Business and Pleasure

While inside a bus today, the driver received a call and a certain person gave her location. I don't want to make wild guesses but it sounded like a girlfriend telling the boyfriend to pick her up and it made me remember something.
If you know University of Uyo main campus, Nwainba, you will know that the distance from the school gate to where the offices and classrooms are is far, so most times, people like to use the buses that drive you inside at once and not the ones that drop you at the gate.

In my time there, there was a girl I knew, other people knew her too. Her boyfriend was one of the bus drivers. If you happen to enter his bus while she was inside, you'll know the two of them were an item. The girl, most times sat in the front seat. There was once I was inside the bus and someone wanted to sit on the empty front seat, but the driver declined and said it was meant for his woman.

The guy who was denied the seat went ahead to talk to him about how he shouldn't mix business with pleasure. The driver explained how he wasn't mixing things up. It wasn't every time he stopped people from seating in the front. He said he knew when his girl finishes her class every day and most days if he was around, he will pick her up. He apologized and told him to chose any seat from the ones remaining at the back.

We didn't wait for too long. The girl came and entered. It looked like she knew he was waiting because she was walking pretty fast to approach the bus. She entered and they exchanged a brief hug. He asked about her day. She asked about his too. Through the journey, they made small talk in light tones, they exchanged glances. I know affection, care and love when I see one. I saw it with them. I knew they had love and silently I prayed that their love will last the test of time.
Different people had encounters with them. It was a relationship that was much talked about. One day, someone dared to go ask the girl why she dated a bus driver and made no effort to hide it.

Her reply was: "My man is a good man. A kind one. He makes the effort to take care of himself and the ones he loves. He takes his responsibilities seriously and doesn't shy away from doing the " dirty work". He's fine, he's young and has a good future seeing how hardworking he is. He is so supportive of me. He's educated, the bus driving is something he is doing to raise capital for his business. Why should I be ashamed of a man like that? On second thoughts, even if he were not educated, if he was still the same person he is, kind, God-fearing and loving, with a strong desire to work towards his goals, I'll still be with him if I love him".

The reply spread across campus. Most people admired her guts, many thought she was foolish, some thought she was still a child that it won't last and others thought the man probably used juju or something. She was a beautiful girl.
This was one story I wanted to knowhow it spanned out, so even when I left school and she had one year left, and she was still with the guy, who had bought another bus and given someone the other one to drive and make returns, I kept praying that their love will get to the destination they both designed and wanted.

I don't know what you have learnt from the story but my take-home point is never to ridicule what you do. To always find pride in the things that put food on your table. And to never be with someone you don't love just because of money and also not to allow current financial situations to make you lose the gift of a good man or woman.
Hy. Thank you for reading till this point. My name is Joy, a brand storyteller. I don't know what business you are doing, but whatever it is, I can help you create content for your business or brand. Drop a comment or send me a DM.
Kindly note that the story above is fiction. Thank you for reading.
I hope you had a lovely Monday. I did!