Broken 10

Kevin drove to the party and immediately I got inside the house I calmed down. The environment was very bubbly and fun. It was perfect for the plan. In less than an hour I was going to know the truth.

"Yo Kevin, who's this lovely lady?" One of his friends asked. He smiled, held me close and said, "this is Maggie. Maggie this is Kwesi." I smiled and said hello. I excused myself shortly after and walked outside. Kevin used to introduce me to his friends as his girlfriend. I guess we weren't officially together again. I knew this but it still hurt. "Maggie, what are you doing?" I whispered to myself. I took out my phone and called Pablo. There was music in the background so I guessed he was out. "Hey, how's it going?" He asked. I gave a sigh of disappointment in myself. "I don't know what I'm doing Pablo." I said. "What do you mean? Should I go over the plan with you again?" He said. Just then I heard Maxine's voice. All of a sudden I felt weird. "Oh you are at your party with Maxine. I'm sorry for interrupting." I said. Pablo quickly cut in and told me I wasn't interrupting anything. "Pablo I need to go. Kevin is in the right position now. I'll call you back." I lied and hung up. I looked for a place to sit but I heard Kevin call me. I turned around and faked a smile. He asked me to join him inside. I walked back into the house and met more of his friends.

I was ready to execute the plan after a while but Kevin had his phone in his pocket the whole time. It was almost like he knew. At a point in the night I got uncomfortable. I didn't really like his friends. They were just too loud. Then I thought about Pablo and how he was probably having a really good time. I took out my phone to text him and noticed he had called me 3 times. I walked to the washroom to call him back. Unfortunately he didn't answer so I went back to Kevin who looked like he was leaving. I was so excited when he said he was tired and so we should go. I nodded and we walked to the car.

When we got into the car Kevin put his phone into his glove compartment. "Ah I forgot to give Kwesi his money. Hang on I'll be right back." he said and walked off. This was too easy. I grabbed Kevin's phone. I called him with my phone and with the call still on I had access to his WhatsApp messages. I went through them and found Daisy.

My heart was pounding when I went through the messages. I was totally surprised. It was nothing I had ever imagined. Kevin had contacted her first telling her he was sorry about the mix up and that he needed her help to make things right again. She seemed hesitant at the beginning but later sent "fine what do you want me to do. I'm only doing this because it seems Maggie wants to give you another chance and my husband said I should be nice." Kevin then told her he wanted to ask me out again like he did when we met. The memory of that day floated into my mind. He took me to a resort out of town for the weekend and asked me to be his girlfriend.

The messages with Daisy suggested that he wanted to take me outside the country this time as a surprise. He needed my passport information and wanted Daisy to get it without me knowing. The last message from Daisy was my passport information. She sent him a photo of it and from the background I could tell it was the day I gave her the keys to my place. A smile formed on my face but I felt bad. I didn't trust my best friend and Kevin. I should have known it was nothing serious. Pablo's idea was definitely a good one. I thought of calling him and remembered he was out with Maxine. I put the phone back just in time before Kevin returned.


To be continued.... 

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Broken 9

When I got to Pablo's office I set up my laptop next to his and sat down. He sat next to me and got right to it. We were less than 5 minutes in when Daisy walked in. She said hi to Pablo and smiled at me. I shook my head and walked out to talk to her. "You guys look so cool together." She said when we left his office. "He's interested in Maxine, there's nothing going on. What's up?" I snapped. Daisy seemed shocked. She asked why I thought he liked Maxine but I ignored her question and just kept asking what she wanted. "Ei someone is in a bad rabbit mood today. I sent you messages but you didn't reply. I see you are not going home anyime soon. Wanted to borrow your hair curler." She finally said. I remember seeing her messages and ignored them. "I'm not going to be home for a while. I'll give you my keys so you pick it up. Leave them at the usual place when you are done ok? I need to go." I said. I gave her my keys and went back. Daisy was surprised but she left without saying another word.

"Did you ask her about the call?" Pablo asked when I came back. I shook my head. The tutorial took about an hour. Pablo was really good at coding and coupled with his sense of humour it was so much fun. I couldn't believe the amount I learnt in just an hour. I ordered food and made sure to buy some our security man so he wouldn't disturb us. We were the only ones left at this time. "Have you decided what you are going to do about the conversation you heard?" Pablo asked as we devoured the jollof we bought. I shook my head. "I'm not sure. I trust Daisy. I don't think she's seeing him. She's happily married. Maybe it was another Daisy." I said. Kevin and I were planning to meet over the weekend. I was planning to ask him then but I didn't tell Pablo.

"So are you dating Maxine?" I asked. Pablo almost choked on his food. "What?" He asked after drinking some water. I starred at him waiting to hear a reply. "Maxine from the marketing department? No I'm not dating her. That's a weird question." he continued. I shook my head. "No, it's not. She told me you asked her to have drinks with you." I said. Pablo nodded. "Ooh that. Yes I did. It's Kofi's birthday. The guys were planning to little hangout and I asked some girls to come. Maxine, Florence and another lady. So no we are not dating." He explained. I smiled. I looked on my phone and saw Kevin was calling me. I excused myself to take the call.

Kevin called to make plans for the weekend. He said he missed me and really wanted to see me. That sounded so unlike Kevin. He said there was a party he wanted to go to and would pick me up at about 7. I wasn't very excited about it but I agreed anyway. I was temped to ask him about his conversation with Daisy but I decided not to. When I ended the call I noticed it was getting late. I picked up my bag and packed up to leave.

When we got to the car park I stopped and turned to Pablo. "Do you think Daisy is sleeping with Kevin? I find it hard to think about that because she doesn't like him at all." I asked. Pablo looked surprised. He thought for a while and came up with a plan. He said it wasn't a good thing to do but it was my best bet to get an honest answer. His plan was brilliant! I hugged him and said I would do it. We laughed over how excited I was and parted ways.

