What was wrong"
" I just had to check a few things. No biggie"
"What? I'm a woman, so I can't understand automobile lingo?"
"I have to ask", Ade replied, ignoring her protest, why didn't your boyfriend come get you?" By this time he was in the passenger's seat.
"He doesn't exist anymore".
"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry".
"No, No, No, No, No. He's still alive. He's just not my boy anymore".
"Hmm. That's sad".
"Yeah right", she laughed. "Do you want to come over to mine for a coffee or something? It's the least I can do".
"I don't drink coffee, but I can manage some pepper soup".
"Dream on", she said as she left herself out.

* * *

She lived in one of those 'project-turned-condo' buildings in the transforming hood. Just a few years earlier, this was one of the areas you were advised to stay away from. Now, some of the downtown businesses were spilling in. It looked nice. The roads where ploughed; all the street lights worked; no dangerous people roamed the streets.

"Welcome to my humble abode".

"This is nice! Was it expensive?"

"Obviously not, since I am able to pay for it with my Sprint salary".

"Oh yeah?"

"Well. I'm the one of the managers of the store. Actually, it was a gift from Daddy".

"Oh! Daddy's girl huh?"

"Bite me!"

"What's your last name anyway?"

"Lai-Williams. Well, Williams really. Daddy's name is Lai; I like the ring of that..."

"Sounds like one of those Lagos 'power-house' families".

"My parents live in Dubai. "

"Dubai. That's one place I've always wanted to visit".

"It's beautiful. The entire place is like a resort".

"How often do you go?"

"About twice a year. Christmas of course, and any other time I can squeeze out some vacation days", she took his coat, "I'm making myself some coffee, what can I get you?"

"You know... Do you have some chicken..."

"What?! ", she cut in laughing.

"No seriously, I would like that pepper soup I talked about. I can make it myself if you don't mind".

"Well, I don't have any of the pepper soup ingredients".

"Don't need 'em. Just ata-gigun and the regulars".

She sat down to catch up on the shows she had recorded, though she sometimes caught herself stealing glances at him working skillfully in the kitchen. During commercial breaks, instead of skipping over them as usual, they talked about things they liked on TV, Nigerian movies, Jamaican food, and everything in between. Before long, they were enjoying some hot chicken pepper soup.

"Seriously Ade, you have to teach me how you made this".

"It's actually very simple".

"So", she stopped for another slurp, "what was wrong with my car? Will I need to call you again soon?"

"You left in gear while trying to start it", he replied without looking at her.

"Oh! Wow... now I feel very foolish".

"It's OK. I too would have done anything to see me again".

"Ode. Get out of my house", she laughed pointing at the door.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone".

"Thank you", she smiled at him.

"So, what happened with your boyfriend?", Ade asked.

"That night we ate at Ruby Tuesday, he wasn't pleased. I explained to him that it was just to get you to stop coming to the store", she was staring at her fingers and her voice was lower now, "I ran into him with one of our mutual friends at a party last week. They were in each others' mouths... then they spotted me... apparently you gave him a reason to stop cheating on me and get busy with her publicly..."

"And you miss him?"

"Well, when you've spent almost three years of your life as one man's running mate, missing him kinda comes with the package doesn't it?"

"You'll be alright", Ade looked down at his watch, "I should go. I'm opening the store tomorrow, and home is about 45 mins from here".

"Thank you so much Ade. I really appreciate your help today"

She walked him to the door, and before he stepped out, she gave him a hug and lingered for 5 seconds longer than necessary. She was so comfortable with him, yet she knew practically nothing about him. Except that he was Ade Oki, the dealership manager.

What kinds of cars anyway?...

Ade wove at her one more time before driving off.

Hmph! Nice to know I'm in position to play rebound boy. Gosh! Why do I even like this girl? God you know we talked about this. I'm not messing around anymore. If she's not the woman I'm going to marry, please quickly fix my mind and do what would make me forget her, kiakia!

