The Wedding Guest - II
This story is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, incidents and dialogues are a figment of my imagination - most definitely inspired by God, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organisations, persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This story was updated on 20 December 2019.
“But afterward the people will return and devote themselves to the Lord their God and to David’s descendant, their king. In the last days, they will tremble in awe of the Lord and of his goodness.” - Hosea 3:5 New Living Translation
Intro
While preaching to the couple and their guests he caught another glimpse of him. “Why is this guy’s face so familiar?” he asked within himself. He looked away and continued.
“And friends, family, our newlyweds, Mr & Mrs Adetide-Cole and to myself also, God’s love has saved us from things we could never save ourselves from. By the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, we have been called back to Him and we’re forgiven completely. Usually, at weddings, I like to give “advice” to the newlyweds and their guests, but our lovely couple insisted that I share a word on God’s forgiveness and saving grace, and I’m pleased that they insisted because I find myself refreshed by this word and I hope the same for you too. As I close, I want you to hear me well when I say this; God’s love is real. His love keeps no record of our wrongdoing - but we must believe this truth with our whole hearts and by trusting Him. Yes, there will be consequences for our actions, good or bad, and for the same reason a loving “earthly” parent would discipline a child, so God will do the same to us and righteously so. But fret not, because from this loving and all righteous discipline God reveals more of His loving self to us and we see ourselves the way He sees us. Amen.” He wiped his brow with an expensive handkerchief his wife had gifted him for his thirty-fifth birthday around this time last year; it was not the first time she had missed his birthday and bought what he called a ‘guilt gift’ for him.
“Amen.” the congregation responded.
He addressed the congregation again, this time indicating with his hands in a heavenward motion, “Kindly rise as we take a moment to meditate and pray about what we’ve heard this afternoon.” The congregation rose, some looking sober, others uninterested and some looking like they brought hunger as their plus one, but that did not bother Pastor O.H. what did bother him was the best man’s face and his constant fidgeting. “Where do I know this guy from? Where?”
The bridal party had danced out of the sanctuary with their families and friends after the prayer had ended and announcements were made. In true O.H. fashion, the tall even-skinned-ebony-toned Pastor hung around till everyone had left to pick up the “For Guests” black leather Bibles. The Bibles, a gift from Mr Felix Johnson, were embossed in the middle of the cover with “Holy Bible - On Mission Youth Church”. Mr Felix, his elderly mentor, had given O.H. instructions that the Bibles be given to guests who attended service at OM-YC without one and that they be allowed to take a copy as a gift if they wanted to. He paused in thought “did I remember to make the announcement about these Bibles?” He nodded back to himself in response “Yeah. I did.”
While pulling out the seventh Bible he had found, which was lodged between two seats, he opened the Bible to remove a copy of the wedding programme that had been left inside it. Doing so he remembered the best man again and turned the programme over to check for his name: Best Man: OLUWASEGUN ADETIDE-COLE. Pastor mouthed the words, he knew the Adetide-Cole family well but had never met this guy till today, yet Pastor O.H. felt like he knew him. Placing the one-sheet programme on top of the Bibles he had collected Pastor O.H. turned to make his way to the shelf where the Bibles belonged, as he did he heard God say, “Son. He was the last one.”
In shock, Pastor O.H.’s hands became lifeless causing the gifted Bibles to fall on the ground.
Oluwasegun
Meaning: God is Victorious
Still tall, dark and handsome, Oluwasegun Adetide-Cole was surprised that he had filled out his suit pretty well - he attributed his necessary weight gain to all the good organic food Lagos had offered him this past week from the visits to various “Mama Put” for Amala to Ogi and Akara or Yam and Egg as options for breakfast, thanks to the chefs at Grandma AC’s house and do not forget the grilled to perfection night time Suya as a midnight snack. He smiled at himself while fixing his bowtie when he remembered Adeiye’s comment the day he arrived at Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
“SEGUN!” Adeiye exclaimed. “Where’s the rest of you? You look malnourished! I hope there isn’t any famine in the abroad oh? Chai!” Adeiye asked in wonder while turning Segun around to take mental measurements of how much the tailor would have to take in on Segun’s suit.
Adeiye Adetide-Cole was Segun’s cousin and the only reason why Segun was in Lagos. Adeiye was getting married and he was Adeiye’s best man. Segun had wrestled with the idea of being Adeiye’s best man. Yes, they were family and yes, Adeiye was the brother he never had (people often called them twins because they looked so much alike), but the thought of being a best man again and having to attend a wedding was far from the list of things he wished to accomplish this year. After last year’s fiasco at Chidi’s wedding, Segun had not attended another wedding since and there were many. He had found that “work travel” was the best excuse to not attend the weddings he was invited to. Even hearing the word “wedding” often made him anxious causing his palms to moisten. In days leading to this trip, Segun had become even more anxious and tempted to not show up at all, but he could not do that. Not to Adeiye. Adeiye had really been there for him the past year, despite the geographical distance Adeiye was his voice of reason, his banter partner and encourager in the faith, especially on his darkest days, so it was only right that he be the best best man he could possibly be. If only his right leg could stop twitching and his palms could stop sweating, maybe, just maybe the real Oluwasegun could show up for Adeiye.
