So, This is Love? Episode 9 – Judith Onyoyibo
I didn’t blink my eyes for once till day break.
To make matter worse, my host was praying loudly in his room. The prayers kept itching my ears. I almost went out to confront him but remembered that I was in his house and not in mine. He stopped praying around 4:39am.
At around 6:09am, his sister knocked on the door.
“Good morning”. She greeted warmly with a smile.
“Good morning”. I said with a feigned smile.
“I brought you a change of clothes”. She said while offering me a brown long gown.
“Thank you so much”. I said. I was actually bothered about what to wear.
I dashed into the bathroom and quickly had my bath. I wore the gown that was given to me. If not that I had no other choice, I would have stoned her with the gown.
“A whole me wearing this long Mary Amaka gown. Do I look like a reverend sister to her? Wonders shall never end”. I soliloquize.
I tiptoed out of the room. I wanted to leave the house before Mr. Preacher wakes up.
I successfully sneaked into the palour. As I was about opening the door, I heard his voice.
“Are you leaving already”. He asked.
Disappointedly, I stopped. I didn’t even notice he has been in the dining watching me fool myself. I was embarrassed.
“Yupp”. I said still very much embarrassed.
“Let me drop you off”. He said and hurriedly gulped the content in the mug down his throat.
“Oh my goodness! Not again”. I murmured.
He grabbed his car keys.
He hopped into his car and I followed suit.
“Where do you live”. He asked
“Somolu”. I replied.
“I hope he’s not about preaching to me”. I thought within.
“So,..”. He was about saying something when I intercepted him.
“Please don’t preach. I’m not in the mood”. I said without looking at him.
“I wasn’t even going to preach to you but now that you mentioned it, I just got aroused”. He said.
“Then I will have to come down”. I replied with stern seriousness.
“You must really have a deep beef with God”. He said without looking my side.
“Thank you. Don’t interfer”. I snapped.
This was followed by a prolonged silence.
He stopped at a Tecno slot.
“Let’s get down”. He said.
“Why”. I asked confused.
“Obey before complain”. He said smiling.
He got down from the car. I had no other choice than to do same.
He entered into the slot. I walked behind him completely oblivious of what he has up his sleeves.
“Pick a phone of your choice”. He offered.
“Why?”. I inquired.
“Remember, your phone got stolen”. He said.
“So??”.
“Don’t worry, I will pick for you “. He said.
He randomly picked an Android phone and went to the counter to pay for it.
I just sat on one chair completely uninterested in what he was doing.
After awhile, he came to where I was seated.
“Your name please”. He asked.
“Janet”. I said.
At the mention of my name, he froze immediately. Shock was written all over his face. His eyes were filled with lots of questions. He was completely blown away.
“Are you really Janet”. He asked still looking shocked and surprised.
“What’s going on here? Did any Janet steal from you”. I asked in a bit to sound funny but I guess he wasn’t down for a joke.
“Are you Janet Eseoghene?”. He asked.
My mouth was wide opened.
“Who told you my first name?”. I asked surprised.
He closed his eyes for a while.
“So, this is it lord?!”. He muttered.
I was completely confused.
“Can you tell me what’s going on?”. I asked completely baffled and at the same time marveled.
Without saying anything, he left for the counter. He came back after a while with the phone packaged in a fancy bag.
“Let’s go”. He said.
While inside the car, he handed the phone over to me. I unboxed it and saw my both names written in the receipt.
“Don’t you think you owe me some explanations?”. I asked him.
He didn’t say anything to me. He kept on driving.
I decided to let him be. “If he doesn’t want to talk, it’s his problem and not mine”.
“You can drop me in the next junction, I can find my way from here”. I said.
“My name is Stephen by the way”. He said at last.
“I thought you’ve lost your voice”.
He searched through his car and brought out his business card.
“Please call me as soon as you retrieve your line”. He said while offering me his card.
I collected it from him.
“How did you know my native name”. I questioned.
“When the time is right, I will tell you”. He said.
“Don’t be boring please. Tell me now”. I insisted.
“I am glad to finally meet you, Janet”. He said beaming with smiles.
It was obvious he wasn’t ready to talk. I thanked him for the phone and for everything and alighted the car.
I didn’t want him to know my real address so I branched into a random street while pretending it was actually my street.
“Call me whenever you are ready to talk about God”. He screamed after me.
I was quite embarrassed. I hastened my steps.
“I don jam today”. I said to myself.
He didn’t leave till I was completely out of his sight.
When I saw that he has left, I came out and entered another bus to my house.
To be continued
