Meeting my soulmate is something I will forever be grateful to my friends for; I regard it as one of the best fruits of our friendship, which I have enjoyed. Being a shy person, I let many opportunities slip away from me and without my friends, I may have let Bethany slip too if I hadn’t honoured our first date.
I had turned thirty earlier that year and my time as an ‘eligible’ bachelor was running out. It also felt like the pool of prospective brides had also started to dwindle as soon as I touched thirty. All my efforts at finding that “right” girl to get married to on my own had been a complete failure because I was shy. I just couldn’t get past the initial conversation, everything usually went off after the first meeting.
My friends would usually laugh at me, but still encourage me to carry on.
We were watching football in a lounge one Saturday afternoon when Mike called our attention to see something on his phone. I was engrossed with the match because it was my favourite team that was playing, so I didn’t join them in checking.
I heard as they marveled at what they had gone to see, but it was not enough to get me off my seat until I heard my name.
“She looks pretty. Her profile also says she is a Pharmacist. She is still single. The perfect type for you, Ben!” Mike said.
At that point, I had to stand up to know who my friends thought was perfect for me.
Turned out they were right after all; it was a beautiful damsel from Instagram. Her pictures reeked of everything I desire in a woman, and I was stoked. I didn’t realize it when I said, “I like her!”
My friends went into a delirium, to my embarrassment.
“Who no like better thing?” Tayo had teased.
“How can I meet her?” I asked up after the noise had died down a bit.
None of my friends knew her or had met her before that time, but strangely, they were willing to help me set up a meeting.
They knew my problem with keeping up with an interesting conversation, so they offered to help me reach out to her DM and set up a physical date. I was only tasked with making it work from there, so I had to start working on my self too.
Bethany was everything I wanted, and I had to put in extra work that time to make sure I don’t lose her if my friends were able to set up the date. I read books, talked to friends, watched YouTube videos and even had to use some girls for practice on starting and sustaining interesting conversations. lol.
It took some time to get Bethany to respond to her DMs, but she eventually did, and my friend – Mike – did a good job at making friends with her on Instagram, using my account. Call it impersonation, lol, but it worked. There were days she would text me, but I wouldn’t reply until I got to Mike’s home or office.
Several dates and visits later, I popped the question, and it didn’t require something too out of ordinary to get her to sign the dotted lines of forever with me.
We have been an amazing couple ever since, and I am always grateful to my friends for setting up our first date.