Nimi arrived at the office a few minutes past 8 after much contemplation the previous day. She went out of obligation expecting the worse just in case her Boss resumed and decided to embarrass her once more or tell her to leave after what happened between them on Saturday. Truth is, she was ready to leave. She had prepared herself for whatever might happen and she had thought the security would stop her from entering.
Seemed like Madam Lara had not given them orders yet on how to further embarrass her.
She was going to round up soon anyway. She wondered if she would remunerate her for the time she’d spent working and running her errands for her or she would be cruel as usual and see her as a maid who worked for the Kitans that deserved no pay. She was working on her dissertation and she needed to check out some places tomorrow as Kemi recommended that would help her with the research. She had sent them the letter on short notice but she hoped God would work out something for her.
Her mind flashed to her bible study this morning and how she’d skimmed the part of the bible where God had led her to.
1 Corinthians 13.
Right now, she was going to do what she could do. She needed to be strong and strong people could not continue reading 1 Corinthians 13 for now. She needed something to toughen her up.
She saw how everyone looked unusually quiet and well composed and she knew her Boss must be around. Even Nonye seemed to be at her best behaviour and smiled at her when she entered.
“Good morning Nimi, how was your weekend, fine I hope?”
“Good morning Nonye. My weekend was alright thank God.” She managed and settled into her chair heaving a sigh of relief while her heart beat fast as she glanced at her Boss’ door.
Have courage Nimi, have courage
“Uh, Oga wants to see you, says I should let you know once you get in.”
She nodded and tried to dab her face and spray something before she would insult her about her body again.
Nonye grabbed her by the arm.
“I’m in your good books right? You’ll stand up for me in case you’re being asked about my behaviour in the past couple of weeks.”
She forced a smile and gently moved away. The girl was the last thing on her mind. She was sure that was the last thing on Lara’s mind as well.
Whatever her Boss was going to spew, she would just keep staring at her and allow her ears filter it as much as possible. She would just blank herself to it.
Her sister had been singing one song that came into her mind at the moment. She remembered Tolani singing the lyrics that talked about Titanium and how she couldn’t hurt no matter what they threw at her. It was a secular song, but it seemed to be what she needed at the moment.
Yea, not some bible verse about Loving those that hate you.
She blinked wondering where the voice had come from. Shaking her head, she reached for the door and closed it behind her.
It was when she looked up her eyes widened in shock and she almost lost her balance.
“Hey beautiful.” He smiled standing in front of Lara’s table and she had to do a quick double check to confirm if his sister was also around or sitting somewhere behind him.
She wasn’t. Of course she wouldn’t be. What was she expecting?
There was a nicely wrapped bunch of roses seated on the table beside him and he picked it up and walked towards her. He looked nice as always. Well shaven and clean with his tailored suit in place. Even without a tie, his white shirt did enough justice to his appearance. He didn’t need to pull much off to look good. He’d always looked good.
“I’m sorry about Saturday.” He reached for one of her hands and squeezed it gently looking into her eyes which she seemed to do a good job of avoiding. “After explaining everything to me, I’m here to sort out things in the office and put things right.” He raised her hands to his lips and planted a soft kiss on it. “You’ll still be the one for me, you know that right?”
She withdrew suddenly unsettled by what he was doing. Did he think he could just waltz in here with some roses and pretend she wasn’t hurt or nothing ever happened between herself and Lara? Or that he hadn’t chosen to take sides with his sister? That was the last thing she wanted to deal with if she was going to be spending the rest of her life with someone.
He had Jibola and Lara and he seemed to be doing fine without her in the picture.
He noticed her retreat and his brows furrowed.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry Dapo, but I don’t think this thing between us can work anymore.”
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Dapo laughed and shook his head wondering if she was doing that thing women did. The whole playing around thing where they would pretend not to be interested just because they needed him more. When it had come to the past women in his life, they had not been the one to leave though they would pretend like they didn’t need him whereas they were dying to kiss him. He’d prove them wrong once he pulled them into his arms and kissed them and they would be begging for more and crying that they couldn’t leave him.
This is Nimi
He adjusted his thought pattern and smiled trying to reach for her again but her body language said it all.
She wasn’t even looking at his face and the flowers just sat in his hands like something that wasn’t worth much.
“I don’t understand…” He dropped the flowers and looked at her. “Am I misunderstanding something here?”
She shrugged. “I’m glad you’re setting things right Dapo, but maybe I’m just not cut out for a life with you and everything that is involved in your world.”
