Surprise Me
“See you there” Dayo said and hung up the phone
Ife bit her lip and jumped around her apartment like a child who just got a new toy.
She reached for her phone which was on the centre table of her sitting room and dialled a number.
“Hello?” a tiny voice answered.
“Don’t tell me you were sleeping” Ife said, sounding a bit irritated yet still excited that Ginika picked up the phone
“Don’t use that tone on me o, you are not the one planning a wedding and going through stress” Ginika said.
“Whatever, you are not the first person to ever plan a wedding”.
“Really? I can’t wait for yours, I will remind you of this day.”
“But is it really that stressful?”
“Yes, it is. Daniel’s mum keeps calling me every 2 hours and to be honest sometimes she calls me for the silliest of things. Like yesterday, I was in the middle of a meeting and she called. I had to excuse myself to answer her thinking it was something important, only for her to ask me if I think her red shoe would go with the aso Ebi she wants to wear to the wedding”.
“You can’t blame her, she has to represent on that day and remember this is her only child, I’m pretty sure she is nervous”.
“Nervous ke, Is she the one marrying the guy?” Ginika sighed “I just hope that she won’t be disturbing me like this once I marry her son, the last thing I want is a mother-in-law that won’t let me rest all because I am marrying her only child”.
“Pele”.
“Anyway, what’s up? I am pretty sure you didn’t call just to hear me rant about my mother-in-law”.
“Of course I didn’t. Dayo called.”
“Okay…”
“He said he has something he needs to reveal to me tonight.”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“I think this is it Ginika. I think he is going to propose”.
Ginika screamed “Wow. But wait, how are you sure?”
“What else would he be revealing to me except a ring and besides we are meeting at a very expensive restaurant? Everything is just adding up”.
“Did he sound excited?”
“No, but it’s Dayo. He always likes to keep things cool and he obviously would not want to give anything away but I have this strong feeling that he is about to propose”.
“I am so happy for you love, you deserve to be happy”.
“Thank you”.
“What are you wearing?”
“I have this black dress that I have been storing in my closet. I think that would do”.
“Hmmn. Going for the little black dress. Just don’t forget to send a picture to me” Ginka paused “It’s times like this that I wish I were in Lagos”.
“I know right. Me too”.
“Um, Ife I have to go now, my other phone is ringing, I’m thinking it’s the mother-in-law. Have fun today, I’ll call you later so that you can tell me all about your date”.
“Okay, Bye dear”.
“Bye” Ginika said and hung up the phone.
Ife dropped her phone on the table and lay down on the cushion looking up at the ceiling and smiling to herself. She started imagining how the whole date will play out, she imagined Dayo going down on one knee in front of everyone in the restaurant and the shock on her face as everyone claps for her.
As Ife lay down, she remembered how she met Dayo.
It was at a conference that was all about “how to manage finances and be successful in Nigeria”.
She was not one to go to such conferences but her colleague at work, Martha had convinced her and Ginika said it would be a nice opportunity for her to meet a guy because according to Ginika, any guy that attends such events must be very serious with his money and that’s a good thing especially for the future.
She enjoyed the conference and learnt a lot when she got there but she didn’t see anyone who appealed to her especially not after the event when everyone was networking and to say she was disappointed was an understatement.
Just as she was giving up on finding anybody and was about to head home, she sighted a tall, dark and handsome guy with a very nice build that showed through his shirt. He noticed her and they shared a moment of intense eye contact till he approached her.
Her heart skipped her beat and kept on pounding faster as he came closer to her. He introduced himself as Dayo Folarin and as he asked her about the conference, Ife had to admit that she wasn’t really paying attention to anything that Dayo was saying as she admired his pink lips and irresistible smile, she admired how his eyes smiled as he spoke. It was like she was looking at a Greek god. After their conversation, Dayo took her number and left the conference
As he sauntered out, she could see eyes turning to admire him. She felt lucky that out of all the ladies in the room he chose her to talk to and from there began the start of a relationship.
Ife checked the time. “7:35. Trust Dayo to come late” she thought but she didn’t mind, she was already used to it by now although she would admit that she felt lonely sitting alone in this fancy restaurant while everyone around her had a date. She called Dayo’s number but it was unavailable.
