Keeping Up With That New Year Resolution

10:45 am Lagos, Nigeria: It’s been five days since January 1st 2015, the cold weather orchestrated by the harmattan had kept Emeka longer than he normally did in bed but to be frank, the harsh weather was not entirely to be blamed for Emeka’s early morning laziness. The obvious reason was that he had a migraine, a severe headache from “about last night”.

Yeah he loved to party, though he had decided to be easy on himself this new year but a little flexing actually does nobody no harm, as far as he still kept to his no smoking new year reso… Then his sleepy eyes fell on a small brown box lying on top of the small wooden table close to the fridge. Is that a pack of Benson? He asked himself rhetorically, then the events of the previous night’s escapades slowly refreshed in his memory. “Damn! I fucked it all up again” he said. After several years of habitual chain smoking, he had been clean for the past four days but had just bottled it up all over again, and thus had been the story of Emeka and his early New Year resolution habit which never made it past the first week.
8:45 pm Owerri, Nigeria: Esther was seen sitting in a lavish hotel bar, she is the type of girl you could hardly call a “runs girl” but for the later years of her life, she had been mingling with babes who were of the school of thought, that giving a man “a little piece of action” in exchange for solving a pressing need, was really not a big deal. Yeah, she knew it might not have been entirely right, so had sworn to kick the lifestyle. And for the better part of the New Year, she really had been fighting and winning the temptation to sleep around.

She is lost in thoughts, staring into a full glass of Chapman, as a matter of fact, she had maintained that position without taking a sip since about thirty minutes ago, after the nice bar attendant served her the drink while she waited for her host who seemed to be occupied with something else at the moment.
A good look at her demeanor will definitely tell you she’s got the world on her shoulders. Her dear Mum was in the I.C.U ward of the Federal Medical Center, in need of funds for a major operation (obviously a pressing need). She sought the help of Mr. Dave, a man she met on her way to the cross over night on the 31st of December, he invited her to the hotel, she asked if they could arrange to meet at a different location but he insisted on the chosen venue and bluntly told her that they could only be “friends with benefits”.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her phone rang and she was told to come to room 101. She sluggishly picks her bag, leaving the drink without taking even a sip and walked towards the staircase. The end of the story? Your guess is as good as mine.

Epilogue: “Hello son, how are you and how is Lagos?” “Lagos is fine and please don’t be asking after me like you care”, came the harsh response from the other side of the phone line. “Where are you? Mum said you have been away from home since New Year, second or third to be precise and that you did it again, you battered her. Why, Dad, why? You promised me the last time that it would never happen again. Is that the kind of husband you have decided to be to our Mum?”. There was a long pause between the phone lines as the first caller searched for words to explain himself but found none. “I’m sorry son, I don’t know what came over me again but you know your Mum has got a mouth that is capable of starting a war between President Putin and Obama but never the less, I have no justification. But I tried Doc, I really tried to walk away from her abuses. Do you know fighting with your Mum was top of my New Year resolution list? I prayed fervently against it at the 31st vigil. It’s a shame son but she really knows how to get on my nerves. I’ve been staying at a hotel since then, trying to get over it.”

Now, when he heard his Father call him “Doc”, it took that special effect on him like it always did, it disarmed him completely. He knew his father always took great pride in reassuring himself that he was the father of a young but renowned doctor. “Anyway, please I need you to leave the hotel and return back home to Mum. Will talk to her to give you another chance. Meanwhile I will be on the first flight back home tomorrow, I’ve been invited as part of a team to carry out a major surgical operation at the Federal Medical Center and well, you are not the only one that broke his new year resolution. I took to my old habit again, been smoking like a chimney and drinking like a skunk since fourth of January. Will see you at home tomorrow”, and the line went dead.
Just as Doc’s Father was about to drop his phone, a young lady came out from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her wet body and asked who he was on the line with and he said with much pride, “Oh that was my son Emeka. He is a doctor, a very famous one. Here is the money you asked for, it should be more than enough to solve whatever problem you said you need to take care of.”

Just about then, the intercom buzzed and Doctor Emeka’s Father picked up, “Is this room 101? The Cab Man is here”, said the receptionist. “Ok, a young lady named Esther will be with you shortly, the cab is for her” replied Mr Dave.