3 MONTHS TO THIRTY by Sarah Adeniji
EPISODE 4
A FOOL FOR LOVE
Dear Diary, I slept early on Tuesday night because of the stress I went through following Eva everywhere. I called Margret Thatcher and gave her an update immediately I finished with Eva.
"Hello Mrs"
"Yes MJ"
"She signed the proposal, 50 million naira budget with all its accompanying perks" I said with as much excitement as I could muster.
"Good job MJ! You can take half day off and resume by 12Noon tomorrow. Start working on the second bride immediately, she asked for a meeting on Thursday".
"Yes Mrs" I said and ended the call.
I had a light dinner last night and soaked myself in the Jacuzzi for about an hour. I allowed my skin to assimilate all the essential oils I bathed with.
A call woke me up by 6:00AM, I checked the number and could not recognize it. I don't usually pick up calls from unknown numbers but this one was insistent.
"Hello who is this?" I groaned.
"Monalisa"
"Steve?"
"MJ please, don't disconnect the call" he said pleadingly.
"What do you want?" I hissed angrily.
"It has always been you MJ, I wish you hadn't left. Remi was a mistake, she's choking life out of me" he whimpered.
"Steve, you made your choice..."
"Maybe if you hadn't left, maybe I wouldn't have made that mistake"
"So I'm the reason you slept with Remi? Great!" I said and ended the call.
I sat up and checked the time before making my way to the bathroom. I washed my face and walked back to the room to say my prayers. I felt this yearning in my spirit since I had the dream 4 days ago.
"Dear God, thank you for another day. Please help me to make the best of today and don't forget the man you promised to send. Amen."
"What if Steve is the man? He made you happy and you were about to get engaged..." An errant voice whispered.
"It can never be Steve" I said firmly and stood up.
I intended to enjoy the few hours I have before I have to prepare for work and one of the things I planned to do is call Bobby. It has been almost a week since I heard from my baby brother and I missed him greatly.
I walked into my sitting room to fix myself a cup of coffee. After getting a cup into my stomach I dialed Bobby's line.
"Hello Kiddo"
"MJ, it's too early"
"Its past 6:00AM, don't tell me you are still sleeping"
"We held a group tutorial last night and I was awake till 2:00AM"
"You don't have to read that hard, you are already a bright boy" I said smiling.
"MJ, I have to read. Bambo said same thing last night, I don't know why all the women in my life think I'm a genius". He laughed.
"Who's Bambo?" I asked getting curious.
"My girlfriend"
"Jesus Bobby! I thought it was Sonia!"
"I broke up with her, she does not understand me. A man needs a woman that can take all his shits, Sonia wants to change me"
"Bobby, Isn't that what we do? Change for the people we love?"
"My Sister is calling early in the morning to give me relationship advice. Isn't that great!" I can picture him rolling his eyes.
"When are you coming home? I miss you" I said slowly.
"In about two months. I have to prepare for class MJ".
"Ok! Love you Kiddo"
"You are going to love Bambo Sis. Love you too". He said and disconnected the call.
I thought about what Bobby said and I remembered Steve. He wanted me to take all his shits too: he wanted me to love him the way he was and never attempt to change him.
It all happened about 3 years ago on a Saturday, I was watching fashion show on TV when Margret Thatcher's call came in.
"Hello Mrs"
"MJ, On Site! Call Susan for details" she said and ended the call.
Susan filled me in and I was fuming with anger when she was done. Apparently, the owner of the hall we booked for the wedding has a son that was into Hip Hop and he insisted he has to sing before the live band we paid for.
I was fully worked up when I drove to the venue, the reception had been delayed for an hour and half before I got there. I met Susan at the gate waiting for me.
"Where is he?" I screamed.
She walked me to the venue and I met the bride already crying, the groom was really angry.
"Let me resolve this please, just give me 30 minutes and you can have your beautiful party. Don't cry, you are ruining your makeup" I said to the bride with a reassuring smile.
I spotted him before he saw me; he was wearing a formidable look and two armed guards followed him. I was the one that booked the venue, he had collected the 15M we paid and didnt stick to the agreement.
"Mr Wade? I said and matched towards him.
"Yes" he said looking angry.
"I heard there has been a problem, and I'm here to resolve it" I said calmly.
"It is our protocol here; Wande Happen Bobo has to sing before any musician. We own here and that's how we do our things" he said angrily.
"We have a contract..."
