Just as she was trying to figure out who it was, her phone rang, it was Emeka she looked up to check the time past 10 she wrinkled her forehead and picked,
“hello”
“Hi, I figured I call you with this number and you’d pick and lucky for me you did”
“Ahahahahaha what do you mean by lucky, Abeg it’s not that deep”
“hmm it’s deep for me, good thing you hit my car, how would I have found someone like you”
“i’d rather we had met another way tho” there was a pause and she could hear his surrounding “are you on the road?”
“Yh, I am head home now, I called you initially while rounding up with a meeting, and I could not get you out my mind, so I just had to call you now”
She blushed if that was possible for a black girl
“well Emeka I don’t know what say”
“you don’t have to say anything, just remember our date on Saturday Ok?”
“sure”
“and is it OK if I call you sometimes at this time? It’s really the only time I get to talk with distractions”
“that’s fine by me, do you have a place in mind for Saturday? ”
“well from my perspective you look like someone that would not mind something fancy, so there is this Italian restaurant in festival road I have always wanted to try out”
“Villa Medici? “she said before stopping herself?
“Yh, you’ve been there? ”
“Yhup, it’s a lovely place I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as well.
“with you, I’ll enjoy Mr biggs!” they both laughed to it and paused again
“OK Princess, I should let you go, talk to you tomorrow? ”
“Yh goodnight” she lingered a bit before hanging up.
It’s been a while she had a man chat her up at this time of the night, she felt good. She laughed quietly and covered it with her hands. She had been in a relationship once upon a long time and then the guy decided she was too serious, that was in her Nysc year, since then she had focused on her work, family and friends and God. Her mother who was once an advocate for staying off men was now her personal match maker and with the worse men. Her friends told her to open her mind
D be open minded, the perfect guy won’t fall into your laps, you have to mold him to your taste, men are babies you train them to behave. This your idea of man will are just in telemundo
She had tried their way, it hadn’t worked, first it was Ade because her mum said ‘date your tribe’, Ade was loud and pompous, they didn’t see after their second date, when he kept insisting on the kind of food that would make her buttocks come out. Next was Nosa, it took her approximately one week to find out he had a white wife. Then it was Idris who believed that though he was a Christian He still had to have more than one wife because God instructed man to multiply and restricting it to just one woman would be too much for her to bear. She gave up with men when the last one she went out with upon the mass of wealth he had insisted on using the Diamond Bank pos because he didn’t want them to charge him for using another Bank’s pos, although she had tried to ensure him that that was not the case he still refused, she ended up paying for their meal. Of course that was the last she spoke to him.
She put off the TV with the remote and went into the room.
What a day she thought.
*************
Saturday
She had woken up with a feeling she was forgetting something, but the feeling left almost immediately when she remembered she had the big sale event to attend with Ada.They had planned it for weeks when they found out about it. Being ladies that loved dressing up whenever fashion sale was mentioned, it was like a magical word had been mentioned and the girls went berserk! She leaped out of her bed to rush to her bathroom, then ran back and picked up her phone,
“babe, you up? ”
“I should be asking you that, I’m excited! Are you excited? ”
“Yhup Yhup! My toes are tingling, how much are we spending”
“hubby gave me 800, how much are you looking at? ”
“I’m doing 700, maybe 800 if those shoes I saw when I went to the store is now in sale”
“OK, see you 11?”
“alright, bahbai! ”
That was their standard way of starting their shopping day, although they did minimum shopping almost every weekend, but this was different, usually they’d wait till each one of them was free then they’d travell together and do their shopping, but when they heard of the stores coming for the particular fashion sales, they knew they had to come through. Their favorite designers were going to be on sales!
She rushed through her shower, and went to the kitchen, there she stopped and perused the kitchen mentally thinking of the most convenient yet filling food to prepare, she settled for wetabix and eggs fried in sunny side up method with two slices of bread. She dumped her plate on the sink and rushed to the room again, she checked her phone, 9:27 she mentally calculated traffic and checked she was still on course.
Twenty minutes later she was good to go, she stepped out of her flat to see the gate man just closing her car,
“Sunday,you’re just finishing? ”
“good morning aunty, I don finish since I just come return the mat, I been dey dey am”
“OK, thank you” the gateman was very generous with excuses, but she liked him, he had made her move easy with the way he handled the movers and made sure they didn’t break any of her vases.
She drove out and saw him waving like she was travelling forever, she chuckled and wove back. The sales was taking place at the garden close to Law School, she couldn’t remember the name but she knew the place quite well.
By the time she got to the venue Ada was waiting with Kerri, which surprised her cause Ada did all her shopping online so they didn’t include her.
“Ah this is serious you too? ” she laughed as she came down from the car, they had agreed to pack at law school to avoid stress, “K, you’re here as well”
“babe its serious oh, River Island, Loubs, Ah I can’t afford to miss that Abeg. ”
“OK Nah, how’s my baby”she dierected her question to Ada as they made their way to the park.
“good i left him with his dad today is for mummy”
Four hours later and they were finally done with their shopping, each carrying at least four bags on each hands, hearts filled with so much joy, Deola felt her phone vibrate but couldn’t care less she was a content woman anticipating when she would launch each shoe bag and clothes she has gotten.
By the time they got to the car park, Deolas phone had rang nonstop, she dropped all her bags at the back seat and weighed her hands in relieve, she opened the front seat of her car and sat down, Ada and Kerri were already sitting down going through their phones.
“My husband has been calling me”
“my boss”
Deola quickly opened her bag and also checked hers
“ye ye ye! The guys has been calling since, I forgot today was the dinner ”
They looked at Deola with apparent question,
“what?… She rolled her eyes…. Remember the guy I told you about?… The one whose car I hit at Mega chicken?…..she saw a light of understanding enter their eyes…. Yh we are having dinner tonight and I am super late!”
“hurry on then! Tell us everything when…i mean it everything! When you get back OK? ” Ada rushed her and Kerri nodded her head to show her support while waving her away
“oya be going na” Deola locked her car and wove them bye as made a reverse and faced the gate out. She dialled the number as she was turning to the main road.
“hi! I’m so sorry I didn’t pick up, I was with my friends, I am just going home and I’ll be ready before its time”she rushed out immediately he picked
“it’s fine, I wanted to see how you were doing and to hear your voice, I’m also rounding up with somethings here, will you send me your address so I’ll come pick you up”
“Erhmmm sure I’ll do that now”
She dropped the call and sent him the address, one eye on the road, then sent him a google map address as an after thought.
After that she dropped her phone on her laps and then put on the radio, they were playing Tiwa savage’s All over and she sang and wriggled to the beat.
Life was good! what was a definition of a good day if not going shopping with your girls, dancing to a good song in the car on your way home to get ready for a date!