It
was 3:00 am and I could not sleep. Not because I was feeling something negative
or cause I was bothered, but because I was amazed. I was staring at her as she
slept soundly; she always has a calm almost smiling expression when she’s
asleep. Don’t tell her I said so, she has a slight snore which I find adorable,
but she totally hates. I snuggled closer careful not to wake her as she would
worry that I’m up at this time but close enough for me to feel her warmth. I
allowed the intoxicating scent that was all her envelope me and I fell into very
deep musings.
I
closed my eyes and cast back to when I had just returned from the Head of
State’s Special Task Force, as a young Officer. I had seen many things that
made sleeping at night a dreaded task. In my bid to settle back into normal
living and to forget the horrors most people are unaware of, I decided to go to
the movies, watch something funny that could probably help me see the world
through the eyes of humour even for a few hours. I hadn’t decided on a movie
yet, so I sat down to have lunch at one of the restaurants in the complex that
held the cinema. Eating out was becoming a daily occurrence for me since I
hadn’t settled down enough to be willing to cook and eat at home.
While
eating I heard the most delightful laughter ever. I looked up and my eyes were
met by the largest most beautiful brown eyes known to Africa. Miss Brown-eyes
was fair, with long blackish-brownish hair down the sides. She had on a lilac
top with sprinkles of silver sequins around the sleeves, could not determine
what she wore below the table but that didn’t matter cause I was sure I would
never be able to forget those eyes. She had a date though, just my luck, so I
tried to tamp down on the effect her sparkling eyes had on me. My eyes and
thoughts kept straying to her and trying to engrave the picture of her eyes,
hair, pink lips, button nose and beautiful face in my mind. She seemed bored
with her date though, as her eyes kept catching mine, but as a disciplined and
honourable military man, I would never go after another man’s woman, no matter
how magnetic her eyes were.
I
silently paid for my food and went to purchase my movie ticket. I had decided
to watch Johnny Depp’s new comedy. At the counter I said hello to the attendant
and asked “One ticket for Dark Shadow please”. Then a slightly husky but very
female voice countered “Make that two, we’re together”. I turned to look at the
source of the voice and I was stunned into silence by the most breath-taking
smile you would ever see. “Danjuma what
is the matter with you? Why do you keep staring at her and acting like your
brain cannot work like it should?” I noticed her lips were moving fast, so
I tried to listen “Well my name is Demilade and I mean Demilade, not Lade or
Demi or Ade or anything of the sort. Just Demilade. Anyway, I noticed you were
going to watch Dark Shadow and I am totally into Jonny Depp. Besides I just
think it’s a crime to watch a good movie or any movie at all by yourself. Isn’t
it just wrong?” All the while I was waiting for her to take a breath or turn
blue from lack of it. She turned to the movie attendant handed her the money,
thanked her and took the tickets.
This
was all very shocking. I am six foot four, fairly dark, not remotely built and
I never attract more than a passing glance from ladies. Even when in uniform, I
only get curious glances which I think is more about the uniform and rank and
what it stands for than the wearer. Hey, I was in a dark pair of jeans and a
green polo shirt, nothing special and Miss Really Large Brown Eyes walks up to
me, offers to see and movie with me and even pays for it. “SHE PAID FOR IT?” Now that
snapped me out of my shock.
But
before I was fully recovered she pulled me away and asked for my name. I opened
my mouth to answer, then I noticed I could not remember my name. Had I been out
of social circles for so long or was it another effect of little Miss
Energized. She giggled as she dragged me to the drinks stand. I snapped out of the
woman induced trance when she asked what I wanted to have. I was brought up old
fashioned and I liked it that way so I wasn’t going to allow her blind side me
again and pay for the drinks. “My name is Danjuma. Nice to meet you too. I’s
like to pay for the drinks and also refund you fo-”
“O
that’s fine.” She interrupted. “I just wanted to get you to talk; you seem to
be the brooding type and I think it would be nice to hear what you have to say.
Besides I think a girl should be allowed to pay for something once in a while”.
I
gave a slight smile and her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, “You have a lovely
smile” was her soft reply. I smiled again, this time a full smile. Not because
I’m particularly a fan of my own smile but because I wanted to make her eyes
light up like that again. It made me feel warm on the inside and that was even
more confusing. “Danjuma, you’ve been
away from the female species for too long. Dude, behave yourself”.
She
continued “We have time before the movie, so I’m going to ask you a lot of
questions. Just humour me, I am a very curious person and I just had the most
boringly mind-numbing lunches ever with my high school crush. Just met him
again after a long time, and I honestly do not understand how I could have had
a crush on the young man” she finished rolling her large eyes.
This
admission put me at ease, so we talked and laughed and we laughed and laughed
and talked a lot. She more than I. It was a lot of work to keep up with her but
well worth the effort. We ended up not seeing the movie, when we realised it
had started it was almost an hour into the movie and we were enjoying each
other’s company so much we could not be bothered to go somewhere we had to
speak in hushed tones. Anyway the best part of it all is that was when I met my
very own movie partner.
Three
children, five grandchildren, retirement as an AVM, many tears and laughters later
I have never gone to the movies alone. Now, with her snuggled in my arms, I am
looking forward to 6:00 pm when I get to surprise my best friend, now Mrs Brown
Eyes, with the movie that brought us together. I kept the tickets since that
day, forty years today, so I didn’t forget the tittle. I paid the cinema people
to find it so we could watch it on the anniversary of the day we met.
We’ve
done something special for each other every 12th of August since we
met. I close my eyes, I’m looking forward to seeing her eyes light up when she
sees what I planned this year. Forty years and counting and I still haven’t gotten
over the effect her eyes have on me.
