We met at her friend's place on the 26th of December, 2013. My cousin Ben had asked me to accompany him to see his girlfriend, Jessica. When we arrived at Jessica's parent's house we met a very beautiful girl in the living room. We greeted and I sat next to her. I told her, respectfully, that I liked her smile and her cheeks. Then I told her that if she was single then we were very likely going to end up together.

As our conversation deepened into happenings around the country and religion, I was impressed by her thought pattern. Even though I disagreed with some of her points, she was articulate and brilliant with her arguments. It was at this point that I asked if she was dating, and told her that if she wasn't seeing anyone we could get to know each other some more.

Two weeks later we were officially dating. She left for University and a few weeks later I found out that she was 16 years old and freaked out. I tried to explain to her that it was illegal for us to be together as she was still a minor, even though her faculties were well-developed. She took offense and broke up with me. I kept checking up on her, so communication between us didn't completely break down as she would share with me the difficulties that she was experiencing at school. On the eve of her 18th birthday, I asked if we could pick up our relationship from where we stopped. She said yes and we continued.

For the 10 years that we have been together, we have recorded four breakups and two major fights. The breakups were over very hilarious issues that seemed like a big deal to her at the time. For instance, she broke up with me close to her 19th birthday because someone had told them during a student fellowship seminar that as Christian sisters they had no need for boyfriends until after graduation. Today I tease her about those times and we laugh.

I was 24 when we met and I am 33 today, on my way to 34. I watched her grow into a proper adult while she watched me conquer the turbulence of life. I had nothing when we started, then I made small fortune but lost everything to a sickness, yet not so much changed between us. She was my strongest source of support during the darkest phase of my life. She's still here supporting my effort at rebuilding.

Her friend, Jessica got married to my cousin Ben in 2020. Three years after theirs, ours is here!

There are a lot of times I wonder what I must have done to God that he blessed me with a man

like Tee. It has been over 8 years of love, tears, friendship, heartaches, and laughter, and we

are still here, going strong, about to walk down the aisle and say yes to forever, a forever that he

seems to have always known will happen even from the day we met. It was providence that

favored us both to go out that boxing day: I got the gift of him and I am eternally grateful to God

for him.

When we met, I had just finished secondary school and was headed for the university at Sokoto, he was majorly stationed in Abuja although he traveled a lot because of his work, and so, for the next four years, we will only see each other during the holidays, when I return to Abuja. I had mapped out a plan for myself from secondary school; I was going to get a degree before I would get a boyfriend, however, I was swept off my feet when I met Tee. There is just this beautiful confidence and self-assuredness he has that drew me to him, it is in the way he walks, the way he talks, the way he cares for me, it is in the way he encourages me, and the way he always, always looks out for me. I tried to return to my original plan of living a boyfriendless life as an undergraduate one time too many, hurt him in the process, but failed, as I always returned back to him. He is a loving-kind man, he was and still is a steady force I can always rely on. The relationship was long distance even after I graduated from the university as he had to move to Lagos for work; let's just say that we should be shareholders at either MTN or Glo because of the time we have spent on the phone. It is always amazing how much we will miss each other when we are apart, and then when we finally see, it is like we had been with each other all the while.

Our spirits aligned from the day we met, and sure, there are times that we get out of sync but I am grateful we always find our way back to each other, we have literally grown together these past years, and I am so glad and so grateful we get to finally take this step together in faith and also in love.

Forever with my Habibi.