UPDATE ON O

I am happy.
Yes, it’s because of O!
I think he really cares for me.

Okay let me start from where I stopped the last time.
That night I planned to call him by midnight(during happy hours) but slept off and didn’t wake until about 3am.
Then I decided to call but his phone kept ringing and he wasn’t picking it. After 4 tries, I gave up and went back to sleep. When I got up to prepare for work in the morning I had a text message on my phone. It was from him. He was sorry he had missed my calls and blab la bla.

I didn’t reply the text. I just went ahead to prepare and leave for the office. Unfortunately for me I forgot my phone at home. I only discovered after I had gotten to work and there was no way I was going back because of the phone. I simply resigned myself to being phoneless for the day.

On getting home later that evening, I had like twenty three missed calls on the phone. O’s was like 5 out of them. He had also sent me a text message that read:
“Too busy to take my calls? Even during the day?
Okay if you don’t wanna talk to me, at least send me a text. Am concerned
about you ”

When I read the text my heart melted and I replied, telling him I forgot my phone at home. A few minutes later he called and we talked for a while. He was so sorry he hadn’t called me for a while and he explained that he had been having some issues in the office and he was even angry at me that if he didn’t call, I wouldn’t.
We finally apologized to each other and I promised to call him at midnight so we could talk more.

Later, in the middle of the night , we talked a whole lot more. 1am till 4am(three whole hours!) and it was only when I insisted that we had to sleep cos both of us had jobs to go to in the morning that we finally ended the call. It’s always so good to talk to him cos he really makes me happy and he says it’s the same for him too.

He also came to pay me a visit at the office later in the day. I was so delighted when he called me to say he was in front of my office. I was impressed. He spent about 45mins with me in my office before he left.

On another note.

I think I might have a problem in my hands soon if this thing with O keeps getting deeper. You see I am an Ibo babe and my folks are VERY tribalistic…you know insisting I marry from my own tribe and all that. Thing is up till now, I never had issues with that because I had never met a non-ibo guy I really liked well enough to get serious with until I met O that is.
With O, things are different. I really like this dude and there are indicators that he feels the same way but I forsee a bleak future(if any) for us because of my folks. It would really be a WAR getting them to accept O as a son-in-law. There is something though. O is partly Ibo. His dad is Edo while his mum is Ibo. He’s got an Ibo name and he speaks a little funny ibo too,lol! Anyway, I don’t know if that is gonna give him an advantage with my parents.

Another thing is this, we are Catholics and my parents would love so much for me to get hooked to a catholic man too. Parents whose children don’t marry from the church lose certain priviledges like they can’t join the knighthood or for the mother, she loses the chance to ever receive the prestigious “Ezinne”(Good mother) award. Only mothers whose daughters do not get pregnant out of wedlock or marry outside the catholic church are eligible for the award.

Yesterday evening I was chatting with my mum and somehow our conversation drifted to INTER-RACIAL/DENOMINATIONAL MARRIAGES. The daughter of a family friend(they are Ibo) recently gotten married to a Yoruba guy from Osun state and a cousin of mine(they are Catholics) had just come to inform my folks that she was getting married to a guy who is Anglican.

Mum: You know her mum said they had to consent to the marriage when they
realized she was already in the family way. (She was talking about my cousin).

Me: I suspected! The last time she was here, she looked pregnant.

Mum: Yes. Initially her dad insisted he wasn’t going to be a party to the wedding but
her mum finally convinced him to. For her, its better that her daughter got married to an Anglican than for the story to be that she got pregnant in her father’s house.

Me: I guess so. It’s a better deal for all of them.

Mum: Ehen…you know Mr. Obi(pauses as I nod in affirmation). His daughter just
got married to a guy from Osun state! (She said it like that was a abomination,lol!)

Me: Really!! Osun state??(I was genuinely surprised. This is a very rare occurrence where I come from. I thought about the battle the girl must have fought with her parents before they gave in and silently gave the girl kudos in my mind)

Mum: Yes o! I hear he was her childhood friend in Benin where they grew up.

(Slight pause in our discussion as I was still deep in thought. I looked up at my mum, she was engrossed in the programme showing on TV )

Me: Mum…??

Mum: Yes…??(She turned to look at me with raised eyebrows)

Me: Which would you prefer? For me to marry a non-catholic or a non-Ibo guy??

She looked at me intently, probably searching for clues to know if I was dating any of the above. After a while, she looked away and seemed to ponder about my question

Mum: Hmmm…that’s a hard one o! Non- catholic I don’t like…and Non- Ibo…that
one too is out of it.

Me: But mum…I can’t keep limiting myself like that! If the Ibo guys are not coming, will I kill myself or wait forever??

She didn't say a word, she just kept mum.

I knew it was time to stop before she began interrogating me to find out which of the forbidden two I was dating. The Non-ibo or the Non-catholic,lol! I already had the answer I sought. She obviously didn’t like any of the two options.

Pity O is both of them. Non-ibo and Non-catholic. This thing go hard o!
Anyway make we dey look, its not as if O has proposed or anything of that sort yet but is it better not to start what looks like I wont be able to finish or should I just keep going with my heart and pray we’ll cross the bridge successfully when we get to that river?

I have talked to him about this and he says he doesn’t want to lose me because of the fact that we don’t come from the same tribe or we don’t attend the same church. He feels we should not let them(my folks) come between us. We have agreed to just take it slowly and see where it all leads.
Hopefully someplace good. *Fingers crossed*

Opinions peeps??