MY JOURNEY IN LIFE.
EPISODE 17
I opened my eyes. It was afternoon the next day and I was on my be-d, still with my clothes on. I tried to remember how I ended up in my be-d with clothes on after such a h0t bath with Cynthia but couldn’t. Was I that drun!k? Then I tried to remember the events that took place the previous night and could only remember to the point where I lost contact with the real world. Apparently, I had been slee-ping and dreaming all along. Arrrrrrrgggggggg!!!!
Just then Cynthia c@m£ in to check on me. As soon as she saw me she started laughing. I didn’t un-derstand what was funny to her. I was just an-alyzing her and reminiscing on the dream I just had. I then imagined it was real and laughed. Seeing that I was laughing, Cynthia laughed out all the more. I then gave a mischievous smile and said ‘you’re lucky that the entire shower thing was just a dream. If not, you wouldn’t be laughing right now’. ‘What shower thing?’ Cynthia asked. ‘Never mind’ I said. Wait a minute, were you dreaming all along? Don’t tell me you’ve been dreaming’ Come on; tell me, what was it about?’ Cynthia enquired. I’ve never seen someone smiling and l!çk!ng hisl-ips as though k!ss!ngsomeone while slee-ping’. I was shocked to hear that. “Was I doing that?” I asked. Of course you were. I c@m£ in to check on you and found you doing that so I left. I c@m£ again some moments later and found you doing the same thing. I was flabberg@sted”. I thought you were going nuts so I wanted to call for an ambulance when I heard you………
I didn’t wait for her to finish her statement. I interrupted her and told her it must have been the effect of the alcohol I had the previous night. I tried to wave that away as though it meant nothing to me but I was ashamed. Cynthia continued with the statement she was ma-king before I cut her in. “I wanted to call for an ambulance when I heard calling my name. I thought you had seen me come into your room and wanted to say something to me but I was wrong. You la-id there on that be-d calling my name pas-sionately and I got curious as to what could make you call my name in that manner while slee-ping”.
“After a while you st©pped but didn’t wake up. I left for a little bit only to come back and see you awake and saying I wouldn’t be laughing if it all wasn’t a dream. What happened?” Were you dreaming about me?”
I didn’t know what to tell her anymore. I had never felt so humiliated my whole life. I was ashamed and shy. In fact, if there was a plane heading for Nigeria at that moment, I would have joined it without a second thought. But this Cynthia sure knew how to cheer me up. She had correctly guessed the kind of dream I had and how humiliated I felt about it. She drew near to me smiling, pated me on the back and said; “I’m sorry to have made you have so much drink. I never knew it would have such strong effect on you”. “My bad” she said. She blamed herself for everything and made it look like such dreams only c@m£ to people un-der the influence of alcohol. There could be some truth in that anyway. Don’t you think?
I freshened up afterwards, had lunch and went for a work. I couldn’t st©p thinking about the all that happened in the last six hours. I st©pped by a park to take some air. There it seemed like everyone were in pairs. Only a few people were solo, and I was one of them. The sight I beheld plea-sed me and at the same time made me feel lonely. Right then I remembered Ogechi big time. I missed her a lot. I remembered back at Enugu, I never felt lonely. No moment was boring. There was always fulfillment back then. But in America, things were different. Imagine what happened last night. I had so much to drink, and that made me have a weird dream. I couldn’t imagine that happening if I was with Ogechi. I remembered the days when we had little money and no fame, watching movie with my l@pt©p was more plea-surable than going to the movies. squee-zing ourselves to fit into a sixteen inches foam for a night was more comfortable than slee-ping in a family size be-d in five star h0tels for eternity. Trekking from campus to our residence was more enjoyable than ri-ding in a Lincoln Navigator to the white house. Eating together in a local restaurant was more refreshing than consuming the delicacies of royalty. We all strive to attain higher heights in life but sometimes it could be very lonely and miserable up there. I missed Ogechi but I didn’t know if she missed me too. If she did, why hadn’t she called?
I went back home pretty late and mate Cynthia sitting just outside the house. She didn’t look happy. We got talking and she told me she wasn’t happy about me leaving the house to an unknown destination without her knowledge. Cynthia had grown so fund of me that she wanted the both of us to be like five and six. She was worried sick about me just because I got out of the house without letting her know my where about. It was obvious that Cynthia saw me to be more than a friend to her cousin. She saw me as her man.
