Chapter 43
Following a ‘tip’ from Marilyn, I go to one of Dominic’s clubs where one of the artists signed under his record label is having a show tonight. He is not aware of my visit, although he knows that his mother had been to my place to see me. She had asked if she should tell him to come and see me, but I said no since I was the one that cut him off and forbade him from ever calling me again.
At the entrance, the bouncers ask if my name is on the guest list and for the first time, I wonder if I hadn’t made a mistake with this surprise visit of mine. I feel a sense of déjà vu, reminding me of that time many months ago when I’d gone to Dominic’s Ikoyi home to pay him a surprise visit. That evening had spelt the beginning of our relationship and it had been the first time we’d made love. The memory makes me smile and gives me the confidence to forge on with my mission for tonight.
“I’m here to see Dominic,” I tell one of the mammoth-sized bouncers.
“Who?” He snarls, giving me a cold glare through his dark glasses.
“Dom. Dom Inyang. He’s my… he’s my boyfriend.”
The second bouncer scoffs. “Yeah, right. Do you know how many women come here nearly every night claiming to be Dom’s girlfriend or his baby mama?”
“I’ll suggest you keep it moving and stop embarrassing yourself,” says the first bouncer.
“What do I have to do to prove to you that I’m not lying?” I ask in frustration.
“If you were his girlfriend, you wouldn’t be standing here, talking to us. You’d be inside with him. Now, step aside and let those guests come in,” the first bouncer dismisses me.
A nicely dressed couple step in front of me and give their names to the bouncers who check the guest list to confirm if they are to be allowed in. I walk a few steps away from the entrance and dig out my phone from my handbag to search out Dominic’s number. Once I see it, I unblock it and dial in hopes that he will answer my call. To my surprise, he answers on the second ring.
“Uzezi, is it really you calling?” He asks breathlessly. I can hear loud music playing in the background and people singing and laughing. It must be joyful chaos going on in there.
“Yes, Dominic. It’s me,” I reply and notice how my heartbeat picks up speed immediately. Despite how angry I had been with him before his mother showed up at my doorstep; I cannot deny how delighted I am to finally hear his voice again. How did I even survive all these months without him?
“Where are you?”
“Outside.”
“Outside where?”
“Outside the club. Your club. The bouncers wouldn’t let me in. They think I’m a groupie.”
“Aren’t you?” He asks, and I can hear the smile in his voice.
“I guess I am,” I reply with a smile. “So, what’s it going to be? Are you going to leave me hanging here, or are you going to come and rescue me?”
“Don’t move an inch,” he says and hangs up.
I find myself grinning sheepishly as I put the phone back into my bag. And just like that, Dominic is back in my life. Now, it feels so silly that I suffered for months when a simple dialogue could have resolved all the misunderstandings. How utterly stupid!
“Uzezi!”
I look up and see Dominic standing between the bouncers, looking even more handsome than I remember. He is dressed in a black Balmain T-shirt, a pair of black jeans and white Yeezy sneakers. Why wouldn’t any sane woman with blood flowing through her veins, not want to be his girlfriend? Why wouldn’t any woman at all, want to be his baby mama? And why wouldn’t his childhood friend not want to keep him for herself? The man is gorgeous, loving, and generous. Why wouldn’t I fall in love with him? What does it matter if we don’t fit the narrative of what an ideal couple should look like? So what if I’m four years older than him? Whose business is it if I am a divorced mother-of-two who is now hopelessly in love with the most eligible bachelor in the country?
“My mother is a miracle worker because I can hardly believe my eyes,” says Dominic as he struts towards me with that confident swagger of his. “What did she say to convince you to forgive me?”
“Who says I’ve forgiven you?” I ask playfully. “You left me to stew in my anger for what? Four months? Five?”
“You said you never wanted to see me again, and after how my mother treated you, I was sure you wouldn’t change your mind.”
“So, you sent her to come and fetch me?”
His face curves into a beautiful smile. “I didn’t send her, she insisted on speaking with you and my mother does not take no for an answer.”
