The Unclosed door...Part 7

For the next few months, I pretended that everything was okay with Uncle Jide and I. I ignored some of his calls and tried my best to pick some.

Since I made a decision to keep Bola happy, I had to stick by it. It was hard not to burst out one day and call him all the bad names I had reserved for only him in my head. It was harder not to ask him why he chose Bola over me.

To make matters worse, Uncle Jide was completely avoiding the issue and acting like everything was normal. Tayo, on the other hand, became angrier by the day. On the day she couldn’t hold it any longer and bursted out in anger at Uncle Jide when he asked of me, I saw it coming.

She said Uncle Jide was shocked. She wasn’t sure if he was shocked at her audacity or at everything she was saying. Frankly, she didn’t care. Tayo said he didn’t utter a word to interrupt her while she rambled on and on about how she was disappointed in him for hurting me so badly. She said when she finished, Uncle Jide told her he would call me and then ended the call.

Uncle Jide didn’t call me as he said he would; at least not for some days. On the day he finally did, I was scared to pick the call. I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear him out. He didn’t stop calling until I picked.

For the first few seconds after I picked the call, we both kept quiet. The first thing Uncle Jide said was that he loves me. I was mad. I didn’t know when I let everything out. Before I knew it, I was sobbing uncontrollably.

Uncle Jide allowed me to finish before he repeated that he loves me. He told me I wouldn’t understand everything that was going on then but he did what he had to do. He told me that nobody can ever take my place in his life and reiterated his promise that he would never leave me.

He pleaded with me to forgive him and let things go back to how it was between us. He assured me that his being with Bola doesn’t change anything between us and that if I tell him that instant to end the relationship, he would. Uncle Jide sounded broken that day, like he was about to burst into tears.

I wished I was close to him; I wanted to comfort him even though I was the one that needed to be comforted. Maybe I was naïve, but that day I forgave him completely and gave my blessings to Uncle Jide and Bola’s relationship. I already gave up on Uncle Jide and I anyways, I just wanted to keep being close to Uncle Jide. That way, everyone is happy.

Over the months, Uncle Jide and Bola’s relationship waxed stronger and stronger. They were obviously fond of each other. Mom and dad were extremely happy with the relationship as they had always held Uncle Jide in high esteem because of his benevolence and care for me.

They saw him as the elder brother I never had and in extension; their son. Uncle Jide’s family too was happy about the relationship as they saw Bola as an extension of me who they had taken as their daughter.

Everything was perfect for them. That was why when Uncle Jide proposed to Bola 8 months into their relationship, both families didn’t waste time in fixing a marriage date within the next four months.

On the wedding day, I had mixed feelings. I was super excited for Bola and Uncle Jide but I also felt a pang of jealousy. I was Bola’s chief bridesmaid so I was sitted close to the couple. Uncle Jide looked back a lot of times to simply smile at me. This made me feel special even though I wasn’t the bride.

After the wedding, the couple went back to Abuja and I was left alone for the realization to sink in. Even though, Uncle Jide and I still spoke, our communication gap widened gradually and it was okay by me.

I made a decision to completely stay away from their marriage and continue to wish them well. It didn’t take long for that decision to change.

For my second year IT, I was mistakenly posted to a company in Abuja. I saw it as a mistake but most of my classmates saw it as favour because the company I was attached to is a top multinational. In fact, most of them thought I had made use of “long leg” to get a slot in such a company.

When I saw the posting, I was amazed because I specifically filled Lagos and Ibadan as my choices. Why would I want to go to Abuja for my IT? No way! I was sure I was not going.

When I told Tayo I was going to go and complain and request for a reposting, she sat me down and asked if I was normal. Tayo had always been an ardent believer of the “everything happens for a reason” ideology. In her opinion, the attachment was not a mistake. Rather, it was a great opportunity for me to set my career on the right path.  I saw sense in what she was saying but I was fighting the fact that I would have to stay with Bola and Uncle Jide.  That sure didn’t look like staying away from their marriage.

Tayo didn’t see how staying with my sister and her brother will be a problem especially because it was just for three months. In fact, she told me she wished it was her that had an opportunity to stay with them because she was sure they were going to spoil me silly.

As usual, Tayo didn’t stop talking about my Abuja IT until I decided to give it a try. I prayed that a time won’t come when I would regret listening to Tayo and wished that everything would go smoothly in Abuja.

My wish didn’t come to pass…

To be continued...