THE MARRIAGE: A Touching Tale – Episode 5

THE MARRIAGE
(A TOUCHING TALE)
EPISODE 5
All through the night, the description of Shana’s virtues as provided by Ayomide kept ringing in Femi’s ear. Suddenly he began to see her in a different light as he confessed that she was very pretty and wasn’t as childish as he had thought. He found himself thinking more and more about her as the night progressed and he knew that he had to go for her. He had noticed that his younger brother was making efforts to get close to her and he was determined to corner Shana to himself for he was impressed with what he had been told about her. With his mind made up on what to do, he soon fell soundly asleep.
The next day in the evening, he bought a cute bottle of nice perfume, wrapped it in a box with a pink bow and drove to the Banjo’s residence where he intended to add their only daughter to his list of numerous girlfriends. When he got to the door, he pressed the door bell and the maid answered and ushered him in to the well-furnished sitting room.
Maid: “Welcome, sahh! What do I offer you?”
Femi: “Nothing, thanks. Where is Shana, I am here to see her”.
Maid: “Small madam don go back to school this morning”.
Femi: “Oh my, that was close. Do you know when she will return?”
Maid: “Na only oga and madam fit know that one”.
Femi: “Okay. Do you have her phone number? I used to have it but I lost my phone recently”, he lied.
“Look who we have here”, Mr Banjo’s voice interrupted them and the maid greeted him and left the sitting room.
“Good evening, sir”, Femi bowed and greeted courteously while shaking Mr Banjo’s out stretched palm.
Mr Banjo: “How are you, Femi? And your parents? Did you come alone?”
Femi: “They are fine, sir. I actually came alone today. I came to see Shana but I learnt she returned to school today”.
Mr Banjo: “Oh yes, my baby has gone back to school”.
Femi: “Then I should be on my way home, sir”.
Mr Banjo: “Why this soon? Please join us for dinner”.
Femi: “Thanks for the offer sir but I can’t have that today. I need to run along”. He excused himself and left the house after giving the gift to the maid to keep for Shana.
Mr Banjo was glad to see Femi ask after his daughter for he had a soft spur for the young man who was a successful banker at his age. His friendship with Femi’s father was so strong that he would be more than glad to give out his daughter’s hand in marriage to Femi as a way of solidifying the bond that held the two families together. He was a little bit disappointed when he saw Ayomide and his daughter getting along well because he had always thought Ayomide to be too playful and childish. Nevertheless, he had made up his mind not to stand in the way of his daughter’s happiness.
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Few days after the futile visit to Shana’s house, Femi collected his brother’s phone under the guise of wanting to use it to make a call and copied Shana’s number out of it. He went into his room and dialed her number.
Shana: “Hello, who is this?”
Femi: “Am I speaking with Shana Banjo?” he disguised his voice and asked.
Shana: “Yes, how may I help you?” she asked suspiciously.
Femi: “Well, you are under arrest young lady”.
Shana: “What? Under arrest for what? What is my crime? And who the hell are you to call and tell me rubbish?”
Femi: “You are under arrest for stealing my heart. This is Femi calling, Femi Philips”.
Shana: “Wow! Femi. What a surprise. I was expecting your call. How are you?”
Femi: “I am fine and how is school?”
Shana: “School is fine. Last time I checked, you never said a word to me talk more of calling me. So, how did you get my number?”
Femi: “Well, now I have started talking to you because change is the only constant thing in nature. As regards how I got your number, a man will go any length to get the thing his heart desires”.
Shana: “That is interesting…”
They continued to talk for hours and soon it became a daily affair. Femi would call for hours and they would chat at any given opportunity. For him, he was beginning to fall in love with her, a slow and steady love triggered by what his brother had told him about her and for her it was just a feeling of friendship and nothing more. The fact that he was the elder brother of her crush was enough reason to thrill her and most times when they spoke on phone, she resisted the temptation of calling him her brother in law for she had hopes of marrying Ayomide. When she asked after Ayomide from Femi, he had lied to her that it was Ayo who gave him her number and that he was aware that they were always conversing.
Ayomide on the other hand was drifting away from Shana because he didn’t want to interrupt her studies and so he avoided buzzing her numbers whenever he felt the urge to listen to her voice. Soon after, he secured admission into Havard University for his Masters and left with the promise that he would tell her that he was in love with her when he returned back to Nigeria.
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After her first semester examination, Shana returned home and Femi became a constant guest in their home. Although she would have preferred the presence of Ayomide to his own, she didn’t mind having him around for his presence alone reminded her of Ayo far away in the UK studying. Femi would visit her every evening after work with all sorts of gifts for her. Apart from the fact that he was well paid at the bank where he worked, his parents were rich and he had all the money he needed to get her unique gifts which was his way of enticing girls. He had tried this trick with all his girls and it had never failed him. Shana on her part was carried away by the gifts even though her parents provided more than what she needed. That evening when Femi came to visit her as usual, he asked to take her out for dinner and she accepted because she was already getting bored of sitting at home.
They got into the car after she had taken permission from her parents.
Femi: “So, where do you want to go this evening?”
Shana: “Anyway,, you were the one who suggested that we go out so you should have plans of where you want us to go”.
Femi: “Okay, I will take you to the Blue Cubanna, I am sure you would love there”.
They drove to Blue Cubanna where they had dinner and there after the meal, Femi took Shana’s hands in his and told her how much he had fallen in love with her over the time and how much he wanted to start a relationship with her.
Shana: “This is surprising. I mean I wasn’t expecting you to ask me out”.
Femi: “What is surprising in a man asking a beautiful girl out?”
Shana: “It’s just that I thought you only wanted friendship”.
Femi: “Well, I actually wanted friendship but now I want something more. I want an intimate relationship with you”.
Shana: “I am not sure about this”.
Femi: “Why? Are you in a relationship already? Few days ago you told me you weren’t in any”.
Shana: “Yes, but Ayomide…”
Femi: “My brother? Has he asked you out? If he has, I will advise that you stick to him since he came before me. I don’t want to be seen as dragging a girl with my kid brother”.
Shana: “No, he didn’t ask me out”.
Femi: “Then what is it?” he snapped lightly, he was beginning to lose his temper at the childish lady who was finding it difficult to take a simple decision on her own.
Shana: “Ayomide is my friend, in fact he is my best friend and I promised him that I would tell him before accepting to date any man. Give me some time to talk to him about this, I am sure he would approve of us”, she lied because she didn’t want Femi to know that she had a crush on his younger brother.
Femi: “Fair enough then. Can I drive you home now?”
They walked out of the restaurant holding hands with a lot going through Femi’s head, he was thinking of a plan B that only him knew about.
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Question: Will Ayomide permit Shana to date his elder brother? What plan B is Femi thinking about?