The other lady (3)
Six months came quick and Araba had gotten more composed; not worrying about her relationship status and not bothered about what others thought of her. After all she was in no race with anyone. And although her circle of friends were all married with a child or two, she was convinced that her prince charming would come when she least expected it.
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She had gotten so immersed in building her relationship with God that she didn’t even realize the year was nearing to an end with just three months away. But she wasn’t the only girl among her circle of friends left without a wedding band on her ring finger; Joyce was also unmarried just that she had a boyfriend to boast of.
She was at work one morning when her phone beeped. She picked it up and it was a message from Joyce. It was an invitation to her wedding which would take place at the end of the month. The month was August. The wedding was only a few weeks away. Accompanying the message was a request for her to introduce the chairman of the occasion at the wedding reception. How could she decline such a request? She happily agreed to show up and participate in making her friend’s day a memorable one.
The day finally arrived and Araba stepped out of her car in front of the church premises not anticipating anything. If it were before, she would have come up with all sorts of fantasies about meeting her knight in shining armour anytime she attended a wedding. Top among them was the part where the groom gets to tell the guests how he met his wife and she would fancy him narrating how the two of them bumped into each other at a friend’s wedding.
It wasn’t the first time she was attending a wedding and it sure wasn’t the first time she had a role to play at a wedding but this time it was a different feeling. She attended Joyce’s wedding with no expectations but for one; to enjoy every bit of the moment. And indeed she did. She left the reception ground fulfilled that she contributed to making Joyce’s big day a memorable one and she was glad she didn’t have to keep checking out who was checking her out.
Monday came so fast and the usual hustling and bustling in her life had resumed. Her schedule was so tight she even forgot to stay in touch with the outside world on social media. Just as that thought run through her mind, her phone beeped. It was a message from an unknown contact.
“Hi”, the message read.
“Hi…I’m not sure who you are,” she responded.
“Yeah, I know this might sound bizarre but we’ve actually met before. I’m Zack,” he texted back.
“I doubt that though,” she responded.
“You are Araba, right? We met at Joyce’s wedding. Well, technically. I was part of the bridal party.
We never actually got the chance to talk, but I got your number from Joyce.”
“OK Zack, how may I help you?”
“Well….I’d like to see you again. I mean, I’d like to meet you one of these days since we couldn’t really get to talk to each other over the weekend.”
Araba froze for a moment not knowing what to say. Was she dreaming? She tried recollecting which of the groom’s men she was chatting with since Joyce’s bridal party was made up of ten from each side.
“Erm… Zack, can we chat a bit later. I have to rush to a meeting. I’ll send you a message afterward.”
“Sure. I’ll leave you to work. Later.” He said politely.
But that was a lie. There was no meeting to attend. She was just rounding up things in the office and trying to leave early in order to beat the Monday evening traffic.
Who could this be? She thought to herself. She quickly rushed for her phone and went through all the photographs she took at the wedding, including that of the bridal party. There was one guy who stood out among the groom’s men. He was tall, fairly light in complexion, had a neatly trimmed beard with a beautiful smile. It was as though he was smiling right at her in that photograph. Could he be the one? Her heart was racing fast. She couldn’t believe what had just ensued between her and Zack. Fact is, she didn’t even notice him at the wedding.
“Jesus,” she said to herself. “Is this the way You chose to answer my prayer? When I least expected?” All sorts of thoughts started running through her mind and much as she tried to control her anxiety, she just couldn’t wait to get home to send Zack a message.
To be continued...