Thirty - Chapter 1

Read Chapter 2 here

It was a beautiful evening and an even more beautiful view. The sun was just setting above the horizon, Omololu and I settled into a comfortable silence, each with a glass of wine.

“You have a beautiful house,” I said looking straight at the disappearing sun.

“I bet you get lost just staring at this view daily” I added smiling at him.

Omololu is handsome, in that calm, cool, and boy next door kind of way. Tall, dark and rich, one could fall in love with him so easily. If only I were one of them, I thought. But, my heart is still healing, recovering from a broken dream.

“I don’t notice this on a normal day” He responded, breaking into my thoughts. “You know how I can easily get lost when I’m working”

“You are underutilising all these goodness, rich man,” I said, hitting his shoulders lightly.

“Maybe if you are here with me always, I would do better”

Shaking my head, I chuckled as I stood and walked to the railings “You are incorrigible Lolu.”

I know Omololu wants me, and anyone with a pair of eyes could see it. He had never hidden his intentions from the first day we ran into each other in front of the elevators, six months ago. He was coming out of the elevator on the ground floor, and I was rushing in to get back to my office after lunch. I later found out he was meeting some investors on the 12th floor. We ran into each other, we both apologised, and instead of leaving the elevator, he asked what floor I was going and went along for the ride. In the few minutes of the elevator ride from the ground floor to the 10th, he managed to charm me into giving him my number. I smiled into my wine glass as I remembered all the corny jokes he cracked that day.

He is a good man, if only my heart would cooperate. I thought

“I wish I could Lolu,” I said sipping from my wine glass. I looked at him with a cheeky smile “I’m not sure you can handle me anyway, let me find you a babe, I know many awesome girls o”

“Passing me on as usual,” He said shaking his head “I swear, I feel like a piece of meat, Teni,” He added, laughing good-naturedly.

“You will have to get over him eventually, you know?”

I turned my back to him, looking back at the horizon where the sun has now completely disappeared. I know he’s right, and like everyone else, he’s simply concerned about me. I’ve never loved anyone as hard as I loved my now ex-boyfriend and having to let that go almost broke me. I’m still hurting and I’m taking it one day at a time, letting myself feel, so I can heal.

“Growing up, we didn’t have so much.” I began, with my back still turned to him.

I heard him stand and walked to the railings. He didn’t say anything, he just listened. I smiled wondering how a friend of 6 months seemed to always know what I needed.

“My parents provided us with the best they can afford, but there were days when we didn’t get the things we needed. On days like that, just before we go to sleep, my Dad will say, today is gone, tomorrow, we try again”

Turning to face him, I continued “So, do not worry about me. I’m just trying to get through my today and when it ends, I will try again tomorrow.”

He remained silent for a few minutes and then turned to me grinning “You this ajebutter, you look like you grew up shitting millions o. See your skin like butter,”

“Lolu!!! That’s all you got from the very deep things I said?” I gasped feigning annoyance, before bursting into laughter. Omololu is so good for my soul, I thought to myself still laughing.

“You will get through this Teni” I heard him say somberly. I looked up wondering how he managed to switch so effortlessly, while I was still trying to catch my breath from laughing so hard.

I nodded and smiled in response.

“You know I never told you why my last relationship ended” He started

“You see, I understand how hard letting go is. I know the pains of a broken heart, especially when it’s from something neither of you can control. There’s no one to be angry at.”

“It’s hard, isn’t it?” he asked looking directly at me.

Without waiting for my answer, he continued “She died. Bidemi, that was her name. It happened so suddenly; one moment, she called me that she was coming over to my house, the next moment, she was gone.”

“Oh my!!!” I gasped at his revelation.

“I was not feeling so well that day and she was on her way to see me. I offered to get her a ride but she insisted it wasn’t necessary. A bike hit her as she was crossing. The bike man had taken the wrong way, and she didn’t see him until it was too late. She died before she could be taken to the hospital”

I had no words to comfort him, so I took his hand in mine, hoping to comfort him in any way I could.

Looking down at his hand in mine, he smiled.

“I was angry at the world for a long time. It was hard, it broke me, it almost destroyed me too, but I took it one day at a time. So, believe me, Teniola, I understand what you meant by getting through your today, so you can try again tomorrow. Mine took me two years”

Pulling me close to him, he continued “Take the time you need to heal, but don’t take too long, let the dusk come, so tomorrow can begin”

Sighing loudly, I said “I’m so sorry for your loss Lolu. I mean, here I was whining about a broken relationship when you’ve had a worse experience. I feel so…”

“No,” Lolu said cutting me short mid-sentence.

“Never apologise for feeling pain because your experiences seem to pale beside another’s. It doesn’t make it lesser. Your struggles and pain are yours, they’ve made you into who you are today and there is no need for comparison.”

I stared at him for what seemed like hours wondering who this guy is who seemed to always know the right things to say.

“What?" He asked with his eyebrow raised.

"I know I’m handsome, but you don’t have to make a hole in my face from all that staring” He winked.

“You are such a blessing Omololu,” I said grinning at him.

“Don’t I know it” he responded with a grin to match mine.

*Originally published 21 July 2020