The Moment I Met You (Chapter 570)

 By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

After a meal of chicken casserole at the dining, which had been prepared by Chisom who visited in the morning, Louisa went into the living room with Andrew and Chisom helped Chioma with the washing-up.

'Our boss asked you to come to work in the afternoon on Saturday,’ Chioma suddenly said as she rinsed the plates. 'I don't understand why he wanted me to come to work on the day of my off. I guess it must be really important, right?'

Chisom nodded, trying her best to to let Chioma see the traces of her knowing about the reason for Emeka to want her at the restaurant on Saturday.

'Were you asked to come as well?' Chioma looked at Chisom and asked.

'Maybe, he wants to surprise us with another bonus paycheck...He gave you three days off…so you’re to appear on Saturday afternoon.'

Chioma laughed. 'When did he become Mr Moneybags? Didn’t he give us our paycheck last week? I don't believe he wants me to be there just for my bonus paycheck. I just have this feeling that something made him to give me three days off and want me to come on Saturday afternoon. But I can't quite figure it out yet...'

'Celine's back from Harvard,' Chisom said, changing the subject.

'Yea, she came back with her boyfriend.'

'I learnt that he wanted to be a doctor but he was asked to do chemistry... Why would he even do that?'

'Hey, in the US, medicine can only be studied at postgraduate level, which simply means that he will need to complete an undergraduate degree before med school. Some universities offer a pre-med undergraduate but you're free to study anything you wish...'

'You sound as if you've been to the US before,' Chisom laughed. She left for her home after the washing up.

Meanwhile, at the Diamond Gardens, Celine sat down on one of the deck chairs at the backyard amongst the fruit trees, drinking tea as she soak up the Villa's unique atmosphere. She had a long ponytail tied up, wearing a white short-sleeve blouse, and a pair of mid-length pale blue jeans shorts that covered her thighs. She was looking beautiful and fresh.

Right at this moment, her mobile phone rang. Celine took a giant sip of her tea and proceeded to pick up the phone. After listening on the phone, she said, 'Audrey, I will be there in a moment.' Then, she hung up.

When Celine reached the living room, she saw Audrey dressed in a Chanel bluish rose-printed chiffon dress. The floral ensemble was accessorised with Sarah Flint pumps and her Dior clutch. Her long, wavy hair looked refreshing and beautiful. Her entire slender figure was like a meticulously sculptured piece of art.

The two sisters were equally enchanting, and Felix, who was at the foot of the stairs, drinking coffee, turned his head to look at his sisters. Then, he looked towards Catherine that was walking gracefully down the stairs, dressed in a colourful Chanel dress, paired with a Chanel belt and handbag. Her redhead was luxuriant and soft, shimmering in the light of the living room. She was very slender and 170 centimetres tall, just like Audrey and Celine. She had alluring dark eyes.

Big brother Felix,' Catherine stopped to greet Felix.

Felix nodded but remained silent.

'I am going shopping with your sisters...I'll go ahead.'

Felix opened his mouth to say something, but instead nothing came out. He turned upstairs as Catherine strode towards Audrey and Celine.

Celine noticed how Felix had stared at Catherine and said with a chuckle, 'I think my brother likes you. How about...'

Before Celine could finish her words, Catherine rejected it. She shook her head in amusement. 'Big brother Felix loves someone else, so it will be difficult for him to fall in love with me. Forget it, if your brother hears this he will scold at you.'

Unmarried girls talk about men, not to mention this man that was breathtakingly handsome. Celine was proud of how very handsome her brother was and she honestly wanted him to end up with Catherine who was naturally pure and kind, lively and adorable.

Fortunately, there weren't many people around, just the three of them and the servants who minded their business. Catherine blushed as if Felix was right in front of her.

'My brother will never remain single forever. He will marry someday.' Audrey's words had deeper meaning.

Celine smiled, understanding what Audrey meant, and the three of them went out together.

'Celine...' While driving the car, Audrey spoke, I know you might still hate Chioma a little for breaking our brother’s heart, but I want to bring her along to shop clothes with us. What do you think?' She glanced at Celine.

'I understand,' Celine nodded. 'And I don't hate her anymore. You can bring her along. But what if she’s able to catch the reason behind the shopping? You know that Big brother Michael doesn't want her to know about the surprise party.'

