“My lover’s gone… his boots’
no longer by my door. He left at dawn. No earthly ships will ever bring him home again…”
These are the lyrics to a song
by the singer Dido. The lyrics haunt me especially now because I can relate with them. I'm sad and I blame myself for all that happened.
He won’t be back.
Now I know that for sure.
........................................................................................
My
name is Fope. I'm 28 and I just recently
had my heart broken by someone I loved so dearly. His name is Olaolu…
Olaolu
and I meet on campus during our undergraduate days at O.A.U. it wasn't love at
first sight but we definitely hit it off from first sight. I remember the first
time we met as vividly as it was yesterday. He came into my room asking for one
of my many room-mates and I noticed immediately how cute he was and I also
noticed he had dimples when he smiled.
“Hi”
he said. “ I'm looking for Kemi. Is she in?”
“No
she’s not” I said.” “Do you want to leave a message so I’ll tell her you came to
visit?”
“No
that’s ok. Please just tell her Olaolu came looking for her”.
“Alright. I'll do that” I said.
“Can
I know your name? You know, just in case she asks me thinking I’m lying about
coming to visit her. Although I could just tell her that I met a cute and
charming girl but knowing how Kemi is you know that won’t cut it with her” he looked like a little boy begging for treats as he asked with adorable mischief in his eyes.
I
blushed. “My name is Fope.” I offered him my hand. “It’s nice to meet you”.
“Nice
to meet you too.” He said. Our palms met and his felt so soft and warm.
“I wasn't joking about the cute and charming part you know?” you really are that”.
“Thanks”
I said with a shy look which I was trying to hide from him.
“What department are you in?” he asked.
“Geology…
200 level”.
“Wow!
And I've never seen you around. He said in the excited way that he talked when
he had discovered something so interesting to him.
I
have taken courses in that department. I'm in Chemical Engineering 400 level”…
he gushed elatedly. “Do you want to go out on a date with me sometime? You know,
to maybe grab a quick lunch at the cafeteria after classes?”
“I
would love to. Thanks”…
And
that is how my Olaolu and I started our whirlwind of a romance. He loved me so
dearly and I returned the gesture almost as fiercely as he did. In a way I felt
that no one could love me in the same way he did and I was always struggling to
keep up with his romantic gestures.
We
were always together on campus, eating together, reading together and going
everywhere together. The only places we never went together were my classes and
his bed. He would come to pick me at my
department after my classes and escort me to my room in Moremi Hall, stay with
me while I cooked lunch and he would always tease me while at it.
“You
know you have hands like a baby”. “Small and pudgy” he would always laugh and
tease me as I cooked.
“Thank
you. And you have hands like a, like a… I'm even short of words sef” I would
reply pretending I was hurt and not knowing what to compare his hands with.
We
were inseparable that way and pretty soon we were known all round campus as ‘Fopeola’
(a combination of both our names).
My
girlfriends envied our relationship especially because he was good looking and
he was one of those guys that never pressurized a girl for sex and he
understood where I stood on that.
I
had made it clear from the onset of our relationship that I wanted to wait till
my wedding night to be physically intimate with anyone. He promised never to do
anything to hurt me and agreed to wait for me till I was ready. This made me
love him a whole lot more.
.........................................................................................
Before
Olaolu and I met I didn't believe in love. I didn't believe that two people
were meant to live together forever or happily ever after. It just wasn't realistic and i wasn't prepared to delude myself into believing otherwise. Meeting someone
like Olaolu who had so much love to give and such a caring personality changed all
that. He changed my whole orientation about love, relationship and marriage.
I
really have to emphasize on how my life was before I met Olaolu. You see, I am
a child of divorce and before my parents got the divorce I was a miserable
child.
I
would hear my parents arguing with one another, bickering over trivialities
before my father would eventually beat her to a pulp, leave her in the bedroom before
storming out of the house in annoyance to visit one of his numerous beer parlours to drown his sorrows.
One
time, I was in the car with them, my father was driving and my mother was in
the front passenger seat while I was seated in the back seat. There were
arguing as always and the argument got so heated that my father left the car in
the middle of traffic and jumped out of the car just to be rid of my mother.
So
you see why I had my mind set about love and marriage. What I experienced in my
childhood tainted my view of happily ever after and made me decide to never
ever get married. The memories of my parents bickering and endless fights were
seared into my memory forever and there was no backing down. There was no way I
would ever allow myself to be a man’s punching bag. If he needed something to punch
then he could go ahead and become a professional boxer!
Olaolu
graduated a year later as he was in his penultimate year when we met. Our
separation was one of the most painful things I had to go through. Despite the
fact that we were always on the phone whenever our schedules opened up, I was
still miserable and missed him so dearly. He would calm me down when I cried
and soothe me with kind words promising that he would come visiting me on
campus soon. Whenever he did come to visit (which was always twice a month) we
were inseparable.
My
sweetheart eventually got drafted for his National Service and was luckily
posted to Lagos State. I was elated. We had prayed for this for a very long
time and God had answered our prayers.
