madam mensah's canteen

On Monday the following week. I reported to work. I noticed it was the normal practice like in Nigeria. I had a desk close to Ibukun’s. It was a wide office with about 6 tables. I and Ibukun were the only Nigerians in that department. Lunch was ok. We had some Ghanaian delicacies on display but I just went for my rice, plantain and chicken just to be on the safe side. The day actually went very well. There was no drama.

One month on the job, things were moving on very well. The General Manager was a Yoruba man. He was of average height, heavy looking but very very sweet.I and Ibukun had fun buying Ghanaian prints. They were so cheap. I also spent some Cedi’s buying the original kente. I wanted to make a sassy style in Lagos. O called at least once a week. It was not enough for me, but I felt it was better than not calling at all. We exchanged emails as well.

One Monday morning, I checked my intranet and there was an announcement that we had an emergency staff meeting. I wondered what it was going to be about. I kind of liked the idea because I would have the opportunity to meet the whole staff. I was taken round the office for introductions upon my arrival but I released that a lot of my colleagues were not on seat that day. All of us sat down at the meeting room. Half of us were Ghanaians, a few Ivorians, a few South Africans and an Ethiopian. It was a wonderful mixture. All of us could speak English. I was loving every minute I spent there. I planned to apply to work there after my studies.

When the Managing Director showed up, there was silence in the room. The emergency meeting was just to announce that some staff would be transferred to Ivory Coast while we would be expecting 2 Ivorians to replace them. It was a normal thing in the company. Staff transfers. I heard from a staff, a cute South African lady ‘if you spend a year working in the company, you would have lived in at least 3 different African countries’.

The next two days, Ibukun was off work. I had finished my report so I headed to the staff canteen for Lunch. When I came in the morning, I ran an important errand for my Manager so I wasn’t in the office. When I returned, my colleague Mefiah told me that the new staff from Ivory Coast had arrived. A man and a lady. I said to myself I would meet them later on. When I got to the Canteen, Madam Mensah asked for my order, I told her what I wanted and waited for her to dish it. As I took the plate of food to find a seat, a tall unusual man entered into the canteen and for the first time, my heart skipped at the sight of a handsome man. Our eyes met, but because of what went on inside of me, I ignored his gaze and sat down quietly and tried very hard to concentrate on my food. After what seemed like a few minutes, the gentleman sat down right opposite me and ate his food quietly.

I felt quite uneasy, the reaction was much. I had almost finished my food and all of a sudden he said ‘Hi, my name is Y’
‘Hi’ I retorted, ‘you must be the transfer staff from Ivory Coast?’
‘Yes’ he said ‘What’s your name and where are you from?’
‘My name is YNV. I am from Nigeria’
‘It’s my pleasure meeting you’
‘Same here’ I said and hurried with my food
‘See you later’ I said and I ran away!
I kept saying to myself ‘Oh I love Y’s voice. I love his accent. He spoke just like a perfect gentleman. The kind of man that will send flowers to a lady!’ That was the day my problems started.