Odds: Olive
ODDS
Mayowa Ojo
6/10/20264 min read
Ben and I sat in the shade at the beach on a lazy Saturday afternoon. He was my longest standing friend and so with him there was absolutely no need for airs. We made small talk as we watched his wife and their two sons play all manner of games with the waves that hit the shore.
I watched them until I slipped into absolute silence beside my homeboy. He knew me better than most so he allowed my silence to simmer for a while. Finally, he spoke.
“Guy, finding the right person isn’t that hard. Perhaps your standards are just unnecessarily high.”
“Hmmm.”
I hated the conversation we were having while understanding that when a grown man has a ‘but’ in his life, his immediate circle of friends feels responsible for finding a solution.
I had almost everything I wanted but a life partner and my heart ached. Between the void that her absence created and the fear of having a marriage similar to my parents, I was a broken man inside. My staff and partners thought I was living the life by being single. Some of my single friends told me about how lucky I was to have girls throw themselves at me; they thought me lucky to have the option to pick and choose. The married ones warned me not to jump into marriage; that it’s a scam.
I wanted them all to shut the hell up and leave me the heck alone. I wanted to yell that being single was neither a curse nor a gift and that it did not make me more or less a man. It was just a phase.
“Jay told me he mentioned some girl in his church that he believes is your soul mate,” Ben said.
I rolled my eyes. Next to Ben, Jay was the other person who knew me well. He and I almost fought over his insistence that he knew who my soul mate was. In truth his analysis was almost spot on but I feared he was biased and was playing on the fact that he knew me well so I shut him out.
My father swore that his ex-wife - my mom, - was his soul mate when they got married. By the time their marriage was over, thirteen years later, all he had were the memories of their dating days and the years before my mother showed her true colour. He had to start life from scratch in every sense of the word.
“Phil, say something,” Ben nudged me.
“I don’t know what else you want me to say. If Jay mentioned it to you I’m sure he also mentioned my take on the matter. Yes?”
“He did but what’s the harm in trying?”
“Relationships are not clothes. You don’t try them on for size and dump them when…”
Ben burst out laughing and it startled me.
“Guy, guy, calm down. No one is asking you to jump into a relationship just yet. All I’m asking is at least go and see the girl first.”
“And you think church is the best place for that?”
Ben opened his eyes and shrugged as though he did not see any better way.
“Fine. Let’s go tomorrow.”
“What?”
Ben knew that when my mind was set on something almost nothing could shake it. My decision on the issue was final.
******************
When Ben and Jay arrived at my house I was already dressed. This did not shock them because of how much of a sucker for time I am. Together we went to Jay’s church in search of Olive – the girl.
First of all, the setting was unattractive. The church was so old school it felt like the floppy disk version of memory storage; an antique by many standards. It felt like we stepped back in time the moment we walked through the doors. I immediately put up a wall because I knew nothing good would come out of the place.
Jay saw the look on my face and assured me that although he grew up in the church it was no longer his place of worship. I swallowed.
The choir marched up on stage for a special number and Olive led the song. I knew it was her because Jay told me. When she sang I died and was resurrected by yet the same voice. I convinced myself that a voice did not make a person and so I watched on. It was one of those groovy songs where the choir dances and sings at the same time. She nailed it.
There was something genuine about the way she sang that melted my heart. My interest was piqued. I had to know more about this girl if only for the sake of it.
I’ll be honest I did not hear a thing the preacher said. I had my eyes on Olive the entire time. Not once did she seem distracted by anything or anyone. She sat straight and was attentive throughout the sermon while my friends dozed off beside me. She had a good vibe about her and I was sold.
It was the first Sunday of the month and so they had a thanksgiving do after the sermon. Olive danced out in her choir robe. She looked so happy and at peace with herself that I had to ask Jay for her age. Not many unmarried thirty-four-year-old ladies were that happy – the kind where you dance like no one is watching. I wondered if she was engaged and Jay assured me she was single and available.
I watched as an elderly woman walked up to her and tugged at her earrings and hair. Olive smiled and moved aside for the woman. The crowd in front of the altar was much and so every now and again I would lose sight of her. The activities up front came to a halt when I heard what sounded like a shriek. And then some words followed but I was too far back to make sense of them. The entire congregation was looking at a scene and at the core of that scene was Olive.
She yelled at the old woman, spewed what seemed like a few expletives judging from the reaction of the onlookers, stormed toward her seat in the choir stand, stripped off her robe and stormed out of the building in the beautiful dress she had on.
It took a few minutes for things to settle down but the deed was done. Talk of how disrespectful and hot tempered she was filtered very quickly to the back where we sat. The otherwise beautiful Olive was indeed a monster. Jay put his face in his hand in shame. Ben sat still. Unblinking. Numb!
Me? I was shocked but not disappointed; just glad that I’d seen her true colour before even saying hello. Saved me the time. So much for her being my soul mate. I was right after all; nothing good could come out of a place like that. I got up to leave and my friends joined me too. Nobody said anything till we got home.