“Jonny? You ready?”
Akushika entered the living room and found him seated in his favourite chair, rubbing his face as he sighed. He looked up at her and nodded.
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
Monday late morning, and the reconciliation was on. As expected, Bukky had not been very enthusiastic about seeing Jonny, but it was hard to say no to Drusilla, who had convinced her that Jonny seemed truly remorseful of his ways. That morning, though, both Remaliah and Drusilla needed to go to the shop, so Bukky came early, so at least someone was around to help Akushika, who was now experiencing a few pains around her hips.
At that moment, there were no pains, so it was time for her to get the reconciliation process started.
She took a seat on the arm of the chair and placed a hand on his shoulder. “So, you’re sure that you’ve fully thought this through, and you’re gonna change your ways now?”
Jonny shut his eyes and nodded. “Shika, believe me when I say this: I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Bukky in my life. Whatever it takes.”
He sighed, his eyes still shut. “I thought about everything you, Sir Remmy and Maa Dru said last night. I thought long and hard about the events that led to our last fight, and… you’re right, I’ve not been considerate at all. I know, I’m a bit cocky sometimes, and I have a pretty high impression of myself. But I have to let that go if I want to be truly happy with Bukky. I can’t afford to lose that girl, Shika. I can’t.”
Akushika sighed as she rubbed him on the shoulder. “It’s all right, Jonny, it’s all right. At least you’ve seen where you went wrong, and you can make things right now. Come on, follow me. She’s waiting for us in the living room at Maa Dru’s place.”
***
They entered the Mills-Odoi apartment, where Bukky was seated in the living room chair, earphones plugged in as she kept herself occupied with her playlist while checking what was happening on her Twitter timeline. The little smirk as she observed whatever what was on her screen left her face as she saw Jonny.
Akushika looked at Jonny and gestured toward her. “Well, here she is, Jonny. Say what you need to say.”
He stepped forward. “Umm, Bukky?”
She ignored him, continuing to stare at her phone.
“Bukola?”
She continued to ignore him.
“Bukky, please. I beg you. Please hear him out. I beg,” Akushika pleaded.
Sighing begrudgingly, Bukky yanked out the earphones and placed the phone down. Then she stared at Jonny, the steeliest of looks on her face.
Jonny fumbled for a moment before starting. “Umm… Bukky. I’ve had time to do a lot of thinking. And umm… I remembered something. Something of major importance. A certain event that changed my life as I know it.”
He looked down for a moment, then stared into her eyes once again, and continued.
“It was three years ago, on a Saturday evening. At Stonz Karaoke Bar. There I am, at the bar, just looking to have a drink and listen to some people sing. It isn’t anything major, just out to have a night of fun. Some people come around, and do their thing, some too just come to mess up and make us laugh. It’s all good, though, I mean, it’s not a competition or anything. Just fun.
“Then, this beautiful woman steps up. Takes the mic. Introduces herself as Bukky. Her accent makes it obvious she’s a Nigerian. She tells us she’s going to sing Russian Roulette by Rihanna. I’m a little hyped up, because that’s a top song in my books, and I’m hoping that she’s not going to be one of the clowns that just came to mess around.
“Then she starts singing. And it becomes obvious to me, and to everyone else, that this is no ordinary singer. She’s not one of the clowns, she’s not a person with an ordinary voice. She is a talent. She sings the hell out of that song, so much that I have goosebumps and tears in my eyes by the end of the song. The entire bar gives her a standing ovation, and so many people are clamouring to speak to her, get her number, all that stuff. I just sit there, waiting for all the craze to die out, so I can speak to her.
“It’s about 11:20 pm, and as the bar’s emptying out, I see her near the door, looking at something on her phone. My heart pounds as I approach her, because she’s probably gotten about ten to fifteen numbers. But I go forward regardless. I say hello to her, she responds. I compliment her singing and tell her I sing too. She seems pretty excited about that, we exchange numbers, promise to call each other, and I leave.
