escapades in the north episode 22

Episode 22

Esse later saw us off to the gate while Lola remained with her friend at the clinic. She held me like we were a couple while we walked to the gate. She still wore the same fragrance after so many years and I couldn’t help but rekindle my lost feelings for her. She later went back to her hostel after exchanging numbers and promising to call me later that night.

Could it be that I still had feelings for her after so many years? I didn’t understand how I felt. It was so confusing. I thought I was totally over her.

I was now plagued with two choices regarding girls in the camp. Do I continue with Lola, or get back with Esse?

I laid down on my bed with confusing thoughts in my head as to which of them to go for, since both of them were in camp. They were still to spend more than one week in camp and there was no way I could avoid them or avoid going to camp altogether.

I had a call from Lola…

Me: Hello…

Lola: Dear, have you gotten home?

Me: Yes…

Lola: What are you doing?

Me: Lying down…

Lola: Have you eaten?

Me: Yes…

Lola: What did you eat?

Me: Spag…

Lola: This one that you are giving me one liners, are you sure you are fine?

Me: I’m fine…

Lola: Ok o… Goodnight…

Me: Goodnight…

Guys, ladies, whenever someone gives you a response like that you sense there is trouble, right? Exactly! I guess that was what Lola sensed ‘cos she called back almost immediately.

Me: Yeah?

Lola: Dioxidane, what’s happening?

Me: Where?

Lola: Since I saw you this evening, you’ve been acting weird…

Me: I’m sorry, I’ve not just been myself… Don’t worry, I’ll be fine…

Lola: Are you sure?

Me: Yeah…

Lola: Or should I come tomorrow?

Me: 😮 You want to come to town?

Lola: I’ll come if you want me to… My roommate got permission to go out today, so I’ll see if they would allow me tomorrow…

Me: Ok, no problem… Lemme know when you are out of camp so that I’ll direct you…

Lola: Alright dear… Sweetdreams…

Me: You too…

So Lola was coming over. ‘I no dey go work tomorrow be that’, I thought. I was still ‘mind-scheduling’ my activities for the next day when Esse called.

We talked at length and she talked about how much she missed me and how she remembered all we shared in the past. She asked if she could come to town the next day and I said NO!

**You wan spoil package for me?:-\**

She asked if I would be coming to camp and I told her that if I was coming, I’ll let her know.

The next day, I didn’t go to work. I had to prepare for the ‘match’ at hand. Prince called and asked where we would meet before we went to camp and I gave him the gist of what transpired the previous day.

At about 9:30am, when I knew morning parade would have been over, I called Lola to know when she would be coming. Her number didn’t go through. I called several times, it still didn’t go through.

I didn’t have Shade’s number so I called Prince to ask if he’s spoken with her that day and he said he had not…

**Ah an… Wetin dey happen???**

There was usually electricity supply in the camp, and even when it was out, you could always pay to charge your phone or other devices, so I didn’t know why her phone was switched off.

I was still thinking about what to do when Malama Aisha called me…

I was still thinking about what to do when Malama Aisha called me.

Me: Hello… :-\

MA: Dioxidane, yaya ne? (How are you?)

Me: Lafiya lau…

MA: Kana ina? (Where are you?)

Me: Ina gidan (I’m at home)

MA: You didn’t go to work today?

Me: I didn’t…

MA: Are you busy now?

Me: I’m kinda busy… Hope no problem?

MA: Not really… I didn’t go to work today, I was thinking if you could come over…

Me: No probs, when I’m through with what I’m doing, I’ll come over…

MA: Ok, I’ll be expecting you…

**You seriously wished! :-\ I don repent abeg!**

Immediately I ended the call, Prince called and told me to open my gate. We didn’t even go in before he began gisting me about what happened….

Prince: Bros, gbege dey o…

Me: 😮 Wetin dey happen?

Prince: When you ended the call earlier, Shade called and gave me the news…

Me: Which kyn suspense be this na? What news???

Prince: Na Esse and Lola o…

Me: Ehen, talk na wetin happen???

Prince: They had a fight in the hostel this morning…

Me: 😮 Ukandu!! Because of wetin na???

Prince: You of course, who else…

Me: Huh??? Which kyn talk be that one na…

Prince: You be hero o, wey girls dey fight for your head..

Me: Stop that kyn play abeg… Wait o, dem fight-fight, abi na quarrel-fight?

Prince: They said they quarreled and abused each other, no be fight be that?

Me: Na wa o…

Among the things I don’t understand about women is why they would fight over a guy. I wouldn’t fight another guy because of any woman, so I just didn’t understand why some girls did that. Love? Naa… And to think some guys still do that, when there are more girls than guys on earth? Utterly ridiculous!!

I called Lola when Prince left. Her number didn’t still go through so I decided to call Esse. She narrated what really happened.

She said she went to fetch water that morning from the tap outside the hostel. There were many other girls that came to fetch water too so they kinda formed a long queue. Lola came from nowhere and wanted to jump the queue ’cause Shade was already there at the front. Other girls disagreed with her and it kinda led to an exchange of words between them. The argument became heated and Lola began directing words at Esse. Talk led to talk and they began calling themselves names and nearly fought, before they were finally separated.

I was stunned! So these things still happened in real life. I thought it was only in Nollywood movies it happened. She asked if I went to work and I told her I was at home. She said she got permission to go out of camp and she wanted to visit me. She asked me to send my address to her and I told her not to worry about that. I told her I’ll speak directly to the bike-man when she came out…..

