Diaries From The Future - Episode 3 - The Reunion of the Millenium

I woke up that morning at exactly five o’clock feeling totally refreshed even though the sleep I had, lasted only for a couple of hours. I guess I was just too excited, even my body refused to take in any further rest. History was about to happen; one whose story would be told over and over again to my friends, family members, children, grandchildren (if the Lord tarries), and to whoever else in the world that cared to listen. It was the one-of-a-kind lifetime experiences that happens to a handful of persons in the entire world; too beautiful and complex for words to describe or minds to comprehend, but I will just try my best to give words to this event with as much details as I can recollect.

It was on a Friday; exactly one week to my traditional wedding. By that day, all the paper-
plans made for my mega wedding had materialized except for a few details and for the
perishables. The marriage committee of the church I was attending at the time were so kind to me, they helped make sure a very important church program was rescheduled just so I could get married on the date I had chosen which was a very special date to me. They even accepted a few alterations I requested for, in terms of how I wanted the wedding to be officiated as opposed to the regular standard. Everything was more or less ready. The wedding invitation cards, emails and bulk SMS had even gone out. There was just one more detail left – the man I was getting married to.

It wasn’t that I had not met the actual person I wanted to marry; definitely not. I had known
‘Sunshine’ for almost a decade now and as a matter of fact, he was my first and only love.
Every other shallow fling I had before or during that period I knew him was simply as I termed it – a very shallow fling. From the moment I tasted what salvation was and got genuinely converted in the heart, old things past away and ‘flings’ was one of them – Thank Jesus.

Somehow our relationship happened to have weathered every sort of storm that came against it over the nine-year period we had known each other and just like any other relationship, it was characterized by ups and downs every now and then, or maybe just a bit more often than not since ours was a very peculiar kind of relationship and that peculiarity was the reason why that day was pretty special. I was about to meet a man I had known for nine years, courted for nine months, was getting married to in a week, and yet had not seen face-to-face. I mean, yes; we had never met flesh, blood and bones.

As I stretched out on the bed, I tried to recollect if I had any dream. Funny enough, even If I dreamt, it probably would have been about meeting my husband-to-be, because it seemed like that was all I kept dreaming about that week.
The time was five minutes past five when I put on the heater and entered the bathroom to wash my face. It had become a routine every morning; wake up, put on the heater, have my quiet time, do any necessary cleaning, have my bathe, get dressed, and leave the house at 7am, to wherever - except on few occasions when the routine gets a twist.
So by seven o'clock, I was dressed and ready to hit the road. Pamela Manzir Mike, my bosom friend, had promised to pick me up and assist me in tiding loose ends in our preparations for the day before taking me to the airport at noon, so I was now sitting in the living room, waiting for her call.

My house was crowded I must confess. We had visitors and family members from all over. My siblings were also around and I was far from able to choose to be alone even in the morning - one of the things I couldn't wait to be rid of.
My brother, Sean, and I were chatting there in the living room. He was also to join me to the airport and typical of him, he was teasing me already with all the "what ifs" conceivable, and then my cousin joined us. All these while, inside me, I was exploding with different thoughts, mostly anxiety related. I called up my Dad and talked with him for a long time just to keep myself preoccupied - that didn't help. I called Pamela to know how long it'll take her to get to my house. She said she was on her way already but was stuck in the early morning traffic. I decided to sneak out of the house and take a short walk.

Once I was out of the house, I started at a very slow pace, strolling to the junction. I was dressed in a plain sky-blue short-sleeve turtle-neck top that has a large fold at the neck, a knee-length pleated skirt made from a print material with a touch of sky-blue in it, and a pair of dark blue low pump slippers, closely similar to the shoe I intended to wear out that day. I also had a week old braid on my head with matching hair-ruffle made from the same print material, a pair of simple earnings and necklace that went on-top the turtleneck, a wrist watch and very light makeup. Okay, I had also lost fifty pounds over the past nine months before that time (don't ask how) just to look good for my wedding, and I did look good.

