How I Married the Love of My Life
Some days start on a very bright note. So, did this Sunday. I was already running late to church; it was going to take a miracle for me to get to church before praise and worship commenced. I stood outside of our compound hoping and praying that taxi would appear from nowhere so that I can commence my trip to church. All the taxis that passed by were fully occupied. I did not want to take the yellow buses. Taking the yellow buses meant I would have to endure the multiple stops either to pick some passengers or allow some others to alight.
As I stood there with my fingers crossed and my pulse racing, a grey-colour Highlander pulled up to me. The sole occupant of the jeep wound down the window and then pushed his head towards the side of the window he had wound down.
“Hi, good morning. I’m looking for…” He mentioned the name of church he had resolved to worship in that day.
“Errm…, if you go…” I paused not knowing whether to describe the way for him or to join him in his car since that was where I was going to. I quickly made up my mind and said, “that’s my church. And that’s exactly where to.”
“Can we go together then?” He asked. I accepted the offer and hopped in. Twenty minutes later, we were already seated in the church’s shuttle bus waiting to be driven to church. When we were boarding the bus, I was right in front of him on the queue, so I chose a seat before him. He followed me and asked if he could sit by my side. I obliged him. He did not say anything until the bus was in motion. “Is the church far from here?” He asked.
“No, it’s about 10 minutes walking distance,” I replied.
Before long, we were in the church. As we filed into enter the church, I waved and told him my friends had already reserved a seat for me.”
“That’s okay, thank you very much,” he said as he waved back.
About two months later, we bumped into each other at the church’s information desk. I was on the queue waiting to buy some audio materials when I looked back and saw him coming towards the Information desk. I quickly turned my head to avoid our eyes meeting. I wasn’t sure if he saw me that time, however, it dawned on me he saw and recognized me when someone tapped me on the back to say that someone was saying “hi.” I looked back only for me to see this guy with a wide grin on his face.
“How are you?” He asked from where he stood. I waved back at him and continued with the business that brought me to that place.
When I was about leaving, he beckoned on me to wait for him. I waited. He joined me and we proceeded to the car park.
“How have you been?” He asked looking into my eyes. I answered in the affirmative. “Do you know I have been looking for you since that Sunday?”
I was surprised to hear that, and I wanted to know why he could be looking for me. He laughed and pleaded I joined him for lunch that afternoon. I turned down the request. He tried again and again but got the same answer from me. He later opted to take my phone number instead.
The way he begged for the number, I thought he was going to call me same day. I was wrong. He called after about two weeks.
When he called, he started by teasing me how he didn’t even know my name.
“I can’t believe I didn’t even ask your name that day. But it’s not entirely my fault because I put in a lot of energy trying to convince you to go on a launch date with me.” I didn’t say anything to him.
“I am so sorry I haven’t called you since the day I collected your number. He asked if we could have lunch that weekend. Typically, I don’t accept such offers from men until they have proven to me why I should. I asked him to tell me why I should accept his offer. He paused for a while and then said, “I am single, you are single. I won’t bother you if you were married.”
“What a reason” I said, laughing at the same time. He pleaded I should give him the opportunity to at least know a little about me.
To cut the story short, we went for dinner sometime same week. I was blown away by the experiences of that night. It was one of those nights that most girls look forward to. The type of night we read in novels. I kid you not. I was treated to some sumptuous dinner. I was spoken to by a man who knew the right chords to strike at the right time. I sat all evening listening to a soft-spoken man. His knowledge of Economics, history and Politics was breathtaking. When I mentioned to him that I studied Economics too, he took me through the Economics of our outing that night. He literally swept me off my feet.
When we were done with dinner, he opted to take me home. An offer I rejected, as usual. He called for a red cab while he drove behind us until it was time to part ways. He sped up to us, wound down and told me to have a night rest. I waved back at him and smiled as he blew kisses at me.
Ladies and gentlemen, permit me to introduce you to Tony, the man who stole my heart, the man I have fallen for.
Throughout that night, I kept asking myself what was wrong with me. I would have missed Tony if he didn’t bump into me that day in church.
For the first time, I picked my phone and called Tony.
“Thanks for the wonderful company and thanks for those wonderful stories and lectures too,” I said amidst laughter.
The following morning, Tony called me. He said he forgot to ask where I worked. When I mention the place, he asked me how much I was paid if |I didn’t mind sharing the figure with him. I could tell from his reaction he was shocked to hear how I much I earned. We had barely ended the call when Tony sent his email address via SMS with an instruction, “send me your updated CV before the end of today.”
The moment I saw that message, I forwarded my CV to Nelly my friend asking her to urgently attend to my CV. After about two hours, Nelly emailed back the updated CV which I then forwarded to Tony.
Two days later, I got a message inviting me for a chat. I called Tony to inform him about the message. “You don’t want to go?” He teased. I asked him to coach me on what to expect. He said a few things bordering on the scope of the job and how to conduct myself during interview. He told me not to shortchange myself when negotiating my remuneration.
After the interview, I was asked when I could resume. I replied, “in two weeks.” I was asked to wait at the reception for my employment letter. The whole thing felt like a movie. After waiting for about one and half hours, the front desk lady emerged with my employment letter.
