WHERE THE LOTUS GROWS

SURPRISE!

“What’s wrong?” she turned his head a bit and tilted hers so she was looking into his eyes searchingly as she spoke.
“What’s wrong?” he laughed bitterly, throwing her question back at her. “Everything is wrong Karen. Nothing is right.” She flinched at the venom in his tone as he spoke to her with so much bitterness and took a step back.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you. You don’t deserve that.” He stepped closer to her and took her hand. “No. I’m sorry for prying.” She looked down and wondered what exactly was wrong. The strange sadness she had felt envelope him when he first picked her up was suddenly back and was more pronounced than before.
“You don’t have to be sorry for anything; it’s just something that’s hard for me to talk about.”
“Then don’t. I don’t want you to feel like you have to tell me.”
“I don’t feel like I have to tell you. Don’t worry, I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself, okay?” he waited for her to nod before going into his story. She was quiet as he poured his heart out to her beginning from how his father had died when he was younger, then how his mother, twin brother and pregnant elder sister had died in a plane crash. He thought his world had shattered then and that there was nothing worse that could ever happen to him again so he shut out every other person who cared about him, including his best friend, Dapo and fiancée, Anita. But when Anita had broken his heart, he hadn’t been able to take and not even coming to the resort could give him the comfort he needed. And then he had turned to death to give him the solace he desired from all the pain and heartache he was going through but, Dapo had come in at just the right time and that was how he ended up in the hospital and met her.
“Wow, I never knew.” Karen said stupefied. “How could you have known? I never told you?” he said, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. She saw right through his façade but decided not to dig deeper. Maybe that was his way of dealing with the pain now: forming nonchalance.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to open up old wounds.” Karen said sympathetically and smiled a little, clearing her throat to swallow back her own tears.
“If I hadn’t wanted to tell you, I wouldn’t have so don’t beat yourself about it. It’s no fault of yours.” Taiwo said taking her hand again and leading her forward. “Let’s finish our tour and go for dinner. I only had a doughnut, meat pie and orange juice for lunch and personally, I’m starving.” He said trying to lighten the mood. There had been too many ‘I’m sorrys’ and overly emotional moments this evening and he just wanted Karen to enjoy her birthday and relax like he planned not be weighed down by his own life issues.
“Sure.” How could only one man suffer so much and still be able to give himself so much to people? She remembered something her mother always used to tell her when she was younger. ‘The worst things happen to the best people, but it all works together to make them the strongest ones because God will never make you go through anything He has not equipped you to be able to overcome.’ She felt that that applied so much to Taiwo now that he had bared his soul to her. Only, Taiwo was not a Christian so how did God plan to work his wonder in this situation? Even as she thought the question, the answer occurred to her from a sermon Pastor Segun preached a few weeks ago. Her parish pastor had said, ‘Brethren, our God is unquestionable. His ways are not the ways of man. Therefore, there is nothing that can make us understand certain things that happen to us or others. Only God understands these things and knows why they happen. He knows how they will all end because He is already at the end of our lives waiting on the other side; He knew these things from the beginning of time before we were even born.’ She didn’t know how God was going to do it but He was going to and she knew that she had a role to play in all these.
“My best friend and his fiancée even tried to get me a maid so that I wouldn’t try anything stupid again.” He laughed, remembering the confrontation he had with them when he first got back from the hospital. “I’m sorry but I can’t say I blame them. They were just being concerned.”
“Yes. You are sorry, they are concerned; my secretary is concerned, everybody is sorry and concerned. But not one of you even comes close to understanding how I felt then or how I still do now.” He paused. “We should really stop this and head in; these are just the depressing stories of my life.”
“You’re right. We should head in. But it’s also helps to talk about these things sometimes.” She jumped as a small monkey jumped out from a cluster of trees on the right and ran past them just inches away from their feet. Taiwo burst into a ringing laugh as Karen clutched his arm as if her life depended on it and stared in the direction she had seen it disappear into. Realizing that it was only a monkey, she smacked his arm but he just kept on laughing. “What?”
“You should have seen your face. You looked like you had seen a ghost. Oh God…” he clutched his stomach and kept on laughing, wiping imaginary tears from the corner of his eyes.
“Whatever. Just because you are used to this kind of thing and I’m not. Don’t feel so smug.” She tried to smack his arm again but he caught it and placed her hand on his chest watching her reaction. “Oh I can feel smug if I want to. In fact, I am feeling smug right now and there is nothing you can do about it.” He said enjoying the confused look on her face. He loved making her flustered. She was embarrassed but she was also happy that he was laughing again even though she knew his laughter was slightly exaggerated.
As they got into the restaurant, she gasped and simply stared, caught off guard by what was before her. The entire serving area of the ground floor was decorated with fancy lights and there was a huge banner hung on the ceiling that read ‘Happy Birthday Karen’.
