Here’s how it all began, I am a huge Denzel fan, oh shawks, where are my manners? My name is Moradeke Badmus, I am the only girl in a family of five. I have an older brother (Jide) and a younger one (Tomiwa) but this story is not about my brothers, it may scarcely mention them. There, you’ve met me, so I can continue.

I am a huge Denzel fan, I believe he is the cutest man on the earth and I had nursed a crush on him since I was sixteen, when my friends were getting boyfriends, I was dreaming about Denzel, yeah, Jide teased me to no end and eventually got bored.

When I was eighteen, I finally got admitted into the university to study civil engineering after waiting for eighteen months, dad had taken matters into his hands and as they say and I was offered admission in a private university. That was the genesis of my troubles, but I digress.

Damilola (my boyfriend) and I decided it was the wise decision to take some time off and see how the separation would affect us; that way we would know if our relationship could survive the distance. I was going out of Lagos whilst he was a day student at Unilag. So we kissed and parted ways.

I left Lagos to do my registration at the school and also get my hostel allotment. After a couple of weeks there, the matriculation date for Jambitos was set. I called home and told my parents ecstatic, they were happy for me. They promised to come and I looked forward to seeing them again.

The day arrived, dad drove everyone, mom, Jide and Tomiwa to the school, there was refreshment in the trunk of the car and I was jumping and dancing when my brothers found me. Mom was smiling proudly as she embraced me. Then it happened.

Out of the crowd, dad was strolling towards us. He had a certain swagger I couldn’t place, something different I had never noticed. I smiled at Jide’s derogatory joke: sometimes I wish I was older. Then dad got to us and spoke in his usual baritone voice.

‘Congratulations ‘Deke,’ he hugged me, then asked, ‘where can we sit?’

It suddenly occurred to me then in a wave of realisation… Dad looked a lot like Denzel, walked and talked like him. Uh oh, I hadn’t been crushing on Denzel all the while, I was secretly in love with my own father, and I didn’t realize it until he hugged me and my whole body jumped.

Throughout the ceremony and afterwards, I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. It finally made sense, all the times when I declined offers to date boys who were really cute. When I got angry at my father being friendly with other women or their daughters, it was pure jealousy.

I was in love with my father, and looking at him smile easily with the other members of the family made me love him more. I knew what I had to do, the question was, was I ready to do it and move us into another era, or need I just ask to be placed in a deliverance session of any church that would have me. I sat there thinking, studying each member of my family. That day was about me, maybe the family would also be about me, we’ll see.

The die was already rolling…

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