After
service, he got a well paying job with a multinational company in Lagos. I
remember he was so elated when he told me about it on the phone. I knew he was
practically grinning from ear to ear with the goofy smile that he always had on
when he was trying to placate me for something that he had done wrong. I didn't hesitate to tell him that I was so proud of him. We revelled in his joy together.
I was extremely happy and so was he.
I
soon graduated from school in flying colours and with Olaolu’s help I went on to
serve in Lagos as well. He pulled all the strings and made sure he got me a
good place to serve. I started work and got retained with the company after
service.
Soon
after this, my baby proposed to me. That day is still so vivid in my memory. I
was in the office working late as usual when he sent me a BBM. “Hi sweetheart.
Working late again?”
“Yes
o! This people will not kill somebody with work jare. I’ll soon be leaving
anyway. What are you up to?”
"Me? I'm just looking for new ways to wow you as usual. Can I come pick you at
work?”
“Of
course. I don’t see why not. That will just mean that I will have to park my
car at work and take a cab to work tomorrow.”
“Ok. I'm already downstairs. Let’s leave now.”
“What
do you mean you're already downstairs? OMG! Laolu!” Not able to contain my excitement,
I immediately raced down the stairs and jumped into his arms. I had not seen
him in over a week and I was excited beyond imagination to finally have him
wrap his arms around me.
He
took me to one of the restaurants that we frequented but as we entered I noticed
a different ambience about the place. To start with, the restaurant was empty
except for the two of us. I looked at him with a look of inquisition on my face
and he grinned back.
He
pulled the chair out and gestured for me to sit down. I was still trying to
take it all in when he came to my side and offered me a single red rose and
placed a kiss on my cheek saying that I meant the whole world to him and that he
has not been able to stop loving me from the first moment he laid his eyes on
me.
I
took a deep breath because he got on his knees next and brought out a blue suede
box from his breast pocket. He then asked, ever so gently, for me to marry him.
I
could not contain myself. I was overjoyed and I shouted a yes as an answer to
his question. I was going to be Mrs. Olaolu Willoughby! Looking back now, I can
unequivocally say that day was the happiest day of my life.
Preparations
for the wedding began immediately. I didn't want to waste any more time before
getting married to him. We arranged for us to meet both of our parents, tell
them the good news and assist us in picking a date. I was excited because I
knew that my mother, who knew about our relationship from the beginning, had
been waiting a long while for him to propose to me.
Then
tragedy struck…
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The
events building up to that fateful day he left will forever haunt me. We had
planned to travel together to introduce me to his parents who lived in Abuja, tell
them about our impending nuptials and also ask for their blessing. I had
already taken time off work and he had as well. He was supposed to pick me at
my parent’s house after which we would then drive to the airport together.
I
was already waiting eagerly with my bags packed and we made our way to the
airport through the traffic jam chatting away endlessly like we were the only
ones in the world. Our flight was scheduled to take off at 2 pm, about 35
minutes after we arrived at the airport.
We
entered the terminal, checked in our bags and went to the lounge to wait for
our flight to be announced. While waiting in the lounge, my mobile phone rang.
It was my boss. He wanted me to come to the office and help with an emergency
lab test. I was the only one that had the technical know-how as that was my
field of speciality I was devastated. He was willing to pay for another ticket
for me to fly out that same day and he was so sorry to ask this of me but he
had no other choice.
After
dropping the phone, the look on Laolu’s face showed that he already figured out
the conversation pattern and knew what I was about to say. “He wants you to
come in abi?” he said with a sad look in his eyes.
“Yes,”
I said with the same sad look he gave me. “But I don’t have to go if you are
not up to it.”
“No,
no, no. Don’t worry about it. We’ll just book another flight and leave for
Abuja tomorrow.”
“Thanks
darling but I don’t think that is necessary. You can go. I’ll take the first
flight out and meet you. Your mum has gone through all the trouble to prepare
for our arrival and I don’t want her to be disappointed. Besides, I know how
much you have been pining for her cooking” I joked.
“Well
you got me there. Promise me you’ll take the first flight out though.” He
pleaded.
“I
promise” I crossed my heart and did a pinky swear interlocking our pinky
fingers like we used to (he was geeky that way). He kissed me on the cheek and
gave me a tight hug, (tighter than usual I noticed) and I was on my way.
Little
did I know that that was the last time I would feel my beloved’s arms around me
or the soft breath of his mouth on my cheeks.
Hours
later, after completing my assignment at the office and getting ready to leave,
I got a frantic call from Laolu’s mother asking me if I had heard from her son.
I told her I hadn't and she became all the more worried.
I
immediately dropped the phone and started dialling his number. As I poised my
fingers to punch the digits into my phone, I heard the news headline that
announced breaking news. A plane had crashed 2 minutes from the landing time.
“That
was his plane… our flight… He was in that plane.” I kept thinking to myself.
Before
I passed out.
PART 2 COMING SOON
