"Hello?'' Brian Femi said sleepily
"Hello. Good morning. This is Mila"
"Mila..." he said sounding uncertain of who she was "Good morning and how are you?" he asked
"I'm fine, thanks. I hope it's not too early? you sound like you're still in bed" she said uncertainly as well and pursed her lips, hoping he would say it was fine she called at that time.
"Yes, I'm still in bed but, it's okay. I was out last night so, I'm trying to catch up on my sleep. Sorry, could you remind me again how we met?"
Mila almost bit her lip as she heard the question she had been dreading. She took a second before answering,
"uh, we met at Zenbah on thursday evening and I came up to you to ask for Leo's number for my friend Simi. You gave me yours in the process" she finished and waited
"Yeah! I remember talking to a pretty girl with the most beautiful and genuine smile I had ever seen but what I can't seem to believe is me giving you Leo's number. He'll skin me alive if he finds out. ugh!" he said dramatically
Mila tried picturing his face as he said this and laughed but felt warmed up all over cos he had called her pretty.
"I'm sorry about that" she said quickly
"Naaa! don't worry about that. I'm glad you called. Been actually looking forward to your call" he replied
And so, the conversation continued and they talked on and on, sharing bits and pieces of information like long lost friends. Mila found herself laughing a lot about his narration of how his dad would always quarrel with him whenever he took his mom out on dinner dates. She found him to be really funny as he described his father's reaction. She found him adorable when he referred to himself as a mommy's boy cos the mom was always calling him to check up on him. She told him about her Dad, who wouldn't always allow her go out cos he felt she was still 18. That cracked him up and they both laughed hard when she narrated occasions when she had had to go out after work before getting home. Mila also got to find out that his real name was Tunji Jacobs and not Brian Femi.
They spoke for over 30 minutes like they could see each other on the other end of the phone but, the conversation was brought to an end by the familiar voice of Mila's network provider, warning her of having just one minute remaining. She couldn't believe she had finished her airtime talking to Tunji but she was happy they had talked. It set her on a good start for the day as she found herself smiling as she did her chores. Her parents had engagements to attend but she didn't really miss their absence cos she found company with thoughts of her conversation with Tunji.
..................
It was about 3 pm before Mila had time to rest. She decided to do so with her novel, "Pillars of the Earth". She was at the part where curiosity and infatuation led Jack to trace Aliena to her house on the wealthy parts of Kingsbridge. She was deeply engrossed in the novel when she noticed the red notification light blinking from her phone. She picked up her phone to check which of the messaging apps had the notification. Then, she saw messages from Tunji on Whatsapp and she responded.
Tunji: Hi. Do you have any plans for this evening? I've got two tickets for a stage play on the Island. Would you mind joining me?
Mila: Hello. 👩 No plans for the evening. I'd love to.
Tunji: OK. Where do you live so that I can come pick you?
Mila: You could pick me from Terra Kulture
Tunji: Alright then. The play's for 5 pm . I'll pick you up by 4:30. Is that okay?
Mila: Yes
Tunji: Cool. See you then.
"That was fast!" She thought to herself. She wasn't expecting him to contact her so soon. When she checked the time and saw that it was already 3:30 pm, she jumped off the couch and ran into the bathroom. She wore her favorite navy blue pencil jeans, a transparent gray colored off shoulder lace top that went below her waist and her blue ankle strap heel. She brushed out the straight human hair weave she was using for the fifth time cos it still looked new, wore on some nude makeup, wore on some perfume and then left the house. She would call her parents later to inform them of her whereabouts.
................
Mila took a cab and stopped at Terra Kulture. She had only seen this place online; she had never visited so today was a first for her. She was about walking through the gate when a red spots car pulled up beside her and she heard her name. She turned around to see the familiar face of a light skinned woman in her late thirties, hidden by perfect sun shades. Mila was shocked to see this face again after a year of complete disappearance. She quickly turned to leave but the woman called her again, this time loudly. Mila stopped and stood rooted to the spot. She tried looking relaxed but it was obvious she wasn't. The woman deliberately took her time and then spoke only when she noticed that people were approaching the gate from inside the compound.
"Hello Mila. Are you still screwing him?" she paused, shook her head dramatically slowly and then said "Hmm, I guess not. Bitch." then she drove off.
Mila was shaken to her bones. She stood there struggling with her senses that were almost giving up on her suddenly weak body. She thought she was done. She thought that phase was over but it wasn't. How did she reemerge from no where all of a sudden? Mila kept asking herself.
At that point, she saw another car pull up on the other side of the narrow street. It was a white range rover car. The driver wound down the window; then she saw Tunji's smiling face as he waved at her. The effect of that smile, immediately soothed her ruffled nerves as she recalled the fun of talking to him earlier. She decided to look forward to an interesting evening with him and to lay aside her troubles for another day.
