Being Human (13)

"you should call him, you know?" Elizabeth gently said as she walked past Dolapo to her desk.

Dolapo just smiled at her and watched her take her stroll back to her duty post.
It had been one month and three weeks since she spoke to Jay, in actual fact she had not spoken to Jay since she left Abuja. She had promised herself to get involved in other things that will distract her from thinking about Jay, and had also decided not to pick his call nor call him till she was sure what to make of their relationship.
She seemed  to be doing great in keeping herself busy as she was now a part of the decorating unit of the Youth Church and  now had a flat mate to keep her company.
She didn't think she would cope with sharing her flat with Lizzy initially, but after seeing what Lizzy had gone through, she was more than eager to help accommodate Lizzy till she was able to get a place of her own, like she promised.
She had also been able to drag Lizzy to attending the programs organised by the Youth Church and before long, Lizzy had felt welcomed and had even become active in the Youth church too. It wasn't just the programs that helped Lizzy fit in fast, it was more about the people.
Dolapo smiled at the thought that crossed her mind as she stood up to go submit the documents she had just printed to her boss for perusal.

"very good, this is impressive..." Mrs. Olowolayemo kept nodding as she flipped the pages of the report Dolapo had just handed her.

"now, this is why I employed you in the first place. You seem to be more focused these days. Keep it up"

"Thank you ma" Dolapo smiled and mentally gave herself a pat on the back. She no longer saw her job as too demanding. In fact, the high demands of the job had helped her in getting thoughts of Jay out of her head.

"The second report will be ready before the close of work ma."

"Oh... no, no, no. You can take your time on that one. Our clients want a thorough job. You can't afford to rush." Mrs. Olowolayemo adjusted her glasses as she flipped to the last page of the report.

"Actually, it will be ready before the close of work, like I said, and I can assure you that you will be impressed with the compilation of my findings, ma. But if you insist on taking my time..."

"Dolapo, you don't have to bother your head." her boss spoke calmly as possible.

"I see you've been so into your work these days. You don't go on lunch breaks, you hardly get up from your seat except to give me a report or a file... and I've been impressed with your results so far. I just hope everything is alright with you." she took off her glasses, dropped the report on the table and looked Dolapo straight in the eye as if to get some answers from the signature smile Dolapo had now mastered and always had on since she got back from Abuja.

"Everything is fine ma. Thanks for your concern." Dolapo smiled again.

"If you say so. Take your time on the report and I'll see you on Monday."

Dolapo left her boss' office in satisfaction. Since she got back from Abuja, she had done all she could to avoid her being shouted on by her boss, for any reason at all. She feared that she would burst into tears at the slightest yell. She was that fragile but she didn't let anyone have that impression in the office, and even at home with Lizzy.
The only time she cried was that evening during the conversation she had with Folusho. She had cried half the time, expressing how confused she was on the next step to take.

She finished up a few things on her laptop, shut down and began packing her bags to close for the day.

"Ready?" Lizzy jumped behind Dolapo's back, excited as ever.

"Oh Lizzy, you startled me... just a minute, I'll be with you soon."

"okay, we''ll be waiting in the car."

The sound of "we" got Dolapo smiling and thinking again. It had happened so fast for Lizzy. A part of her envied Lizzy again. Lizzy had healed so fast by mingling with people in the Youth Church and the Youth President had picked interest in her; and the best part was the fact that the feeling was mutual. One could see it in the way she talked about him, the time he allotted into having lunch with her almost everyday, and picking them up almost every other day from work home.

"Why can't I be as lucky as this? God, why? Is there something I'm not doing right?" Dolapo soliloquised as she stepped out of the building to find Dare and Lizzy chatting and laughing away in the car.

"Sorry for keeping you guys waiting. How was your day, pastor?"

They all laughed at the mention of "pastor", as Dare turned on the ignition and drove them home.

"Dare would be fine, you know?"
"By the way, where are you taking us to for your birthday, or you think we don't know?" Dare started off a fresh conversation.

For the first time in a long time, Dolapo forgot totally that her birthday was the next day.
She sighed...

"Oh my God... I should really take it slow on myself" She thought aloud.
"Can you believe I totally forgot about my birthday?"

"Told ya. You're over-working yourself and that's not good for your health" Lizzy cut in.

"anyway, that is not going to save you from taking us on a birthday treat tomorrow, so get ready" Lizzy winked at her friend. It felt so good to be friends with Dolapo, she thought.

Dare drove on as Lizzy engaged everyone in one conversation or the other till they got
to their destination.

***
"yes, can I help you?"

"just give me a chance, please."

"Okay. what is it?"

"Okay... okay... i'd see what I can do."

"No, don't see what you can do. Please help me out here. Please"

"Okay, okay. I've heard."

"Thanks... bye..."
He dropped the call. This was his chance to make things right again. He had messed up enough but he was sure he wanted her back; it was Dolapo or no one else. He sighed as he took one last look at his phone's wall paper; Dolapo's picture.

"Everything will be fine, I can assure you."

"It had better be, bro. It had better"

He wasn't sure how Uche did it, but he knew he had a way of calming him down.
The events of almost 2 months ago flashed across his mind. He stood up from his seat, shaking his head as though he wanted to shake off the memory; he patted Uche on the back, as he walked past his desk and out of the office they now shared.

He took one last look at his crew, and the ladies at the service point and finally at the few people seated in the restaurant and winked at himself as he stepped out of the restaurant. He hadn't done badly, he thought.

"Everything will be fine..." he echoed Uche's words back to himself, as he got his keys from his pocket to open the door of his car.


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