...TO BE CONTINUED...

"..." Part 2

I used an ellipsis as the title because I can't think of anything better... yet. Plus, I've decided it's not a recollection anymore. It's too detailed to be a realistic 'walk down memory lane'.

At 7.58pm, she came out and peeked out of the window hoping that he would have given up and left. She expected him to have come into the store to look for her. She had been hiding in the back room now for about 20 mins. She could see him standing in the parking lot against the door of his car, just waiting. He didn't look down at his watch or look around impatiently. He just stood there with his hands on the door and his face to the sky. There was something neat about him. He wore a sweater vest over his grey dress shirt. The sleeves were folded to his elbow. The shirt came out under the vest nicely, and rested just around his jeans. She couldn't see his shoes. He had cut his hair since yesterday. His face has a nice chiseled frame; he had one of those hair-line to side burns to moustache and beard things that she wasn't too excited about. He pulled off a napkin from his pants pockets, and took off his glasses to clean them. As he lowered his head, he smiled. Oh!

"Go out there and meet the guy already", one of her co-workers startled her.
"Oh Pls", she feigned, "like I don't have a boyfriend".
"You have to admit, he's cute"
"Not really" He's beautiful!
"Well, I'm closing up in a minute".

Gina sighed heavily and walked out. She was looking right at him, but he didn't even look up. He just turned around and got into his car.
Oh no! He didn't even see we walk out. Darn! I guess I'll just get take-out from Ruby Tuesday'
She kept looking into her rear view mirror hoping that he was actually following her, but there was a pick-up truck blocking her entire line of sight.

"Hi Gina, welcome back! I was thinking you probably didn't like Ruby Tuesday anymore".
"Well... I've been cooking", she laughed, "I'm just going to place an order to go".
"OK then! You know..."
"Actually, we'll both be eating in", someone cut it.
Gina turned around trying to look very angry, "Excuse you?"
"You're welcome", Ade replied.
"Gosh, this is going to be very eventful", she mumbled as they walked to their table.

* * *

They sat down and he pulled out a new-looking Maroon Blackberry Curve.

"I thought you were looking for new phone Mr..."

"Ade. Ade Oki. Yeah I know, silly men and their toys yeah?" he flashed her that smile again, "were you trying to bail out of our dinner plans?"

"I thought you didn't see me when I walked out of the store. I assumed..."

"But deep down, you're happy I'm here aren't you?" he asked putting the phone away.

I can't believe this man is making me 'blush'.

"Anyway, what do you want from me?" she asked.

"Why must it be that I want something from you?" he retorted, "ever occur to you that I may actually have something I want to give you?"

"Are you always this cheesy, or is today my lucky day?"

"I think I'm going to order"

They had a VERY quiet dinner. It felt like a 'Who's gonna speak first?' contest. She observed him - he chewed silently with his mouth closed, his well built arms poked out through his shirt sleeves, he obviously loved his veggies, his lips were so kissable, he smiled at people walking by, he had the most beautiful eyes. He was very distracting...

"Are you just going to keep watching me eat?" he asked without looking up.

"You're very cocky, you know right?"

"What's your name?"

"Gina. Georgina".

"So, what's your real name?"

She scuffed at him, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You're obviously Yoruba, and all you Nigerians come to America and try to do like the Americans"

"You're sickly obnoxious. My parents gave me an English first name, deal with it!"

"My parents gave me 17 Yoruba names. Sorry if my thinking is a little lop-sided"

"Why are you so different from the man I spoke to yesterday?"

He smiled again... "I don't know what it is about you that sometimes makes me act like a 14 yr-old boy".

"It's probably a bad time to tell you I have a boyfriend"

"Oh, I know. I just don't think it's a major setback. If you said fiance, ehen"

She laughed. That was the first time she had felt his Nigerian-ness.

"That's beautiful", he said, stopping and looking straight at her.

"What? I have something in my teeth?"

