The phone was silent throughout the night, and somehow, it was louder than all their fights.
Tunde woke up to the quiet.The first thing he noticed when he woke up, was the silence.
He didn't have any vibrations from his phone.
No message.
No missed call.
Just silence.
Amara always called before morning, regardless of how much they spat at each other, for three years.
Once in a while she would just say, Have you ever forgotten to say "I'm sorry" for being angry? other times she would pretend that nothing had happened.
Were you conscious of presenting today?
It was their unwritten tradition.
One of them always managed to get back before sunrise.
But not this time.
It was a small beginning the previous evening.
It usually did.
For the third time in the month Tunde canceled dinner.
Another client meeting.
Another apology.
Then there was the other one to be different next weekend.
Amara didn't shout.
She just looked at him across the table in the restaurant, before she put down her fork.
She said quietly "I don't think you select work anymore.
I'm pretty sure you've begun to select a life that doesn't require me.
Tunde sighed "You're exaggerating".
She smiled.
This isn't a happy face smile.
The type that comes after the disappointment.
"No," she whispered.
I believe I've stopped my excuses for you now.
Then she got to her feet and left.
He didn't follow.
He was convinced that she would come to her senses, because of his pride.
She always did.
It was 11:48 p.m., Tunde had had two beers and a lot of confidence.
He typed.
Why are You being unreasonable.
Delete.
May be able to talk on tomorrow?
Delete.
I miss you already.
Delete.
Last but not least, he only wrote 3 words.
"Come back home."
He gazed at the screen but for some reason he didn't press Send instead he lay the phone next to his bed and went to sleep.
It was a truth as morning that dawned.
Everything looked ordinary.
The sun was streaming through the sash and windows.
Birds argued outside.
A neighbour's generator was rattling, roaring, and coughing.
However, there seemed to be something that was always different inside the apartment.
He picked up his cell phone.
Nothing.
At noon he was headed towards Amara's parents' house.
He was to apologize and speak in a manner he had rehearsed but it all came crumbling down when he noticed her sitting under the mango tree in the compound.
She looked... peaceful.
That unsettled him.
It was not to be a peace that was to come so suddenly.
She lifted her head as he came up to her.
I had to come here to say sorry.
She nodded.
"I know."
Do you know that I was coming?
"I knew eventually."
He was seated across from her.
"I was wrong."
Silence.
I was always in my head, "there's always another opportunity to get it right.
Still silence.
Then she spoke.
What was the worst thing you had to do?
"It wasn't the cancelled dinners."
“In fact, it wasn't the late nights.”
It was not even that they were not keeping their promises.
She gazed him in the face.
It was like, "I knew you were going to get it all the time.
She never spoke on high.
“Have you ever wondered why I was tired, too?”
The words hit harder, than any yelling could ever.
Tunde had nothing to lose, it was the first time in years.
No clever argument.
Only regret.
I don't want you to go away from me, He said.
Amara smiled sadly.
"I believe you."
Gleams of hope came into his mind.
Then she continued "love isn't only about realizing someone's value after they're walking away", His chest tightened while he spoke, It's about trying to make them feel needed while they're still by your side.
After several months they saw each other again not by accident it was actually by invitation.
A marriage that is arranged by a mutual family member.
It was a roomful of laughter.
People danced.
Life had continued.
They spoke as if they were good friends.
No animosity was felt.
Only honesty.
As Amara was about to leave, she gave him a little envelope.
The invitation to the engagement was in the inside.
Not theirs.
Hers.
On the back she had written one sentence.
Thanks for being the man I needed!
Tunde carefully folded up the card.
This time, he didn't run after her when he first saw her.
Other endings don't require another conversation.
They seek to be accepted.
The next morning after their last argument, they were still in love.The next morning, after their last argument, they were still in love.
It came to an end the kind of love that is based on second chances rather than on decisions in the day-to-day.
And sometimes...
That's the only means to an end that can be a new beginning.
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