So I walked by the Salvation Ministry Church adjacent to my house and headed for the junction by Ada George Road. It was my legs doing the walking with my brain directing the movement because truly speaking, I had no idea where I was strolling to and I was totally absorbed in my thoughts, thinking about all the "what ifs", thinking about how I'll react when I met this man, thinking about the many times we tried to plan a meeting like this one, but to no avail, trying to imagine what he was thinking about at the moment and where he could be, and also trying not to imagine any mishap that will hinder us from meeting especially with our wedding a week away. I was still thinking and walking when I heard someone shout my name and then I came out to reality and turned. It was Pamela.
"Ah! Pami," I exclaimed, looking around. "So fast. I didn't even see you." She had parked by the road and I was walking back to meet her. I just realized then that these two legs had carried me all the way to location road, close to the mgbuoba junction without my conscious observation.
"Debby. Are you okay? Where were you even going to?" she asked, looking really concerned, like I was that bad. I had entered the car already.
I just smiled and responded in the affirmative with a nod, unable to utter a word. After a few seconds I realized she hadn't moved the car, then I turned to see why, and she was just staring at me.
"Haba Pami, is it that obvious?" I asked, knowing I couldn't escape her reading my expression. She has been my friend for over ten years so, well, what did I expect?
"My friend, you look really good in this attire. I almost didn't recognize you." She finally spoke and from the sound of her voice, I knew what next was to follow, "All will be well okay? You shouldn't get consumed with anxiety for nothing. We prayed yesterday about it and so your heart should be at rest. God is in control. Okay?"
"Okay. Thanks dear. I'm glad you're such a miserable comforter." I said, shaking my head.
We both burst out laughing and that was it - the atmosphere had suddenly changed and I really stopped worrying after that moment. I was just ready to see how God was going to spread out His plans for us that day. I really was glad I had such a wonderful friend around.
She put on the ignition and we hit the road. There was still a lot to be done before twelve noon and it was eight-fifteen already.

*********************************************

"Hotel arrangements?"
"Check."
"Popsi's end?"
"Check."
"Your car?"
"Abiye will bring it to the airport. I also asked him to top-up fuel."
We had just left Pamela's house, heading to the airport and she was calling out the items on my checklist while I gave her feedback. She'd been driving us around so just to give her a break; I took the wheels on this trip. It was a long morning, or maybe a short one. It felt like both to me anyways.

I had managed to treat the day like business-as-usual, tricking my mind into believing this meeting wasn't such a big deal. It worked.
Now as I drove the car heading to the airport, I knew I had to remain in that mindset and keep my mind in the moment, before my hands conspire with my legs this time and I find myself and my friend at the hospital. I decided to engage myself in a discussion with her.
"Ha ha ha ha ha," I said out of the blues, expecting to get her attention and make her laugh.
"Wetin dey make you laugh that type of laugh?" she enquired, not looking puzzled or even looking up.
I looked at her, frustrated by her not catching the humour. But again, that had been her style. Sometimes, she could spot humour even before you sensed it and make you laugh silly. Right now, her phone was the distraction.
"Could you just drop that piece of metal and stay with me, your friend. I'll appreciate that at this critical moment."
"Abeg no vex. I was just... I'm so sorry. Metal dropped." she responded, dropping her phone and looking at me.
"I no vex. I thought you'd repented, though. I was trying to get your attention to keep my own mind from drifting away. I'm sorry if I was counter-rude." I replied, knowing she was most probably chatting. But that was such a wrong time as far as circumstances was concerned.
"'Counter-Rude' Debby? This your vocabulary dem need official Dictionary approval o'" she answered, trying to ease the tensed mood.
"That's part of my charm, madame. Was the vocab grammatically or logically wrong?" I fired back using a gentle cover-up tone.
"Babe, you're talking to a married woman that's about to become a mother." she retorted.
This was news to me.
"Pami! You're pregnant! I mean, are you pregnant?" I marched the brakes and parked the car as I exclaimed. We were somewhere after Igirita about fifteen minutes away from the airport entrance.
"Yes, I am. I got the news just yesterday."
I didn't wait for her to reply and landed her a big embrace. I was so happy at this news. I just couldn't contain myself. My own friend was now carrying a live human being in her very own stomach - it was indeed a mixture of joyous and creepy feelings. I lost some tears to that occasion.

After that we got into more gist as I drove to the airport. We arrived at about twenty minutes past twelve noon and the flight coming in from Lagos was due to land by one o'clock. I had called my brother and he was also on his way to the airport. The moment was fast approaching.

