"..." Part 6

What do we have here? Gasp! A continuation!

* * *

It was Sunday afternoon. They had just attended the late morning service at Ade's church. Gina claimed she was Christian ... yeah. She identified with the Christian 'race', but she wasn't serious about it. Until Ade started taking her regularly over the past few months, it had been almost two years since she'd 'paid God a visit'. She was a pro at dodging wedding ceremonies and making entrances at the receptions. She had felt that she wasn't good enough for Jesus-business. She was doing too many of the things that people who attended some churches back in Nigeria had been banished for. She tried to avoid 'annoying' God by coming to church, probably after a one-night stand.

Ade had said a lot to her about how God's forgiveness worked, and convinced her that she was always welcome at church. It worked.

Now, she hadn't mised a Sunday service in 5 weeks. This particular one, the preacher talked to them about the fruit of the Spirit. He stressed that the nine components are not nine different fruits, but nine 'seeds', so to speak, of the same fruit. A Christian's goal is to request grace to live a life that exhibits all the different seeds.

At the end of the service, Mr. Popular Jingo Ade, took Gina with him on his meet-and-greet-my-folks-in-church tour. They were heading towards their car in the parking lot when Ade's cell phone rang.

"Mum!"
. . .
"Mummy ki lo de?"
. . .
"Noooo! God! No!"
. . .
"When, Mummy? Who's there with you?"
. . .
"E je ki n ba won s'oro"
. . .
"Auntie . . . Auntie e pele. What happened?"
. . .
"Ok. I'll talk to her. Please pass the phone to Mum"
. . .
"Mummy, it's going to be OK. OK? I'll call you back in about 3hrs.

Gina was sure it was bad news. Ade had walked away from her as his expression changed. He has his head turned towards the sky; he shielded his eyes with one of his hands. He was crying. She feared the worst - Death. His father and mother were in good health. His maternal grandparents were still alive too. She saw him end the call and bend over with his palms just above his knees, to prevent himself from falling over. She went towards him, and put a soft palm on his face.

"Baby?" she asked quietly.
"My Dad."
"I'm so sorry."
Ade was trying so hard not to break down. She watched him as he held his head backwards trying to blink away the tears. Gina took the keys from him, and led him to the car. They sat in the back seat. Ade cried more that he expected to. Gina simply heldn him. Every few minutes, she would wipe his face, and then hers.

After about 20 minutes, Ade spoke up. "G, do you mind driving?"
"Not at all. Where do you want to go?"
"Londe's house."

Gina couldn't find the right words throughout the drive. She simply reached for her boyfriend's left hand and held him. She didn't want to disturb his thoughts anyway.
"Gina, I love you. I'm going to say it every time I have the opportunity. Do you understand me?"
"Yes."
"Good."

* * *

Ade had composed himself by the time they drove up the driveway of Londe's house. He couldn't get himself to call her about coming over though...

"Ade, what do you want me to do?" Gina asked as she pulled the key out of the ignition.

"I don't know..."

Londe could tell that something was wrong as soon as she saw her brother. She turned to his girlfriend.

"Gina, what's going on?"

Gina turned to Ade, and then mumbled something about finding the bathroom.

Ade sniffed, "Sis, Daddy . . ." was all he could get out before he broke into sobs.

Carlos ran out of the room when he heard Londe scream.

"Londe?" Carlos scanned the living room, "what's going on?"

"Their Dad passed," Gina offered, returning from her very short bathroom break.

"Baby..." Carlos reached for his wife.

* * *

Gina made some tea while Ade and Londe spoke to their mother in one of the other rooms. These were the kinds of things that confused her about God. Why let these beautiful people who loved him so much be so hurt? Their father wasn't even ill! He just slept . . . forever. She remembered learning as a teenager that God worked all things together to good, but, what good could come out of losing someone so dear?

She wiped off tears she hadn't relaized were falling and picked up the tray of mugs as she heard Ade and his sister walk back into the living room.

"Here, have some Chamomile tea and sit."

Londe managed a thankful smile before plopping herself into her husbands arms.

Ade took the loveseat next to them and motioned to his girlfriend, "Come here."

She put down the tray, picked up her own mug and joined him. Four of them sat in silence for a while. Carlos offered to say a short prayer when Ade and Gina got up to leave.

* * *

Ade pulled up at Gina's apartment block at about 8:30pm. The car rolled to a halt but neither of them made any attempt to get out of the car.

Then, as if controlled by a remote, Gina shifter in her seat, drew closer to Ade and kissed him. He was shocked at how sudden it was, but he appreciate the gesture. An alarm went off in his head however, we he felt her hand underneath his shirt, as she started to climb into his seat.

