The Dove And The Nest

One time, this lady told her fiancé she was going to a Christian event in Lagos

She lived in Ibadan, and so did her fiancé

On her way to the event, she was given a ride in a luxurious car from Ibadan to Lagos

She and the driver of the luxurious car hit it off immediately

He dropped her off at the event, and they exchanged phone numbers

When she got to the event, she called her fiancé to announce that she had gotten to Lagos safely

After the event, she called the person who gave her a lift to Lagos to thank him

She also asked if he was still somewhere around the venue

The man got the message

He went to pick her up at the venue

The man told her he would be returning to Ibadan the following day

She said she wouldn't mind extending her stay in Lagos for one more day

She called her fiancé and gave him a reason why she would stay in Lagos for one more day

The challenge was where to sleep and what to wear, because she didn't plan to spend an extra day in Lagos

She told the man, and the man took her shopping and also paid for a hotel room for her

She asked the man where he was sleeping, and he told her he would be having meetings on the island until late in the night and would probably sleep in a hotel on the island

She asked him which hotel

He told her and left

After his departure, she googled the hotel the man mentioned.

The hotel he got for her was a basic 30,000-a-night hotel

His hotel was 650,000 naira per night

She became restless

She stayed in Lagos to be with him, but he didn't get the hint

He was treating her like a friend or a friend's sister

She called him and asked if they could hang out after his meeting later that evening

He told her all he would prefer to do after his meeting was sleep

She asked if she could go to the meeting with him

He said no

Then she asked if she could come to his hotel and wait for him in his room

He asked her why

She said she was bored and would like to sleep in such an expensive hotel at least once in her life

He laughed and said she could come over

She packed her bags and ran to the Island

He waited for her at the reception and handed her the key to his room

He told her to order anything she might want in terms of food and drinks

He left for his meeting

She wandered about the hotel in awe

Luxury was something she had never touched, even though it was something she seriously desired and dreamt of

She was born poor, and she had lived below the poverty line all her life

She went from the pool to the gym, the casino, the bar, and the conference rooms

The key card he gave her granted her access to every floor, and she explored like Dora, promising herself that one day she would belong to the class of those who frequent such establishments

She took a lot of pictures and videos

She even took some videos of herself doing all sorts of funny things, from having a bubble bath to playing dress up

She spent hours entertaining herself

Of course, her fiancé called and they talked, but she disguised her location and hid her excitement

She slept at about 2 AM

Her host didn't return until the next morning

He said the meeting lasted all night, and he had to return to Ibadan for another meeting, so they left immediately

A driver drove them to Ibadan

Her host slept in the back seat while she sat beside the driver in the front.

As soon as they dropped her off, she decided she didn't want to be with her fiancé anymore

She couldn't tell exactly why

She just lost interest in the relationship

Her fiancé called, and she asked that they meet at a restaurant

She broke up with him later that evening

Her fiancé called their pastor, friends, and family members to report her decision

She said she just couldn't see a future with him anymore

She wanted more out of her life, and she couldn't get that more with him

She was heartbroken, too, but she was very convinced she was doing the right thing

When she got to the office the next day, she gave a notice of her resignation

Everybody, including her parents, thought she had gone crazy

The month went by, and she became unemployed

Her family members called a meeting to find out what was happening and what her plan was

She told them she just wanted to spend some time seeking the face of God regarding her journey

Exactly seven weeks after he dropped her off at home, he called her again

He asked her where she was, and she told him she was at home

He asked her about her fiance and she told him she had broken up with him

He asked her about her job, and she told him she had resigned

He said, "So what have you been doing?"

She replied, "I have been waiting for your call."

He laughed.

PS: They got married three months later

She said, "I never called, sent him a text message, or contacted him in any way throughout those seven weeks. I just made sure my phone was always charged and waited.

I will not say it was God or the Holy Spirit or anything that dramatic, but I just had this conviction that he is my husband.

I cannot explain it, but I just knew.

It is fortuitous that he is very rich, and people will say it is the money and so on.

It is not.

My heart just cleaved to him from the moment I laid my eyes on him."

He said:

My driver had a family emergency and had to be excused for the day

I got a call at about 9 am that I was needed in Lagos for a meeting with one of our engineering partners from Italy

The engineering firm I founded with four others while we were in the university has grown in leaps and bounds over the years, and we have a lot of partners in Europe.

One of them died recently, and his son took over the family business

The meeting was going to be between our team and the new management of that firm, headed by their new president.

I needed to be in Lagos, so I dressed up and headed out immediately.

When I drove out of Bodija Estate Extension, I had the option to head to Bashorun and link up with the expressway from there or link up through Ashi junction, but I found myself driving towards the University of Ibadan.

It was way off course, but I drove on anyway. When I got to Ojoo, I realised I was feeling sleepy behind the wheel.

It has been a while since I drove that kind of distance, and my body was feeling the pressure even before I had driven for twenty minutes

I was well rested, so it was not physical tiredness. It was more of a psychological response to the journey ahead.

I know I needed company

So I drove slowly and scanned through the passengers heading into the car park

That was when I saw her

A young lady walking with energy and carrying a simple bag.

I parked, wound down the windshield, and honked at her

She looked my way and smiled

I becoked on her to come closer and asked her if she was going to Lagos

She said yes

Then I told her I was feeling sleepy and needed a lively soul to talk to, and not someone who would sleep off once she got in my car

She said, "I can do that," and hopped into the car

And she did that.

