Zee's Diary: The Dream

 

It was a drizzly Wednesday morning and I was worried it would rain cat and dog as the cloud darkened. In a twinkle of an eye, the wind began blowing and I watched how passersby ran about for cover on the busy street. 

I picked up my phone to check the weather forecast even though I could see with my eyes that it would rain. So much to see Bryan again. The forecast revealed a cloudy and sunny weather; a glimpse of hope. It's been a month since I saw him.

I took off my satin bonnet and ruffled my tiny braids with my fingers, picked up my handbag and headed downstairs as I ordered a ride on the Uber app. My ride arrived just as soon as I got to the gate; he must've been at the main road off my street to have been able to get here in such little time. I wore a white low V-neck chiffon top, with my cleavages sitting pretty in it, an army green palazzo and a stiletto. My glass colored minibag swung as I tiptoed to the gate in order to not soil my palazzo with water as the drizzles became a light shower.

He started the trip and in thirty minutes, I was at Bryan's door.

His apartment was a decent one-bedroom flat located in one of the most sought after estates in the city. It was very easy to locate that even a blind man could find his way there, unguided. It was located at the extreme of the estate and the walls of the house were painted and designed clayish brick brown. 

I rang the doorbell and Bryan came running to the door with soap lather all over his body but his eyes. His arms stood out like beautiful tubers of yams. His hazel brown eyes lit up as he saw me at the door. He apologized for coming out in such state. "Hey Zee, it's nice to see you again. I've missed you so much", he said as he offered me a hug and I withdrew from him due to the soap lather on his body. "Oh, I'm sorry. Let me run off and finish up. Make yourself comfortable dear, I'd be with you shortly."

He returned to the bathroom and hurriedly finished up with his bath.

He came back into the sitting room smelling like flowers immersed in a bucket of fruits; he wore a pair of camouflage baggie shorts and an orange polo which gripped him at the arm; just the way I love to see it. He stretched out his hand and I touched his palm; it was soft as Shea butter, and a smile which I returned.

Bryan was a fashionista and his house wasn't left out of his personality. He must've spent a lot giving his sitting room the typical Hollywood movie look. It was perfect. He sat on one of the couches opposite me and spoke so sweetly. He asked what I would like him to offer me and I replied "anything would be fine." Then he went into the kitchen. Before then, he handed me the DSTV remote to make myself comfortable while he prepared something 'special' for me. I tuned in to Trace and one of Burnaboy's hit songs was on. I increased the volume and the sound enveloped the house. It was already twenty minutes since Bryan went into the kitchen. I moved to the kitchen door and slightly bent the knob to gain entry into it. It was a modern building and the doors are not noisy. He didn't notice my presence and I stood at the door, already shut, watching him dance to Fireboy's Vibration. He was a good dancer. He eventually turned around in one of his dance steps and saw me staring at him with so much excitement in my eyes. He felt shy and asked "for how long have you been watching me display this madness?", I laughed and said "for about ten minutes. You're a good dancer, we should go to the club together one day." He gave an ear to ear smile which showed that he took me serious and was down anytime I decided to call.

In five minutes, we were at the dining table feasting on his tasty, stir fried spaghetti and grilled turkey. He was a great cook. After eating, we went back to the sitting room and talked about several things. We talked about life in school and how good it felt to be graduates and how easy it was getting jobs just a few months after NYSC. 

It was 3pm and it began to rain heavily. The cloud darkened so much that we wouldn't have been able to see each other's faces if there wasn't a chandelier hanging above our heads in the sitting room. I moved close to him for warmth as the atmosphere became very cold and my chiffon top felt as though I was naked. He held me while I shivered. After a few minutes, we decided to go into his room since I couldn't get back to my house due to the rain. His room was simple, yet classy. He obviously got interior decorators to get his house furnished for him. It was worth it. He gave me his hoodie and I felt like a tortoise inside its shell; he was a very muscular man and his clothes were usually large. 

We laughed as he teased me about how I looked in the hoodie. We sat on his bed and chatted about a lot of things and in a few minutes, we were cuddling. His arms felt like home and I never felt like leaving. I raised my face to kiss him and in a second I was savouring his soft lips. He was a really beautiful man and a kind one too. Minutes later, I slept off and I felt him cover me with his duvet. He held me in his arms as I slept.

            *                  *                *

I woke up by 6pm and couldn't find him beside me. I went to the sitting room and then into the kitchen and I found him there. He was preparing dinner. I stepped in to meet him. He was preparing Nigerian jollof rice and fried fish. Yummy! I moved to the sink and washed the dirty plates and pots while we chatted happily like children. We talked about how we used to play in the rain when we were small children. He also got to tell me of how he knew how to cook as we both knew that in this part of the world, the woman is to the kitchen as the man is to work. "My mother was a chef and caterer and I was the only child, so I was always by her whenever she had jobs and also cooked for the family." He spoke eloquently even at very little and petty conversations.

By 7pm, he was done with cooking and he served our food in a large flat plate. We ate together. It was a really tasty dish. I could've sworn that all I wanted to do at that moment was marry him because how could I let such rare gem slip away? 

Well, jokes on me. I was  woken up from this pleasant dream by a phone call from my best friend, Layo. "Happy birthday Zee!" It was 12:05am and it was my 25th birthday. I smiled and whispered "Amen" as my best girl prayed for me. When she hung up, I went into the kitchen, I was famished. I slept off when I returned from work and forgot to get food to eat. I reflected on my life as I prepared noodles to quench this hunger.