"No, that laugh... it's so ... real. It's amazing"

She looked down at her watch. Before she could look up and say anything...

"You're actually enjoying yourself with this stranger, but all of a sudden you feel like you're cheating on your boy, when this was just a platonic dinner. You could have been sitting here with a business associate"

"But it wasn't..."

"Really?"

"I have to be up early for work tomorrow."

"But you don't get off till 7.30pm, meaning work doesn't start till about 11am..."

"I should go...

"Here's my card. Call me sometime."

"What do you do?"

"I run a car dealership downtown."

"That's nice."

She led the way out of the restaurant. Outside the door, she held out her hand to him.

"Thank you", she said.

"No, Thank you", he replied as he leaned towards her and gave her a peck on her right cheek.

Dang! He smells good.

TO BE CONTINUED.

"..."

* * *

"Err, have we met before?"
"Didn't you get the men's memo that that line has dropped off the face of the earth?", she laughed at him.
"I'm sorry", he smiled. 'Answering a question with a question, she's Nigerian...' "it's just that I eat lunch here everyday. I don't think I've seen you before"

"Hmmm...", she sighed impatiently, starring through him as if sending a message.

"I'm bothering you? I don't mean to encroach on your space...", he started to walk away but something told her he'd be back. She just wasn't sure when.

"So, you work in the area?" he turned back to her and continued, "you eat lunch here everyday?" He looked nervous but she wasn't moved.

"Today will be my last day", she said as she looked into her purse.
"Why? Is the food terrible? Don't pay them any mind if the servers are rude. They have to..."
She shot him a very stern look, "because until now, I always enjoyed my lunch - in peace!"
"I'm sorry". He went on to place his order.



He normally placed 'to go' orders. But today he took the table behind her. She had her back turned to him; she didn't know he was still there. He watched her pull out a small bowl from her lunch bag. It looked like pasta. 'She cooks, star; she saves money, star. She pulled out a book from her purse and read as she ate. 'Bad habit, but she's educated, star.There was something about her demeanor. She commanded a presence but she wasn't intimidating. Her phone rang - 'E ba mi wa Fati mi o (Fatima by Olu maintain)'star! star! She's in touch with her heritage. He wasn't eavesdropping but he heard bits and pieces - "Baby, don't say that, come on... Yeah, OK, fine! I'm sorry... Anniversary... Love you". 'Minus 4 stars! Damn it!' Just as he got up to leave, it happened. She put down her fork and picked up a stewed drumstick and ate it 'without minding anyone'. Star! Star! Star! Star! Star! Star! Star! Star! Ade himself never understood why that was pleasing to him but he was ecstatic. There was something human about her that he was suddenly drawn to.
"Shoot! I have 6 minutes to get back to work", he mumbled.
The following week and a half, he ate at every restaurant in the area hoping one of them would be her new lunch place.

* * *

It had been a month now and he had already given up. He was checking out new prospects. Walking back from lunch one day, he spotted a new phone that his service provider had just launched.
"Nice! I need to check that out".
"Welcome to Sprint. Someone will be with you in a moment". The lady looked up at him for a split second. It was her! He let people get ahead of him till she was free.

Gina couldn't understand why the man in front of her was so giddy. 'It's a phone store, not a 'candy' shop'.
"How are you doing Sir?"
"Yeah, I'm good... great actually..."
She waited for him to continue, but he just stood there smiling.
"So, are you a Spring customer? Was there a problem with your service? Would you like to see some of our phones? Do you..."
"Yeah, the phone in the window, can you... So you don't remember me?", he just had to ask.
"Should I?"
"About a month ago? Bagel House? You teased my 'pick-up' line?"
She looked at her monitor and shook her head, "I'm sorry".
"OK I'll just look at that phone in the window".