He closed his eyes inhaling deeply not wanting to grow upset again. “Is this still about me choosing between you and my sister?”
“Far from that. It was selfish of me to say you should choose, but I’m just making life easier for the both of us. I want Lara to be fine the way you want. I’ve worked for her and my dignity has been sacrificed at the altar of her mouth which I try to ignore each and everytime I see her. But I know my capacity. I believe God knows my capacity too. You seem to be content and not need me when I came over on Saturday and I’m happy for you. So let me still leave while my sanity is still intact.”
His eyes bored into hers and his mother’s words came to him.
“Is this about Jibola?”
She raised a brow and looked at something else as if she wasn’t perturbed but he could see her eyes and how she couldn’t hide how she felt about the girl’s presence in his house.
“She left today just in case you’re wondering.” He hoped that would make her feel better
“Happy for you.” She looked non-chalant.
“Babe, are you giving me attitude?”
Thread softly
She ignored him and at that moment he wanted to grab her and just kiss her senseless till she would give in rather than go through the long route of coaxing her into him with words.
“You talk about selfish and you’re breaking up with me? I thought you told me you loved me? Where did all the love talk fly to?” He was still trying to understand what was going on.
“Sometimes Love thinks of itself too” She spat. “I can’t love you if I’m being dragged in the mud each and every single time by your sister. What happens when we get married and she’s still the same way huh? What happens when I need you to be somewhere or be with me and baby Lara needs her brother? What happens when I move into your house? I’m not going to be a competition in any man’s life Dapo, neither am I going to be an option.”
“Love doesn’t seek its own Nimi. Why are you talking like this?”
The tears had surfaced again and she reached to wipe them away.
He wanted to reach for her but she turned away from him.
“You just keep hurting me and I don’t know what to do anymore. Honestly Dapo, I just…”
“Hey…” He reached for her arms and turned her to face him. When he saw her tear stained cheeks, he pulled out his handkerchief and wiped her face gently pulling her close to him.
“Shh baby, I’m sorry. I love you. Please try and forget what happened between us on Saturday. It’s not going to happen again.”
He allowed his hands stroll to her arms and lifted her hands to his chest. “Right here baby, that’s where you are, no one else. Lara is just my sister, you are the queen of my heart. You keep this heart racing and doing funny gymnastics whenever it sets eyes on you.” He smiled hoping she would join him the way she often did in the past. She didn’t and so he continued.
“Don’t you know what you’re capable of doing anytime I set my eyes on you? Don’t you see how much my life makes sense ever since you walked my life 4 months ago.” He reached to touch her cheeks, hoping she would stop fighting him and give in to him. “You stood there staring at me and for one second, I wondered why I saw something I’d never seen before. Right there, I finally saw what had been missing. It was you.”
She kept staring at him as her hands lingered on his chest.
“You’re safe with me baby.” He smiled into her eyes when he saw she was beginning to soften. “Don’t you see what you do to me?”
She looked away and pulled her hands away from his. “I need time Dapo. I need time to think about us, about all of this.”
He swallowed. What had he done? Was he losing her forever? He’d thought she was the starry eyed girl that he would often catch staring at him whenever they were alone, the girl that would smile and laugh at his jokes and often tell him how she loved him and her heart was in her eyes. The girl that came all the way to see him and brought a bowl of soup with her. The girl that shared everything with him whenever he called her at night.
Had he only seen the good side of her then?
“How much time do you need?” He asked feeling like a part of him had just been ripped apart.
She sighed. “ A month perhaps.” Shaking her head, she continued. “I don’t know, I just think I need to get my life right because my life doesn’t feel balanced to me anymore. I need to discover myself, find out what I really want. Everything was fine for me before you came and you came in and just turned my world upside down. The whole relationship thing is new for me and put all that’s going on into it and I don’t know what to call it anymore. The last thing I want to do is hurt you or hurt Lara. So maybe it’s good if I stay away for a while. Besides, I will soon be rounding up so maybe this is just the time I need to concentrate.”
A month. Dapo managed a smile when he felt the spirit caution him again to thread softly.
She’s not asking for a week Lord, she’s asking for a month, a whole month!
What if it gets to more than a month? What if she changes her mind finally? What if some guy comes in and swoops her away?
Pray for her
“Are we going to be calling each other during this one month?” He asked.
