THIRTY PLUS Ep 10

Story by O'nezer 

Episode 10

"What else do you want from me? What exactly?" I ranted.

"Oh! sorry, I think you are not in a good mood. I Just wanted to tell you that you forgot your flask in my car. I'll come with it to work tomorrow" the person said and that was  when I realised that it was not Segun but Jude, who just dropped me off few minutes ago.

I had forgotten that in the middle of our conversation he collected my number, but I didn't remember to save his. 

I thanked him and dropped the call, then i joined the family at dinner. Mum and my sister had already  boiled rice, garnished with vegetables and fried plantain.

No one mentioned what happened earlier in the day to my father. We finished dinner, had our evening devotions and everyone went to their rooms.

I laid on my bed, rolling from one end of the bed to the other. I was finding it hard to sleep. I closed my eyes and tried to force sleep, but it just wasn't coming. It was when I checked the time it dawned on me that I've been rolling around for almost an hour.

I took out my note pad, checked through the list where I wrote the names of people to pray for and realised that I still had a long way to go. I have been overwhelmed with the hustle- bustle of life.

"Father Lord, please pray for Kayepe family, give them their own children. Please pray for Bro Josiah, let him get a well paying  job. Sis Brenda is well over 30, send her the bone of her bone and flesh of her flesh" I kept on picking one name after the other and mentioning specifically their obvious challenges. 

This went on and on for about 2 hours and when I checked my time, it was past 2am already. There is a kind of joy that comes with tarrying long in the place of prayer. I felt very light and happy that I didn't know when I eventually slept off.

Morning came so quickly that it felt i had only slept for a minute, I wish I could have more. The advantage of having my sister around is that food was always ready and she is always coming to wake me up. It is not like mom won't cook but many times, her cooking comes with a reminder of me being quick about bringing  home a husband. 

"Good morning" 

"Good morning" I greeted back as everyone moved to their work space. The day hadn't really started when  my head began to ache. I was pushing through so no one would know how I was feeling.

"You look so stressed, is everything okay?"

 my eyes was fixed on my system, i  struggled to look up to realise that Jude was already leaning on my table, wondering what could be wrong with me.

I tried to cover up with a smile and told him i was  fine. He insisted I should tell him if there is anything wrong.

"Maybe you should top up this your acting skills" he said.

"Oh! that reminds me, your flask is here. I washed it already. Here" he handed over the flask to me and I thanked him as he walked back to his table.

All through the day, I wasn't as productive as I used to be. I wasn't sure I needed a leave yet, but with the way I was feeling, I was just hoping and praying that I don't break down.

Days rolled into weeks, and weeks into month. My friendship with Jude had grown beyond just being colleagues. He would always opt to drop me at my junction before going back to his own place. 

Jude was a perfect gentle man. Well built body with a deep baritone voice that can  make anyone want to trip. Although those  were not the first catch for me until we got close and I started paying attention. His dress sense is top notch and his lifestyle is a mix of gentle with a touch of Christian swag. 

He took me to karaoke and I can say it was an awesome experience. That was when I realized that Jude has a lovely voice. He told me how he used to be in the choir as a young boy, but left because he got tired of their style of singing.

Within the space of time that Jude came into the picture, Emma came back to Nigeria. He came on a Wednesday in grand style but we  didn't get to meet until weeks later.

21 DAYS TO GO FOR SISTER DABIRA PART 2