Well, it wasn’t easy coming by the answer to that question. “There’s only
one way to find out” I thought to myself.
And that was attending Ogechi’s house party with disguised looks. There I would ask her some
sensitive questions that would clear my doubt on whether or not she still truly loved me like back in the days. YES!! That
was indeed a wise one.
I summoned Cynthia and told her I needed
to take a trip to Oklahoma City. “Why do
you want to go there? Are you tired of
seeing me around? Cynthia asked. “Not
all.” I replied. I think I need to change my
environment for a little bit. Who knows? I
might regain my true self if I do so” I said,
acknowledging Cynthia’s suspicion of me
not being alright. Cynthia wouldn’t prevent
anything that would put me in the state she
wanted me in, so she consented, though
she insisted on coming with me. After a
little argument about that, she let go. Three
days later, I left for Oklahoma.
Looking out from the cab that was taking
me to a hotel from the airport, I saw a lot
pretty things about Oklahoma City, one of
them being Ogechi’s pictures on billboards.
I saw about three of that before I got to the
hotel. I arrived a day to Ogechi’s house
party. After checking in and freshening up,
I decided to take a little tour around
Oklahoma and take some pictures. It was a
wonderful time out. I visited the zoo and
museum briefly and then proceeded to
Ogechi’s residence so that I wouldn’t find it
difficult knowing my way around the next
day when it was time to party. We got
there and I was stunned by the magnificent
building Ogechi had purchased for herself.
It had a garden and a swimming pool. Well,
those were all I could see from outside. I’ll
get to see more when it was time for the
party. The taxi driver drove me back to my
hotel. I got to my room and changed into
my pajamas, after which Cynthia crossed
my mind and I called her.
“Hi J” she greeted.
“Hello Cynthia, how are you doing?” I
asked.
“I’m sick” she replied.
“What’s wrong?” I asked
“I can’t stand your absence” she replied.
“C’mon Cynthia, I’ll be back before you
know it”
“Promise?” she asked,
“Promise” I replied.
She then cheered up and we engaged in a
very long conversation like we hadn’t talked
to each other in the last two years. As a
matter of fact, I slept on the call. Even at
that, her call woke me up by 8am the next
day and we switched to skype while
freshening up on both ends. It was a really
cool thing to do. After 9am we stopped our
call and I started preparing for Ogechi’s
party like it was set to begin the next hour,
though it was set to begin by 4pm. I was
nervous till 4pm and had talked with
Cynthia five times for not less than thirty
minutes before it was 4pm. I disguised
myself with Fela Anikuti’s kind afro and
covered my eyes with dark shades. Put on
an old school suit and carried a staff as
though supporting myself with it. When I
consulted the mirror and found that even I
couldn’t recognize myself I was convinced
Ogechi would also not be able recognize
me. I borrowed the disguise strategy from
Cynthia.
It had been three hours into Ogechi’s house
party and the whole place was fool of
superstars, some of which were present at
the movie premier I and Cynthia attended
back at Regina. It was a good thing I
disguised myself. Ogechi was just
welcoming people as they came, and out of
all who went there, I never saw anyone who
showed up solo. I was the only one who
went there alone. She came the moment
she saw me and welcomed me, not knowing
my true identity. I thanked her and she left
immediately because she had many people
to welcome and would not spend a longer
time than necessary with one person except
an exceptional big shot.
When it was 11pm some people were left
outside to continue partying while Ogechi
and her superstar friends remained at the
VIP section. During her last TV program she
had promised to talk about her relationship
and other personal matters to some set of
people. The VIP section was where that was
going to happen and not all were allowed in.
Not all even knew that something like that
was going to happen there. Everyone
involved had gotten in and the security
stood firm at the door post to make sure
that not even a spirit entered in again.
Nevertheless, I went to the security and
tried to sweet talk them into letting me in
to no avail. I suddenly forgot that I was in
America and brought out some tips to give
to the security so that they would allow me
in, and that pissed them off. They pounced
on my and I screamed because of the pain
they inflicted on me. That caught the
attention of the VIPs’ and they rushed out
to see what was going on. Ogechi didn’t
come out with them. She had been taken to
a safe zone like she was the president of
the United States, to keep from her from
harm in case it was an attack on her. When
they found it was just a poor loner like I
appeared, they relaxed and sent me away.
But I refused to leave, explaining to them
that I was Ogechi’s fan from the start and
traveled all the way from Regina to be a
part of that discussion. They thought I was
from the press and wanted to come and get
her private life details and publish on the
newspapers for the sake of money but
confirmed otherwise after they searched me
for wires and the likes but couldn’t find it,
yet they didn’t let me in. Ogechi finally
showed up and I explained everything to her
in a way and manner she could not resist.