“Bro!” Adeiye called Segun interrupting his thoughts. “How long will it take you to tie your bowtie because I can see you’re feeling yourself?” Segun laughed in response, thankful for the interruption.
“The brother eventually smiles! Praise be to God!” Adeiye teased walking up to Segun to help him adjust his bow tie. “You’ve hardly smiled or laughed the whole time you’ve been here you know? Maybe it’s a sign that today will go even better than I anticipate.” Segun wanted to get a word in, but Adeiye continued as he usually did when he was excited, “I just want to let you know that I really appreciate you being here today, I know it took a lot for you to come to my wedding. And for that, I sincerely pray that as you’ve set aside your fears to honour me, so God will honour you by opening your heart to receive the peace of mind only He provides. Thank you, brother! Adeiye then embraced him which touched Segun because his cousin’s prayer, had been the prayer he had been praying for himself.
After their bro moment, Adeiye turned to attend to the other groomsmen while Segun stood staring at himself in the full-length mirror again. He closed his eyes and quoted Philippians four verse six and seven, the scripture he had kept to memory for anxious days like these. He whispered “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” He whispered it enough times before feeling calm again.
The doorbell of the hotel room rang, Segun jumped a little before checking his watch for the time, it was eleven o’clock “must be the photographer,” he thought. Being the closest to the door he opened it and welcomed the photographer and wedding planner into room 777.
**
“Amen!” the four groomsmen and groom shouted to end their prayer just as another picture was taken. The photographer, Williamson, was famous for two things - his white alligator skinned shoes that pointed upwards at the tip, which he had on and his photography skills. Williamson took amazing shots of the men as they huddled up to form a circle to pray, he took the shot as they prayed and more once they had finished. Williamson was Adeiye’s pick for a photographer because he liked how Williamson effortlessly caught natural reactions; his skill was second to none.
“All of you look like models in these photos,” the mature Williamson grinned while reviewing his work on the camera screen. The men laughed, with Dayo, one of the groomsmen, adding, “With all the beard oil some people have used today. Ah! We better look like models because of Amo’ shine!” All the guys looked at Dayo and burst out in laughter when he made reference to Nollywood star Charles Okocha’s viral video, even Segun could not help himself.
Before Williamson left the men to photograph the bride and her bridesmaids Adeiye asked him to capture the next moment.
“Firstly, I love you guys very much, you’re my real brothers and this here is a small token of my appreciation to you all. I just want to thank you for standing by me and for celebrating with Tara and I and I hope this gift serves as a reminder of this day and I pray that we will continue to celebrate each other. Here you go.” Adeiye motioned towards each groomsmen handing them a purple velvet pouch that contained personalised whiskey hip flasks that had been filled. Dayo and the others were pleased with their gifts, while Segun seemed uneasy, he had not touched alcohol in a year and Adeiye knew this. Noticing that Segun seemed unsettled, Adeiye quickly added a disclaimer with a huge smile “There’s no whiskey in it oh! I had it filled with communion wine, so that with each sip you’ll remember the blood of Christ and that you also have responsibilities today, so don’t get carried away.” Everyone but Segun found this funny.
Wuralewa
Meaning: Gold Beauty
“Hi, you must be Williamson, the photographer? Do come in.” Wuralewa welcomed, offering Williamson a beaming smile. “Tara will be ready in a bit, the rest of us are ready though.”
Wuralewa was a petite, deep-brown and full-figured UK size twelve babe, who carried herself with so much grace, and not because it was her best friend’s wedding day, but because she had always carried herself well. Her mother encouraged “lady-like” behaviour, no slouching, and no elbows on the table and so on since she was young. Wuralewa’s smile had God’s signature on it, if one looked close enough they would find it in the form of a beauty spot on the left side of her top lip. Her sunken dimples appeared each time she smiled, which was all the time! She was always smiling or laughing, those closest to her rarely ever saw her lose her cool unless during a trip to a market when her haggling stance was in full effect, only after her price had been agreed on is when she would offer her golden smile to the merchant.
As Maid of Honour or as “Chief Bridesmaid” as mentioned on the wedding programme, she wore a fitted floor-length Orchid-purple silk gown with a lace illusion neckline, designed by Nigerian designer Lillian of Lilies Fashion House. It was Tara’s decision that all dresses and outfits for the wedding, be made by Nigerian designers and fashion brands as she was an avid supporter of the Buy Nigerian and Made In Nigeria commerce movements. Each of the four bridesmaids wore similar dresses in different shades of purple to match with the wedding colour scheme Adeiye and Tara had chosen, Purple and Coral. Wuralewa had not been sure about the colour scheme initially, till the night before when they had the rehearsal dinner and visited the reception hall. It was the most beautiful wedding decor set up she had ever seen and it was not even finished.
“Tara, love. Williamson is here to take our photos, I’ll let him take us first then he can take pictures of you with the finishing touches.” She smiled at Taraoluwa, “girl, you look so beautiful.”