Ife had been dating Dayo for close to 3 years now and if this wasn’t a proposal coming up, she didn’t know what it was. As she was about to dial Dayo’s number again, she felt a peck on her cheeks from behind. She didn’t need to look back to know who it was.
“Sorry I’m late babe. You know how traffic can be in Lagos” Dayo said as he sat down on the chair opposite her.
“If this date was important to you you would have left your house earlier” Ife said.
“I did but I wasn’t expecting the traffic to be that bad” Dayo smiled and Ife’s heart skipped a bit, even though she has been dating Dayo for a while his smile still got to her every single time “And why won’t this date be important, I get to spend time with the most beautiful woman in the world”.
“You are not going to get me with that” Ife said although she could feel heat creep up her cheeks.
“You sure? Because it seems like you are blushing”.
“Shut up jor.. Black women don’t blush”.
“Really? But this one is, you are even blushing on the inside”.
Ife laughed and shook her head “I don’t know what to do with you” She said.
“Are you….” Dayo started saying when a waitress came to attend to them.
Ife made her order and as Dayo was making his Ife couldn’t help but admire the gorgeous man sitting across the table, she was aware of how Dayo made ladies feel whenever he walked into a room. She had noticed some ladies staring at him as he sat down even though they had dates and she was sure that many would consider her lucky but not all that glitters are gold.
Dayo was what many people may call “a Yoruba demon”. Ife always caught him stealing glances at other women and she knew that he was not faithful to her but she stayed with him because he gave her all the attention she needed and he was the adventurous type.
Even though she met him at a financial conference, Dayo was reckless when it came to spending and cared more about partying with his friends than anything, the only reason he had a job was that his father was a well-to-do owner of an oil and gas company and wanted Dayo to run it when he retires.
There were many times Ife wondered if that was a good idea considering Dayo’s nonchalant attitude towards things.
Dayo always kept her waiting like he did today and sometimes purposely sends her subtle messages about how lucky she is to be with him during conversations. Sometimes she asked herself why she still stayed with him.
“Probably because I don’t want to be lonely” she thought.
“I love black on you. It brings out your eyes” Dayo said softly as he used his eyes to admire her.
Ife snapped out of her thinking and smiled.
“So what’s the news you have for me?” Ife asked curiously and for a moment she thought she saw fear and sadness in Dayo’s eyes before he smiled and it all disappeared.
“After dinner” He said as the waitress came and served them what they ordered.
Now, Ife was more curious than ever to find out what the news was because of what she saw in his eyes or at least thought she saw in his eyes.
As they were eating, Ife noticed that Dayo was quietly eating his food and that was strange, Dayo always had something to say, especially when it was all about him.
“Are you okay? Because right now I am so curious” Ife asked.
Dayo sighed “ let us finish our…”
“…We are not finishing anything till you tell me what is going on, you are not acting like the Dayo I know” Ife said dropping her cutlery on the plate while folding her arms “And that scares me” she thought
Dayo dropped his own cutlery and took a huge gulp from his wine and looked down “I really didn’t want to break this kind of news to you” Dayo said as he fiddled with the folded napkin in front of him
Ife’s heart skipped a bit. Maybe it was not going to be what she thought it was. Or maybe he was putting on a show before proposing.
“Okay Dayo you are scaring me, I need to know what is going on”.
“Do you want to break up with me?” Ife thought.
She had always feared that a day like this would come when Dayo would end the relationship with her because Dayo is Dayo and he can be very unpredictable but they have come so far in this relationship and she couldn’t imagine letting go now.
“I got a call last week from Andrea”
“Your sister, how does that have to do with anything?” Ife thought.
Andrea was Dayo’s little sister that Ife met at his place and Ife thought that she was the sweetest person ever, always calling to check up on Ife and always so nice. Sometimes when Ife had issues with Dayo, Andrea was the only one that she could talk to because she understands Dayo a lot more. Well, It’s expected. After all, Andrea is Dayo’s sister.