“Well, I’m glad. And I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you like that, not after hearing everything Pamela had said and knowing that she instigated the kiss between you two. I guess I just needed an excuse to justify all that negative self-talk that I had subjected myself to throughout our relationship. I felt that you were too good for me, and I was probably depriving another young woman the opportunity to have a meaningful relationship with you – a relationship that could lead to something more permanent; something you can’t have with me. I know now that all of that sounds stupid, but that was the thought that kept making me feel guilty for being with you. So, when your mother basically threw me out of her house, a part of me felt that I deserved it, that you deserved to be with a younger woman, and not me.”
“My goodness, Uzezi,” says Dominic softly. “Why would you ever think such? Did I ever make you feel as if you were beneath me?”
“No,” I reply quietly.
“Did I ever make you feel like you were too old for me? If I was bothered about your status, I wouldn’t have gotten involved with you in the first place. Uzezi, all of these things you have said don’t matter, as long as you and I are on the same page in our relationship. I can have any woman I want, but I choose you, Uzezi. I love you.”
My breath catches in my lungs and my eyes get blurred with tears. “What did you just say?”
He takes a step closer to me and we are now standing toe to toe, his face only a few inches away from mine. “I said I love you, Uzezi. I love you so much that thoughts of you kept me awake every night all through these months that we have been apart. I have never been as miserable as I was in the last few months – it has been hell for me. I don’t ever want to be away from you again, Uzezi. I want you to become a part of my life for good if you will have me.”
“Oh, Dominic,” I sigh and blink. A tear rolls down my face and Dominic wipes it away with his thumb. “I can’t believe that you are saying all these beautiful words to me. They sound too good to be true.”
“But they are true, Uzezi. I love you more than I can adequately articulate with words. I have been so terrified about my future because I don’t want to imagine the rest of my life without you. You’ve brought so much color into my world, and I don’t want to go back to the way I used to be before I met you.”
“Oh, Dominic, my Dominic. I love you too. I love you with all of my heart and soul, it scares me a little.”
“Well, that makes two of us, but I have never allowed fear to stop me before, and I am not going to start now. I love you and you love me, that’s all that matters. Everything else will be sorted as we go along.”
“Ok,” I whisper.
“Ok,” he whispers back.
“So… is this the part where you kiss me?” I ask suggestively.
“Do you want me to kiss you?”
“Please.”
When his lips touch mine, I lean into him and press my body on his, enjoying the warmth of his hard torso. He runs a hand down the small of my back and cups my left butt cheek, making me squeal against his mouth.
“Stop it,” I giggle. “We’re outside.”
“Should we go inside?”
I shrug. “Not my scene, but ok. I better start getting used to this nightlife thingy if you and I are going to be together for the long haul.”
“Not necessarily. You don’t have to change who you are to fit into my world. You are perfect for me just the way you are.”
“Do you really mean that?”
“With my whole heart,” he says. “Let’s get out of here.”
“What about the show?”
“They don’t need me there. I only showed up to boost everyone’s morale, now I can leave. My place or yours?”
“Definitely yours, because I want to do some things to you that are not PG-rated.”
Dominic laughs. “My, my. I seem to have gotten myself a feisty one.”
I laugh too.
“Let’s go, my love. I can’t wait to see all the X-rated tricks you have up your sleeves for me.”
“Enough talking. Let’s skedaddle!”
He grabs me by the hand and leads me towards the parking lot where his driver is waiting inside his Lexus with the windows down, enjoying a soulful Afrobeat rendition by Fela which was blaring from the car radio.
“Start the car, Johnson,” says Dominic as he opens the car door and let me in, before joining me in the back.
“Right away, Boss,” replies Johnson. He does a double-take when he sees me through the rear-view mirror. “Ah, madam. Good evening. It’s good to see you again.”
“Good evening, Johnson. It’s good to see you too.”
“Same here. Now can we go?” Asks Dominic impatiently. “This meet-and-greet is taking forever.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I laugh. I love how he is so eager to be alone with me because it means he has truly missed me as much as I have missed him. I can’t believe I almost threw away something as beautiful as this because I was second-guessing my feelings for him and bothering myself with what everyone else thought about our relationship. Now, I know better, and I am going to cherish what we have and never let anyone take it away from us again.
As Johnson begins to drive out of the parking lot, I rest my head on Dominic’s shoulder and he pulls me closer into his arms. This is where I always want to be. This is my home. Dominic is my happy place.