I knew the holiday was going to be difficult, I just didn’t know it would be this difficult.
My boyfriend and I had spent the final week of school complaining about the distance like two people who had just been informed that Nigeria and Ghana were now on different planets.
“We won’t see each other for weeks.”
“I’ll miss you.”
“What if you forget me?”
“Don’t make me laugh.”
“What if you meet somebody else?”
“Rekiya!”
“You never know.”
We had gone on and on, we had hugged for longer than necessary, we had promised to call, we had promised to video call and we had promised not to let distance change anything.
We went home and reality arrived, especially at my own end.
My dad is a good man, very good man. But he is also the kind of man who believes that a university student living under his roof should remember that university is not a holiday from discipline.
There are rules, there are expectations and there are questions.
Where are you going?
Who are you going with?
What time are you coming back?
Why are you wearing that?
Who is calling you?
Why are you smiling at your phone?
That last question is particularly dangerous, because sometimes the answer is: “My boyfriend.” But you don’t actually say that, at least not if you value your peace.
So my boyfriend and I adapted. We chatted, we video-called, we sent each other pictures and we complained about missing each other. Sometimes we would stay on video call doing absolutely nothing.
He would be studying and I would be lying on my bed with neither of us saying nothing for several minutes, and either of us asking “ Are you still there?” And the other answering “Yes.” That was enough. It was silly, but it was ours.
Then, one faithful afternoon, my dad went out and I was home alone. My boyfriend called as usually and we started chatting with freedom of being home alone. I was sitting comfortably on the sofa, laughing at something he had said, when the doorbell rang.
I stopped, “Wait.”
“What?”
“The doorbell.”
He laughed, “Maybe you have a package.”
“No.” I looked towards the door, “I am not expecting anything. I didn’t order anything recently.”
“Then go and check.”
I rolled my eyes, “Very helpful.”
The bell rang again so I got up. I walked towards the door and looked through the peephole and my brain stopped.
I blinked and looked again.
No.
It can’t be.
I opened the door and there he was, standing in all his glory.
My boyfriend.
He was with a small backpack and the biggest smile on his face. For several seconds, I just stared at him.
He laughed, “Are you going to invite me in?”
I couldn’t speak. He stepped forward and pulled me into his arms and that was when I finally reacted.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?”
He laughed into my hair, “Surprise!”
I hit his shoulder, “You!”
He hugged me tighter, “I missed you.”
“I missed you too!”
“Clearly.”
“Clearly!”
We were both laughing. I couldn’t believe it, he had actually come. He had planned everything without telling me. The same person who normally couldn’t keep a secret for more than two days had somehow managed to organise an entire surprise visit.
“How did you even get here?”
“That’s classified information.”
“Who helped you?”
“Classified.”
“Did you tell anybody?”
“No.”
I narrowed my eyes, “Are you sure?”
“Very.”
I pulled away and looked at him suspiciously, “You are lying.”
“I am offended.”
“You should be.”
He laughed. We went into the sitting room after closing the door behind him. For the next few minutes, it was just excitement. Questions, laughter, more questions.
How was the journey?
Was he tired?
How long was he staying?
Why didn’t he tell me?
How had he managed to surprise me?
He kept smiling like somebody who had just won an award.
“You should see your face,” he said.
“Stop laughing.”
“I wish I recorded it.”
“I would have killed you.”
“You love me.”
I tried not to smile and failed.
He leaned closer, “I really missed you.”
My smile softened, “I missed you too.”
And suddenly, all those phone calls and video calls didn’t seem like enough anymore. We hugged, kissed, smooched, nothing dramatic, just two young people who had been apart for weeks and were ridiculously happy to see each other again.
“I can’t believe you’re actually here,” I whispered.
“Neither can I.”
“You planned all this?”
“Of course.”
“Without telling me?”
“That is usually how surprises work.”
I laughed and he smiled at me.
“Come here.”
He pulled me back towards him and that was when my brain finally remembered something. Something extremely important, something I should have remembered approximately five minutes earlier.
I sat upright, “Wait.”
He looked confused, “What?”