We spent another thirty minutes talking about the upcoming wedding, my plans, the baby, and church activities. From the moment I heard that news about Pamela carrying a baby, I just saw her in a new light. Everything and everyone suddenly felt different. A lot dawned on me at one go, and that included the fact that we were no longer as young and carefree as before. I became conscious of a new level of maturity all around me. I was about getting married; my friend was one step ahead of me in that institution; I was now heading a corporation; my friend was working with one of the big oil firms. In such a short period a lot had happened and changed.
"Deb!"
I turned and saw my brother drive into the parking lot where we were.
"You took so long getting here since that time you told me you were close by," I was heading his direction, "what happened?"
"Police stopped me, asking for drivers licence, papers and all that. I don't know whether they thought I was too young to drive this car." He answered, closing the door.
I laughed. He too didn't look that young anymore, at twenty-three, he looked mature and the voice was also sounding mature.

We walked into the waiting area at exactly the time they were announcing the arrival of a Dana flight from Lagos.
I felt a cold chill run through my head and the nerves must have been throbbing. Pamela held my hand for comfort and my brother was at my side as well. Then after what took like forever, my phone rang. It was Sunshine.
"Hello?" It was me answering.
"Mama, I'm at the airport. I've been checked out. Where are you?" he responded.

I fought back the huge wave of emotion that was about to translate to tears. I tried to reply, but the words lost voice when they came out.
My friend who was standing next to me, probably sensed the emotional gag choking me, she just took the phone from me and was going to answer when my brother said, "Deb, See! That's him," pointing yards away, across us behind the counter.

I turned and looked towards the direction he was pointing. There, walking towards the waiting area, dressed in a fitted gold-colored shirt with a matching gold-patterned black tie on a black trouser, was the man of my dreams in flesh and bones. He looked like he dropped out of a movie. In fact the whole scene at the airport afterwards looked like something from a Bollywood movie.
I stood transfixed. I just kept staring. As soon as he was out to the waiting area which was yards away from where we stood, he looked around and then he saw me. I could tell he had seen me because he slowly dropped the suitcase in his hand.

The moment our eyes met, while I was still transfixed to the spot, my legs, of their own volition took initiative, my hands gently pushed the person that was in front of me and I was walking towards his direction, then walking turned to semi-running. To me, nothing else mattered at that moment, except closing the gap between us.
He started making his way towards me. Our eyes didn't lose contact. We were only about ten feet apart when for whatever reason, those legs that ran off on their own at the beginning, slowly came to a stop. By this time tears were streaming down my face. I could see his eyes searching my face, desperate for a hint of approval. Some people around were probably watching, but I was oblivious of their presence.
"Mama.." He called out softly. It was the first time he'll address me by that name face-to-face and I wasn't at the other end of a phone call - I was right in front of him.
If I was the kind of person susceptible to fainting spells, I probably would have fainted there and then. But even fainting couldn't steal that moment from me.

I opened my mouth to speak again. This time I heard myself answer in response to what came as a question to me, "Sunshine."
Then he lunged forward and threw his arms around me. I just embraced him and embraced him tightly. Then it all started coming back to me; the memories, the flashback of past events, the moments we shared, the moments I almost gave up pursuing this dream, the moments I thought I heard wrong from God about him. I don't know how long we were locked in that embrace: we weren't in a hurry to break the bond.

I remembered the day my mother beat the lights out of me when she found out I was "in love" with a boy I met online and I was only sixteen then.I remembered the first time he told me he was leaving Nigeria to South Africa and then from there he'll be going to Spain to find a future in football with one of the football clubs over there. How could I have forgotten when I even made a song out of it? Or was it his impromptu return to Nigeria a month after (which was a shocking surprise to me) and his re-travelling to Cyprus, this time for studies. And all these while he had been in Lagos before his travel, we couldn't meet and didn't meet. I remembered when I finally was able to choose to travel to Lagos, but lost interest because the subject of my interest in going to Lagos had migrated to another part of the world. There was just so many flashbacks that came to me and the tears were flowing freely and helplessly.