He came in at about 3pm for each of the following 3 days to look at 'that phone in the window'. She couldn't take it anymore.
"What exactly do you want?"
"What do you mean? I simply want to see that phone..."
"You've seen it already... three times!"
Even her colleagues were starting to tease her about it. He never let anyone else attend to him.
"Well, I'm comparing it to ..."
'Aargh!' She couldn't take it anymore, "do you want to go to dinner tomorrow night?", she blurted out.
"Are you asking me on..."
"I get off work at 7.30. I drive a red RAV4. Just drive up. I'll lead the way. Have a good day Sir. Next please!

TO BE CONTINUED...

Keeping

Before the water runs dry
Before she closes her eyes
Before she turns her last corner
Before she walks the longest road

Come around and pick her up
She's not giving up
She simply wants to know how much longer
She can only do so much

These thoughts come in different flavors
And this is one that she doesn't know
Come with the last season
Bring a new beginning

Perfect...

Clear mind, clear head, clear future
walking in the fog
destination anticipated but not known
she stopped and stepped back
she wanted to turn around but he was still there
like the black on her skin; like the brown in her hair
her guardian angel
she was grateful

other women wanted the money, the lifestyle, and the ritzy-ness of it all
she just wanted him to be there
no unnecessary calls
she only wanted to be able say 'i love you'
to open the door and see him through her teary eyes, with a box of tissues and vanilla ice cream
the perfect man is every woman's unrealized dream
the perfect woman loves the imperfect man perfectly.

Life Changing E.R.

"Jane Doe was found crawling her way here. Young woman and her son helped her in. Injuries seem minor, but she's been bleeding qiute a bit"

"She's coming around... Ma'am can you hear me? Do you know your name?"
"Of course I know my... where am I?"
"Ma'am you have to lie back"
"Don't tell me what I have to do, and definitely DO NOT call me Ma'am, I'm not that old"

"My friend, she was just brought in here... Oh my goodness! Who ever told you that you were even almost tall enough to fend off thieves? You could easily have cancelled the cards and got a new purse"

"But it was only the limited edition Cole Haan purse that I got at that auction! And, I had my note in there... THE NOTE. That was what I wanted backed actually".

"Ma'am..."
"Toro
"Ms Toro..."
"So, what? I have 'unmarried' written on my forehead?"
"Girl will you just let them talk? I'm sorry this is how she is normally. Imagine how she gets when she's groggy after you do what you have to...

"We're going to remove a shard of glass from your shoulder and you would need about 15 stitches..."

"Ok, this is me being nice; I really don't want any of the details, please just make sure I don't feel anything. I really don't like the sight of blood, not even...."

"She passed out!"

....

"Toro, baby, can you hear me?"
"Why has everyone been asking me that today?"
"Baby, I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you. Came as soon as Mayin called me"
"It's OK love, I'm fine that's all that matters..."
"I'm sorry but it feels so good to see you this vulnerable" (chuckling)
"Shut up, you're so annoying... -ly adorable"
"It felt so wrong being away while you were in pain."
"The pain wasn't that bad, really I didn't..."
"Really, I want to... I have to be your every time, always there man. You are not supposed to crawl to the hospital yourself. I should carry you in here, I may not have the muscle for that yet though, but seriously..."
"Really, it's fine, I'm fine. We just need to get me a new purse, and I lost the note"
"I can write you another one"
"No, it won't be the same..."
"Trust me, I know the words by heart"
"It's not like the first one though, it has my tear drops... and yours too..."
"Toro..... Marry me, please?"

lean not....

so i attended a watchnight service at the end of last year, and the preacher asked us to ask God for one thing for the new year. well, you guessed it, I asked for wisdom. and i remembered to start reading proverbs from the beginning.
i was reading proverbs 3 and I got to verse 5 and realized that it doesn't say "... lean not alone on your own understanding". it says lean not (at all) on your own understanding. It kinda shocked me, because that song always had the 'alone' in there.
that just tells me that my own understanding is not good for me. i sure am very happy that i read this at the beginning of the year.
Praise the Lord!