Akwaugo – Episode 64

PART 64

 

We woke up to knocks on the door. Samuel went to answer the door. It was Uju. She asked us to come out for dinner. Her husband was back too. Samuel refreshed himself while I joined Uju in the kitchen. She was just smiling at me and giving me a knowing look.

 

“What is it?” I asked her.

 

“For people who aren’t having sex, you stayed there for too long”

 

“We fell asleep while talking. He was jetlagged”

 

“He’s a nice guy. Not someone I would expect you to settle for but he is a nice guy”

 

“He is. Wait until he starts spoiling you rotten”

 

“I can’t wait”

 

I warmed the rice and grilled chicken. I observed that Uju had made cole’s law and grilled some plantains. They were health-conscious in their home which I liked but I knew all that would come to an end once they tasted Samuel’s delicacies. I could see he came fully prepared.

 

Samuel met Uju’s husband and they hit it off at once. They were supporters of the same football club and that was it. They relaxed and talked for hours after our meal

 

 

and many thanks from Samuel. Uju and I stayed in our corner. I knew she wanted to ask more questions but I wanted her to know Samuel before she judged him. He was not on my level. He wasn’t as hot as the other guys I dated and married. I observed he had put on some weight. I planned to talk to him about it.

 

“He is an interesting fellow. See how my husband is excited about having him around. This might just work”

 

I smiled at her. She didn’t know what he had in stock for her. Samuel knew how to appreciate people that do him a favour. She had to be ready for the ride.

 

He wanted me to spend the night with him but I declined. I told him we would see in the morning. He asked for a hug again and gladly gave him. I could have stayed but I knew Uju would be snooping. It was best her curiosity wasn’t satisfied.

 

The next morning, I helped get the children ready. Uju was also rushing to get ready for work. An aroma filled the whole of the upstairs. Uju knew her husband was in the room so who was downstairs tantalizing our nostrils? Immediately they were ready we came downstairs. Uju’s husband joined us.

 

‘Good morning” Samuel bellowed as they came in. He turned to the children and asked, “Have you ever had Akara and pap?”

 

“What’s that?” her eldest daughter asked.

 

“This” he placed a plate of Akara and pap in front of her.

 

She picked up a piece and tasted it. She declared, “it’s yummy”

 

Uju was shocked when Samuel set plates of food for everyone. She wrapped extra Akara to eat in the office. She was excited. Her husband had his food with joy.

 

“You can cook?” Uju asked.

 

“Amongst other things. I will be making my favourite soup today. Dinner is on me. Choose a healthy swallow”

 

“Wow! He can cook and loves cooking. Akwaugo, you have hit jackpot”

 

I replied, “you haven’t seen anything yet”

 

We were home together as I took the day off to be with him. We went out to get fresh meat. I hadn’t explored since I arrived but Samuel was someone who could turn everything to an adventure. We went sightseeing and took pictures while at it. He made his famous Afang soup with meat, pomo, stockfish, and dried fish. We bought some seafood too and oat as swallow option since they were health conscience

 

That night, Uju couldn’t have enough. She ate so much that she felt ashamed afterwards. Her family enjoyed the meal especially her husband. Her daughter was a bit sceptical but still tried it and enjoyed it. That was when the interrogation began.

 

“I know you are from Cross river state. What do you do for a living” she asked.

 

“I am a Mathematics teacher. I have a MEd in Mathematics education. I hope to have a PhD soon. I am also a professional caterer”

 

“No wonder. You cook very well”

 

“Thank you”

 

“Akwa knows how to cook too. But I must confess, you beat her hands down”

 

“That’s a big compliment”

 

“How did you meet? I would love to hear the story”

 

“It was fate. I bumped into her at the hospital in Calabar. She was there with her male friend. My mother was ill and I needed to be with her. The drugs I bought spilt on the floor and she helped me pick them up. We met at the bank when I had an issue and she resolved it for me. Then, she invited me over and gave me her bed to sleep on, I looked dead tired. I slept for hours without any interruption. I only woke up when she came back. To thank her for her hospitality, I made food for her

 

 

to take home. She took it to work and that was how my catering business started. She got me my first customers and they paid me N26,000. I can never forget. I became her personal chef since then. She can’t cook while I am there, no way”

 

“Unbelievable. So romantic. Now I understand why she fell for you. I know Akwa is beautiful, classy, well educated and intelligent. She is a great catch. But what attracted you to her?”