I wouldn’t blame her for that anyway. I can remember she told Lin I was her fiancé and I didn’t deny it. At the movie premiere I told some people she was my woman. All that coupled with our time out together was enough to suggest to her that I was re-ciprocating the feeling. Right now it was time to face reality. Cynthia loves me and I know that. I have feelings for Cynthia but I wasn’t sure it was love. It could be lvst because my heart belonged to Ogechi, but that was about to change.
All the while I had closed my heart on Cynthia because I didn’t want to fall in love with her because I was in love with Ogechi. But after a while without any sort of communication with Ogechi I contemplated on giving Cynthia a chance since she was the one pres£nt with me and was showering me with all the love in the world. I didn’t know what was going on with Ogechi anymore. So I decided to let go off the feelings I had for Ogechi and start something with Cynthia. But then, I thought I should give Ogechi one more sh0t before proceeding to do anything I might regret in the future. I called Ogechi’s line twenty times daily for the next three days but couldn’t speak with her because she was so busy. Busier than how I last knew her to be. She had grown to become a superstar. How I wish it was I and Ogechi living like I and Cynthia were.
Since I couldn’t speak with Ogechi I was re-ady to make Cynthia my girl for real. I didn’t consider her age anymore. After all, she looked as young as young as Ogechi, even though she was older in age. I started planning on how and when to ask Cynthia to be my girl. She had expected me to ask her that long before now but I didn’t. I bet she wondered why I hadn’t asked her for that long. Maybe that’s why she told Lin I couldn’t express myself before women. She even thought I was a vir-gin. I knew Cynthia was gonna go gaga the day I asked her to be my girl, and I was gonna ask her. I guess Ogechi had also found herself some nice guy over there. Well, best of luck to the both of us.
I asked Cynthia out on a d@t£ one day. It was the day I planned to ask her to be my girl. We went to a Chinese restaurant and ordered for some Chinese meals. Getting adapted to eating with the chopstick wasn’t easy for me. Cynthia had no problems with that because she had been doing that overtime. The Chinese restaurant was my idea, so it was somewhat embarras-sing not being able to properly use the chopstick. Cynthia didn’t care. Even if I peed in my p@n-ts, Cynthia wouldn’t feel ashamed of me. All those made me go crazy for her the more.
It took a while before I could properly make use of the chopstick and thus, the main purpose of the d@t£ was delayed. Finally, I could properly make use of it and that p@rt was over. It was time for me to drop the bomb. I didn’t just want to ask her to be my girl. I wanted to make that day a very memorable one. More memorable than any good time I ever had with Ogechi in order to completely get rid of any feelings left for Ogechi. I may have summed up courage to leave Ogechi for Cynthia, but that wasn’t likely to happen without some emotional stress. So I decided to make every p@rt of my day with Cynthia a very ro-mantic one before proceeding to the main subject.
I had succeeded in ma-king Cynthia smile and laugh and enjoy her time out with me. I made her feel secure with me. Even if I didn’t ask her to be my girl, nothing would have st©pped her from believing that I was in love with her. If I said nothing that night, Cynthia would think that I am the kind of guy that wouldn’t easily profess love, but would rather act it. She believed beyond every iota of doubt that I was in love with her because of the things I said to her and the way I acted at that restaurant. But then, I still had to break the silence. The time c@m£ for me to utter the word that would change everything; my life, my purpose, and probably my destiny. Do I really nee-d to do this?
MY JOURNEY IN LIFE.
EPISODE 18
The big moment c@m£ and I was about to flood her heart with melodies of love. I held her both hands from across the table and looked at her the way I looked at Ogechi the day I professed love to her. OH MY GAWD! Cynthia lost it. She knew what I was about to say. She probably had been in that position before. The look in her eyes depicted something like; “DREAM COME TRUE”. She was smiling and couldn’t wait for me to empty my heart of its content. I had almost opened my mouth to speak the words when a movie director she had introduced me to at the movie premiere walked in with his fiancée and met us on our table holding hands.
