Let's See How it Goes II

 

Photo: A photo from Google

It was the Saturday after Valentine’s day. Chizoba and her friends had planned to hangout that weekend since they were all busy the weekend before. Kike hosted them at her family place at Victoria Island. Her mother was always excited whenever the girls came over. She always made sure there was enough to eat and drink. Sometimes, she’d sit with them for a while, she and Kike’s younger sister, Omotola, and listen to their stories, before Kike chased them away so she and her girls could have some privacy. This usually made Omotola sulk because she always wanted to be included in the conversations. She would term them ‘amebo’, hoping they’d include. She never had such luck.

After a lunch of amala and efo riro , Chizoba and the girls made a successful getaway from the chaos of the house to Kike’s bedroom. Kike took a bottle of Chardonnay from the fridge and some glasses so they could enjoy while they talked.  After pouring some for them in their glasses, Kike lounged with her belly on her bed. Chizoba and Soludo sat together on the burgundy couch at the left side of Kike’s bed. Ini held her glass in hand while perusing the new dresses Kike had bought recently. The room was very tidy, but for the clothes Ini kept pulling from the hangers in the wardrobe and tossing them on the bed.

“Ini, you’re messing up Kike’s room,” Soludo pointed out.

“Bebelube,” Ini sneered at her. “Who asked you now?”

“Sorry oh,” Soludo said into her drink.

Kike laughed and said to Soludo, “she’ll put them back when she’s done.”

Ini sulked but she couldn’t help but purr at the dresses. “These are so fine o, Kike. I wish you told me when you were getting them, you could have got for me too.”

“I got them from Idumota, Ini. Whenever you’re ready, we can go together,” Kike responded.

Ini’s face lit up in excitement. “That would be great.” She took a sip of her drink.

“I think I’ll join you guys too,” Chizoba added.

“No wahala,” Kike answered.

 “Guys, I’d soon start wedding shopping.” Ini groaned and sat on the bed beside Kike. “I’m exhausted just thinking of it.”

Soludo laughed at her, “you never start you don tire. I laugh in Latin.”

“Soludo!” Kike scolded.

“Don’t mind her, let her be laughing like chicken. When it’s your turn, I’ll so make fun of you.” Chizoba said to her.

“Ahan na, Ini you know I love you,” Soludo said to Ini.

“Abeg gettat,” Ini scoffed.

Soludo chortled, “But you guys should chill first. It seems Chizzy might be the next on the list of wedding shopping.”

“Nonso and I are still just friends,” Chizoba laughed.

“Just imagine!” Soludo said. “Who even mentioned Nonso?”

Chizoba rolled her eyes at her.

“A-hem! Friend that you’ve been talking to everyday for hours since Valentine’s,” Ini cleared her throat. She had lost interest in the dresses.

“Friend that is taking her out on another date tomorrow,” Kike added.

“Mm-hmm!” The three of them said at once, teasing her.

“Ok, ok.” Chizoba conceded. “I admit that we talk a lot. We are in the talking stage, it’s allowed.”

“And you like him.” Soludo said as a statement, but still prompting her to respond.

“Yes, I do. Doesn’t mean I’m getting married soon.”

“The former already sounds like the vow taken during a wedding ceremony,” Kike smirked and sipped her drink.

“Kike!”Chizoba guffawed.

“Which brings me to this. I’m spending the night at your place today.” Soludo said.

Chizoba stared at Soludo wide eyed. “You say?”

“I said I’m sleeping over today,” Soludo replied flatly. “In case you didn’t understand it the first time. Or should I speak Igbo?” She was enjoying Chizoba’s confusion.

Kike and Ini both sipped their Chardonnay and watched the scene unfold.

“I heard what you said,” Chizoba glared at her.

“So why did you ask me to reiterate?” Soludo scoffed.

Chizoba looked to Kike and Ini for support. “You guys should help me out here.”

“Now, why would we interfere?” Kike asked innocently.

“Cos, we all know why Soludo wants to sleep over at my place tonight.” Chizoba couldn’t believe Kike, of all of them wouldn’t interfere.

“Well, someone has to check him out for us. And Soludo  volunteered,” Kike added quickly.

“She did what now?” Chizoba glared at Kike.

“And she gives accurate results,” Ini added.