 

“I knew she was all you mentioned and more. She is not in my league at all. Even my friends never believed AKwaugo would date me. The first time I flew an aeroplane as an adult was with her to Abuja. Left to me, I would have gone by road. My first trip abroad was also orchestrated by her. Back to your question, her humility and selflessness. She came to see my mother to help me. My mother was always falling ill at home and would get better after a few days in the hospital. My father is late and she is all I have got. Her visit to my home changed everything for us. My mother hasn’t been to the hospital since that they and that was the day, she first tasted my food. She didn’t look down on my family rather she became a regular visitor. Our friendship blossomed from there. I fell in love after her first visit to my home but I couldn’t express; I was scared she would refuse or withdraw from me. She did refuse my proposal but maintained the friendship which was more important to me”

 

“But you proposed and she accepted. How did that happen?”

 

“I prayed to God. Ediye, sorry Akwaugo, loves God and attends Mass almost every day. I also attend Mass three times a week because of her dedication to God. She would say the angelus anywhere she is. She travelled unexpectedly and didn’t return. She wasn’t picking her calls the next although she had mentioned she was coming back the next day. I prayed to God to give me a sign. I asked that when I get to her apartment, we will discuss the relationship and she would agree to my proposal. I prayed until I got to her place but she wasn’t back. Something told me to wait for her there. Not up to five minutes later, she walked in. Guess what our topic of discussion was? She accepted a relationship and I was happy. Many people had suspected we were in a relationship but we made it official. Before she came to the UK, I proposed and she accepted. She has changed my life and I will spend the rest of my life making sure she is always happy”

 

Tears were running down Uju’s eyes. She said to him, “That’s so sweet”

 

“It is not sweet but the truth. I love her and I am going to marry her and make her mine. She is all I want and need”

 

“Obviously. I have known her for years and I can attest to all you have said. That you genuinely love her is all I care about. Do you know the meaning of Akwaugo? You must have heard it means the egg of an eagle. Have you ever seen the egg of my eagle before? It is rare, precious and invaluable. That’s the real meaning. You don’t call just anybody. Her name depicts who she is. I have only known you for

 

48 hours and I can say, she is blessed to have you too. Never stop loving her; never stop loving each other”

 

I was also had to hold back my tears. I was right there as they described me. I never knew I had this influence on people. While I was still alive, people could say good things about me. I pledged to myself, I would never change. I loved Samuel. He knew I did but I was still holding back publicly doing anything that would draw attention to us. Maybe after the wedding.

 

I stayed back with Samuel while Uju went to bed. I laid in his bed with him. We talked about our future. He was convinced our visa would be out soon. He begged me to come back home with him so we could have an introduction. I didn’t need to be there for that. Then I shocked.

 

“I want a small wedding. I want everything done in a day”

 

“Why do you want a small wedding? I know. It is because you have been married before. It is my first marriage and I want to paint your town red. I know all you suffered in the village when you were ill, Ikenna told me. I will silence them. Ediye, do you know how many jobs I have done with connections from Amanze? My friends in Abuja have given me big jobs I was even scared to do but handled them successfully. I was a miserable secondary school teacher earning N65,000. I did lessons to augment my pay. Now, I don’t need to work anymore. I can foot the bill. I have saved enough money for our tickets to Canada. I am not a small boy again. We will do a big wedding. I will come with my family to claim you as mine”

 

“In one day. Church and then traditional wedding”

 

“Is that what you want?”

 

“Yes’

 

“Ok. It will be a very long day. What date do you have in mind?”

 

“We have to attend marriage class and all that”

 

“We will start immediately. We will start here and then I will continue when I get back to Calabar”

 

I was going to work the next day and I wondered how he would cope but he had his days planned out. He was going out with Uju’s husband. He also had friends in the UK and he was going to see them too. He would make himself available to me when I am free from work. There was nothing for me to worry about. I was impressed.

 

We met with the priest of the church I attended. He told us we needed a one-day marriage course for us to wed. He slated us for the next class with was the next Sunday afternoon. We were both shocked as the classes run for three months in Nigeria. When we attended the class, it was so revealing and rewarding. It showed our cultural differences. The roles in a family were explained differently. The emphasis of men being the head and the women submitting to his headship was never mentioned. The topic was more about building a lasting home, partnership, trust, love, faithfulness, how to raise the children, family budget and so on. It was for one day but it was fully packed. We enjoyed it and we were given certificates of completion.