"Gina, what are you doing?" he asked as he pulled himself away from her. Her eyes were closed, and he realized that his fingers were still in her hair at the back of her head. "Gina," he called again softly, retrieving his hand from her.

When she finally spoke, she was embarrassed. "I'm sorry. . . I thought - I don't know what came over me".

She hurriedly wiped at a lone tear on the left sire of her face, staring at the hem of her skirt.

"Good night, " she whispered as she pushed the car door open and ran into her apartment building.

Ade waited until he saw the light in her flat come on before driving off. He looked at the backseat of his car through the rearview mirror, half expecting to see his mother shaking her head.

"But nothing happened!" He spoke into the silence.

he pused on the Power button od his car stereo and welcomed the sounds of Seal's 'Dreaming in Metaphors'. He ran his hand over his prematurely balding head and let out a sigh as he eased onto the highway.

"..." Part 5

* * *

"Hello"
"Hey... It's 4:13 in the morning dude!"
"I'm sorry. We need to talk..."
"O-K. Are you good?"
"Yeah, I'm fine".
"OK, so what do you want to talk about hon?"
"Won't you let me in?"
"What do you mean 'won't you..' Wait, you're in front of my house?!"
"I'm sorry boo, I just..."
"This better be a very good talk", she cut in, hanging up.
In a few minutes, they were back into the warm flat burshing off snow flakes and hanging up coats.
"May I make some mint tea?"
"Yes dear, Please".
Gina disappeared into her bedroom and came out with a comforter and two pillows. She fluffed the pillows on the sofa and sat at one end, wrapping her housecoat around her. She watched her boyfriend fix a pot of tea.
"Please put a lemon slice in my cup. They're on the top shelf in the fridge".
"OK. Honey?"
"Yes please. 3 tea spoons. Talk to me babe, you know I hate suspense".
Ade offered her the lemon and honey-ed tea in her favorite mug, a red one from the Cornell University bookstore, before dropping into the sofa next to her.

* * *

"How long were you asleep before I called?"
"I went to bed at 11:15", she replied trying very hard to be patient, while looking for answers in her boyfriends eyes.
"Gina, I have to tell you something"
"I know! You keep expressing the urgency but you don't seem to be in a hurry to come out with it".
"OK", he started, placing down his mug and tucking his hands under his arms like he was preventing them from doing something else. "You're probably going to laugh at me".
"You know what?", Gina started at she put down her mug and got up, "I'm actually very sleepy".
Ade laughed. "This is ridiculous Gina. Why don't you..."
"Oh Ade! What is it?! Did you kiss someone else? You can't remember my birthday? Your mum doesn't like girls that didn't grow up in Nigeria? What could be important enough for me--"
"I love you! Shut up and listen", he interrupted.
Gina sank into her chair. "I'm sorry", she whispered.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Gina, are you OK?" It was her neighbor.
"I'm sorry about the noise, Al. I'm OK. Thank you", Gina called back at him.

* * *

Gina put her head on Ade's chest and interlocked her fingers with his.
"I don't know when I was sure I loved you Ade, but I didn't think telling you was such a big deal. I mean, I don't think the entire concept is a big deal, you know?"
"I'm sorry for shouting at you."
"I deserved that yeah?"
They just held each other in silence for a while.
"Ade?"
"I'm here", he stroked her hair, "you need to wash your hair by the way."
"Oh, shut up", she poked him the ribs before wrapping her arms around him, "I love you too Ade. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before now."
"Mmm."
"Wait, how long have you been awake?"
"I haven't slept."
"What do you mean? You were trying to figure out how..."
"Oh please. Don't flatter yourself. I was working."
"Mmmhmmm".
"Working and thinking about you. I love you G!"
"Shh. Don't make Al come back".
"Sorry", he whispered, "but I love you".
"I heard you the first two times".
"Yeah, I know, but I want to be sure that you know that I love you".
"No wahala. Sha let me sleep. Cool?"

