I was going to meet my project supervisor when I met her in front of the dean’s office. It was the year 2009. I looked her in the eyes and she looked back. There was some newness and innocence in her eyes. She greeted me and I responded. I got the message. She was a fresh student. No continuing student will meet you at the door and greet you. I asked, “What’s your name? She said, “I’m Rejoice.” I asked, “Rejoice, are you a fresh student?” She said, “Yes.” I asked, What course are you reading?” She said, “Marketing.” I said, “That means we are course mates. I’m in the third year. My name is Ekow. Can we be friends?”
She flashed me the most beautiful smile I’d seen that day. She said, “Why not?”
So, we exchanged contacts and went our separate ways. That evening I called her. She said she was in one of the blocks learning. I said, “Let’s go to the library. It’s quiet in there.” She asked, “Is it far from here.” I said, “Just two blocks away from where you are.”
Minutes later, we were walking side by side to the library. I couldn’t stop looking at her. I said to myself, “I have to win her as soon as possible before someone comes her way.” So, a week after our meeting, I proposed to her. She said, “I’m sorry, but I already have someone in my life.” I asked, “That means I have no chance in your life at all?” She said, “We don’t know what the future holds but for now, all I can say is that there is someone in my life.”
That didn’t break us apart. We kept being friends who studied together. When there was a topic she didn’t understand, she came to ask me and I gave her further tutorials. In the second semester, she started complaining about her boyfriend to me. “You know, Ebenezer has changed. He doesn’t call me the way he used to. When I call him, he gives me excuses. He’s hurting me.” I was happy in my head but I faked concern. I said in my head, “The Jericho walls are coming down. Very soon, we’ll have access to what’s ours.”
The second semester ended, I still couldn’t get her.
The third semester when she returned from vacation, she brought a lot of complaints about Ebenezer. She said, “Could you believe that I didn’t see him throughout the vacation? I did all I could but this guy wouldn’t see me. You’re a guy. What could be the problem?” I said, “He’s no longer into you but doesn’t have the gut to tell you. Boys are like that. We won’t tell you but we’ll push you away with our attitude.” She said, “I don’t think that is the case. I know that guy very well and I know he loves me. It could be something else.”
All through the semester, she complained about the behavior of Eben to me but she wasn’t ready to let go. When I was about to leave school, I told her, “Why waste your time with someone who doesn’t like you that much? I’m here, trying all I could to have you but no, you’re there trying to resurrect a dead plant. Open your eyes and see it as it is. That guy had moved on.”
She said I was being too harsh on her. She said I was trying to break them apart so I could have her. At some point, she got angry with me and stopped talking to me. A week before I finally left campus, I took her out for a walk in the evening. When we got to the park where no one was, I held her head up and kissed her. Surprisingly she didn’t resist. She said, “I’m doing this because you’re leaving campus very soon but it doesn’t change anything.” The night before the day I would leave campus, I kissed her again and she said, “This is a goodbye kiss. It still doesn’t change anything.”
I left campus the next day but I never stopped calling her. I called her morning and night asking if she was doing well and most importantly if she was still together with Eben. Each day she told me the same story; “We are good. We could be better but I can’t complain.”
No matter how deep a man loves a woman, there’s a point he gives up when the love he gives goes unreciprocated. At some point, I gave up. I stopped calling and we later lost touch.
In the year 2017, I saw a photo of her on Facebook. She was on a cruise boat. Everything in the photo showed she wasn’t in Ghana. I ignored the photo. In the evening when I was going to sleep, I saw the photo on my timeline again. I went through the comment. Someone said, “The way you’re enjoying, I don’t think you’ll ever come back again ooo.” She said, “I’ve always been in Ghana.”
I went into her inbox and sent her a message; “Rejoice, long time. Please link up.”
It was around 11pm when I sent the message. A few minutes later she responded, “Hey Ekow, long time. This is my number, call me now now now.” When I called her, we couldn’t stop talking. We talked and talked until 2am. We talked about our days on campus and what we’ve been doing with our lives after school. She said, “I’m happy you’re doing well.” I said, “I’m happy you’re also doing very well in life.
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Two months later, I realized I still had feelings for her. We went on a date twice and visited her place a lot of times. One day I asked, “Is there someone in your life now?” She said, “There’s someone and there’s no one. I met this guy recently. He proposed and I accepted but since then, nothing. He doesn’t have time for me and doesn’t have time for the relationship but he’s kind of a good guy so I’m giving him a chance.” I said, “It looks like I always come at the wrong time.” She said, “This is not the wrong time. I’m happy to see you.”
From there we didn’t meet often or talk often. We were losing touch again. Once in a while, I texted her and she responded. When I stopped calling and texting, we lost touch again. She didn’t call me.
Somewhere in November 2018, we bumped into each other at a friend’s wedding. She went to the wedding because of the girl and I went because of the guy. We were at the same table that day. We talked a lot, like we always do. I said, “This could have been our wedding but I always come at the wrong time.” She laughed and said, “There’s no one at this moment. This may be the right time.”
Fast-forward to 2021, she calls me husband and I call her wifee. She walks around the house with a bulgy stomach. A baby is on the way coming. All the disappointments and heartbreaks and the long waits brought us to this point where we can look into each other’s eyes and say, “The juice is worth the squeeze.”
–Ekow
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Man , you really feel in love ,if I were you I would have given up . Congratulations though.