"Didn't you hear me? Are you deaf? I said that's how we do our things. Call your boss, your company should not send a small girl here to talk to me" He was looking irritated.
"Do we have a contract with your crazy son? Did we book him to sing at this event? If his Warri Nonsense Song is so good we would have been running after him to book him. What crazy condition is this?" I said angrily.
"His name is Wande Happen Bobo, you must have heard his songs because he's an international brand. You are rude young lady! You don't have an iota of manners!"
I brought out my phone and dialed a number immediately "Is this Segun & Sons law firm? Put Lawyer Mathew on the line" I waited patiently to be connected to the young lawyer.
"You are mannerless, see how this small thing is talking to me? Call security!" He raged.
"Hello Lawyer Mathew, this is MJ from Pure Havens. We have a problem here, the owner of the venue violated the terms of our agreement. We are supposed to have a peaceful party here after booking his hall for 15M, he wants his sorry son to sing. He has been delaying the reception for over 2 hours now! How much can we sue for breach of agreement" I listened to Lawyer Matt explaining the terms of agreement and I was livid.
"A miserly 80M? Our client paid 70M for us to put together this wedding they better pay that too! How much for the psychological trauma they caused the bride? 30M? That's crazy. So we can't get more than 200M from them? Do we get to sue whether their stupid son sing or not? Great! Send them a letter first thing on Monday morning, I'll send you soft copy of the agreement now" I ended the call and saw him looking morose.
"You are so stubborn, we could have settled this long ago..."
"I'm not done with you! If your Warriden Born son climb that stage I'm suing both of you! 200M for breach of agreement, 200M for psychological damage, 200M compensation returned to the bride's family because you made us breach our agreement with them, additional 100M for soiling the image of our brand. By the time I'm done suing you'll sell all your damn investment..."
"You don't know how to talk! Your company has no reputation and I don't want my son to ruin his reputation by singing at your useless party. We refuse to collaborate with you! You can have your party, but if you dare spoil any of my Properties I'll be the one suing this time around"
"News Flash! We don't want to use your property again, we want to sue!" I shouted in return.
People began to gather and before I knew it I became a celebrity and some of the guests started hailing me.
"I love that woman! She's a hot chick" I heard a man utter and then I saw him walk towards me, six feet tall and handsome.
"Monalisa"
I was completely swept away by his charming accent.
"I'm MJ" I said when I found my voice and clutched his extended hand.
"Thank you! The hall manager settled with the groom and we can now hold the reception. He even offered to pay us a small compensation for the delay. You must have made a good impression on him" he said smiling.
"He's such a coward"
"I like a woman with so much fire in her. MJ are you leaving anytime soon?"
"No" I said against my better judgement.
He was the best man and I ended up waiting around for another three hours before he could break away from the myriads of women holding unto his jacket. We exchanged contacts after a brief discussion and he promised to call.
He was a marketing manager at an advertising company, and he loved his job. He treated me with utmost respect and showered all the affection I wanted on me but I was terribly insecure. He didn't know how to draw boundaries and didn't try; when I discovered that he had about ten girlfriends who he had been intimate with at one time or the other still holding on to him I had a serious conversation with him.
"Steve, this is not right. You are giving these women a wrong signal; you have to stop being familiar with them"
"MJ, you are talking to the wrong person. They are the one calling me and holding on to me, you are the only woman in my life"
"But you didn't do anything about it! You didn't ask them to stop calling and visiting you!" I said in frustration.
"You want me to throw them out of my apartment or block them? That is harsh MJ! I can't believe this is coming from you".
"They still want you, are you sleeping with anyone of them?"
"Maybe before I met you but not anymore. Those women knew what they wanted when they started chasing me all around; I am a man with blood running through my veins" He said pleadingly.
"What about Victoria? The girl that is all over you in the office. She brings lunch for you everyday from her home! How do you want me to feel?"
"Don't tell me you are insecure MJ! All these women know you and respect you. She's just my office girlfriend, there is no string attached to our relationship" he said coldly.
"Victoria is your office girlfriend? Can you hear yourself Steve?" I shouted angrily.
"This is me MJ, I didn't ask for any of these and it's not my fault these women find me irresistible. Just endure until we get married and they'll leave on their own" he pleaded.
I loved Steve and I tried to endure, It affected my self-esteem terribly because I had to spend so much time looking more gorgeous. The thought of whether Steve was sleeping with them or not drove me crazy.
