Too Little, Too Late

04

The engagement party came to an end a few minutes past 10PM and Ayra didn't head back in until the last car – Ibrahim's – was out of the compound and out of sight.

Her parents laughed in the living room, lost in their bubble, so she let them be and took the stairs up, knowing how everything would play out the moment she entered her room where a particular nosy best friend "patiently" waited after she all but chased her siblings and parents home.

Ibtihaj was on Ayra the second the room door opened. She took Ayra's hand, led her to the loveseat, forced her on the sofa, and then proceeded to sit on the stool she'd moved from the front of the dresser.

"Oya start." Ibtihaj's smile was disturbingly wide and her curiosity was hot. "If you leave out any detail, you and I know the things I can do to you."

It all hit Ayra then and she buried her face in her hands, barely pushing back a squeal. Ibtihaj rolled her eyes, already used to such reactions. "God abeg." She slapped the other's leg. "Focus jare! You're supposed to have started talking."

"God, Ibty." Ayra raised her head. "I've never been more ready to get married to this man. He's perfect!"

"Madam, shey you know I was not there when you people were talking? All I know is that when you two came back out to the yard, you were just blushing and the two of you were smiling at each other like those primary school idiots that fall in whatever they think love is."

"Ibty, Ibrahim has liked me since last year."

"Issa lie!" Ibtihaj's eyes couldn't get any wider. "Ayra, if you're pulling my leg, I can slap you."

"I swear to Allah I'm not lying." Ayra leaned forward, almost at the edge of the sofa. Her eyes shone so brightly. "He said so himself. I may have confessed to liking him but I didn't tell him how long and then he started talking. He's liked me since last year."

"How?!"

"That's the crazy part." Ayra was so excited and it was beautiful. "One of my posts came up on his Instagram feed in October and he said at that time all he wanted was to get to know me better so he did a little digging only to realise I'm the same Ayra who is the daughter of his family's friend."

Ibtihaj blinked and blinked again. "Omo." She moved the stool closer. "Ayra, which kain juju be dat?"

Ayra laughed. "You're just an animal, Ibty."

"No na, serious matter. All this time we've been telling you to get over him and Oga Fahad has liked you since! Why didn't he say anything?"

"He actually told his parents and they were the ones who told him to go about it the traditional way. According to him, he would have reached out and would have gotten to know me better. I prefer how things turned out though. This is much nicer."

Ibtihaj was still stunned. "Olorun mi...Come first, which post did he see?"

Ayra grinned. "Those pictures we took on Nigeria's independence day. The ones where you dressed up in your cultural clothes and you made sure I dressed up as a Yoruba girl too. He still has the screenshots on his phone. It made everything more real."

Ibtihaj grinned smugly. "Shey you see how big of a blessing I am in your life? And you were making mouth that day, telling me you didn't want to post it. Shey you can see how I am an angel sent to you from Heaven?! See well o!"

Ayra couldn't stop laughing. "Ibty, please."

"I'm serious, my friend. This is very sweet...Ehen, so what else did you two talk about?"