The cool evening breeze was silently blowing across the veranda making me close my eyes to absorb it. I was sitting in the veranda with Ola. We were given a chance to talk to each other and settle things. But as I sat there with him, I just didn't want to say anything.
I was enjoying the cool evening breeze and feeling so relaxed, I only wanted to remain like that. I had come out of work to see Nancy, and together we had come here. We came for a reason. But that reason didn't matter to me anymore. My only concern was the soothing breeze and how I could take in as much of it as I possible could.
"Ola there's a lot of breeze here, I just want to relax and enjoy it."
" I usually come here when I want to rest." He said. I was happy that we were here together. I felt very calm and peaceful so much that I could just close my eyes and sleep.
"I'm enjoying it a lot. I could sleep here all night."
"Would you like to sleep? I mean, I could open my room for you to relax before you leave." My eyes widened when he said that. I became immediately alert. I immediately sat up.
"And why would I want to do that?" I asked a little upset. To this he kept quiet and stared at me.
"Ola we are not that close enough for me to sleep on your bed."
"What were you thinking, Tola?" He asked
"Nothing. Its just that one thing might lead to something else and... "
"And what? That I'd want to sleep with you?"
I kept quiet and didn't want to answer that question.
"If you think I would want to take advantage, you are wrong. I'm not that kind of a person." I gave him a smear look.
"And what were you planning to do? Run off again, like you did at the restaurant?" To this he sighed and looked away. When he turned, her observed me.
"My God, Tola? So you cannot forget that little incident?"
"And why should I? You made me look like a fool."
"So is that your annoyance with me?" I didn't reply, "And is that why Nancy was making that comment?"
"What comment?"
"That you said you wanted to move on without me?" I sighed and closed my eyes again after another whirl of breeze slowly passed by. Yes, finally you know what's on my mind. I smiled triumphantly and opened my eyes and stared at him .
"So moving on without me, were you thinking of hooking up with who, Lanre?" At the mention of Lanre's name I smiled. I was hoping he would mention him.
"And what if I decided it was my best option?" I saw Ola stare at me like he was lost. Was he afraid of seeing me with someone else? Was he afraid of Lanre being the competition? He was short of words, but I had to speak up.
"Ola? As much as I love you, and still do, you were never there like he was." He became cold and folded his arms across his chest. I pretty much guessed he wasn't expecting me to say that.
"Lanre was just a friend. Someone I had no attraction for, but I was happy around him." I nodded my head. "Yes, he made me happy. But no matter how much he did, I was always thinking of you." I paused to see if he would say anything, but he didn't.
"Where were you all this time? Who were you with and what were you doing?" I waited for him to answer. Minutes passed and Ola had not uttered a word. I guess he was still shocked to hear me say I was happy with Lanre.
"I saw Lanre almost everyday more than I was even seeing Nancy, then. But each day around him always made me wish, I was around you."
"Ola with you, everything seems short-lived. You come and go like the wind. You go breeze in and breeze out. And you know what? I don't want that."
"Chai Tola? Anita really talk am say you be smooth criminal. Na now I know wetin she mean." I could only laugh when he said that.
"Look at how you mix everything up to make it sweet. You be real actress, Tola. So na so all of ona wey dey do Mass Comunication be?"
"Abeg don't mind Anita. But that's the truth, you can't deny it." I told him.
"And what is true about what you've just said, Tola?"
"After that first day when did I see you again? Wasn't it after you heard that I was always with Lanre that you came around?" I asked.
"But did you ask after me? No. Because you didn't care. You only saw an opportunity to play around with my friends. Now how can I believe you when you say you love me?"
"Ola you dey find my trouble o, if you talk like that."
"Na you find my trouble first."
"How? But I said the truth. You were never there. Would we have even met here if I had not called Nancy? Even on graduation day did I see you?"
"You Tola, did you look for me? Did you bother to ask me for my number?" I quickly understood this was fast becoming a blame game. And we were both blaming each other continuously. I had to find a way to end it, and so I asked him a question.
"So how have you been doing , without me to annoy you?" I asked. With that he laughed, shaking his legs. I couldn't understand what was so funny about what I said.
" Ah Tola? Lady Chanel, Smooth Criminal, Lanre's best friend. You be real terror."
"See Ola o. Shebi you still dey find my trouble abi?"
"See where Nancy say make I put hand. Shebi na inside fire?"
"Ola? You still dey find my trouble abi?" I got up and went to meet my dad and asked him if we won't be late going home.
"My daughter relax. What are we going to do when there's fire in the house. Abeg make I enjoy myself o. Abi my daughter ?" He asked Nancy.
"See, my friend no wan wahala. Allow am make him fill him tank so if he reach house he fit make your mother change mind." Ola's father broke in, making both men laugh. I sighed and left my father and went back to sit with Ola.
"Tola why did you leave me?"
"You were annoying me and I wanted to go home."
"So you want to go now that I'm happy to see you?"
"Ola just stop it okay? I'm not a baby that you can mess around with." I was angry at everyone. My father; he was probably happy with Nancy and didn't want to go home. Ola; he couldn't make me happy for once and continued twisting words. I put my hands to my jaws and wondered what was wrong with everyone else. Or perhaps there was something wrong with me. Then Nancy came out and I smiled.
"Baby your body no sweet you at all. Wetin dey happen?" She asked all smiling.
"I bow o Nancy. Your friend no wan take eye see me at all." remarked Ola.
"Ola, wetin you don do am again? I know say you go don pinch am for one corner."
"Me, Nancy?" he asked her.
"You go don pinch am, talk true." Nancy replied
"Bad girl Nancy, detective work go fit you sha?"
"Abeg, make I hear word." Then she turned to me. "Tola, we came here because you said you wanted to distract yourself. You come meet me and I tell you say I get problem with my guy."
" You see as I dey here now, I no wan tink of guy wey no dey tink of me. As enjoyment come I go enjoy am. So if you wan frown your face when you dey with your guy, continue to frown. The only thing I want to tell you is, when next you come crying to me that Ola did this, Ola did that. I will not listen to you." With that she went inside.
"And the next time you get angry with me, I will not look at your face again, Tola." I sharpened my gaze at him. Was he joking or did he really mean it? Then he nodded his head.
"You heard me right, Tola. Because when it comes to Ola you are unforgiving. You still haven't digesting the incident at the restaurant. You are still boiling with anger."
I didn't want to listen to this sermon. I knew he was trying to put up a show.
"Tola I'm a simple guy, but I have principles. I told Nancy to come with you because I really wanted to see you. But I see that this is not what you want. I hate to force you against doing what you don't want to do. Probably after today, it's best we don't have any contact with each other, neither through Nancy nor through any of my other friends."
Finally I was seeing a man in Ola. A man who knew how to take decisions. But his decision to end our undefined love relation after today, was something I couldn't easily accept. I wasn't going to accept it.
"Are you sure it's what you want Ola?"
"Tola what type of question are you asking? Am I a kid?"
"Ola, we have a decision to take. we have to tell those two men sitting inside what we have decided." He got up ready to go inside. I was shocked.
"Tola, I've taken my decision already. After today, we go our separate ways. So let's go inside." I reluctantly got up.
This was going to be another disappointing moment in my life. If there was something that could help avoid it, I would cling onto it. I couldn't lose Ola just like that, but I knew in a few hours this could be possible. I knew, it would be over between us.