About two hours later, she got to my place. To say I was mesmerized would be an understatement. If it was ‘jazz’ she used, I would say it really did a number on me ’cause immediately I saw her, I was totally smitten. I know it wasn’t ‘jazz’ because the feeling I was experiencing at that moment was the same feeling I experienced when I was in school. That was before she broke my heart.

Did she really break my heart? ‘Walahi’ she did!! I remember thinking about her when I was supposed to be reading, thinking about her while eating, dreaming about her… Even in the examination hall, when I was supposed to be answering questions, I was thinking about her. It was that bad! But after her, no other girl had that power over me. I became ‘heartless’, so there was nothing to break.

But now, with us in my room gisting and reminiscing about the time we spent in the past and the things we shared, I was once again having a ‘heart’ – and it had already began melting for her. I still wonder how that happened…

Talk led to talk and we later straffed. It was not too spectacular, but it made me realize that I still loved and cared for her even after all these years.

I didn’t want to ask her out again, for fear of another rejection.

But she told me she didn’t have a boyfriend, and I really needed someone I could settle down with, someone I could get married to. I knew I didn’t love all the other girls enough to get married to them. I had less than two months to spend in service, so it was paramount to me that I had someone I could get married to.

Some days before they came out of camp, I finally asked her out. And she accepted! Yes! She finally accepted after so many years!

I was overjoyed! ‘I would marry this girl!’, I thought. I decided to stay away from the remaining girls in my life. Zainab? Strike that! Malama Aisha? Strike that! Lola? She even refused to talk to me till she left camp.

The camp finally came to an end. Lola and Shade were relocated to Ogun state. Esse’s relocation didn’t come through and she was even posted to Funtua LGA, which is very far from Katsina LGA. I made arrangements and she got reposted back to Katsina LGA and she stayed with me.

There comes a time in a man’s life when he realizes that life is not all about having fun with girls and playing around. One needs to get matured and responsible so as to be a ‘husband material’ as he looks for a ‘wife material’. It is when you are good that you attract good girls toward yourself (not in all cases though).

I determined within myself to be responsible. No more playing around. No more straffing. I was determined to be faithful and committed to my relationship with Esse. I wasn’t married to her but I treated and respected her like she was. I was determined to marry her immediately I secured a good job.

My service to the country was finally over! It was fun while it lasted. I secured a short contract with one of the telecommunication companies in Katsina, so I stayed back.

It was actually because of Esse I stayed back.

Esse and I continued staying together while she served and I worked…

You know what they say that it isn’t good for a guy and a girl who are not married to stay together? Well, I’ll say it’s very true. One of these things happen. It’s either the guy begins to get tired of the girl, or the girl begins to girl tired of the guy. And when that happens, you begin to see traits that the girl/guy exhibits that you can’t (or wouldn’t want to) manage, and since you are not married, you can easily opt out.

If you were married, and perhaps had children, you would definitely find ways to manage your spouse and make your marriage work. This is my opinion, and I stand to be corrected.

In my case, I began to notice things I was previously blind to because of the love I had for Esse. I noticed she always made sure her phone was locked whenever she dropped it. I didn’t attach too much importance to it ‘cos I respect people privacy and I don’t like anyone prying into my phone and so I didn’t do that to others.

But being a very inquisitive person, one day while she was in the bathroom, I saw her phone on the bed and I had a peek at it. Obviously she forgot to lock it because it was unlocked.

Where is the first place you check on a phone when you are on ‘detective’ mode? Messages, right? That was exactly where I checked first. No messages! All the messages were deleted, both sent and received – including the ones I sent.

Hmmm…

What is the next thing you check? Pictures, right? I checked her pictures and I didn’t find any of my pictures on her phone. I saw pictures of other guys… None of mine! When I occasionally use her pictures as my DP.

Hmmm…

I dropped the phone and kept it back the way she left it.

**Red flag 1!**

Another thing was the fact that Esse was dirty! It’s quite a unfortunate that most pretty, beautiful, sweet girls you see on the streets, looking so clean and posh in their attires and make-up live in very dirty apartments. I still stand to be corrected.

It’s so annoying that most times, the guys usually don’t know this because the girls usually expect them when they are visiting and they make their rooms or apartments squeaky clean. If you really want to know a girl that’s really clean, try visiting her unannounced. You just might be disappointed.

I’m not a ‘neat freak’. I’m just a person who loves living in a clean environment and I expected that since she was a lady, with all her ‘fine-girl’ things, she would be neater than I am or at least as neat as I was. Unfortunately, she was not!

**Red flag 2!**

Esse was a spender! Jeez!! Why would one use 4K to cook a pot of soup that would last for, at most, 3 days??? And we were in the north??? What if we stayed at PH??? When I stayed alone, I didn’t spend that much cooking, and I ate well.

**Red Flag 3!**

Is this what marriage was all about??? Thank God I had not proposed marriage to her yet!

I tried reasoning with her about these issues, but obviously she wouldn’t have any of it. She argued and nagged whenever I corrected her or told her what she had done was wrong, so I stopped it. I just tolerated her because I knew my time in the North was limited.

Time flew quickly and before I knew it, it was the end of the year. My contract with the company was over. Mumsy had already been bothering me to come back home. I already had my Certificate of Service. That sheet of A4 paper I spent one year of my life to achieve!

So I finally traveled out of Katsina to Lagos together with Esse… To return again? Time will tell…

THE END…

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