Everything about that Sunday felt so uncertain, so plain, yet somehow remarkable. Until my phone rang.
It all felt like a dream when I saw his number pop up on the screen.
I knew that number. I had memorized it over the 14 months we were together.
I let it ring for a while before picking it up.
"HiâŠ" he said, and I just stood there, waiting. I didn't know what to say, so I ended the call.
My phone rang again, and I could feel my heart racing in my chest.
"What do you want?!" I yelled.
"Please, listen to me. Don't hang up, Bidemi. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," he said, his voice soft, just like the first time we met at that work retreat.
"Bidemi, I miss you. I miss us," he added. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Have you been drinking? I thought you stopped," I said.
"I haven't. Snapchat brought back memories of that time we went to Togo, and it made me realize how much I've missed you," he replied.
"And what happened to 'settling for less'?" I asked, feeling the hurt in my chest. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry. I really want us to meet. Please," he added. His tone filled with a vulnerability I wasn't sure I could trust.
"I'll think about it," I said, ending the call before he could say another word. I knew I shouldn't have felt happy, but I did.
Mayowa called me after such a long time. Has he finally realized his mistakes? I was tempted to reply and suggest we meet up later that night, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
I didn't want to make it seem like I had been waiting all this time for him to call me back, begging for my love.
The next morning, he texted me on WhatsApp, telling me how much he missed us, along with a picture of us from our trip to Togo.
"I'm so happy you didn't block me. You've always been the mature one. I'm so sorry I messed things up."
I was sitting at my desk when I read the message, and it made me smile.
"Who is making you smile this early morning?" my colleague asked.
"No one."
"Hmmm. If you say so."
Shortly after, he called me. He wanted us to meet, to talk about everything, and to see if we could make things work again.
I was about to reply when my boss walked in, and I quickly ended the call.
As soon as work was over, I was leaving the office when I saw him standing by his car.
Our eyes met, and he waved at me. I stood there, frozen, as a rush of adrenaline surged through my veins.
He was the last person I ever expected to see that day.
He looked better than the last image I had of him in my head.
"What are you doing here?" I finally managed to ask.
"To pick you up from work."
"Hmmm, and what if I wasn't at work?"
"Well, I would visit you at your house."
"Well, then you'd have found out I moved out already." "Oh, really?"
"Yes."
"Can I take you home?"
"No, Mayowa. We're not doing this. I don't even know why you want me back."
He stepped closer and reached for my hand.
"Bidemi, I didn't know what I was thinking when I let you go. I'm ready to make this work and do everything you want."
"Hmmm, not today, Mayowa. I need to go."
I walked away, feeling his eyes on me as I left.
Mayowa didn't stop calling or texting me. He sent me food, gifts, and so many notes to my office every other day.
Two weeks later, he called me one night, and we agreed to meet.
That night, we talked about everything that went wrong in our relationship.
For the first time, Mayowa admitted he was wrong about so many things I had complained about.
He told me he saw the light and had learned from the mistakes he made since we broke up. He was so smooth with his words, and it felt like he had planned them all along.
I didn't even realize how much I was giggling until I noticed my legs were up on the wall. He apologized for not listening to me and promised he'd be better if I gave us another chance. I felt so happy just listening to him.
We continued talking about the good memories we had together, like the time we almost missed our flight because his dry cleaner didn't show up with his clothes and had his phone switched off.
"I miss attending parties with you, you know," he said.
"Really? But we only attended three together, and you sat through most of them, except for Bisola's wedding, when the MC forced you to dance with that girl."
"And you were so jealous about it that you wouldn't stop talking "I wasn't jealous."
"Yes, you were."
"I wasn't. I was just angry that you smiled and danced with her so easily when I begged you to dance with me and you refused."
"I'm sorry."
I was shocked to hear him say that. The last time we talked about it, it turned into a heated argument, and we didn't speak for almost a week until I went to his house to apologize for yelling about it.
"You've really changed, Mayowa. I can't believe you just said you're sorry."
"I really want us to be back together."
"You didn't even ask if I'm seeing someone else."
He went silent for a minute, then asked, "Are you?"
I stayed quiet for a moment.
"Bidemi, please tell me you're not seeing someone else."
"I'm not, Mayowa. But I'm not sure. You know that thing they say about going back to your ex?"
"What do they say?"
"The possibility of things working out is 0%, and things getting messier is 100%."
After a long conversation that lasted about two hours, we agreed to meet over the weekend at our favorite spot.