'Chioma wouldn't find out...I really want her to dress in a pretty dress and not in a T-shirt or jeans...'

Instead of heading straight to the mall, Audrey drove to Chioma's house. In few minutes they arrived. After parking the car at the entrance of the house, Audrey got off the car, and realised that Chioma might not be around. However, she didn't panic about that since it was always better to give a pleasant surprise. She walked towards the door and knocked thrice before Chioma came and opened the door, wearing a simple yellow sweater with a Mickey Mouse pattern on it. Her trousers had a loose waist but were slim fitting. On her feet was a pair of white sneakers. Her hair was tied up in a trendy bun which matched her outfit. 

'Audrey...' Chioma greeted.

'Chioma'

'Why didn't you tell me you were going to come? I would have prepared something for you.'

Audrey smiled.'Are you going somewhere?' She asked.

Chioma laughed. 'My boss asked me to come on Saturday. I was thinking that it could be a surprise that he was planning so I thought of trying out my outfits...'

Audrey had come to pick her for shopping clothes with them, but since Chioma was testing outfits for the occasion she didn't know of, Audrey felt that it was the perfect opportunity to take her out without her suspecting the reason for it.

'Since you're testing outfits for the reason you do not know, I think we should go shop for clothes. If it's a surprise party and you get looked down by others, that will be terrible,’ Audrey smiled and spoke.

'Will it be embarrassing if I dress like this?' Chioma lowered her head, a little embarrassed.

Audrey sighed and said, 'Chioma, that isn't what I meant. It's just that the Saturday surprise that you have a hunch about, might not be as casual as you think. It might be a high-end surprise and your boss might invite rich people even though we know that his restaurant is not a high-end one. It's no big deal if you dress casually most times, but if you attend the surprise casually, it will not just be bad for you but it will embarrass them. This outfit of yours might not be appropriate for it. Of course, for those who are particularly interested in laughing at people, changing into respectable, luxurious attire will make them shut their mouth.'

'My boss treats me well and won't do anything that would redicule me...' Chioma bit her lip and spoke hesitantly.

'I understand, but I realy want us to go shop for clothes,' Audrey gently smiled.

'If you insist,' Chioma laughed slightly.

'I insist,' Audrey said firmly.

After Chioma agreed, she went into the car with Audrey with they outfit she was wearing. She didn’t have the time to change into something else.

Chioma was astonished when she saw the luxurious interior of the Bentley, coupled with the fact that Celine and a white young lady was inside the car as well. 'Audrey, I didn't know that you came with Celine and...' Chioma looked at Catherine who smiled at her warmly.

'My name is Catherine Ruby. I am a beautiful mixed blood woman, my mother is from New York City and my dad from Imo State...My mother's mother is from South Korea while her father's father is from New York City. My father's mother is from India while his father is from Nigeria... I was born in the States and this happens to be my first time of coming to Nigeria. But I've been to South Korea, India and a few other foreign countries. I am a foodie, a greedy foodie...'

Chioma found Catherine's introduction amusing. She smiled brightly at Catherine, who shot a kindly smile back at her, and thought to herself how nicely her coming to Nigeria had begun. She would never forget her stay here, for she was happily satisfied. Chioma was unique and lovable, which was why men found her attractive.

They stopped at Chisom's house and picked her, then continued on their journey. In less than half an hour, the car stopped at one of the city's most luxurious mall. In the mall, clothing products from all over the world could be purchased.

       

Audrey was familiar with the large mall, so she led them into the elevator to go up. The place was majestic, and had perfumes wafting in the air. As they walked, they five of them chatted happily. Many of the customers that walked around couldn't help but steal glances at them.

 As they walked by, the passed by Dior, Hermes, Chanel, Aramni, Louis Vuitton and a few other luxury stores. Chioma frowned and said, 'It seems like these shops are very expensive. How about we take a look at street vendors? They will probably sell outfits that would match me on Saturday.'

 'No, Chioma...we didn't come here for your nonsense...we can afford any clothe in this store. I will pay for the clothes today.'

 'But...'

'No buts,' Audrey immediately said. 'Just think of it as something you owe me and you can return it to me once you become very rich in the future,' she laughed.

Chioma could only nod, she felt secretly happy in her heart, for having Audrey as her friend.

