THEY CALL IT 'DADDY ISSUES'-CHAPTER 3

 University felt like a dream; Elizabeth made it a reality. I watched my father plan to save for the twins’ university fees, but mine was never included. My stepmother started paying for my university fees and accommodation, and gave me everything I needed. She was the reason I believed in angels on earth. 

  At seventeen, I was admitted to the University of Ilorin to study History and International Studies. I was allocated a room in an on-campus hostel, where I met my two roommates. Princess and Gloria, who were both eighteen years old, and we were all freshers studying the same course. So, navigating the first year was not hard; we went everywhere together. Princess was tall, fair and had full afro hair. She looked like a model, dressed as if she ran a fashion house. She was always happy, but knew how to tell boys off rudely; a lot of guys crushed on her. Most of them spoke to me because they wanted to get her number, but I knew better than to give it out. She never cared who liked her or not. Princess came from a middle-class family, but to me, she had it all. 

Gloria had a petite figure, and I was a bit taller and fatter than she was. We had the same skin colour. What stood out to me about her was her eyes; she had almond-shaped, hazel coloured eyes. They were beautiful and intriguing to look at. She was also from a middle-class family; her parents called us often, and her dad always prayed for us.

While we did everything together, we had our differences. Princess didn’t understand what personal space was. Sometimes it was cute, other times it was annoying because there were times I wanted to be alone, but I couldn’t. Gloria was very loud, played the loudest music, and spoke the loudest. I could only sleep in the room when she slept, and as soon as she wakes up, I’m awake. Princess said I hardly smiled unless on days when I spoke to the twins, and Gloria said I was too secretive. Princess and Gloria fought a lot because of these differences. I never spoke up about their behaviour because I didn’t believe they would change, and I didn’t want to offend them. I apologised for the slightest things, even if they weren’t my fault. Sometimes, Gloria would tell me not to apologise if I didn’t do anything wrong, but I did anyway.

I spoke to the twins and Elizabeth on the phone often. Every time I tried to talk to dad when I called home, he hung up. It went on for a while until I stopped trying to talk to him. I started spending my holidays at school or sometimes at Gloria’s house. Elizabeth visited me in school very few times because travelling there wasn’t always convenient for her, especially with work. I was grateful for her work; the ready-to-wear dresses she sold were where money for my school fees came from. 

In my second year of university, I turned eighteen. I didn’t think I would celebrate it, but my roommates and now, best friends, insisted on celebrating. I finally agreed to have a small dinner with them, just the three of us. 13th May always came with a bittersweet feeling. While I celebrated my birthday, it was also the day my mother passed on. It was filled with flashbacks of my father repeatedly telling me I didn’t deserve to live.

“Don’t cry, you’ll spoil your makeup. Be happy for once” I said to myself as the tears threatened to flow and ruin my makeup. I just stared at myself in the mirror.

“Ohh, birthday blues?” Princess asked, engulfing me in a back hug. I only told them that my mum was dead and I wasn’t really close to my dad. They never probed further, so they didn’t know she died on my birthday.

“You are so beautiful” Gloria said as she held my hand. Princess released me from the hug. We were wearing sleeveless fit-and-flare dresses that reached our thighs, each in a different colour. I wore a white floral one, Princess wore a hot pink one, and Gloria wore a royal blue one. We were all dressed in white open-toe heels. 

We went to a fancy restaurant that had a cool ambience with some classical music in the background. We ordered some ice cream. I ordered vanilla and strawberry flavour with rainbow sprinkles toppings, Princess ordered chocolate with Oreo crumbs and coconut flakes, and Gloria ordered vanilla flavour with M&M’s and rainbow sprinkles toppings. Gloria insisted we take a few pictures. I thought it was selfies until she went to the next table, where three guys were sitting, to ask for help; one of them agreed when he heard it was my birthday. 

He stood in front of our table looking for the right angle to take the pictures. He looked up from the phone, and we locked eyes. We stared at each other for five seconds until I shifted my gaze elsewhere, hiding the fact that I was blushing. When I looked up, he was taking the pictures. He came to give us Gloria’s phone when he was done. We thanked him.

“So, is there a cake for the birthday girl?” He said, placing his hand on the edge of the table. Although I didn’t look up, I felt his eyes taking me in. 

“Why? Do you want to get one for her?” Princess asked, with her usual sass.

“Yes, actually, I do” He replied. I looked up at him, and he smiled at me, walked straight to the counter and ordered a cake. He went back to his table and continued eating, but we were stealing glances at each other. 

The cake arrived when he and his friends left the restaurant. It was a red velvet cake with a unique design, half white with a smooth fondant separated from the other half, which was a textured, champagne-toned fondant with a gold design which looked like a crack between the two halves. He left a note, which Princess grabbed before I could read it.

‘ Happy birthday, stranger. I hope you had the best day. I think this cake would make it better’. She read it out. His number was written at the bottom of the note. Gloria squealed.

“Oh my God, I’m glad I went to their table. This is cute” Gloria said.

“I didn’t expect the cake. Even when they left, I thought nothing was coming. I have to admit, it’s actually cute. And, he’s a fine guy” Princess said, winking at me when she said the last part. 

“So, are you going to text him or what?” Gloria asked.

“I don’t know” I replied, the uncertainty evident in my voice.

“What do you mean?...”

“Take your time” Princess said, interrupting Gloria’s statement. We fell quiet, but the giddiness was still in the air. We were done eating the pizza and drinking the Veleta sparkling grape wine we ordered after the ice cream. It was time to return to the hostel, but I really enjoyed my birthday and actually forgot the bad memories that came with it.

I collected the note from Princess and read it more times than I could count. I didn’t text him until two days after. 

‘Hi’ I typed and hit the send button. 

‘Hey, stranger’ He replied. He recognised me from my display picture on WhatsApp.