They all met at the church premises at eight in the morning so as to arrive at the Ikoyi dock at the agreed time. There were about fourteen people although Gladys only knew about half of them from church. The boat trip took about an hour to get to the drop off point, and from there they had to walk about one kilometre to get to the beach. She had wondered how they would get the cooler of food and
drinks across since most of them already carried backpacks. Luckily the villagers were happy to help them for a small token. When they got to the beach, it was low tide and the entire perimeter of the shipwreck was visible.
“What do you think?”
“I‘ve never seen something like this before.”
“I said you shouldn‘t miss it.”
The beach had clusters of tables with parasols and fitted chairs, and a few cushioned lounge chairs. Gladys joined the rest in setting up their stuff in one of the gazebos.
“This is a very nice beach; it‘s even better than the Alpha Beach.”
“Yes, but because it‘s so far out, most people don‘t know about it. We heard it‘s usually only used by the expatriates but a couple of them in our church told us about it and said it wasn‘t to be missed.” said Bola, the coordinator of the youth group.
Soon after they finished setting up, all those who could swim were in the water. Some rode the waves on what Gladys learned was called a boogie board; it looked a lot like surfing.
Later some of the same guys showed off dance moves when the music began to play.
“That is one funny guy,” Ayo said, pointing at a tall skinny guy. She was a shy girl with a high pitched voice. They had become quick friends after Gladys joined the singles group in church. It turned out they had both attended the same university campus though they‘d not known each other then. Ayo was already friends with Jennifer and so they became a threesome.
“Are you interested in him?” asked Jennifer, plump, livelier and already in a steady relationship. She was always on the lookout for ways to fix the other two up.
“I was just saying and in your mind we‘re married already?”
An undaunted Jennifer turned to Gladys. “So do you think any of these guys attractive?”
“Some of them are but not for me…”