We were two guys chasing the same woman but in the end, I won!

When I proposed to her, she asked me to give her some time to think about it. I accepted it in good faith. I didn’t give her any pressure. I waited. I only called her each morning and wished her the best of the day. In the night, I would call her and wish her sweet dreams. She asked me out on a date one weekend and I thought that was the night she was going to say yes to me. She didn’t. She only said, “I just thought we should hang out and talk more.”

We left the place holding hands and laughing out loud like we had won some lottery. The least chance she got, she placed her head on my shoulder and leaned her body towards me, like a child would do when they get something to lean on. Everything about that night assured me that I’d won her. A month later, she still hadn’t said anything. I asked her, “Is my proposal still pending or you’ve said yes already and I didn’t hear it?” She said, “No it’s still pending. I’m still thinking about it.” I asked her, “Ok tell me the truth. What are my chances with you?” She said, “Let me be frank with you here. Two months ago a guy proposed to me. I asked him to give me time to think about it. Just when I was ready to go for him, you came along. I like you but I like him too. You both are gentlemen and now I don’t know who to choose.”

My vim got deflated. I didn’t know what to tell her. She said, “It’s nothing serious though. I’ve gone out on a date with you already but I haven’t with him. I seem to lean toward your direction than him but I’m only telling you so you know the reason I’m delaying.” I asked her, “So what do you want me to do?” She answered, “Honestly I don’t know. You have to decide.”

So I decided to let her go. If there’s someone already there, then there’s no need for me to continue hanging around her. I stopped calling but she called every day. I started giving her excuses but she kept coming. Four months after my proposal, I asked her, “Are you still thinking about it or you’ve decided to go ahead with the other guy?” She said, “No I haven’t decided on anything. He’s there, doing everything but you’re the one drifting. Surprisingly, you’re the one I want to say yes to.” My hope was revived. I asked, “So what do you want me to do?” She said, “You don’t have to do anything. Just let me know you are there and you want it as much as the other guy wants it.”

We went out every Friday night. She told me Saturday night was for the other guy. One night after we‘ve had so much to eat and drink, she held me by the hand and said, “It’s so easy for me to touch you. You see how I’m holding your hands, I’ve never held him like that before. You see how I easily put my head on you. I’ve never done that with him. We have the connection and I love it.” I said, “So why don’t you say yes to me and tell him you’ve already said yes to someone else?” She answered, “He’s not making things easier for me. The kind of love he has for me is intense. He lives close by so when he calls and I don’t pick, the next moment, he’ll be by my door asking if there’s something wrong. He guards me with some sort of jealousy though I haven’t said yes to him. It’s difficult to push such a person away.”

I up my game. I started visiting her unannounced. I was praying one day I’ll meet the other guy there and introduce myself to him as the boyfriend. I went there bearing gifts and food and other crazy stuff. Each time I knocked and went inside, there was no one there. I would stay there until late, hoping the other guy would pass by and see me around. He never did and I never saw him. It’s been five good months since I proposed. Five months of going up and down with her without hearing a yes but everything she did implied she liked me. She bought me a gift when there was no need for a gift. She took me out and paid the bills when I was ready to pay. She held me at every given opportunity so why was she not saying yes to me?

“Bella, so when are you going to say yes to me so we make everything official?” She laughed. She said, “You can make it official without my yes. No one will die.” She laughed again. I asked her, “How’s that guy doing?” She said, “He’s doing just fine. He wants us to get married before the end of the year but I’m not ready.” My heart started beating faster. “Why is this guy always one step ahead of me? It looks like I can’t win in a game that he plays.” I asked her, “So if I tell you to get married to me by the end of the year, would you tell me that you’re not ready? She answered, “You haven’t said it so I don’t know what I will say.” She laughed mischievously.

There was not a single moment I didn’t think of her. I wondered where she was and asked myself what the other guy was doing. One night, around 8pm I called her and she didn’t pick. At 9pm, I called, she didn’t pick. At 9:46pm I called she didn’t pick. 10pm I called and her phone was off. The next moment I was knocking on her door. She came out with this sleepy face. I asked her, “Why are you not picking my calls?” She asked, “Why are you screaming?” I said, “I’ve been calling you.” She said, “Is that why you are here?” I asked, “Or he’s inside there with you?” Silence. Long silence. I asked again, “Is he inside there with you?” Silence. She said, “Calm down. What’s wrong with you?”

She held me by the hand and pulled me inside. “I’m alone here so it’s good you are here. Then she laughed that mischievous laughter again. She said, “You see how I held your hand? I’ve never held him like that before. What’s the time? He’s never been in my house at this time before. I tell you often that it’s you I want to choose. I’ve never said that to him before. Do you know why?” I asked her why and she said, “Because there’s no other guy, you coward!”

That night I wanted to beat her, or strangle her or just pick her up and swallow her in one piece. She pulled a trick on me and the sad thing is, it worked. She made me think I was in a competition with a guy who never existed. We spent that night together. We had our first kiss and our first distin. It was a great distin so we had a second round and before the morning came, we had the third round. She still didn’t say yes to my proposal.

Two years later, we got married. Even when I asked her to marry me, she didn’t say yes. She kept me wondering and thinking about what was up her sleeves. When she finally said “I do” in that long oversized wedding dress, I said to myself, “Finally, she had said yes to something.” It’s been five years already and guess what, the distin is so good each time we do it that we’ve never had it once. It’s either we go for three rounds or we don’t do it all. She was nine months pregnant when we were going for the third round but that night the baby decided he had had enough. He kicked and her water burst. I rushed her to the hospital and a few hours later, we had our first baby.

—Sarkodie