MY PERFECT STRANGER (3)

‘Did you have fun?' Richard asked, like a teenager who had gone to great length to please his crush and was waiting for verdict.

It was our first outing. I didn't want to think of it as a date. That would make it sound somewhat official and serious. And I am not quite comfortable with labels.

We had just attended a Night of Spoken Words (NSW) organized by poet and writer, Dike Chukwumerije at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.

Truth be told, I hadn't expected our first outing to be to an intellectually stimulating event like NSW. When he said we were going to Sheraton, I had assumed it was to have dinner. I had been pleasantly surprised and to be honest, I loved it.

In fact, I liked the different shades of Richard I was getting to know. It has been about 6 weeks since he dropped me off at home.

'And 6 weeks before the kiss', my sly mind added.

I refused to argue the differences between a kiss and a peck.

Back to Richard.

In those 6 weeks, we had gotten to know each other more. He made it a point of duty to call me every day. Even though I found it a little too much (and yes, I'm weird like that), I appreciated the fact that he didn't just call to, 'hear my voice and know if I had eaten'. 

Of course it was cute when he did ask about the seemingly mundane things going on in my life. But beyond that, we actually engaged in deep, meaningful discussions.

Richard was an intelligent man who could hold his own end of a conversation. Intelligent conversation is one of the key routes to my heart. You know that kind of conversation you have with someone that is so wholesome that your entirety aligns with his? That was me and Richard. We talked a lot about everything. Politics. 

Governance. Religion.  Sports. You name it. Nothing was off the table. Richard challenged my mind and I got to learn a lot from him.

We talked about each other's jobs and how we navigated the challenges we faced daily at work.

Richard is a Business Analyst for an IT firm based in London, United Kingdom. He was contracted by the Federal Government to bring his expertise to bear to transform one of its agencies.

Richard explained that his main focus is identifying opportunities for improving a business’s processes and using technology to eliminate problems that affect productivity, output, distribution and ultimately, the bottom line.

'Basically, knowing how technology can solve business problems is vital to my success as a business analyst', he finished with a smile.

That was the thing with Richard. He was a very good teacher. He could make a boring subject seem so captivating. I asked him questions on his job and he answered patiently and brilliantly. Somehow, some way, Richard had started to grow on me.

‘And you like it’, my mind slid in.

Truthfully, I liked it. That, I couldn’t deny. And I liked Richard too. I liked his mind. I liked his confidence. I liked parts of him I was getting to know and I wanted to know him some more. I liked the way he paid me compliments. Like the day I helped him edit a presentation and he called me and said, ‘your mind is more valuable than a pot of gold’. I remember smiling throughout the day. Richard’s compliments were neither cheesy nor generic. And he paid compliments like he meant them.

I forced my mind back to the setting at Sheraton Hotel.

‘Yes, I did. Thank you for bringing me here’, I replied.

‘You are most welcome’, Richard said smiling.

After a couple of seconds had passed, I turned to him. Can I ask you a question’?

‘Sure. You know you can ask me anything’, Richard responded with another smile.

‘Why did you bring me here? Technically this is our first…’

‘Date’? Richard interjected.

Date? I thought to myself. That wasn’t a word I would have used. I was going to say ‘outing’. Oh well…

 ‘Well yea’, Richard continued. ‘It is indeed our first date and to be candid, when I heard that NSW was happening tonight, it occurred to me that something that mentally stimulating could appeal to you. It may have been presumptuous of me, but it was a risk I was willing to take. Was I wrong’?

‘No, no’, I quickly added. ‘I totally enjoyed myself. I follow Dike Chukwumerije on Facebook and I love his writings too. It’s great to hear him in person. He’s gifted’.

‘Yea, he is’, Richard agreed. Then he took my right hand in his and caressed them softly.

‘You know, you have become like a permanent fixture in my life. You are the first person I want to share any news with- good or bad. Your friendship has made my life rich. Meeting you is a blessing. I have come to value your friendship a lot but sweetheart; I don’t want to be just friends. When I am with you, I feel the magic. With you, I can throw my head back and laugh at how perfect everything in my life seems because you are in it.  Whenever I am with you, I see me clearly. I want you. All of you. I want you to be mine. In every way possible. You and me together. I want us to be official’.

Us. Two letter words that scare me silly. I couldn’t deny that I did have inkling that Richard wanted us to go steady. I liked him a lot, but…

‘But what’? My I-know-it-all mind asked. ‘You like him, he likes you. Give it a try, if it doesn’t work out, at least you would have done your best. But if you don’t try, you would never know’.

