It was payday. I had just received my salary and as usual, my first priority was my mother. I always sent her monthly allowance even before I went home after work on pay days. She lived in Nigeria, and I lived in Cameroon. Hence, sending her money was a little bit complex. Western Union would be the right choice, but the charges were enormous. So, I decided to use MTN Mobile money to send. It was cheaper, fast and reliable. Haven made up my mind, I went across the road to a mobile money point that was closest to where I work. When I got there, I met a lady and greeted her.

“Good afternoon”

“Good afternoon”

“You do Mobile Money here, I suppose?”

“Yes, we do. Do you want to send or receive?”

“Send”

“Within the country or out of the country?”

“Out of the country.”

“Which country?”

“Nigeria”

“How much?”

“50,000”

I handed the money to her; gave her my mum’s details and she conducted the transaction. A few seconds later, I got a notification from MTN that my transaction was successful. I was about walking out of the place when she said:
“Hmm! Your mum should be lucky.”

“How do you mean?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“She has a son who sends her money.”

“Oh! That? Of course, na. That woman made a lot of sacrifices for me. No matter how broke I am, I must always set aside something for her.”

“Are you the only child?” She asked.

“No”

“You are the first?”

“No, the fifth.”

“Wow!! You are the fifth child, and you care about your mother so much? I thought you were the first. Are you the last?” She was persistent. I hated persistence.

“No, I have two beautiful younger sisters. I am the last male, however.” I told her.

“Anha!! That makes sense now. Mummy’s boy.” She said and smiled. I laughed out loud. “Your mum should love you a lot.”

“Of course, she does. She even gave me her father’s name.” I revealed.

“What’s your name?”

“John”

“Old name”

“I don’t blame you.” I said lightheartedly. And you are Mary?”

“So, because you are John, I should be Mary?” She asked, smiling.

“Makes sense to me.” We both laughed.

“My name is Florence.”

I didn’t know why she was asking so many questions about me. We had only just met but she was treating me like we had known each other for ages. Like I said, I was just back from work. It had been a long day and I was feeling tired. So, I told her I would be leaving.

“Anyway, I have to go now.” I spoke. It was a pleasure doing business with you.”

“The pleasure is all mine.”

I stepped out of the place and tried to get a bike that would take me home. My car was at the mechanic, and I was scheduled to collect it the following day. I needed change in order to get a bike. I had stopped about four bikes but none of them would accept to carry me because of change wahala. So, I went back to Florence.

“Can you lend me some coins?” I asked.

“How much?”

“Three hundred”

“Ok”

“I will stop here tomorrow and reimburse you.” I spoke.

“You don’t need to. You can keep it.” She spoke.

“Really?”

“Yes”

“Thank you”

“Welcome”

She counted the money and gave it to me. Then she spoke again.

“You have never done your transactions here before? What brought you here today.” She asked.

Gosh!! I thought in my heart. This girl does nothing but asks questions.

“No particular reason. I use Mobile Money a lot. So, I always make use of any point I can find.” I explained.

“Alright, in that case, you can be my regular customer. We can transact anytime, even when you are not around.”

“Really? In that case, I will need to have your number.” I suggested.

“Yes, that’s true.”

I handed my phone to her, and she keyed in her number. I also gave her mine, said goodbye, stopped the next bike and headed home. On my way home, I kept wondering why she had taken such a keen interest in me. I was asking myself; is that how she behaved with all her customers, or was it just me? Anyway, I decided to get it of my mind. I was already very tired and needed to get home and have a good rest.

It was a Saturday and that meant the following day, I wouldn’t be going to work. I was in my living room that evening, reclining on my favourite Sofa, watching Dilemma on African Magic Showcase and reading interesting stories on a Facebook page called Stories of My Life when I saw a WhatsApp notification from Florence.

“Hi handsome” it read.

“Hi”

“How are you this evening?”

“Good and you?”

“Great, I am sure you have eaten and rested.” She asked.

“Of course, I have. How about you?”

“Same”

“Okay”

“Will you go to church tomorrow?” She asked.

“No”

“Why”

“No particular reason”

“Ok what will you be doing after church hours?” She asked.

“Nothing”

“We could hang out if you like. What do you think?” She proposed.

“Where?”

“That new place below SWECOM. I hear its dope.” She spoke.

“Alright, see you tomorrow then. I will call you when I am free. Bye.”

I went back to watching TV. But I kept wondering what she wanted. At first, I was scared. Then my fear turned to excitement. I decided that come tomorrow, I would try to see what kind of a girl she was and who knows what might happen after?

TO BE CONTINUED
https://storymack.com.ng/desperate-for-love-chapter-2/