The Valentine

The Valentine.

Kci and Jojo in Yola

Did i accidentally walk into the Sahara desert? Or was the sun coming down in June? (Kci and Jojo’s lyrics) At 5am in this part of Nigeria, the sun is up and by 12 noon its a real terror. I’m talking about Yola. Here i am serving Nigeria, whatever that means. I’ve just spent the last three weeks being baked under the scorching sun in camp and i’m craving the coolness of the south-south. (Lord! Na so this one year wan be?)
I’ve been posted to Zenith bank for my primary assignment. And i’m not in a village (i’m on a roll baby). On this particular morning i am rushing headlong for the cool interior of a First Bank branch. My mission? To open a Corper account. I also need to escape the oppressive heat that’s beating down on my shoulders. Thankfully the interior of the bank offers the much needed succour.
I head straight for the customer service desk and plop in the seat like a rag doll. The guy on the other side of the desk is staring at me like i’m something the cat dragged in. Well I’m too tired to care. He can sit in this air conditioned haven all day and stare all he likes. I reach into my handbag to retrieve my handkerchief and mop my face. My feminine consciousness finally gets the better of me.
Ahem, “so how may i help you?”
“Oh!” I’ve all but forgotten i’m here to do something. The AC must be blowing my brain cold i muse.
“I’m here to open a Corper account”, i say
He’s leaning forwards, elbows resting on his desk but now he pushes his seat backwards and stands up to get the forms from the drawer nearby. I get a good look at him. Average height, dark, broad shoulders, generally presentable. (I’m not good at describing how men look joo, just let me finish the story)
He returns to the desk with the forms and smiles as he hands them to me. I notice his gap-tooth. My heart skips a beat.
I fill the forms and hand them back to him. He looks at the form
“Jerha! What a name! Where are you from?”
“Delta state”, I reply.
“Welcome to Yola, he says. “I see you’re new”
“Yes i am”
“By the way I’m Kelechukwu but my friends call me KC”
“Nice to meet you, KC”
He goes to work on my forms and i am left to savour the comfort of the AC in silence. (Who say oyinbo nor dey try?)
“So here’s your account number and atm card” he’s saying
“And your withdrawal booklet”
“Thank you. That was fast” I say incredulously. I was kinda hoping the process would drag a bit longer
He smiles in return.
“Welcome”
He flicks his wrist to check the time on his TISSOT wristwatch.
“It’s 12:59pm and its my lunch hour” he says
“Really?”
“Yeah, wanna join me?” “It’s just next door”
“Ok then”
So we walk out the branch into the scorching sun and find our way to the Mr. Biggs outlet next door. (It’s Yola, no KFC, TFC, or sweet sensation)
Over lunch he tells me he’s been here for a little over a year. He was sent here right after his recruitment. I kind of pity him. Imagine being stuck here because of a job. I so wanted this year to be over so i could leave this place and go someplace else. Anywhere but here.
Lunch is pretty much uneventful but he does ask for my number at the end. I’m excited as i board a taxi for the Corpers’ Lodge where i live. There’s something about his gap-toothed smile that stirs my blood. And boy does he ever stop smiling? I tell myself its part of his customer service training to smile. (Who are you kidding, Jerha?)
I resume work at Zenith bank the following week. My life has fallen pretty much into a routine. KC calls me every morning, noon and night now. Not to mention the slew of romantic text messages in between. We have lunch together anytime i can get away from work and even when i can’t he comes to see me at the Corpers’ Lodge when he closes from work. I’m enjoying the attention. Who wouldn’t?
It takes him a full month to invite me to his house; a really spacious bachelor pad somewhere in GRA. In fact i’d all but concluded that he’s either married or has a live-in lover. And i didn’t want to pry.
Our weekends follow a particular pattern. I come over on saturday morning, we do our laundry together, (need i mention that Corpers’ Lodges were not made to be comfortable or convenient especially for washing?), I make breakfast or lunch depending on what time we finish washing and we watch The Game (yeah football). By evening he drops me off at C.L with a hug and a kiss on my cheek.
And so our lives continue for the next four months. Four whole months and KC has not made a move to pop the cherry. I start worrying if he is gay and is just using me as a cover so people would think he’s straight. It’s saturday afternoon again and we’re watching “The Game.” We’re sitting side by side on the sofa. Its half time and he turns to me with this queer look on his face
“Can i kiss you?”
“Sorry?”
“I said, can i kiss you?”
“Yes” i reply but i’m thinking, “of course you can you dummy! What took you so long?”
His lips are soft against mine and kissing him is like a tall drink on a hot day in Yola. Refreshing!
We’re both breathing hard now. He’s touching me everywhere. I’m tugging at his shirt. We definitely ain’t gonna make it to the room. The second half of the game has commenced but we’re too “busy” to care. I welcome KC’s weight on me, his hardness against my softness. Every thrust is well worth the wait…
I’m practically floating on Cloud Nine when KC drops me off that evening at the Corpers’ Lodge.
Service year speeds by. Why won’t it? Time flies when you’re having fun. Here i am, in love with the most wonderful, caring, generous man on planet earth.
On the morning of my Passing Out I wake up to see KC staring at me with a smile on his face. I smile back.
“I’ve got a little passing out present for you”
“Yay!!!!!!” I shriek with delight
He reaches under the bed and pulls out a wrapped box. I open it to find a Samsung SIII.
I throw my arms around him and start kissing him. He kisses me back while his fingers find other ways to be useful.
That evening we go to C.L to pack my stuff. I move in with KC. Yola is where my heart is!
A gift