At 7pm on Saturday I was all dressed up and ready for the party. I sat down in my couch waiting for Kevin. My heart raced a bit when I heard his car pull up in front of my place. I grabbed my bag, took a deep breath and walked to his car after locking up. "Wow you look smashing!" Kevin said when I got into the car. I smiled and he leaned in to kiss me. It didn't feel as good as it used to but I tried to play along. I didn't want him to notice anything odd. The plan would be ruined if he did.


To be continued... 

Broken 6

When I got home I noticed I had missed some calls. They were all from Kevin. I was just about to call him back when I heard a knock at my door. I looked at the time. It was 9:25pm. I wondered who it was. I opened the door and to my total surprise it was Kevin! "Kevin, hi." I said. He smiled and I let him in. He told me he felt bad about rescheduling so he decided to come by after his meeting. I told him it was fine and I appreciated his visit. He made himself at home on my couch and asked if he could get a drink. I was very surprised. Kevin never gave me a surprise visit. I got him a drink and sat by him on the couch. "How was your day?" He asked. I told him about work and how I picked up Pablo from the hospital and took him home.

It was the expression on Kevin's face that made me understand everything. He was jealous. Then I realized Pablo knew and that's why he texted him. He knew Kevin would fall for it. I giggled when I made this realization. I couldn't believe it took me this long to get it. I sat closer to Kevin. "I know you had a rough time with your ex and her baby. I'm ready to put it behind us." I said. I had confidence now that he wanted me back. He stared at me and just when he was leaning closer his phone rung. He checked who it was and muted the call.

Before we could recover from the interruption my phone took its turn. I noticed it was my office. I frowned, it was after 10 so I knew they were calling me to come to work for something urgent like a breach in our firewall or something. I answered the call and was right. It was a hacking issue. Our firewall had been breached and I had to get to the office immediately to fix it. This was one of the times I hated my job. Surely we got very nice bonuses for events like this but I was having a perfect conversation with Kevin!

I told Kevin and he nodded. He knew how my job went so he didn't even comment on it. When I picked up my things he stood up, ready to go. Then he took my hands and smiled at me. "Maybe we should do something tomorrow night. There's this nice place I know." He said. I smiled back and nodded. "Sounds good." I replied. Then he kissed me. I knew he wanted more but we had to go. I slowly ended the kiss and we left.

When I got to the office. I saw a few more people from my department. They all look like they had just woken up from sleep. "Wow, someone is looking good." Fred, one of my coworkers said. They made fun of me for a while before they told me the problem. I looked over my shoulder to look at our boss and noticed Pablo talking to her.

I shook my head. Pablo was so stubborn. He was supposed to take a day off to rest but here he was at 11pm working. I turned back to my computer when I saw the two of them walk towards us. My boss gave us a brief description of the problem and exactly what she wanted done. It wasn't a major issue at all. Just one person could have fixed it. It seemed she wanted all of us there to make sure it's fixed very quickly.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Pablo when our boss left. "Same thing you are doing here." He said sarcastically. I shook my head. We got to work and were done in a little under 2 hours. I told Pablo about how his texting game made Kevin come over to my house. "Gosh he's more jealous than I thought. You should hold my hand in front of him, I'm sure he'd propose." He teased. I laughed a little too hard. It was nice knowing for sure Kevin wanted me back. Maybe he was really the one and this may have been just a test. When we left the office Pablo and spoke for so long we didn't notice we had spent an hour in the car park. Luckily for us our boss said we could come to work late the next day. Well actually it was the same day because we finally drove off around 3am.


To be continued... 

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Broken 3

I woke up very late the next morning. It was a Saturday so I wasn't worried at all. I rushed for my phone immediately after my morning devotion. Just like I suspected I had two messages. One was from Kevin but the second wasn't from Pablo but Daisy. Daisy wanted to know how the night went. Kevin's text was the surprising one. He invited me to come over to his place that afternoon to talk. That was all he said. He didn't even say what about. I told him I would be there. There was only one thing he was likely to say, that he wanted us to get back together. So all it took was a night out with a Spanish guy? I smiled and went to look for breakfast to eat.

Daisy called me that morning. She wanted to hear all the juicy details. I told her the story excluding Pablo's kiss. "Kevin almost caused a scene." She said. I shook my head. She wasn't getting the point. "He sent me a text today. He wants us to talk. I will be going there around 3."  I said. Daisy didn't like the idea at all. "What does he want to talk about? You shouldn't go. I mean now that you are moving on he wants you back? This guy is so annoying." She said. I wasn't happy with the way she was talking. "Daisy is there anything wrong with him wanting me back? We can make it work." I said. "Maggie, I'm just trying to remind you that he hurt you. He cheated on you..." She explained but I wasn't amused. "People work out their issues and go on. If Lawrence cheats on you will you leave him?" I said. There was a brief pause. "Wow, you know what? Do whatever you want." Daisy finally said. I could tell she was upset. She made an excuse and got off the line.

That afternoon when I got to Kevin's place I couldn't help reminiscing. His car was parked at his usual spot and dirty as hell. I was the one who always insisted he wash it. So much so that we had a car wash party every other Sunday afternoon. We would play loud music, wash the car and eat a heavy meal afterwards. It was fun. I called him when I got to his gate and he opened the door instead of picking my call. It startled me a bit. "Hey." I said. He signalled for me to come in.

His place had changed a little since I last visited. It was obviously a mess but not that bad a mess. I sat on the couch and looked at Kevin. He seemed a bit disoriented like he had just woken up from sleep. "If this is a bad time I can come another time." I said. He shook his head and told me it was fine, that he just dozed off a bit.

