CHINA TORI

So here I am wondering how I became reflective over a short gown. For Christ’s sake, who goes around philosophizing about love and life because she is wearing a short gown? No, don’t answer that; life can be very confusing sometimes.

Anyways, I’m taking a stroll down to Lawanson with this gorgeous man. It is evening and the weather is friendly. For me, it is the first time I’m leaving the house in four days, so everything looks different. He, on the other hand, is just coming back from work. He knows he is supposed to be resting, but he chose to stroll with me because, I suppose, he doesn’t want to miss a chance to spend time with me.

So when he returned from work earlier, he came upstairs and knocked on my door. I was having a hard time picking my dress so I decided to ask him for help. He walked into my space and I did not miss the surprise on his face. He didn’t even try to hide it. I know the guys downstairs spend their days wondering what my room looks like and being in my room must have felt like a dream come true for him. Usually, I don’t allow anybody up and I always avoid their rooms too. It wasn’t intentional but I just didn’t fancy that kind of closeness.

So there he stood, taking it all in. Somehow I have managed to create a world for myself in here. More so, the outbreak of the pandemic has forced me to adjust to working from home. On the right side of the room, I set up a workstation – table, chair, some stationeries and a reading lamp. And by the wall on the left, I stacked my shoes and clothes, put one picture frame of Jesus Christ tending to children on the wall and arranged cartons of books on the floor. In the middle of the room is where I laid my bed and used chairs to hold up my mosquito net. There isn’t much in here but I make sure the place is always neat.

After about three minutes, Gorgeous Man came back to me with a shake of his head. He smiled and I swooned. Yes, I like him too. The gentlest of them all, he has managed to make the others believe that he is not a talker. But I know he is. Whenever we are together, it is like a band is loosed somewhere and I literarily have to beg him to stop talking. He was in love with me and I knew.

So he walked over, picked up a short black gown from the tiny mess I made on the bed and handed it to me. “This would fit right”, he said and for a moment, I was in shock. I don’t believe him. Was he blind? I mean, the gown he handed to me is a very short black gown, and the emphasis here is on the length. A short gown.

He must have made a mistake, I thought, so I made an effort to correct him. But he was adamant. He said it is an evening stroll and nobody would mind. Besides, if I’m going out for air, why should I wear something that will stop the air from reaching and touching my body? God help me! Boy, it is beautiful to watch a man who is in love.

Now, hear me. I have been opportune to go for walks with this man him in the past, and the vibe he used to give out is not the same I’m getting now. Usually while we are out strolling, we would call out to people and pretend we didn’t, laugh at some people’s clothes and point at some really funny walking postures. He is always fun to be with. But be that as it may, he always had problems with the ladies who leave their homes dressed in skimpy clothes. He was even angrier at the men they walked with.

Once he called out to one and told him he has failed as a man. When they got into an aggressive verbal exchange, he told the man that he is one of the problems the country is facing. That he doesn’t understand why the man would be encouraging immorality. And that he would never allow his woman share his most prized possession – her body – with the public. Egbami!

No, please don’t ask me where I was when all of that was playing out. It wasn’t the first time, so I was already getting used to it. When he started on this particular day, I just walked into one provision store by the road at Kilo and took a seat. The shop owner smiled at me and let me be.

My Gorgeous Man had just moved in then and we were just getting to know ourselves and that was one of the things I made a mental note of. My gorgeous man did not like skimpy clothes, and if I was to keep enjoying his company then I had to get rid of some of my clothes. No problems, I could do that and I did… until today.

Today, I’m clad in the shortest gown in my Ghana-must-go bag and this man does not see anything wrong with that. Here he is holding my hands and chattering away excitedly. Once, the breeze blew my dress up and I jumped. He held me down and helped me straighten it back. He is right here talking about his NYSC days and I’m here philosophizing. Does he realize he is now like the men he used to fight? Somebody please answer me. Does he realize that he may have been unfair to those other men?

What, in the world, would make a man go back on his beliefs and not give it a second thought? I mean, what can make a man accept and overlook things he would fight against in another time and place? And what can make a man this blind?

Oh wait! I hear someone from the back say love. What do you think?