‘Hey, look at me’, Richard cupped my cheeks softly and turned my face to look into his eyes. ‘You don’t have to say anything right now. Take your time. Think about it. Engage that gorgeous mind of yours. One thing is sure: I am certain that I have deep feelings for you and I want you in my life. But I want to be sure you want the same thing too. If we are going to happen, then it has to be both of us wanting the same thing. So, think about it, okay? Like I told you over the phone, I’m going to Kogi tomorrow and will be back Friday. You can tell me what you decide then.’

‘Okay. And thank you’. I was grateful that he was giving me space to decide whether or not I wanted to be with him.

Richard leaned in and gave me a kiss on my forehead. For some reason, I found that more endearing than any kiss I would have received. He led me by the hand and out of Sheraton.

We continued to chat daily while he was away in Kogi. Even though I hadn’t officially said yes to him, it felt like we were already a couple. It didn’t even feel weird thinking of him as a boyfriend.

Boyfriend. Technically, he wasn’t a boy but still, it had a nice ring to it.

Saturday morning, September 26^th, 6:15AM, the shrill sound of my small Nokia phone intruded my dreamless sleepy state. I groaned and wished the call away. But the caller, whoever he was, ignored my telepathic plea to him/her. I grudgingly opened my eyes and picked the call.

‘Good morning beautiful’.

Richard! Unconsciously, my heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t explain it but somehow, my earlier irritation vanished.

‘Hey, Richard. Good morning.’

‘You just waking up, lazy bones’, he said laughing.

‘I slept very late. Besides, it’s Saturday. Who wakes up at 6AM?’

‘Obviously not lazy bones like you, your majesty. Anyway, I’m outside your gate. Get dressed and come down stairs. We are going to work out’.

Work out? I am all about fitness but not when I am ambushed. I’m not ready to work out.

I made my way to the window to confirm if he was outside my gate and sure enough, he was.

‘Come on, get dressed. You won’t talk your way out of this one.’

I have come to know that Richard possesses a stubborn streak and when he is in his element, arguing with him is a waste of energy. Besides, I thought, I could do with the workout as well. Exercises never killed anybody. I quickly got dressed and went downstairs.

It was a bright Saturday in the nation’s capital and the sun was dispensing a fair share of the heat- the type that Abuja weather habitually doles out in ample munificence in the Nigerian landscape.

‘Wow’, Richard said as I came into view.

‘What?’ I couldn’t fathom what he was wowing about.

‘You, your majesty. You sure are a sight for sore eyes’.

I punched him lightly. ‘Richard abeg, don’t start. Let’s go’.

‘And she still can’t take compliments’, he said with a laugh and he opened the door for me.

‘I can take compliments sir’, I dished back, with my tongue out.

We continued exchanging light banters as he drove leisurely to Jabi Lake, the work out venue.

The Jabi Lake is located around Kado and Jabi in Abuja and has an amazing site and green vegetation for relaxation and other social activities. The lake also offers speed boat rides as well as fishing avenue for farmers. In plain English, the Jabi Lake is a site to behold. We located a convenient spot to park, got out of the car and strolled into the Jabi Lake Park.

Inside the park was a beehive of several sporting activities. Some were jogging, some engaged in brisk walking, some were dancing while some others were running. Nearby, a loud voiced trainer was urging his trainees to ‘keep going! No pain, no gain! You can lose the fat! Kick it!’ Even little kids weren’t left out. Somewhere on the left side of the park was a skating club. Several children between the ages of 6 to 10 were skating up and down the park. Richard and I joined a group of people jogging down a narrow path. After jogging for about 40 minutes, we broke out to join another group dancing to a fast beat music.

We danced for a while before stopping to catch some breath.

‘That was a great! I’m sure I have burnt like 20 kg just dancing. I’m so thirsty. Want something to drink’? I panted through my words.

‘I want a bottle of water. Look, there’s someone selling there’. Richard pointed to a small booth a few meters away. I made my way there and bought two bottles of water. I quickly gulped down one bottle and wiped my mouth with the back of left hand. I started walking back to Richard. A few meters away from him, I heard a shout.

‘Oh boy! Richie! Na you be dis? How are you man? Oh boy!’

‘Dele! I can’t believe it. Fancy seeing you here mate!’ Richard enveloped the Dele guy in a bear hug. Dele gestured to some other guys behind him and they all hugged.

‘Guy, when did you get into the country?’ Dele continued in his loud voice. He was a big guy and I don’t know if his size had anything to do with it but I just couldn’t picture him talking a pitch lower than he did.

‘I’ve been around for close to 7 months now. Doing some project with the FG’, Richard explained.

‘Big boy. You just chopping Naija money anyhow. I ran into your wife in Tesco last month. She told me you are in Nigeria….’

I froze right where I stood. 

(To be continued...)

XoXo

NawtiProf