Taraoluwa and Wuralewa had been friends since primary school, they went to secondary school together and both studied in the UK at Kingston University. They both decided to come back to Lagos (Taraoluwa returning before Wuralewa did) and both found great jobs; Taraoluwa as a Business Advisor & Consultant and Wuralewa as a Clinical & Occupational Psychologist. Their jobs were trying at times, but they spurred each other on in prayer, good gist and enough night outs to suppress their doubts about their return to Nigeria.
Williamson had finished with the ladies and left the room and Taraoluwa was so pleased to see her girls looking amazing beside her, all of them will now be married women with the exception of Wuralewa. Taraoluwa hugged each of her friends, Bola, Sharon, Ope and other cousins who had been in the room; after thanking them she asked if everyone could join her mother and aunts in the other room except Wuralewa.
“Is everything ok?” Wuralewa asked, still smiling although her eyes seemed worried.
“Wura, everything is more than ok! It’s perfect. I just wanted to have this moment with you to say thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me, especially for this wedding. If it was money I needed, I received a bank alert from you. If it was your suggestion I required, you gave it thoughtfully. If I needed to rant, you allowed me to! You did all this and more without complaining and even encouraged me throughout this process. Thank you so much for being an amazing sister-friend. I thank God for you, and I ask that as He has used you to bless me, that He will use me to bless you when such a time like this comes for you.”
Wuralewa frowned a little bit at the last statement. “But Tara. You’ve been a blessing to me already. As for this wedding talk on my behalf, you already know where I stand, right now; I’m good where I am. Girl, today is your day, so please, let’s just focus on that.” With all her smiles, Wuralewa was also a very frank person especially when it came to her relationship status.
Taraoluwa laughed, “Babe, relax. I’m just praying for the future. I don’t deny that the gift of singleness is good for you and it’s clear you’re doing well, I’m just praying ahead of the time, that’s all.” She hugged Wuralewa to appease her and then made a joke when separating their embrace, “Hmmm. Normal people will say “Amen” to such prayers and you are here frowning your face, you better smile oh! ‘Aunty smile-for-me-24-7!’” They both laughed when Taraoluwa brought up Wuralewa’s secondary school nickname.
The Wedding Ceremony
Adeiye & Taraoluwa (Tara)
Meaning: Crown of Salvation & From God’s Own Body
There she was a vision of priceless beauty.
There he was, the most handsome man in the room.
Their eyes met as she walked down the aisle.
A tear, he held back, only to release it.
Tears of joy had a new meaning. Joy walked towards him in the form of Taraoluwa.
She approached joy, joy in the form of Adeiye.
She wanted to walk faster to examine the joy she would call her own. But she would wait a few more “1-2-3-step” if it meant examining him for a lifetime.
He wanted to run towards her, for her steps were counted and paced. But he would wait another few seconds if it meant beholding her walk for a lifetime.
Her King.
Hair and beard neatly groomed like a man of great importance. He was important to her. He was dressed in the finest cloth made by Nigerian hands. He wore a slim-fitted bespoke three-piece black suit by designer Lan Ray that emphasised every angle he had, from his broad back to his long athletic arms. Everything about him was chiselled so well you would think God used an Oxford Maths set to design him. She saw his arms again, arms that will forever embrace her. His blazer was accented with a coral fabric flower lapel pin, a silk coral pocket square and on his feet, socks to match. Her smile showed up like an unexpected guest when she spotted the socks in his black patent leather penny loafers, but she was quick to refocus her gaze on his eyes. “My Bride I await you” is what his eyes said.
His Queen.
Her hair pulled back into the sleekest of buns, only serving the purpose to show off her beautiful face and caramel complexion. Her make-up was so natural that it had him question whether she even had makeup on. It was a testament to her natural beauty, than the craftsmanship of the make-up artist. For earrings, she had on the rare bi-colour Tanzanite diamond studs, which he gifted her the night before. With a bouquet of white roses in her hand and in the glory of her off-shoulder A-line Princess dress, she entered as if arriving at her coronation. The colour of the silk dress was the purest white ever seen. It was almost blinding and at the same time a necessary sight to behold (preferably with sunglasses). It was so simple and plain but at the same time luxurious. To accentuate the ways in which God had blessed her, a braided pastel coloured sash-belt sat on the lower part of her torso. Taraoluwa with no colour on her clothing was unheard of; a pop of colour was her thing. The sash-belt enhanced with Swarovski Crystals that reflected off the light was made from satin silk pieces in lilac, coral and an orange piece that was tied at the back of the dress. During the reception, with him standing with her, guests would ask her why she added the coloured sash-belt, she would respond so eloquently “a three-strand cord is not easily broken. The purple represents me, the coral piece represents my darling husband and the orange piece represent Christ. Don’t you love how that piece is in the centre?”
But first Adeiye needed to receive her from her father, promise her “I do”, place a second ring on her finger, hear her being renamed “Mrs Adetide-Cole”, before anointing her with a kiss filled with faith, hope and love.
