The very first time Doreen set eyes on Ezekiel Umunna, she fell in love. He was really tall, dark skinned with a beautiful even complexion. Goddamn! she thought to herself as soon as she laid eyes on him at the reception of a colleague's wedding. Evidently he was with a bunch of guys because they all seemed huddled in a group laughing and cavorting. Still, she could not take her eyes off him.
"Omo, who are you staring at abeg?" asked Linda walking up to her "I have been calling you from over there since" "Oh, nobody oh" said Doreen quickly and followed her friend Linda into the hall where people were busy eating and drinking. Meanwhile the object of her affection Easy as he was called by his friends was trying to hook up with one pretty lady that had just served him some food"So maybe we can go out tonight to Steven's?" Easy asked the girl whose name was Ifeyinwa. "Mmm, I'm going to be busy tonight sha, maybe some other time" said Ifeyinwa"Ah, ah don't be like that now, its just going to be a chilling out kind of thing you know, no pressure" said Easy looking at her straight in the eyes. His ex-girlfriends had always told him that his look could melt any girl. Apparently it worked this time"Well, ok, but it won't be tonight, maybe next weekend" replied Ifeyinwa"Cool, give me your GSM number and I will call you ok? So we can set up a date" Easy said as he walked her back to her friends. Easy never considered himself to be a playboy but to use his own words he had a way with women and he was rarely without a girlfriend. His current girlfriend Bola was starting to misbehave so he was considering giving her the boot. One of his close friends told him about a sexual excapade he had with Bola and he was so angry at her though he had decided not to confront her, nevermind that he had slept with a couple of Bola's friends too. He also hoped that he would have some spare cash the following week to take the girl out. From the corner of his eye, he say a girl pointing discreetly at him, it seemed the girl knew him because she were looking at him and giggling to some other girls she was with. So he decided to go over there and say hi. "Hi ladies, how are you doing?""Hi" said Doreen thanking her stars he decided to come over and say hi "how are you doing?" replied Doreen"Oh sorry, I thought I knew you from somewhere" said Easy "My name is Ezekiel Umunna.""My name is Doreen Uwaezuoke and sorry if I was pointing at you, that's because you looked familiar" apologized Doreen still giving Ezekiel the once-over. She really liked what she saw. Reminded her of Brandy's "Full Moon" and she was ready to get cracking whenever he was."So where could we have met, I don't remember meeting you?" asked Easy"Did you go to Unilag?" asked Doreen"Actually I went to UniJos" replied Easy "but where do you work, Doreen?""I work for a small computer servicing firm in Apapa" replied Doreen"Hmm, I guess thats out too, and I don't go to church regularly so it can't be church either but anyway, it was nice meeting you" said Easy smiling then he turned and on seeing his friends beckon to him, he turned back to Doreen "Ok, I'll be taking off now, I came with a few friends" he said"Hmm, wait, don't go. I have never, ever done this in my life but can you call me?" asked Doreen as she handed him a complimentary card. Whoa! thought Ezekiel as he took the card because he was almost blown over by the sheer impetus of the lady. He did not like it at all. He preferred his women a little less forward but at the same time, it felt good to be admired by a lady. A lot of girls wanted the men to do all the legwork when it came to forming a relationship, preferring to keep their feelings all hidden until they were sure of the guy. Well, he thought to himself, putting Doreen's card in the pocket of his trousers, I'll see if I'll call her.
A couple of weeks later, over dinner at his house with Ifeyinwa, the last thought on his mind was Doreen when something on the television caught his eye. It was Doreen talking! He picked up the remote control and increased the volume of the TV. She was talking about some new medication used for treating hypertension and she seemed pretty knowledgeable about her subject. Easy continued with his meal and conversation with Ifeyinwa. He really liked Ifybaby as he called her and hoped to have a relationship with her but at the same time was intrigued by this lady who told him she worked at a small computer firm and was on TV talking about drugs and health.
"Hey honey, can you help me with that bag? Its too heavy for me" asked Doreen"Ok, as soon as I am done with this one" said Easy as he dragged a big box to the trunk of the car."Thanks honey" said Doreen giving Easy a big kiss as she went into the house. She was very happy, she and Easy were going to Abuja to visit her favorite auntie. Ever since she got married to Easy 2 years ago, everything seemed to be blissful. He was a very loving husband who was easy going. He was also very kind and nice to her. But you know, there was always a serpent in paradise. For some reason, Easy did not get along with her twin sister Doris and it was weird because normally, Doris got along with everybody. It was her, Doreen that had a lot of problems enjoying other people's company.She hoped that the trip to Abuja would be a success because Doris was also going to be there with her boyfriend."Honey, hurry up, we have to leave" said Easy as he got behind the wheel of their Lexus. Apart from Doreen being financially successful, things had really taken off for him ever since meeting Doreen. He had his own business now, importing cars and selling them and also imported other things from time to time whenever there was a demand for them. He knew a lot of people felt he married Doreen because she was from a wealthy home and successful in her own right, he did not care because he knew that was not strictly true. Yes, the money was part of the attraction but he firmly believed he would have married her anyway because she was very comfortable to be around and she did not nag him while they were dating. But her twin sister Doris was really a thorn in his flesh. Damn! that girl was so annoying, he always felt like choking her anytime she opened her mouth. She was always gabbling about one thing or the other, he really hated her. He wasn't looking forward to the trip to Abuja at all but he would do it anyway, just to please Doreen who he knew was really unhappy about the relationship between him and her sister.
"Here we go again" Easy thought to himself as Doris went into this hopelessly long tale about being stranded in Paris, "What in the world is wrong with this fool? I find it hard to believe she shares the same genes as my wife." The dinner was painfully long for Easy but finally it was over and he could go back upstairs with his lovely wife. It wad funny how good he felt about his wife, ever since he married her, he had only strayed once and that was because Doreen was pregnant. She had later lost the baby but since then he had been faithful to her because he knew how much it would hurt her if she caught him cheating. But women, he thought to himself shaking his head as he climbed the stairs, they just loved to tempt men with their clothes, their gait and their attitudes. They were so hard to resist and yet one still felt contemptuous towards them. Contemptuous because they had all the power to seduce men and were still insecure in themselves."Honey, ready for bed?" asked his wife as he opened the door to the guest room they were sleeping in. Auntie Efosa who was related to his wife by marriage had fantastic taste in decorating. The room looked so lovely with its wood panelling, soft velour loveseat and the prettiest bedroom set he had ever seen. The carving on the headborad was beyond description and still the room did not look overbearing or overdone, it looked just right.