A PROPOSAL?

It was a gloomy Tuesday. The sky was ring wormed with white patches on the blue ceiling of the sky. The weather forecast had stated that rain would fall for the past four days. As if knowing this, the elements of the earth failed to heed to this man’s forecasting; rather threatening to fall at any split seconds.

Monica waited calmly in the Nigerian restaurant on the raucous streets of Rio De Janeiro, her compatriot boyfriend-Gbenga, who had asked for her presence in the restaurant where they had first met. She didn’t know what it was about, but she hoped it was an attempt to recognize that she could move on. If he continued postponing asking the ultimate question. She looked at her yellow watch, it was the first time she would ever arrive before him at a pre-planned tete-a-tete. It was with a flush she welcomed Gbenga. He was too heavily dressed, maybe not trusting the tyrannical serene of the sky. 

“Sorry for keeping you late.”

She shrugged. He always went straight to the point whenever they met as if he had other things to do and their meeting was just a forced necessity. Well, maybe that was why she liked him, his frankness and straightness.

“I came to tell you something, I don’t know how you would react to it. But I have to.”

Monica stayed blank, she was hesitant to show her reaction. She noticed his mouth moving his eye watching her with an extra pint of focus. She felt a touch.

“You have not spoken since?” He asked with a tint of emotion, something that was not used to him.

“Nothing at all.” She raised her head to meet his head directly, craning it in the process. “So what is that special thing?”

“After thinking about our relationship though, I felt we needed to be frank with ourselves.” He paused, again gauging her reaction, she was still blank. Dangerously blank. “I think it is time to end this relationship.”

A smile spread across Monica’s face. Then a sneer. Then a smirk. Then another reaction he couldn’t decide then another, then another; to the extent, he found it futile distinguishing the various face signatures. 

“Is this about the lady your parents want you to marry from Nigeria?” She asked, after a few minutes of silence.

“Maybe?”

“Maybe?”

“It is just that I feel we need to be ourselves, what have we learned in these five years. How have we improved? Do I really know you? Do I want to know you? Are we mean…”

“Gbenga Adeyinka. Stop!” She cut him short at the top of her voice, drawing attention to herself. “After five years. Five good years you are just thinking of this? Gbenga, listen to yourself? After five years. Do you know how many already made men at my firm I left because of an adult college-goer?” She broke down. She never knew that Oyin, the charcoal black girl that is Nigerian parents wanted him to marry would ever take her place. She was rethinking all her life. Where did she get it wrong? Oh that the heavens would bear her witness that she had survived and tried for the last few years.

“Monica, I don’t mean it that way.” He noticed the attention Monica was drawing in the sparsely filled restaurant.

“You don’t mean what? Five years ago you came into this land and was a waiter in this place. I found you worthy. I took care of you. Not even expecting love. When you did.” She stopped. “When you claimed you did, I knew I had since. I felt it was like heaven fulfilling our wishes. My colleagues laughed at my decision to take care of a low-life like you. Telling me even a pig would be picky about liking a low-life like you.” She laughed with recollection, the tears streaming through her chocolate skin to her mouth.

“I appreciate all that you have done for me since I came to this land. And indeed I still love you.”

“Love, don’t let me hear that word for a heartless man like you. Never. Men, who were ready to make me stay in the seventh heavens for life. I said no. Thinking that I had found true love. Lucky me.” 

“Monica, please listen to me, this is not what I wanted.”

“Of course, this is not what you wanted, how can it be?” She sneered. “What you wanted, is my taking care of your college education and telling me you love me as insurance and when you were done leave me. To say the least, I was disappointed.”

“I am sorry about that.” He bowed his head in shame. It seems beyond his power now.

She stood up. “I never know why I met you but I wished you find a woman you can love to marry.” She turned away.

The restaurant became suddenly quiet, too quiet for comfort. Monica felt this at about the same time she heard her name. ”Monica.” She turned.

“Gbenga.” She put her hand over her face with a sheer shock when she saw what he did. Gbenga had thought of various ways to say this. He thought about;

"When I met you,

I met my destiny.

My one true love,

You'll always be.

If you feel the same,

And I truly hope you do,

There's something very important,

That I want to ask of you.

Instead of "you" and "I,"

Let's become "we."

I'm asking you to share my life,

Will you marry me?

All that I am,

All that I do,

All that I have

Is wrapped up in you.

All of our future,

All we can be,

Rests on this precious moment...

Will you marry me?"

It seemed too poetic. He thought about; "Our two hearts entwined,

A lifetime of love awaits...

Will you marry me?

You're the sun in my shine,

The spark in my plug,

The heart to my beat,

The day to my night,

The twinkle in my eye,

The hot to my spicy,

The yin to my yang,

The soul to my mate.

I get on your nerves, and you get on mine,

But we get along great the rest of the time.

Your parents don't like me; mine isn't crazy about you,

But both of us know it so that's nothing new.

I'm a bit of a slacker, and you're kind of a slouch.

Sometimes we're both over-inclined to grouch.

When you look at things this way, I'm sure you'll agree.

Who else would have us without a warranty?

In spite of these facts, you're still my honeybee.

So let's settle for each other; say you'll marry me." But he felt it was too long then he said:

“All that I wanted to say is, I want our normal relationship to end. I want you to be by my side come rain, come shine. When nights are new and friends are few, I sit by my window and think of you. Will you marry me?”