All good things…

I met him on a Thursday. I remember because Thursdays are Anny’s days off and so Anny did not come to pick me from the office. I also remember because I had forgotten it was Thursday and I had worked really late, thinking Anny would be waiting downstairs at the close of work. Well, he wasn’t. And it was raining. And everyone had gone home.
I walked into the rain, tired, hungry and angry at myself. And well, Anny too. He would have at least picked up his phone and I would have convinced him to come pick me up. In retrospect though, I’m glad he didn’t.
I saw the yellow cab speed past me, raising a fountain of muddy water that bathed me as I stood in the rain on the sidewalk. I screamed and cursed the driver’s entire generation. Seconds later, the car pulled back and the most random looking guy I ever saw took the back glass down and invited me in. I put up a bit of drama but I eventually did get in.
The rest as they say is history. Well, pretty much.
Ojima turned out to be the guy that would blow my mind. Fancy dinner dates at pricy restaurants, late night conversations that never lost steam and the ultimate support I needed in the pursuit of my dreams. Ojima made me wonder why I ever doubted the existence of a crazy mind-blowing kind of love. He brought it to me.
That’s my summary of the past year. Now I’m watching Ojima from my car on the corner of his street. And it’s interesting because he’s not even supposed to be home. I had dropped him off at the airport this morning where he should have been boarding a flight to Kenya for a training. Apparently, Cole street is the new Kenya and I didn’t get the memo.
The lady who hands him a box of cake and who he kisses on the forehead has just my kind of build. So he’s got a spec? Interesting.
I curse Amaka in my heart. She’s the one who placed the call to swear that she had seen Ojima drive past her on Adeniran Ogunsanya. She sounded gleeful over the phone. Amaka didn’t believe in the kind of love Ojima and I shared. She always said “dey there dey jonz. All good things always come to an end.” She was right.
I turn on my car engine and drive back home slowly.
I quit drinking a long time ago so I just sit in bed and mope. I can’t even bring myself to cry. It’s his birthday today. Whoever that chic is, it is evident that she’s the main chic and I’m the side. Why else would he lie to me to spend his birthday with her?
There’s a knock on my front door but I can’t even bring myself to answer it. I’m sure whoever it is will go away when they’re tired. I can’t even be bothered.
The knocking is consistent for about 10 minutes and it gives me a headache. I finally get out of bed and open up. It’s Mirabel, Ojima’s sister. She looks at me and smiles
“Ojima hasn’t even been gone one day and you’re moping like a lost kitten.”
I can’t even answer her. If only she knows.
“Get dressed. Let’s go out.”
“No.”
Error. You never argue and win with Mirabel. She’s a bully. So thirty minutes later, I’m seated beside her as she drives, all the while thinking of how to tell her that her brother has broken my heart. We get to her house in no time and she finally turns to face me.
“Layo, what’s wrong?”
I sigh and shake my head.
“Ojima is cheating on me.”
The expression on her face is incredible.
“That’s impossible! You’re all that Ojima lives and breathes!”
I shake my head and my smile is a poorly crafted work of art by an unskilled artist
“He is. He…”
She interrupts me.
“Hold that thought. We’ll have this talk in my room. Let’s go.”
We get out of the car and she shuts the doors remotely. She holds my hand and we walk towards the house together.
She stops by the door and instructs me to go in.
“I think I left my phone in my car” she says.
I nod and open the door. I notice the candle lights first. And then the rose petals that trail from the door right down to the center of the room where the candle lights arranged in a heart shape surround Ojima who is down on a knee and holding a small box open. I stand and stare because I absolutely can not do anything else. His voice comes across the room a little coarse and uncertain.
“Layo, all good things come to an end so better things can begin. Will you marry me?”