By the time we left the boutique, I had bought her four dresses, two pairs of shoes, a handbag, and a small gold necklace that caught the light when she moved.
She carried the bags like they were made of glass, afraid to drop them, afraid to wake up and find out it was all a dream.
Next stop: a quiet restaurant in Lekki.
Not one of those loud places with blaring music and waiters who danced while taking your order. A quiet one. The kind with soft lighting and private booths and a menu written in cursive on brown paper.
We sat across from each other in a booth near the window. Outside, the sun was beginning its slow descent toward the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink.
Inemesit looked at the menu like it was written in a foreign language.
“What is this?” she whispered, pointing at something called “Coq au Vin.”
“Chicken,” I said. “French chicken.”
“French chicken?” She laughed — a real laugh, not the performance. “Oga — Emmanuel — the chickens in my village would be very offended if they knew there was such a thing as French chicken.”
I laughed too.
We ordered. She chose something simpler — grilled fish with rice and plantains — while I went for the pepper steak. When the food arrived, she closed her eyes for a moment and said a quiet prayer before eating. Her lips moved silently, and I found myself watching her, fascinated by this small, private act of faith.
“Inemesit,” I said after we had eaten for a while, “can I ask you something?”
“Anything,” she said.
“What did you want to be? Before… everything?”
She put down her fork. Wiped her mouth with a napkin. Looked out the window for a moment, watching the cars pass.
“I wanted to be a businesswoman,” she said. “I wanted to own my own company. Something big. Something that would make my parents proud.”
She smiled — a distant smile, like she was looking at a photograph of someone she used to know.
“I had it all planned out. Graduate, get a good job, save money, start small. But life…”
She shrugged.
“Life had other plans.”
🔥💖OGA I WAN KNACK💖 – EPISODE TEN – A DIFFERENT KIND OF FIRE 💖🔥