“Look who we have here! The two love birds in a Chinese restaurant. How ro-mantic”
“Carl! Cynthia called out to the movie director as she slowly withdrew her hand to give him a handshake.
“What a coincidence” Carl said. “I’m out on a d@t£ with my fiancée.” He drew his mouth closer to Cynthia’s ear and whispered; “I’m gonna propose to her”
Cynthia screamed with excitement. The director turned to me and said; “I hope you’re here to do the same?”
I just smiled and waved that away.
“By the way, how’s the movie thing going?” the director asked me.
“What movie thing?” I asked. I had forgotten that Cynthia introduced me to him as an actor the night at the movie premiere, so he expected me to have featured in some movies alre-ady and probably working on one as we spoke. So I asked that silly question and he got confused. Immediately, Cynthia jumped in.
“He’s been reluctant about the whole thing because of the love he has for Nigerian home videos. He has climbe-d up the larder in the Nigerian movie industry and has gotten used to it to an extent where his de-sire to feature in foreign movies burns with low flames. I have been trying to talk some s-en-se into him for a while now but he’s been resistant. I know it’s because he doesn’t know how it feels to feature in a Hollywood movie. You can bring him in and let him have a test of it can’t you? I’m sure by then his view of the whole thing will change for good”
Truth be told, Cynthia was simply irresistible. The moment she dropped the last word, Carl cons£nted and gave me his card and booked an appointment with me. He was going to work with me on his next movie. Only Cynthia can do this. After that he left with his one in a million fiancée to another table to propose to her.
Cynthia quic-kly reminded me that besides Carl there were other people she introduced me to at the movie premiere who all thought of me to be a star, coupled with the Italian girl at the premiere who called on me to join her pres£nt the award to the director of the movie that was premiered. So we had to do something real quic-k for me to have TV appearance and Carl was the best starting point. I ended up not telling Cynthia what I brou-ght her out on a d@t£ to tell. Instead, we started strategizing on how to make me a star in the nearest possible time and prevent shame. Was there anything this Cynthia wouldn’t do for me?
Carl and I bec@m£ allies and I was given the role of the major actor to pl@yin his movie but got disqualified because I hadn’t attained a white belt in martial arts and the major actor had to do some karate stuff with the bad men. Because of that I was given the role of the major actor in the next movie Carl was to produce, and that was a long time away.
Nevertheless, I started appearing on set to talk about the movie Carl was directing. I was p@rt of the team and fame started coming my way little by little. I started feeling funky, but then I remembered how fame separated me from Ogechi and I promised not to let it happen with Cynthia. Whether it was real or not, I was determined to love Cynthia. Wherever I traveled to in the course of Carl’s movie, Cynthia went with me. Of course she loved such things so it wasn’t a problem for her.
Six months pas-sed and the movie was not even half way done. It had been one year from the time I began my Masters’ Degree Program and I only had six months left to be throu-gh with it. I wasn’t in a hurry anyway, because unlike before, I had no special one to go home to except my mother, so I wasn’t bothered since no one was gonna steal her from me like I feared for Ogechi.
It was I and Cynthia now rocking the United States of America. Throu-gh Cynthia I had gotten highly connected to the people that would help me live my dreams. In addition to the connection, I started ma-king some cool dollars, but nothing to be compared to what Cynthia and Ogechi had made alre-ady. They were rich girls, but Cynthia was richer. From all indications, I wasn’t going to settle for any other girl than Cynthia and she knew it, so she made everything she had mine. I had access to all she had, even her bank account that contained the millions of dollars she had made over the years. I wasn’t comfortable with it. I wanted to make my own money, but it wasn’t easy. Like they say; you don’t make money overnight, you make money overtime.
I was very careful not to take advantage of Cynthia in anyway. I handled all she gave me with extreme caution to prevent anything that would lead to any kind of misun-derstanding in the future. Cynthia didn’t care how I handled whatever she made available for me. All she wanted was my love. She would gladly pay all the bills as long as I showed her love and care. But as a Nigerian man, I didn’t want people at home to say that a woman was the one catering for me, upon all the gifts and talents that I have. So I worked really ha-rd with that movie director and also with the music producers I had gotten to know throu-gh Cynthia.