“My dad.”
His smile disappeared slightly, “What about your dad?”
“He didn’t go to work today.”
He stared at me and I stared back at him.
“He took the day off.”
Silence.
“Why?”
I shrugged, “I don’t know. But he is out right now, he went to see his friend.”
Another silence.
“Where?”
“Somewhere around here.”
He looked towards the door which prompted me to also look towards the door. We both suddenly became very interested in the front door.
He nodded slowly, “So…he could come back at any time?”
“Exactly.”
He smiled, “Then maybe this is finally my opportunity to meet my future father-in-law.”
I stared at him, “Are you mad?”
He laughed, “Why?”
“Because you are sitting in my dad’s house!”
“Technically, I’m sitting in the sitting room.”
“That doesn’t make it better!”
He laughed harder, “Rekiya, relax.”
“Relax?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t know my dad.”
“That’s why I should meet him.”
I shook my head, “No.”
“Why?”
“Because this is not how you meet someone’s dad.”
“How should I meet him?”
“Not by surprising his daughter inside his house!”
He smiled, “I think it’s romantic.”
“I think it’s suicide.”
He laughed, then he pulled me towards him again.
“Okay, okay.”
“We need to stop laughing.”
“I agree.”
Neither of us stopped laughing. He looked around the sitting room and then looked at me.
“So…”
“No.”
“I haven’t even said anything.”
“I know you.”
“Take me upstairs.”
I stared at him, “Excuse me?”
“Show me your room.”
“No!”
“Why?”
“Because you need to leave.”
He laughed, “Rekiya.”
“I’m serious.”
“You want me to travel all the way here and leave without seeing your room?”
“Yes.”
He shook his head dramatically, “This is wrong on all levels.”
I laughed despite myself, “You are impossible.”
“Just five minutes.”
“No.”
“Three.”
“No.”
“One?”
“Leave.”
We both started laughing again, then he made the mistake of saying:
“Imagine your father comes home and sees me here.”
I covered my face, “Don’t even say it.”
He laughed, “Imagine.”
“He will kill me.”
“He won’t.”
“He will.”
“Then I’ll explain.”
“You’ll explain what?”
He shrugged, “That I came to see the woman I’m going to marry.”
I stared at him. For some reason, that made me smile.
“You’re so sure.”
“Very.”
“And who told you I’m marrying you?”
He looked offended, “You’ve been my girlfriend for how long?”
“That is not the question.”
“Then what is the question?”
“The question is whether you have actually asked me.”
He grinned, “Fine.” He straightened himself, “Rekiya…”
I immediately started laughing, “No! Don’t do it.”
“Will you marry me?”
“Stop!”
He laughed, “You said I should ask.”
“Not like this!”
We were laughing so loudly by then that neither of us noticed the sound outside.
He leaned closer, “One day, your father will have to accept me.”
I smiled, “Maybe.”
“Definitely.”
“Maybe.”
“And when that happens…” He paused, “…you’ll tell him you knew I was the one.”
I rolled my eyes, “Oh Please.”
He laughed. Then, with the reckless confidence of a young man, he said,
“Besides, if you somehow became pregnant now, your dad would have no choice but to accept me.”
I stared at him and burst out laughing, “You are so stupid!”
“I am just saying.”
“Stop!”
“Think about it.”
“I don’t want to think about it!”
We were both laughing so hard that my stomach hurt. We were still laughing that neither of us heard the front door opening nor footsteps.
Until… throat was cleared.
Our laughter stopped. My boyfriend and I froze. I slowly turned my head and my dad was standing few feet away from us.
His face was completely expressionless. He looked at me and then at the young man sitting beside me and back at me again. Nobody moved and nobody breathed.
My boyfriend slowly stood up while my dad looked at him.
“Rekiya…”
My heart dropped, “Yes, Daddy?”
He looked at the young man again, “Who is this?”
I opened my mouth and nothing came out. My boyfriend seeing my predicament tried helping and he opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
My dad nodded slowly, his eyes moved between the two of us.
“I am listening.”
And suddenly…I desperately wished I had never opened that door.