I put my car in park, turned off the ignition and finally picked up my best friend’s FaceTime call. “Dera.” I grinned at her. It had been weeks since I’d last seen her face, the time difference between the two countries still an issue. I couldn’t wait for her to relocate back to Nigeria.
“Kamsi! Why has it been so hard to get you on the phone lately? Working late nights again?”
“You already know. Nnamdi and I are planning on a new shop in the East, the bulk of the planning is on my neck.”
“Girl I envy you,” Dera teased. “You make this look so easy. Working with your man! Owning a business together!” She gesticulated a lot as she spoke, her hands flying around so fast.
“I guess I’m lucky.” I grinned back at her. Most days I truly felt lucky when I thought about my life. Many people had opposed Nnamdi and me dating in the first place, and when I announced my intention to go into business with him, my family and friends were furious. It felt good to prove them all wrong.
“Usually, mixing business and relationship is the beginning of the end. But you and Nnamdi have made this work for seven years now.”
“Abeg leave that talk, Dera. I’m just so glad to see you. I can’t wait for December when you finally return. Any idea when exactly you’ll be back?”
“Not yet. I’m calling to beg you again, Kam. You know how I am with strangers in my house. Can’t you just help me move, after all, I bought all my furniture from your shop.”
“Dera, you know I would help you in a heartbeat if I could. But this project is taking up so much of my time. If it was in Lagos, that wouldn’t be an issue.”
Dera frowned, her cute button nose scrunching up. “Can’t you just take a break? I can see the bags underneath your eyes all the way from Canada.”
“Dera!” We burst into laughter as Dera continued to tease me. She was right though, after this project was done, I needed to take time off. Maybe I could finally convince Nnamdi to go on that trip with me, maybe it would be the push he needed to take our relationship to the next level.
“Where are you even going? It’s noon, lunch break?” Dera asked.
“Yeah. Grocery shopping. I want to make dinner for Nnamdi, it’s been a while we ate at home.”
“My best friend is just something else. In my next life I will come as a man and snatch you before that Nnamdi even notices you.”
I laughed, already used to this line of teasing.
“Abi am I wrong? You made the man into who he is today, you carried that company on your back! And you even cook him dinner.”
“Don’t say it like that, babe. Nnamdi and I have always supported each other.”
Dera continued to tease me and after a few more minutes we said our goodbyes.
I grabbed my purse and made my way into the mall. Mentally. I did a bit of window shopping, pausing to take a few pictures of items I loved but didn’t have time to go in to buy.
I couldn’t resist walking past my favorite wedding shop. They always had the most stunning dresses on display, and as usual, I stopped to admire them. My thoughts began to wander. When would I come in here with Nnamdi?
We’ve been together seven whole years and in that time, we’d grown a lot as a couple. Nnamdi could be a handful sometimes, but which man wasn’t? At least he was coachable and he treated me right. Our business was finally stable. Everything was ready, just waiting for him to pop the question.
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Written by Tonia Obiajulum
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