She was my girlfriend. I knew the right
words and actions she stood helpless
against. So I narrated to her how I took a
long trip down just to see and hear her talk
about her relationship after years of longing
to see her unsuccessfully. “It would be
unfair to send me away after all I’ve been
through to be here” I said. There was
something strange about me to her which
she couldn’t figure out. If I had knelt down,
she would have suspected or even known it
was me, so I didn’t. However, she told them
to let me in but keep a close watch on me.
She began her talk with jokes about how
she used to be afraid of having an affair
because her mother told her that boys
would only come and steal her heart away.
She didn’t understand what her mum meant
by that. She thought the boys were going to
murder her and pluck out her heart from
her chest. She dropped that fear after she
graduated from secondary school and got
admission into the university. She told
everyone she had longed to have an affair
with a guy who truly cared about her all her
days in secondary school but was afraid
because of what her mum told her. So when
she got into the university, she promised to
find herself just the right guy who was
going to give her the treatment she desired
without taking advantage of her. It wasn’t
easy to find such guys, she continued;
stating how about seven guys she willingly
gave her heart to, proved to be undeserving
of it by seeing her as a little girl that was
perfect for nothing more than sex. “It was
a good thing they didn’t have their ways
with me” she said. Even the guy that
finally gave her the kind of love and care
she needed still had a flaw. He cared about
Ogechi, was always there for her, couldn’t
bear to see to see her unhappy and all that.
But he was discovered to have been double
dating. Ogechi said his explanation was that
he couldn’t bear not making out with
Ogechi, so he had to find himself someone
to serve that purpose while Ogechi
remained his queen. Ogechi never
mentioned that she excluded making out
from her relationships, neither did she
affirm that she permitted it. But the guy
thought she wouldn’t go well with that idea,
probably because of the way she carried
herself.
I was just sitting there listening and
waiting for it to get to my turn so that I
would hear what she was going to say about
me and judge if she’s been telling the truth
all along of if she was just telling them
super stories. Finally it got to my turn.
“All I have told you were just to make you
understand why it took me that long to find
myself the right kind of guy for me. Now is
time for the real deal. The prince charming
you all want to hear about will be my topic
for the rest of the night. Like I said, it is a
long story, and a whole night is not enough
time to say all there is about it. But I’ll try
to mention the most important aspects of
my relationship with my prince charming
whom I have so missed.” Ogechi said that
putting her right hand on her chest and
smiling as though reminiscing on a good
experience. She then started talking.
“He’s a Nigerian like me but from the
southern part of the country. I met him one
night under a chaotic atmosphere sleeping.
I was supposed to look for a way to get out
of there before I got caught by the police
who were randomly arresting people. But a
force stronger than I could resist compelled
me to stop and wake him up. Of course I
shouldn’t have left him there like that but I
sure was going to if not for the force that
stopped me. To my greatest surprise, he
started weeping when I woke him up,
thinking that the reason for the chaos was
the end of the world. He begged God to
forgive him and it struck me that he was a
Christian that was expecting the second
coming of Jesus Christ. But the
environment was too hot for me to try and
get acquainted with him like I longed to. I
brought it to his notice that the world had
not ended, but that it was the police. He
rejoiced greatly on hearing that and
thereafter devised a means by which we
escaped, after asking for my name” the
crowd laughed and clapped.
He took me to a hotel room, she continued;
where I had expected the animal in him to
awaken when the hours of the night got
ungodly. All I could do was pray in my heart
that he should be knocked out by the kind
of sleep that visited Adam when Eve was
created. That guy refused to sleep. Instead,
he was up watching TV endlessly. When I
saw that he wouldn’t stop watching TV, I
turned the TV off and asked him to join me
in prayer and he consented immediately. I
was surprise, but I hid all my emotions in
order to appear brave.
All through the night, I slept with one eye
open in case he got curious and decided to
find out what my body could do to his
system. Honestly, I had expected him to do
that. He looked like someone who would
want to do that. In the middle of the night I
woke up and turned on the light to check
him out. He was deeply asleep with his face
pressed against his pillow. It was clear that
the guy was more interested in catching a
good night sleep than anything else in the
whole world. It was later that I got to find
out from him that he had not slept in a bed
for the past one month. Then I understood
why he slept that much. While I was still
looking at him that night and wondering
what made such a rough looking guy with
beards all over his face sleep with such
calm on a bed with a girl like me, I heard a
voice say; “DO YOU WANT ME TO HELP
YOU RELAX?” Oh my gosh!! It was his
voice. The guy wasn’t sleeping!!!
To be continued.
