Edikan & Abieyuwa

One afternoon, I went to buy Ewa Agoyin because I hadn't brought lunch to the office. Just as I was about to be served, this guy walked up to buy peppered pomo. The seller tried to attend to him first, and I wasn't having it. I immediately piped up, "Excuse me, I was here before this guy."

It almost turned into a mini-argument, but he quickly apologized, repeating, "Sorry, sorry." Seeing that he realized I was right, I let it go and walked away only to notice he was walking into the exact same office compound as me! I worked upstairs and had never noticed him before, but after that day? I started seeing him everywhere.

He'd always greet me when our paths crossed. He and his friends 'typical tech bros' were always loudly debating tech terminologies on the commute home. Meanwhile, I just wanted to sit quietly at the front of the BRT, put my earbuds in, listen to my music, and mind my business.

Then came the BRT terminal encounters. One day, he got down to buy snacks and offered me some; I politely declined. A few days later, we ended up on the same bus again. There were only two seats left, and one was right next to him. I wasn't thrilled, but I had no choice. (He later confessed he was secretly praying I'd take that seat!)

The moment I sat down, I whipped out my earbuds. I was not looking for small talk. After a few minutes, he leaned over. "Are you watching a movie?" "Yes," I replied. "Am I disturbing you?" I looked at him. "Well... obviously, you're disturbing me because I'm watching a movie."

To his credit, he gave me my space after that. Later in the journey, he bought some chips and offered me some again. Once more, I said, "No, thank you."

By the time the bus crawled into Mile 12, Lagos traffic had done its worst, and I was starving. Deserting my pride, I bought five packs of chips. I felt a bit guilty, so I turned and offered him one.

He looked at me with a smirk. "What makes you think I'll accept your chips after you rejected mine twice?" I laughed. "I'm sorry! When you offered, I wasn't hungry. But right now, I'm dying of hunger."

That single laugh changed everything. We talked non-stop all the way to my bus stop, where we finally exchanged numbers.

The next morning, he texted me. When I told him how early I had to leave to catch the bus, he let me in on a secret shortcut to board the BRT from Benson. That was the start of our daily routine. Some mornings I'd wait for him; other mornings he'd wait for me. We'd save each other seats on the morning rides, and ride home together in the evenings. Day after day, those little moments grew into something much bigger.

On December 30th, 2022, I officially said "Yes" to being his girlfriend, followed shortly by our very first official date (a movie night where he was finally allowed to disturb me).

It's funny how the smallest moments lead to the greatest love stories. Today, we're celebrating a beautiful journey that all started with a plate of Ewa Agoyin, a little debate over pomo, and a shared row on a Lagos BRT.