The music thing wasn’t coming forth as the movie thing was. Everything was flowing well with Carl’s movie and I couldn’t wait for him to be done with the pres£nt one and get started with the one I was to star in.
I thought of traveling to Nigeria to visit my mum and some other people. Of course I wouldn’t go to Nigeria for any other reason than to visit because everything I nee-ded was in the United States, especially now that I had decided to make Cynthia a p@rt of my life. I wanted to make United States my home because of her, so I only wanted to come back home and spend some time with my family and friends before heading back abroad.
One evening we sat just outside Cynthia’s house to catch some air. There I broke the news of my plans to travel to Nigeria. Cynthia wept like a baby at my breaking the news of my journey to her. She didn’t want me to leave. She was afraid I wasn’t going to come back. But she couldn’t find any strong reason to keep me from going home to see my mother. We spent a lot of time talking about my trip and the time of my return to America. If not that Cynthia was afraid of coming to Nigeria because of that magazine saga, she would have come along. But since she couldn’t come, she suggested we solidify our bond with a blood covenant before I left. She was really afraid of losing me, even though I hadn’t opened my mouth to ask her to be my girl yet. Nawa o.
I wouldn’t enter into a blood covenant with anyone, not even Ogechi. So I dismissed the idea immediately she suggested it. She thought and thought of what to do to glue us together inseparably. “We have to solidify our bond before you leave” she kept saying. “And how are we supposed to do that?” I asked. “Follow me” she replied, taking me by the hand and leading me inside the house. I just followed her like a sheep being led to the slaughter, wondering how she intended to solidify our bond. Whatever it was, I was re-ady for it, so long as it is not a blood covenant.
Cynthia lead me to her room gently, pushed me to be-d and made some kind of eye catching and mind troubling displ@ybefore me. I knew what she was up to. That was her idea of solidifying our bond. Honestly, I wasn’t going to object this time, not for the sake of solidifying our bond but for the sake of the blood that was running throu-gh my veins. I had resisted this beautiful Cynthia long enough because of my fears and conscience but at this point, her charms made me overcome those fears. The pressure I suddenly found myself in made me re-ady for any consequence.
Cynthia excused herself and went into the bathroom to get cleaned up while I l@yon her be-d watching TV and anticipating the return of the mummy. Three minutes pas-sed and Cynthia was still in the bathroom. My phone beeped. I checked to see what notification had come in. guess what? It was a reminder about the live TV broadcast featuring Ogechi and it was set to begin in ten minutes. I had set a reminder for the d@t£ and time for Ogechi’s next live TV appearance the last time I watched a repl@yof a TV broadcast featuring TV stars, of which she was one. Today was that day and the time had come. But I and Cynthia had unfinished business. What do I do now? If I miss this program, I may have missed the best opportunity to talk to Ogechi because the phone line was going to be open to callers and fans and I had planned to call in when the day c@m£. I even saved the number. And what about Cynthia? She and I had come a long way and I had made obvious to her that she had a place in my heart. How do I bypas-s this moment and watch Ogechi’s live broadcast? Or do I just let that go since I had settled in my mind to court Cynthia?
______________
I deliberated until it was about two minutes to the commencement of the program and Cynthia was still in the bathroom singing with much excitement and probably dancing, hoping to come out and unleash the dragon on me. Little did she know that my attention had been divided. Did I say divided? My attention had been stolen!
I quic-kly rushed down to the sitting room and turned on the television. After about five minutes Cynthia c@m£ down to meet me paying ra-pt attention to the program. She wondered what made me pay such attention to TV. She also thought I wasn’t happy that she had spent so much time in the bathroom. Be that as it may, she didn’t expect what she got from me. She c@m£ and was sweet talking me as she bent over the couch from behind and un-bu-ttoning my shi-t and ru-bbing my che-st. All that didn’t move me. How I wish she would just keep doing that while I watched Ogechi. She saw that I wasn’t moved by the s£dûçt!vemeasures she employed, and it struck her that something was not right.
“What’s going on J? Why are you acting weird?”
“This is one of my favorite TV programs, and I’ve been looking forward to this very edition. plea-se permit me to watch it. I’ll come to you when it’s over”
“What?” You’re leaving me in this high temperature because of a TV program? You’re kidding right?”