“Jeez, thanks for the ‘compliments’ guys,” Soludo made air quotes at compliments. “But, hello,” she waved the hand not holding the glass of chardonnay, “Soludo is right here.”

“Soludo, I love you and I know you love me, but I didn’t plan for a sleepover tonight.” Chizoba faced her.

“You don’t have to worry, Chizzy. I won’t bite your Nonso. I just want to meet him, for the culture.” Soludo sipped her drink and gave a malicious grin. “I love you too.”

“That doesn’t look like the smile of someone who just wants to meet someone.” Chizoba sneered at her.

Soludo only chuckled and Ini decided to speak. “Chizzy, remember when Essien and I started seeing each other and how you girls were all up in my face about him. Kike was the one who you three designated to meet him first, before the rest of you. It is what we do when we see potential, why are you acting like it’s a new thing?”

“Kike didn’t sleepover at your place the day before a date to meet Essien.” Chizoba countered.

“Only because we agreed that I’d just bump into them coincidentally,” Kike explained. “And it worked.”

“That’s because you’re level headed. This one you people are sending to me no get sense.”

Ini and Kike laughed while Soludo snorted.

“Hear me out guys,” Chizoba continued. “It’s not like I’m new to this, I’m just weary of,” she bent her head sideways at Soludo, “you know, her.”

“Why are you weary of her?” Ini asked thoughtfully.

“Because she looks like she will pounce on Nonso with a lot of questions.”

“Which is normal, we need her to ask those questions,” Kike said.

Soludo exhaled audibly, placed her glass on the stool beside the couch and threw her hands in the air. “Once again, Soludo is right here. O gini di? Why are you guys referring to me like I’m somewhere else?”

“Sorry baby,” Ini apologized, stifling a chuckle.

“So, it is settled. I am sleeping over at Chizzy’s and I will meet Nonso tomorrow when he comes to take her out on the date.” Soludo grinned at Chizoba.

“Yay!” Ini clapped her hands together.

Chizoba rolled her eyes at her, then at Kike and Ini. “It’s not like I have a choice. Y’all have decided already, probably before this outing.”

The other three burst out laughing.

“I knew it,” Chizoba said. “My best friends are the worst.” She looked at Soludo. “I suppose you have a change of clothes in your car, Soludo, because you are not wearing mine.”

“Take a chill pill, Chizzy pie,” Soludo flipped her hair from side to side, “I got my clothes. For tonight, for church tomorrow and for work on Monday.”

“You’re staying till Monday?” Chizoba looked horrified.

“Yes, did you think you could get rid of me that easily?” Soludo asked. “Besides, we need a report of the date, fresh from the oven.”

“How do your colleagues at work deal with you?” Chizoba asked her.

“Oh, they love me for the facts I spit.” Soludo crossed her leg. “So do you guys.”

Chizoba feigned distress and put her hands on her head while they laughed at her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be subtle with Nonso.” Soludo pulled her into a hug.

“Jee, thanks. That makes me feel so much better,” Chizoba replied sarcastically.

 They laughed again and talked about other things before they decided to call it a day. Since Soludo drove, she and Chizoba would leave for Chizoba’s together. Ini said Essien would be picking her up soon. They said their goodnights and Chizoba and Soludo left.

***

Nonso’s leave had officially ended the week before Valentine’s. He hadn’t had much to do the day of their first date, but now, he did. From Tuesday, the work load had increased to the normal volume. As an accountant, he worked with numbers and accuracy. So, he liked to be sure of something before he went for it. As it is, he was sure that he liked Chizoba after their first date and he’d want to see her again. He had tasks to do, but they were not gonna prevent him from seeing her again.  He thought of the next  available day for him and it was the weekend. He and Chizoba had been talking since Valentine’s day.

 That meant everyday.

He looked forward to the phone calls in the evenings and the chats during the day. She was like a ray of sunshine to his moody days of work. He finally asked her if she’d be free for a date on Sunday and she was. He planned to take her to the movies, after a picnic. The weather was good enough to enjoy the outdoors. Checking for wonderful picnic spots online, he chose Johnson Jakande Tinubu park (JJT park) at Alausa. It was also close to the mall, so it’d be easy for them to stroll to the movies after their picnic. Chizoba had said she’d bake some cupcakes for the picnic.

