Damage Control

It started awkwardly at Alausa, Ikeja 
She was searching for a parking space
 inside the secretariat 
Her friend was seated beside her 
They saw an elderly man and an 
elderly woman talking 
They were standing in one of the 
available parking spaces 
She pressed her horn 
Parking space was quite difficult to 
get in the secretariat 
Why were two people standing in 
the parking space instead of in one 
of the offices? 
She was under a lot of pressure to 
park quickly
Cars were lined up behind her looking
to park or drive out of the 
She drove towards them 
The man saw her and started to move 
The woman pulled him back 
It almost felt to her as if
the woman was telling the man 
not to move 
She would down her driver's side 
window and said "Is it foolishness or 
dumbness that is worrying you? 
Why are you standing in the parking 
space like a statue? 
The woman didn't say a word, the 
man also looked at her and shook 
his head 
Then the man held the woman by 
the hand and supported the woman 
She had some difficulty walking 
Not a disability 
It looked like hypothermia or a 
muscle pull 
She regretted her words immediately 
but it is Lagos and everyone does 
whatsoever pleased them 
She shrugged it off 
It is one of those things 
She and her friend alighted and walked 
to Lands 
Her friend was a lawyer 
They had been friends since secondary 
school 
She wanted to buy some plots of land 
and her friend offered to help her 
check the validity and availability of 
the land at the secretariat 
That was why they came to Alausa 
Within an hour they were done 
As they were walking out of the Land's 
premises, she saw her boyfriend 
Well, fiancee 
They had been dating for two years 
He finally proposed two weeks 
before then 
He was set to take her home and 
introduce her to his people that 
weekend
He was working with one of the 
merchant banks as a marketer 
Some of his clients are politicians 
He frequents Alausa a lot for work 
so it was no surprise running into him 
Her friend had somewhere to go so 
she took her leave 
She walked hand in hand with her man 
to her car 
He makes her heart glad all the time 
He was a gentle, genuine person 
Meeting him was the greatest thing that 
ever happened to her 
When they got to her car, someone 
called his name 
They both turned to the direction of
the voice 
It was the same man 
The one standing in the parking space 
with an elderly woman earlier
Her man shouted and ran to the man 
"Uncle Stephen, what are you doing 
here?" 
They started talking 
She strained her ears to pick up some 
of the words 
Then the man started leading them 
towards the row of offices 
They walked with him until they got 
to the man's office 
Her man's uncle works with one of 
the parastatals 
She smiled along, hoping the man 
didn't remember her from the earlier 
incident 
As soon as they stepped into the 
man's office, her man went flat in 
a prostrate to greet the woman 
who was earlier with the man in 
the car park 
The woman beamed and hugged 
her man 
The woman said "I came to talk to 
your uncle about your introduction 
tomorrow. 
I wanted him to attend and bring 
some of our people from Shagamu 
with him. 
I had called earlier but your uncle 
is someone I must dignify with a 
personal visit" 
Her man turned to her and said 
"Mummy, meet "so and so", your wife 
She went on her knees immediately 
"Oh God! Oh God!"
Her heart started racing... 
His mother greeted her very well 
Too well 
The amnesia his mother displayed 
was worrisome
His mother acted as if they were
 meeting for the first time and hugged
her affectionately 
Her uncle also prayed for her 
Her man's mother had been out of 
the country nursing the baby of her 
man's older sister 
She would be home for six months 
before traveling back to the USA and 
that was why they wanted to take 
advantage of her presence to do the
introduction and the wedding 
His mother apologized for the delay 
and told her she was looking forward 
to the meeting with her family the following 
day and planning their wedding 
Her words were reassuring 
She wanted to apologize for her earlier 
conduct but she couldn't summon the 
words
Her man saw her off 
He also drove down and had parked in 
the premises of the Town Planning offices 
As soon as she drove off, she saw her 
man and his mother talking in the 
rearview mirror 
She saw them pointing at her car 
She saw the body language of his 
mother 
Combative and closed
She knew she was in trouble 
She started praying "Lord Jesus, please 
help me here. I messed up big time. 
I am very sorry for my misstep but 
please don't let it cost me my future.
 Please, Lord, step into this matter 
and intercede for me before these 
children of yours. Holy Spirit
please make this right. I will do 
better henceforth" 
She had gotten to the main road and 
was waiting for the traffic light to 
give her a green. 
Then she remembered a drug for 
muscle strain that she went to collect 
for her mother 
It was in her bag. 
The traffic light turned green, she
turned back into the complex 
They were still there 
Her man, his mother, and his uncle 
Her man was looking sad, like 
someone about to cry 
She parked in the same spot and 
grabbed the drug 
She walked towards them with her 
heart racing When she got to them, 
she fell on her knees and
said "I got this for you, ma'am. 
It is very good for muscle strain. 
I noticed that you had a slight limp 
earlier when i was parking the car 
and i remembered that my man 
mentioned it in the course of our 
discussion one day. 
It is a very good ointment ma." 
His mother opened it and smiled 
She said "I know it. It is very scarce. 
When I was in the USA I tried to get it 
but none of their pharmacies stocked it 
The one my Ghanian doctor prescribed 
to me wasn't nearly as effective. 
Thank you very much" 
She looked at his mother and said 
"Mummy, I am very sorry for
my outburst earlier. 
You have a right to be angry with me 
I didn't even do well when i met you 
and kept quiet about it 
I am very sorry ma." 
His mother stepped towards her and 
drew her up from her knees 
She said "You just behaved the way i 
trained my children to behave to 
others
That was all I expected from anyone 
who will marry into my family 
I cannot take the time to train my children 
only to have them marry uncultured brats 
The fact that you came back yourself 
and summoned the courage to say sorry 
was evidence enough that you were 
well raised" 
Her man smiled and hugged her 
The damage control was effective 
When she got home she told her mother 
everything that happened 
She explained why she didn't have the 
drug sent to her mother from a friend 
who lives in Korea 
Her mother told her if she did the same 
thing to her it would be the end of the 
engagement 
She believed her mother 
The introduction took place as planned 
Her man and his people arrived at her 
father's house at 10:15AM the following 
day 
The event lasted till 4pm 
Three months later, they got married at 
St. Matthias Anglican Church

PS: We have all said something we
regret
Sometimes during a road rage
Sometimes when we feel a sudden surge
of anger
We shouldn't expect people to just deal
with it
Words bring out the sword
Words lead to swords being sheathed
When we err, let us be quick to apologize
May one moment of anger not cost
us a lifetime of joy. Amen