My alarm beeped at 4:30am.
I managed to roll from one side of the bed to the other struggling with the being that seemed to hover around my eyes and exert a slight numbing force. Finally, managing to get hold of my phone on the left side of my bed I put the alarm off and placed one knee after the other on my soft carpet, my head resting on my bed.
Darkness enveloped me. I stood on a corridor, a dim light shining in a far distance. I could hear John Legend's 'all of me' playing and the soul-lifting tune resonated throughout the corridor. I turned left. Darkness. I turned right. Darkness. I looked on ahead to the dim light. Where was the song coming from?
The song stopped, then started again. The corridor seemed to vibrate with great intensity. I let out a whimpering cry.
My eyes opened, with me finding myself mumbling. Sola's picture was on my phone screen. I pressed the answer button.
"Hello sweetheart! Were you in the shower?"
I let out a deep yawn. "No jare."
"Ahn ahn. Where did you now keep your phone?"
"I was praying oh. And I slept off"
Sola laughed. His hearty laugh that always had me feeling butterflies in my stomach, but not this time. I was upset at his amusement and ashamed at my self for sleeping off mid-prayer.
"Babe, I just wanted to wish you a happy Valentine's day before you start to get ready for work"
"Aww..happy valentine's day to you too dear"
"Oya hurry up and go and shower. This is 5:24am."
I gasped and got up, said "bye, talk to you later, love you".
Changing into my towel, I made to go to the bathroom, at the same time muttering inaudibly what was supposed to be prayer, committing my day into God's hands.
God would understand my need to hurry. Lagos traffic was nothing to deal with in a light manner. Not especially when commuting from the mainland to the Island.
At 1:00pm Sola sent me a text message that made me smile. He had something planned. He picked me up after work for dinner at Exotica's.
"You look ravishing".
He sounded like he took the line right out a movie. He looked even more excited than I was, grinning from ear to ear and laughing his butterfly inducing laugh.
Dinner was romantic. Candle light, good music and equally good food. We ordered dessert. My cake came on an intricately designed platter and when the waiter set it on the table, I saw the words, 'will you marry me' written at the bottom in strawberry topping.
I was genuinely surprised. We had discussed marriage. I mean, I wasn't even one to date without the end goal of marriage. But I hadn't expected a proposal so soon. My love for Sola seemed to swell right at that very moment.
He stood up, grinning even wider. I smiled. He looked like a cute little boy excited to open a gift. He started to bend on one knee as he held out a marquise diamond ring, all of its facets gleaming temptingly. The reality of it all dawned on me. My eyes started to wet.
Fellow diners looked towards our table and with their eyes and smiles and a few audible awws, urged me to say the magic word.
"Will you marry me, Omobonike Idowu Olayiwola?"
My dear Sola. I looked at his face and my life flashed before me. I thought about where I was in my life presently. I looked at my past and thought about all I had set out to achieve and in what sequence. I ticked things off my mental list. My mouth quivered. A tear ran down my face. Sola's smile eased a bit.
I bent on my two knees, by his side and cupped my hands around his ears.
"Baby can you give me a year. .....Or two more?" I whispered.
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