 

Armed with that, I sent a message to our parish priest who was also a friend. He was happy to hear the good news. I sent him a copy of the certificate given to us by the church for the marriage class. He said it was enough to get us wedded. I was so glad I listened to Samuel. Now he insisted I had to choose a date. I couldn’t believe he wanted me to decide on when we would get married. We looked at dates together and chose one. It was less than two months away and he had been in the

 

 

UK for two weeks plus and had only a week more to stay. He told me the date was sacrosanct and irreversible. I accepted.

 

We called Obinna together and informed him about the date we had chosen. He agreed to it. He promised to inform the elders of the family and decide on a date for the introduction and list. We called our other family members to inform them. They were all happy. Preparations began in earnest.

 

Samuel took me to visit with some of his friends. They hosted him. He introduced me as his fiancé and added Dr to my name in all introductions. I could see he was proud of me.

 

Before he left for Nigeria, we had so much soup cooked and packed away by him. Uju and her husband introduced him to friends who wanted him to cook in large quantity for them for a fee. They told them he was a chef in Nigeria. Uju charged them and in return, she had soups in her deep freezer. While he made money. He even catered for a birthday party and he was treated like a celebrated chef. I remembered where I learnt packaging from; Uju.

 

Samuel had lost about 4kg before he left. Uju’s husband made him see the reason why he needed to be in shape. He was a fitness freak and I could see Samuel admired him. They went shopping together while I shopped for his family members and mine. I also did some special shopping for him. I got him personal care products, colognes, masculine mists and perfumes. I bought shoes and belts. I bought him things I knew would stand him out.

 

We spent his last night in the UK together. We both didn’t have any sleep. I cried because I would miss him. I missed Calabar. He held me and rocked me. These almost four weeks were one of the best I ever had with him. He had fun while I got to spend time with him. We had explored the cities on my days off. It was worth it. He promised me we would go to Canada for our honeymoon and start a life there. We talked about the future when I was calmer just like we were taught at the marriage class. We had to be honest about everything. He asked me very intimate questions which I had to answer.

 

“Did you ever have sex with Dubie? Was it good?”

 

“I did. It was ok”

 

“Was he a better love than Emeka?”

 

“I don’t know; I never compared them or felt the need to. I loved each man at different time, it wasn’t a casual fling”

 

“Ok”

 

“Would you tell me about your past? I know nothing”

 

“I didn’t have many girlfriends. I had casual sex with most of the ladies. We were friends with benefits and they understood”

 

“Did you have a lover when I was pressuring you to bring ladies home so your mother would be happy”

 

“Yes. Initially, when I was tensed up from seeing you, I went to her to ease myself. But with time, I weaned myself of it and concentrated on you”

 

I was surprised. I could have sworn he wouldn’t do such but he was being honest with me. I refused to allow it to spoil my mood. I asked, “How many children do you want?”

 

‘Two. Just two regardless of their sex”

 

“Same here”

 

“I would like our mothers to live with us”

 

“Not immediately. After the babies have arrived. Both our mothers are worthy to live with us. But we must first live our lives. We have to have a structure before anything else. Once they come and see a structure in place, they will follow the structure. It might not be very easy for me to find my foot initially but I am sure with time, I will build a clientele and continue my catering business asides the teaching”

 

 

“You can still teach Nigerians from there online. They will be ready to pay good money for that. You are popular on social media, capitalize on it”

 

“I will start immediately I get back. You need to start applying for jobs. I will talk to someone concerning a job for you”

 

“That’s fine. I will also apply”

 

“We are doing this Ediye”

 

“I know. We are doing this Etete”

 

“Let there never be secrets between us. Never. I will tell you everything because I love you. Please do the same to me. Don’t hide anything from”

 

“I won’t, I promise”

 

We chose colours and our plan was in top gear. We wrote down a list and assigned responsibilities to them. Our wedding plan was mapped out by both of us and exchanged via mail. Samuel knew an event planner who could do amazing work. I agreed to everything he said. He was the one on the ground and knew better.

 

We finally fell asleep at almost 5 am. We woke up finally at 10 am. His flight was for 2 pm so we got ready and left for the airport after saying goodbye to everyone. One of his friends took as to the airport as Uju and family were not available that day.

 

After he collected his boarding pass, we hugged each other for a few minutes. He kissed my forehead and whispered to me he was waiting for me. I couldn’t wait to be with him again and this time, in the end, it would be for forever. AKWAUGO