My sister Kemi called me at 11pm on a Saturday night and the first thing she said was, “Dara, I need to gist you something but you cannot tell anybody.”
I was already in bed, half asleep, but something in her voice made me sit up. You know how Kemi is, she is not the type to call you late for nothing. She doesn’t like drama, so when she called at that hour with that kind of voice, I knew something had happened. I turned off my TV, pulled my blanket up and said, “talk.”
She talked. And whatever sleep I had left that night, e don go.
Let me give you some context before I spill the tea.
Folashade, Kemi, Susan and three other girls have been friends since university. The genuine kind of friendship, the kind that has survived heartbreaks, bad jobs, worse decisions and hairstyles that nobody should ever speak of again. Their group chat is called “The Originals” and according to Kemi, that chat has not had a boring moment in seven years.
Now, Shade and Femi had been together for two years. From everything Kemi told me, Shade was completely gone for this man. Like the kind of gone where your friends go dey roll their eyes small small whenever his name comes up but they still manage to smile because you are happy and that is what matters. You know how it is… nau, Femi was charming, e fine, the kind of guy that enters a room and the room just shakes a little.
The relationship had its rough patches because every relationship does, but Shade always came out the other side more convinced that he was her person. From the outside looking in, they looked good together. The couple goals that make sense on paper and somehow look even better in photos.
So when Kemi called me that Saturday night, the last thing I was expecting was a story that started with the most beautiful proposal she had ever seen in her life and ended with one of Shade’s closest friends walking out the door before anybody even touched their champagne. But that’s what happened and e shock everybody.
Femi had planned everything, and I mean everything.
Small intimate dinner, just close friends and a few family members, at a rooftop restaurant in Lekki. Fairy lights, flowers that Kemi said smelled like heaven, a live saxophonist playing in the corner. That type of setup you see on Instagram and immediately think, this man paid somebody serious money.
Shade had absolutely no idea. Kemi said she spent the whole drive there complaining that Femi was taking her somewhere too fancy for a random Saturday and that she had not even done her nails. That part made me laugh because from everything Kemi has told me about Shade over the years, that is so her… she couldn’t care less 😅
Then Femi stood up from the table while the saxophonist switched to something slower. Kemi said she felt her chest tighten because she knew what was coming and she was already trying not to cry. Shade looked confused for about three seconds and then her hand flew to her mouth.
He got down on one knee.
Kemi was crying too hard to remember everything he said but she caught the important parts. That Shade was the person he wanted to figure out life with, loving her has been the easiest thing he had ever done and that he was not perfect but he was hers if she would have him.
Shade said yes before he even finished the sentence.
The table erupted with joy. People were hugging, glasses raised and the saxophonist switched back to something upbeat and celebratory. Kemi said it was actually one of the most beautiful moments she had ever witnessed in her life. And I believed her because I could hear it in her voice even as she was telling me, hours later.
And then she said, “Dara, that is when Susan picked up her bag and left.”
At first nobody noticed and that is the thing about a proposal moment, everybody’s full attention is on the couple. People are clapping, wiping tears, reaching for their phones to capture everything. So when Susan jejely pushed back her chair, picked up her clutch and walked toward the exit, only one or two people even caught it. And even they assumed she was going to the bathroom or stepping out to take a call. Nobody thought anything of it.
ICYMI: He’s not confusing…. He’s consistent (Green flags in a relationship during the talking stage)
It was Kemi who noticed she had not come back.
About 15 minutes later, when the champagne was being poured and Shade was busy showing off her ring to everyone at the table, Kemi looked around and realised Susan’s chair was still empty. She excused herself and went to check the bathroom but nobody there then she called Susan’s number, e just dey ring… no response. Susan said she sent a message in the group chat and in her DM, no response, she even went downstairs, stepped outside to check but Susan was gone.
Kemi said she stood there outside the restaurant for a moment not knowing what to feel. Because Susan and Shade are not just friends, they are best friends. For Susan to leave like that, with no goodbye, no hug, no waiting to even see the ring, something was very wrong.
Kemi went back inside, smiled, raised her glass and decided she would deal with it later but e never reach midnight before “later” arrived.
Because by the time Kemi got home that night, “The Originals” group chat was already on fire.
I will gist you the rest next Saturday. Trust me, you are not ready.
See you then.
Xoxo,
Dara.