**
“This is the day of joy, the day of joy, the day of jooooyyy! This is the day of joy, the day of joy, the day of joy.” Sister Sheila belted out the familiar African chorus with the choir as Adeiye and Taraoluwa headed out towards the sanctuary doors with family and friends in tow. Maybe it was all the pushing and mini rush to leave that made Segun feel a little “tight” and unsettled, but he had a sickening familiar feeling that he was being watched. He looked to the left of him and to his right, nothing out of the ordinary, except that one Aunty holding up her iPad to take pictures of everyone leaving. “No. Someone is watching me.” He uttered silently to himself. He bravely turned back, and it was Pastor O.H. looking at him, looking at him as if he owed money. The intensity in Pastor O.H.’s eyes had Segun feel like he was being exposed. For what? Segun pushed through the crowd a little to catch up with Adeiye and his new wife, with Dayo and the others trailing behind.
Nudging Dayo, Segun asked, “What’s with your Pastor? He’s a bit intense don’t you think?”
“Aye!! Pastor O.H. be my guy!!” Dayo said, jumping up and down saluting an invisible Pastor O.H. like an area boy. “He is legit!” Dayo said waving his hands, “In fact, him sabi Bible well-well! He go use English Bible and translate am to Greek, then once he now finish for the Greek he go add Hebrew on top and will follow with one local adage, be it Yoruba, be it Igbo, he sha add am for effect. He said he do am like that so The Word go enter-enter our ears!” Dayo excitedly explained crisscrossing his index fingers over each other to emphasise Pastor O.H.’s ability to define words in these languages. “He de make sense oh! Pastor O.H.!” Dayo continued saluting again.
Not finding the answer he was looking for, Segun shook his head at Dayo asking himself “why did I even bother?”
The Wedding Reception
The atmosphere of the reception hall was infectiously electrifying! There were approximately five hundred guests from all over the world who had made it to Lagos just for the newlyweds. Friends of the bride, friends of the groom, friends to their parents and endless family members. Nearly every guest honoured the dress code “Strictly Traditional - Prints and Styles, Colours: Any shade of Purple or Coral” as mentioned on the invitation, and of course attendance was by invite only (security at the door made sure of this). Those fortunate enough to be extremely close with the families of Adeiye and Taraoluwa were decked out in Aso Ebi made of the best see-through French lace in a nice toffee brown colour, that offset all the purple and coral being worn by others. When picking the lace material Taraoluwa’s Mother had given instruction to the fabric merchant “You see Mama Kofo, I know you are the best fabric merchant in Lagos, but for my daughter oh, you are going to have to be the best fabric merchant in the World. Nothing short of elegant and luxurious. Oh, you don’t know? One Adetide-Cole is marrying my daughter and we have to show them.” Taraoluwa had shaken her head at her mother many times during their Aso Ebi search, “surely it shouldn’t be this stressful to find material?” but she let her mother be for her own peace of mind. When she had set her eyes on her guests earlier at church, she admitted to herself, “Mum and Mama Kofo came through!”
Colour everywhere, a wedding reception that burst at the seams it was so vibrant and full of love, a prayer that had been answered.
Chidi & Morayo
Meaning: God Exists & I See Joy
Hashtag couple goals would be found in the comments section of their Instagram page and YouTube channel, Chidi and Morayo Igwe (#4evaMoChi) - latest and hottest Nigerian it-couple on social media had just made it to the reception. They missed the wedding ceremony as they were guest speakers discussing “Our First Year” at a relationship seminar in the afternoon, but when they did enter, everyone they walked past noticed. To describe them to others, their fans called them the real-life Nigerian Barbie and Ken because they were so well put together. Not a strand of hair out of place, not a piece of lint could be found on their person. They were really the ‘ish and they basked in their popularity and took up the opportunities that came from it.
“Oh my gosh, Chidi! This venue is amazing! Makes me want to get married again! Look at the acrylic throne seats! I just loooove!” Morayo’s English accent was most prominent and high pitched when she was excited about something, some found it annoying because she was often excited, but Chidi loved it about her.
The African music blared out of the speakers as they walked in through the tent-like venue almost on beat to the music. To each other Chidi and Morayo pointed out things they noticed like the warm-white uplighting against the walls, which made the venue seem nice and cosy a nice touch of course. Chidi pointed out to Morayo that the floral arrangement of white and pale coral roses used as centrepieces resembled what they had at their wedding last year - unimposing and elegant so guests could see each other and the stage clearly. All fifty large round tables were draped in white linen table cloths and the ten acrylic seats on each table were fitted with purple cushions matching the throne seats reserved for Adeiye and Taraoluwa. Warm-white icicle lights were used to decorate the wall behind the throne seats and were also used to decorate the ceiling; everything about the wedding decor was simply elegant and bright.
Chidi and Morayo walked further into the venue to find their table when they noticed Segun ahead sitting two tables from the dance floor. “Dima, that’s Segun right?” Morayo asked Chidi.
“Yeah. That’s him.” Chidi tensed slightly. He had not seen or heard from his best friend much since his wedding last year. He recalled that the three out of four times they met, it was by accident on the tube and even then Segun had seemed off. Chidi knew that seeing his best friend was inevitable, so rather than prolong what was bound to happen he suggested to Morayo that they go and sit with Segun. “He’s the only one on his table and at this point of the reception I don’t think the seating arrangement is in use anymore.” Morayo agreed not before asking, “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m sure. Trust me.” Chidi brought his wife’s left hand to his lips and kissed her ring finger, it was his way of saying “thank you for looking out for me.”
