My phone buzzed, and it was Cynthia calling. It's been a while since I last spoke to her, so I couldn't contain the joy "Hello, Cynthia, how are you?".
I could feel the excitement in the tone of her voice. "Hey, my friend, there's good news: I have been granted a visa to Canada," I screamed at the top of my voice because I knew how badly she had wanted to relocate for greener pastures and the many hurdles she had jumped to get to this point. "Yeah, this calls for celebration, babe", I responded at once. "Yeah, sure, babe, I'll come to see you tomorrow", she replied and then dropped the call.
I knew how much Cynthia loved Agonyi beans and Agege bread., I woke up pretty early that Saturday morning to fix her favorite meal, and then she showed up a few hours later.
"So babe, I'll be throwing a party in my house, strictly for family and a few friends; let's wine and dine, for this is a great thing that has happened in my life,", she excitedly shared little details of how the party was going to look.
The day slated for the "mini party was the 24th of June, and the dress code was an all-white party; in her words "white signifies joy and victory", I rocked a very sleek white jumpsuit to the house party.
I was wowed by the beautiful ambiance, fancy lighting, elaborate decor, white balloons and ribbons beautifully placed on the ceiling and walls, and how beautiful she looked.
Cynthia looked like a bride who was getting married, she was dressed in a very beautiful white dress. What she called a "mini party", turned out to be a feast of assorted food and drinks. I surveyed all the dishes on the table; there was Abacha, jollof rice, goat meat pepper soup, peppered gizzard, yogurt, small chops, and red wine. At the other end, her younger brother sat with his violin ready to entertain us with his skills. I smiled because I knew it was going to be a memorable celebration.
"Is this what you call a mini party?", I queried Cynthia, and then she smiled. "I called it a mini party because there would be few people to munch on the feast of foods and drinks available", she responded with a wink.
The ceremony began with an opening prayer, games, and exchanges of words of affirmation, after which we sat on the table, eating, drinking, and dining with the whole room filled with laughter and tears of joy, and then we took lots of shots to keep the memory alive, it was indeed a memorable feast.