* * *

Ade got up to plug his ipod into her stereo system, and selected the 'Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' album.
"I love all your music boo".
"I know, me too", Ade replied, returning to his position on the sofa. "Babe, I'm hungry".
"Really?", she shot up suddenly and ran into her room.
"What do you have in there?"
No response.
Gina walked out after about 3mins, fully dressed in her winter gear, and a pair of black socks.
"My boots are in that closet. We're going to IHOP!"
"Yo, it's 5am!"
"Best time to go dude. The freshest food available" she sat on the floor to pull on her boots, "Come on, get dressed!"
"OK, then", he replied wearing his jacket, "you're a trip Gina".
"Really? I think so too", offering her arm to be pulled off the floor.
He pulled her up and drew her into a long kiss.
"I've been waiting for that".
"Yeah?"
"I wanted you to kiss me, so you won't call me forward again", Gain replied, pinching his arm.
"Ouch! Come on, I apologized about that. Don't..."
"I know. I kid, I kid", as she leaned in to kiss him.
"Let's go".
"Have you had their apple crepes before?"
"Eww, No".
"You're just a village boy.

* * *

"..." Part 4

You won't believe what happened? I actually got inspired to write more! Can you imagine?! I wrote some more while I was at camp, and didn't even remember till now. Very bad, abi? I'm sorry. So, the story continues...

"Darling, what do you mean?"
"Don't darling me? What happened to Sayesha? What? Huhn? She's moved on to her next hit?"
"Come on Gina..."
"I am expecting someone, dude. Please leave".
She might as well have slapped his face.
"I can't believe you. It's only been a little over 3 weeks and you're already screwing someone else?"
"You're an ass. An idiotic hypocrite".
She picked up his shoes and jacket, opened the door and threw them out, holding open the door for him. "Get out."
"I'm so sorry baby. That came out wrong".
"It hurts like hell right?", she scowled at him, "don't ever come here again".
He stepped out, "I was foolish, I agree. You were too..."
She started smiling.
"What the hell is funny?"
"Hi Ade. He was just leaving."
Ade stretched out his hand as her ex turned around, "How're you doing man?"
"I'm aight", he shook Ade absently. "Gina..."
Gina let Ade in and slammed the door.

"I'm sorry about that, he just showed up at my door. I was civil enough to let him in, and all he did was insult me."
"Are you okay?"
"I think so", she smiled, "I'll get my stuff".

Ade had called her to invite her to a Tyler Perry play that was in town for just two days. They had reservations at an Ethiopian restaurant afterwards.

* * *

The city was so beautiful just before it got completely dark. The sun set on their side of the lake. It was an amazing sight as they drove along the Lakeshore highway. Soft music vibrated through his speakers. He obviously loved Neosoul - Floetry, Anthony Hamilton, John Legend, Musiq, D'Angelo, Corinne Bailey Rae and Erykah Badu. The conversation was easy.

"How long have you lived in this city?"

"About 9 years."

"Oh yeah? That's about 6 years longer than I've been here"

"My Dad's job brought us to the US just before I finished up in high school. He was here for 5 years before leaving for Dubai. I stayed because I had a nice job with IMI in HR".

"I won the visa lottery just before my NYSC service year ended. My sister has been here for... forever. She was able to fix the whole thing up for me, and as soon as I got here, I started working as a Manager at one of the department stores in New Brunswick."

"New Where?"

"New Brunswick, New Jersey"

"Oh..."

"Yeah, I know - country. It's not as bad as it sounds though, trust me. I won't have stayed there for a whole year if it wasn't at least almost fun. I dated this Jamaican girl while I was there. I think that was one of my biggest mistakes. She had 2 baby daddies - 3 children. I don't know why all of that didn't make me raise a red flag..."

"Freak in the bed?"

"Umm... I plead the 5th"

"Ok then. That answers my question..."

"Anyways, she definitely wasn't the girl for me. Also, her mum has a bone to pick with all Nigerian men; I still don't know why. And I think she was sneaking around with one of her baby daddies while we were together... I'm sorry, I should stop whinning".

"No! No, I'm not complaining. You seems like you need a listening ear."

"Well, I really don't talk about this heart stuff with anyone but my sister. She even has to cook for me first. She's like my best friend. I don't think..."

Ade's phone started ringing.

"It's her", he whispered before picking up the phone.

"I'm good. Just about to see the Tyler Perry play at Lakeview".

...

"For real?! You didn't tell me. That's cool.!

...

"Yeah I know. Well, I have a... date", he chuckled.

...

"I'm not going to answer that."

...

"No."

...

"I said No. Good bye!" he almost yelled before hanging up; his cheeks were almost obviously hot.

Gina was laughing uncontrollably, "What's going on?"

"She said she's going to be at the plat as well", he replied without taking his eyes off the road.

"This is hilarious. Thank your stars you're not oyinbo. See pink cheeks men."

"Yeah... whatever", he smiled.

"So, tell me about the last few punks you've dated"

"Why'd they have to be punks?"

"I'm just saying, whoever was stupid to let you go is a punk, you know?"