“Are these seats taken?” is what Segun heard. The familiar voice called him out of a pondering session just in time before a panic attack came. He welcomed the voice. Looking up at who was talking to him he was surprised to see Chidi and Morayo. He had not spoken to them in a while and it was his fault for that, he knowingly kept a distance from them because of the memories he was afraid that being around them would trigger, so it surprised him when he did not feel “uncomfortable” seeing them now, instead, he felt a sense of peace and relieved that his right leg stopped twitching.
“Erm. No. These seats aren’t taken. Everyone is on the dance floor.” He stammered back and pointed to the packed dance floor. Everyone was having so much fun from the looks of things, especially Adeiye and Taraoluwa. Before entering the wedding reception, Adeiye had pulled Segun aside and told him to get it together and to stop thinking about “The Incident”. For Segun, his way of getting it together was sitting out the cardio workout called dancing; now had the old Segun been around, he would have been on the dance floor owning everyone with his moves.
“Long time Segun. How have you been?” Morayo asked with a little coldness in her voice as they sat down. She was ready to defend and protect her husband that’s for sure. Chidi had really been upset about how things were with Segun and worried about him too and she was not going to let that happen again. Chidi knowing exactly what was going through Morayo’s mind softly patted her hand when her grip on his arm began to intensify.
“Honey. You know what, I’m hungry. Could you prepare me a plate please?” Chidi whispered to Morayo, thanking God that the buffet area was far down the hall, that way he would have some time to speak to Segun without having Morayo ready to tell Segun a few things about himself. From the looks of things, Segun already knew exactly what he did. Morayo sighed understanding exactly, as she stood up she stared at Segun daring him. Still looking at Segun as she rose, she tugged on her tight aso ebi dress, adjusted her gele, rolled her eyes, kissed her teeth and then turned to her husband smiling “Dima, pounded yam or jollof?” “Pounded yam please,” Chidi smirked and shook his head. His wife could defend better than some Premier League Football Clubs. She warned Segun one last time with her eyes, before strutting away to prepare her husband’s meal.
“Sorry about that bro!” Chidi laughed, “she is just looking out for me that’s all.”
Chidi was grateful for the moment, grateful that the evening was off-limits for vlogging as per Adeiye’s request and grateful that Morayo was taking her time on purpose to allow him to catch up with his friend. Segun apologised countless times for the way had been acting and even disclosed why and what had happened at his wedding last year. Chidi never did get the full story; surprisingly for Chidi, he did not know the girl from Segun’s “The Incident” story, as Segun called it. Segun was fidgety the whole time he recounted the story to him, he had never seen Segun like this. Chidi said a prayer for his friend in his heart because it was clear something was up and made a mental note to ask his wife about this friend of hers that Segun spoke of.
“So you guys are like superstars now.” Segun joked, wanting to change the topic.
“Something like that,” Chidi said smirking with his head down. “Well, it’s all great fun at times, but we’ve noticed that we put so much out there about us in such a short space of time. It really is another full-time job, keeping up appearances and always smiling for people you don’t know because a frown might affect our brand. It’s just a lot to have embarked on as newlyweds with little focus on why we wanted to do this,” he sighed with relief “so we’ve decided to actually give it all a break and just get back to us and importantly God because it’s been a while. Maybe we’ll actually figure out what we really want to do. Bro, if you’re not strong-hearted, putting yourself out there for the world to see, praise and critique will eventually become too much to handle and thank Jesus that we haven’t hit that point. That’s why we’re taking the break so we don’t ever get to that point, by God’s grace. In this past year alone we’ve met many couples doing what we do all for money and not for anything else, it’s sad. I don’t want to make money from my life only to have no life.”
“I feel you brother and God willing the break will benefit you both. But before you take this break, please cut me my cheque because I saw myself in the wedding trailer you guys posted.” Segun joked wiping his hands repeatedly on his knees.
“Ha! You got jokes!” Chidi said looking concerned as he watched Segun’s repetitive behaviour.
One would think Morayo had been listening to their conversation the whole time because she appeared with two plates of pounded yam and all its trimmings just as they finished talking.
“Dima. Here’s your food.” She placed a plate before her husband and the other for her before looking at Segun and with her nose turned upwards she nodded slightly acknowledging Segun, if Chidi forgave Segun, she did too.
As they ate and gisted with each other, Morayo looked up to see if she noticed any of their other friends who were invited. Mid bite into her food she noticed her old friend Oluwakunmi. “Dima. That’s my friend Kunmi over there. Do you remember her? She was out our wedding.”
Both Chidi and Segun looked in the direction where Morayo’s eyes were fixed on and instantly Chidi put two and two together when he noticed that Segun seemed frozen. Segun was officially reliving the very nightmare he prayed so hard against.
Oluwakunmi
Meaning: God Fills Me
I’M ON MY WAY. JUST STUCK IN TRAFFIC ON THIRD MAINLAND BRIDGE. LOVE YOU. ❤She nervously clicked send on the WhatsApp message to her husband, “Love You,” she repeated to herself at the back of the Uber taking her to the wedding reception.
