EVA I

Eva looked at her wrist watch again and frowned It was way beyond her dismissal time and he was yet to show up.  

Eva was a colleague of mine back in my Paralegal days at a prominent Law Firm. We shared the same office and a lot of feminine secrets, so I knew what was bothering her. It was Ted.

She paced up and down our tiny office and eventually turned towards me;

“He is late. I’m getting worried.” I sighed and came over to hold her hands. Ted was indeed running late.

Let me tell you about Ted and Eva. This is not a regular love story. It is something way beyond that. Ted loved Eva more than anything in the world. He would gladly give up his life for her. She was the only woman in his life. I know you are thinking; “A Naija man die for you? Story!” In fact, when I first met them I had thought it was all a deception but as the days flew by, I accepted that their love for each other was tested and trusted. It was more spiritual than physical.  
It all started when Ted’s mum was employed as a servant in Eva’s home. She bonded with Eva's family. Two years after Eva’s birth, she died. She had been a single mum with no relations, so Eva’s parents loved Ted like a son they never had. Ten years later, Eva lost her parents in a fatal auto crash. Her grandmother took up the responsibility of catering for them. Growing up with her was not easy. Her parents had left behind a reasonable sum of money so going to school initially was not difficult. Years later, grand mum died, their savings finally ran out and Life became a living hell.

Ted got a job as a laborer and Eva as a Nanny. As luck would have it, a philanthropist heard their story and Eva being extremely brilliant, got a scholarship. The church assisted Ted with most of his fees and before long, they graduated. She got a job as the Administrative Officer in the Law firm, but Ted was not so lucky.

Being jobless, he totally depended on Eva and she never complained nor disrespected him. Ted was Eva’s world. Their love deepened and they eventually got married. It was a small wedding at the local church and because she had little or no friends, I was her maid of honor. Her wedding gown was cheap, his suit was borrowed, but they were over the moon.

That cleared; let us get back to my story.

Earlier that day, Our Principal and the Lawyers in the firm had gone for their respective court proceedings so Eva and I had a lot of time to kill. We were checking out shoes on line, just for the fun of it, when Ted rushed into the office. He grabbed his angel, hugged her tightly, danced around the office for a while and kissed her on the lips. Eva giggled and I laughed. Ted loved kissing his girl all the time, so I was used to it.

Anyway, after all the romantic drama, he shared the good news with us. He had gotten a job offer from a renowned ICT firm. It was his dream job! We forgot we were at the office and danced to the good news. We ecstatically said a prayer of thanksgiving together and he hurried off to collect his offer letter with a promise to take us out in the evening. All that happened in the morning. It was almost 7pm and Ted was nowhere to be found. All our attempts to reach his phone had been futile.

“He is here!”

Eva’s apprehensive voice brought me back to reality. She rushed over to the door, pulled it open and a deflated Ted walked in. She was overjoyed. Instinctively guessing that something was amiss, I got up to excuse myself, but Ted begged me to stay back. He looked so stressed out and double his age.
Eva coerced him into a vacant chair, offered him a bottle of cold water from the office fridge and we watched him gulp down the water. Being unable to suppress her emotions, she asked;

“What happened?”

Ted met her gaze and almost whispered; “I got the job.”

Eva and I screamed out happily and danced around the office.

“But they made me another offer.” he uttered slowly


We froze at the spot and turned to face him. That was when I saw the tears. Ted was crying...

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