Like Your Dad

Gregory felt guilty going behind Ope’s back like this but he had no choice. If she knew what he wanted to do, she would never let him go through with it. She would get worked up and end the conversation with a frustrated sigh and the same four words, “You just don’t understand.”

But that’s the thing, he wanted to understand. He needed to understand. Now, his curiosity had finally gotten the better of him.

He saw Ademola Black the moment he walked into the room, the man was huge with a full head of white hair and glasses. He was pretty hard to miss.

Gregory waved at him and Mr Black gave a full and warm smile, he could see where Ope got her amazing set of teeth from. It took a moment for the older man to reach the table because he kept getting stopped by people who wanted to take pictures with him or have a quick chat. He gave each of them the same endearing smile as he tried to hurry things up and get to his dinner date.

Gregory couldn’t blame the people, he was a fan of Ademola Black or “Blackbird” as he was so often referred to because of his pen name “Olu Blackbird”. But Ope could never know that, she would feel betrayed. That thought made him shiver, he never wanted to disappoint her. And what are you doing now? He pushed the thought out of his head.

“I’m so sorry for the delay Greg, I’m usually early,” Mr Black said and stretched out his hand to Gregory.

No one called him Greg, he preferred his full name but he didn’t bother to correct him. He stood up, giving a slight bow as he shook his father-in-law’s hand for the first time, “No problem sir, it’s my fault I got here thirty minutes early.”

Mr Black nodded, “Good man, I respect people who respect my time.”

They sat across from each other on the two-man table in the dimly lit restaurant and a waiter rushed over. It was funny because Gregory had been trying to catch the attention of the servers for the past twenty minutes. They all seemed too busy a few seconds ago.

“Mr Black, welcome back sir, what can I get you?” The young waitress asked eagerly.

So he was a regular, no wonder.

“Thanks, Amaka, I’ll just have my usual but tell chef Pierre to hold off on the pickles this time,” Then he looked at his companion when he said, “I’m trying to cut out salt and fat from my diet.”

Gregory nodded like he understood, even though he didn’t fully. He was obsessed with cheese and salt was too much of a staple in his diet but the older man didn’t need to know that.

The waitress took out a small notepad and began to scribble. Then she turned to Gregory, “And you sir?”

“Uhh…” He scanned the menu, he already knew what he wanted, a club sandwich with no tomatoes, but he wanted to look pensive.

“Ohh give him what I’m having, I know he’ll love it,” Mr Black piped up.

The girl nodded, scribbled in her book again, “Coming right up sir,” and she rushed off.

Gregory was surprised by Mr Black’s confidence, he could never be that bold with ordering for anyone. It must be one hell of a meal. He hoped so because he was really looking forward to that sandwich.

“You’ll love it, trust me,” the older man said like he read the younger’s mind.

Gregory ignored his inner hesitation and smiled, “I’m sure I will.”

Another waiter came to drop some bottles of water on their table. Gregory quickly grabbed one and poured it into his glass. Nerves made him thirsty and he was extremely nervous.

“So my daughter got married without my knowledge?”

Gregory almost choked on his drink. He didn’t expect the man to be so straightforward, “Mmm…” He cleared his throat and sat up a little.

But before Gregory could speak Mr Black continued, “I mean… I know we have our issues but I didn’t think it was this bad.” He smiled sadly and looked away.

“You know my favorite song is happy by Pharell? She loves it too. I always said that we would do our father/daughter dance to it on her wedding day,” he took off his glasses and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

Gregory felt bad for him, it was weird to see such a big man look so fragile. He suddenly looked his sixty-five years. What must it be like, at that age, to be without your wife and kids? To be alone, no one deserved that.

“I’m sorry, I did ask her to call you but…”

Mr Black chuckled, “She’s too strong headed, don’t worry I know my daughter.”

The man did know his daughter, Ope was strong willed and when she believed in something, nothing could shake her, “I know but I just wish—“

“Ahh there she is,” Mr Black cut in.

Gregory swerved around like a thief caught in headlights, for a second he thought he was going to see Ope walking towards them. To his relief, it was just the waitress carrying a tray of two large burgers. She got to their table and began to arrange the food on top of it.

“Now that looks delicious,” Mr Black said to the waitress.

She smiled shyly at him and took her leave.

Mr Black’s melancholy seemed to have disappeared as he stared excitedly at the food. He looked at Gregory, “Go ahead, try it.”