“Ma! You say?” the Uber driver asked.
“Oh nothing, nothing, I was just thinking out loud.” She replied back with a smile that appeared like a worn and frayed carpet. She could not smile; she had not smiled in a while. The Uber driver looking at her with his rear-view mirror just nodded in response, after all his only aim was to drop her off at her destination and not become her shoulder to cry on, because she did look like she was going to cry.
“Ma! Rate me five stars oh, I need the rating. Thank you, Ma. God Bless you Ma.” The Uber driver shouted to Kunmi like a rehearsed chorus, and she definitely did not like being called “Ma!” as young as she was, granted she had four children already, but she was not a “Ma!” not one bit! She gave him four and a half stars for the “Ma” reference.
Her willingness to remain thinking about her Uber experience was her way of getting her mind off her current realities, and how unloved she felt by her husband; had she thought about her truth in depth she would have been tempted to call her Ma-Uber driver back, but she was here now, hopefully, her husband would see the effort she made today. “Hopefully this dress isn’t too tight or revealing?” she mumbled to herself as she smoothed it out, looking at her reflection in one of the large French windows of the venue. One last thing before she walked in.
His phone vibrated twice to alert him of the WhatsApp messages he just received from Oluwakunmi, his wife. Trying to open the messages to read them Rotimi, the extremely eager drummer from the choir called out to him “Pastor O.H.! Let’s take a selfie. You’re the only one that I haven’t taken a picture with today.” Rotimi not waiting for Pastor O.H.’s consent for a photo had already stretched his basketball player arms in the air to take the picture, Pastor O.H. could not back away now. Thankfully Rotimi was happy with the picture taken and bounced off when he spotted his new friend Sophie, Tara’s cousin from London. Pastor O.H. shook his head smiling because Rotimi’s character reminded him so much of his four children, they always had so much energy. Mid-thought he remembered his wife; he looked up searching for her through the crowd of wedding guests and saw her standing by the entrance of the hall. He saw her and she was stunning! Everything about her was just stunning.
He stood staring at her for a few seconds as her eyes darted across the room to find him, in those seconds he took inventory of his wife. Her hair was braided in cane-rows with the ends wrapped to form a bun that rested on her nape, some braids were chunky and every other braid was thin, she had said to him once that it was the new style and that she was thinking of getting it done for the wedding. He did not care then, but seeing her tonight, he saw her beauty for the first time in a long time. Her make-up was light and natural and she wore matching silver earrings and a pendant set. His eyes surveyed her some more, from her pastel-peach coloured adire midi-dress to her matching pumps and clutch bag, when he noticed the bag, he noticed her wedding ring too “Oh she found it then?” he thought. His survey was now over as past memories slowly crept into his mind as he approached her. Maybe he had taken his eyes off her for too long while pondering about his wife’s wedding ring, but looking up to her face again he saw that she was no longer searching for him and that her eyes were fixed on Segun.
“Oh no, no, no, no.” She muttered to herself, like the maid from the film Get Out.
“God why? Why is he here? Why LORD? The first wedding my husband willingly invites me to as his guest and this loser from last year is who I see.”
Her ‘almost’ tears from her Uber ride were now knocking on her tear ducts for release. She would not allow them to fall. She had cried enough guilt and repentant tears to last her a lifetime. “I must find O.H.” She broke her gaze with Segun and turned her head to see her husband standing right in front of her looking fed up.
“Who’s that she’s taking too?” Chidi asked Morayo not wanting to give too much away to his wife since Segun had gone mute and looked like a deer staring at the headlights of an approaching car.
“That’s her husband. Everyone calls him O.H. He’s a Pastor you know? Strange fit for a couple, because if I tell you about Kunmi! Hmmm! That girl back in the day was…” Morayo was ready to give a history lesson but was interrupted when Segun abruptly dismissed himself from their table.
“I think I’m going to be sick!” With one hand clutching his torso and the other hand over his mouth, he ran out towards the venue door needing air.
Pastor O.H. pulled his wife away from the entrance area to one of the empty tables nearby, he really wanted to hug her there and then and tell her “I really forgive you”, but seeing her stare at Segun brought back the feelings of heartbreak all over again.
Not knowing what to say or do, Kunmi closed the gap between herself and her husband and said, “I’m so sorry O.H.” He could not hear her well over the music that was playing but he knew exactly what she had said and he felt convicted, immediately hearing God softly say “Forgive her because I did.” Just about when he wanted to utter words of forgiveness and reassurance to his wife, Segun ran past both of them.
Confronting Fears
“Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.”
Ephesians 3:19 – Easy-to-Read Version
“When will I wake up?” Segun repeated over and over to himself as he found himself outside. “She’s a Pastor’s wife?” he questioned. He found a plastic white seat reserved for the security team and sat on it, his head was down and his hands were on his head with his fingers interlocked, rocking back and forth, feeling as if he was drowning. He could not breathe. “Why me? Jesus why me? I’ve apologised, I’ve changed.” He continued rocking and questioning God.
“Here. Take this, it will make you feel better.”
