He needed a break!!! As he absent mindedly navigated the route back to his cozy apartment somewhere in Ikoyi, Ayo struggled to remember the last time he had spent any actual time in it.
He was a co-owner of one of the biggest event planners in his city, even in the country. That meant that he spent weekdays going over every tiny detail to make sure that his parties were perfect and spent the weekends at those parties fixing any last-minute glitches.
Source
He was a hard worker, he had always been, and when he initially started this business with his old college roommate three years ago he had loved everything about his job. It paid well, it was a lot of fun, he got to meet new and exciting people every day and given his attractive physical features he was rarely “lonely” at night.
As he grew older, however, his appetite for loud music, alcohol, and beautiful women seemed to have run its course. He looked forward to being alone and enjoying a self-care day instead of being out with his boys at a competitor's event just so that they could stay ahead of the game.
He missed his family more these days, his sisters were proud of him and loved to show off their brother who was responsible for some of the biggest events in Lagos and the country, they loved the perks of his job, the celebrities, the money, the traveling and he let them accompany him sometimes when they weren’t too busy with school, but he knew they wouldn’t understand if he told them his job didn’t make him happy anymore.
His door was open, he groaned and made his way inside the house, he wasn’t in the mood for company tonight, He just wanted to be alone and go to bed.
“Ayo!!! Is this how late you come home every day”
His mother called from the kitchen, he had texted her when he got into town but he didn’t expect her to ambush him at home.
“Maami, E ku Irole o (good evening)” he responded walking towards the kitchen, he could smell her legendary ewedu soup already, he wondered where she had found the condiments in his empty kitchen.
“Ibo lo wa (where are you)…come and taste this soup”
He walked into the kitchen and wrapped his mom in a warm embrace, when she pulled away from him she held his face in her hands and stared at him for a while, she gave him another hug and said to him
“I have made food, come and eat”.
Source
Mother and son ate the meal in silence, he had missed her cooking so much, the old woman certainly knew how to make him feel better even after all these years. When he was done devouring the amala and ewedu he joined her in his living room and awaited the lecture she undoubtedly had ready for him. He wondered what the topic would be this time, marriage, his sisters, or his “fake job”…his mother believed a man with a degree in business management had no business throwing parties for a living.
“ ọmọ mi, ṣe inu rẹ dun? (My son, are you happy)”
She asked, her voice full of concern.
“Yes mom, The job is going good, we’ve had bigger clients requesting our services…we are considering expanding into Ghana and some other neighboring countries which will increase how much money we make, I can’t complain mom”. He responded trying to put her at ease.
“I'm not asking about your job my son, you have circles under your eyes…I haven’t seen you in months…the last girl you brought home was two years ago…you have been working non-stop…all that is fine but I’ve been having dreams about you and I am worried…I just want to know if you’re happy”. His mother said calmly, moving his plates to the sink.
He wondered how she knew he wasn’t okay, he hadn’t spoken to anyone about any of the things bothering him, and the last time she had seen him, he hadn’t even processed his thoughts properly yet.
“I’ll be fine mom…just adjusting and growing…I’ll be fine”.
“ Emi ni iya rẹ. Mo nifẹ rẹ diẹ sii ju igbesi aye lọ… Mo wa nibi nigbakugba ti o ba ṣetan lati sọrọ. (I am your mother. i love you more than life...i am here whenever you are ready to talk.)”
As he hugged her and bade her good night, he spent the rest of the night thinking about his life and what he wanted from it…it felt good to know that he wasn’t alone. In the next room, his mother got on her knees and said a silent prayer for her son…for God to grant him happiness.
Early the next morning she came downstairs to meet him on the phone…when he was done with his call she asked…”Ayo…aren’t you going to work?”
“Not today mom…I’m taking a few days off to spend time with you and think about a few things…I just informed my partner”. He responded kissing her good morning.
“I’ll make breakfast then…Dodo (fried plantains) and custard”.
Ayo smiled…it’s the little things that made him happy.
