Ayomikun Ajayi
I feel her touch.
Smooth and warm like a slice of heaven. It felt just like this in January at the end of the Ouida Books Open Mic session. I left that event a joyous man. Stoked that Babatunde had forced me to accompany him even when he knew I’d find it boring. Because there, I met Ademidun. From the moment she set the microphone stand in place in front of her stool, everyone’s gaze stayed with her as she read through her short story. Her words didn’t register much in my brain, but something about her thin-framed eyeglasses drew me in. The nose pads of the obvious fashion accessory sat daintily on the tip of her nose as her lips worked the words. Her laser focus tailed the words on the phone she read from. Thankfully, her occasional glances at the audience were my windows of opportunity to take a mental note of her eyeballs.
White. Clear. And bold. A statement piece to crown her alluring person. The clear eyes enhanced the aesthetic of her subtly chiseled jaw, and it got me wondering what ingredients God used when cooking some of us. Her frame? Slender, yet regal. Her collar bones called for attention in a not-rough way. They gave her a tender yet sturdy feel. She’s absolutely not a weakling.
Seated on that slightly tall stool, whenever she looked up at the audience, her eyes told a tale - that she was there with us. That she was reading to us, and she saw us. On the final return of her gaze to the seated guests, her eyes met mine as she rounded up her reading. She saw me. And she smiled.
Warmth washed over me. My palms sweated with something perfect. The goddamned sweat glands in my armpit kicked into overdrive. The few seconds following our eye contact took me through worlds unknown. Worlds I'd gladly continue to dwell in every day of my life as long as she was there with me. Nothing was lost, but at that moment, I felt like I had found a missing piece of my life’s puzzle. Yes, I was gone. Proudly.
I hadn’t been paying attention since the program began with the guitar rendition by the guy who looked like a knock-off of Brad Pitt. I scrolled through the infinite nothingness of Twitter while jabbing Babatunde in queries about when the program would end. But from her first ‘Hello everyone’ into the microphone, life became beautiful. A few seconds after that life-giving smile of hers’, I checked the digital program card for her name.
Ademidun Adunni.
She adjusted her glasses with her knuckles, shifting the frame away from flirting with the tip of her nose onto a more solid base. All my life, there’s been no cuter sight to behold.
Looking back at that day, I don’t think I’ve ever had it that bad for any girl at first sight. And for someone who makes a living from capturing still images of models, I’ve seen a lot of breathtaking women. I guess I had been waiting for ‘the one,’ and I wouldn’t let the chance pass without at least letting her know my name.
Ademidun felt different. Ademidun feels different. Pure. Novel. And unbelievably soothing. Every second I had to wait to meet her felt like a lifetime, but at the same time, my feet were planted into the corner I lurked.
“What are you doing here?” Babatunde asked. “I thought you left. You did everything to let me know you didn’t enjoy the event.”
I really couldn’t focus on Babatunde; Ademidun mustn’t escape my sight. There was also no time to explain my situation because he wouldn’t understand. The name ‘Babatunde’ must mean ‘tone-deaf to girls’ and not ‘father has returned.’ At no point had he been interested in girls’ talk.
“I’m busy right now.”
“Staring at Ademidun?”
My mind shut out as my eyes dashed to his. How did he know? My eyes asked the question. I haven’t said anything.
“It’s been written all over your face ever since her session. And even when she was done, you’ve only spent 10 seconds not looking at her, and that was when they served item 7.”
I caught a hold of myself. Crushing on a celestial being isn’t a punishable offense, right?
“First, I must give the organizers their flowers; the doughnut had a great aroma. And since the woman serving was even in my sight, I had no choice but to take my eyes off that beauty. Do you know her?” my head gestured toward Ademidun, who was busy discussing her story with everyone that went her way.
I asked him a question, but I was soon zoned out. Not for the first time that afternoon.
Another fifteen minutes ticked by after Babatunde left. I waited aimlessly by the doorway, even prompting one of the organizers to ask if I was okay. Yes, I am, bro. I’m just waiting to tell this lady how good her writing is, despite not listening to any sentence from her reading. I wanted to know her, become her friend even, but I knew those words wouldn’t receive life from my mouth. Like everyone else, your writing is fantastic and has a tender feel to it, is what I’d say.
And that’s what I did.
“Really? What do you think about Kira’s portrayal of love?” Ademidun asked.
It was at that moment I knew I had fucked up. Who the hell was Kira? It must have been a character from the story I didn’t pay attention to. Busted!
“Alright. I’ve been capping. I didn’t understand a word you said while you read your story.” I saw the fleeting disappointment in her eyes. Shit. Not how I aimed to introduce myself to her. I needed to turn things around. “But everybody clapped, right? So, I figured your writing was pretty great ‘cos all those elderlies wouldn’t waste their clapping energy on this hot Sunday afternoon. Even if those grandpas probably didn’t understand what you said, they still clapped. It’s like a secret language only you and the universe share.”
Her lips quivered. There! I saw that laughter coming. Double down, Ayomikun.