Segun lifted his head slightly to see a bottle of cold water almost being shoved in his face. He had taken the water first, before looking at who offered it, then he realised that he only knew the voice from the wedding ceremony. It was Pastor O.H. Segun who rebuked himself for not seeing who offered him the water before taking it, now he was hesitant to open the water.
Pastor O.H. maintained an emotionless expression watching Segun debate within himself if the water was safe. “Listen,” Pastor O.H. started, “You need to drink water, you don’t look too good. The water is fine. Drink up.” Pastor O.H. gave the instruction in such a stern-fatherly way that Segun had to do as he was told. He consumed the water like a Dyson vacuum cleaner avoiding eye contact with the Pastor.
“Thank you. I… needed that.” Segun said sheepishly.
Staring ahead at the venue hall, Pastor O.H. nodded, and then started, “I know who you are. God told me exactly who you were shortly after you all left church today.” Pastor O.H. paused to let his words sink in for Segun and to actually hear what God was instructing him to tell Segun. Pastor O.H. had forgiven his wife as per instruction, now he was sitting with Segun, as per instruction, apparently, God was in a very instructive mood this evening, and vessel of choice was Pastor O.H. He told Segun that he just had a feeling that he knew him from somewhere even though they had never met.
“I’ve always loved her, you know, and I’ve always taken her back each time and I even accepted our second-born as my own. It’s been crazy being married to her! Seven years! A whole seven years of marriage, most of which I’ve spent praying for her safety and that God would change her. And then you happened last year.”
Segun shifted his eyes to avert Pastor O.H.’s eyes when he eventually turned to look at him.
“Segun, I don’t know the kind of people you have in your corner, but you really do have a multitude of people praying for you. I’m sure Kunmi told you that I was away for a church event when she met you? That was a lie that was her go-to lie. It was actually my birthday that day and I had called her to talk to her and the whole thing turned into an argument. When she dropped the phone, I decided that I wasn’t taking her back anymore. When she came back home I was ready to throw her out, and then I saw real fear in her eyes and she started confessing everything she had done and kept asking forgiveness. Once I got over the initial shock of her change in behaviour, we sat and we spoke, she said the craziest thing - she said that you talk in your sleep, imagine hearing that as her husband - but yeah, she said you talk in your sleep, on the hour every hour you were in her room you’d mumble some words and end whatever you were saying with “Jesus. Amen”. She tried waking you up but you wouldn’t budge, and the more you kept at it, the more she became afraid, that’s why she left you in her room that night and took the next flight home.”
Segun sat stunned at what he was being told. Before “The Incident” last year he rarely prayed when he was awake how was it possible that he was maybe praying in his sleep after a rendezvous with a married woman, a Pastor’s wife, who he did not even know. He did not want to believe it.
Pastor O.H. sensing Segun’s confusion carried on, “I’ve told you what I wanted to tell you, but now listen to what God wants to tell you Oluwasegun Adetide-Cole. God has been nudging me to tell you that He loves you deeply. Such depths of love cannot be measured or quantified. He says to you have peace that surpasses all human understanding and eternal joy. He says He will help you live out your name Oluwasegun - ‘God is Victorious,’ because He really has been. He has saved you from so much and blessed you with even much more.” Pastor O.H. paused to tell if he really heard God correctly on the last message to Segun. “Erm, He… He also says, your doctor was right with the diagnosis, and that you should take his advice about getting a therapist for your condition He wants you to be sound in mind, spirit, soul and body. The LORD says be anxious about nothing.”
By this time Segun eyes were red with disobedient tears falling on both sides of his face, each time he wiped his face the tears came back with full force. Pastor O.H. placed his arm over Segun in a way that made them look like an old school B-Boy crew, except in suits. With each heave, Segun released, Pastor O.H.’s arm would move in a choreographed-like unison. Pastor O.H. really felt for Segun and silently prayed for him.
When Segun had calmed down, Pastor O.H. turned to Segun telling him, “If God holds nothing against you, neither do I.” A fresh wave of tears were on the brim of spilling over again, this time Segun successfully held them back.
“Thank you so much. You’re a better man than I am, that’s for real.” Segun sniffed.
Pastor O.H. let out a faint chuckle, “Trust me. If it literally wasn’t for God, I would not be here right now. I would have probably come out to spew a few choice words at you, but you see, the way My God is set up, I can’t get away with that. God has been really teaching me about His love and forgiveness through my own personal experiences and then He has me preach every other Sunday on the same topic. I can’t escape God’s, redemptive love.”
Segun admired how sure Pastor O.H. was of God and liked the fact that Pastor O.H. was honest enough to tell him what he really felt. Segun did have one nudging question to ask Pastor O.H., “Thank you for being honest with me and thank you for praying for me. I have a slightly off-topic question to ask though,” he sniffed again and laughed faintly, “what does O.H. stand for?”
Pastor O.H. did not seem surprised by Segun’s question, God had already told him to prepare to tell someone new his name, now it all made sense. “My name,” he smiled, “my name is not as off-topic as you think it is. O.H. stands for Oluwaranmipada Hosea. You can understand why saying ‘O.H.’ is less time-consuming? My first name means ‘The LORD Has Called Me Back’ and my surname, Hosea, means ‘Salvation.’”