When I first met Kevin I was instantly attracted to him. It wasn't just his good looks that had me sprung, it was his way of life. He was very relaxed, took things a day at a time and really liked to have fun. That was the exact opposite of me but somehow I felt we could create the perfect balance together. He felt the exact same way, well at least that's what he told me. He said all his previous relationships with bad, free spirited women never lasted long. He wanted to commit to me because I was different and that was it for me. I fell for him. Surely it sounds foolish of me but when a person who doesn't care much for a lot of people shows that he cares about you there's something you feel inside. Daisy warned me not to date him and that guys like him came with lots of baggage but I didn't listen. I had found Romeo and that was all that mattered. It's hard to explain how special Kevin made me feel. I was smitten.

After our first few months of dating I could have sworn we would get married! The problems came after the 5th month. Kevin started going out more without me. He called me less. He was doing a course at the same time so I felt studying and working at the same time was taking a toll on him. Daisy one day suggested we pay him a surprise visit. Just to prove to her that Kevin was faithful I decided to do it. To be honest I also wanted answers myself. So we went to his place. He was surprised to see us.

That day he was awfully weird. He kept texting. Then there was a knock at the door. Kevin  quickly went to the door. All I could hear was whispering. Daisy turned to look at me. "Go and see who is there." She said. That my friend is such a spy. I nodded and walked towards the door. When I got close I heard a lady say "So who should take me? That wasn't what we planned Kev".

Kevin noticed me too late. "Hi!" I said to her. She looked like a student and was holding what looked like a weekend bag. It angered me that she was younger than me. She looked exactly like the type of girl Kevin said he didn't want anymore. "What's going on? Is this your girlfriend? Should I tell her everything?!" She asked Kevin angrily. He tried to close the door but I just shook my head. Kevin yelled at the girl and told her to leave. This made her even more angry. She wouldn't allow him to close the door. At this moment I had seen enough. I went for Daisy and told her we should leave. There were already tears in my eyes. As we left Kevin came to me asking me to stay and that it wasn't what I thought. He said if the other lady meant anything to him he wouldn't be begging me to stay. We left and I never came back until this day.


To be continued... 
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Broken 1

When I got home from work I dropped my bag on my bedside table and took out my phone. I could have sworn I heard a notification. Unfortunately there was nothing. Kevin, my ex boyfriend had not tried to reach me at all for the past week and it made me sad. You see we broke up a couple of weeks ago and now I was wondering if it was really a good idea. I mean he did hurt me but maybe I should have fought back to make the relationship work. My best friend Daisy kept saying he was useless and he would never find anyone like me. Right now it didn't look like it at all, I mean he clearly wasn't trying to get me back.

Just the minute I got out of the shower my phone rang. It was Daisy. "Hey Rabbit are you at home?" She asked in her usual cheerful tone. She was inviting me to a night out with some friends from our workplace. I hadn't made plans that Friday. In fact I never made plans. That was Kevin's job. Ever since we broke up I just stayed at home. Daisy would not take no for an answer. "Look, I'm coming to pick you up. Wear that black lace dress with the pink lining." she instructed before she hang up. I did as she said. If she had to I knew she would drag me out of my house, besides it was time I moved on! A night out was a good idea.

I hoped into Daisy's car when she got to my place. I noticed there was someone in the front seat so I just sat in the back. It was Daisy's husband. "Is this some family outing or what? Lawrence how are you doing?" I teased. Lawrence laughed and said they would make me their kid for the night if I didn't behave. They were my all time best couple. Even though they had been married for just two months I knew for certain they were meant to be. Daisy drove to a popular pub. Kevin and I had been there several times. I even remember he taught me how to play pool there. I wasn't sure this was a good idea but it was too late to turn back now.

When we got in the place was lively as usual. We saw our workmates and joined their table. There was a white guy, Pablo who joined our company just a few months ago there. He was from Spain. He stood up and offered me his seat. Then he picked another chair and put it next to mine for himself. Daisy walked to me and spoke into my ears. "Lawrence and I are going upstairs to the terrace area. Tonight is for you so don't think about that monkey ok? Have fun!" She took Lawrence hand and they walked off. I smiled as I watched them leave.

"You work in the IT department right?" Pablo asked. I nodded. He was in the same department so I guess he had seen me before. We talked about a new project our company was starting and how bad an idea it was. He made a hilarious impersonation of our boss and I burst out laughing. He was totally on point. We spoke about Spain and Ghana and everything in between. I was enjoying the conversation so much I didn't even notice that most of our coworkers had left. A pool table became free and Pablo suggested that we play. I told him I was horrible at pool but he insisted. He said he sucked too but it looked like fun. He was right! We played one game and kept making fun of each other for missing. Eventually he potted the black ball too early and I won. I jumped up and down and to celebrate my victory he clapped for me. I was having such a good time.

We went back to our seats and talked some more. Then a waiter approached us with a glass of expensive whiskey. "Sir, the drink is from the lady in the blue dress near the aquarium." The waiter said. I turned to look in that direction and saw a group of white ladies. The one in blue looked like she was in her mid twenties with lots of makeup on. "Please take it back. Tell her thank you, I don't drink whiskey." Pablo said. The waiter did as he said. "You didn't have to drink it. It's like she's saying she likes you." I said to him. He shook his head. "Well I'm not interested. I also find it rude." He said. "Rude, how is it rude?" I asked, a bit confused. "Because I'm here chatting with you." He explained. It took me a few seconds to understand what he meant. When I did I realised that was the sweetest thing I had heard in a long time. I smiled and nodded. I could see the ladies staring at us from across the room and it excited me.

To be continued... 
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Closure 6

Frank's sister's house wasn't very far from mine so in less than 10 minutes my taxi arrived at the house. I puffed my hair up a little and rang the door bell. A little girl of able 8 years opened the door. Before I could say anything she let me in. "You are auntie Vanessa right?" She asked. I smiled and nodded. She grabbed my hand and led me into the kitchen. "Oh Vanessa thank God you are here." Frank said. He had flour all over his shirt. He rushed to give me a hug and transfered some of his flour to me.