“That night, I can’t sleep. All I can think about is that beautiful babe with the incredible voice. My mind goes to different places, conjures up different scenarios… all that imaginary stuff. But my mind is clear about this: that I want that girl to be mine, so we can conquer the world together with our incredible talents, with each of us supporting each other as passionately as we can.”
Seeing that the steel look on her face had softened and she was on her feet, Jonny took her hands and held them in his.
“Bukky, I don’t know what happened to me, but… somewhere along the line, I lost sight of that dream. That it was about us becoming an amazing force together. I can’t put my finger on it, but pride took over, and instead of appreciating the world-class talent I have as my girl, I focused on myself. And I’ve done you so much wrong in the process. I’m sorry, Bukky. For every time you saw me looking at my phone while you performed, for every time I acted nonchalant towards you. I’m so sorry. I’ve been a trash boyfriend to you, and I’m sorry. I really am.”
Bukky’s disposition had totally switched. Now she had tears in her eyes, and the look she gave her boyfriend was one of sorrow. “It was supposed to be about you and me, Jonny,” she whispered, the tears beginning to roll down. “We said we were gonna win together. You have no idea how much it hurt me to see you so uninterested in what I did. It cut my soul. You cut my soul…”
“I know, baby, and I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” Jonny whimpered, pulling her close and hugging her tightly as she sobbed. “I’ve been so, so selfish, and I’m sorry. You don’t deserve all the crap I’ve put you through. I’m sorry, Bukky, I’m sorry. It was supposed to be about us, but I made it all about me and me alone. I swear to you, that nonsense ends today. I’m going to be the supporter, the biggest fan, and the topmost cheerleader you deserve in your man. It’s no longer gonna be about my success, but our success. Because I love you, Bukky. I love you so much. And you deserve all the happiness in this world. And I’ll give it to you now. I swear, baby, it’s for real this time.”
Akushika couldn’t help but shed a tear herself. She had not expected the reconciliation to get this emotional. She wiped her eyes and sniffed as she watched Jonny hold a sobbing Bukky tightly.
“I’m sorry, baby. I’m gonna do better this time. I promise.”
After what seemed like half an hour, Bukky pulled back and wiped her eyes. Jonny held her chin and looked into them while wiping them. “That old nonsense is over from this day onwards, Bukky. From now on, I’m going back to the original intent: to be my girl’s biggest hype-guy.”
Bukky smiled. “Thank God, baby. I’ve missed him.”
“I know. No need to miss him, anymore. He’s back. I love you, Bukky.”
“I love you too, Jonny.”
Akushika smiled, wiping her eyes as Jonny kissed Bukky on the forehead. This had not been the making up she had expected. It was way better than she had expected.
“Look at you, though. So fine in that natural hair,” Jonny murmured into Bukky’s ear, “with those beautiful lips. And those eyes. Damn, I think I got a crush on you, babe!”
Bukky giggled before being silenced by his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck as their kiss deepened, sharing an intimate moment now that they were well and fully reconciled.
“Ummm, guys. Kiss and make up, not kiss and make out.”
Akushika’s statement had them snickering as they abruptly ended their smooch. “Sorry, Shika,” Jonny pleaded playfully, his arms still around Bukky’s waist. “I just got carried away. You know, with this absolute babe in front of me…”
“Yes, yes, that’s very nice, we thank God you’re together again. But please. Not here in front of me,” she ordered.
“Yes, please, Mama,” Bukky teased, as she and Jonny took a seat on the couch. “We are very sorry, Mama.”
Akushika shook her head, a smirk on her face. “By the way, that was interesting, getting to know how you two met.”
The young couple looked at each other. “Yeahhhh, true, true,” they agreed.
“That evening was quite an emotional one for me, to be honest,” Bukky continued. “There was a reason I chose that song. For me, it wasn’t just to enjoy myself. It was a release of sorts, you get? Because the truth is, just about two days before, one talking stage had ended quite badly.”
