TO LAST A LIFETIME

Traditional

Wesley

I didn't expect to have such fun with Gennie, I was hoping I'd stay in my hotel until the weekend was over. But she really surprised me by being such a fun-loving being.

Growing up with my brothers, it was usually competitions, from sports to the last things as meals, brotherly competitions, first to finish. But the fun was taken away after I married Helena. She was controlling. Everything had to be proper or she was irritated. I had missed and craved the carefree life everyone deserved. Life was about work and fun, so working day in day out without the fun didn't make life complete, for me.

Gennie brought back that part of me.  As I watched her, she talked about everything, every little thing had a hilarious story behind. The way her lips twitched when she stifled those smiles, her quirky wiggling of brows and her gestures were just funny. There was an aura of tremendous fun around her. She made me feel like my old self again.

I wasn't bothered at all by the guy who claimed to be her boyfriend, the fact that he was with some other girl and Gennie was with me was loud enough to tell me they weren't together. I didn't have any rights to be jealous or angry, not when I was still married to Helena, not when Gennie and I were nothing. Yet.

We were at a spot on the gazebo at a Nigerian traditional bar. I took a seat on the brown raffia seat. The decor was great, the lights too, I hadn't seen such decorations, the whole bar was decorated traditionally. I was unsure of what to expect, but since Gennie had told me it was going to be fun, I settled on my seat, bracing myself for whatever was coming.

The bar was almost empty except for other couples that were on each sides of the bar.

"I bet you haven't been to a place like this before!" She smiled. The lights shone on her face.

"Of course! But it looks amazing!" I looked around, at the artworks on the wall.

My gaze stopped at the painting on the wall of a white woman in a floral dress, carrying two Black babies in both arms. What caught my attention was the tears in her eyes.

"That's the painting of Mary Slessor." she said when she noticed how longer my gaze remained on the painting.

I tore my curious gaze to her face, she laughed and continued.

"History has it that she stopped the killing of twins in Nigeria!"

"Nigerians killed twins?" I was intrigued to hear that.

She laughed again when she saw my face.

"They were thought as evil and curse until the nineteenth century when the Scottish Presbyterian missionary came to Nigeria!" She blinked and added. "She was very brave, we still remember her for her bravery!"

"Do Nigerians still believe twins are evil?"

"No! Come on, there are twins everywhere now, Mary Slessor enlightened them more on how twins came about, they realized their mistakes and stopped the act!"

A waiter came along, interrupting us. She went silent, she placed our orders and the waiter disappeared to bring them.

"I thought of buying you a drink, so I considered this place. It has the best palm wines in the state."

"Palm wines? What the hell's that?" I haven't heard of such wines in my life. What kinda wine was it?

"Nigerian's don't say what the hell, it's 'wetin be that' okay?" She corrected.

I laughed. She was a funny piece, dad was definitely going to like her... Dad? What was I thinking? Was I thinking of taking her home? That was way too far.