She nodded. “I just need you to understand that I don’t want you bringing it up whenever we talk, and if I don’t pick, please understand I’m trying to make sure I’m not being pressurized either.”
He stared at her. This was cruel. How could she do this to him?
“We’ll be friends till I’m sure I’m ready to put feet into this again.”
He blurted without thinking. She seemed to enjoy putting down rules for him. “Is God asking you to do this? Is he the one leading you or it’s just your ego.”
Her eyes were like dagger staring back at him almost as if she was upset that he had mentioned she wasn’t considering God “What if it’s my ego? At least that’s the only thing making me remain human without feeling like some cripple.”
He raised his hands. He had obviously made the wrong move. “I’m sorry.”
She rubbed her temples and inhaled deeply. “I have to go. If you need me to sort out anything just call.”
And she was gone.
Dapo sank into the table behind him running his hands on his face.
This was harder than he had anticipated and it had not gone well at all.
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Lara was glad when Dapo revealed the surprise to her. Her friend IK was going to be spending sometime with them and she couldn’t be happier. At least he would make her forget Soji and she really needed someone in her life now that Jibola was gone. She suspected it had to do with Nimi though her brother had told her their mother had called and requested to see her. She watched her brother as he sat rather quietly on the couch watching the news and she knew he was upset. When he came in today, there was an aura of defeat surrounding him and she wondered if it had to do with his relationship. She was tempted to ask. Was it Nimi? Had they finally broken up? She doubted it. She didn’t look like someone who could let her brother go so easily.
One part of her was glad, the other part of her that was human wanted to reach out to him and press further to know if he was alright since he’d been to her office to help her sort out things.
She had asked the first time and while pulling off his jacket, he’d smiled and said he was fine. But she knew he wasn’t.
Had she also hurt her brother? She’d thought taking Nimi out of the picture would make her happy. But why did she suddenly feel she had taken something special away from him?
She reached for the remote and turned down the volume. He glanced at her and she asked.
“Just tell me…”
“What?”
“You look withdrawn. You’re not the Dapo that left here this morning.”
“Work I guess.” He sighed and stood up almost as if the news didn’t mean much to him compared to what was going on inside.
“It’s Nimi isn’t it?”
“I doubt she’s a topic you want to delve into tonight.” He replied.
“Did she break up with you?”
He shrugged and she saw her brother look so vulnerable for the first time in his life. He suddenly looked like a boy that wanted to cry. She wanted to reach out and hug him but she sat still.
“Something like that.” He scoffed and bit his lip while shaking his head. “To think I…”
“She’ll come back.” She heard herself say and she wondered if she meant it. “She’s quite stubborn y’know.”
He nodded going to kiss her on the head. “Make sure you go to bed soon if you plan on spending the whole day with IK. If I do remember clearly, you two can wear yourself out once you get talking.”
She smiled and watched him find his way upstairs. Turning back to the TV, she wondered if Nimi was right afterall. Maybe she needed more help than Dapo could provide. Maybe she needed rehab. What kind of girl hurt people who loved her? Her brother had done all he could to love her and here she was hurting him. Was it jealousy that drove her to do this or she was just cruel? Nimi had never done anything against her. The girl had been kind to her ever since she walked into their house. She’d made her cry and made her believe Dapo and Jibola would have one or two flings when she wasn’t around.
Was she incapable of really loving anyone? Was that why all her friends left her and those who stayed, she still found a way to hurt them?
She was going to resume work soon. It was probably because she was staying home for too long that all these thoughts were crawling in. She would spend this week with IK and make plans to move on with life when he was gone.
For now, she was going to cherish the moments she had with him. She couldn’t let him go too.
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When Nimi arrived at KEA AFRICA, the NGO she had applied to help out in her research weeks ago, she was glad she arrived on time as traffic seemed to favour her today. She had never come in touch with the Boss before and when he scheduled an interview with her today, she had written down all her plans and what she intended to obtain from them just in case he asked again. She just needed to obtain some information that would help her in analysing the data in her research. How far gone were the NGOs impacting Nigeria? Evidences and data records could only prove that and she hoped other NGOs she had applied to would call her soon.
She was sitting at the reception when someone stepped out of the main office and she looked up just to see a familiar face.
Eric?
She blinked and was about to look away when his eyes caught hers. He even looked nicer in a button down shirt nicely tucked into black pants.
“Nimi?”
She waved shyly and felt ashamed she had just tried to dodge his face. He’d called her a day before but she had missed his call unintentionally. She hadn’t been bothered to call back though.
