SILVER LININGS (Christian Romance)

1

Wednesday came with a serenading stillness and coldness that came after every rainfall in the city of Port Harcourt. The birds flapped and chirped and the sun was nothing but a soft white light reflected through the translucent sky, strapped of all the vigour and heat it was supposed to exude.

Jane Akinyemi gave a brief sigh of relief the moment the traffic light hit green and the Uber driver began to drive again.

She reclined on the passenger's seat where she had been sitting and slowly let her body settle into it as she watched the sky through the window. The dark clouds had drifted and the blue colour of the sky was coming into view

Port Harcourt had a weird climate. It rained at all seasons -rainy, dry or even harmattan. The problem however was not the rain but the terrible traffic after the rain.

Last year, it had rained on Christmas day and people had tagged it a rainy Christmas.

A rainy Christmas.

The words bore a kind of significance and figurative meaning to her that she thought it would be nice to write a novel with such title. She had not yet decided on what would happen in the novel other than it would be set in Port Harcourt and on Christmas Eve and that Dave, her writer boyfriend would write it for her.

Dave. Her heart skipped at the thought of him. He was the reason the traffic couldn't deter her and make her go back home. She wanted to see him badly.

As if on cue with her thoughts, her phone began to ring, Dave was calling. She smiled as she saw the caller's ID and picked the call.

"Baby girl, what is keeping you?" the baritone voice asked, it sounded worried but sent a spiralling warmth into her. "I've been trying to reach you but your line has not been available. Are you okay?"

Jane fiddled with the tip of her red gown. "I'm fine. It's traffic," she replied with a sigh. "You know how Port is, especially with rain and traffic."

There was brief calculated pause before Dave spoke. "How is the traffic?" he asked.

"It has cleared." Jane replied. "I'm at Rumuola now. I'll get to your place soon."

"Babes, You know I hate to see you go through this stress, I should have been the one to come to your place to pick you up but you never want-"

"I'll be with you soon." she interrupted.

He sighed deeply. "Okay," he sounded like he wanted to say more. "I'll be expecting you."

Then the line went dead.

Jane sighed and tossed the phone aside. She knew it was rude to interrupt him but she feared the subject he was trying to bring up. They had nearly fought yesterday when he complained over the phone of the same thing- her reluctant attitudes towards him.

"I'm not feeling this relationship babe." he had said. "You don't call me often and you rarely visit. You won't even let me know where you live or let me come to your place at all. I am insanely serious about us, please be too."

His words were true but somehow she felt annoyed, it was a phenomenon she would never understand about herself.

"We can go to a restaurant or the resort at presidential suites. You should not come to my place for now." she had suggested.

"Why? I want to come over to your place first to meet your parents. I want your parents to know me."

She had screamed a no and cut the call and he had not called back.

This afternoon when she called to apologize and wish him a happy birthday. He had been so sweet that she nearly forgot they had a score last night. Long story short. He had ordered an Uber to pick her up.