"The girls want something to eat and my sister's fridge is so dry it's not even funny." He said. I giggled and turned to the three girls including the one who opened the door for me. "My name is Kafui, and these are my sisters Ajo and Keli." The 8 year old said. Ajo looked about 5 and Keli was definitely 3 years old. I smiled at them and they confessed that they were very hungry.

I made some pancakes for the girls. Luckily there was honey in the fridge so we enjoyed it with the pancakes and milk. The kids loved it and told me it was the best they had ever had. I smiled like a sheep. Frank who did the frying under my careful guidance wanted some of the credit but the girls teased him. After everyone was stuffed we went to the kids bedroom and all took turns telling stories. The girls were all dressed up and ready for bed. After the third story Keli was fast asleep. Surprisingly Kafui followed next and Ajo was the last to sleep.

Frank was really good with the kids. I couldn't help staring at when he told his story and tickled all of us for effects. The children showed me all the toys he had bought for them. Somehow I wondered how much competition he was giving their father with all the gifts he gave them. When the girls were all sound asleep we went back to the kitchen to tidy up the place. Frank just told me to put the leftovers in the fridge while he did all the cleaning. "Thanks for coming. These girls are so hard to take care of alone." He said. I smiled and told him I had a great time.

Frank's sister arrived just after we finished the cleaning. It was about 11:20pm at the time. She was a very nice person like Frank. "You have amazing daughters." I said as Frank and I left we could tell she was very tired and wanted to sleep. She thanked me and asked me to drop by and visit anytime I was in the area. I hopped into Frank's car and he took me home. He looked just as tired as his sister.

When we got to my place just before I got out of the car I leaned over and kissed him. The kiss lasted longer than the last one and when it was done Frank was instantly wide awake. "That was to make sure you get home safely." I said. Frank giggled. "I think I'll start coming to see you everytime I'm tired." He teased. We both laughed and I left. That night all I thought about was Frank.

When I got to work the next day I had the shock of my life. Just as I was entering the conference room the branch manager asked me to meet him at Mawuli rushed to me. I could tell by the look on his face that something was wrong. "Bad news is in your office?" He whispered when he got to me. I was almost at the door now. "Which bad news?" I asked, also whispering. "Eddie and his manager." Mawuli said.


To be continued... 

Closure 4

One weekday during lunch time I went to Frank's office as planned. The office space was modern and very cozy. It was really as awesome as he described it. There were 4 rooms; a salon, boutique, gym and his personal office. There was a very smart secretary there as well as an accountant and a manager who generally made sure everything was handled smoothly. Frank's own office was very interesting. It was very clean and professional even though there was a playstation and TV in it. He already had food in his office by the time I got there. We ate and chat. I must admit he was very good company.

"So word on the street is that you used to date Eddie T. I didn't know you were a celebrity type of girl." Frank said. I lost my appetite immediately. "Ah yes. Oh look at the time.  I should get going." I said putting my paper plate aside. "I thought you had an hour and half?" Frank asked. I nodded and got up to leave. "My boss is a pain. I should go. Thanks for lunch." I said and rushed out. Frank wanted to drop me off but I lied about bringing a car and left. It was like Eddie just kept coming back to haunt me.

I knew Frank didn't mean any harm but I wasn't ready to explain why I walked out on lunch so I ignored his messages. One evening I was reading a magazine in my room when my sister walked in. "Guess who is outside looking for you?" Wendy, my sister asked. I stared at her with a blank face. "Frank Ayarik. He's in the hall." She said. I dropped my magazine, looked at myself in the mirror and walked to the hall.

Wendy was telling the truth, he was sitting on the couch and quickly turned to look at me when he heard me walk in. "Hey, sorry about coming over unannounced. I had a strong feeling you wouldn't answer my call." He said with a smile. He had a very warm smile. It was just too contagious so I smiled back. I sat down on the chair next to him. We talked for a while and Frank asked if I wanted to go out for fresh air. I nodded and we went to the beach.

When we got to the beach there was practically no one there. "Who comes to the beach at 9pm?" I asked. Frank looked at me and giggled. "You weren't very frisky when you were a teenager eh?" He teased. We took a walk like we did the other day. "I'm sorry I mentioned Eddie to you. I found out you two broke up." He said out of the blue and I shrugged.

Frank picked up a pebble from the sea sand. "My last girlfriend left me because she wanted to get married and I wasn't ready. A month later she got married." He said. Then he threw the pebble into the sea as far as he could. He picked up another pebble and gave to to me. "Your turn." He said. I looked at him, not sure what to say both about his breakup and the pebble. "Tell me something about your past and throw it into the sea." He said. I giggled but the idea did sound like fun. I looked at the small brown pebble and the pain from the thoughts of Eddie flooded my mind. "One of the work experiences on my CV is fake. My cousin owns that company so I just added it." I said and threw my pebble. Frank rolled his eyes. I knew this was not the type of secret he was looking for.

After playing the pebble game a few times I really loosened up. Frank and I always tried to throw the pebble further each time. One time I threw it so far he said "this burden dierr it's gone forever and 100meters more". I laughed so hard I almost fell. I knew he was doing this to get me to talk about Eddie. I sat down on the sand and he sat next to me.

"Eddie and I dated for 5 years. I really thought he was the one." I started, doodling in the sand. "You knew him before he started singing?" Frank asked and I nodded. "Sometimes I wonder if we would have been married with kids if he hadn't gone into music but you never know." I continued. I was fighting the tears when Frank asked why we broke up. "His career was more important." I said. That was the furtherest I could go without crying so I changed the subject. Frank understood and told me about his work instead.