Then one day I went visiting and I saw Remi. She was so young; probably in her early twenties. She was wearing a nice bum short and preparing Steve's lunch when I got there that weekend.
Steve gave me a brief hug when I entered and introduced her.
"MJ meet Remi my school Daughter in college, Remi meet MJ my fiancee"
"Nice to meet you Auntie MJ!" Remi said showing excitement but I knew her smiles were fake.
She kept coming every weekend until I was forced to call Steve's attention to her frequent visit.
"Steve, I am not comfortable with Remi being around your house every weekend"
"MJ! Don't tell me you are feeling insecure about Remi; the girl is still a child" he said looking mortified.
"A child? How old is she? You are just 32 and she should be around 25..."
"She's 23; she'll be 24 this year" he said coldly.
"Jesus! Can you hear yourself? You have just 8 years age difference and she's your daughter?"
"MJ, I can't believe we are having this conversation. You think I'm attracted to her? You are making me look as if I'm a womanizer".
"I don't want her spending the weekend in your apartment again" I said angrily.
"I'm sorry MJ, I can't stop her. You are free to tell her to stop coming if she makes you insecure" he stood up angrily.
"Why should I be the one to do it? Where are you going? We are not done with this conversation!"
"I'm done talking about this. I thought you are a confident and secure woman, and you are comfortable being yourself. I don't know this is just a facade! You are jealous, insecure, and over protective!" He shouted.
I tried to control my emotion but I was terribly hurt. I never imagined we could hurt each other like this.
"I need a break Steve, I can't do this anymore" I said trying not to cry.
"MJ! Don't tell me you are going to break up with me over this silly conversation. I'm sorry, let's just forget it"
"No, I don't want to forget it!" I said and stood up abruptly.
"Are you sure about this? You know you are one I ever wanted, don't do this to me" he said looking hurt.
"Don't call me!" I said and walked away with tears in my eyes.
I didn't talk to him or call him for a week and I missed him terribly. I knew I didn't want him to mess up with my head and the relationship was causing me so much emotional pain. I found myself driving to his apartment the following Saturday just to say hi, I convinced myself I just wanted to pick some things I left in his apartment.
I rang the door bell and she came out of his apartment wearing a bikini bra and tying a small towel.
"Hi Remi, is Steve around"
"Hi MJ, he's not around" she said looking sassy. She closed the door behind her and stood at the door.
"I came to pick some of my things..."
"Steve will bring them to you, you can't enter our apartment"
"What do you mean?" I said in shock.
"My boyfriend does not want to see you" she said folding her arms.
"Steve is your boyfriend?" I said in surprise.
"You didn't want him again so he came to me. You are not welcome here" she said and locked the door.
I stood by the door several minutes after, I could hear Steve's voice from inside asking who was at the door and she said "An Intruder". I blocked Steve from reaching me and never called him again; that was 6 months ago.
I heard the sound of someone knocking and opened the door for Mom.
"MoniJesu"
"Good Morning mom" I said trying to avoid her gaze.
"What happened? Why are you looking like this"
"Nothing mom, I'm fine" I said still avoiding her gaze.
"Are you sure? Did your boss scold you?"
"No Mom, Steve called me this morning"
She sat facing me at the dinning table.
"This your Steve, it is obvious you still love each other"
"Love is not everything Mom, he's not good for me"
"He makes you happy MJ, I see happiness in your heart when you are with him. Can you give him another chance?"
"He's not what I want Mom. I cant look the other way when he's with other women. There is no way I'll take him back" I said looking pained.
"We are all fool for love MJ, love makes a fool out of us all"
"Mom, not me. I don't want to be that kind of woman. I want to get married to a Faithful man like Dad; he practically worship you and can't bear to look at another woman. Daddy is the perfect model for me, I can't settle for less"
"Your Dad isn't perfect Moni" Mom said with a solemn look.
"I know, but he's Faithful. I have been watching both of you for years. This is why I can't settle for less; I want the type of security and peace of mind you have" I said as a matter of fact.
"Is that why you have been like this all these years? Take a break tomorrow by noon so that we can have lunch together" Mom said slowly.
"Where are we going?" I asked getting curious.
"To bring back you sense" she said tapping my head gently.
To be continued...
Don't forget to drop your comment after reading, feel free to use the share icon and share this story via link. Follow the blog so that you'll get notification when I drop another Episode. Episode 5 will be available on Friday.
To read free articles/content on relationship and marriage click HERE
DON'T MISS THIS!
2. 3 Months to Thirty Prologue