“Hi!” He beamed and headed towards her. “Nice to see you on a Wednesday morning.” He grinned down at her and she smiled back. “And you too.”
“Do you work here?”
“No, I came to see a friend.”
She nodded.
“You look nice by the way.” He complimented and she was glad she picked the blue blazer over the brown today and the pearls over the chain she normally wore.
“What are you doing here?”
Should she tell him?
“Uh, I’m running my Masters program so this is kind of a project thing I’m doing.”
“Oh, what school?”
“Unilag.”
“Impressive. Kunle is a close friend of mine and I could talk to him to help you out.”
“Oh really?” She beamed. “I would really appreciate that.”
“But only if you promise to have lunch with me.”
She smiled at him. He wasn’t going to let her go easily. It was just lunch and she would know what his intentions were if he had something else in mind.
“Okay, just one lunch.”
“You just made my day. C’mon, let’s go in together.” He allowed her walk ahead of him while he followed behind.
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“You know you can always feel free around me.” Eric cut in while slicing through a piece of chicken and helping himself with a fork. “I’m the kind of guy that appreciates a lady dropping her guards around me because I don’t bite and that’s as good as it gets.” He smiled at her.
“I appreciate what you did for me. I wasn’t expecting the meeting to be that fast.”
“Well, maybe if you had gone in alone, Kunle would have drilled you trust me. But thank God I was there at the right time. I can’t imagine you going through so much stress when you have other aspects of your dissertation to focus on.”
“Yea..” She took a sip of her juice and sighed.
“I finished from UI but did a Masters in Unilag as well, so trust me it can be really stressful.”
“Oh really, that’s nice. What year?”
“About 3 years ago.”
“Wow, who would have known.”
“Why?” He smirked.
“You look young. Very young.” She allowed her eyes settle on his features and got lost for a moment. Dapo was 10 years older. She wondered how old Eric was. He’d told her he hailed from Delta. His last name Umukoro had given her a clue.
“I get that a lot.” He grinned. “I graduated early so yea, it’s expected. I’m just 27. I know you ladies don’t like saying your age but…”
“I’ll be 26 in November.” She replied without much ado.
“Oh, that’s nice. Just one year apart. We fit almost perfectly.” He looked into her eyes and she blinked almost as if the meaning of his words just dawned on her.
She remained quiet.
“Or is there some guy I should know about?”
“Its complicated.” She replied. “I don’t think I would like to talk about it. Hope that’s okay?”
“Sure.” He shrugged. “I just wanted to know if I stood a chance in your life.”
Wow, the guy was pretty forward. This was only lunch not a date.
She searched for the right words. “You’re a great guy Eric but my boyfriend and I…”
“Is it serious?” He asked.
She sighed. Right now she didn’t know what it was anymore. These days, she hardly allowed God lead her. She was just bent on following her emotions and they seemed to be getting her into trouble. Like the Eric guy. He smelled like trouble, but her emotions were having none of it. They just wanted to relish the fact that someone else could spend time with her and see her as special. He looked like someone who loved having fun and she could tell she wasn’t the first girl he was treating this way. He seemed to be well known in the restaurant too.
He had probably brought other girls here.
“Do you mind if we don’t talk about it?” The thought of Dapo and how she was probably doing this behind him suddenly hit her and she felt guilt all of a sudden.
Not that she was cheating on him was she? It was just lunch
“Can we remain friends?”
“Of course. I’m here if you need a shoulder to cry on or someone to lean on.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it.” She looked at her wristwatch. “I have to go home now, it’s getting late.”
“What route are you headed?”
“Ketu.”
“I can drop you home if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary Eric.”
“I insist. That’s what friends do, they stand up for each other.”
His words struck a chord in her heart and her mind flashed back to how she’d expected Dapo to stand up for her.
“Thank you.” Was all she could say as he stood up to join her.
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When Nimi got upstairs, she was exhausted though she had to admit she had a nice time. It was obvious Eric was beauty and brains combined, knowledgeable about most things. He was the kind of friend she would love to hang out with if he was going to let it stay that way. He had a certain charm about him and for once she didn’t feel the need to remind herself she was talking to someone older or someone who had a sister that hated her and wanted them apart. She was talking to someone who could obviously relate since they both studied here in Nigeria and had gone through similar vigorous process. They had a good laugh when he mimicked and gisted her about his lecturers and how he was like a suffer head. She just kept laughing till water came out from her eyes. He got her talking. She’d told him she wouldn’t talk but there was a way he just made her talk and she couldn’t imagine how they kept going back and forth and how she even shared school gists that she never shared with Dapo.
