The lady in a black dress sighed, as she turned off the engine. Peering into the car’s mirror, the twenty eight year old ‘posh’ lady arranged her unnatural, Peruvian hairdo. She dabbed a red lipstick and said to herself,
“This is what I call SEXY.”
Bisola alighted from the black Range Rover and walked towards the building ahead of her. She put on her dark sunglasses at a stop, while she dangled her car keys for ‘super’ attention and flaunted a catwalk. When she was close enough, she sighted Chichi and her husband at the doorway. She could see Chichi kissing Joseph on his cheek, handling over a briefcase to him and waving him goodbye. Bisola crossed Joseph’s path. She smiled at him,
“Good morning, sweet heart.” She accented in her rather thick, but feminine voice.
“Good morning.’’ He replied firmly, but in a smile, then he walked past. Bisola walked hurriedly to the door step where Chichi was and vociferated,
‘‘Baby girl!’’
“Oh my goodness!” Chichi exclaimed. “…Who do we have here?” Chichi said smiling.
Bisola took off her sunglasses, twirled proudly and shook her hair.
“I’m still one and only girl every guy wished they had, I’m still L-A-D-Y-Lady B.”
Chichi clapped. ‘Wow!’’
“Yeah baby. Come on, let’s go in.”
They stepped into the sitting room. Chichi sighed and gently locked the door behind her.
“Welcome in to my den, feel at home.” Chichi smiled, “I really missed you.”
Bisola eyed her playfully, “You eh!’’ She said, shaking her head. ‘‘Ever since you got married, you forgot everybody, mmh?”
“Come on, it’s not what you think.”
“Na so,” she said wearing a doubtful look. “…let’s talk joor.” They both sat on the silver coloured sofa.
Bisola crossed her legs and sighed.“Mmh.” Then she looked at Chichi, dazed.
“Your husband fine sha.”
Chichi threw a stuffed pillow at her and laughed out loud.
“You can really be something else Bisola!”
“Come on, is it a crime to appreciate such...” She completed the sentence with a wink.
“You eh! Are you not the one enjoying Chuks, your fine bobo?”
“Chuks?’’ Bisola hissed. “It was a mistake. That guy is a pain! You need-he is so useless. I took him from the gutters, cleaned him up, gave him nice clothes, cash and a life and guess what he could repay me with?” Bisola hissed again.
“What?” Chichi asked gently.
“I got back from work about three Pm, fair enough.’’ Tears welled up in her eyes, “I found him,’ she turned to Chichi. “…on top of Sekinat, Our HOUSE GIRL!”
Chichi was dumbfounded.
“But-I knew Chuks to be the love of your life-a disciplined man who devoted his life to you.’’
“Men,” She threw up her hands in the air, sobbing. “..All men are mischievous, they always have something up their sleeve.’’
“Look,’ Chichi said shaking her head. “Chuks is ‘part’ of your past, now. Your Mr right is on his way. Stop wasting your ‘expensive’ tears on Chuks.” Bisola wiped her tears with her handkerchief and leaned on Chichi. Chichi patted her hair and drew her closer,
“It’s alright.”
Soon Bisola fell asleep on her shoulder. Chichi just prayed that Bisola would wake up on time. She had just imagined what would happen if Joseph met her lying on the sofa. Her prayer was answered and Bisola’s phone rang. Bisola rubbed her eyes,
“My….my….phone”
“I’II get that for you.” Chichi offered.
Chichi walked to the centre table, where Bisola’s pouch was lying.
Chichi unzipped it and took her cell phone. It was a phone call. She could see a picture of a man and above it the lettering;
‘Jake calling’
Whoever this man was, he ‘awed’ Chichi. She had always thought her husband was the most handsome man she had ever seen, but this sure looked like a match. She quickly’ brought’ herself back.
You shouldn’t be doing this.
She handed the phone over to Bisola and watched Bisola chat heartily on the phone with this ‘stranger’. When the call ended, Bisola looked at her smiling.
“He’s my cousin-Do you remember- I told you of this famous music producer that brought the likes of Annie Dollar, Jezy Peters, Chelsea weaver and Cassandra Jones into the limelight? He’s the one-Jake weaver,’’ she said excitedly. “...he also writes books and he produces great movies- he’s really super talented.’’ She winked. “I’ve missed him. He’s arriving today from UK; I’ve got to pick him up. So babe, I am off.”
