Chapter 11, Episode 1

Last updated on February 17th, 2024 at 09:09 am

Zabby came to Abuja from Calabar, she just left today, and we spent her stay discussing man problems. I should feel bad but it just felt good to know that someone genuinely cared and didn’t mind. I’d make it up to her.

I still felt crappy and to make matters worse, Tochi hadn’t even acted like he got the message. It’d been five days now and I hadn’t heard from him. I guess he was also done. This realization hurt me more than the breakup itself. I got up and started preparing for my PPA the next day. I had a lot of clothes to wash and I looked unpresentable. Zabby had made me promise that I was going to fix up today and send her pictures as proof.

***

Exactly two weeks after I left Tochi that message, his call came in. I had actually missed his call earlier, but I assumed it was a mistake when I saw it. It still didn’t change the fact that my heart started beating wildly the moment I saw that I missed his call. I just settled in after work now when his call came in again. With shaky hands, I picked up my phone and slid the answer button.

“Hello,” I said, clearing my throat. I didn’t know why he was calling, but I didn’t need him to know that I had made no progress with the breakup even after two weeks. Zabby insisted that it was normal but I just thought I should have seen a little progress. It didn’t help that I had been stalking him online.

“Angel.” He said, sounding broken. “Were you serious?”

“Umm, I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Were you serious about the breakup message you sent to me?” Was he for real? After two weeks.

“Yes, I was.” I waited for his reply and nothing came, after a while, I looked at the phone to confirm if he was still on the call. I listened for any sound from his side and heard him sniffle. Tochi was crying. As if on cue, he cleared his throat and spoke.

“I thought you were just mad at me. I was confused and didn’t know what went wrong. So, I waited and then I had to talk to someone. I talked to Bimbo, my flatmate and he said you were done, that what you sent was a breakup message.” He sniffled again. I didn’t know what to say. And I felt stupid because I really wanted to reach out to him. Apart from when he lost his dad, he had never been this emotional in our relationship.

“Angela, Angel, talk to me. Are you serious? Are we done?”

“Tochi,” I answered, finding my voice. “Our problems are too recurrent. We never work on them, we just gloss everything over. I am tired. I can’t-”

“Baby, which problems? We talked about them.”

“Tochi, let me talk. You asked. Let me talk!”

“Fine, baby. I’m sorry. Please talk.” I angrily wiped at the tears falling down my cheeks.

“It took you two weeks to even come around. That’s how nonchalant you are with issues that concern us. What’s your goal for this relationship?” He was quiet. “Tochi, I just asked a question!”

“I’m sorry, baby. I thought you were still talking. Baby, Angel, I just want us to be happy. Is it because I didn’t want to come around? I can come next week or in two weeks. Baby, don’t do this.”

***

“Oh my word, Angela. I don’t know what to say.” I just found the courage to update Zabby on what was happening.

“You don’t have to say anything, Zabby.”

“So, you guys are back together and he is coming tomorrow?”

“I don’t know if we are back together, but he is coming tomorrow.”

“Well, if he is coming and you guys have been talking every day for the past two weeks, then you are definitely dating.”

“Well,”

“Baby, I am not judging you. I am honestly just concerned. Love is a gamble quite alright. We don’t even know what the future holds. I think people can grow up, I think anyone can change.”

“Thank you, Zabby,” I whispered. Her support meant the world to me.

***

I think the weeks of consistency in my PPA really paid off because I was able to take the whole week off when Tochi came. This time around, he started the conversations and we looked at the list and ticked off every single point. He promised to do better. After the third day, I warmed up to him and decided to have fun considering that we wouldn’t see for the next two months when I would visit him in Lagos.

I honestly believed there was a change this time around. He also asked me to be patient with him as our relationship was the first serious one for him. He mentioned the financial needs at home and how he felt obliged to send money home. He really opened up to me and I felt a shift between us. It was never about the love for us, there was enough. We just had a lot to unpack.

He eventually left yesterday and we barely slept all through the night as we talked…and did other things. At the park, I may have shed one or two tears.

“Babe, just two months and you will be in Lagos. Just two months. Don’t cry.” He had said. It was easy to say, but I didn’t only cry because I was going to miss him or because we spent the whole week fixing our relationship, but because a part of me was scared. The last time I left Lagos, I was hopeful and excited. Things were fine for a bit until we went back to our normal way. I knew I gave him an ultimatum now, but it didn’t change the fact that I didn’t want to have to remind him. I loved him deeply.

***

It’d been a month since Tochi left and it’d really been different. We spoke about twice a day now and he picked up my call. He had also gotten more accountable and sensitive. I was better knowing that the shift I sensed was real and not just something I made up in my mind.

…

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