CHRISTMAS DATING
Episode 10
.
.
.
I brought up the subject about Linda again, a week or two before Jojo and I left for Amsterdam. There was no wavering in his voice when he explained himself. That was how I knew when one was being truthful.
Linda had ran back to him begging him to accept her back into his life. All her efforts to get him to be on her side proved abortive. She started making promises that gave Jojo the signal that we both weren’t safe.
Jojo knew Linda in and out. He knew the kind of lady she was. She could do anything she said exactly the way she said it. And the bargain with Jojo was that he either accepted her back into his life or neither of us would have him.
My Sweet Jojo might look overwhelmed in situations like this, but his brain was always a thousand and one percent responsive. There was a reason why he was a seasoned computer programmer. Dude had a brain as swift as ten rockets put together.
Sweet Jojo decided to play her game while figuring out how to get the police involved. And since I wasn’t returning home that week — for I had lied that my stay in Abuja had been extended just so I would surprise him — he didn’t bother about what could happen to me. He was going to make coast clear before my return.
We got the police involved the following day. He had wanted to let it slide since she didn’t show up again. But I persuaded him to involve the police. Who knew with her?
So, the police did their job and had her write an undertaking about me and Jojo and our safety. Jojo held me closely to himself all the while, shielding me from any physical contact with Linda.
Although I didn’t doubt Jojo when he narrated everything to me, I knew that he had told me the plain truth the moment I realized that Linda didn’t even bother to resist arrest. She was smiling. You know that kind of smile and laughter that smelt fishy.
To make my believe in Jojo even more solid, he was in my house seeking refuge whike I was away at Abuja.
But tables turned, and things changed many days later, after our return from Amsterdam. Life could humble anyone at any moment in time.
• • • • • • • •
We began to plan our wedding as soon as possible. My cousins, Susan and Ebenezer were so happy when I told them that I was engaged with Jojo. Susan particularly was so excited. She had wanted me to be happy for once in my life. And I was happy. Jojo had given me so much peace, joy and happiness.
I dreamed of being his wife every night before he proposed. I prayed for it to come through. I wanted my womb to bear his children. I wanted every piece of his intelligence in my offsprings. And the beauty that caught attention; I wanted my children to have them all: the shape of his nose, his chocolate-like lips, that kingly glamour that hung above his shoulders.
Those happy moments still reverberates in my memory all the time. I remember how I cried through one of the nights. I was at my place alone. I was having a sober reflection.
I was thinking about all the moments of my life when love seemed too far away from me. I poured out my heart in tears as I held up Jojo’s picture on my phone, and I thanked him for everything he had helped me see in true love.
I felt on top of the world. Deep down in me I knew that men changed sometimes. I knew that many pretends to be whom they’re not. And I knew that my Sweet Jojo could be no exception. But I held strongly to the belief that he was different.
I still felt like this when, one after during the preparations for my wedding, I ran into Linda at the shopping mall. I became apprehensive the moment I saw her, because of what Jojo had told me about her.
She walked up to me and requested for a hug. I told her politely that I would rather not hug her. We had a beautiful conversation when my nerves were finally calm.
“Look, Sugar,” she began after a long moment of silence. “I’m sorry.” I was surprised that she called me sugar.
“Nobody calls me Sugar except Joseph. How did you know that?” I was inquisitive.
“Joseph is a sweet soul. I’ve met so many young men. Very vibrant young men who just want to leave you in the middle of nowhere after some moments of pleasure. But Joseph? He’s one in a million.” Her voice was firm. Immediately, I realized that she spoke boldly like my mother.
“Well, I know that. And that’s why I love him so much. And I hope you understand.” I was being polite.
“I do understand. You see, a guy like Joseph is hard to come by. When you find one, you have to guard him with your life.”
“But why did you want him back?” I wanted to know.
“I am pregnant, my dear.” She said, and just then, only then, did I realize that her belly looked bigger than it was when we last saw.
“And he’s responsible?” I snapped.
“Joseph is not that kind of man. I wished he were responsible. And that was why I came to him the way I did. You just have to forgive me and take good care of him for us.” She laughed that throaty laughter.
“The baby, how is it kicking?” I felt emotional as she pleaded for forgiveness.
“Well, we’ll see how it does in few months.” She laughed again. This time, more feminine.
At this moment I knew that the little growing baby in her belly was all she had in her life. I reached out and gave her a warm and long hug. The kind that I always gave Jojo.
I felt satisfied that one could feel remorseful for what one has done. Her tears dropped on my bare shoulder and she tried to wipe it off but I stopped her, telling her that it was okay.
She declined my request of her paying us a visit. At least to reunite as friends. She mentioned that she would leave for the UK the following day. She wanted to go start a new life there, with the hope, of course, that she would find a man as good as Jojo.
I was happy as I drove away from the mall. Her words kepts elevating my love for Jojo the more. The way she kept mentioning that I should take good care of Jojo made me feel like I had the greatest treasure in the world. Just then it flashed before my eyes the many times Jojo could have lost his life if I were not by his side.
A call came in while I was driving. I took the call and it was a client from my office a few days before. We spoke at length about some goods he wanted to order from our company and then he dropped the call. My eyes flashed through the date — 16th January, 2014.
That date caught my attention and I began to wonder what the date was all about. It kept ringing and ringing in my mind. I turned the volume on the music player down as if it would help me think better and faster. “What is special about today?” I kept asking myself.
Then, all of a sudden, it clicked. It was Sweet Jojo’s birthday. My head spinned in excitement. I turned up the volume of the music immediately and gave Jojo a call. He picked up and was wondering what was with the loud music. I sang him the happy birthday song and wished him a sweet life; a life as sweet as his person.
I stopped by his office to present the strawberry ice cream and cappuccino cake I bought for him. Those where his favourites. He was so timid when he saw me walk in. Presents and gifts stood tall on his desk and filled every other corner of his office. Dude was an everybody person. And more presents came in as I arrived.
He stood up and walked lazily towards me. I handed him the strawberry ice cream and cappuccino cake. He took them and dropped them right in front of his desk. He held my waist and was saying thank you and kissing me every place he could.
I felt myself floating in his embrace. I held his shoulders and took all the kisses he threw at me. He locked his lips with mine and stayed. I used to be the one who wanted to stay. But this time, he did. He stayed longer than I used to. I had heard a million and one thank-you’s amidst a thousand kisses.
I placed my head on his chest as he wrapped me up in his arms, and for a second I wondered if everyone had realized I was in his office. I was in the safest place in the world, with my Shakespeare, with my hero, with my King.
I felt his heartbeat. That heaviness was still there. His breath was unstable, staggered. For a moment I realized that the love he showered on me lately came more from a place of fear and uncertainty than it used to be from a heart yearning to be with me all day.
I lifted my head off his chest and looked into his face. He was crying. Tears were in his eyes. I didn’t know what to do. So I went back into his arms and hugged him softly. I was rubbing his shoulders and assuring him that all would be fine as if I knew anything.
But I was afraid when I left his office. I feared that he was not safe. I feared that something bigger than he could handle was weighing him down. Something as loud as his heartbeat, as unstable as his breath.
I prayed as I drove home, with tears in my eyes coming from a place of fear. I called him to assure him again that all would be fine. And he knew we would talk about it when he returned from work.
Silently, my Jojo was dying. . .
Typing episode 11. . . . .
— Michael Ituma
