"Enitan, my sweet
love....my one and only...”
Josh
couldn't get past that one line no matter how hard he tried. How in the world
was he going to get ready in time for tomorrow?
He stared
at the bin in front of him, with more confusion in his mind. The shredded
sheets with wasted ink filled up the container and left no room for more.
Enitan....Enitan...how
in the world was he going to express the feelings that dwelt deep inside his
heart like a soulful melody within that he never wanted to end.
Beep
went his mobile. 'Not now! I'm trying to concentrate.' He thought to himself.
He
ignored it and tried penning down some key words. Another sound soon filled the
room, this time it was his office line. He couldn't afford to ignore this.
"Hello!"
"Josh
what have you been doing all day? How come the Jackson file is not yet on my
desk?” Asked his boss impatiently.
"Sir,
I'm working on it."
"I
must have it before the end of the day!" Click went the sound of the phone
on the other end.
He
had a lot of work on his desk...this writing was not going to work right now.
His
mobile beeped again. This time he saw it was Mama calling. 'What could she want
o!' He decided to pick the call.
"Mama,
kedu!"
"Odinma
my son. I hope work is fine."
"Mama,
what is happening? You know that I'm at work."
"Yes,
I know. But I need your help my son. The container I was expecting
with my goods has landed and the money to clear it is much more than I
expected. I need to get it done today because some customers’ goods are there
and they want it by tomorrow. "
"Mama, I can't leave the office, I'm already swamped with
work at the moment.”
"I'm
not asking you to leave work; just send me some of the money to balance what I
have."
"Ok
mama, how much."
"It's
just ..."
Mama's
words blocked Josh's ears. How was he going to sort this out today of all days?
"Mama how would
you ask me for such a sum at this last minute?"
"My
son it's just 500,000 Naira. Besides I will give you something when I'm able to
sell the goods."
"But
mama, I don't carry that kind of money on me. Or have you forgotten that we
have all gone cashless."
"No o. You will
never be cashless in Jesus Name. "
"Yes
I know mama. I mean I will have to go to the bank to effect that transfer to
you. I can't trust anyone in this office and I have so much on my desk to do."
"I
don't have anyone else to call now. You know your sister has forgotten me ever
since she followed that oyinbo man to Germany. Now I don't have anyone else. If
only your father was alive..."
Josh
knew he had to stop her before she started sobbing again. That was the usual
reaction once he complained about her pestering him.
"It's
Ok mama. I'll handle it!"
"Thank
you my son. You know how to make an old woman smile."
"No
problem mama. Let me try to take care of things here."
He
ended the call and made a loud sigh. 'All of this… today!!!’ But it was true, mama had no one else to ask for
help and he couldn't afford to get a query at work because he failed to
complete a task. Well today, he had to put on his superman costume and perform
wonders. He tried to look at the file and see if he could do something before
heading to the bank... He made another sigh, it was going to take all day!
Josh
glanced quickly at his watch. It was already 3.30 pm. He had to dash to the bank
quickly and hope he won't be spotted by his boss. First, he thought it best to
check his account balance. As he scrolled to the last text alert, he kept hoping
to God that today was going to work out.
'Chimo!'
Josh screamed
_________________________________________________________________________________
His account balance
was just a little over 500,000 Naira. And he had promised mama.... 'Chei!’ Josh
exclaimed.
What
would be left for him to handle tomorrow or to survive after that until payday?
And there was Enitan to still think about, yet he couldn't even find time to do
that. Ah! The troubles of a man with responsibilities.
After
thinking deeply for 10 minutes, he decided to sneak out of the office. His
James Bond skills were sure to get him out of this prison unnoticed. With his
set of skilful moves, he got out and headed straight for the bank. He was there
before 4.00 pm. He made the transfer to Mama and hoped some miracle would happen
before tomorrow.
He was back to the
office soon and dug his head into his office work. A thought of Enitan breezed
by but he quickly dismissed it. He needed to concentrate fully, if he was going
to complete this assignment on time.
********************
Enitan
brushed her hair as she sang along to her favourite love song. Josh had been
her angel this past year. She recalled how they met; so randomly, yet so divinely
ordained. Since then, it had been such an amazing journey. Sure, there were
times when he drove her crazy but that split second of madness which was always
followed by an apology was nothing compared to the love and understanding he
showered her with. She couldn't wait to see what he had in store for tomorrow.
He always went all out to make her feel special and she knew tomorrow won't be
different. After all, it was Valentine's Day and their one year anniversary.
She had gotten some gifts but was looking for something to make it extra
special. Her phone soon beeped. She quickly reached for it in case it was Josh
pinging to say hello.
"A
BC? Mschew!" How she hated them!
She
was about to discard it when something caught her eye. This might as well be
the special thing she had been looking for.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Josh was exhausted
when he got home. There was no way his brain could conceive anything anymore.
He still had some change. Maybe he'll just take her to a restaurant after work
and give her the dress he got for her last month. He'll explain everything to her,
after all she could be very understanding. He had always prayed for a woman
that would understand him for who he is and accept the fact that he had
responsibilities. As far as he was concerned, God had answered that prayer. So
far so good, Enitan proved to be just that and more. That's why he always
wanted to make her feel special with every opportunity he had.
He
looked at some pictures of her before going to bed and tried to go through some
unread messages. There was one that stood out. Why didn't he think of this
before instead of trying to be Superman, Batman and Luther Vandross, all in
one? He quickly drafted a message. He knew it was quite late but he hoped his
order would still be taken against tomorrow.
****************
Enitan
woke up feeling great and expectant. Josh had already called her at 12.01 am to
say how much he loved her. She had taken the week off from work to rest. So she
had nothing to do but wait till she met with Josh later that night. First, she
made sure she sent an email to her sweetheart, along with an attachment that
would speak volumes.
****************
Josh
was lucky to get a reservation at their favourite place because of his frequent
customer status, and some promises to his boy there.
His
day wasn't going too bad. His boss was in a good mood and even commended his
work yesterday. There was not too much stress at the office because everyone
was smiling at their screens and phones. It seemed that love was truly in the
air. Mama was able to clear the goods and kept calling to say thanks. Just one
more thing was left to make it all complete.
'Beep'
went his phone. Josh rushed for it and gave a wide smile as he quickly rushed
through his mail box. He spotted a mail from Enitan but decided to settle this
first. His order had been processed on time, how fantastic! He promptly
downloaded it and went straight to Enitan's Facebook page. After all, there was
nothing like a public display of affection to warm a girl's heart.
After
the deed was done, Josh scrolled to Enitan's mail.
"Wow,
I can't believe it!"
His
mobile rang out loud. He recognised that ring tone immediately.
"Hello
honey."
"Babie,
I saw your post on my Facebook wall. Thank you so much. Those words spoke
straight to my heart. I love you so much."
"I
love you too honey."
"I
can't believe it, we used... "
"…the
same people." Josh finished her sentence. "Yes I wanted to say the
same thing. I guess our thinking is somehow synchronised now."
"At
least we got to say what we really wanted to say"
"Yes
we did. I loved yours too...I love you"
"Can't
wait to see you tonight"
"Me
too"
They
blew each other kisses and ended the call with smiles still beaming on their
faces. There was love, but more than that there was contentment, joy and peace.
As they both looked forward to their rendezvous that night, they remembered to
send a message to the people who made this possible.
"Thank
you Peach Expressions, let's do this again soon"
The
end!
©Lola
Agbaje-Williams ©LAW Afolabi, February 2015| All Rights Reserved
