EMILY: Episode 5
SETTING( 7.45pm in a posh Nigerian Restaurant. Obed is casually dressed and seated with his earphones plugged in. Jane walks in..)
JANE: I’m sorry i ran into traffic
OBED: Because you left the house late… But the makeup and outfit is worth it so i forgive you. Otheriwse, no one gets away with being 15 minutes late with me.
JANE: Cheeky! how about the fact that i am a mum?
OBED: Is this a way of asking me not to ask you out? Well, some of us don’t give a hoot once our mind is made up…
JANE: You could try. Just to say, my husband is a gangster
OBED: I don’t care. You look beautiful by the way
JANE: Thanks.
OBED: So, how many kids do you have?
JANE: I have just one and i think i’m done already!
OBED: It is not in your place to say, though
JANE: But the body is mine, unless of course he would carry the pregnancy
OBED: A feminist?
JANE: A humanist, rather
OBED: Great! So where are your shoes from? i love them!
JANE: Oh! thanks! They are from Zara.
OBED: Good taste! So what would you like to have?
JANE: I’ll peruse the menu and see what they’ve got because boy! I’m famished!
OBED: Don’t be famished on me. I’ve only got two hundred naira and that’s for the both of us
JANE: Hahahaha! That’s interesting. I am a lactating mum so better brace up
OBED: Ignore me. Eat as much as you can and if possible, eat me as well
JANE: Hehehehe I just might!
OBED: So how long have you known your friend for?
JANE: You are so rude! My friend has a name, i believe!
OBED: Oh! here we go again with the political correctness shit! So how long have you known Emily for?
JANE: Well over eight years.
OBED: Fantastic! the only people i have known for that long should be my parents only
JANE: Why is that?
OBED: Cus i don’t like people
JANE: That’s so stupid!
OBED: Did you just call me stupid?
JANE: Yes, sir.
OBED: Great start! I finally found someone who could look me in the face and tell me exactly how stupid i can be sometimes.
I’ve always had people who would lie to me because they don’t want to offend me and that’s not so cool. So yeah! let’s toast to a great friendship ahead!
JANE: Hahahaha! oh my God! everyone needs an Obed in their life!
OBED: Thanks for that. So yeah i called you here to see if you can help me help your friend
JANE: She definitely does need help
OBED: No, it’s actually more than that! your friend is a mess. I’m gonna be so honest with you, she is a wreck. Now, let me say it as it is, your friend is f**ked up in the head. Forgive my fowl mouth.
The death of her ex has made a horrible mess of her and we can’t claim to be her friends and sit back and watch her waste away. She needs help and if we can’t help her, then we are not good friends
JANE: That’s very true
OBED: You see, i love her. In fact i love her more than she is aware of. Given the opportunity, i will make her my everything. But i am not as interested in marrying her as i am in getting her the help she so dearly needs
Even if that’s the only thing i do before we part ways, i will be satisfied
JANE: You know it’s hard. I know her late ex and he was the most wonderful lover in the world. He took a bit of her heart when he left. Not just a bit but a chunk. She has never been herself ever since. Yeah, i agree with you that she needs help
OBED: I want to talk her into going for counselling. The sad thing about this whole thing is that i will be leaving the country soon.
I have not told her this and i honestly do not know how she’s gonna handle that.
JANE: Oh! pfffff! this is not good at all. She is already warming up to you and now you want to leave? Where are you going to?
OBED: You see, i only came here for a contract i am handling and decided to see what it feels like being employed in Nigeria.
Actually, every time I’ve visited Nigeria has been for a contract. I was born and raised in Scotland; i actually don’t know how shit works here. I just like visiting….
(Obed’s phone rings) Sorry, can i just quickly pick this call from Mrs Kunle JANE: sure!
OBED: Hello, Mrs Kunle how are you?….ermm, i think i already told you my
decision……..absolutely…erm,
I’m not sure about friday…… because i already have something i,m doing on that
day so it is a bit sudden for me……
I like to be given at least five days notice for anything that would require my
presence……
oh thanks! Actually, my mum got it for me for my 30th birthday……. that was some
6 years ago…..
yes i am 36! ……oh wow! thanks for that, i thought i look older………..not bad i’m
just somewhere with a friend……….what am i wearing? Just a casual short and t-
shirt………Nah! i don’t really do photos. If i wanted to know what i look like, i
would stand in front of the mirror, sorry…..alright then, see you tomorrow, cheers
bye!
(Back to Jane) i’m so sorry that was your manager ringing me
JANE: No worries. So, if you are going back to Scotland, how do you intend to keep a relationship with her?
OBED: I believe we can love each other from different parts of the world until we are ready to be together forever
JANE: Sorry, but that’s not something i would want for Emily. Seeing what a clingy and emotional person she is. She needs a love that is tight and close.She can’s do long distant relationship. I don’t believe in it myself
OBED: I see. So here is where we are slightly different. I believe nothing can come between two souls in love
JANE: You know what, if you are leaving the country, i would suggest you stop making her fall in love with you. I think you should actually cut it now that it is still tender.
I really cannot stand her go through another heartbreak. She does not deserve it. As much as i like you and appreciate how good you’ve made her feel these few weeks, i think this is not a healthy relationship for her.
OBED: Why don’t you let her make that decision?
JANE: No, i am going to ensure i discourage it, because when it starts, you will be in Scotland enjoying yourself and i will be here nursing her already bruised heart again!
OBED: Jane, you are a very good friend and i like you for that. But i can love her from afar more than someone she lives with in the same house.
Do you know that some women fall in love with men they meet online, and sometimes haven’t even seen than the husband they live in the same house with?
JANE: This long distance thing is not for everyone. Definitely not for Emily. She need a love that is real!
OBED: So, long distant relationship is fake?
JANE: It is a relationship by faith and i don’t think she has the amount of faith required for it.
OBED: Okay, i’m not gonna beg you to persuade your friend to date me, but please don’t discourage her.
JANE: I will discourage it and i am being honest with you.
OBED: I know you are trying to protect her, but when it comes to love, it’s better to keep an open mind. You never know where anyone can find love. And as far as i know, people normally find love in the strangest an most unexpected places.
JANE: But why can’t you move down here and settle down?
OBED: You don’t just uproot a thirty six year old man like that. Even if i would move, i would still need some time to put things together before. By the way, why are you not thinking about her joining me in Scotland instead?
JANE: So it’s not right to uproot a man like a plant, but it is okay to do so to a woman?
OBED: Of course not. That’s why i want us to take time, build a relationship and decide what we want to do together!
JANE: I would need to think long and hard about this one…..
SETTING( Obed is driving back home after his date with Jane. His phone rings)
OBED: Hello,…Hi Mrs Kunle………Oh really? what do you prefer i call you then?………..Oh! your name is Tricia? nice name……………I’m just driving back home………….not really as i had a meal out there………..yes, i will be in tomorrow but after 10am…………i hope everything is okay…………okay then! see you tomorrow, cheers bye!
#Rossy’n’you
TO BE CONTINUED