Mide’s Abor with Olamide Longe
Email: araokian@gmail.com Twitter: @araokian
…continues from last week
She smiled and raised her glass to him.
He smiled back and broke away from the others.
“I’ve been meaning to catch you alone, but you’ve been so busy and I got sidetracked. Congratulations on a wonderful party.”
“Thank you, Philemon,” she said indicating that he should sit beside her. She said his name as if she was rolling it over in her mouth and tasting it.
He raised his brows.
He laughed. “Are you trying to come up with an innovative way of calling my name?”
Oh, dear. “How do you mean?” pretend you don’t know what he is talking about.
“I have never heard my name pronounced that way before. I can’t place the accent you used, though.”
“Very funny.”
“I thought so, too. By the way, it’s a great place you have here.” He cast his eyes about the room. “Lovely personal touches.”
A man who noticed and appreciated personal touches, my heart. “Thank you, again.”
“And the food, Hannah, was just what my soul required today.”
She grinned. “Surely you didn’t eat everything.”
“Great side dishes. I went for pounded yam. I enjoyed the vegetable soup so much. It’s obvious you went all out for this party even though it is a small one. And it’s a great success if you care for my opinion.”
“I appreciate it.”
“So what are you celebrating, that the year is finally over or thanking it for having been so good to you?”
“It is not over yet, but it has been a great year. So I am thanking it, celebrating it.”
He nodded. “Did it give you all you desired?”
She laughed softly and looked away. “Want some malt, juice?”
He smiled and shook his head. “I gather it didn’t give you all.”
She shrugged. “There is always one more thing, isn’t there? We can’t have it all.”
“Says the woman who has it all.”
She was stunned. “You think so?”
“You don’t?”
“Define having it all.”
“As far as I know, there isn’t one definition.”
“Give yours.”
“I’ll say you have it all.” He turned towards the dining room. “I’m sure most of the people there feel so, too.”
She smiled. Started to speak, gave him a considering look, stopped.
“Go on,” he said.
“My mother called me this morning to wish me well and also ask me not to have a party, because if I celebrate too much, I’d drive suitors away.”
He said nothing.
She watched him, waiting.
“Well,” He cleared his throat. “It’s hardly surprising coming from a mother. I’m sure your father feels the same way.”
“Even if he didn’t, my mum will make him. So we can safely say my parents do not see me as having it all. All I have, wonderful and useful as they are, pale in comparison to my having a suitor. And I’m sure most of the people here would feel the same way if they weighed it.”
“What is more important is how you feel,” he stated quietly. “It isn’t really about having it all, you see, it is whether you are satisfied. I don’t think you should allow anyone, not even your mother, ruin your joy. Celebrate what you have accomplished. You have come a long way.”
She gave him a grateful smile. Still, she needed to know. “Would you be afraid to pursue a woman you consider successful, a woman like me?”
“Not really, because I have not done badly myself, as you know. Otherwise, I would.”
“Why?”
“Because I’d be afraid of dragging her down. That would be my fear. A woman like you needs not only a man that stirs her emotions, but also one that stimulates her mind. You wouldn’t find me challenging if you achieved and earned more than I do”
She shook her head slowly. “I never planned to have all these, you know. They just happened. I never actually sat down to articulate my aspirations. When I graduated from the university, I just hoped for a job that would enable me to be financially independent. Every other thing that followed came about through time and chance and hard work.”
Philemon nodded again. “If you weren’t smart, you wouldn’t have recognised time and chance as you put it. And you have no cause to regret having made the most of the opportunities that came your way. As I said, bask in your accomplishment. If it is anything, I admire you a great deal. And any man frightened by what you have is certainly not deserving of your time and energy.”
She gave a rueful smile. “You are so kind. You’ve always been. Thank you.”
“I wondered why you looked so sad,” he said, his eyes boring into hers.
“Pardon?”
“You were sitting alone and looking very sad even though you were having a party and it was going smoothly. That’s the real reason I decided to join you.”
“Oh.”
“I didn’t like it one bit. I came determined to lift your spirit. I hope I have succeeded in doing that.”
She beamed at him. “Yes.”
He stood up and held out his hand to her. “Then let’s party. Dance with me. Your brother has been playing some really cool songs. Let’s not waste them any further.”
She got up on legs that weren’t so steady.
As they danced, he sang along with the music, whispering the words in her ears.
Concluded
