The Sweetest Thing

By Anuoluwa Coker

Temilade Smith is a young lady experiencing the life of being single and searching in Lagos dating scene. In a dynamic world full of endless possibilities, glamour and potentials. Will she find the man that complements her or let the flamboyant life in Lagos take over. 

The Sweetest Thing is a feel good book that just makes the you love Lagos, Nigeria and it's people. It is a beautifully orchestrated comedic Friction. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jan 26, 2024
• ISBN: 9798823086264

Anuoluwa Coker

AnuOluwa Coker is a graduate of Economics with a Masters in International communication from City University London . She an avid writer and has articles written national newspaper in Nigeria. This is her second publication. Her first publication Wasu the Glow worm and friends is a children's book and Nigerian Way is her first Novel. She currently resides in the United Kingdom.

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© 2024 Anuoluwa Coker. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 01/26/2024

ISBN: 979-8-8230-8604-2 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-8230-8626-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2024901961

Adobe Stock images depicting people are used with their permission and for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Adobe Stock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Preface

Beautiful Chaos

Matchmaking

Meet the Girls

Uni Life

Brown Sugar

Are We Dating?

Temi Has Sense

To Love or to Hate

Ugly Head

This and That

Sitting Pretty Ain’t So Pretty

Battle of the Fittest

Dead End

About the Author

Preface

The Sweetest Thing looks at the lighter things in our society; it is a caricature perspective of the ills and joys of dating and marriage in a Nigerian society through the eyes of a young woman. It’s a diversion from all the heaviness of politics and other social issues that exist in our everyday environment.

I hope this book brings a lot of laughter to the lives of those who read.

For my sister Oluwaseyi Efudunni Julianna Coker - l miss you everyday one of the best humans to grace this planet.

Beautiful Chaos

I could feel the fancily big sun on my face as I woke up to another brilliant day. I love Lagos! When it’s sunny, it’s achingly bright and when it rains, it’s tipping down. This morning is bright, unclouded, a morning of beautiful unadulterated goldenness. It is a daily ritual for me to draw my curtains and stare at the beautiful golden rays emitting from the sun against the gentle morning breeze. At seven o’clock in the morning, the sun can be in its full regalia; bright and full. That early orange orb sets my happy mood for the day.

I have less than thirty minutes to get out of my house in order to beat the traffic and get to my office at GRA Ikeja by 8.30am. For most organisations in Nigeria, official work hours are 8am to 5pm, but this is far from the reality; you have to be at work till your line manager releases you for the day. If you prove difficult by choosing to stick to the contracted hours, it is the unwritten duty of one of your irate supervisors to remind you that there are ten thousand people out there ready to pounce on your desk, willing to work longer uncontracted hours with lower pay. My company is slightly different; our working hours are between 8.30am and 6pm and honestly, I love my work hours. I could wake up at seven and get to work on time even if there was traffic from Omole Estate to GRA Ikeja. One hour every morning is ample time to get me through the traffic, and today, I’m specifically grateful it’s Friday. Phew, TGIF…another week gone; I am really looking forward to the weekend.

As I had a quick bath, I went through my itinerary for the day in my mind. There’s a meeting with some clients from 10:00 am till noon, then I will sit with the top managers on the outcome of my meeting with the clients. If my meeting is productive, I can actually be done from work by 3.30pm and be on my way back home to watch some TV - maybe head over to the cinema with my younger sister, Yemi. Hopefully, the day would go well, I thought, as I hurriedly dried my wet body and put on my clothes, a cool body top, jeans, and a blazer; It’s dress down days. I really do not feel dressed down with a blazer, but office policy does not permit anyone to dress down for an official meeting with new clients. I guess it depicts our firm as trendy yet professional; that is the image we are trying to portray. In the Nigerian market, to win a client you must look the part before you are given a chance to prove your worth. Trendy is always a good selling point.

I took a quick detour to the kitchen to get my cup of tea; that I was most certain Ama, the domestic staff, would have fixed for me. This is a daily routine; my mom would also step into the kitchen for a brief conversation before I finish my cup of tea. Mum always makes sure she sees everyone before they leave for work, or school, then she leaves for her own workplace which isn’t far from the house. Dad, on the other hand, has a very erratic and busy work schedule in the business of helping the infirmed. Dad is a Medical Doctor; he has his private consultations at his office on Mende street in Maryland between 11am -5pm each day. Sometimes, he does some consulting for the Nigerian ministry of health. A lot of times, he was travelling, leaving his two senior doctors to manage his private business. Dad is always at one health seminar or the other giving speeches and working with international organisations. He gets paid good money for his work, so we are not able to complain too much about his many trips.

Mama watches us, her daughters, like a hen watches its chick. She is having a hell of a time with my Black Latina/ British American wife. My Brothers Wife father is from Brazil, her mother from the UK Jamaican decent and she was born in America. Mama would call every morning to check if he’s okay, his wife had a fit when she couldn’t bear mama’s daily call anymore. She said, ‘it’s too intrusive’. My intrusive mom stopped calling the landline but now calls ‘her boy’ daily on his cell phone during his commute time.

I check my wristwatch and it’s already 7.40am, so I dash for the door shouting ‘goodbye’, ‘have a good day’ daily slogans to my mum as I exit the house. Why I do this every morning, I really cannot explain; hurriedly doing things