Chichi felt like the happiest woman in the world right now.
“Alright dear, let me accompany you-”
“Don’t bother dear.” Bisola interrupted, standing up. Her phone rang and she received another call. Still on the phone, she kissed Chichi goodbye, grabbed her purse and left.
Chichi shook her head and smiled. One thing was certain; Bisola was always after the ‘Ostentatious’, negative side of life. Chichi couldn’t help asking herself.
“Can Bisola be a bad influence to a serious Christian?”
September 1st. No 23, David Hills, Aja, Lagos.
The fresh aroma of spiced turkey filled the kitchen. Chichi sighed, as began chopping the onions. She sneezed and sighed again. Then her mind took her on a journey; she reflected on the verse she had read earlier that morning- it was Prov. 23:24-25:
Envy not against the wicked or desire to be with them, for their heart studieth destruction and their mouth talketh mischief.
Ever since Chichi had read that verse, she had not been herself. She felt it was trying to tell her something about her life. She just didn’t get what it was pointing at, was she spending time with people who didn’t love God? Then she paused, as something struck her mind.
Or is this trying to tell me about-
A loud noise from the sitting room interrupted her. She squinted. It sounded like an alarm. Was the house the alarm ringing? Was someone trying to break in? Chichi feared the unexpected. She rinsed her hands, dried them with the kitchen towel and headed for the sitting room. Then she almost laughed at her fear. She had left the TV blaring on, and a TV program was causing that noise! She looked at the TV- what she saw looked like a concert or something of that sort. Many political dignitaries were present there. It was a biannual celebration. The screaming crowd- they were not in their right minds. They started chanting;
“We love you Annie! We die for you Annie! We live for you Annie!’’
Then the ‘alarm noise’ came from the technical crew as stage effect. They showed an ‘under-twenty performer’. What seemed to bother Chichi was not her ‘heavy’ makeup or her weird laughter, but her skimpy gown which stopped very close to her waist line. The singer had so much energy; maybe that’s what motivated the crowd or maybe they had all along been made to believe that such ‘obsession’ was normal. No doubt, the lady looked beautiful-but maybe Chichi was more interested in her ‘essence’ than her manipulated looks. The singer was done with cheering her obsessed fans and she moved on to sing her lines. The dim lights suddenly went off and the atmosphere was filled with darkness, such that it could make one shiver. Then as a triangular Beam of light revealed the singer, she started her lines in high emotions:
I was walking down hallway, and then I saw him
I didn’t have to that night, but I gave him
She smiled and continued;
Baby I don’t care if the world hates me
But I aint gonna be good for no other……
Some skinny girls screamed; “We love you Annie Dollar!’’
The singer repeated the chorus, th
is time with two half -dressed dancers and they started swaying their hips in an unusual manner. She continued with the bridge:
Baby I’m so confused! Baby I’m so confused!
But guess what? I love all of it.
The whole stuff was becoming increasingly disturbing. With skulls lined about on the stage, eerie noises from the technical crew- the thick darkness and blood-like liquid splashing everywhere- since Chichi could not feed herself with such, she reached for the remote control pad, but before she could switch off the TV, the lady tore off her clothes upon the cheering crowd and she screamed,
“I’II Entertain you baby!”
Chichi was dazed. Just then, the doorbell rang. She walked to the Mahogany-polished door and unlocked it and there was her darling husband smiling with his suit jacket resting on his right shoulder. She wondered why she didn’t hear his car horn. Then she remembered the deafening noises from the TV and shook her head. She reached for his briefcase. Joseph smiled again,
“How’s my wife doing?” Joseph asked, still smiling.
“She’s doing great!’’
He stopped at the door way, which was quite unusual of him. Joseph stared into his wife’s eyes.
“Chichi, I have a surprise package for you.”
c
hichi couldn’t help shouting as they stood beside the lawn. She hugged him and shut her eyes.
“Sweetie, I hope I am not dreaming”
“No dear, this is REAL.”
She opened her eyes and took a good look at the shiny, blue saloon car that was before them. It had a uniqueness that Chichi admired and this was the first car Chichi was getting as her own. She held the car keys tightly,
“Sweetie, thank you so much. What can I do?”
He got on his knees and affectionately held her hands.