It was somewhere at this point that a man started walking towards us and I noticed it was his Pastor. He had been standing there all the while, watching. He walked up to us and placed a hand on the shoulders of the man I was embracing. We finally released each other even though we were still holding hands. I really felt like I was dreaming one of those classical dreams that keeps you hugging your pillow and even wishing nobody disturbs your sleep.

He then smiled, exposing those shining white set of teeth. I smiled back. In fact I forgot I came with two people. When I turned, I couldn't believe my eyes. There wasn't just Pamela and Abiye standing behind me; my grand parents, my mum, my siblings, even my Pastor's wife were all there. I had no idea when they came or how long they had been there. I was just overwhelmed. My brother was with a camera. I later found out he covered the entire scenario with the help of a friend of his.

After the exchange of pleasantries and formal introductions, Pamela and I took him and the Pastor to the Hotel while every other person dispersed. The time was about two-thirty after noon. Never had the journey from the airport to Ada george Road felt so short, as that day. We both sat at the back of the car while the Pastor insisted he sits in front with Pamela, for our benefit. I'm not sure we spoke much. We were just feasting on each other's presence until we got to the Hotel.

We booked them in and spent a couple of hours more with them talking about many things. Because I had to release my friend who had been with me all day, and they had to rest and prepare for the following day's activities, I reluctantly left the Hotel about seven o'clock in the evening.

I remember Pamela teasing me on our way home about the airport drama and how, what was missing out from the action was one of those Indian love songs playing at the background with slow motion and all that stuff.
It was indeed an unforgettable day for me.

THE END.

Diaries From The Future - Episode 2 - I met the Governor

 "Congratulations on your victory in the gubernatorial elections and on your show of sportmanship..."A reporter on TV was speaking when i walked into the living room. The elections, I heard, had taken a peculiar turn this year with PDP unable to secure landslides as before. I scarcely follow up on politics and elections so i didn't have the details but I was glad my grandfather did because it got me some millions at the WWTBAM game show four years ago. Life had turned out very interesting after that time.

I sat on the floor sipping my special concoction. My sunshine of a husband had left the house much earlier while I was praying and I didn't get the chance to even say our usual, 'love you more', so I sent him a text message saying just that. I was still holding my phone when a call came in - It was Ebere Jennifer Anah, my PA and close friend. I picked it.
"Bugatti 012, good morning. How are you?" I was certain someone standing at my front door could also hear her laughter coming from my phone.
"Nano 012, I am fine. For goodness sake, why are you so outdated?" It was my turn to laugh. She just called me Tata Nano and carried on talking, "I'm on my way to your house with the driver. What are you doing right now?"
I looked at the wall clock - it was ten minutes past seven. I knew better than to tell Ebere I was sitting on the floor in the middle of my living room with a cup of half-empty moringa tea like a jobless housewife, while still in my night wear. I had to analyse my chances of avoiding her verbal spikes.
"So where are you now?" I asked as I stood up casually and went to the kitchen.
"Fifteen minutes away from your front door and I should meet you waiting when I get there," she replied with her tone sounding like I'll get fired if she met me otherwise. Thank God I'm the boss and bosses still called the shots.
"See ya then." I hung up.
Verbal spikes were on their way no doubt, but I had just bought my ears extra time.

The hardest decision I had to make almost every morning was that of what to put on. It's an age old chore, although I admit I always came out looking more stunning afterwards.
As I stood before my wardrobe fifteen minutes later, I whispered a 'thank You' to God. Stretched out before me was a ten-feet long wardrobe stocked with my style of clothings numbering over fifty and I still had a closet with more clothes and accessories. Compared to me of few years ago, this was certainly a miracle. I was still considering what combination to wear when I heard footsteps climbing up the stairs.
"Ebere please pardon me. I'm dressing up now. Just wait a few minutes," I echoed out the bedroom door assuming it to be her footsteps.
"Is there no one else in this big house yet?" It was the voice of one of my siblings.
"Ah! Troko what an early surprise. I don't have a maid if that's what you mean. Just a few minutes, I'll be with you." I knew she meant otherwise. She and most of my family members just refused to understand and accept the decision of my husband and I to delay breeding until two years after marriage. My mum was the ring leader.
I was now looking at the mirror and rounding up my drama. I picked up my bag and left the room closing the door behind me.