“You don’t have to do that, Chizzy,” he had said. “I don’t want you getting stressed. I’ll take care of everything.”

She had chuckled, “I don’t mind. I like baking.”

“But—”

“It’s actually fine, Nonso. Don’t worry, I promise I’m only baking the cupcakes, nothing else.” As an after thought, she added. “And I’ll provide the blanket we’ll sit on.”

“Ah!” He had exclaimed. “I guess I didn’t think this picnic thing through.”

She tittered. “Well, I’ve covered dessert and a blanket, you can figure the rest out.”

“That I will.” After the call ended, he had scouted for wonderful food vendors and restaurants nearby. Sam had helped, with a lot of grumbling. Finally, he settled on The place restaurant and agreed for a delivery to the house before they left on Sunday.

Sunday soon came, which was date day. He and Sam had gone to church together. He had long met Sandra, the lady that had captured Sam's heart. She was pretty and very affable. They became fast friends, to Sam's surprise. After church, they came home together and Sam helped Nonso select something nice to wear. Much later,  as Nonso got ready for the date, Sam came to him in the bedroom.

“Knock, knock!” Sam said, knocking and waltzing into the bedroom.

“Hello, Sam,” Nonso said to him, brushing his hair.

“This one you’re 'hello, sam-ing’ me.”

“Can’t I say hello again?”

“It’s weird,” Sam said, plopping on the bed.

“This one you’re knock-knocking.”

“Can’t I use my mouth again?” Sam shook his head.

“What do you want, Sam?” Nonso had stopped brushing his hair and faced Sam now.

“You two going out again?”

“That’s a very weird thing to ask, Sam.”

“Yeah, but she didn’t tell me,” Sam frowned.

“How is that a problem?” Nonso raised his eyebrows.

“She told me about the Valentine date.”

“Maybe it skipped her mind,” Nonso took out his sneakers from the shoe rack and sat beside Sam to put them on. “She’s been busy.”

“You seem to know a lot about her already.”

“Yes, Sam. I know a lot. Though I want to know more.”

“So, you’re serious about her.”

Nonso sighed, “you sound like we haven’t had this conversation already.”

“I have to be sure again,” Sam said.

“For the millionth time, I really like Chizzy and I’m serious about her.”

“But you’re not based here, Guy,” Sam folded his arms. “How una wan take do am?”

“Well, she hasn’t agreed to anything yet.” Nonso finished the task of putting his shoes on and stood. “When we get to that bridge, we’ll cross it. We’ll talk about it. Of course we’d talk about it.” He didn’t have to tell Sam that he had thought a great deal about it already and he had an idea of how he wanted things to go. He took out his phone and made a call to the food delivery service.

“Ok.” Sam finally said.

Nonso finished speaking on the phone and said to Sam, “Now that you’re done interrogating me, may I go for my date?”

“Yes, you can. And remember, if you hurt her, I’ll break your head.”

“The threat makes me feel so good, Sam Kelly.” Nonso frowned.

Sam yawned. “Where’s your food?”

“Arriving in a minute.”

Sam waved him off with his hands, “sha bring something back for me.”

“You’re such a child.” Nonso laughed. The delivery came in a minute, as he had predicted. He took the two nylon bags of food and drinks and stepped out of the house. He decided to walk over to Chizoba’s. They’d order their ride from her place. The sun wasn’t harsh and he was really grateful for that. How were they supposed to enjoy their picnic if the sun in Sunday decided to be scalding? Balancing the bags in his left hand, he took out his phone and called Chizoba to say he was close to her house. She sounded like she was talking to someone else in the background. Could be a neighbor. He got to her apartment which was on the ground floor and knocked on her door. After about a minute of knocking and waiting, someone opened the door for him. And it was definitely not Chizoba. She wore a shorts and a very big t-shirt. He took a step backwards as she came out of the apartment.

“Err, hello,” Nonso said.

“Hello,” the lady looked bored. “Can I help you?”

Was this a joke? “Yeah, err, is Chizoba here?”

“Yes, she is. But who are you?”

Nonso exhaled. He hadn’t realized he had been holding his breath. He really thought Chizoba wasn’t at home. His heart could have exploded if she wasn’t. “She knows I’m coming. I’m Nonso.”

