“Do you miss me already or should I come in and we continue where we left off?” He asked seductively.
“No!” I said more forcefully than I intended because I was embarrassed at my thoughts. Oh yes, I wanted him to come inside. Seriously I need spiritual cleansing. Work is piling up but I am not in the mood so I am just going to laze around today, I thought to myself. This month will be a busy month, I definitely needed the rest. As I lay on my bed hugging my life size teddy, Jasmine sauntered in. Giving the teddy a dirty look she said “Tobs, men don finish for Naija, abi? I don’t understand why two gorgeous men will be after you and all you can think of is this teddy!” She ended disapprovingly. “Congratulations darling on your Doctorate, I am super proud of you. How you achieved this feat with your busy schedule is beyond me, since your appointment as the Nigerian Country Chair, Anti-Domestic Abuse under the auspices of ALL (All Ladies Wing), I see that your speaking engagements have increased. I see you are also now a Member of the prestigious G100 Club. I read up about it, quite impressive; comprising Nobel Laureates, former Heads of State, Business Women, Investors, Ministers, Philanthropist, Corporate and Community Leaders, a powerful Club and Group of Women Leaders and Achievers from all works of life. Wow, Tobs I must say Warien Rose Foundation is certainly going places,” Jasmine said leaning forward to hug me.
“Hmmmn what’s that smell,” she said wrinkling her nose. “What smell?” I asked in alarm checking my underarms to be sure she wasn’t referring to me. “Gotcha!” She said aiming a throw pillow at my head and then we started a pillow fight, on a Thursday morning! Can you believe it? By the time we were done running around the room, the lethargic feeling I had earlier was gone. Jasmine sure knows how to help a girl unwind. She suggested we go to the Beach and I was game. It wasn’t the first time we were going to the Beach during the week, in fact we did it as often as we could. It is therapeutic for us. The wave’s calmness, serenity and sometimes turbulence reminded me of different phases of life. Jasmine and I had developed a habit of sitting apart from each other for at least an hour before reconvening to gist. Jasmine has a good head on her shoulder and in spite of her sometimes obsessing over men (my opinion, I can just imagine her rolling her eyes while reading this piece, hahaha) she truly is one of the most intelligent women I have ever encountered. So we talk shop; about our businesses, taking it to the next level, what’s next for us. There are always new territories to conquer. I love the fact that we can talk no distractions. Our phones were on silent. That’s true, where is my phone? I looked at it to check for messages and that is when I saw 10 missed calls from Rick, wow this is unusual. “Hello Rick, I hope everything is ok? I just saw your missed calls,” I asked in concern.
“Tobs, where the hell have you been? Grandma had a heart attack!” Rick said obviously distraught and agitated. I went to the hospital immediately after Rick’s call, stunned and surprised that a strong looking woman (she has never looked her age, whatever that means) like Rick’s Grandmother could look so frail. Life is truly transient; I don’t understand why people walk around with a chip on their shoulder. You don’t own your life neither can you create a life so why walk around like you own the world. Our lives are in God’s hands. I visited the Hospital everyday as I had become quite attached to this gutsy, amazing epitome of beauty and brains; the amazon just won’t quit I thought shaking my head as I entered the hospital for the second time in a day. She had requested I cook ‘Banga’, my traditional food made from palm kernel. A rather strange request from a Client, you might say but I still went ahead to do it to please the ‘young’ woman. “My sunshine I am so pleased to see you, have you seen Rick?” She asked her eyes lighting up as she sighted me. I had been slaving in the kitchen all day just to see that crooked smile. I had not seen or heard from Rick all day but was loath to agitate her so I ‘lied