"Sis, good morning. What's up?" She said as I walked up to her and gave her a hug. "I thought you said you leave the house at noon on Fridays?"
"Yes, but today is another exception. I have some important things to do this morning. My friend should be here any moment to pick me. No work today?" I was already walking down the stairs as I spoke because it was twenty minutes to eight now and I heard a car drive in.
"There's work and I'll be very late." She replied nonchalantly, following my queue.
"If I were your boss, you'll get a suspension for that remorseless response." I looked around to make sure I missed nothing.
"Oh please, it's friday and I work for the government. Please I need to use one of your cars tomorrow. That's why I stopped by."
Typical of this my sister: ever demanding; hardly requesting. That 'please' she added to her sentence was just as useless as it would be if an armed robber pointed a gun at someone and said 'Please hand me your wallet' - I felt like turning her down.
"Tokunbo Nano! Aren't we leaving? We're late." Ebere called out, standing by the front door.
"I'll think about it and give you a response before noon. My friend is already here. Shall we?" I excused her and she walked out then I double checked the living room again before going out of the house.

I had no idea what lay in store for me that morning as I left the house and even if I saw it in a dream, I may still have doubted. The day was really nine-months pregnant and in labour.


So we dropped my sister, Troko, at a junction next to her office and the driver entered into the Aba express way. We were discussing about the exponential growth IPAKIS NIGERIA had experienced in the past four years and some leads I had gotten for our sales teams when suddenly the car jerked hard with a 'cRaSh' sound from behind - this was somewhere between Presidential Hotel and GRA junction but closer to GRA junction.
Ebere exclaimed the usual 'JESUS!' while I just gasped, holding my hand to my chest, then I looked behind me and saw a blue hilux, like one of those kind that lead convoys.
My driver, Moses, came out of the car and went to check the extent of the damage while a mobile police officer, apparently from the hilux, approached him, alongside the driver of the hilux.

The car windows were winded up so I couldn't make out what they were saying but, what happened was that there was a little traffic just before the junction - the traffic warden had just stopped the line to make way for cars entering GRA, so my driver slowed down but this hilux car, still on speed didn't slow down on time and hit our car.

"I think we should remain in the car, let Moses handle this and let's see how this goes," I told Ebere who was just as calm.
A few minutes later, another mobile police officer tapped on the window by Ebere's side, gesturing for her to wind down. She did.
"Good morning madame. Please don't be offended, my boss wants to speak with you." He said confidently addressing Ebere.
She in turn looked at me and I nodded signalling her to reply him.
"Good morning sir. Please don't be offended too but you don't expect me to come down and go see your boss to hear him. I mean, it's his convoy that just hit this car. Can you see that we are ladies?"
"Madame you are right. Don't be offended. It will be taken care of right away, just come with me please." I nodded again and she obliged him. As she stepped out of the car, I could hear the voices of more persons at the back of the car. By this time, the traffic had cleared and cars were driving by, with people looking in our direction. I checked the time, it was 8:45. I called the MD at the office immediately to report the situation and a probable delay since we had a brief meeting scheduled for 9am. I also sent my sunshine a text message informing him about the developments and asked him to call me if he was less busy. He called back instantly.
We were still talking when Ebere returned. I tried to read her facial expression to tell if all was well. She looked flushed to me.
"Sunshine, I'll call you back later. She's back. Let me know what's new. Ok. Bye love." I ended the call.
"Debby.. this was an accident made in heaven!" she blurted out and I raised eyebrows. "Do you know who that was?"
"What happened to the car?" I asked, more concerned about my meeting and this prolonged delay.
"The lamps were smashed, bumper bent and rear dented but who cares? I called the office and another is coming to pick us, while Moses is taking this one to the mechanic. Someone else's insurance is covering for it." As she was talking, the hilux drove past with an entire convoy behind it - six cars in a row. I turned and saw that a mobile police officer and another man were still with my driver and they were coming to us, so I winded down my side of the window.
"Moses, please stop a cab immediately. We can't wait for company vehicle." I turned to Ebere, "Call them back to tell the driver not to bother - I smell a rat."
"What rat?" she asked giving me a quizzical look.
"Paparazzi rat." Then i gestured for her to look at the direction of GTBank. A reporter - no, three reporters had just come out of a car and were heading towards us; one with a camera.

