My 'first love'

...is getting married.
Wow! He is getting married.
I put first love in quotes 'cos at 17, was it really love? Well...whatever it was, it was niiice. That kind of good feeling that had me randomly cheesing at random hours of the day, counting down the hours till we could see again, my heart skipping when we finally got to see. Ooooh weee, it was nice indeed. It's not often that a man inspires such feelings in my 'cold, cold' heart. :-D

I remember when we first 'met'. Again, I put met in quotes because it was more like me and my friend (Let's call her Amina) saw him walking down the street one day and we were like 'who is that? he kinda cute'.
We had done some research and found that he was the new dude around town, his name was 'boo-boo' and he went to X school. LOL @ our stalking ways. But that's all we knew about his mystery cutie.
And that's how it was...we'd always see him walking down the street and all but he never said nothing. I thought he was snobbish, but when I got to know him I realized that he was just a shy guy...my kinda guy. lol...


I was a shy girl too. So before we even said hi to each other, we had something in common. I was uncomfortable interacting with men on that level, and for most of my teen years I had always been the guys girl rather than the girl that the guys wanted to date. If you wanted the girl that the guys wanted to date, the hot one who everyone wanted her digits, then you were looking at my friend; Amina.
So one day when Amina suddenly told me that my boo boo was always checking her out when he walked past her on the roads and that she had a hunch he was feeling her, I didn't question it. It was nothing new. I was dissappointed but I attributed it to those of those things in life and mentally backed off.

I'd always see boo boo around town and dream from a distance...but that was that.

Life went on, a year or 2 went by. We (we being the class of that year; which included Amina and boo boo) graduated from secondary school and everyone started making moves. Amina got admitted to a uni abroad and she left town. I had no idea what boo boo was up to 'cos his sightings were pretty sporadic, and as for me...I had gotten admission to a uni in Naija; thanks to my sweet SSCE and JAMB scores and I was ready to rock uni and be one hot jambite. :-D

Uni was fun, uni was sweet, uni was nice! Till today, I still miss the good ol' days I had in my Naija uni. Good times, I tell ya...but that's beside the point.
Like I was saying, Uni was fun and I was having a good time. I had started getting over my social awkwardness around men and I was getting chyked and toasted like no man's business.
I hadn't been there for up to one month when one hot sunny day, me and my other jambito friends were sitting in front of the engineering building checking out the cuties when lo and behold, who did I see? My beloved boo-boo. Ooooh weeeeeee! I was sooo excited.
My boo-boo was on my campus and I wasn't going to let him slip by. (Keep in mind that he and Amina never had nothing o, all she claimed was that he was using eye to look her way, so I figured he was fair game)

I immediately went up to where I had spotted him and I said 'Hey! I didn't know you went here..'. He was equally as surprised to see me. He remembered me! He smiled this really sexy smile that made my 17 year old self wanna swoon hard and said 'Hey, I remember you from xxx'. That absolutely made my day...I mean I thought I had paled in comparison to Amina but he remembered me dammit!

...And that's how it began. We'd see around campus and make small talk and then one day he offered to give me a ride home. Ahhh at 17, no man could be pulling up into my father's driveway o but cat dammit if this wasn't a risk that I was prepared to take. He drove me home and that day I was so thankful for the ridiculous traffic that is typical in Naija 'cos it gave us even more time to talk and get to know each other well well. I learned that he had gone to x secondary school, he was the first child, he had 3 siblings, we had a bunch of mutual friends...ehn I learned a lot o! And in turn I shared that I was the last kiddie, my sec. school etc etc.
When he dropped me off he asked for my number and chei! that was risk #2 o...'cos them no born you well to be calling my house anyhow if you are a dude but I was like to hell with that. This was my boo boo right there, I was prepared to take risks for him.

We stared talking every day! Unfailingly.
We'd also meet on campus and have lunch, dinner, hang out...whatever. I was really feeling this boo boo of mine sha. One day during one of our numerous convos, he admitted that the first time he saw me, he wanted to find out who I was but was too shy to approach me. I was like 'me ke? I thought it was Amina you were chooking eye for'. He was like 'Huh?'..Ok so long tori short, boo boo mi wasn't chooking eye for Amina. Even though this was like 1.5 years after the fact it still tickled me and made me blush. :-D

So, me and boo boo were loving our selves well well o. In fact I was even planning to move onto campus soon and I couldn't wait 'cos it would give us even more freedom to flengo well well. (Abeg, it was innocent flengo-ing o...i was just 17 o jare!).
We were the cheesiest couple. He'd do sweet things like dedicate songs to me and what not. Typing this, I am giggling thinking about how cheesy and cute we were.

