The Triangle

One
When you fall in love, things become relatively easy in your sight. It also goes a long way to show the feelings a man has for a woman, life becomes as easy as it ought to be – Anonymous…

Adeolu was a young man who never believed in love, he has spent the whole of his life as player – breaking hearts, minds and souls. He has never believed in the power of love for he believed only fools fall in love.
“How do you know that you are in love with something or someone?” he once asked his friend, Layi.
“I don’t think love is a thing that can happen to me. Maybe it is because of my view of the world and the people in it. My world outlook has let me know a lot and has let me experience a lot but I doubt if I can experience what love is.”
Layi looked at him and shook his head – more out of pity than surprise.
He then said, “Love is a beautiful thing. It is a thing that changes lives and makes lives straight. It reforms and shapes destinies and makes life interesting to live.”
Adeolu replied him, “Ola-yi-wo-inu-ola, the son of Ola-di-pupo-ni-ile-wa, I can’t believe that you are still with this school of thought that love makes life go round after we all know that the earth revolves around the sun with the motions that occurs among the planetary bodies. How is that related or concerned by love?
“Brother, you better wise up and delete the word ‘love’ from your dictionary. Paddy mi, ife n se were (Love is crazy). One of my favourite men of letters, Francis Bacon, once said ‘It is impossible to love and be wise’. So brother, love is for fools and idiots.”
Layi smiled and looked at his friend. He would never change. Adeolu has always been the hard-to-convince bigot and on this matter of love, he would find it extra hard to get him to change his mind except Adeolu experienced it and is convinced it is a reality.
But he still chose to give him another piece of his mind for the records.
“Ade-oluwa-ni-mo-de-s’ori the first son of Mr and Mrs Ade-la-ija-laarin-ebi-wa, the same wise Francis Bacon said, ‘Nuptial love maketh mankind; friendly love perfecteth it; but wanton love corrupteth and embaseth it’. Didn’t you come across that when you were studying his works? Bacon himself was recorded to have gotten married and he didn’t marry without loving his spouse. That quote is self-explanatory.
“But my brother you intentionally chose not to understand it. You will experience love at your own time and will still settle down in marriage. By then, you will know the real meaning of love. US Poet, Edwin Arlington Robinson, also said ‘Love that's wise will not say all it means’. I leave you to digest that.”
But the words of Layi to Adeolu seem as one who left a bunch of fresh leaves outside in the dew and tied a goat close to it.
“Love ko, love ni.”
“I pity you my brother. Igbeyin lo ma n dun oloku ada. At the end of the day, you will fall in love and become so into it that you will regret ever using your mouth to say it doesn’t exist. What you need to understand is that love is beautiful and life is easy and nice when you have your loved ones around you.
“Your loved ones are not only limited to your family and friends but the woman who surround you and garnish your life with undying affection and care that makes you achieve dreams.”

Lola was one of the first set of culprits of Adeolu’s games as he searched for the reality of love. He was out of his house on a boring Saturday afternoon when his made up his mind to the drive to the Ikeja axis of Lagos after three hours of driving aimlessly around town. Layi had travelled – Adeolu hardly spend weekends alone except with Layi or one of his numerous girlfriends – and he was bored with the present hordes of girlfriends. He needed a new one to experiment if this love thing will really work for him and Layi being around would not have made that a possibility. This is his chance!
He drove past the Ikeja Mall, which houses a cinema, kiddies zones and many shops, where he could dazzle a woman with his spending prowess to bamboozle her into believing him and ultimately luring her into his bed. An idea struck him, he should see a movie. Yes! He needed to see a movie ASAP! Those movie halls which are not always fully filled. He needed to see a movie but not a popular and a blockbuster one.
By then he was almost at the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa. He drove ahead to the next traffic light at Barracks and did a U-turn and sped towards the Mall after making sure none of the Policemen was watching. He drove into the parking lots and locked his doors with his keys – since he had watched a video on TV of robbers unlocking any car locked with the car’s remote control, he had always locked his car doors manually. Although the Mall boasts a good record in terms of security, he never took chances.
“I have never been robbed – not when I bustle and bust public buses in or outside Lagos – and I don’t tend to work towards being robbed now that I have my own four legs,” he told himself anytime he is parking his car or driving alone.
Adeolu walked towards the Entrance 2 of the Mall and the automatic sliding doors screeched apart a few metres away from him, granting him access into the inner recesses of the Mall. He was soon at the elevator, which slowly but steadily rolled him towards his destination – The Cinema.
“What movies do you have on for today please?”
“We have a variety of them sir. Some are already showing and some have been shown but we have other still coming up later in the day sir,” one of the attendants said to him.
Adeolu got into the queue of customers waiting to buy movie tickets. He unintentionally chose the queue in front of a lovely, smiling lady. He had forgotten what the lady, who sat on a tall stool behind the front counter, called her name but he remembered that she was beautifully made by the Creator – fair, plump, pint-sized and with an oval face, which complemented well with the beautiful arrangement of dentition in her mouth. He wanted to settle for her and not see a movie after all but he found himself changing his mind and sticking to the initial idea which brought him there. She is at work and he wouldn’t want to be a source of someone’s loss of job.
“I want a good one that is not a blockbuster, where the hall will have people but not full to the brim.”
“We have good movies you can choose from sir. Please go through our movie schedule for the week and see which one of them catches your fancy.”
He wasn’t ready for all the stress of deciding a movie to watch and there was no way he was going to plead with her to know which of the halls was less booked. He decided to use a little flattery to get his job done.
“I don’t want to be doing that pretty lady. I want to use your sense of expertise to guide me to the movie I’ll be seeing today. Can you do that for me please?”
It worked! He knew it wouldn’t fail him, especially with his charms turned on to their fullest and sending the strongest of signals. The attendant blushed and smiled. It was a privilege for her to be the Alpha and Omega for this handsome guy who stood in front of her. She would make sure to impress her this time to bring him back again.
“The action films we have surely draws a large crowd and they are booked for now. Do you like action movies?”
“Yes. I am a fan of James Bond and Idris Elba. You know I’ll like to see Elba as the next Bond – the first black Bond.”
“Seems we are on the same page sir. But I like a little more of romance and comedy films than action ones. I share your sentiments about Elba too. Then I will recommend Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom or 12 Years a Slave. The two are very good movies and they don’t draw a lot of people despite the publicity which greeted their arrivals and the promos we give to people. But they are almost two weeks old now, maybe that’s why the viewership has reduced.”
“I’ll settle for Mandela. I’ve heard much about the movie and Nelson Mandela  is my hero. I want to see what they can say about the most important man in South Africa.”
“I bet you will enjoy it and you will come back to tell me your testimony. Here is your ticket sir. It will only set your pocket back by N1,500 sir. It also comes with a box of popcorn and a bottle of your favourite drink sir.”
“Thanks gorgeous. You are indeed an angel and I will surely give you a feedback in the next two hours. Lest I forget, you are really beautiful. Thanks once again.”
That said, he blew her a kiss as he turned from her to go into the cinema hall as the time for the movie was just a few minutes away. He knew the effect his words and action would have on her and he intentionally refused to look back but he felt her eyes piercing his back.
For the cashier, she was really taken to him and she blushed as he said his last statement. She was wondering what manner of guy he was. She had done her job as professionally as possible but this guy was just too good to reject. She wouldn’t have turned him down if he had made a move.
The next customer, who had been patient enough to watch the drama between Adeolu and the cashier was fed up with the lady, who had become absentminded at work.
He said, “Will you kindly attend to me please?”
“I am sorry ma. What movie would you like to watch?” the embarrassed cashier blurted out.