Brand New
Chidi had come out to check on Segun after a while, he had seen Kunmi’s husband run after Segun but felt God tell him not to follow behind not even when Morayo, was pressing him to check on his friend. Ahead of him, Chidi saw the two men talking in what looked like a sobering moment, it was clear that whatever they were discussing was necessary.
**
The African music coming from the hall got louder as Segun followed Chidi to head back inside leaving Pastor O.H. behind. On their way back in they brushed past a few guests leaving for the night, one of the guests in the crowd was Kunmi. In their brief crossing of paths Segun could see the change that her husband spoke of, her demeanour now seemed humble. They purposely avoided eye contact with each other as she rushed out to see her husband. Chidi turned to Segun and gave him an all-knowing look that translated, as “everything will be fine.”
After such an intense thirty minutes both physically and emotionally, Segun decided that sitting down in a less rowdy part of the hall would be the wisest thing to do especially now that the REE Cosmetics exclusive range was being distributed as one of the many wedding favours for guests. Poor hostesses, guests had gathered around them like bees on a hive. Segun shook his head at the sight, sitting away from that would give him time to take in everything that had transpired. He watched on ahead looking at the guests and prayed prayers of thanksgiving, slowly drifting into his own world. He had travelled so far on that he had not noticed when Wuralewa had come to sit by him at his table.
“Segun, ah ah! How many times do people have to call your name?” Wuralewa asked with a beaming smile. Her Maid of Honour duties were finally done and she successfully got her hands on the lip balm set she wanted so she decided to have a seat and rest her tired feet. She was removing her heels when she saw Segun sitting alone and thought it would be the best time to finally talk to him. She had been meaning to do so all week, especially now that she figured out that Segun was the “friend” Adeiye came to seek medical advice on three months ago.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t hear you, I was in my own world.” He flashed a smile back at her. There was something so warm about her and that was not the first time he thought so.
“Are you ok?” She asked genuinely.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Well, I’m getting almost good.” He smiled a sad-happy smile.
“That’s great to hear Segun. I’m glad.” She looked hesitant for a second like she wanted to say more but was afraid to.
“Out with it already.” Segun teased, wanting to make her feel comfortable.
“Well, this might seem a bit forward, but I’ve been watching you these past few days.” She started just before Segun stopped her.
Oh no! He was not falling for this again, “Listen. Wura. I’ll just be honest with you. Right now I’m not interested in relationsh…”
Wuralewa tilted her head to the side because she was genuinely confused by what Segun was implying and began laughing before he could finish his sentence.
“See this one oh! You’re brave sha! So because of fit-fam, shape up, this small beard and your two dimples...” she didn’t finish her sentence but started a new one instead. “See ehn, the jokes on you because that’s not what I was going to bring up.” Segun immediately felt embarrassed.
“Anyway like I was saying before you interrupted me, I’ve been watching you these past few days that we’ve all hung out and I wanted to ask if you’ve seen a doctor yet?” Seeing Segun’s perplexed face she carried on to offer her reasons for asking. “You see, I’m a qualified Clinical Therapist and I’ve observed that you’re incredibly anxious, although you do look relaxed now. I mean look; your leg isn’t twitching anymore which is good. I want to give you my professional opinion if you would allow me to?”
Segun could not respond, “she’s given enough of her opinions already, why ask for permission now?” He thought but wisely kept his mouth closed. She took his silence as permission and continued.
“Well, I think you could have a mild form of PTSD, erm Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. It’s an anxiety disorder that’s caused by a stressful, frightening or distressing event. Now I’m not asking that you tell me why you’ve been incredibly anxious since you’ve been in Lagos, but I strongly advise that you have it checked out to be sure. If you haven’t done so already, I can assist you to arrange an appointment with some credible therapists and doctors, either here or back in London. Just let me know and I’ll get it done.” Her smile appeared again like a full stop to a perfect sentence.
He looked at her stunned and questioned himself, “So this is how God works?”
It Was All A...
Segun woke up at seven in the morning to the sound of his alarm which played “By Myself” by Deon Kipping.
He developed a habit of rushing to switch off his alarm as quickly as possible so as not to wake everyone up. Early morning like this was the best for him because it meant that everyone was still asleep and it gave him time to chill with God. Perking himself up to sit, he picked up his black leather bible that was embossed with “Holy Bible - On Mission Youth Church”, he was not a member of OM-YC, the Bible itself was a gift from Pastor O.H. and happened to be Segun’s preferred Bible to use because it served as a daily reminder of God’s love for him. He prayed thanking God for His love and for waking up to see a new day. He took a moment to just focus on God’s goodness, and then he looked over to the left of him mid-prayer. There she was, the most beautiful woman in the world, his wife of three years. She was the woman of substance his mum always preached to him about back in the day, a hard-working and hospitable woman. A woman who put God first before anything or anyone else, including him. She encouraged him through his daily battle with PTSD, offering her medical and wifely perspective and she prayed, oh how she prayed for him! Looking at her, the golden beauty God blessed him with, he laughed because even as she slept she still looked like she was smiling.