“Surprise!” Several of her friends from work and a few from church came in through a door at the back and yelled. She turned back to Taiwo with tear-filled eyes to thank him but he misunderstood her look thinking he had done too much. He should have taken things slower. Now, he would lose her too. He braced himself for the worst but it never came. “What is it?” she searched his eyes noticing the uncertainty in them.
“This is too much for you to handle, right? Look, I’m sorry…” she placed a finger on his lips to stop him from talking. ‘Shut up.” Stretching up, she planted a light kiss on his cheeks and smiled at him oblivious to all the pairs of eyes around the room staring at them with unhidden interest. Catcalls and cheers rent the air. “Thank you, I love it.”
“You do?” He asked still looking unsure.
“Absolutely.” Karen nodded. “Do I even have to ask how you got to know all these people and how you got them to be in cohorts with you to plan this surprise birthday get together?”
“No because you already know my answer.”
They sang a birthday song and Taiwo gave a toast to Karen. “To long life!” Then he whispered something into the ear of a waiter that she couldn’t hear. The man smiled knowingly and gave some swift orders to the other waiters waiting around and they began to cart in some food ranging from rice, chicken, and swallow to small chops and drinks to serve the guests.
Then he led them upstairs to an open verandah that allowed a great view of the sky and the sprawling land of the resort. It went on and on till the point where it joined with the sky. It was so beautiful that she knew that the image would forever remain engraved in her mind forever, all thanks to Taiwo. They sat at the only table on the wide verandah. It was set by the railing and she was so immersed with watching the scenery that she didn’t realize that Taiwo had ordered the food until the first course was served. A flat transparent plate held two fortune cookies and a strawberry flavored drink for each of them. Taiwo reached for her right hand, placed a fortune cookie in it and closed it. “Read it.” He said softly.
“Okay.” She slowly ate the cookie after carefully removing the small piece of paper, then read it aloud. “Miracles only occur when you are facing an obstacle. There is light at the end of the tunnel.” Taiwo nodded slowly and opened his.
“Solutions are only needed when there’s a problem. One door closes and another opens.” It simply read. Karen relaxed in her seat and gently sipped her drink as she thought of the messages in the fortune cookies. They seemed to have the same meaning.
“The messages are so similar.” Taiwo said voicing her inner thoughts as she finished her drink and placed her empty glass on the exquisite ornate table which matched the entire restaurant furnishing that was of old English culture though she knew they were just modern ones made to look that way and not actual antiques. “I totally agree. Maybe we will discover their meanings as time goes on. I’ve heard from some people that fortune cookie messages actually apply to their lives either at the time they read it or later in the future, you can never tell, they might be right.”
“I guess we’ll just have to wait to find out.” He said also dropping his now empty glass. The waiter came to clear away the empty cups and plate and returned soon after to set a huge tray filled with food on their table. There was barbecued chicken, grilled meat, chips and ketchup, white rice, shrimps and a bottle of cocktail wine. He ordered a variety because he wasn’t sure of what she liked but apparently, she liked everything. Karen thoroughly enjoyed the meal till the last bite while Taiwo simply ate randomly keeping his gaze focused on her all the while. By the time they stopped eating; Karen was stuffed and leaned back in her chair, content. He poured two glasses of wine and handed one to her. She wasn’t sure she would be able to drink more than a few sips though, she was so full.
“Now you must think I’m a glutton. I can’t believe I actually ate that much.”
“No, I don’t think you’re a glutton. I actually like the fact that you eat, even if it’s a lot. I’ll only be bothered if you always ate unhealthy food which I know you don’t. You are a nurse after all.”
“True, true. Still, I think we have to blame this on me skipping breakfast.”
“Well, from now on, don’t skip breakfast. And on your birthday for that matter.” He scolded her.
“Yes master.” She smiled and stretched a little. He was staring at her again, and she was getting uneasy under his unwavering gaze. “Are you going to keep staring at me like that all night?”
“There’s so much I don’t know about you.” Taiwo stated.
‘There’s not much to know.” Karen said keeping her gaze averted from his by pretending to stare at the beautiful scenery though she had lost interest in the moment Taiwo began talking. “I want to know the little there is.” He insisted.
“No. Not now Taiwo. Let’s not spoil the night with this okay?” she pleaded. It was obvious that she wasn’t ready to talk about herself so soon so for the second time that night, he let it go.
“You know what? You’re right. It’s your birthday after all.” Taiwo summoned the waiter and paid the bill leaving the guy a generous tip. The whole surprise and celebration must have cost an arm and a leg because Taiwo paid with his debit card. The waiter smiled and left with a spring in his step. Immediately the man was out of sight, she asked Taiwo, “How much did all this cost?”