Even when they were quiet, the radio was crooning songs she didn’t realize she was tapping legs to. She’d asked him and he told her it was P-square’s Forever while the other was Banky W’s Yes/No. It was familiar but she had never paid attention to the lyrics till now. Right now they seemed to speak to her and for one moment she wanted to imagine life with someone else. Someone who wouldn’t make her cry as much as Dapo and his family had done. Even Eric couldn’t help but tap his fingers and she smiled softly.
Eric was right. He was someone you just had to put your guards down when with him. He had said he would call her tonight. She didn’t mind.
Her mum was home when she returned and she greeted her politely. Tolani kept watching her like a vulture ready to feed on a prey. She wasn’t going to allow the girl spoil her mood tonight. She’d been one to rebel against the fact that she had broken up with Dapo. Well, she was the one in the relationship and she could do whatever she wanted to do.
“Good evening Mum.”
“Good evening dear, how are you and how did your day go?”
“Fine. Thank God.”
“Did you get what you went looking for?”
She nodded and faced Tolani. “What’s for dinner?”
“Uh, Madam, why didn’t you tell me you had broken up with Dapo?”
Nimi glanced at her sister and she wanted to slap the girl’s big mouth.
“I was going to…”
“After the young man that brought you home or before?”
“I did not want to disturb you mummy, besides it’s not permanent.” She rolled her eyes at Tolani.
“The way it’s going, it will soon become permanent. Who is the young man?”
“He’s a friend I met in church mummy. Honestly, he helped me out today and was kind enough to drop me at home.”
“Okay Just be careful. I don’t like how things are going between yourself and Dapo and you didn’t tell me, your mother of all people. I don’t like that you’re leaving me out of sensitive things like that.”
“Because it wasn’t a big deal and I just wanted peace from all their family wahala. His sister needs family time so I want to give him his space.”
“And what did he feel about it?”
“He’s okay with it I guess.” She wasn’t ready to start narrating one long story to her mum about Jibola and Lara and how the girl kept coming between them. She’d told Tolani and she hoped the girl had not spilled that too. She would never trust her again if she did such.
“So, is it alright if I call him to come and see me?”
“No mum, really it’s only going to make things worse. We are just taking a break that’s all. It’s not like we are even engaged or anything. You don’t have to call him mum, honestly. I’ll be fine, I promise.”
“But I can call him at least? I think he’s a man of impeccable character and he must have a reason for this.”
She sighed. Her mum was not going to take no for an answer. “Okay you can. But please just let it be as it is. I’m begging you mum.”
“Of course.”
She headed for her room and settled into the bed removing her blazer and her shoes. Her phone rang and she reached for it.
It was Eric
“Hello Milady!”
She giggled. “At least give me one hour now.”
“I’m sorry, I just wanted to be sure you’re in and safe.”
“Yes I’m in. Are you home already?”
“Close. It’s just some blocks away so don’t worry about me. I hope you had a nice time.”
“Yes Eric I did. Thank you.”
“Has anyone ever told you that the way you call a name is exotic? It’s another reason I couldn’t let you go to bed without hearing your voice. You just say it with no effort at all? You just breathe class. You should fly to Paris or Italy soon, I’m sure you’ll have no difficulty blending in.”
She blushed.“Uh, you’ll be the first and thanks if that’s a compliment.” Her mind flashed to Lara’s words about her not having class. Well, here was someone who saw class in her and appreciated it.
“I mean it. You don’t say it with the H-factor Heric or Helic. It’s like everything about you is heaven sent.”
“Hmmn, you ehn. You won’t flatter me to death.” She chuckled when he mimicked the names. “Anyway, I have to clean up now. I’ll call you tomorrow to discuss more about my project since you mentioned you have one or two clues about it. You must be heaven sent too.”
“The pleasure is all mine. Later Nimi. Sleep well.”
“And you too Eric. Goodnight.”
And she hung up.
She was about rising from bed when another call came through and without thinking or looking she picked it. “Hey Eric, did you forget something?”
“ This is Dapo.”
She swallowed as her heart raced faster. “Uh, Hi…”
“Who’s Eric?” He asked bluntly.
Much love. xo!
Original story by ITUNU TAIWO owner of http://myglowingscenes.com
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