When Frank brought me back home he walked me to the door for the first time. "Thanks for today, I feel a lot lighter. We should do this again." I said. Frank smiled and nodded. "Calm down, you will fill the sea with all your numerous pebbles if we continue, Vanessa." He teased. I laughed and was just about to leave. "Hey Nessa." Frank said. I turned around and without a second to spare he kissed me. I hadn't kissed anyone in 9 months and his kiss reminded me of what I was missing. He finally pulled back slowly and said goodnight. "I wasn't expecting that." I said. "Neither was I but I'm glad it happened." He said. We both giggled and he walked back to his car without saying another word. I just stood there till he was gone with a smile locked on my face.


To be continued... 

Closure 2

Wendy, my sister was watching TV on the couch when I got home. I handed her the food and she gobbled it down like she hadn't eaten in a month. "Why did it take you so long?" She asked. I sat down by her. "I met Frank Ayarik. He even brought me home." I replied. My sister thought for a while and recognized who I was talking about. I told her about how the evening went and she asked why I didn't take the cute guy's number. I threw a pillow at her and she laughed. I noticed the more satisfied she got the sillier she became so I went to my room. My younger sister is a proper goofball. Somehow I guess that's why I asked her to live with me.

I didn't hear from Frank till about 4 days later. He texted me asking the time I would get home from work and if I wanted to have drinks. It sounded like a date and even though Frank was pretty nice I wasn't ready for that. I needed to heal from my last relationship. I texted Frank back telling him I would be too tired to have drinks after work. He seemed to understand because he said ok.

Throughout the day I felt a bit bad. Maybe I was thinking too much into it. He could have just wanted to talk like the other night. I decided to ask a coworker and close friend what he thought. "Ah Vanessa paa. Going out for drinks is normal. I ask my guy friends sef to go out for drinks." Mawuli, my coworker said. Just then his boss came out of his office. Mawuli grabbed the file he dropped on my desk. "Go and have drinks la." He whispered and walked away briskly. I giggled and went back to work.

When we closed from work that night I decided to take the office bus home. I took a seat by the window and just as I was going to plug some music into my ears Mawuli appeared from nowhere and sat beside me. "Herr Efo, don't be scaring me like that." I teased. Mawuli giggled. He asked if I had agreed to have drinks with Frank and I shook my head. He wouldn't stop bugging me about it so I sent Frank a text. I told him I closed a bit early so he should tell me where he wanted to meet and I'd meet his there. Mawuli clapped for me when he saw me send the message.

I got off the bus at my junction and walked home. I pulled out my phone from my bag to see if Frank had replied my message but he hadn't. When I got home my sister was not on the couch watching TV as usual and I remembered it was Friday night. She always had a ritual of going out with her friends on Fridays. I remembered doing the same myself some years back. Things had changed.

I dropped my bag on the center table and turned on the TV. A music video came on and I changed the channel immediately. I remembered why I hadn't sat down to watch TV in a while. My ex boyfriend, Eddie was always on and I didn't want to see his face again. Just like magic he appeared on the new channel too? I picked up the remote and turned off the TV. Just as I was getting up to leave the hall Frank called. "Vanessa what's up? I just saw your message oh. Is it too late to do the drinks?" He asked. I thought for a while and told him it was fine. We planned to meet at a bar not far away.


To be continued... 

Zaky 7

When I opened my eyes I was just in bed. The room was pretty dark. It took a while but I finally remembered I was at Zaky's place. "Hey, do you have a headache?" Zaky asked walking into the room. He was in a pair shorts and a black tshirt. He looked so good in casual clothes too? Why? He sat next to me and kissed my forehead. I shook my head and asked him what happened. "You had too much wine." He explained. "But it was low in alcohol." I replied confused. Zaky laughed and said he lied but didn't think half a glass would knock me out. I wanted to ask him if the kiss was real or a dream but I felt the kiss on the forehead was a sign that it did. "If you are not feeling too good I could drive you home." He offered. I smiled.

 After drinking some water and washing my face I felt fine. I noticed my father had called me several times. I said goodnight to Zaky and drove off. I ended our kiss prematurely thanks to the drink he gave me. When I told Dede what happened she said I shouldn't worry about because we had crossed the friend zone.

The next day Zaky came to my office before lunch. I usually met him in the lobby but for the first time he came to see me. I smiled when he walked. Everyone in the office turned around to look at him when he walked to me desk. They were probably more surprised when he stopped and we spoke. "What are you doing here?" I asked. He leaned over my desk, looking around. "I wanted to see your side. You see me everyday in my office so it's only fair I come see yours  too." He replied. We hadn't spoken about the kiss at all but somehow I felt closer to him. "You should explain how this whole CCTV camera thing works over lunch." He said staring at the large monitors showing the different offices. He held my hand and helped me to get up. Zaky was such a gentleman.

After work we went to watch a movie. I wasn't sure if that was our first or second date. After the movie the questions about my work continued. I found it a bit strange how all of a sudden he was interested in what I did. I didn't think working in the surveillance office was the slightest bit interesting. So I asked him why. "I guess when I like someone I like to get to know them more." Zaky shrugged. My heart raced. He just said he liked me and very effortlessly too. I wanted to shout "I like you too" but I just froze. 

When our date was over Zaky made me drop him off at a restaurant close to the head office. He said he had to speak with a friend there. When we got there he stopped before he opened the door. He turned to me and took off my glasses then he learned over and kissed me. It was short but very passionate. The kind of kiss that made you wonder why you were allowing him to stop. "I'll see you tomorrow morning." He said putting my glasses back on my face. He opened the door and walked out while I stared at him. I just stared. Immediately I tried to join the main road to head home I saw a familiar face. It was Kafui. She noticed me too and walked to me car. "Your friend said you wanted to know the truth about Zaky." She said when she got to the car. I wasn't sure what to say.