“Ladies are not meant to ask gentlemen such questions Karen. Didn’t your mother tell you that?” Taiwo said standing up and helping her with her jacket as she also stood up laughing. The sound made him think of rolling waves. He held her hand as they went back in to say goodbye to the guests and left. She could still feel the warmth of his hand in her palm long after they had got into the car and left for her house. When she picked up her phone to see if she had any messages, she saw that the battery was dead. She would just have to wait till she got home to check again. In a few minutes, Taiwo’s powerful Toyota ate up the miles to her house.
“Thanks for a wonderful evening, Taiwo.” Karen said, shielding her eyes with her long eyelashes.
“The pleasure was all mine, cherie.” He answered in the mock French accent he enjoyed speaking to her in. “So…” her voice wavered a bit as she spoke unsure of what to do next.
“Oh, I almost forgot. I got you a gift.” He reached into the back seat and brought a small parcel out. “Happy birthday” He handed the gift to her and let his hand linger on hers for a second longer than necessary as if he was going to lean in and kiss her but he finally pulled away.
“Thanks.” She said again. After a second of thought, she threw all rational thoughts to the wind and leaned forward to peck his right cheek. Before she could pull away, he turned his head to the right and whispered into her ear softly. . “Good night Karen.” He pulled away with a smug smile on his face leaving her feeling breathless. His voice had a husky, breathless quality to them as he spoke and she knew that he knew how affected she was.
“Good night.” She whispered back unable to meet his eyes as she got out of the car. A slight blush crept up her neck as she touched her hands to her face. She watched his car speed off till it was out of sight then walked inside slowly. It had been a wonderful birthday. In fact, it was the best since her twenty-second birthday three years ago even though she had hardly attended the party. In previous years, she just went to the spa and movie binged throughout the night—not very fun, especially since she had done that so many times. Shedding her clothes, she plugged her phone in and took a much needed shower, letting the cool water caress her body and quickly slipped into a nightdress before grabbing her laptop and snuggling into bed to Skype her parents. Her mother had made her promise to do so when she called in the morning so Karen could speak to the whole family including her two brothers who had been at school at the time. She spoke to each of them individually telling them how much she loved and missed them. Again, her mother tried to make her promise to visit soon or even move back for good. She just smiled and ended the video call with a prayer. She had been compelled to appreciate her family more because of what Taiwo had told her. She didn’t hope they would die soon but she would enjoy having a family to the fullest now. Life was really so unpredictable.
Just as she was about to turn off the bedside lamp, she remembered her phone and turned it on. Almost immediately she dropped it, the flashing of its screen drew her attention. Was it Taiwo texting her? She eagerly picked it up and saw from the notifications panel that it was a video. Did he have another surprise for her this night? Her heart did a little dance as she thought of what else he might have planned. She opened it and saw that it was from Brian. It was a short but touching clip that Brian had put together showing her pictures from every one of her birthdays before she left home. He must have gotten the pictures to use from her parents. He was a world-class graphic designer and web designer so it was no surprise that the video was of great quality. At the end, there was a simple message: “Happy Birthday Karen. I love you. I know you need some time so I’ll be waiting” Brian’s clear voice said as he smiled into the camera, that smile of his that made so many girls fall for him but he never liked any of them. He only had eyes for Karen now so he always just refused them politely without making them feel too bad. He was just a friend to her and it hurt that she couldn’t give him what he desperately wanted but she couldn’t will herself to love him even if she wanted.
“I don’t know how to get you to understand, Brian. I’ve said this a billion times, I have no feelings for you. Please, get that. And don’t wait. Whatever you think we had, have or can have was and is all in your own imagination.” She recorded the message but couldn’t get herself to send it to him. His voice kept on echoing in her head long after she watched the video and she just knew it would hurt him too much so she deleted both messages. They had been best friends since ninth grade but she had no romantic feelings for him whatsoever though he seemed to think otherwise. Of course, as any other hormone-filled teenager, she had had a slight crush on him at some point that was it, nothing serious came out of it and she forgot about it a few weeks later. Slumping on her bed, the happy bubble she had been floating in since Taiwo dropped her off burst. What was she going to do about Brian? How could she put him right without crushing him? She didn’t have time to think about it too long as another message entered her phone.
Oh, not again. What was it this time, a digital bouquet of flowers?
Remorse washed over her as she checked the message because it wasn’t from Brian. It was from Mayo, the eldest of the Grace’s four boys.
“Hope you had a nice outing. We really wanted to stay up and give you your present but you were out really late. Don’t worry. The cake will still be fresh by tomorrow. ;-) Happy Birthday!” Her smile got wider as she read the message. They reminded her so much of her brothers and having them around was simply amazing.
As she settled down to sleep, it bothered her that she had begun to think of Brian as more of a burden than a friend over the last few years. He deserved better; someone who would share and return his love. That someone was definitely not her and she was always praying that he would just get over her and meet his God-ordained spouse. The sooner, the better, she thought.

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Haha! Brian is back!!!!! So tell me, Taren or Karian?