Day 9 Titilayo and Sunny

Titi had grown up in Vienna and Sunny was currently living in Indiana, but that night they were both in London celebrating Nigerian Independence Day. He was due to fly back on Sunday. They met on the Friday. The Friday that is two days before Sunday. The group they were out with had such a good time together; they all decided to have brunch together the next day. On Sunday, Titi offered to drive Sunny to the airport, “because that’s what you do for friends”. This is London. Nobody drives anybody to the airport. I think she had ulterior motives. He gave her his phone number. She didn’t keep it. “I couldn’t see the point”.

But he kept her email address. They emailed back and forth, they chatted on yahoo and occasionally they’d talk on the phone.

They built a friendship over 7 months and the Atlantic Ocean.

Her first visit to Indiana was in December. Technically she was visiting friends in Chicago but she was really there to see him. A friend of Sunny’s advised him that if you really want to see how you get on with a woman – go on a road trip together. And so off they went. They drove to Canada, New York, and Georgia.

Titi went back to London and their communication became more frequent. Sunny was working nights and would talk to her before he went to work from 11pm to 11.45pm every night. She went back to Indiana for his birthday in March. That’s when things took a romantic turn.

He warned her that he wasn’t interested in getting married or having a family. He’d been married, divorced and burnt. Titi was getting to a place in her life where she did want to get married. Despite their differences in opinion on marriage and despite the approximately 3999 miles between them, they started dating.

Titi was back in London, but was feeling listless. It didn’t feel right to be there. Sunny convinced her to pack her things and spend 3 months with him in Indiana. This would be her third trip there in a 5-month period.

At the end of the three months, Sunny proposed. She was lying on the couch on her last night before she was due to fly back to London. He sat at the edge of the couch and said “marry me”.

Sunny and Titilayo are now living in Indiana with their 8-week old baby girl, Joy.