Chapter Three

"I love your course of study, you would get lots of opportunities when you graduate", Sly said. He also loved the kind of relationship I have with my friends.

He went on to talk about his job as an IT specialist.

He stated that he got the job he does through one of his client's recommendation. He had lived with his sister June in Bridgeport before he got his job in Linca. His sister who is a nurse still lived in Bridgeport.

Sly came from a family of four, his parents were dead and his sister was the only family he had. They didn't have a good relationship with his extended family members because they believed that Sly's parents had left a number of property for them but they had refused to sell them off and give them part of the money.

Sly's parents had fallen ill in the same year. This made them spend so much in taking care of them as their health insurance couldn't cover everything needed for their treatment.

Sly and June had to rent a small apartment and start from the scratch. June was lucky to get a job in a government owned hospital while Sly was self employed. He handled many IT jobs which brought many clients to him.

He would have remained self employed had he not gotten the offer from Jaytech. His salary was quite attractive, he was given an accommodation and was paid allowances. He knew his onion so his boss liked him and tolerated him more than his colleagues.

Sly could be used to describe someone who is gainfully employed and has a 100% job satisfaction. He is so dedicated to his job that he strives so hard to avoid displeasing his boss. "For now, I'm not considering changing my job" he said.

He stated that June is all he has and he had promised his father on his death bed that he would take care of her. June had dated a man who took advantage of her kindness.

She spent her savings on the man who spends it on another girl whom he got pregnant. Sly had to confront Mathew the day June came back home looking really sad. She locked herself up in her room. It took Sly what seemed like an eternity to get her to open up to him.

Mathew had been acting cold towards June who didn't know what was wrong. She made efforts to find out what she did wrong but he shut her off. Each time she called to know if she could visit, he gave one excuse or another.

June told Ettel her friend who worked in the same hospital where she worked.

Ettel advised her to pay him an announced visit, at first June declined as she considered it an intrusion into his privacy. Ettel who was a carefree lady reiterated that lovers do not owe each other some privacy.

She explained that her boyfriend had given her his house keys after she had threatened to quit the relationship if she could not visit his home at will . She had also given her house keys to him.

As ridiculous as June found Ettel's perspective on issues, she still liked to have her around. She had an effortless way of making her snap out of a mood. Ettel tells hilarious jokes a lot. She had told her how she abducted her neighbour's dog because her neighbour failed to notice that she had a crush on him.

She had done a lot to attract his attention but none worked. She had offered him her native dish, cleaned his house and bought him a Rolex watch on his birthday. He only hugged her and thanked her immensely.

He invited her for dinner and Ettel thought she had succeeded in her quest. She got the shock of her life when she came into the living room and found a gorgeous lady. His neighbour introduced her as his girlfriend who came from the neighbouring state to visit.

Ettel grinned just to mask her disappointment. She ate hurriedly and went back to her apartment. However, luck as she called it shined on her as she had just changed her failed dinner dress and was about to settle in to see a Korean series she loved so much. Her crush's dog strayed into her yard, she could not tell how that happened but she let her in.

The dog which was somewhat fond of her found her place comfortable. She let her out again after a whole day when she had enjoyed looking at the desperation on his crush's face as he went door to door asking and pleading with neighbours to let him know if they find the dog anywhere. She had showed an insincere concern when he asked her.

Stories like these from Ettel made June laugh really hard, she was good with gesticulation and mimicking as she narrates stories. For the first time, June took Ettel's advice.

At close of work, she left for Mathew's place, of course unannounced, she already knew that he had worked night shift the previous day as she did so he would definitely be home resting. She stopped by and picked a box of pizza. She had hoped to be welcomed warmly and the have a heart to heart talk with her man.

Her bag slung across her chest, a box of pizza resting on her palm, June pressed Mathew's doorbell. The door was slightly opened by a heavily pregnant lady. At first, June had thought that it was prolly Matt's relative whom she had not met. She trusted him that much.

"Delivery?" The lady asked. Matt walked towards the door from the house, he was half way through when the lady asked "Baby did you order pizza?" "No babe" he replied as he got to the door. "What the!" He screamed. He asked June why he didn't call, she stood fixed like one who had been charmed. She turned, raced down the stairs and ran off through the walkway sobbing.

Sly who had always been in and out of Bridgeport at that time was in town. Had he not been home to comfort her, she would have done something silly to herself. She believed that Matt cheated on her because she wasn't good enough.

Sly took it upon himself to warn Matt sternly to stay away from his sister because someone is going to get hurt and definitely not him or his sister.

I admired his protective nature as he narrated this. He reminded me of Uncle Bob my mum's brother who took us in when my father abandoned us. My love for him grew.

He also talked about how he had made friends at work. His work place is like a big family which is made up of folks from different continents. His boss throws parties on weekends from time to time and they were encouraged to bring their families to some of them.

Sly is indeed handsome, I wondered how he handled the advances he may be getting from his female colleagues.