"That sweet. Thanks", she smiled at him and they held each others eyes for half a second, "keep your eyes on the road boy!"

"Anyway", she continued, "I've dated a white man, my favorite cousin's best friend, an Egyptian man and an Urhoba man, in the last four years. Urhobo man was a little too boti for me; white man was cool but his parents haven't gotten the memo that black people can now own the bus company, not only seat in front; my favorite cousin's best friend was just a wuss. He kept giving my cousin detailed updates about our relationship, like who does that?! The Egyptian guy... he didn't deserve me."

"So which one did I meet?", Ade asked, emphazing the last word with air quotes.

"Egyptian".

"Oh... ", he glanced over at her, "you OK?"

"Yeah. I just feel like I was duped, with him. You know?"

He reached over and grabbed her left hand for a very short moment as he drove into the Lakeview parking lot.

* * *

Ade picked up his phone during the intermission to find his sister. As they walked into the lobby, Gina held his and stopped him short.

"Thanks for doing that" she said, smiling into his eyes.

"For...?", he asked.

"Earlier", she loosened her grip on his hands, "I always thought the problem was with me, you know? Like I was never good enough, or that I had to fix myself before I'd find that man, you know, THE MAN..."

"You say 'you know' a lot, you know?", he rubbed his thumb on her cheek and then looked up to locate his sister. "There they are."

"Hey Sis", he leaned in to give her a light peck.

"Gina, meet Londe and her husband Carlos, my bro", Ade made the introductions.

"Very nice to meet you Gina", Carlos said.

"How are you my dear? Nice to meet you", was Londe's response.

"I'm fine thank you. Very lovely to meet you too", Gina replied, "Your sister is very pretty, you know, what happened to you Ade?"

They all shared a hearty laughter, and made plans to meet at the end of the play, before returning to their seats.

"Do you sing?" Gina asked Ade as they listened to one of the musical numbers in the play.

"I like to believe so", Ade replied.

* * *

The play ended a little before 9pm and they drove to the Ethiopian restaurant in convoy.

"Ade, do you purposely avoid compliments and conversations that could possibly be intimate or deep?"

"Why'd you say so?"
"Because you didn't exactly respond when I thanked you for making me feel better about my past relationships".

"Well, that wasn't that serious..."

"I'm just saying", she cut in, "it seemed that way".

"OK. To be honest, yes. But for a reason. I don't want to encourage anything that would make it seem like we're moving in leaps and bounds, instead of baby steps..."

"Excuse me? That's a little insulting, I'm sorry, because you make me sound forward".

"No, that's not my intention. I'm just making sure that we're on the same level, you get?"

"Never mind".

"Come on, Gina... that's not what I meant...

"No, it's OK"

The rest of the drive was silent.

Dinner was good. Gina talked freely with Londe and Carlos but skillfully avoided eye contact with Ade. She figured Londe had noticed because she kept whispering to Ade and nodding or shaking her head. They all shared a Devil's food cake with icecream for desert, before saying their goodnights.

Ade turned on the music as soon as they got into the car, and neither of them spoke till he drove up to the front of her house. He turned off the engine, but neither of them moved.

"Gina"

"Yes Ade"

"Gina, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that you were moving faster than I am. It's just before anything emotional or deep happens between us, I would like us to define what we're doing..."

"OK. Thank you"

"You don't always have to thank me".

Gina smiled and they sat in silence for a few moments. Ade turned off the music and folded his right leg under the left one so he could turn to face her. He took her left hand, turning her towards himself, and reached for her second hand.

"Gina, I like you a lot. A whole lot. We don't know a lot about each other, but I like what I know already. I can't complain".

"I like you too a lot Ade. There's a feel good vibe that you have and I like that very much. I think, for a stranger, I'm a little too comfortable around you".

"That's not always a bad thing... you know?"

"Stop", she smacked him playfully as they both laughed.

"Gina", Ade said, getting suddenly serious, "would you like to be my girlfriend?"

"I haven't been officially asked out in like five years", she chuckled.

"So...?"

"I'd love that Ade. Yes."

"So, is this like popping the question where I'm allowed to give..."

Before he could finish, she snatched up his lips in hers, and kissed him. When she came up for ait laughing, her eyes were moist.

"What's the problem?"

"I'm OK, Ade. You'll learn that about me soon".

Ade pulled her closer and they snuggled up nicely as her put in his John Legend CD, and turned down the volume of the stereo system. Small talk about grade school, college, family and friends and general likes and dislikes continued until the car fell silent after about an hour and a half.

Ade was the first to wake up; it was 6.15am.