When Nancy opened the door for me to come in, I was so sure about what I wanted to tell her. It was painful being abandoned at the restaurant by Ola. And just the thought of it annoyed me.
As I went in and she closed the door, she looked at me with a worried stare.
"Tola is everything alright?"
"Why?"
"Because you look worried. Hope you are not into some kind of trouble?" I wasn't, but telling her about Ola was like telling her, I was in trouble. I still remembered her telling me not to come to her if I had a problem.
But I had a problem, and that problem was Ola. And I needed her to tell me what to do.
"Ah Nancy I don't have a problem at all. Only some minor issues with... " I paused
"Are you having problems with Lanre?" she asked trying to make a guess.
"No, Lanre is not the problem." It was hard mentioning Ola's name. But she found a way to bring it up, giving me the courage, to tell her about my encounter with him.
"Ah, okay I forget say Ola dey one corner. So if you no get am hot with Lanre, den e go be say na Ola." I laughed when she said that. She also laughed.
"So how do you manage the two of them? Me, Tunde alone dey give me wahala. Den I go say make I join am with another one? I no fit."
"Nancy you are my best friend and you are the only one believing both of them are my boyfriends."
"Well you told me you love Ola so much."
"Nancy I never told you that. I said I have feelings for him that's all."
"So what is the difference?" She asked. I couldn't answer. But her question made me think of what I really felt for him. Was it really love or what was it?
"Anyway I know you didn't come here just like that."
"Na Ola o?" At the mention of his name she became suddenly alert.
"Ola ke?" She asked surprised I was mentioning his name.
"And where did you see him?"
"We were together before I came here."
"Ah Tola? You can't be serious."
"Nancy I can't lie to you." Nancy got up and went to the kitchen and came back with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
"Tola? So you have been hiding Ola all this time, dey quietly dey trip in, dey trip out. This calls for a drink." I couldn't help but laugh at how it surprised her that I had seen Ola.
"Ah noo. Since that first day , today is the second time I am seeing him."
"Wait, you mean Ola is around and me Nancy, Anita, Funke, Dele and Lanre don't know? Maybe you saw someone that resembled him."
I wasn't sure how important it was they know he was around. But he was their friend and they knew him better than I did.
"Why? Is it because he's friends with you guys?" I asked a little disappointed.
"The first thing Ola does when he gets back from wherever he goes, is to call us."
"Its strange anyway because he came up to me while I was about to enter my car and told me to stay away from Lanre."
"And what did you tell him?"
"I told him I cannot, that Lanre is a good friend, and that I always keep my friends. Then he got angry and walked away only to come back and take my car keys from my hand and said he's going to drive. "
"So what happened next, did you end up with him in a hotel room?"
"Nancy noo why should I? We ended up in a restaurant and you know what? He left me there and went away."
"You mean Ola left you in the restaurant?" I nodded.
"But why would he do that?"
"I told him that until I get a decent boyfriend, I can make friends with whoever I want. So he asked me, what would I call what we both have? I simply told him I don't know, and that I am still angry with him." Nancy listened attentively to me until I finished.
Then she started what seemed like a question and answer session, that got me feeling like it was more of an interrogation.
"I mean, I don't understand you o, Tola. You say there's nothing between the two of you and he's telling you to stay away Lanre."
"But Nancy it's not that he has come out to tell me he wants us to go out or, he wants me to be his girlfriend."
"Ah a, so why is he behaving like that?"
"He's possessive and jealous. I can't be with him o."
"Your husband-to-be?" I got up ready to go home.
"Nancy I want peace. If na husband wey go give me wahala, I no want am." Just then her phone rang and she beckoned me to wait.
"Anita baby, wetin dey happen?" I couldn't hear what Anita was saying, but the expression on Nancy's face changed. What was going on that made her frown? My heart was beating fast each time she replied to Anita. When she hang up she stared at me.
"See problem wey you don cause now? Ola dey fight Lanre." She said getting up. I stood shocked and folded my arms.
"And for what reason?" She went inside her room to get her bag and came out.
"She says it's serious. But she says Ola hasn't even told them what the problem is."
"So where are you going?"
"Make I go settle case. I want to know what is going on." She hurriedly put on her shoes.
"Let's go together now."
"No, a beg just dey go house."
"Ah why?"
"Shebi you don tell Anita and Funke say Ola wan marry you?" I shook my head.
"Lanre nko?"
"Even Lanre sef I never tell am."
"Okay you know what will happen?"
"Nancy its best I come with you."
"No let me go first. I'm not even sure Ola will tell them about you. But once I find out what is going on, I will call him aside and tell him everything you told me."
I followed her out and left her to take a taxi. As she left I entered my car and went home. On reaching home I went straight to my room, and removed my shoes and lay still on my bed. I kept waiting for Nancy to call and kept checking my phone.
Nancy didn't call me and so the following day on my way to the University, I stopped by her house and called her. When she came out, I was hoping to hear good news.
"Tola? Good morning. Dis one wey you dey my doormot e good so?" She asked, as she got into the car and I drove off.
"Morning Nancy, since you told me about the argument between Ola and Lanre, I've not been able to sleep. So how did it go?"
"I thought it was something serious. They were playing gamble, and Ola said Lanre cheated on him." I frowned when she said that. I had a feeling Ola's annoyance had nothing to do with the game. Rather, it was a pretence he used to vent his feelings towards Lanre.
"So how did it end?"
"A beg na small pikin tin dem do. I com waste my time dey run dey go."
"Oh well at least you were with all your friends so it wasn't a waste of time."
"Wey you been dey give me correct gist wey dey enter my ear."
"Nancy eh, so you were enjoying my gist and you pretended as if you didn't even want to listen to me."
"Nooo, I was enjoying it o. But didn't you see me go into the kitchen and bring wine?" I laughed, as it was quite funny hearing her say that. But I felt a little nervous. Something bothered me. Something about Ola arguing with Lanre wasn't right. And so when we got to the Campus, I went to see Lanre.
On reaching their department, I sighted him sitting on a bench under a tree. He seemed relaxed from the look of things. But it was when I came and sat next to him, that I saw the worried look on his face.
"Lanre boy, what's going on?" I cheered, as I sat.
"Tola how are you?" He placed his hands on his jaw and was staring at me.
"As usual, I'm fine. What about you?"
"Yeah I can see that." He said, half smiling. I had the impression something bothered him.
" It seems you look worried. Hope there's no problem?"
"Naa, no problem?
"Are you sure?" He bent his head closer to me like he was sniffing me.
"Tola, this perfume you have on smells nice."
"Its Chanel."
"Nice, like I heard the same smell on someone else yesterday."
"Really?" He nodded, " Its a lady's perfume."
"Yeah, I know its a lady's perfume. "
"So who's the lucky lady you caught, yesterday." Lanre smiled.
"How I wish it was some sweet babe, I wouldn't have had a problem" I knew that he was probably referring to Ola.
"But it was my friend, Ola." I closed my eyes, and looked away. Lanre it seemed, was about to make me tell him how my relationship with Ola was.
This was the one thing I wanted so much to keep a secret. I wanted it that way until I was sure of Ola. Now, I had a choice to make-either tell him how things really were or, change the discussion.
But looking at Lanre, I was certain that he was poised on knowing what was going on. And I knew that changing the discussion might be difficult or nearly impossible.