Luckily, Moses got a taxi almost immediately and we came out of the car and entered the taxi. At this point, the reporters had already arrived and very prepared. I had informed Moses and the others not to utter a word in response to anything they say.
"Hello madame, please can you give us a few minutes?" one reporter called out, as I was entering the taxi.
"We heard your car was damaged by one of the cars in the newly elected governor's entourage. Was it the very car carrying the governor?" another reporter requested coming closer. Meanwhile the one with the camera was busy taking photos of the 'damaged' car.
This time I winded the windows up and the driver drove off. Moses drove off after us.
"Annoying Paparazzi! See how they just took the surprise off my gist." Ebere spoke up as soon as we were clear.
"Yes. The Governor. So give me the details - what happened when you left?" I asked with a bit of excitement. I was conscious of the taxi driver.
"As I followed the officer, we walked to that second SUV after the hilux. When I was getting closer, the window came down and there was 'the man' looking at me." She narrated, getting into a frenzy as the tale went on. "I greeted him and he apologised for the accident before asking who I was. I told him, adding that my boss was the other lady in the car. Here's his card." she continued, flashing a very rich-looking complimentary card in front of my face before handing it to me.
From the inside mirror, I saw the taxi driver take a glance at the card. He had been stealing those glances at us since we got into his car.
"Wow! Babe! Give me gist abeg." My own excitement increased at the sight of the card. Maybe because as a sales person 'the card' was reeking of 'Eau de Prospect' or maybe it was the open opportunity to build a one-on-one relationship with the next Governor staring at me in the face, or maybe it was both, but I was really excited. This whole accident and delay was worth it.
"So as I was saying," she snatched the card from my grasp to get my attention, "Pay attention. He then asked his PA to dispatch some persons to take the car to his mechanic and make arrangements for a vehicle to take us to our destination but, I told him that wouldn't be necessary because an office car was on it's way to pick us. He even went further to invite us to a dinner party happening in his residence tomorrow evening. The PA took my card - said he'll send the invitation to the office later today." She finally paused, and all the while I was just staring at her, both listening and trying to picture her story in my head like I was seeing it happen. I do that a lot, so much that someday I may not even be able to tell if she told me this story or if we both followed the mobile police officer to the car.
"This was really a blessing in disguise, and I just can't believe it's happening to me - to us I mean. Plus dinner party? Babe we don hammer o'" I said and slammed her a 'high five'.
The driver finally spoke and seriously, I was taken aback at his quality of spoken english - "Madame, sorry to intrude in your discussion but please would you need another chauffeur to take you for the dinner tomorrow? I'm available for free."
Ebere and I looked at each other, surprised. Then I responded. "I don't think we need an extra chauffeur tomorrow, but I think you could send in your resume if you'll like to work for my company."
"Thank you ma. I'm very grateful ma. I will send it in today." He said with genuine appreciation. He was a graduate with a second class honors I later found out.
We got to the office about 9:30am and the rest of the journey down there was full of plans on the dinner party. It was only after the meeting it occured to me that I hadn't informed my hubby about my invitation to the newly elected Governor's lodge. That day, just before we eventually got the invitation, I prayed that it'll be an invitation for couples and it turned out so.

To cut the long story short, I did not only meet the 'man of the state' at the dinner party the next day, I had a good rapport with his wife who was just a few years older than I was. I met other top government officials and their wives and girlfriends. As a salesperson concerned, I made sure I gathered enough acquaintances and I encouraged my hubby to do same. Ebere was there with her spouse as well and we had a night to remember.
THE END

Diaries From The Future Episode 1 - Fat Chance!

Once upon a weekend, two days after an incident I can't recollect, I was marching by a
bustop on aba road wondering why poor people are so lazy, they're ready to pay N50 to go a
quarter mile but still brag 'do you know me?' to a conductor over N20 change, then all of a
sudden I bumped into a 'somebody' who was obviously distracted with her phone as I was
with mine. This lady's phone landed on the ground and the battery flew out. I just muttered
'sorry' and marched on. I had not even taken up to 5 steps before a hand grabbed my shoulder.

