The first friend I had when I entered the university was Kobby. We were in the same hall and were doing the same course. He was an athlete and I was also an athlete. I think what brought us together was our passion for sports. He’ll wake up at dawn, come to my room and wake me up. He’ll say, “My guy, dress up and let’s hit the tracks.” We’ll both run to the park, do some workout and when others come around with a football, we’ll end up playing with them.

We became inseparable. When he met a girl he wanted to date, he told me about it. We developed a strategy to get the girl. Two weeks later, I was calling the girl “Our wife.” I already had a girl before going to the university. He knew about it but when I fell in love with another girl, he said, “My guy, go for it. Do you know what she’s doing in the house while you’re here? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Explore!”

So, I went forward and got the girl.

There was no secrete between us. Whatever happened between him and his girlfriend, Kobby told me about it. When I was struggling to juggle my two girlfriends, he was there, giving me pieces of advice every now and then. At the third year, we moved into the same hostel outside the campus. We got a room together—just the two of us. When his girlfriend comes around, I would excuse them. Sometimes they would have the room for the whole day, while I roam the streets of campus like an aimless vagabond. When my girlfriend also came around, he too excused us.

One day, I went to his house with him. It was his father’s 55th birthday so there was a party. While seated on the couch, a lady walked by. I looked at her. She was the prettiest girl I’d ever seen. When she came by again, I stopped her. I asked her name and she said, “Lily.” Just when I was about to begin the proper conversation, Kobby walked in. He said, “What are you telling my sister?” I asked, “She’s your sister?” He said, “Didn’t you see her at the hall when we came in? Lily laughed and walked away.

I couldn’t take my eyes off her anytime she passed by. Kobby realized it and said, “Take your eyes off my sister before I kill you.” I said, “Your sister is too fine.” He said, “This is home turf. You can’t play here.”

Months later she came to campus to visit her brother. I was in the room with her while Kobby was in the bathroom. I asked for her number and she gave it to me. We started talking. The usual how are you and what have you been doing kind of conversation. Nothing serious. One morning she called me. She asked, “Where’s your friend?” I told her, “He’s sleeping.” She said, “Give the phone to him. I’ve been calling his phone but he’s not picking.”

Without thinking about it, I went to tap him to wake up. When he got up, I handed over my phone to him, “Here, your sister wants to talk to you?” He gave me a quizzical look. He took the phone and spoke to her. I heard him asking her how she got my number. He wasn’t pleased with her answer. He said, “It means you two have been talking behind my back. Why did you give your number to him?”

I knew I was in trouble.

He said to me, “I thought I told you she was my sister?” I said, “We just talk. Nothing else.” He asked, “What do you talk about. What do you have to say to my sister? Why is she even your friend?” Nothing I said made sense to him. For weeks he wasn’t straight with me. He gave me a cold shoulder anytime I tried talking to him. He reported me to his girlfriend, that I’ve started hitting on his sister. Our friendship was strained because of that. We were in the same room but did things like strangers.

During our graduation, Lily came around but I couldn’t get close to her. Kobby’s eyes were on me throughout the ceremony. Lily acted as if she didn’t know me. I was hurting but I couldn’t do anything. After school Kobby never reached out and I didn’t know what he told Lily, she too cut me off. She wouldn’t pick my calls and wouldn’t respond to my text messages.

Life goes on so I moved on.

Six years later, I went to one of these mega-churches with a friend who was celebrating his third-year wedding anniversary. The choir came on stage to sing. The lady leading the choir looked very familiar but I couldn’t remember where I knew her from. I kept thinking and thinking until her face was projected on the screens in the church. I screamed in my head, “Lily!” She looked a little bit rounded and thick. Her dazzling eyes made her face shine anytime she smiled while singing.

After church, I walked through the congregation looking for her. I met her behind the church. I said, “Lily” She was quiet for a while. She said, “Aaron?” We burst out laughing. She said, “It’s been ages.” I said, “You had a lion guarding you.” We laughed again. She said, “Could you wait for a while? I have a meeting. I’ll come right now. Don’t go anywhere.” I told my friend to take the lead. I waited until she came back from the meeting.

We talked about life, the places we’ve been, and why we lost contact. I asked, “So what happened to Kobby?” She said, “I thought he was your friend?” I said, “We were never the same again when he found out I was talking to you.” She laughed and said, “That guy is so overprotective of me. He’s not in the country anymore but he continues poking his nose into my affairs.” We exchanged contact again and we talked every day and night.

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One day I proposed. She said, “Wait until my brother gets you.” We laughed over it but most importantly, she said yes to me. One day I asked her, “Does your brother knows we are dating?” She said, “He knows I’m dating someone but he doesn’t know it’s you.” I said, “Give me his number.” She asked, “Are you coming to tell him?” I said, “You wait and see.”

I called him with Lily’s Phone. When he picked up he said, “Lily…” I said, “This is Aaron.” He asked, “Aaron? The Aaron I know or another Aaron?” I said, “Idiot, can’t you hear my voice?” We laughed and screamed, calling each other the names we used to call ourselves when we were in school. It was all fun until he asked, “But wait, why are you calling me with my sister’s phone? Where did you meet her?” I said, “Oh she didn’t tell you? We’ve been dating for some months now.” He went quiet. He said, “Give the phone to my sister.”

I did.

I heard Lily saying, “Oh he’s not joking. We met some months ago. It’s true.” When I took the phone, he said, “I know you guys are pulling my legs. This can’t be true.” I said, “It’s true. This time it’s for the good of both of us.” He still didn’t believe it. According to Lily, he called her every day asking if we were serious and even advised her against the idea of us dating. We were no longer young. We both knew what we wanted and were not ready to listen to him.

We had our wedding four years ago. Kobby couldn’t come but he wished us well. Our marriage was a surprise to him, looking at where it all started. He told me, “He’s my junior sister. Don’t blame me for what I did. You would have done the same.” I said, “I would have done worse.” He said, “Thank you for understanding me.”

Today, he’s my best friend and an in-law. When we had our twins two years ago, everything we needed for the babies was shipped to us even before the babies arrived. Till now, he still ships clothes, books, toys, and food for the kids. We are waiting till he comes so we celebrate this new joy we’ve found.

–Aaron

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