The President’s Wife episode 7
TITLE: THE PRESIDENT’S WIFE
WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI
CHAPTER 7
Zara’s birthday was in April. She had no plans for it. It fell on the week of the Easter holiday. Her manager helped spread the word. She received gifts, cash, cards and cakes. She was surprised. She shared the cakes she received with staff and customers. She reserved some for her housemates.
At about 3:30pm, she received a special delivery. This was different. There was a cake and a box that had an assortment of snacks. The box was branded with the name of a popular fast food company in Lagos which didn’t have a presence in Ogun state. She asked who sent it. Then he walked into the marketing department, it was Lere. He was well dressed in a red check shirt (the sleeves were folded up), chinos trousers and a pair of light brown loafers. He removed his glasses as he entered the banking hall. He looked so handsome that Zara couldn’t resist going to him to hug him.
“I wanted to surprise you,” he said to her as he pecked her.
“You surprised me. Thank you.”
“Anything for you, baby”
“Please have a seat.”
She introduced him to her colleagues and superiors as her boyfriend. They were all surprised. The guy is handsome and she is beautiful, they were a perfect match. Too perfect a match. Her manager couldn’t believe she was dating such a guy. She was a very simple girl; this guy looked older and more experienced. No wonder she wasn’t interested in the offers she had been getting.
Lere went home with her that evening. He took her and her friends to have dinner to celebrate. They spent the night together. They k!$sed and that was it. Lere was ready to wait. He didn’t want to ever beg her to give in.
He had asked his friend Dipo to ask Tiwa about Zara. He wondered what he could do to get her. Dipo advised him to wow her as much as he can. She loved surprises. He added, ”it is the little things that count, not the amount involved. Make her feel wanted and desired, don’t rush her. She will make the first move when she is ready.”
Lere, without informing Zara, organised a birthday party for her during the Easter weekend. He invited her friends who invited those who could attend. Those that had no accommodation, he gave them his home. He got her sister, Adanna, involved. She invited some of her friends from home. Their parents had travelled for the Easter holiday with the boys, only Adanna and Zara were home.
Lere had a job that weekend, they had an event. So, he linked the event with Zara’s birthday. He asked the artiste performing for a favour. He was to announce her name, it was her birthday and dance with her on stage. It was a perfect plan.
Zara was shocked to see her friends and family at the beach that day. This was the second surprise. They had enough to eat and drink. They had fun at the shore. They took several pictures as a photographer was on the ground to take their pictures, also organised by Lere.
Lere had to shuttle between work and the party. That was why he invited mainly her friends and his friends to keep her company. Some of his friends knew Zara from Dipo’s wedding while three of them had never heard of her. They were impressed with her and there were ladies for them to ‘toast’ too.
When the show began, they all migrated to the venue on the beach. Different artists performed and the crowd was ecstatic. Then Lagbaja got on the stage with his mask. The crowd went wild. He sang some of his songs but before he descended the stage he announced, “Today is the birthday celebration of a beautiful young lady. Her man has requested a special number. Please if Zara is here right now, I want to sing this song to you.”
Zara couldn’t believe her ears. Her family and friends urged her to climb the stage. Lere led her to be taken up the stage. When Lagbaja saw her, he exclaimed, “You are beautiful. Omo anything for me?” The crowd went wild again. Zara was shy as he held her hand and sang for her. She couldn’t stop smiling because she was very happy; the day had been amazing. When she came down from the stage after the song was over, she went straight into Lere’s hands and held him tightly. He was embarrassed because his colleagues were there watching him.
The show was on until very late that night. Zara refused to go home with her sister and friends. Lere’s friends had agreed to drop most of them off. They were to leave the beach at 11 pm. His colleague informed him a room had been reserved for him if he couldn’t make the long drive home. He asked Zara if she would be willing to stay in the hotel to add glam to her day. She agreed.
When she got into the hotel, Lere excused himself to tend to the media representatives downstairs. She had a bath and washed her underwear. She brushed out the sand on her jeans shorts and spread them on the couch in the room. She wore a bathrobe and sat down to watch television.
This was the first time Lere was seeing her without clothes. He had a bag with him he brought from the car; he always had spare clothes because of the nature of his job. He gave her a t-shirt to wear and went into the bathroom to bathe. He wondered about her; she looked different. While taking a bath, something told him to play cool; it was going down tonight.
He came out in his pyjamas. She was already in the bed, she covered herself. He joined her and asked her, “I hope you had a good time today.”
“I had an amazing time. Thank you.”
“I’m glad you did. So, how will you reciprocate? It has to be a surprise you know.”
“It is a surprise. Turn off the light. O, before then, do you have protection?”