I called Tony the moment I stepped out of the office. “Guess what, Tony? I got the job.” Tony congratulated me and as usual tutored me on how to conduct myself in my new office. He made me promise that I will not let him down. I later met Tony that evening on a date. I thanked him for pulling his weight for the new job. Tony waved it aside saying I got the job because I impressed the interviewers. I laughed because I knew he was only being modest.
Barely two weeks into my new job, Tony left the country to the UK where he had gone for a course. I wasn’t sure how to react to the news when he informed me of his impending trip. But he kept reassuring me that I had nothing to be afraid of, that he would always be in touch and would always be there for me.
While in the UK, we chatted, texted on a daily basis. It felt like he was never away, expect that I missed his physical presence. Our love grew with the distance. Tony understood love languages. He applied them like balm on an aching body. His choice of words was out of this world. He made my head swell whenever he chatted or talked. There was no hiding it, I had fallen for him. I was in love with Tony.
Before long, it was time for Tony to return to the country. He called me to find out what I would want him to get for me from the UK. I didn’t know exactly what to tell him. I told him to get me anything of his choice. He teased that I should always have a choice and stop allowing people make decisions for me.
When Tony announced his return date, I was so excited. I couldn’t wait for the return of the man who had brought me so much happiness and love. On the day he was scheduled to return to the country, I arrived the airport one hour before the time their flight was scheduled to land.
The excitement running through my vein while I waited at the airport can only be imagined. One hour thirty minutes later, Tony appeared with his luggage. He looked more handsome, more handsome than he ever looked.
We moved to where the car he said he had arranged was parked. When we got inside, it was the same driver at my new company that came to pick Tony. For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. Tony looked at me and laughed. “I know what you are thinking,” he said. “When we get home, I will explain to you,” he said stroking my shoulder.
In the house, he broke the news. He is one of the owners of the company that hired me. I was shocked to my marrow. He told me that there two of such companies. He was not involved in the day-to-day activities of the one I worked for. “That was why I decided to get you employed in that one,” Tony told me.
The following Sunday, Tony invited me to their family home in Gbagada to meet with his parents. I have spoken with Tony’s mother many times on the phone. However, the thought of meeting her face to face made me a bit jittery. You know that kind of visit when you do not know exactly what to expect.
Meeting Tony’s mother wasn’t easy at all. It felt like a candidate attending an interview. She asked about my parents, where they were from. She asked what they did for a living and where we stayed in Lagos. I answered her questions to the best of my ability. Tony later told me that I was so impressive during my chat with his mother.
I had gone home thinking I had impressed Tony’s mother. I was wrong. I didn’t know that from the day I met Tony’s mother, a big battle had developed between Tony and his mother. Tony’s mother insisted that I was not in his son’s class. She berated Tony for going out with a girl he only met on the road, a girl he employed to work in one of his companies. Tony didn’t mention the battle with his mother until the day she called me.
“I have a message for you. Since Tony is finding it difficult to pass this message to you. See, Ihuoma, forget about my son Tony. Whatever you are doing with him is a waste of your time.”
I was so shocked to hear that from her. I was rooted to the ground with my mouth wide opened.
I called Tony immediately. I called twice. Tony didn’t pick my calls. I tried again after about twenty minutes he still didn’t pick my calls.
After about two hours, Tony called back. He apologized for not picking my calls that he had been in a meeting. “Tony, your mom called me today,” I said to him, holding my breath.
“When was that?” He asked, sounding like he knew she was going to call me.
“About three hours ago,” I replied.
“Please can I call you in the evening? I’m leaving for another meeting now,” he pleaded.
Tony later called me in the evening. He had called his mother to find out her exact words to me which she repeated to him. Tony apologized to me and asked me to see him in his office the following morning.
It was when I visited him that morning that he told me how his mother was not impressed about my background and the story surrounding how we met. Tony mentioned that his mother insisted that she would not allow her only son bring home a lady with my kind of background.
I kept quiet throughout the entire discussion. Tony assured me that the challenge was one he could handle. As at this point, Tony had not mentioned to me where our relationship was heading. I could only deduce his plan for us through his body language and his mother’s opposition to our relationship.
As the days went by, the calls from Tony’s mother increased. She accused me of being a distraction to her son, that Tony had never disobeyed her until I came into his life.
To cut the story short, Tony’s mother refused all pleas from Tony and the emissaries we sent to persuade her to change her mind.
When Tony finally proposed to me, his mom swore the wedding was going to happen over her dead body. We tried as much as possible to change her mind. Tony and I met with her on a number of occasions, we begged, pleaded and did everything we thought could help soften her mind. All efforts yielded no favourable result. Tony’s father was dead, that vacuum made the whole thing very challenging.
In one of such meetings, Tony asked his mother to mention why she didn’t like me? His mother told me that I was a nobody and that she would resist the attempt by her son to mix their linage with mine.
We later reported the issue to her Reverend Father who got her to renounce her statement that our wedding would happen over her dead body. The intervention of the Reverend Father paid off. Or so I thought. Tony’s mother called him to say that he could go ahead and marry me.
A week before our wedding, Tony’s mother travelled out of the country. She only returned precisely three days after our wedding. When she got back, she came around, congratulated us and left.
Our relationship with her has remained like that ever since. Tony and his friends keep assuring me that she will change in the future when the reality that we are married settles in her head.
END!