“Oh, Andrea, how is she?” Ife asked
“Well, she is fine…” Dayo paused for a while avoiding eye contact with Ife “She’s… um … Pregnant”
“Wow. That’s… great” Ife said with a slight frown on her face “I didn’t know she was dating someone and she never told me about anybody”
“Um… Yeah”
“So what’s the problem? Is it your dad? I know that he may not be too happy with Andrea being pregnant but it can’t be that bad” Ife said, remembering the time where she asked Dayo why their father doesn’t talk about Andrea. He said that Andrea and his father were not on good terms and his father doesn’t like to talk about it.
When Ife wanted to get more information from Andrea concerning her father, Andrea was quiet and didn’t want to talk about it.
‘So that’s why he’s sad’ Ife thought. ‘I know you love your sister but it can’t be that bad, I really believe that…’
“The baby is mine.” Dayo said, with his eyes closed.
Ife was so sure that she didn’t hear what Dayo said.
Ife paused for a while before she finally found the voice to speak “What did you just say Dayo? Because I am so sure that I heard something totally different from what you said” Ife said with her voice shaking a bit.
“Andrea’s baby is mine. “ Dayo said with his eyes still focused on the table “Ife I am so sorry…”
“How is that even possible?” Ife said her voice slightly raised and her eyes wide opened “Tell me this is a joke, Andrea is your sister for Christ’s sake. I know that you are promiscuous but you sound very ridiculous right now. How can you even joke with this kind of thing…”?
“Andrea is not my sister” Dayo interrupted “She is actually my friend with benefits, I really did not want to be involved with her but she couldn’t let me go and she was the one that came up with the idea of acting like my sister…”
Ife was finding it very hard to believe what she was hearing and she could feel her heart rate increase, she didn’t know when her hand reached out to her wine glass and when she splashed its contents on Dayo’s face accompanied with a heavy slap that threw him off balance.
The whole room was silent and Ife could feel everyone looking at the scene that she just created but she could care less because words could not describe how she felt at the moment. She wanted to say something really bad to Dayo as he held his cheeks and tried to gain composure but she was at a loss for words so she just grabbed her purse instead and left the restaurant.
As Ife headed to the parking lot of the restaurant, she could not help the tears that rushed down her cheeks
‘How could I have been so foolish?’ She thought ‘And to think that I thought that it was going to be a proposal’
As she opened the door of her car, she could hear someone running behind her and she didn’t need a rocket scientist to know that it was Dayo.
“Ife please wait. I can explain” Dayo shouted as he ran to meet up with her.
Ife wanted to leave but a part of her wanted to know what went wrong and so she stopped and turned around to face Dayo.
When Dayo met up with her, he was silent.
“I’m waiting” Ife said with a shaky voice.
“Ife I really didn’t mean for this to happen, I wanted to end my relationship with Andrea because I figured out that I am in love with you but she couldn’t seem to let go”.
“Dayo, you should hear yourself right now, you sound ridiculous. The fact that you were so comfortable lying to my face about Andrea and the fact that the both of you took me for a fool is what baffles me. Putting up a show right in front of me but laughing at my back…”
“It’s not like that Ife” Dayo said coming closer
“Don’t touch me” Ife said leaning back, she laughed with tears in her eyes “ I feel so stupid right now, here I was thinking that you were going to propose, thinking that you were going to take this relationship further and this is what I get. Humiliation… Dayo, you brought me all the way to a restaurant like this, made me feel like you were going to do or say something special only to humiliate me and break me. What was the use of all this, a simple text would have been okay, why mock me right in the face?” Ife laughed again “But of course, you are Dayo, what do I expect “Ife said as she stepped into her car and just as she was about to close the door, Dayo held it.
“I’m sorry Ife”
“Sorry? Why should you be sorry? I am the one that is sorry. I am sorry for wasting 3 years of my life with you. I am sorry for being your fool. And most of all, I am sorry for ever setting my eyes on you.” Ife was closing the car door and then she opened it again “Congratulations on your baby, I wish you and Andrea a happily ever after” She said and closed her car door so hard with a bang as she drove off leaving a very confused Dayo standing in the parking lot looking at her drive away.
She resolved in her heart as she drove away that she was done with men. She found it funny how the tears she expected she was going to shed that night was going to be one of joy and not of hurt and anger.
“I guess Love is really not for me. I wanted a surprise and a surprise was what I got” She said to herself as she pulled up to her apartment, tears streaming down her face.