“Let’s celebrate our one year anniversary on the 2nd of September, tomorrow.’’ When Chichi couldn’t contain the joy any longer, she put her hands to her face and screamed,
“I LOVE YOU!”
September 2, 2013.West Side Beach, London.
The place was crowded. The venue had an extra-ordinary look; floral Chinese Lanterns ran across the wide expanse of land. The Caribbean décor made the place exquisitely unique, while the wooden poles which formed a part of the outdoor shelter, was brightened with glittering coloured bulbs to near perfection. A friendly zephyr ran across the area, blowing softly at some pink balloons at the centre podium .The centre podium was also erected uniquely and its shelter ‘wore’ a beautiful African design, while it was floored with a fanciful, white rug. Chichi who was in a dark purple, royal gown, stood beside Joseph, who was cloaked in a manly suit. The master of ceremony who happened to be Joseph’s best friend, stood before them. The tall man took some time to view the large number of people. There were more Europeans and very few Africans. Johnson looked around. The canopy ran across the expanse of land in a letter U shape. Johnson smiled and held up the microphone,
“I am so glad that we’ve come to the most important section of this wedding anniversary. I know we’re all excited. If you are, let me hear you say GLORY!” He pointed the microphone to the audience, they roared;
“GLORY!”
“Now I would like to call on Chichi Adams, the woman of the year, to say some words.” Chichi stepped forward and the people clapped.
“I just want to thank God for everything. My marriage for the past one year with the love of my life, Joseph, has been wonderful. You know, this is really IMPOSSIBLE to explain, but we’ve never had a quarrel since we said ‘I do’. GOD has been faithful. I’m also using this medium to make a shout out to the number one man in my life; Joseph Adams!’’ The crowd applauded. The MC nodded,
“That was wonderful. Now let’s hear Joseph.’’
Joseph took a walk forward,
“Maybe this pretty woman calls me the number one man in her life. Well, I call her the woman that makes my heart burn in love.” The crowd exclaimed. He continued, “…I’m so fortunate to know such a beauty. You know, it is one thing to get married to a beauty, it’s another thing getting married to a beauty with brains, but it is a rare thing to marry a virtuous woman with such divine wisdom-GOD HAS GIVEN ME A GIFT.” He stretched his hand towards her, “I want to make a shout out to my one and only queen, Chichi Adams.’’ After the ‘massive’ jubilation had died down, Johnson stepped forward.
“It’s been a long evening and right now we’ll ask the couple some questions.’’
They sat and Johnson playfully winked at the smiling couple.
“Firstly, I would like to ask you Chichi, what can you say Joseph is best at-does he help with cooking at all?’’
Chichi laughed at loud. She tucked in a loose tuft of hair.
“Well……’’
Joseph couldn’t help but stare at his wife, as she sat on the king size bed reading her bible by the golden lamp. When she was done, she said a word of prayer. Just then, Chichi caught Joseph’s eyes.
“Come on,’’ she said hitting him on the arm, ‘‘…stop staring at me.”
Joseph chuckled. “I’m I not permitted to?’’
“Mmh.” She shook her head. “Not really.”
He tickled her and they playfully fought with the bedside pillows. Joseph put on the light and sat up,
“Sweetie, you have to board a plane first thing tomorrow. I asked my able PA, Martha, to book a flight and she has done that well.’’
Chichi sighed, ‘‘She’s such a nice girl.’’ Then Chichi put on a sad look, “I would miss you”.
Joseph looked serious now,
“Dear, I’II love to stay, but you know I just have to do this for them. You know, it’s holding here in London and I’ve no excuse. I’m one of the founders of the Teachers Annual Conference. I have to be there.’’ Chichi touched his chin,
“I know. Don’t bother about your selfish wife again, she will do just fine.” Joseph’s smile “warmed” her heart. She yawned.
“Can we pray now?”
“Alright dear.”
The couple stood before God and prayed to Him in one accord. While prayer is the key to maintaining a relevant relationship with God, several times, single and married Christians fall short of true commitment to prayer. God is not some distant personality, He needs to be talked to and He needs a relevant bond with you. He’s always loved you more than you can ever love yourself. So why are you holding yourself from Him and letting ignorance and foolishness take a toll on you? Come on, get down on your knees and pour out your heart to your father.