It was on a Saturday morning on my way to the farm, I saw Adams, my friend, playing draughts with two others under a tree by the roadside.
"Isn't this too early?" I asked myself.
Adams is a professional plumber. He had complained to me a few days earlier about how he wasn't getting jobs. He lamented that in all the contracts that he bid for, none had materialized.
"Instead of staying idle at home, why not engage yourself in farming? An idle hand is a devil's workshop," I had advised him in one of our discussions.
"Farming is energy-draining. I can't cope with the kind of energy it demands," he responded to me.
When I saw him playing draughts that early, what came to my mind was a question of the appropriateness of a responsible person waking up in the morning to go and play games with retirees. Immediately I spotted him, I returned home without him seeing me. I had a few minutes to think of what I could tell him to make him leave the game and come to meet me. An idea struck my mind. I picked up my phone and dialed his number.
"Adams, someone is here to see you," I told him on the phone. "He was directed to come and meet you for an emergency contract for you. Where are you? Can you come over?" I asked him.
"I went to get something down the street. I will be with you within a few minutes," he responded with excitement registered in his voice.
In less than 10 minutes, Adams arrived. He walked as fast as he could to cover a distance that normally takes about 15 minutes in less than 10 minutes.
"Finally, someone remembered me," he muttered as he approached me.
"Thank you very much, Ojo. Please, where is the potential client," he asked anxiously.
"He is seated inside." I pulled his hand and headed to the living room of my house.
As we entered the room, his eyes scanned the house with eagerness to meet the client.
"Adams, you are welcome. I was the one that called you so that we could have our usual talk."
The smiles on his face disappeared. The colors of his eyes changed immediately. They were red.
"How dare you prank me with what I have been praying for. You are putting salt on my injury. Is that how a good friend behaves?" Adams raged on in anger.
"Adams, have your seat," I beckon on him. "I have been telling you this thing and I will not get tired of telling you. It is an act of indiscipline for you to wake up and all you could do as early as 8 AM is to go and play games with retirees. I am telling you this because I want the best for you as my friend."
"Who told you that I was playing any game with anybody? When you called me, didn't I tell you that I went down the street to buy something?"
Adams stood up in anger and made his way out of the house. I stood up and followed him, telling him what I had in mind as I trailed him from behind on his way outside.
"I was on my way to the farm and I saw you with two older men playing games at your usual spot." I mentioned the names of the men that I saw him with.
"But that doesn't call for the kind of prank that you played on me. You know that I need a job and you chose to pull my legs with it. It hurts me."
"I am sorry if you felt that way. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was only thinking of what to tell you for you to leave there. If I told you that I wanted to see you ordinarily, you wouldn't have left the place. Don't forget also that you hurt me with this habit of waking up to play games instead of investing your time in productive activities. Those men are retirees while you are just coming up. Does that correlate?"
"I understand your point. I am sorry for doing that. I am feeling depressed and I decided to just lay my hand on any activity to distract me," Adams responded with sobriety.
We were still standing outside the house discussing when information crept in that an accident had occurred involving a truck. We joined other sympathizers to trek to the accident spot immediately.
I couldn't believe my eyes when I was approaching the accident scene. My body was practically shaking. Adams's hands were placed on his head with his mouth wide open. Like someone drenched in rain, his face was under a pool of sweat. A cargo truck had lost control and rammed into the tree under which Adams and other men were playing draughts. I couldn't summon the courage to go near the scene. I was imagining what could have happened to the other men that Adams left there.
After watching from afar for a few minutes, I saw people gathered around the two elderly men while they were expressing their gratitude to God for escaping death by the whisker.
Adams and I went closer to hear one of the men talk.
"I was playing draughts with a boy called Adams who is a plumber.
"See him, see him," he pointed a finger to Adams while others watched on.
Adams nodded his head in response. He was still shocked to utter a word.
"Adams received a call, probably from someone who wanted to see him urgently," the elderly man continued. "He left the game and went home immediately. My friend here then claimed that the call had provided an escape route for me from defeat. I disagreed and told him that I would have won against Adams. He suggested we keep the game the way it was for us to complete it when Adams returns. While waiting for Adams, I left to buy airtime while my friend used the opportunity to urinate at the adjourning bush. The next thing we heard was the sound of the impact. I looked back and saw the truck mutilate our seats and draughts board against the tree."
All through his narration, the other elderly friend was sitting on the floor, panting heavily.
Congratulations were pouring in for them while the two occupants of the truck who sustained minor injuries were being administered first aid before going to the hospital.
"You saved my life this morning," Adams turned to me and said.
"It's a coincidence but I thank God that he used me to save you. I hope you learn from this and turn a new leaf."
The experience preached to Adams beyond what I had been telling him about being addicted to playing games during working hours. He changed his ways and the results were amazing. If a plumbing contract wasn't forthcoming, instead of spending his time playing games, he ventured into alternative productive activities. He is doing well today.