“Ah! You’re Nonso,” the lady said, looking as bored as ever as she yawned. “You’re the guy who seems to like my friend, right?”

“Err, sorry, who are you?” Nonso asked.

“Oh, forgive my manners,” she had a malicious grin plastered to her face now. “I’m Soludo.”

“Ah!” Recognition dawned on him. He knew the name. Soludo was one of the girls in Chizoba’s clique. He suddenly felt like a chicken in a slaughter house. Soludo fixed her intimidating eyes on him. He realized she was tall too, they were at the same eye level. She was an inch taller than Chizoba. Were the rest of the clique this tall? He wondered.

“You haven’t answered my question,” Soludo brought his wandering mind back.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I asked if you were the guy that likes my friend.”

“Err, I am.” Nonso gulped. Definitely in a slaughter house. What was with the interrogations today?

“You don’t sound sure.” She said flatly.

“I like Chizoba.”

“And what are your intentions towards her?”

Nonso couldn’t help but laugh. When Soludo only glared at him, he cleared his throat. “You’re serious?”

“Did I stutter?” Soludo pursed her lips.

“With all due respect, Soludo, Chizzy and I haven’t even had that conversation—”

“More reason you can talk to me about it,” Soludo interjected. “Here’s the deal, dear. You have good intentions towards her, you have our blessings and we won’t interfere. I’m speaking on behalf of the girls. But, your intentions be anything but good, I’ll personally end you.” She grinned then.

“You’re really crazy, Soludo.” Nonso concluded.

“So I’ve been told. Now, what’s it gonna be?”

Nonso put his free hand in the pocket of his Jean trousers. “As I said to Sam, barely 10 minutes ago, I really like your friend and my intentions towards her are the purest I have ever had. She’s a great person and I want her to be my girl, if she’d have me.”

“Aww,” Soludo placed her hand on her chest, “that’s really poetic. Anyway, you agree that if you mess up, I’ll end you, right?”

Nonso chuckled again. “You’re the second person threatening me today if I hurt Chizzy. I am not gonna mess up.” He had a feeling this girl would go ahead with her threats, but he wasn’t just saying it because he was scared of her. He liked Chizzy and he would never hurt her.

“I guess we’re on the same page then,” Soludo stuck out her hand to shake him.

He shifted the bags to his left and accepted Soludo's hand. He watched as her face changed into a welcoming smile.

“You’re good looking and you seem cool,” she began, “I can see why Chizzy likes you.”

“She likes me?” he probed.

“Would she go on a second date with you if she didn’t?” Soludo smirked.

“Good point.”

As they discussed, Chizzy came out of the house.

“So sorry for the delay,” she said. “I had to package the cupcakes properly.” She held a small rectangular card box in her right hand and a black tote bag hung on her left shoulder. “Hi.” She finally looked at him.

“Hi! You look lovely.” She wore a lavender playsuit that had a sweetheart neckline and slim straps. “You seem to like purple.”

She chuckled. “You caught me.”

“Remind me to send you lavenders or lilacs next time I want to send flowers.”

She grinned. “I sure will. I see you’ve met Soludo.” She fixed her gaze at Soludo who was standing at her right and looked like she had swallowed a frog.

Nonso had actually forgotten about the existence of Soludo the moment Chizoba had stepped out. “Yes, we’ve met.” He looked at Soludo now.

“Hope she didn’t drill you so much?”

“Oh, she definitely did.”

“He’s honest,” Soludo slapped Chizoba on her back. “I like this guy.”

“Soludo!” Chizoba shrieked. “That hurt.”

“Oops! Sorry!” Soludo apologized. “I’m just gonna go inside. You kids have fun.” She sidestepped Chizoba, thought of something, then whispered whatever she thought of into Chizoba’s eat before dashing into the apartment.

“Here, let me take that from you.” Nonso placed the nylon bags he had been carrying on the block rail in front of the apartment and took the box from Chizoba. He placed it on the block rail too, then stepped closer to pull her into a hug. “I missed you.”

“Same here,” she said in the embrace. “Can’t believe it was just last Monday we saw. Felt like a month.”

Nonso laughed, then pulled away. He touched her nose and saw the delight in her eyes. “I’ll just order the bolt and we’ll be on our way.”