All week, he kept sending me reels, sweet messages, calling me, and leaving the most thoughtful texts.
It made me so happy. So happy that my colleagues could tell something was different about me
That evening, I chose to wear his favorite dress, a red one with a slit reaching my thigh. I looked at myself in the mirror, squeezing my purse in my hands.
"Are we really doing this?" I thought to myself before gulping down a cup of water and walking out of the apartment. When I got to the restaurant, Mayowa was already seated. As I approached the table, he stood up to pull the chair out for me.
"Let's pretend we're just getting to know each other," he said.
"Oh okay. That sounds good."
We had the most beautiful and warmest conversation after that.
It felt like I was meeting a completely different person.
He made me laugh so much that I couldn't stop staring at him at intervals, trying to absorb the moment.
"What do you want to ask?" he said, his eyes curious.
"What do you mean?" I asked, a little confused.
"I've noticed how you've been staring at me, and I want to know what's going on in that mind of yours."
I stared at him for a few seconds, letting his words sink in before a smile slowly spread across my face.
"I'm still in shock by how much you've changed, you know," I said softly. "I still can't believe you've become such a sweet person. Where has this version of you been all along?"
"I'm sorry I didn't treat you right before," he replied, his voice sincere. "But I really want to make things right."
Later, we were in his car, parked in the restaurant's garage when he pulled me closer for a kiss.
His lips were so warm against mine, and I couldn't even bring myself to resist. It was a part of us I had missed so much.
My heart raced, and my body seemed to come alive again. I couldn't believe this was happening, but in that moment, all I wanted was to hold onto it for just a few seconds longer.
"I'm sorry, I should've asked you first," he murmured, pulling away.
"It's fine. I missed it," I whispered, my voice soft.
"You've gotten so much better," he said, his eyes scanning my face.
"Are you saying I was a bad kisser?" I teased, a smirk creeping onto my lips.
"No, not that... You know... Never mind. So, where do you live now?"
That night, he drove me home while we sang along to our favorite Brymo songs. It felt like something out of a dream.
I kept pinching myself, just to be sure it was real that he was a changed person.
Who would've thought? Not all exes are bad eggs all along.
"Is that a yes?" he asked, breaking my thoughts with a grin.
A couple of days later, we met again, and he asked me to be his girlfriend. I said yes.
Things flowed smoothly after that, and he didn't stop with the gifts, lunch packs, and random notes. But then one evening, I called him, and he wouldn't pick up. Later that night, I called again, and he finally picked up on the third ring.
"Why do you want to blow up my phone? You've called me five times. That should tell you I'm busy and need to call you back. You even left me several messages! Don't you have a life? Why don't you get busy with it?" His words hit me like a slap. I fell onto my bed in shock, unable to speak, and before I could even process what had just happened, he hung up. That was the Mayowa I knew, the one I feared was coming back.
I didn't reach out, afraid of pushing him further. Later that night, he called back, apologizing for his outburst. He said he was overwhelmed at work and that his phone had been ringing non-stop while he struggled with a bad internet connection trying to connect it to his laptop.
"My router wasn't working. I tried connecting to my phone, but your call kept disturbing me. And my boss was all over me. I'm sorry," he explained.
I was scared, but I chose to forgive him and move on. He continued to be sweet and loving for a while, just like before. But one day, we were at his friend's birthday party when everything fell apart.
I had been looking for him, but I couldn't find him anywhere. He wouldn't pick up my calls, and I knew better than to call him more than twice.
"Babe, you left me alone. I've been looking everywhere for you," I said, feeling frustrated and hurt. But I never imagined his reaction.
"What for?" he yelled at me, his voice cold.
"Mayowa, what's going on?" I asked, my heart pounding. I looked at him, then at his friends, and back at him.
"I was just worried about you, and you know I don't like sitting alone."
"And so?!" He shot back. "Please, I never loved you. Coming back to you was just because I kept trying so many relationships, and none of them worked. My friends thought you endured me the longest, so I should go back to you. If you think I've become the sweet person you've seen in the past couple of months, then that's a lie. It's not me, and it can never be me!" He yelled, slamming the glass cup he was holding down onto the table.
At that moment, the sound music stopped, and all eyes were on us.
I stood there, frozen, helpless. Tears streamed down my face, and I couldn't wrap my mind around what had just happened.
Was it a dream? Did he ever love me? Was he drunk? Did he get a call from work? I couldn't stop asking myself questions, but I never got any answers.