ARÍRE (We Have Seen Goodness)

Tear Rubber Wife

A/N: Please ensure to hit the vote button and leave a comment with your thoughts. I will love to hear them❤

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The following day, I brought bush meat and a paint of Benue mango that Aunty Chika had brought to my house. Arire was explaining something to Kemi about a dress she was working on. "Peplum hand will best suit this dress," she was saying when I entered the small shop painted in blue. The wooden table in the room was scattered with cloth, black polythene nylons, and a couple of chalks. The blue drum she had fetched water from the previous day sat in a corner. There was a picture of Arire hung on the wall, kneeling beside a woman whom I presumed to be her boss, holding her certificate and smiling at the camera. Two sewing machines stood in the center of the room.

"Ah, Oga, good evening," Kemi greeted me first.

"Good evening," I responded, but my attention was directed toward Arire.

"Did your car break down again?" I could sense the hint of teasing in her voice.

I chuckled softly. "Let's say I brought this fresh bush meat and a paint of mango to thank you for yesterday."

"It was just water I gave to you."

"Water that saved my life and restored my car back to life," I replied, smiling sheepishly. "This is just a way of me saying thank you. Daalu."

She took the items from me, inspecting the mangoes. "They are so big," she exclaimed.

"You know these are Benue mangoes. They have the best mangoes. This species is called 'broken.' It's very sweet and very big, hardly found anywhere else other than in Benue."

"So, did you travel all the way to Benue to get this?" she asked.

"Ehm, my aunt recently traveled there, and she got some for me."

"Thank you for the gifts," she said shyly, playing with her fingers.

The next day, I returned to her shop with some Jendor bread, ice cream, and grilled turkey. After all, they say the way to a woman's heart is through showing her love. Hence, the gifts. My visits became constant, and it became a routine to visit her shop after closing from work. I found myself making excuses to visit her shop. Sometimes I brought in clothes for alterations; other times, I just stopped by to say hello. Sometimes I randomly ordered food and sent it to her. Right from the moment I saw Arire, I knew she was going to become an integral part of me. Each visit made my feelings for her grow stronger.

One evening, I gathered the courage to ask her out. "Arire, would you like to have lunch with me sometime?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

She looked surprised but pleased. "I'd like that," she replied, her smile lighting up her face.

Our first date was magical. It was a Sunday afternoon, and I had come to her house to pick her up with my Camry. I spent hours in the mirror trying to look my absolute best for her. I had gone on several dates, but this one was different. I wanted to make quite an impression on her. As I drove into her street, the smell of the gutters wafted through my nose, and I hissed as I vibed to the song playing in the car speaker.

🎵"I said I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you. You are the woman of my dreams, the personal person for me,"🎵

Psquare's voice sang through the speaker, and I couldn't help but sing along. This jam perfectly captured my mood. Arire was the woman of my dreams. Petite figure with a plump face that complemented her brown skin color. Her simplicity was everything for me. The way she licked her lips every second drove me insane.