 Chisom looked at Chioma and said jokingly, 'You're very young to be like those women who their husbands work their fingers to their bone to buy houses and every luxury you can think of, yet they are still penny-pinches. Some of the gadgets in their homes, they wouldn't even use. They would see it as wasteful to boil a whole kettle of water when they only want enough hot water for a cup of tea. They would measure it out into a saucepan and heats it up in that, they would have a bag of rice yet they keep measuring the rice each time to make sure that they weren't cheated on...they would only use the vacuum cleaner once s week and would prefer to use rags to scrub the hard floor...don't be like that.'

Everyone laughed at what Chisom said.

 'Is your mother like that?' Catherine asked.

Chisom giggled. 'Sometimes my mother behaves like that.'  She was wearing a printed green dress.

They stopped at Dior store. The clothes sold here were all extremely beautiful and costly. When the sales lady saw the five of them enter, she happily welcomed them. 'Beautiful ladies, is there anything in particular you want to look at? The seasons new designs just arrived this morning, how about I introduce you yo them?'

 'Thanks, but no thanks...you do not need to go through the trouble. We can handle it ourselves.' Catherine politely refused the sales lady's good intentions, and Audrey led them into the ladies department and urged them to choose clothes for themselves. But Audrey was only concerned about choosing a fitting outfit for Chioma.

Chioma was asked by Audrey to look at the outfits she had pointed if she liked any of them. Chioma felt quite touched by this. Seeing Audrey pick out clothes for her seriously, made her feel happy.

At this moment when Audrey finally came to a conclusion, she turned to Chioma and said, ' you will like this...you go to the changing room and I will have them send the chosen clothes for you. Try every one of them and any one you like the most, we will all be glad to see you wear it out to show us.'

As soon as Chioma walked into the changing room, Audrey matched up about ten set of clothes and sent them to Chioma. Audrey naturally had an eye for beauty and fashion. Audrey’s wears sells out after she wears them in public. She was indeed a fashion icon, who had learnt more of her dressing style from Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle and sometimes she borrowed Michelle Obama’s dressing style.

'Chioma is really blessed to have a caring friend like you,' Catherine sincerely said.

 Audrey didn't say anything, and just smiled as she kept on picking out clothes. 

One of the sales lady curiously asked, 'Is she getting married soon?'

 'Every woman will get married some day,' Audrey replied.

Audrey and the other sales ladies chatted for long, even to the point of one of the sales lady bringing up her childhood of wetting the bed, and then Chioma walked out of the changing room with beautiful smiles pinned on her face.

When everybody looked over, they were surprised to see the total transformation of a poor girl turning into a royal princess.

Chioma' bun was led down with her soft straight hair cascading onto her chest, slightly covering her rosy cheeks, that had adorable dimples. Her face was suddenly captivating and attractive. The stunning white gown was complete by a crochet bodice, rose brooch, and thigh- high side slit dress.

A pair of fashionable mulberry pumps fitted her dainty feet, and she held onto a mulberry clutch to match her outfit as well. Chioma's unique fresh and pure elegant aura finally revealed itself without restrains.

 'Oh my god, you're the perfect person for the dress...' One of the sales ladies found it hard to believe, and subconsciously sighed and praised.

Chioma noticed that everyone stared at her in daze, while feeling shy and happy, she couldn't help but spin s circle. With a hopeful expression, which was filled with smiles, Chioma turned to Audrey and asked, 'Audrey, how do I look?'

Audrey smiled and bowed respectively at her. Chioma understood what she meant and happily smiled at her.

Chioma was indeed dazzling. If she looked this beautiful without too much preparation, Audrey wondered how Michael would react if Chioma was to make-up a little. She will definitely steal the spotlight with her elegance and gracefulness.

One of the sales persons came forward and asked, 'Miss, can we take a photo of you?'

Chioma nodded with a smile. After taking a photo of her, they also took a photo of the five of them. Audrey turned to the sales lady and said, 'I will buy all those clothes that I chose, including the ones that everyone here chose. Help me calculate the total price.'

Hearing Audrey say that she would buy everything, Chioma couldn't help but look quizzically at her. 'Audrey, there is no need to buy all of them.' Chioma had already changed into the dress she came with.

Audrey smiled and said, 'you’re popular now and very soon you will be attending gatherings frequently... It will be smelly to see you each time in one dress, right? Read more of Michelle Obama’s book and do well to learn from her.’