A Dreamy Encounter - Part 4
First Published in the Roses Aren't Red Anthology
“SO, YOU ARE telling me that you are in love?” Tade asked. There wasn’t a hint of amusement on his handsome face.
“Yep,” Omoronke replied as she stuffed her face with Tade’s home-baked cookies.
“Wait, you are telling me that you are in love with a man you have been seeing in your dreams, the one you have been painting?”
“Yes, Tade. Stop repeating it, I already know how ridiculous it sounds,” Omoronke piped. She had needed to tell someone about the events of the past three months and Tade, her best friend, had seemed like the best candidate for the news. He was the least judgmental person in the world, so she had explained everything to him, but now, it seemed that had been a mistake.
“This had better be a joke, Ronke,” he replied.
She hated the way he called her Ronke, compared to how Damilare called her by her full name. Omoronke always sounded exquisite as it rolled off his tongue. She slapped herself mentally; she shouldn’t be thinking about him now, not when it seemed as if Tade was about to combust.
“I’m not joking and he doesn’t only exist in my dreams. He’s real and I’m going to find him,” she said stubbornly. She was suddenly no longer interested in the cookies.
“Can’t you hear how crazy you sound? Let’s just say you are right and this mysterious man exists, where are you going to find him? What’s his first name, or his last name?”
Tade was almost yelling now and Omoronke wasn’t sure why he was taking it so personally.
“His first name is Damilare and he is a medical doctor.”
“Ah, right, let’s go all over the country looking for the only medical doctor in the world whose name is Damilare. The only place you would find a man with those evil-looking eyes is at the circus, so just stop it.”
“No, you stop it. What has come over you? This isn’t the Tade I know. Why are you overreacting, and would you please stop calling him names?”
“You are even defending a man who doesn’t exist. What have I been doing with you for years? I clean up your mess, stock up your kitchen and cook for you. I attend every one of your exhibitions. I was there for you when you needed a shoulder to cry on after your parents’ divorce and the constant fights that followed with your mother. Your exhibition gets postponed and look who is here trying to cheer you up at the expense of my own business. As if all of these aren’t enough, I was ready to wait until you get over your fear of relationships but when that finally happens, you fall in love with a man who isn’t even real. You can have sex with every Tom, Dick and Harry, except me.” By the time Tade finished talking, he was breathing heavily as if he had just run a marathon.
“Okay, this is getting weird and I think you should leave.” Omoronke wasn’t sure of what had just happened. She had no idea that Tade felt this way about her and it was all too much for her to process, coupled with the fact that he was scaring the shit out of her.
“Yeah, fine,” he said, kicking the waste bin in the kitchen where they stood and making Omoronke jump.
“Please, just leave.” Omoronke’s voice shook. She didn’t know this version of Tade and she couldn’t be sure that he would not attack her.
“Of course, I’ll leave. So much for being a nice guy. You don’t deserve a man like me. What did I hope to achieve with a woman who wouldn’t even visit her sick mother? Goodluck finding the mystery man of your dreams, you cold-hearted bitch.” With that, he stormed out of the kitchen and Omoronke jumped again when she heard her front door slam.
What just happened? Her mother was sick? She sank to the floor in despair.
To be continued…
Thank you for coming this far with this short story. Next week, this prose series comes to an end.
Read next Chapter:
A Dreamy Encounter - Part 5
HE SHOULD NOT have kissed her. Everybody knew that when dreams became real, they ended. And he knew that the moment they kissed, it became real: the feelings he had for her, the unanswered questions about how their dreams had brought them together, why it had all happened.