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I had thought it was her usual playful nagging until it wasn't. She had been on the same issue right from the house.
“Kunle there's absolutely no way you'll convince me you didn't know,” Sola said, dragging her bag down the narrow aisle of the night bus. Her voice was sharper than it was earlier. I could hear her gasp for air, she was already tired. “You knew she would be there.”
“Can you please slow down?" I called and ran to meet up with her. "And I swear, I didn’t know,” I replied, keeping my eyes on the bus in front of us. “I swear.”
She laughed, short and bitter. “Kunle, please. Your cousin’s wedding. And your ex-girlfriend shows up. And you’re telling me it was a surprise?” She kept on, dragging her bag up the bus. I offered to help but she shoved me away. I watched her climb in then I followed. She found a seat and dropped into it. I pushed our bags underneath the seat and sat beside her. I tried to make her look at me but she shoved me again and turned to the window. The glass reflected her face faintly. I knew that face. I had been married to it for three years. I also knew what it meant when her jaw tightened like that.
Not long before passengers began climbing in, shoving nylon bags of food under seats, greeting strangers like distant cousins.
"Ibadan! Ibadan!" The conductor yelled as if his loud voice could stitch order into chaos.
It wasn't long before the bus filled up. The bus roared and jerked, spitting smoke in its wake, then we slipped out of the park, Lagos inbound.
But as the bus charged on our quarrel grew legs.
“Kunle, you were too excited about this wedding,” she continued, without looking at me. “I never wanted to travel with you but you kept pushing until I agreed to travel.”
“Sola, it is my cousin we're talking about here,” I said it out quietly like she wouldn't understand if I spoke normally. “Was I supposed to act uninterested or tell her or my family I'm not coming?”
“No. But now I understand why you were so determined.” She turned to me, her jaw still tightened.
I took a deep breath. Lean a bit into her. “Determined because of who? Because of Aisha? Come on Sola, you know me better than this.”
She finally faced me. “You kept smiling, laughing, and leaning close to her when she was talking to you.”
“She's funny when she talks. You know that."
"And leaning into her?"
I snapped. “She leans close to everybody.”
“Since you know that, you should have leaned away.” Her voice was rising gently.
A lady in front of us turned to look at us and hissed softly. I heard a whisper from behind, “Husband and wife matter.”
I paused, took a glance around, and tried speaking without my frustration. “Sola, let's talk about this when we get home."
Unfortunately, she was ready to wait. “You danced with her,” she pressed on..
“I danced with everyone.”
“You held her waist.”
I exhaled sharply. “Now, that’s a lie.”
“Is it?” Are you forgetting that I was watching the whole thing?”
The bus sped onto the expressway. The road stretched ahead. Just like our argument. We argued about everything. The wedding. Aisha. Boundaries. About how long is too long to greet an ex? About why I didn’t tell her Aisha was coming.
I rubbed my forehead. “You’re overthinking this.”
She scoffed. “That’s what men always say when they don’t want to be honest.”
“I am honest!” I stretched my words again.
Silence fell for maybe thirty seconds. I turned and let my eyes fall on her. I wasn't happy with everything that was going on right now. I hated that I made her feel insecure. In a soft voice, I spoke again.
“Sola, what exactly are you accusing me of?”
She stared at me. “That you Kunle, you missed her. That this wedding was just an excuse.”
“That’s unfair.”
“But possible,” she said quietly.
"If that's how I made you feel I am sorry. It wasn't intended or it wasn't my intention."
Suddenly, the bus slowed down. A loud hiss. Then a shudder. Then the engine died.
I watched the passenger panic as the driver swore loudly.
For a moment, nobody spoke. Like everyone was wondering what exactly was happening. Then at once, voices rose.
“Driver, what is it?”
“This place na bush o!” (This place is a bush o).
But the driver didn't reply. Instead, he jumped down quickly with his conductor and soon the bonnet was opened.
I looked around, we were in the middle of nowhere. I turned to Sola, and she had fear written on her face. Gently I reached towards her and held her hands. Surprisingly, she let me.
I checked my phone but there was no network.
Then we waited for whatever the driver and his conductor were doing. Ten minutes passed. Then twenty.
Eventually, the driver climbed back in and announced, “Radiator issue. We need to wait. I've called my mechanic.”
“How long?” someone asked.
He shrugged. “God knows.”
Grumbling filled the bus. But slowly, sound drained away. Conversations ended. Even complaints got tired. Nobody talked. Not even Sola and I, who had been arguing from Ibadan. It was as if the fear of the night had locked our mouths.
Outside rickets sang. A distant owl hooted. The air cooled.
Sola turned to me and hugged my arms so tightly. I noticed she was shivering.
I took off my jacket and held it out. “Take.”
She hesitated, but later took it without a word.
We sat like that, without words. Then slowly, memories of the wedding filled my mind. Maybe Sola wasn't wrong. I remembered the way Aisha had laughed at my jokes. If I wasn't careful maybe she would have slipped into the old patterns. I felt sorry for Sola, I had really made her feel insecure.
I cleared my throat. “Sola.”
She didn’t answer at first. I called again then she hummed
“I didn’t plan to see her,” I said. “But when I did… It reminded me of who I used to be. Not who I want to be.”
She raised her eyes to see my face.
“I admit for a second, I was careless, and I forgot how disrespectful it was to you. I'm sorry. Honestly, I didn't know she would be there."
She said nothing. Instead, her shoulder dropped more into me
“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” she said quietly. “It’s that I don’t like being made to feel foolish in public.”
"I'm sorry. I truly am" I apologized.
She reached for my hand. Her fingers were cold. I held them tighter.
Soon, a mechanic arrived, and the engine was fixed after lots of noise and curses had rained on the driver.
But it all died down as the bus roared back to life. Then we pulled into the road when Sola called
"Kunle?" She didn't look at my face
"Yes," I looked at her.
"Try that again and I'll make sure you regret it."
I smiled. "Copy that, Ma'am.”
You described the couple's discussion very well and added a lot of emotion to it. Something I really liked was that the silence helped them to calm down first and then reflect. Excellent story.
Greetings @oyebolu and have a nice day.
Regards @popurri greetings, thanks for the Holla. Just as everyone wants to be right in arguments, sometimes we just need to be silent to digest everything from all perspectives. An interesting story and I really enjoyed it. Blessings.
This is pure love. To be jealous is okay in a relationship. Thanks for sharing such story. I go love oh
That silence in relationships is very well written in your story. I really like how the silence reflects the pressure and tension that generate conflict. I like the inclusion of the bus as a setting, and that ending is very powerful, with Sola reaffirming the innate strength of her character. Thank you for reading, and blessings.
Every lady is to be respected and made to feel safe in the relationship. The same goes for the ladies too. It's amazing that they talked and the silence ushered in some deep reflections. Maybe the voice inside needs sometime to also talk.
Nice story.
A very enjoyable story to read, with well-crafted narrative and a plot that truly enhances the narrative. The profound silences speak volumes. Excellent work.
Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Excellent Thursday.
I love the love between sola and Kunle. Although Kunle was being ignorant at first I love that he was able to come back to his senses in the silence
Silence speaks louder than words in this case it is so true,I love the plot in your story. We ladies deserve it to be respected and kept safe
Awwwn lovers quarrel. It's a nice story. It's amazing how couples can quarrel till forever and easily settle it out.