“If only you un-derstood the impact this program will have on me, you wouldn’t st©p me from watching it”
“Seriously?!”, I don’t know what has suddenly come over you. I can’t believe you want to trade what was supposed to be the sweetest moment of our lives together for a mere TV program. Are you okay?”
“Come on Cynthia, no one is trading anything here. Postpone would be a better word for to use”
“You’ve got to be crazy. Cynthia got pissed off and walked out on me. I was glad she finally did. I had been hoping she would do so three minutes ago; instead she stood there running those alluringl-ips of hers. Mcheeeeeeww!
Ogechi was called to come on set. The moment I saw my Ogechi I felt like jumping into the TV set to meet her. Wow! This girl is d–n pretty. She was dressed in red short go-wn with something like wings on both sides. She didn’t apply much make up on her face but looked more stunning than ever before. She was smiling all throu-gh. I remembered that smile. She was very impressive. I couldn’t st©p an-alyzing her. I remembered the first day I met her. I remembered the night at my house and many other wonderful moments we had spent together and I missed her exceedingly.
The interview started;
“It’s nice to have you again on the show after such a long time. I’m sure going to get my pound of flesh today because I don’t know when next I’ll be seeing you around. It’s not every day we get to hang out with celebrities like you” the broadcaster said.
Cynthia blu-shed at what the broadcaster said and I joined her unconsciously.
The broadcaster continued; “I’ll start today by asking where you reside now. We know you were based in America until ba-rely two years ago when you decided to go back to Nigeria. As it is now, one can’t tell if you’re based in America or Nigeria because today you’re here and tomorrow you’re in Nigeria. So can you tell us about that? I believe there are quite a number of us that may want to pay you a visit”
“Well, I’d say I’m based in Nigeria. But due to the invitations I get almost always, it might be difficult to get to me because I move to different places at very short notice. With that I can’t say I’m based at any p@rticular place for now. I think I will quote our dear Lord Jesus when He was asked where He lived. He replied saying; “FOXES HAVE DENS AND BIRDS HAVE NESTS, BUT THE SON OF MAN HAS NO PLACE TO l@yHIS HEAD.” “I say same about myself today. I have no place to l@ymy head” (Laughs after ma-king that statement)
“Wow. That’s interesting. So how does one get to you if he or she wants to call on you for collaboration?”
“My manager takes care of that. Just put a call across to him and he’ll make sure you have me. He’s a genius”
“Alright, talking about your manager, some time ago rumor had it that he’s your man. The people say they don’t see you with any other man besides him. What are you going to say to that? Are they right?”
“Some time ago I made it clear that I was in a relationsh!pand promised to show off my prince charming to the whole world. That hasn’t happened yet because we’ve been quite busy.”
“You mean, like, you guys have been away from each other for a while now?”
“Exactly”
“So how’s he taking that? Doesn’t he sometimes want to be with you? I mean, isn’t he a bit uncomfortable with the way things are going between you guys? He’s a guy. At some point he might be worried about losing you to someone else. How are you getting him to ride with you on this?
“Actually, he was the one who pushed me up here. He believes in dreams and achievements. I’m not quite sure I would have made it here without his help and encouragement. He never st©pped getting me to do all he knew would bring me here someday. Though our schedule does not permit us to be together more often, the day shall come when we’ll become inseparable”
“Wow! That’s really ro-mantic. Our ears are tingling right now. We want more. plea-se tell us all about it.”
“If I start telling you that, they’ll be no end to this program. It’s a pretty long story. Plus, that’s pri-vate, so I wouldn’t want to let the whole world in on that. I’ll be hosting an in-house p@rty in my residence at Oklahoma City two weeks from now. There I’ll share some of my life experiences and stories with those pres£nt.”
“Will price charming be there?”
“I’ll reserve every other information concerning that till then.
“Okay viewers, it time to take calls. Our phone lines are open. Call in and say hi to this this great Nigerian singer. She’s been rocking the air for a while now and we all love what she does. I bet the American government is planning on getting her to become a citizen.”
