Being Human (6)

The aroma was irresistible. It was as though she had never perceived chicken in her life. Dolapo changed into a pair of shorts, packed her hair in a bun and hurried out of the room to meet Jay who was busy in the kitchen. She caught him unawares by holding his waist as he served what looked to her like white rice and lots of vegetables with chicken, but she was certain it wasn't just white rice and lots of vegetables.

"Hey you" Jay turned gently to give her a peck and continued dishing.

"Let me help" Dolapo took two glass cups from the stand and wanted to collect the plates from Jay but he wouldn't have any of that.

"You're the guest babe. It's your first time here and you deserve a royal treatment" Jay paused for a moment with the dressing of the food, led Dolapo to the dining room and drew a chair out for her to sit.
"I'd be right back"

This was good, Dolapo thought to herself. She was loving this weekend already. She stared at the mahogany table once again and her smile grew wider.

"Here you go. I hope you like it" Jay winked at his girlfriend as he placed the plate of basmati rice spiced up with vegetables, chicken sauce and grilled chicken with tiny pieces of fried plantain.
He poured her a glass of water and placed same beside her plate of food.

"Jay, this is so nice. I love it" Dolapo paused on her food to compliment her chef of a boyfriend.

"I know, right? I'm good with food like that" Jay laughed.

"So this big wedding you have to cater for, when is it?"

"Next month. But we would start with the preparations right away. You know the client is a Minister. I need to do a little bit of research this night in preparation for that event. I really need to introduce uncommon yet excellent recipes at the wedding. And my crew? They have to be super on point. There will be a meeting tomorrow to kickstart all of this. I didn't plan to work this weekend 'cause of your visit, but babe, you know a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do".Jay squeezed Dolapo's hand and smiled.

"I understand dear. I'm even happy you didn't cancel that meeting for my sake. I'd like to visit Jay's Cuisine Extraordinaire and meet with your crew..." The excitement in her voice was now obvious. She really wanted to see where this money was being made. Maybe she could apply for a position in her boyfriend's restaurant since the business seemed so lucrative that her boyfriend could afford this luxury in the city of Abuja.
She quietly went back to her food as she tried to make a mental calculation of how much it would have cost to furnish this apartment she was sitting in.

"I remember Lizzy gisting us of her cousin's small place in Abuja, outskirt and not even the central, bubbly part of the city at #300,000 - self-contained apartment. She showed us pictures and it did not look quite attractive for the price. This kind of place would cost millions of naira, I guess. Maybe she was exaggerating sha... It's Lizzy now, the sweet-mouthed girl" Dolapo tried to brush the thought aside.

"Dee, are you alright?"
It was Jay's persistent nudge that brought her back to consciousness.

"I'm ... I'm fine. Sorry. I was just thinking of ..."

"of what?"

"Never mind. It's nothing...Food is awesome" Dolapo smiled and sipped on her glass of water as she watched Jay munch on his food.

"I'm glad you like it"

***

"What's the matter with you? You're beginning to grow wings, right?" The woman at the other end of the line was obviously angry.

"Please, please, please. I just need a short break, just this weekend please. You won't even know the days are over and then we can go back to the way things were. You should understand now..."

"E ma gba mi ke. What are you talking about? I should understand now? I don't blame you. I blame myself. Anyway, nothing changes. 6.00pm tomorrow, usual place" she said with a stern voice.

"Are you not listening to anything i've been saying? This weekend is out of it. I have plans, plans that cannot be changed" Jay tried not to raise his voice. He was already getting pissed too.

"Oh. I see. Plans that cannot be changed, huh? No problem. You don't show up tomorrow same time and venue, the contract is off". She didn't wait for his response before ending the call.

"Hello... wait.. hello..."
"Oh God. What's all these?" Jay sighed as he stepped out of his car to check the bonnet for nothing in particular. He pretended to have heard a strange noise from the car as he drove home earlier and wanted to go figure out what the problem was when Dolapo asked what the problem was, after she was done with the dishes and didn't find him in the sitting room.
She had gone back to arrange the already arranged kitchen one more time. She just loved this kitchen.

"Did you figure it out" Dolapo looked back as Jay worked in through the door.

"yeah, nothing serious. Car's a bit jealous now that my main baby is here"
Jay joined Dolapo on the sofa, pulled her close to himself and stroked her hair gently as he tried to figure out what the program she had tuned in to watch was all about. All he could see were ladies trying on expensive wedding gowns and turning them down for stupid reasons like it doesn't have enough bling, it's too simple and so on. He watched how engrossed Dolapo was with the Brides of Beverly Hills show and just laughed in his mind.
He pulled her even closer and began kissing her neck, slowly, gently...

"Jay... stop" Dolapo said quietly as she sat up and tried to move away from Jay.
Jay took her hand in his and kissed her palm, pretending not to have heard her.

"I'm serious Jay. Stop it" This time, Dolapo was more audible and she stood up to change seats.

"Babe, can I say something?"

"yes, go on..."

"this... all of this is not my thing at all. I've just been doing all I can to make you happy..."
Jay moved over to where Dolapo was now seated.

"I understand and I love the fact that you respect me enough not to do anything against my will. I just really wanted to come see you. Don't take this the wrong way. If my presence wouldn't help matters, I could call Flo to spend the..."

"Stop it! Just stop it! Oh, is that why you gave me the hint about Flo being in town? Or did you both plan it this way? You know what? You're so right. Call Flo, that's a better option. But know this, if I wanted to do anything, I would have, a long time ago..."
Jay walked away from Dolapo into his room and slammed the door behind him.

She had messed everything up. She scolded herself for being so childish. Jay was right. He had been such a gentle man these past 10 months. He was nothing like any of the guys she had dated in the past before she found Jesus and decided to repent of her ways and keep herself till marriage. Before Jay relocated, she had spent one weekend at his former place and he was careful to maintain the boundaries she had set for their relationship.
She really didn't see any big deal in spending the night at a friend's place and she knew Jay wasn't going to cross any boundaries, he just wanted to cuddle and probably just kiss her, she thought to herself.
She couldn't bring herself to call Folusho, so she stood up, quietly walked to Jay's room, knocked on the door softly and turned the knob. The door wasn't locked.

"I'm sorry Jay. I just didn't want to..."

"It's alright. I understand. You should get some sleep now, right?"

"Err... I don't think I'm ready to sleep but I'd let you be since you have loads of food research to do". She planted a light kiss on his forehead and turned to take her leave.
Jay drew her back to himself and kissed her passionately before she could say another word. Dolapo held him close and kissed him back too, with even more passion than Jay.


*Faith Tunde-Yara
*Being Human
*Photo credit: shutterstock.com