Gregory wanted to open it and get an understanding of what they had stuffed in the fat burger, instead, he did as he was told, he took a bite. On the first bite he couldn’t miss the taste of the buttery fat and salted bacon.

“Great isn’t it?” Mr Black said as he began to dig into his.

Gregory nodded with vigor as he forced himself not to grimace at a chunk of tomato forcing its way down his throat. He hated tomatoes.

The rest of the night went well, Mr Black went on and on about how he couldn’t wait to see his daughter and how much he missed her. He was so different from the picture Ope had painted, in fact almost the exact opposite. He wasn’t rude, cheap nor loud. On the contrary, he treated all his servers with respect and even kindness, tipping each of them at the end. He wasn’t cheap either, he paid for both their meals. Most importantly, he wasn’t loud, Gregory hated loud people, he didn’t hate Mr Black.

“We should do this again,” Gregory said as he got up from the table.

“I agree,” Mr Black said with a smile, “How about tomorrow? You watch football?”

Well, he hadn’t meant so soon. “Uhh yeah, I’m a big Chelsea fan,” he said, trying to figure out what excuse he’ll give Ope for this next outing.

“Ahhh good man!” Mr Black said slapping him on the back as they made their way to the door, “We’ll watch the match together, I’ll text you where to meet me.”

Despite his hesitation, Gregory nodded confidently, figuring he would tell his wife he was going to Kunle’s house to watch the game. His cousin was going through a tough breakup right now so she won’t question how long he stays out. He pushed down the feeling of guilt that was creeping up, he was lying to his wife for a good cause. This was for her, it was all for her.

When Gregory entered his bedroom, Ope was sitting cozily on the recliner at the corner of the room. The standing lamp was on, she had a book lying face down on her chest. She did that a lot lately, she said the chair felt belly on her back and her chin on her chest as she dozed off.

Gregory put her book away, sat on the floor, took her feet into his hands and began to gently massage it. She moaned from her sleep but she didn’t open her eyes. He didn’t mind, as long as she woke up tomorrow morning feeling more relaxed he was happy.

Gregory got to the venue before Mr Black again. It was a fancy sports bar and there were TVs everywhere, so many it looked like people came in here to buy one rather than watch. He didn’t wait for his father-in-law too long, the man strolled in just as Gregory was taking his seat. He quickly got back up. Mr Black gave him the same bright smile as he strolled over, “I like a man who is always on time. It says a lot to get anywhere before me, I’m usually the first.”

Gregory bent over to greet, “It’s a force of habit, I’m afraid.” He didn’t know why he was defending himself against compliment but it was something the older man’s tone that made him feel he needed to.

“It is good,” the ease came back to Mr Black’s voice, or maybe it never left and Gregory just imagined the change. He chose to believe the latter. Mr Black didn’t sit at the table Gregory chose, instead he told him to follow him. He seemed to be a regular here too because all the servers seemed to stop by to greet him. They walked to the back into a door that looked like an exit but rather led to a staircase. The staircase led them to a private viewing. A waitress was there as if waiting for them and took their orders as they settled down. Mr Black ordered the drinks and again didn’t bother to ask his son-in-law what he wanted.

“Hope you don’t mind but I invited some friends to watch with us.”

Gregory minded, he felt like there was still so much to discuss regarding Ope and that was a private matter. But he didn’t say anything because Mr Black wasn’t asking, he had already invited the friends so he wasn’t telling.

The waiter brought over four bottles of Gulder, Gregory assumed the other two would be for the guests coming to join them. Not too long into the game, Mr Black’s friends, two men around his age, joined them. They ordered their own drinks, leaving the three Gulders untouched. Gregory didn’t drink, he wasn’t really a big beer guy, especially for the bitter stuff like Gulder. Besides, Ope hated when people drank while watching football, “It is a recipe for disaster,” she would say. In less than five minutes, her father had downed his second drink, growing increasingly crass and yelling at the team’s every move. He mixed colorful swear words into his criticism of the game. Gregory slowly began to understand Ope’s thought process.

Mr Black opened the third in what seemed like record timing and was downing that like he couldn’t wait to get to the next. Gregory was slowly realizing that none of the drinks were for him.

Mr Black called out to a waitress and when she came by to take his request, he laid a hand on her waist “Let me have some asun.”

The girl made an uncomfortable face but did not move away from the older man. The assault made Gregory feel nervous, “I want something too, you haven’t taken my order,” he said, beckoning her over and away from Mr Black.