Zaky 6

Zaky and I got pretty close the next couple of days. I picked him up for work and dropped him off everyday. I never mentioned anything about what kafui said to me. I guess having him around me slowly made me forget about that night. First it was just going to and from work together, then it moved to having lunch as well. After a week I was almost certain he liked me. 

One day on our usual trip home from work he had a call that changed his mood. He stammered when he replied and I could tell he was carefully selecting his words so I wouldn't get when he was saying. The call was very short and after he kept texting like crazy. "Hey so Friday you move back to the head office right?" I asked trying to get his mind off the call. "Uh huh." He said still typing. When we got to his apartment I parked and looked at his absent-minded face. "Ei, we are here eh?" He asked. I giggled and nodded. "Come upstairs I want to show you something." He said opening the door.

Zaky seemed to come back to his normal self when we were in his apartment. This was my second time there. He brought two glasses of wine and gave me one. I tried to say no but he would have none of that so I just took a sip and put it on the table. "Oh seriously? At least drink half. The alcohol content is very low." Zaky said smiling. I nodded and downed a little more than half. He turned some music on and started dancing. I laughed. I asked what we were celebrating but he just grabbed my hand and started dancing with me. Just as I imagined he was a good dancer. 

"I don't know how to dance!" I shouted over the loud music. "I'll teach you." He replied. He put both my hands around his neck and put his hands on my waist. His palms fit gently on my waist and it felt like as we swayed from left to right our bodies got closer inch by inch. When a very slow song started playing we were so close I could feel his breath on my forehead. 

Zaky moved me a bit further away, held me chin and kissed me. He stared at me to see my reaction. I guess I was very inviting because without saying anything he kissed me again. It felt nicer than I imagined it to be. I didn't think we would be at this stage at least until a couple of weeks but I guess that wasn't his style and I didn't mind at all. Then gradually I got completely light headed and blacked out. 

To be continued... 

Zaky 3

"I hope you have fun. I'm not really a party person but I had to be here. If I'm boring pinch me ok?" He said and smiled. I smiled and nodded. If had asked me to do anything at all at that very moment my answer would have been yes. No matter what it was. As we entered he held my hand again. I probably needed pinching too because I felt like I was dreaming. Maybe I dozed off on the bus?

There were people all over. Everyone was in work clothes but some of the ladies had thrown on some extra jewellery and unbuttoned their shirts a bit lower. Dede was right, the women who worked here looked much more daring. Their heels were higher, clothes were tighter and their make up was something else. I felt so odd in my flats. "Zak how's the new branch?" A tall guy said, smiling and shaking his hand. They had a brief conversation and we walked to the table that was serving drinks.

Zaky kept very close to me. He would chat a bit, introduce me to people and walk around. Then we met the operations manager. She was tall and commended a lot of presence. What in modern terms people call a boss chick. Even in a colourful party hat I could sense it. "Zaky! Have you missed Head Office already?" She said and we all giggled. She shook my hand and I wished her a happy birthday. Zaky was right about being bad company. He would chat for a while and when he noticed it quickly rush back to me. It was perfectly fine for me, I mean I was just excited to be his date. I spent a good deal of the time texting Dede and telling her all about him.

When I felt someone close to me I took my eyes off my phone and turned to them. It was a lady. She had a perm cut and the most modest clothes in the room, well besides mine. She smiled at me and I smiled back. She looked at Zaky was was busy laughing with some guys and turned back to me. "You are from his new branch right?" She asked. I nodded. Then her smile faded. "Are you two going out?" She asked bluntly. I wasn't expecting such a question at all. "No, me and him? No we are not." I said, fumbling all over the place. "Well then, lucky you." She added. At this point Zaky had seen us and was walking briskly towards us. Before I could ask her what she meant he had reached us. "Kafui, how are you doing?" He asked her. She gave a very dull reply and just walked off. "Have you tried the spring rolls? They are amazing." Zaky said immediately she left. He grabbed my hand and we walked to the food table like that awkward conversation never happened.


To be continued.... 

Just like Adel 12 (finale)

I could tell he had been keeping what he was about to say for a long time. His hesitation was intense. "If you aren't comfortable talking about it you can always tell me another time." I said to break the silence. He turned his back to me. "I think we should stop seeing each other." He finally said. I couldn't say I was expecting this. "What, why?!" I screamed. I talking over to face him. He avoided eye contact. " When Obeng showed me the test results it seemed my condition isn't as good as it was when I just got back from Denmark. I have been a selfish person. I should not have asked you out. I'm not going to waste your time anymore." He said. I wasn't sure how to wrap my head around what he was saying. I asked him to explain himself and he finally looked into my eyes and said, "Doris I'm going to die. You deserve to be with someone who actually has a future." I don't know why but I slapped him. "I don't know if the medication they gave you at the hospital is making you talk like this. The Henry I know doesn't give up!" I said and walked out of his apartment.

I didn't hear from Henry the next day. He wouldn't answer my calls either. I was a bit angry with him in the morning but when I calmed down I decided to call him and got nothing. Dean told me he was avoiding everyone. I decided to allow him to have some space. After two days he sent me a text that read, "you are right. Giving up is a dull move. I just don't want to see you get hurt. You are too nice for someone like me. I'm going to Denmark again. " My heart went warm and my eyes watered. This was a bit too much for me. I grabbed my bag and took a taxi to Henry's apartment. When I got there I saw Adel's car parked outside. I walked to the door and noticed it was open. My heart missed a beat when I saw Adel in the living room looking around. "Have you seen Henry?" She asked me. I shook my head and she went into his bedroom. "Goodness his travel bag is gone." She said. I breathed a sigh of relief. I showed Adel his text. She relaxed a bit herself.

