“Eii Manasseh, from the way you’re cleaning this car, I suspect you o.”
My response? I laughed. And he laughed. Knowingly.
That was my co-tenant at Koliko Spot in Banana Inn, Philip, who first suspected something was cooking that special day. I had washed my car the previous day. And I was cleaning it that morning. And those who know me know that I don’t worry too much about dust on my car.
That morning, I was headed for Osu. The Junior Youth Fellowship teachers of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana had a meeting there. I remember this meeting not because it coincided with Valentine’s Day. I remember it not because it dragged, or so I thought, and I could not wait to leave. (I was the assistant presbytery secretary and I was the one taking the minutes.) I remember it because of what would happen after the meeting.
When it finally ended, I did not waste time. I headed for Evandy Hall of the University of Ghana, where the only Val’s Day gift I still remember was very well appreciated. That was a good omen for the hours ahead as we headed for the Aburi Botanical Gardens.
It was Saturday, February 14, 2015. I had seen her for the first time on Wednesday, February 11.
Our first meeting was in the evening. Those were the days I used to go pray at the Mamprobi Cluster of Schools park with Kafu and Alex, my fellow church members at the Victory Presby Church Camara.
When it was time for our individual prayers, one pray I remember vividly is, “Dear Lord, if she’s really the one…”
I had started speaking to this lady two days earlier. And she said something that betrayed the philosophy that defined her life–helping others is the core foundation of a meaningful life.
It was within the first two minutes of the phone call that she said it. I jokingly told her to get me the list needed for the marriage so that I prepared because I also shared that philosophy. We both laughed and continued to discuss the well-written article she sent to me, which necessitated the call.
On Tuesday, we spoke again. For a very long time. And, on Wednesday, I was talking to God.
After the prayer session, I called her immediately I sat in my car. With hands-free devices, we spoke as I drove. And we spoke for a very long time. I told her I would visit her one day, so I asked for her room number and other details.
As we spoke, she asked me to hold on, for someone was knocking at her door. I told her to see who it was so that we could continue with our conversation.
“Oh my God!” she screamed when she finally saw who was at the door.
It was Manasseh, the man she’d spent close to an hour talking to on the phone. Our first meeting was brief. But as I left Legon that even, I was convinced “She’s the one.”
On Thursday when she said she had no plans for Val’s Day, I invited her out for a date at the Aburi Botanical Gardens. She loved such environments, and, perhaps, for some other reason, it was welcome news.
At Aburi, we ate and drank non-alcoholic beverages and talked until the sun was threatening to hide on the western side of the mountain, and cast haunting darkness over the beautiful landscape of Aburi.
That was when I told her I wanted us to take “a step of faith together”. It was a marriage proposal. And the proposal and acceptance lasted about three minutes.
On our way back, I had mixed feelings. I was excited. But there was a voice that also reprimanded me:
“You met someone for the first time on Wednesday, and, on Saturday, you’ve proposed marriage. Is that how it works?”
She’d later confess she had similar feelings. But didn’t we agree it was a step of faith?
The following year, we returned to the Aburi Botanical Gardens after we had the traditional wedding and climbed coconut with shoes on trees in Takoradi.
Today is exactly seven years since Val’s Day truly became meaningful to me.
Marriage, like life, is unpredictable. Like many decisions in life, it is a risk. The future cannot be always foretold by the happenings of today.
But whatever happens, I would always look back on these past seven years and say that step of faith is the best decision I’ve ever taken in my life.
As you go out today, may you find true love. And, guys, if you’re convinced she’s the one, don’t waste time. Our elders say if you wait too long for roasted meat to cool before you eat it, it will cool in another man’s mouth.
Happy Val’s Day to my dear friends.
And the warmest and most romantic one to Maame Efua, aka Serwaa. You make life beautiful!
Photo Caption: This is the exact spot I proposed in 2015. And this is where it was sealed in 2016.