“Ok.”

They waited for about five minutes for the Bolt to arrive, then they left for their picnic sometime around 3pm.

 

A photograph of JJT park from Google

Chizoba had never been to JJT park before, but she had heard about it from her customers. She had checked it out online and found out that the JJT, which meant Johnson Jakande Tinubu park, was named after three governors of Lagos State. It was actually a beautiful place from the pictures she had seen, but they didn’t do justice to the place in reality. From the entrance, you become enamored as the first thing you notice is the fountain. The fountain surrounds what looked like a very big statue of someone or a masquerade in an Eyo festival. There was a small wooden bridge that passed through the statue that one could walk through to the other side.

 At the far left, she could see some chairs and tables set up in front of a small building that was definitely a good kiosk. They weren’t gonna eat there, since they had their own food. She liked that you could bring your own meal to the park. As they walked around, looking for where to set up, she saw the large chess board and some people playing the game. She got entranced and stood for about thirty seconds before walking ahead. Chess had always been complicated to her, she couldn’t really wrap her head around it, but she liked that it was a game of the mind and respected people who could play.

“Do you play chess?” She asked Nonso.

“Yeah, sometimes. Do you? We could play.” He said to her.

“Nah, sorry to disappoint. I don’t play.”

“Maybe I could teach you, if you’re up for it.”

She grinned at him. “That would be nice. Any time you’re free.”

They kept walking and she noticed a cage that housed some pretty interesting birds she couldn’t name. They had colorful feathers and tweeted away beautifully, leaping into short flights. It was so cute she took a shot of it with her phone. A number of thatched huts rose up at strategic places and some people had claimed them for themselves. There were also block benches at different positions. The green grass added aesthetically to the park, as well as the tiled and cobblestoned areas.

What got her attention the most was the middle of the park. Right there was an elevated bust of the political triumvirate. The three faces were carved in place and was circled by the national flags of the 54 countries that make up Africa. The Nigerian flag stood the tallest amongst them as they danced around in the soft breeze. A lot of people posed in front of it to take pictures. Come to think of it, a lot of people were taking pictures almost everywhere in the park.

“I must say, this place is really beautiful,” she said. They had stopped walking and stood close to a short tree.

“I’m glad you like it.” Nonso said to her. “Found anywhere you want us to sit?”

“Of course! Right here.”

He chuckled and placed the nylon bags on the grass. She did the same with the cupcakes and took out a soft blanket from her tote bag. They both laid it on the grass and placed the bags and box on it before sitting side by side. She unloaded the bags and saw that Nonso had ordered fried rice with salad and chicken in two takeaway plates, a carton of chivita apple juice, two bottles of fanta and two bottles of water. She opened the box that housed four cupcakes decorated by chocolate fillings and gave one to Nonso to try.

“Mm,” Nonso munched. “This is delicious.”

“Thank you,” she said, taking one for herself.

After that, they devoured their main dish and talked as their little feast went on.

“How was your girls' hangout yesterday?” he asked her.

“It was nice. And fun,” she replied, sipping some water. “Kike’s mum overfed as usual and we even took leftovers home. Then Soludo announced she was sleeping over.”

He smiled. “She really does love you.”

She looked at him then, “I know she does. With all her excesses, I love her too.”

“How did y'all meet?” He asked her.

“Oh, Kike and I attended the same secondary school. We met again in Unilag and there was Soludo and Ini.”

“It’s cool. I like your friendship.”

“I thought you were scared of girl cliques.” She teased him.

“Well, I was. But meeting Soludo, I think that it should be nice.”

 “What did you guys talk about  though, while you were waiting for me?”

“That’s rather confidential.”

“Gini?” she sneered.

He couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s between Soludo and I.”

She pouted like a child. “You don’t want to tell me.”

“Ok, ok. Let’s just say she wants the best for you.” He said, then added quickly before he lost his nerve. “And she thinks you like me.”

She placed her plate on the blanket and inched closer to him. “So, what if she’s right?”

“If she’s right, I’d be very happy. I have feelings for you, Chizzy and trust me when I say I really don’t want to ruin what we have.” He looked dead serious.

“That’s a relief because I have feelings for you too, totally unplanned by the way.” She said to him.