She rushed over to his side but made sure not to stand too close he noticed, “I’ll just have water,” he said. He was too ashamed to look her in the eye so he just looked everywhere else.

She was about to walk away but stopped to pack the empty bottles on their table. Done, she turned to leave and Mr Black gave her bum a loud tap.

Gregory was mortified.

“Ahhh Kunle, don’t terrify the boy,” One of Mr Black’s friends said clearly seeing the look on Gregory’s face.

Mr Black laughed, “Ahh I’m sure, he’s not as innocent as he looks.”

The other man joined their friend’s laughter, Gregory felt like they were mocking him. At this point, he could barely focus on the game, he just kept wishing he was at home. The night got progressively worse as the waitress seemed to unintentionally replace Mr Black’s empty bottles per minute. Soon he was the loudest person in the room, louder than the game playing on speakers.

“I hate this team, they are all bloody idiots! Can’t even kick a damn ball.” Yet the moment they scored a goal he was the first person to jump and clap.

At the end of the game, his friends swiftly said their goodbyes and excused themselves with one adding a quick “Good luck” whisper to Gregory. He was ready to go home too but he didn’t know how to. He turned to his father in law but before he could speak the man got a phone call.

“Perfect timing,” Mr Black said when he picked up the phone. He paused a second, presumably listening to the person on the other line then responded with, “Ask for Anita, she’ll bring you upstairs.”

Mr Black ended the call with an excited chuckle, “Ready for some dessert?” He asked Gregory.

No!

“Sir, I really should be heading home…”

“Ohh no, not when the fun is just starting,” and as if on cue, the door opened and the waitress walked in with two young women.

“Ladies, you missed the match.”

One of the women responded, “Mr Black, we didn’t come here for the match,” smiling seductively at him as she took a seat across the two men.

He recognized the girl, she was the waitress from the restaurant yesterday. What was her name again? Chioma? No. Ada…?

“Amaka, I have a better seat for you?” Mr Black said then parted his legs.

Amaka obliged, got up and took her seat inbetween his legs.

Gregory felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up at the second young lady. She smiled shyly at him, expecting him to offer her a seat on his lap. Gregory shifted his chair back and jumped to his feet, “I think it’s time I take my leave.”

Mr Black sighed, “Don’t be a pussy boy, sit down.” He commanded.

“I… I’m married…” To your daughter, he wanted to add but didn’t.

“She’ll never know.”

“But Ope…”

“Is too much like her mother, so controlling. You can’t let a woman control your life, Ope this and Ope that. Are you not a man? You need to act like one. Your wife will be waiting for you at home when you get there, they always are.”

Gregory didn’t say a word. He knew Mr Black was wrong, he knew that for a fact. Because this very man came home over a decade ago and his wife and kids had left him. He had no one, because he was being “a man”. Gregory was done with him, he got up and walked out of the room. He could hear Mr Black laughing behind him as he said, “You come, there’s room on my lap for two…”

When Gregory got home, Ope was working on her laptop in the living room.

“You’re home late again,” She turned around to watch him walk in, “You must be tired, I made some rice, it’s in the fridge.”

And that was it, she didn’t ask him any questions, did not get upset, she trusted him too much for that. A trust that had taken years to build, it had been so hard to penetrate her walls but he had been successful eventually. And all that was almost destroyed by him and his stupid curiosity. Well that was fully abated, he never wanted to set eyes on Mr Black again.

She dragged herself off the couch and got up slowly. He watched Ope as she walked over to the fridge and opened it. He followed and wrapped his arms around her, laying his palms on her swollen belly.

“What’s this for?” She asked, surprised but she leaned into him anyway.

‘I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

He rubbed her belly, “I’ll never be like him, you know?”

“Like who?”

“Like your dad.”

She turned a curious gaze at him. She suspected something was going on with him but her only response was, “I know.”

Then she leaned in and kissed him softly. She turned back to the fridge, “Ohh babe, we still need to pick a song for the wedding reception video,” she said as she passed a dish.

He took it and popped it in the microwave, “Uhh… what about ‘Happy’? The one by Pharrell?”

She looked at him like he had spoken gibberish, “What? That has to be the cheesiest song on the planet.”

He laughed, “I thought you liked it.”

“Well, you thought wrong,” She said and laughed too.

All images are sourced from pexels