Lere didn’t believe he heard her right. He asked, “Come again?”
“I asked if you have protection. Do you have condoms?”
Lere jumped out of the bed, quickly dressed up, and went outside to buy two packs of condoms. He rushed back upstairs before she changed her mind. He couldn’t thank Dipo enough for his advice which had led to this.
As he entered the room, it was dark. He tried to turn on the light but she stopped him. He opened the curtains so some light could come in. He noticed she didn’t have the t-shirt on again. He undressed quickly and joined her in the bed.
He didn’t make any move when he laid down. She k!$sed him first. He wanted to touch her body so badly that it hurt. But, he didn’t want to make the first move and then she will say no. She came on top of him, bent down to k!$s him and led his hands to her body. He couldn’t believe it. He turned her to the bed and touched her. She didn’t resist. He said to her, “I can’t believe this, it is better than I imagined. You are so beautiful. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Lere stopped, turned on the bedside lamp to look at her and asked her, “What did you just say?”
“I love you too”
Lere laid back down on the bed and covered his face with his hands. There were tears in his eyes. He had been waiting to hear this from her for months now. He could feel she did but you never know with women.
Zara switched off the light and tried to remove his hands but he resisted. She k!$sed him instead. She k!$sed every visible space on his face down to his neck and then his chest. He was fully aroused at this stage. He took over from her and they made love that night. It was beautiful for both of them.
Early the next morning, Zara woke up, took her bath and tried to dress up in the bathroom. Lere came into the bathroom stark naked while she was still trying to wear her clothes. He smiled at her trying to cover herself and pulled her close to him. He k!$sed her and asked if she had a restful sleep.
She nodded in response. He was naked and she was uncomfortable. He eased himself, washed his hands and picked her up into the bedroom. “Don’t be shy around me. I’m crazy about you.”
She insisted on attending service that same day. She had missed the early morning service and didn’t want to miss the 8:30 am service. He asked her how she can face God after sinning. She told him it was between her and God. He drove her home, waited for her to change for church and then dropped her off at church. He slept in the car waiting for her. After service, he brought her home to change and pack her things to travel back to her base.
They met Adanna at home. She came out to thank Lere for the day before. Zara’s two friends had spent the night at her house but they left for another friend’s house that morning. They would return to base on their own.
Adanna asked her, “Where did you sleep last night?”
“One beautiful hotel in Victoria Island. He finished very late.”
“The guy looks very happy; what happened there?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You are avoiding my eyes, at long last. I hope he is good o, not fine for nothing.” Zara smiled at her comment. “I can see he is good. Enjoy yourself but please don’t get pregnant. Now you have given him, he will be wanting it all the time. Protect yourself. You are a smart girl.”
Zara understood her sister. She couldn’t afford to be careless with Lere. She couldn’t deny her love for him but she was already scared it was moving too fast. She loved him enough to want to spend the rest of her life with him but her folks. They wanted their daughters to marry Igbo men.
Before they got to Lere’s house, they had to stop and shop for the Easter celebration. Immediately they got in, Zara began to cook. In two hours, food was ready. They ate, gave some food to Lere’s neighbour and then went to have a nap.
Zara was entering Lere’s room for the first time. He confessed he had modified it. He changed the bed and the mattress. He had a dressing table, a wardrobe and drawers. It looked nice. He switched on the air conditioner (which was new) and asked her to feel free.
Lere wanted them to talk about the future. His job took him outside Lagos often but the allowance was very good. He wanted her to come to Lagos every weekend to be with him if he was around or join him wherever he was. Mondays were her days off so she could come Friday evening and return Monday evening.
Zara didn’t like travelling, every week was too much. She wanted them to continue as they used to. She didn’t mind being the one to meet him but it should be once a month or if there was a long holiday, she would join him.
Lere agreed. He suggested they stay in a hotel when he visits which she felt was a waste of money. He claimed her room wasn’t comfortable and her friends badge in whenever they liked. She agreed.
Then out of the blues, Lere asked, “When do I meet your parents?”
“Meet my parents? What for?”
“To officially introduce myself as the man you are in a relationsh¡p with.”
“It is not necessary.”
“I think it is. I will drop you in front of your house, no more hiding. Zara, I will be thirty-three this year and I want to settle down. So, I need to know from you where this is heading?”
“Let’s not rush things. We just started the next level, we have to know if we are compatible. The next stage is knowing if the love will fade after having intimacy. For some couples it does.”
“You are joking, right? You must be. What do you mean by compatibility? How does love fade after s-×? s-× you have deprived me of for months. See, Zara if you want us to be serious, then let us be. Don’t play games with me. I’m not hiding anymore.”
“Let my service year be over before we talk about seeing our families. Please.”
“Better.”