That night I tried calling Henry several times but couldn't get through to him. It seemed he wasn't using the Danish number he used the other time. A text at 3am from him finally put me to sleep. When Henry's father called me the next morning I was really prepared for his plan. I told him I got the note and would love to do it. He informed me about the arrangements he had made and asked when I would be ready to leave. Honestly I couldn't wait to go. I wasn't looking forward to the weather in Denmark but Henry was worth it. When I told Dean everything he said he was jealous. I rolled my eyes. If only he knew how it felt like to fall for Henry Brock. "Really? You wish you were dating an Orgosis patient in Denmark?" I asked sarcastically. His goofy smile faded. My highest concern was how Henry would take it. I hadn't told him I was coming and I didn't intend to. Since he left the texts and calls had reduced. He was really trying to distance himself but I wouldn't let him. Not in a time like this!

In our chats I found out the hotel Henry was in so finding him when I arrived wasn't hard at all. I booked a nights stay in that same hotel. After the valet got me settled I waited till he had left then I rushed to Henry's room. It was just one floor below mine. I knocked on his door and waited patiently. "Hold on." He said and opened the door.

The look on his face was priceless. He was completely surprised. "Doris?! My goodness". When he took a stop forward and hugged me I could feel his appreciation. "If this is a hallucination from my medication I don't want it to wear out." He said still holding me. "When I said I will help you through this, I meant it Henry." I said. He stared straight at me and smiled. "I would love that. I've never felt more alive in my life Doris." He said and kissed me. The truth was very clear, Henry had a 50/50 chance of surviving or even less but my feelings for him never reduced. I guess I loved him. He dragged me into his room and we spent the whole evening talking like old times. He didn't even ask how I got there. It was like, he couldn't be bothered.

The next morning when I woke up I saw Henry at his desk reading through some files. I walked over to him and hugged him from behind. He smiled and showed me what he was doing. "I'm trying to see if there is some kind of pattern in the Dr. Olsen's test patients." He said. I realised this was something I could help with. I was pretty good at finding patterns and problem, it was something we did at work all the time. "Do you have information about all his test patients?" I asked. Henry gave me a file. I looked through and saw nothing. The exact dose was given to each of them. I couldn't establish a difference in the ones the drug failed on but I didn't give up. The whole week we went through everything until I noticed something missing late in the evening one night. "We are looking at everything from a medical, chemical point of view. What if that's not it?" I said. I stood up and looked at all the files spread out on the floor. Henry stared at me. I rearranged the papers of each patient and found the link. "Henry, I think I found something. This has to be it!" I exclaimed.

The next morning we run my theory by Dr. Olsen and he said it was something he hadn't considered but worth testing anyway. That afternoon we waited at his office for the test results. If I was right this would be golden. We held hands as we sat in the cold office. "Have you told your dad about my theory?" I asked but before I could get an answer the door flung open and Doctor Olsen walked through. He was a slim old man with very pale white skin. It didn't look like he went out much. His smile said it all. He gave us a sheet of paper. "You are right. The key was in the climate. The patients who died were all living in an countries with higher temperatures. I have no idea why I never thought of this. Good job!" He said. I couldn't believe it. "This calls for celebration!" Henry said and we all cheered.

Henry and I decided to go dancing to celebrate. There was a very nice salsa pub not far from our hotel. The old Henry was back!  He was funny, witty, a bit arrogant and completely attractive. As we danced I knew I had made a good decision. This was the man for me and now he wasn't leaving me anytime soon. "You saved my life Doris." Henry whispered into my ears. "No, your fighting spirit saved your life." I replied also whispering. "Can you do me one favour?" He asked with a serious tone. I nodded and asked what is was. "When we get married can you please not have a girl?" He asked. "Huh? Why?" I asked, excited at the word married but confused anyway. "Well I don't want to see another person who looks just like Adel." He joked and we both laughed.



The End. 

Just like Adel 7

 All of a sudden my anger towards Henry evaporated. I didn't like what I heard. Henry was hard working and had acquired many certificates and awards. Why was Adel who just graduated with no experience at all going to head the company? I went around the party grounds looking for Henry. It made sense for him to keep to himself, I mean his own family were not treating him fairly.

I went to the front of the house where all the cars were parked and just like magic I saw him leaving. I run up to him and hugged him. "I'm sorry about earlier." we both said at the same time. We laughed and each explained what we were sorry for. Maybe he didn't like me like that but I guess being his friend at a time like this was pretty much what he needed.

Henry and I sat on the stairs in front of the house. "Aren't you scared of kwashey boys?" I teased. He laughed and said he was covered because I had a 'gun'. I smiled. "I know why. I know why you are cold sometimes." I said. He turned to look at me. His eyes were wide open. "Don't ask me how but I heard your dad and your sister talking." I added. He looked very surprised. I looked down. I wasn't happy about how I found out. "What I don't understand is why?" I said turning to look at him.

My words seemed to ignite his sadness. I wondered if I should change the subject. "That's just how life is." He said in a very low tone. "It's not fair." I said. I could feel his pain. "I honestly don't blame you for not liking me because I look like Adel." I said. Then Henry giggled. "Where is this one too coming from? Yea you look like Adel but you are not like her at all. " He asked. I looked at him funny. "I'm confused." I confessed. "I like the two of you differently." He said looking away. I asked him to explain and he shyly changed the subject. I didn't push it at all. What he said worked for me.

"So is there anything you can do? There has to be something right?" I asked. He nodded. "Then I will help you." I said. It's like my words ignited another emotion. This time it was joy. His smile filled his face in a matter of seconds. He seemed to really like the idea. Just then Senam and Dean came out and saw me. She wanted to leave. Dean smiled when he saw Henry and I. I said a quick goodbye and left with Senam. I didn't think Henry would open up so easily about his issue but all that hardwork could not go to waste.


To be continued... 

