Thirty - Chapter 17

Read Chapter 16 here and Chapter 18 here

“Can we have this conversation later?” Omololu said, rolling his eyes in exasperation. His little sister, Omolola had called just as we got to the restaurant for our date night, and he has been on the call for the last 10 minutes.

I looked around the fancy restaurant Omololu had picked for our ‘makeup dinner date’ as he called it. Our seat was at the corner which in my opinion was the best seat in the room. The coziness of the corner set the right mood for our date. Absolutely lovely, how did I get so lucky? I thought smiling at Lolu as I sat back swirling the wine in my glass. To think I almost messed this up.

My phone vibrated in my purse interrupting my thought.

Sorry I just got home, it’s been crazy here, I read Bola’s message.

No problem Mrs. Bride. I understand, I replied, dropping my phone back in my purse.

I busied myself browsing through the food menu, as I listened to Lolu’s failed attempts to get his sister off the phone. I have never spoken to her, but I have witnessed their phone conversation a few times and just like today, it amuses me. It’s like watching my brother and I talk, except for the age difference. While my older brother is only 2 years older than me, Omololu is 9 years older than his sister, but the banter is thesame.

Thank God he had the idea to order a bottle of wine when he made the dinner reservation, I thought. At least that kept our table from being conspicuously empty. The sudden ping from my phone drew my attention away from the menu.

And? I read another message from Bola.

And what?I replied, genuinely confused.

Bola: You owe me gist now. What did Aunty Ope say?

I rolled my eyes at her obvious thirst for gist. She was the first person I called after my Aunt’s infamous call earlier today but she was at her pre-wedding counseling and so could not talk, hence my call to my mother.

Me: I will have to call you to gist you now, but I’m on date right now, remember?

Bola: Ha, totally forgot! How is Mr. W?

Me: He’s here, looking like his fine self

Bola: Oshey. Babe, you know I need to study how you calmed him down so easily, considering how angry he was. Maybe you should write a book that we mere mortals can read and learn o.

Me: Lol. I might even hold classes

Bola: I need am o. This big head I’m marrying, we have just been fighting all week over the smallest things, and his head is not coming down quickly like Mr. W’s own did. So, I need your secret weapon.

Her message surprised me a bit. Akinade, Bola’s fiancé is the sweetest and calmest man I ever met. We often joke that he is the perfect peace to the storm that is Bola, so to hear that they have been fighting this close to their wedding is worrisome.

What’s going on? Why are you fighting with that gentle soul? I asked urgently.

It’s just all the wedding stress o. They are just little disagreements, nothing big. We are fine, she texted back.

Sighing in relief, I responded.

Well, the wedding is almost here, so that should settle things down.

“I am on a date, Shortcake,” I heard Omololu groaned, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. “Or would you prefer that Teni breaks up with me before you get a chance to meet her?” He added, smiling at me.

“Yes, later,” He sighed, ending the call. “Sorry,” He muttered to me. “My sister is a handful,”

“I understand,” I said, dismissing his apology.

My phone pinged just as I dropped it on the table, showing a new message from Bola. “One minute please,” I said, as I quickly read Bola’s message.

Sure, once the wedding is over, things will calm down a bit. Anyway, call me after your date, okay? And give my love to that tall glass of chilled chocolate milk in front of you.

Tall what? I wrote back unable to cover my amused snort.

Just look at him again, you will understand, she responded.

Shaking my head at the ridiculousness of our chat, I quickly typed back.

You are nuts. I’ve got to go now. I will call you later.

“Sorry,” I apologised, as I dropped my phone back into my purse.

“No problem,” He responded, his eyes scanning to the menu.

“So… shortcake huh?” I asked, amused.

“Oh, you heard that,” He said, grinning at me. “You know my sister is short now, you’ve seen her pictures. So, when she was still little, I started calling her shortie, but then she didn’t like it, so as a good brother, I upgraded to shortcake,”

“And she liked that?” I asked, unable to believe that his fiery sister accepted the nickname without complaints.

“Oh no, she still complained, but I wasn’t going to change it, so it stuck. Now it’s useful whenever I want to get her riled up,” He explained.

“You are such a bully,” I said, smiling.

“That’s why you love me,” He smirked. “But seriously, when you meet her, you will see that Lola can hold her own easily,”

“I don’t doubt that at all,” I laughed, good naturedly.

“So, let’s order some food?” He asked, raising his hand to call the attention of our waitress.

“That waitress has been looking at this table for a while now. I bet she was wondering if we were only going to drink wine and leave,” I whispered quickly, as she approaches.