Akushika sat up. “Oh, I see.”
“Yes oo. So this guy, his name is Femi. We had been talking for a while, and it felt like we were connecting. I mean, we hadn’t met yet, but we were chatting on a regular basis, it felt like something special would come out of it. But then, at a point, he started asking questions that felt like he wanted me to sacrifice everything about me for him. When I gave him answers that made it clear I’m preserving who I am, the response was… dry.
“Then on our first meeting, after some drinks and a chat, this guy asks why I answered some of the questions the way I did. I told him that that’s how I feel. Then he had the temerity and the audacity to tell me that I look like those type of girls that won’t be submissive, so he won’t continue, because as for him, he wants a wife that is ready to do whatever he orders her to, whether it’s to give him sex no matter what, cut off all her friends and stick to him alone, and even to flush the toilet when he shits.”
Akushika looked startled. “Seriously? He actually said that?”
“To my face ooo, my sister. To my face,” Bukky affirmed, that look of repulsion still on her face. “The way I was fuming, eh. Which kind rubbish be that? I don’t blame him, though. He probably learned it from his father or some uncle bi. That nonsense mindset some men in my country hold, and to be honest, a lot of African countries, just dey vex me!”
Jonny shook his head. “See, me sef, I’ve never understood that last thing. Like, how? A grown ass man. With properly functioning faculties. And you can’t even flush the toilet when you’re doing dropping bombs; you expect your wife to do it for you. Ah, how? Simple pulling of lever or pressing button to flush the thing, your wife must do it?”
“They are not serious. For them, wife is not life partner ooo, wife is glorified househelp with small privileges. That’s why I love Sir Remmy and Maa Dru so much, they show you what real marriage looks like,” Bukky mentioned. “See how he treats her, and she treats him. The love and submission is mutual and beautiful. That’s what you call marriage. No be this glorified househelp ideology.”
“Definitely not. As for Sir Remmy and Maa Dru, their bond is something else,” Jonny agreed. “And that’s what I want with you. I still can’t believe I let pride get in the way of hearing what they had to say. But anyways, that’s over now. Time to get back on that path.”
Bukky smiled sweetly at him and rubbed his hand. “Yes, baby.”
Akushika’s heart warmed at the sight of them. It was good to see Jonny, after holding on to that stubborn pride, finally caving in and accepting his faults and making an effort to do better.
Thank God it worked out…
***
“… and so I’ve decided to work on my attitude and become less focused on myself and my abilities,” Jonny announced, his arm around Bukky as they faced everyone else in the Mills-Odoi apartment. “I realize now that I wasn’t doing enough to make Bukky feel appreciated, and I want to change that. Because I not only have the most beautiful Naija babe on planet earth as my girl, I have the most talented babe in the universe, and I’ve been stupid enough in not acknowledging that. It’s time for change.”
Everyone looked relieved at that statement. The old Jonny had always refused to acknowledge his wrongs, so this looked genuine to them.
“Well, praise the Lord for that!” Remaliah remarked, a pleased look on your face. “Because the way you’d resist what we said sometimes, I honestly wondered if you knew that some of us know a thing or two about relationships.”
Jonny rubbed his head sheepishly. “Yeahhhh… I really allowed my pride to go far. But, it’s over now. Everything you’ve said has been taken in good faith. So now, if I’m using my phone while she’s singing, it’s to record her. Every message can wait.”
Raymond and Drusilla nodded approvingly. “That’s it. That’s the way to go,” Drusilla encouraged. “Support your woman. That’s what she’s needed all this time.”
“Yeah, that’s all,” Raymond agreed. “Thank goodness you’ve finally realized it. We’ll be around to hold you accountable, of course, so chale, make you no slack!”
Akushika nodded, smiling.
What a relief it was to have this family back together!
All’s well that ends well on that side of the story! That was quite an emotional reconciliation. Let’s hope Jonny sticks to his word and treats her better from now on…
