The president’s wife episode 1

TITLE: THE PRESIDENT’S WIFE

WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI

CHAPTER 1

Aduralere, fondly called Lere, went for his friend’s engagement. His friend, Dipo was getting married to his longtime girlfriend, Tiwa. Tiwa had just returned from the United Kingdom where she won a scholarsh¡p for her Master’s degree. She came back to tie the knot with the love of her life.

It was a beautiful engagement. All the groom’s men were seated together at a large table. They watched all the activities from their seats after they had joined the groom to prostrate in front of his in-laws. There was an assortment of drinks on their table. They sat there and admired the ladies on the other side. They were friends of Tiwa. The next day being a Friday, they were to attend Dipo’s bachelor’s eve party and the ladies were invited. The guys were selecting which of the ladies they would move with.

Lere and Dipo were both in their mid-thirties. The relationsh¡p between Dipo and Tiwa began when she was just eighteen and Dipo twenty-eight. Dipo refused to settle down with any other lady except Tiwa and Tiwa did the same. Their families accepted; that day was to cement their fate.

Lere liked Tiwa because he knew her. Dipo was her first and alone; she wanted it to remain that way. They both loved each other. Tiwa is kind, considerate and very caring. She treated all of Dipo’s friends as her elder brothers. She fed them and joined in their conversations. She never complained about their presence and played along when their girlfriends clashed.

Lere wanted a relationsh¡p like Dipo and Tiwa’s. He was glad they were getting married. Dipo told him last night about their plans to relocate. Tiwa was young but very smart. She was a thinker, planner and executor. She brought the idea, planned the relocation and made sure it went through. They were relocating to Canada in six months. This was good news to Lere because Dipo needed a sensible wife to lead him on the right path. Dipo had no initiative, but he was a good follower. Their union was made in heaven.

During the bachelor’s eve party, Lere and his friends talked to the girls. They were young and impressionable, so it was easy to score some shots with some of them. He went home with one of them, she was a bride’s maid for the wedding later in the day. He had to drop her off at 5 am. He went back to the hotel to catch up on some sleep before the event. The wedding was at 10 am.

Lere was Dipo’s best man. They arrived at the venue of the church ceremony thirty minutes before the scheduled time. The guys took their positions and waited for the bridal entourage.

Tiwa arrived with her entourage. She came with the ring bearer, little bride, flower girls and bride’s maids. She had all the work. She walked in escorted by her father. Behind her, ensuring the train stays in place was her delectable chief bride’s maid, Chizaram fondly called Zara for short. Zara took her role very seriously. Everyone could see the reason why she was chosen by Tiwa. They communicated without speaking; it was as though they could read each other’s minds.

Lere was blown away when he beheld her. The other grooms’ men were also enchanted by her. Apart from being beautiful, she was also confident and focused on her task that she didn’t notice them almost drooling at her sight.

Lere tried to talk to her while they worked, but she wasn’t interested in being chatty. He felt she snubbed him. When the bride’s maid he spent the night with a day before came to meet him and was acting overly familiar with him, he flirted a bit with her to get Zara’s attention. It didn’t appear as though Zara noticed.

Zara noticed, but she didn’t care. She was on an important job and didn’t need the unnecessary distraction his presence was offering. She found his flirting with the lady in her presence amusing but then it was still a distraction she didn’t need.

After the wedding reception, Zara collapsed in a chair, took off her shoes and massaged her aching feet. She was tired and hungry. Luckily, she had arranged for food to be taken to the hotel where they would be spending the night. Her room was next to the honeymoon suite so she could be handy for her best friend. She changed into a pair of slippers and walked out to the car to wait for the bride and groom to join her. As she waited, she reminisced on her friendsh¡p with Tiwa.

Zara and Tiwa met at the university. They were roommates in Zara’s second year. Tiwa was two years ahead of Zara. Tiwa studied Mass Communication while Zara was in her final year (thanks to the ASUU strike) studying Business Administration. Their friendsh¡p had extended to their families. Tiwa was from a comfortable home, the only daughter of her parents and she had three younger brothers. Zara was from a fairly comfortable home, she was the second child and daughter of her parents. She had five siblings, three sisters and two brothers who were the last. Both parents knew Tiwa and Zara and approved of their friendsh¡p even though Tiwa was three years older. The two best friends understood each other.

Zara approved of Dipo. She had never met a man who trusted or believed so much in his woman. Dipo would do whatever Tiwa suggested. Because Tiwa could see Dipo trusted her, she vowed never to mislead him. Zara could see this was a match made in heaven. Dipo was very loyal to Tiwa and so was Tiwa to him. They hærdly ever had any quarrels or fights.

When Tiwa came back from her one year Master’s degree, Zara was disappointed she didn’t stay back and work for a while to earn some money. Tiwa laughed at her. “You want me to stay there for longer than I did so another girl will take over my investment? No way! I love Dipo but I don’t trust him to always be faithful, especially when I am not around. Out of sight is out of mind. Before I hear he got a girl pregnant, I came back. We will relocate together.” Zara admired Tiwa for her tenacity.

Zara and Tiwa were very much alike. Unlike Tiwa, Zara preferred to be led than to lead. She grew up hearing her father say things like, “A woman should come be seen not heard.” “A man is the head of the family, his decision is final.” She watched how her mother could not have a say; her husband always had the final word, whether good or bad. Being a girl brought up according to the customs and traditions of her land, she had subconsciously accepted what she had experienced and heard. She allowed the man to lead. Her previous relationsh¡ps didn’t end well. He was an Igbo guy like her and he wanted to always be in control. She didn’t mind initially, but some advice he gave her didn’t sit well with her. She decided to do what her heart accepted and it worked out for her. He was angry and claimed she wasn’t submissive. She was shocked to hear that from him with all his education and exposure. She called it quits.

The newly wedded couple eventually came out of the reception hall with the help of the best man. He led them into their car as it was getting late already. Zara sat in front of the vehicle with the driver so the husband and wife could snuggle up against each other. It was a beautiful event and she was very happy for her friend.

At the hotel, she joined Tiwa in the honeymoon suite. The best man, Lere, was there with them. They let their hair down and enjoyed their meal and drinks. This was the first time they were officially introduced to each other. Lere couldn’t believe Zara was an undergraduate. He confessed he was impressed with the way she handled her responsibilities that day.

The newly wedded couple finally chased their best friends out of the room so they could have their first night as a couple. Lere asked Zara if she would be interested in still spending time with the rest of the gang, she declined. She was dead tired and needed to sleep.

Lere was so blown away by Zara that he decided to explore further. He bribed Dipo to get her intel. He got her hostel details, departmental details, her home address, the church she attended; he got the most valuable information he could ever need.

Lere was no saint. He liked the ladies and hærdly had a shortage of them, but Zara was different. He liked her confidence. He liked the fact she was not smitten by his good looks. She was a prize he was going to win for his hærd work.

Dipo warned Lere about Zara. She was not one of those girls you use and dump. He knew Lere could be a player, the reason he told him forefront what could happen. Lere assured him it was for real. He didn’t realise then how right he was.