Nightmare (2)

Adaeze had barely sat down and gotten to work when Edmund’s first call came in.
She took one glance at the foreign number and knew it would be him, she had a gift of predicting men’s actions.

“Hello,” she greeted.

“Hey! It’s me.”

“Who?” She asked, unable to stop herself from smiling, even though she couldn’t fathom the cause of the smile.

“You know who. It’s Edmund.”

“Hey!” Adaeze feigned surprise. “I didn’t think you would call so soon, considering that you must have been late for work, and are supposed to start working immediately.”

“Don’t worry about me. I hope you were not late? I know I held you up after making your journey a little unpleasant and embarrassing.”

Adaeze noticed he sounded a bit serious, and was touched that he was actually worried that she would be late for work.

“I wasn’t late, thanks for asking,” she replied, waiting for the next move. She could bet her new shoes that the next thing was for him to ask her questions about herself. She was bored already.

“Great! So I’ll leave you to work on your chemicals, Chemical Analyst,” he said, and she heard the smile in his voice again. She was surprised, and a little excited that he was not predictable as many other guys could be; drilling her like she was in an interview or worse, being viewed under a microscope.

He must have really studied her card, for him to realize that she was Chemical Analyst.

“Thanks, Edmund –,”

She didn’t know if they were going to be speaking later, as she knew she was not ready to begin calling a man she barely knew. If they were going to be speaking again, it was up to him.

“We’ll talk later, Adaeze. Have a great day.”

She was wondering what to respond when he hung up, leaving her impressed.

When was the last time she saw a man who was sure about what he wanted and didn’t hesitate to go for it? She couldn’t remember!

With a smile on her face, Adaeze put her phone into the pocket of her lab coat, and reached for her gloves to begin work.
She needed to hurry as she still had yesterday’s work to finish up before starting today’s. The last thing she needed was for Mr. Shina, her boss, to start breathing down her neck for results of the test on yesterday’s samples.

But even the need for speed and the fear of her boss did nothing to dampen her excitement. She was sure today was the beginning of something new for her.

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Adaeze’s instinct had been right about her life becoming exciting from the day she met Edmund. It was as though he had a book about her at home, which he used to say and do what pleased her. He could read her like an open book, and was truly interested in her.

She had worked harder at her office, pleasing Mr. Shina, because Edmund believed in hard work, and never distracted her from her job, he also knew how to convince her on something, even if she was against it initially.

He made sure he always called her, and rejected her calls when she tries calling, calling her back almost immediately. He never allowed her worry about being cheap or easy.

To make things more interesting, he was handsome and about 5 inches taller than her, and he was an architect. It was as though all she ever dreamed of fell into her lap at the snap of fingers, in the most unexpected of ways.

She fell in love with him so fast, that she wondered if it was fake, but all her fears dissolved when one night, after work, as was their custom from the first day they met; to spend some time together before heading home, they were dining and suddenly, with a direct gaze into her eyes as though he could see her soul, he told her he was in love with her.

She was so happy, she didn’t know how she managed to eat, and he took her home and kissed her for the first time.

His kiss sealed her heart for him.

For the weeks they’ve been seeing each other, Edmund had never made any move to kiss or touch her inappropriately, and though she had decided some years back to be celibate until her wedding night, she had been a little disappointed that he showed no physical appreciation of her body. She worried that he was not physically attracted to her.

She was not ready to be with someone who didn’t love her wholly, and so his kiss took away the fear that he was not physically attracted to her.

She spent her night daydreaming and slept by 2 a.m., and the only reason she shut her eyes and forced herself to sleep was that Edmund was sure to call her by 6 a.m., expecting her to be up and running. He believed a successful person must wake up by 5 a.m., and she didn’t want to disappoint him.

Pixabay

Exactly 20 days after Edmund professed his love for her, he shocked her by proposing, where he again proved that he knew just what she wanted.

He didn’t make a fuss about it by doing it in a crowded place where she might be put on the spot and be forced to say yes; neither did he do it in a place where she won’t be able to glow under the attention of people as the congratulated her.

He made it special by doing it at a beach one night. Having convinced her that going to the beach at night didn’t mean she might come face to face with a marine spirit, he took her to the beach.

Adaeze was surprised to see that some people had also come to have a party at the beach, and acted like it was a normal thing, making her feel like she was new in Lagos.

She also saw some people who obviously came to pray and decided to stay far from those ones, lest she sees them having a discussion with some spirits. This was Lagos where everything was possible.

While she was trying to set the place up for the night, bringing out the food, as she was starving. Turning to ask him if he was ready to eat, she saw him with the ring and a tentative smile mixed a sincere and longing look.

“Please marry me, Adaeze,” he said.

“Yes! Yes! Yes,” she shouted, drawing the attention of the other fun seekers and the prayer warriors. She couldn’t wait to hug him and couldn’t stay still as he put the ring on her finger.

She was not really good in recognizing expensive jewellery, but she knew the ring must be expensive by the sparkle it gave under the moonlight.

She was tightening the hug and wondering if he was going to kiss her again, when the shouts and claps had her looking around, shyly. She hadn’t realized that people noticed them.

“Thank you for making me the happiest man,” Edmund said, ignoring the onlookers and turning her face to look at him with his fingers, looking deeply in her eyes.

Then he gave her the kiss, making the day the happiest day for Adaeze, as she silenced the thoughts reminding her of her mother’s reaction when she introduced Edmund to the family.

She was going to be married to a wonderful man, and that was all that mattered.

Previously Published Here.

Nightmare 1

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