ADUNNI

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‘Ladies and gentlemen are we having fun’, the master of ceremony boomed with a huge smile on his face as though he were the sole reason for the success of the dinner party. ‘Yes, the audience echoed’ and they were right the night was going amazing, honestly, when Femi had invited me, I was reluctant to go to a party where he would be the only person I know, I made up all manner of excuses to escape it but he saw through all my schemes and I ended up following him and I wasn’t disappointed at all. The programs were on point and the stage lighting and sound were top notch I didn’t dare guess the cost of the sound systems even the images on the projector were clean, you don’t need a trained eye to know the video camera would have cost a small fortune.
My name is Adunni and I’m an event planner although I majored in photography in my college days. My friend Femi invited me for this dinner party, ‘A night with shine’. The event was so exclusive, some celebrities were not even allowed entry because they didn’t have a pass. But Femi’s boss had gotten tickets for all top managers of the firm and they were allowed one date each and I was Femi’s date for the night. Until now I hadn’t realized how lucky I was, everyone that mattered in society was here and he knew that, that explains why he had been so insistent on my coming, I feel so blessed to have met my Femi, when I first met him I didn’t even give him the time of day, I was having a quiet lunch at my favorite lunch spot[ Belly vibes] an eatery adjacent my studio, over time I had become a regular at the place, I even had a special table and a favorite waiter, I was at my table sipping iced tea while waiting for my order , when Femi walked up to me and asked if he could join me at the table, I looked up unsmiling as I stared right through him, the place was half empty and from my spot I could see at least three empty tables, if this was some kind of irritating way of hitting on ladies it was working cause I was in no mood for this. I glanced back at his smiling face which seemed unperturbed by the very obvious ‘get lost’ my body language was expressing. Not in the mood for further drama, I gestured for him to seat, I was determined to ignore him and then call the attention of the manager if he persisted in engaging me in a conversation.
I was fuming inwardly, but my irritation soon turned to dismay when about ten minutes elapsed without him saying a word to me, by this time my food was served and his order was taken. Having a complete stranger sit across me like that saying nothing was making me really uncomfortable and I could feel my appetite slowly dissipating. I finally looked up and found him smiling at me and my untouched plate of jollof rice and salad. I was just about to say something that would ensure that smile vanished from his face when the waiter showed up with his food, he had ordered the same thing I did, along with a bottle of wine.
We stared at each other as the waiter arranged his order on the table, oblivious to the silent war going on. The moment the waiter’s back was turned, I started to say something when he quickly cut me off, ‘you’re letting your food get cold’ he said, a small smile playing around his lips; he was finding this amusing. The nerve, he walks to my table, wearing a smug look and invading my personal space and now he’s telling me my food is getting cold? I thought my face would explode with concealed rage, when he said, “Adunni, relax”. I was taken aback, he knows my name I thought. “Um! Do I know you? , I asked. “My name is Femi Akinbule, you were the event planner at the 50th wedding anniversary of my parents”. Sudden recognition dawned on me as I began to see the resemblance between him and his sister Aunty Kemi, she was the one who had given me the contract to plan the event. Nevertheless, I still couldn’t remember meeting him at the event, but then that might have to do with the fact that I didn’t fraternize with my clients especially if they were members of the opposite sex, such familiarity isn’t good for business it’s bad publicity for my brand.
Oh! I ….stuttered something and we both burst out laughing as we struck up conversation and that’s when I found out that belly vibes was also his favorite lunch spot and coincidentally we both preferred the same table, I normally came in for lunch at 1pm and he did at 3pm so we never got to meet but my last shoot had taken longer than anticipated so I was having a late lunch and when he came in he was surprised to see his table occupied and he felt since he knew who I was he could join me; what he didn’t consider was that I might not recognize him. So that was how we met officially and we’ve been friends since then, well to be honest we are more than friends now, after the initial awkwardness was past we immediately clicked and subsequently we both adjusted our lunch hours to 2pm so we could hang out more. Two months down the line we had fallen madly in love with each other and now eight months after, I am at this awesome party as his date.
Back to the party, the master of ceremony went on after the excited voices of the audience had died down. “Tonight, next on our program we have a special and very memorable surprise for someone out there, that special person could be any of the gorgeous ladies seated in this hall”. We all watched dazed as the popular American singer Major walked on stage, the crowd went wild especially the female folk. His songs and his voice were like cupid bows stabbed into ones chest, they make you want to be in love, I was a huge fan of his. As the excitement abated somewhat he walked up to the grand piano that had somehow suddenly become visible on stage and he started singing my favorite song from his collection ‘why I love you’. “Damn” that song got me every time. As we all sat mesmerized under his spell, I heard audible gasps coming from those around me and that’s when I noticed that the camera had zoomed in on me and my face was being projected, I didn’t understand what was going on so I just smiled at the camera, next thing I knew the spot light was on me and while I was trying to make sense of all this it moved to the front area, and I watched it rest on Femi, I chuckled as I expected him to look embarrassed coming from the rest room and having the spot light suddenly on him but I was wrong, he was smiling and his handsome face was being projected for all to see, after this I’m not leaving his side, I don’t want rough play from all this single ladies now that they have seen him. The spot light was still on him as he started walking towards me, ‘what is going on’ I thought. The singing had gotten louder and more passionate and every one was staring at me and Femi interchangeably, oh! God is this what I think it is? Is this really happening? Femi by this time had gotten to my seat and he gently took both of my hands as he guided me to my feet. We looked into each other eyes one smiling and the other in shock.
In a heartbeat Femi was down on one knee and in that moment all I could hear and see was him, the voices had become a low hum around me and the lights had gone dim leaving just me and him in the full lighted up view .
Oh God! Femi is going to pop the question in front of all this people, how do I look him in his beautiful eyes and tell him I can’t marry him……………………..
To be continued