People started calling in and either wishing her well or congratulating her or adoring her and all that. I was busy trying to call the number on the screen but I kept getting the ‘BUSY’ feedback from the network. I guess all of America was also trying the phone lines as well. After several tries without getting throu-gh, I thought of giving up and let it slide. Perhaps it wasn’t meant to be. But then, one careless dial went throu-gh and I was connected.
“We have another caller on the line. Good evening and welcome to the show. Can you plea-se tell us where you’re calling from?” the broadcaster asked.
“Good evening. I’m calling from Regina.
“Okay you’re welcome to the show. So are you a fan of Oge’s or an admirer?”
“Haha. I would say a fan and an admirer. I’ve been following her from the start and I’m really glad that she’s made it this far. She’s an amazing singer and a pretty damsel. I don’t think there’s any other as pretty as she is. I have longed to speak with her for nearly two years now but to no avail. I guess she’s pretty busy like she said.”
At that point, the countenance on Ogechi’s face changed. There was something unusual about the call. She sat straight and paid ra-pt attention to the caller. I bet she was trying to decipher the voice. I was talking to her while watching her on TV. I felt so omnipres£nt. I wanted Ogechi to know I was the one calling. I didn’t want her to just suspect it could be me. I wanted to make sure she knew it was me on the line. And the best way to that was by saying something only she and I knew. So I proceeded to drop my points, but I did so in parables.
“I had almost given up on seeing her again. But the fact that I’m opportune to speak with her tonight makes me optimistic that I will see and talk to her again, even for one more time. I would have loved to hold her by the hand and lead her blindfolded to surprise package, probably a flower, but I don’t think I stand a chance amongst her many admirers. I would ask her out on a cool Sunday evening. And if she objects, I would get on my knees and beg her until she cons£nts. I know I wouldn’t pronounce the word plea-se before she cons£nts.
At that point Ogechi knew it was me. When we first met at Enugu and she asked me to come live with her, I asked her out one Sunday evening. She didn’t want to go with me. But as soon as I got to my knees she cons£nted immediately like it was a spell I cast on her. I always told her I would use that on her as a trick whenever the occasion demanded. So saying something like that probably made her remember that evening. She got nervous. She st©pped me from talking and asked; “Where did you say you’re calling from?” “Regina” I replied. And what’s your name sir?” I was silent for a little bit and she asked what my name was again. I opened my mouth to say Jesusboy but just then, Cynthia bur-st into the sitting room with angry words for my ears. The things she said could be heard by all who watched the program because she was yelling. Immediately, I dropped the call. The pres£nter then said; I think we’ve lost the caller. That must have been the caller’s wife yelling at him. I think it’s a family issue. The broadcaster then looked to the screen and said; to our caller from Regina, whatever it is, plea-se take it easy with your wife over there. Try to settle things and give us a call back if you will. We didn’t even get your name. By the way, that was very ro-mantic of you. Oge would be lucky to have a man like you. The countenance on Ogechi’s face showed her mind was troubled and she was finding it ha-rd to tell if it was me or not because of the word “wife” which the broadcaster mentioned.
“Cynthia heard what the broadcaster said and got confused. Are you the caller she’s referring to? Who’s Oge?” I stood there acting all lost and confused. “Am I missing something here?” Cynthia asked again with a confused look on her face. I thought she was going to let it slide at my silence. But she had strong suspicion that I was the one the broadcaster commended for being ro-mantic. She enquired to know what was special about the TV broadcast and why I was so p@rticular about watching it that I even hurt her feelings to do so and ended up being ro-mantic to someone I saw on TV. I wish she knew who that someone was. When I wasn’t saying anything in response she flared up and I got displea-sed. I retaliated with harsh tender words that calmed her down, after which I continued acting all upset with her for the embarras-sment she just gave me. She was so sorry and apologized to me dearly. If I knew, I would have accepted the apology immediately. But I still pretended to be really angry about what she just did and she quic-kly figured out the best way to put an end to my anger. “Guess what she figured out” (The ultimate seal on a p@rtner’s apology to the other) And that was nothing but a make-up………..,. Well, let me not speculate. I prayed it was something else she figured out but no, it wasn’t. It was definitely going to end on the couch. Watch and see.
WATCHOUT FOR EPISODE 19