“You should thank your star that all those men didn’t hound you for your phone number…like I’m about to do now.”
Her chuckle was music to my ears despite her best efforts to be modest about it.
“That was…pretty smooth, Mr…”
“Ayomikun. Ayomikun Ajayi. And please, murder the ‘mister.’ Ayomikun is fine.” If only she knew she was the only ‘reading’ I needed to do for what I hope will be the rest of my life.
I handed my phone to her.
“I hope you enjoyed the event?” She asked
“Of course. I enjoyed experiencing you.” I blurted out the words before my teeth could capture them. My eyes closed in pain. “I mean, I enjoyed experiencing the event. I also just became your number one fan.” But really. How did I become so smooth with recovering and getting conversations on the board? Glory! I used to pray for days like this.
“We’ll have to see about that.” her smile remained.
And yes, we’ve been ‘seeing’ about that. Chats. Calls. Texts. More calls. Longer calls.
So much fun up until the last day I can remember as I lay on this hospital bed. It was the first date she agreed to go on with me. Even though our first encounter was the smoothest of my life, getting her to ditch Microsoft Word for some hours with me on a Saturday evening was hectic work. It had been five weeks since the event, and even after I said I liked her, her “we need to know each other more” hadn’t changed. But that was a good sign, right? Hope.
Anyways, I finally got her to agree to a date. But damned fate had other plans.
My head aches as I try to remember why I rushed to push her out of that car’s path, only to end up being hit myself. My male ‘savior Instinct’? ‘Friendship’? ‘Love’? It had to be love.
It has to be love that she’s here beside me, too, right?
I feel her touch. I hear her voice. Ademidun.
My eyelids open timidly. Straining to stay wide. The darkness fades out as the dim hospital light floods my sight.
“You’re awake!” She squeals. Ecstatic enough for her to bury my face in her embrace. Are those cries I hear lining up under her words? “Thank you for not dying on me, Ayomi. Thank you for waking up.”
The doctor and nurses rush in. The quiet of the room disappears into thin air as they perform their checks on me. The doctor points what looks like a touch into my left eye, holding up the lid. Then, the right.
“He looks stable.” he declares.
“Thank God,” Ademidun’s voice quakes, looking guilty for why I’ve been bedridden for…
“How long have I been here?” I ask. With a little smile, to tell her it’s okay. My smile doesn’t work. She steps back to sit in tears.
“It’s been twenty-two days. Your parents have been taking shifts to stay with you, with your girlfriend.” The only male nurse says.
Girlfriend? I say to myself. The word has a nice ring to it. Girlfriend. Yes, I’ll love it if she becomes my girlfriend. I wait impatiently for the doctors to leave. They finally do.
“I’m so sorry, Ayomikun. I’m so sorry.” She breaks into more tears. “I shouldn’t have been chatting on the road. I shouldn’t have been crossing while using my phone. You died because of me. I was so scared.”
“I was dead?”
Ademidun spends the next two weeks beside me as I recover post-coma and go through rehab for my broken leg. I should be whole and back at my studio in one more week. My parents drop by every day, but all I look forward to is a rerun of my date with her. A taste of death certainly makes me appreciate every second of life more. And I can say the same for this meal of spaghetti.
“You know you didn’t have to stress yourself because I mentioned that I craved spag. I’d be home in a week.” I adjust my annoyingly short hospital pajamas.
Her phone dings. A hesitant look ensues on her face as though an anomaly has just occurred.
“Let me quickly get a drink for you downstairs. You need more than just water today.” Her smile seem forced.
Something is off. I follow her against the painful advice of my left knee. Ayomikun, you’ve had enough walks for today.
Down the hallway, Ademidun’s voice echoes from the stairs. She’s there, speaking with someone. The gentle male voice becomes clearer as I draw near.
“Ademi. I’m sorry I took too long to tell you how I feel about you. I was scared. Not scared of you. Scared of not giving you the love you deserve. I had too many things going on then.” the guy said softly.
“Is that why you’ve come here?” Some panic characterizes her voice. “So, do you now have fewer things going on?”
I wait for the guy’s response, my ear to the stairwell door. I smile at Nurse Tito as she walks by. There’s no problem, ma’am, I say with my eyes.
This doesn’t feel so good, but I can’t stop eavesdropping.
“You said you love me and would love to date me. I’m sorry I didn’t quickly realize how I feel about you. Yes, I love you too, and I want to date you. I don’t want to lose you to him because he got into an accident while saving you. I love you, Ademidun.”
A hot iron sears through my heart. My body and crutches drop to the ground with a loud clatter.
Is that the voice I know? Isn’t that the voice of my friend? Is that Babatunde?
______
See you next week for Episode 2.
Also, my sincere apologies for taking so long to write again. Life has been happening. I hope you forgive me enough to share this with your friends.
Wowwwww, I love that you were intentional with your choice of words. So gooood! Thank you for this beautiful story! You sabiiiii
Totally enjoyed reading this. I was hooked till the end. Thank you.
And please an update soon??