About three months into the relationship, Mofe invited Ara to a picnic his company organized. The picnic was to serve as a means for the members of the company to hangout, and also for Mofe to introduce Ara to the members of his staff and to pass a subtle message to the ladies that were on his case that he was off the hook.
Ara got to Ndubuisi Kano Park, which was the venue that the picnic was supposed to hold, she had drove her father's car down to the place in Ikeja since her father was going to be home all day that Saturday, she silently prayed for her elder brother who had thought her how to drive before getting married.
During the fourty-five minutes drive to the secretariat, she initially started playing a song 'Yaweh' by Ada, but at some point she had switched off the car stereo and spent about twenty minutes praying for nothing in particular, it was just a prompting in her Spirit that she obeyed.
As she drove into the street of the park, she called Mofe on the phone to alert him of her arrival. She parked the car after paying the #200 fee for the parking fee.
As she approached the gate of the park, she saw Mofe and another lady walking towards the gate. Ara smiled as she sighted them, she loved his dress sense, she was grateful that her several input to improve his dress style was already yielding fruit.
Mofe told the security at the gate some things and he allowed her into the arena.
'Are you adding weight or you're getting small' Mofe said as a means of greeting.
'I don't know o. Be the judge of that' Ara said as they locked hands
'Good afternoon Best, how are you doing? Mofe asked
'I am doing great Mine. And it's obvious you're doing good.
Mofe stared at her for a while as though she was the only woman in the park although the park was bustling with so much life.
The lady behind them coughed reminding them they were not alone.
'Oh! Forgive my manners, Kike this is Ara my fiancee, and Ara this is Kike the company's secretary' Mofe did the introductions.
The ladies exchanged a brief hug with the lady staring at Ara.
By that time, they had gotten to the mock hut that were scattered around the park. Mofe introduced Ara to everyone present, they were about 4 ladies and 7 men in attendance.
They did some games and also exchanged gifts between themselves. Before long, everyone had paired up.
Ara and Mofe went to another hut to talk.
'Hope you're enjoying yourself' Mofe asked Ara as she sat down on the grass, she silently thanked God she had worn the blue jean she had on and not the ash skirt she had earlier chosen.
'I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my day. Your staff are very funny people. Imagine that man from the east saying that the men from his tribe are naturally proud people as though that was an achievement. I only ask for patience for his wife as though the male ego is not enough to deal with, she will still have to deal with Tribe-induced ego again'
Mofe laughed out at Ara's choice of words.
' Best has started again, Ewo tun ni, tribe-induced ego again o' Mofe said amidst laughter.
'Trust me, I'll explain. It's a kind of Ego that is comes from the tribe a man was raised. Yoruba men have their share too, where they think the world revolves around them' Ara stopped
Hope you're not one of them? She asked
'Of course not, you should know that much about me. Have I ever tried to show my superiority in any way, or have I ever tried to make you feel inferior' Mofe inquired
'Of course not. God gave me a good man' She said smiling.
'It's a pity I am black, you would probably have seen me blush'
'Just make it purple, you know I love royalty'
They laughed over it and suddenly Ara became serious.
Mofe noticed the change in her countenance
'Best, what's wrong?
Ara shook her head
'Mofe, I want to tell you some thing you don't know about me'
'I'm all ears' Mofe said giving her his full attention
Ara cleared her throat and started looking everywhere else except his face.
'When I was much younger, I used to read different kinds of books which did a lot in polluting my mind. It got to a time when I decided to start experimenting some of those things I read' Ara looked at the man sitting in front of her and continued.
'Though none of my experiments resulted in a broken hymen, but I was not sexually pure. This happened over ten years ago and although I no longer indulge in things like that, I believe you have a right to know' Ara finally concluded.
Mofe heaved a sigh of relief when she was through. He also promised her never to hold her past against her.
They later joined the others, and some minutes later, Ara bid the group goobye and left in her car.
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In Mofe's house that night, Mofe had a hard time sleeping with the thought of Ara's confession filling his heart. He knew it was high time he started talking too.