As the hand spun me around, I almost lost balance. It was a man probably in his early
forties.
"Don't you have manners!" he barked at me as I stood facing him, trying to understand the
situation. "You hit this lady, caused her phone to fall and you're walking away."
I looked at the man, then I looked over at the lady. She was just standing there looking all
upset. For a moment I considered giving this man a lecture on manners. I was going to start defending myself when I saw something on the floor the lady had missed while picking her
battery.
I just walked to the lady and spoke,
"We bumped into each other. I told you sorry. Why the harrasment?"
"Why weren't you looking at where you were going", she replied angrily.
"If you were also looking at where You were going, you would have avoided me", I retorted. As I turned to leave, I added, "Instead of pushing blame, you should be looking for your
earring".
From the corner of my eye, I saw her hand go to her ears. I marched on.

I wondered what the man thought of me as I left. I should have even answered his question.
'People can be funny most times', I thought, shaking my head. I hastened my steps some
more, I needed to get to the bank before 4pm and it was 3:40pm.
Now at GRA junction after 5mins, I entered GTBank premises. There was a long queue at the
ATM and it didn't look like it'll be my turn soon if I got into that queue, so I headed for the
entrance door. "Hi" a voice said from behind me. It definitely was from a man who had just come out from the banking hall. I didn't even budge. I was waiting on the queue to enter the bank and it was almost my turn. I just pretended it wasn't me. "Hi, excuse me." this time I got a
tap on my shoulder. I turned to see who it was that had no sense of banking time or
sensitivity to my rush. I froze; mouth open, speechless, and all that.

5 years ago if anyone had told me Bj Michael Abiodun would look this huge, I'ld have placed
a bet against it. He looked married and uncertain of who I was.
"Bj! Oh my gosh! Is this you?" I took two steps out of the queue and it was my turn already.
"Debby! Wooow!" his face was the definition of surprised. We hugged each other and by this
time, we were a cinema screen for all eyes.
"Debby.. You're looking so different. What happened to you? I almost thought it was someone else you know."
I let out a what-a-twist laughter, not just from the irony of what he said, but also from the
fact that my chances of entering the bank had just run out.
"I should ask you that too. You look transformed, eating oil money and enjoying married life.
Bj..."
"We thank God. It's God. I'm so sorry I havn't called you. Didn't you get my wedding invitation? I didn't see you at my wedding."
"I'm sorry I tried to reach you on phone to tell you I would be out of town for a workshop. It
didn't get through. I sent you an email to that effect."
"Maybe I missed it. So how are you doing? Look at you.. you don't even look married. How's business? It's been ages."
"I'm fine Bj. God has been good to me all round. Thanks to Him. How's your wife?" "She's fine. Oh! Sorry I pulled you out of the line. They've closed the entrance door. What will
happen now?"
"It's okay. Happy to see you. I'll just have to use the ATM." I really was happy to see him. It was 4 years ago since we saw last in person.

"Can I take you to another ATM? This queue is long, or did you come in a car?"
"Sure thanks. No, I walked down from Rumuola because of the traffic."
"Okay. Let's go this way. My car is parked around the corner." he gestured towards the park facing the express and I went in that direction.
I called Moses immediately, "Moses, where are you?"

"I followed stadium road but there's hold-up here too." came his reply at the other end of the call.

"Okay, just find your way home I'll take public transport. Bye"
We got to the parking lot then I heard the 'bleep bleep' sound from one killer-ride automobile
. "Bojojojo! This your ride na die o'. Abeg come gist me your levels."
He laughed and opened the passenger side of the front door for me.
"I'll go into GRA because of the traffic. We can look out for ATMs there as well but I'll come out to Olu-Obasanjo road where I'm sure of ATMs."
"Whatever bro. I take it that you owe me for getting me out of the queue and you're making up for it."
He got in the car and went in through Tombia street. On our way, we talked about everything, catching on after a long time. It was after I made my withdrawal from Skye bank ATM near Weldone supermarket, I realized it was 5pm and I had to be home to prepare dinner before my Sunshine arrives.
"Bj, which way are you heading? So I'll know whether to bother you some more or not." I said as I got into the ride.
"I can drop you off. Where are you going?"
I told him where to drop me and we zoomed away.

It was quite a friday and a meeting. I just cannot forget how funny it felt having to leave the queue when it was my turn, after all the rush and the phone drama I was involved in on the way to that bank. At least I reunited with a good old friend.
THE END.