She talked and laughed and screamed and argued and sang

She changed the music playing on my car stereo so many times that I eventually told her the Bluetooth password and asked her to connect her phone to the stereo and play songs from her playlist

Did I mention that she was twenty-five years old and I was forty?

I mean, her taste in music is absolutely different from mine, and the musicians she was listening to were unknown to me

I was single and unattached.

Not because I didn't want to get married, but because I didn't do so when I had the chance.

Once my business prospered and I began to make money, love became a dicey thing, and finding a wife became a problem.

The only woman I ever loved insisted I must abandon my company and get a job when the company was still at it's infancy

I refused, and she left

One year later, the company won its first international contract

I have dedicated my life to building the company without any distractions since then.

We talked as if we had known each other for many years. I was very aware of the age difference, and it didn't cross my mind to have any form of relationship with her.

She encouraged me to speed throughout the journey and would hoot whenever I overtook another car.

We got to Lagos, and I dropped her off at Unilag

My plan was to go to my hotel, rest a bit, and freshen up before my meeting at 10 pm.

She was the one who asked for my phone number when she alighted from my vehicle

She said, "Just so I could be sure you got to your destination safely."

I was resting when she called at about 2 pm, asking me to come and pick her up from the venue.

She didn't ask directly, and I must confess that I had been thinking about her

So when she called, my response was "I am coming".

I picked her up, but I didn't know what to do with her

So I asked her where she was going, and she said Ibadan.

I said I would have loved to ride back with her, but I had a meeting that night and would be returning to Ibadan the following morning

She said, "Hmm, I would like to ride back with you, but I didn't pack an overnight bag, etc."

I said, " We can buy whatever you want."

She said, "Okay."

So we went to buy.

After buying the stuff and having lunch, I decided to book a room for her at a hotel

I asked her which hotel she usually stayed at in Lagos, and she googled some and told me to take her to one in Yaba.

I did.

I paid for the room and gave her some money to get dinner, and left

By this time, it was about 5 pm

I was excited that I would be driving back to Ibadan with her

I got to my hotel at about 7 pm due to traffic, and she called

She said she was bored and would like to come over to my hotel

I like that about her

She had that childish directness when she communicated

She would just say what she had in mind

I told her I couldn't risk driving through traffic to pick her up because of my meeting

She was not taking no for an answer, so I told her to come over

She came in at about 9:15 pm

I was waiting at the reception with her copy of the key card and some instructions

I hated to be late for a meeting.

My office had also sent another driver to take me to the meeting by this time

I just hopped into the car, and we rushed off to the meeting

I couldn't stop thinking about her

I am not talking about thinking about her in terms of sex or relationship, No.

I was just intrigued and awed

I got to the meeting, and it turned out to be one of those very long ones

We left the venue of the meeting at about 4:30 am

I rushed back to the hotel and met her sleeping in the hotel robe

I sat and observed her for a few minutes before waking her up

She rubbed her eyes like a baby and rushed into the bathroom to freshen up and change

I sat at the reading table and peeked inside her jotter, which was on the table

She also dropped some money, a key, her purse, and ruffles on the table.

She came out of the bathroom fully dressed

She then said, "At least brush your teeth before checking out. It is not good for a big boy like you to talk to people, and your mouth will be oozing."

I laughed so hard

But I went into the bathroom, and she followed me into the bathroom and watched me as I brushed my teeth.

Who does that?

When I indicated that I needed my privacy

She laughed and said, "I am the woman, and I should be the one feeling uncomfortable with a man. Why are you being such a girl?"

It was all clean and not flirty or seductive

She was just plain, you know, when they say a person has no guile? Yeah, that was what I saw in her that morning. I enjoyed that a lot

We checked out of the hotel, and I slept all the way to Ibadan.

We got to Ibadan at about 7 am

Her parents' house was just after the Polytechnic, Ibadan. Eleyele Area.

We dropped her off, and that was supposed to be that.

I got home, and suddenly my house felt empty

I immersed myself in work

Traveled to Lagos several times and even to Abuja for meetings and project supervisions

She told me she was engaged, and I didn't want to encourage any form of familiarity

Anyway, weeks went by, and one evening, I felt it was safe to call her and say hello

I did, and she answered as if she had been expecting my call

We talked for a few minutes, and she said she has been waiting for my call

That statement really helped.

I said I would drive over to pick her up, and I did.

I took her to dinner

She said she had broken her engagement and even resigned from her job

She said she had packed her bags and given many of her things away to her younger sister and some friends

I asked her why

She said, "Because you are my husband and you want me to be a stay-at-home wife."

I think that was the night we had our first kiss

She came with a precision that I value so much

She followed me home that day

It was from my house that we went to meet with her parents

It was from my house that we went to the registry

When her parents insisted that she could not come to the traditional marriage from my house, and she insisted she was not leaving, I had to make a compromise.

We moved to a hotel close to her parents' house for the occasion, and when we were done, we came back to my house together.

She is forty years old today

I mean, today is her fortieth birthday, and we decided to share our story with you and your readers

We have four children and a very happy home.

Let me also state that we were both not Christians when we met

The Christian concert she went to attend was just for entertainment, and even though I was also born a Christian, I never gave my life to Christ until after we had our first child

I think we both gave our lives to Christ on the same day

PS: Happy Birthday to Mrs. Abigail Maforikan

I find their love story refreshing

She told me her story, and I decided to hear the story from her husband's perspective, too, so that I could see both sides of the coin.

Some know when they meet the one, and some don't

Noah released a raven, and it could not find a place to nest

Noah released a dove, and it found a place to nest

Such is the way of men and women when it comes to love.

-GSW-