“You’re making me very happy,” he smiled. “How does it feel to like me?”

“Well, so far, the giddy feeling has been great. But, we have to be realistic here. I live in Lagos, you visit maybe once year—”

“And you’re wondering how we can pull this off.” He finished for her.

“Who wouldn’t wonder?”

He sighed, then she asked him, “when are you going back to Abuja?”

“At the end of the month.”

She puffed and looked at her fingers.

He took her hand and kissed the back of her palm. “What do you want, Chizzy?”

“I know what I don’t want. I don’t want this love story to end before it even has a chance to begin.”

That warmed his heart. “You believe we have a love story here.”

“Yes, I believe.”

“I came to Lagos because I liked visiting and I wanted to catch up with some old friends. But I didn’t know why I had the urge to come this early in the year. I think I just got my answer now. The urge was to find you. To find someone that would be dear to me. Never in a million years did I think it’d be Sam's pretty cousin. Buy yeah, it is you and I believe that whatever happens, we’ll weather the storm together.

“Chizzy, my work is really flexible and we have branches in Lagos. If we both want this, it could work. I could get a transfer to Lagos.”

“Woah! Nonso, just hang on a little.” She took her hand from his. “I can’t ask you to do that for me.”

“You didn’t.”

“But...” she was stunned. He was willing to relocate because of her?

“I want to do this, Chizzy. And I have thought about this before now. ”

“Oh, phew.” She placed her hand on her chest. “For a moment I thought you just made an impromptu decision.”

“Well, I knew this was gonna come up at some point.”

“You knew?” she smirked.

“Even if you had not developed feelings for me before now, you would along the way.”

“You’re so smug.” She sneered at him.

He laughed at her and took her hands in his again, pulling her closer.

“Why don’t we see how things go from now till the end of the month. Be sure you really want the relocation.” She said.

“Yes, ma’am.” He kissed the inside of her palm.

“Nonso,” she chuckled.

“Are you shy?” he asked her, glancing around. There were people around, but it didn’t matter to him.

“Maybe a little bit,” she answered truthfully.

“Ok, I won’t ravish you out here.”

That made her laugh. They talked some more in between bites. Nonso had checked for a movie before then and had gone for Uncharted which was showing at 5:30pm. They both packed up their things, disposed off the plates and empty boxes and strolled to the mall. On getting to the Mall, they purchased movie tickets that came with popcorn and a drink. They had to leave their juice in it’s nylon outside the theatre. Chizoba knew that would happen, but she also knew it’d be safe. She took out the jean jacket she had in her tote bag and put it on before they walked into the theatre. It wasn’t packed with a lot of people, so they found their way to the back of the theatre. Nonso had his hand around her chair during the course of the movie. At some point, it felt like they were the only ones in the theatre.

“I want to kiss you, Chizzy,” he whispered to her.

She chuckled. “Why do you want to kiss me, dear sir?”

“That’s a good question,” he replied. “You’re about to find out.” He turned to face, tipping her face to meet his, he captured her lips in a slow, delicious kiss. He let his tongue dance around her lips. Sensing her response, he dove into her mouth and she let him. She tasted of chocolate and orange juice, of milk and of ice tea. She also had a taste that was distinct to her. Their tongues collided in a soft fire and Nonso knew he’d be kissing her again and again and forever, if she’d let him. He felt her hand grip his which was on her jaw. Against every will in his body, he drew back from her and caressed her face. “Do you now know why I wanted to kiss you?”

Not trusting herself to speak, Chizoba only nodded and faced the large screen. She smiled to herself. She didn’t even glance around to know if anyone saw them kissing. It didn’t matter to her, she was having a wonderful time. This was definitely her love story and it had just begun in a beautiful way. Whatever the odds may be, she wasn’t going to let it end before it had a chance to bloom. The girls would be so pleased with the recent development. The movie ended soon and they made their way out of the theatre and into the night sky, giggling like two teenagers that had just fallen in love for the first time. He kissed her again when they got home. Before he left, she said she’d handle their next date. That seemed to please him. As she walked into her apartment, Soludo was waiting impatiently with a glass of Chapman for the gist.

“Well?” Soludo asked. “How was it?”

“I think I just got me a boyfriend.” Chizoba grinned.  "And a great one at that."