But as we all know...most of the time, all good things come to an end. And the beginning of our end came when one day I went home and my parents announced that I was coming to start Uni Yankee in a couple of months. It was very bittersweet news...I mean at that point who no wan come Yankee? Most of my friends that I grew up with had come to these parts but on the other hand, I was having such a great time in uni with my new friends, bubbling and shuffling and abeg lets not forget the main factor; my boo-boo. Chei, I was sad...

I broke the news to boo-boo the next day and it was such a sad moment. I told him 'Boo boo keep your head up, you still have me for another 2 months, let's make the best of it'. And that was exactly what we did. We were inseperable...
Looking back, I don't know how I got away with having a boyfriend at 17 under my parents noses 'cos they never suspected jack! My older sister knew the deal tho but that's my heart...she didn't rat her darling lil sis out. In fact, she liked boo boo sef..
I mean 'cos like dang I did some jackie chan stunts sha. Some nights boo boo and I would be on my father's phone till 2 in the morning. Chei, can you imagine if daddy had caught me? Na serious hot slap wey I for chop that day o! *Phewww*

Boo boo and I enjoyed the last days of each other's company but it was always tinged with a hint of sadness. I still remember the day before I left town...we spent the a bulk of the day together enjoying each others company and not saying much. That day I stayed out with him till like 10pm (which by my father's standards was LATE) but I was like whatever jo, that was my last day in town and I was gonna say bye to all my friends; which I did and then reserved the best for last which was hanging with boo boo darl.

Coming out here to a different and strange land, I missed boo boo even more. We emailed each every day and we'd say how much we missed each other and all that sweet, mushy stuff. I even printed all his emails out and I'd read them randomly. (Was I sprung or what?)
Come of think of it, I still have them stored in some of my keepsake boxes...I should re-read for old times sake yeah?

But man, there's only so much that terms of endearment via the internet can do to sustain a relationship between an 18 and a 17 year old. We were young and pretty unrealistic thinking that it would last. One day, I went to the library to read and print my daily boo boo email and he had sent me an email talking about he met someone and would like my permission to move forward with her. That day, I cried ehn! (Damn, maybe I was sprung)...but I no go lie, it pained me well well. I replied and said yes boo boo, go with this chick and be happy...and that was the 'end' of boo boo and I.

He still emailed me. I still emailed him but he had a girl in his life now. I was now second place and second place sucked! I got sick of feeling pangs of envy every time I thought of boo boo with his new chick while me I just dey freeze for the American cold and I kinda sorta gave him some space and stopped replying his emails for a while until I got over him and it.

I went back to Naija a couple of times after that and boo boo and I would always hang. We always had our chemistry and I always wished he was a cheaper plane ticket closer to me and vice versa but ah well...
We remained friends, we are still friends and we spontaneously email each other when the mood hits.

Sooo, in our random communication thing that we currently do, I sent him a happy holidays email and he replied me saying that he misses me and there is so much gist for us to catch up on. The numero uno item on the email was 'I am getting married, so please make plans to be there'.
I was shocked, I mean I knew he was seeing someone but I didn't know it had reached that level...

Ultimately, I am very happy for boo boo dearest. I think that his wife will be a very lucky woman, and I am happy that I met him in my lifetime...the 7 months of the young love we were doing was nothing but bliss. I always proudly boast that I have never been in love but in retrospect, the feelings that I had for boo boo was definitely more than an elevated feeling of likeness. It was sweeet! It was niice and I want to experience that again. Somehow, I haven't met a man who made me that sprung but maybe it's 'cos I'm older now, more experienced and I have more walls up around this precious heart of mine.

So, to boo boo and his upcoming nuptials. *Takes a mental shot of patron*, I wish him the very very best and at the same time, I say:- Another good one has been taken off the market.

Happy Holidays people. Wishing you'se lot a very wunnerful new year in advance and I pray that the '09 will see all of you alive, well, happy and healthy.

*Muah*