I've heard people say that love comes at you when you least expect it. I never believed it until I heard my uncle tell his story of how he met his wife. For Uncle Eke and his wife, love came to them under the sweltering heat of Ogun State, as they served our nation Nigeria during their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program in 1985.
It's a love story I can't seem to forget. Unlike Papa and Mama who hardly talked about how they met. Uncle Eke has told us stories of how he met his wife and even the beautiful day he proposed and asked her to be his wife.
I can still remember that cool Christmas evening. All our families had returned to the village as it used to be for the Christmas celebration.
The boys and men in the family were all gathered around the Mango tree in the compound playing cards with a soft breeze rustling the leaves while the women were in the kitchen cooking up a storm. As the cards played, so the stories went too. But this time we weren't kids anymore, so our uncles wanted to know about our love lives (I and my cousins). As usual, we tried beating about the bush but we hardly succeeded as they pressed on.
"So was it love at first sight for you?" My dad asked his nephew, Uncle Eke's son.
"Who believes in love at first sight in this era?" I said picking up a card and also trying to save my cousin from the attack thrown at him.
My Dad quickly pointed to his brother playfully "He does. It was love at first sight for him".
"Wow! Daddy, so it was love at first sight with mummy?" My cousin asked his father.
"You just had to rat me out," my Uncle said to his brother, my dad, with a soft push.
"I don't think he did. He was just being truthful like every one of us here." I defended my father. "So was it?" I asked, I'm sure I wasn't going to let such a story slip away.
Uncle Eke relaxed on his chair, a nostalgic smile playing on his lips. "Well, I wouldn't say it was entirely love at first sight. But within a few weeks of meeting my wife, I knew she was meant to be my forever".
My dad coughed playfully. We all laughed except for me I could feel myself blushing. It was the seriousness and the twinkle in his eye and in my uncle's face as he told us about it.
"Tell us Daddy," my cousin pushed on.
By now our card game had already been paused. Everyone wanted to hear the story.
Uncle Eke cleared his throat. “Back then NYSC was like a huge achievement. Nobody came there for love. It was proof that you've joined the educated few in the society" he began, his voice steady. "So, most of us just wanted to get over it quickly and back to our lives. But for me, it became a place I met the most important person in my life and a memory I'll forever cherish".
He paused and smiled looking at us from face to face.
"Awwn," my Dad teased.
"Continue Uncle" I couldn't tell why I was so interested in his story.
"I was just a typical Igbo boy. Fresh from the university, reckless but with ambition and my wife was a typical Igbo girl, calculated and with a vision of what and where she was heading too. She wanted to be a teacher. She was the opposite of me. We were both posted to Ogun State, Abeokuta to be precise." He paused, "Honestly, I was furious at first. Abeokuta was a quiet town, I wanted a bubbling town and all that but I had no choice".
"Our paths crossed when we were assigned to teach in the same secondary school. An old dilapidated building. That was where I noticed her. She walked as softly as she spoke and trust me she was beautiful. I tried getting her attention but no matter what I did, she behaved like I didn't exist trust me it drove me crazy".
I turned and stared at my cousin. We winked at each other and smiled. Seeing an old man talk about love in such a manner was interesting.
Uncle Eke looked into the horizon like he could see it all displayed before him. "Along the line, they needed a coach for the drama team, so I volunteered to be one. Fortunately for me, the principal assigned her to be the director of the drama team while I coached. I knew at that point that that was God helping me." He laughed. "She didn't make it easy for me at first o. She corrected me a lot. It was as if she had something against me. I thought she was bossy. She thought I was unserious. But behind that bickering, something started growing.”
"One day, we had rehearsals late into the evening and after everyone left it was just the both of us. I first started about the play and what she thought of it, when I noticed she was relaxed I switched to other stuff. It worked because she told me about her life, herself, and how single to stupor she was. I rejoiced in my heart. Later on, I started sending her gifts making my intentions known to her".
I heard my dad cough teasingly. My cousin and I looked at him and laughed.
"Do you guys want to mock me or hear me finish my story?" Uncle Eke blurted out angrily.
"We're sorry sir. It's just that we never see you as a lover boy" I joked.
We all laughed again. This time Uncle Eke wasn't left out.
"Continue my brother," my Dad said, tapping his brother on the shoulder. "Don't mind our shenanigans".
"Well, we became the talk of the school. Some corps members started whispering about how it would all end after service was over. We were scared too but we decided to give it a try. One time she fell ill with malaria and I had to watch her struggle to survive. That was the turning point that made me realize that she was the love of my life. Then the real test came. We finished service and it was time to go our separate ways. I wanted to go to Lagos but she preferred to stay back at Abeokuta." He paused and took a deep breath. I could see a little pain in his eyes.
"So what happened? How did you guys survive it?" My cousin asked his Dad.
"Well, I didn't give up. I took every chance I had to visit her, sometimes hitching rides, just to see her smile. A year later, I got a better job and proposed to her, she agreed and we got married a few months later. Thanks to my brother's financial support too. She relocated with me to Lagos and the rest is history.”
I watched as a smile played across my Dad's lips. "I just knew he was in love when he told me that morning that he didn't want to let her slip away from his hands again and that was why he wanted to get married. I had to do everything in my ability to see to it that they got married"
"What a story!" I said.
"These old men know how to love more than us", my cousin teased.
We laughed again.
Just then, my mum called from the front door. "Young men, food is ready. Come over before it gets cold"
With that, we all picked up our cards and chairs and walked back into the house. Telling this story today continues to serve as a reminder to me that love, true love, can find you even when you’re not looking for it.