Just like Adel 5

"I don't know if I'm reading wrongly into this but I'm not sure I'm ..." He started and from nowhere at all two men on a motor bike appeared with cutlases. They where near us before I could get into the car. "Shit." Henry said. "Bring your phones, wallets and the car keys now!" one yelled. "My phone, you don't know I'm a police women eh?" I said and pulled out a gun from my bag. I pointed it at them and they fled without saying another word.

Henry turned to look at the gun and back to me. Don't worry it's not real. It's a prop. My cousin is a director, I got it from him. " I said smiling. I showed him the sticker behind the gun." What? Goodness even I fell for it!" Henry said and we both laughed. "That's really cool. You should get me one but it will probably be useless soon." He said taking the gun from me and examining it. "What do you mean?" I asked. He just shrugged but his expression had really changed.

"What were you saying earlier?" I asked. Henry turned to look at me. "I don't know how to say this." He started. "You don't like me. There, I said it for you. It's kind of obvious." I cut in. He froze. "It's not that. Its just that you look..." He explained then I realised Gilly was right. He couldn't date me because I looked like his little sister. "Hey I get it. Anyways you need to go. I may not be able to pull this trick off twice." I said collecting the gun from him and putting it into my bag. He wanted to explain but what could he say? "Yea sure. Err, goodnight then." He said and left. Maybe it was for the best.

I warned Dean not to talk about Henry anymore. I didn't want to hear about Adel either but that was just impossible. One evening when we closed from work I was just about to leave the office when I saw Adel. I smiled and said a friendly hello. She nodded and signalled to have a word with me. "Dean is in the bosses office." I said. "Yes I know. I'm just waiting for him here. So I hear things didn't work out with you and my brother." She said.

I stared at her for a while. For some reason she looked unhappy but it made sense. Since I'm not with her brother she still has to worry about Dean. So petty, this girl. "Nope." I said, taking a step closer to the exit. I really wasn't interested in discussing my rejection with her. "So what now? Are you guys going to remain friends though? " She asked. I wondered what she thought her words would achieve. "Who knows. You know what, I'd like to chat but I really have to leave. " I said. Adel didn't seem happy at all. She nodded and I stormed out of the office.


To be continued... 

Just like Adel 3

"Finally I get to meet Doris." I heard a familiar female voice say. I knew it was Adel. I turned to look at her and froze. I thought I was looking in a mirror. She looked just like me. She was startled too but masked it well. Dean laughed and said he had been waiting for this day for so long. I shook her hand and managed to smile. Besides our skin colour and bust size Adel and I looked too alike. She even wore glasses like me. Dean was about to pull a chair for me when I signalled to him not to. I lied about something I needed to do for my boss at the office. "You work this late?" A slim guy sitting next to Dean asked. I shrugged. I said a quick goodbye to everyone and left.

As I walked out a number of things run through my mind. All the times when Dean's friends thought I was his girlfriend now made sense. I stood in front of the restaurant waiting for an empty cab and saw a familiar face walking towards the entrance. Henry said a quick hello when he saw me. I nodded without even smiling and turned away. I wasn't interested in his unfriendly things at this time. My mind drifted back to my 'twin' immediately. Who knows maybe that was why Dean liked having me around. I shook my head. He was an idiot for not telling me. After 10 minutes of waiting in vain I realised every car that came to the restaurant was a private car. I probably had to walk to the main road to get a taxi. I reluctantly started walking. It was a pretty long walk.

I tried not to think too much about the issue. After less than 5 minutes of walking on the rough road I insulted myself for wearing heels to work. Just as I contemplated walking barefoot a car pulled up next to me. It was Henry. "I could drop you off at the junction if you like." He offered. I hopped into the car without wasting time. "My feet are killing me." I said unconsciously. Henry shook his head and drove off silently. His car was so comfortable, I got a little upset we were nearing the junction. Just then Henry's phone rang and he answered it. "What? How did that happen? I told Maria to wait. Just wait for me. I will be in the office soon. Call Ofori to see if he has another number for them." He said. He didn't look amused at all. "Are you going back to your office?" I asked with my fingers crossed. "Yea I need to get some issue sorted out." He replied. I tried to hide my smile. "Can I get a ride there? I don't live far from your office." I requested shyly. Henry just looked at me and when we passed the junction I guessed that was just his rude way of saying yes.

"You are not much of a talker are you?" I asked, adjusting my seat to feel more comfortable and noticed Henry staring at me. "Ei so the free loader isn't allowed to feel comfortable? " I said and he gave a faint smile. I giggled. "I should have dropped you off at the junction." He teased. I laughed and hit him playfully. "I'm a damsel in distress." I added. He seemed to be warming up to me. "No, you are a damsel who decided to wear uncomfortable shoes." He added. We both giggled and before we knew it had arrived.

Henry dropped me off just in front of his office and I took a taxi home. Honestly I could have walked but my shoes wouldn't have let me. When I got home I saw a text from Dean. "How did it feel meeting your twin?" it read. I rolled my eyes. "Dean, I'll get you on Monday." I said to myself. The best thing about the day was Henry. I was glad he was finally warming up to me. I could smell hope in the air.

To be continued... 

Just like Adel 2

"Henry?" I asked. He looked up at me, clearly surprised. "Hi, what are you doing here?" He asked, taking off his glasses. He signalled for me to have a seat and I told him my mission. I realised now why Dean conveniently wanted me to come instead of him. He must have known. Henry answered all my questions sharply. It almost felt like he was in a hurry for me to leave. I told myself he was doing that because I told him my time was limited. I left immediately I got what I needed ignoring the temptation to take his number, for work purposes of cause.

After we presented our documented ideas to the boss Dean and I came back to our desks. We were so late we hadn't talked about Henry yet. Dean brought him up the minute I sat down. I told him in all honesty that if there was any proof that he wasn't interested in me it was our meeting. Dean shrugged and ended his probing by saying I was exaggerating. When he grabbed his phone I knew he was going to give his girlfriend the report. I couldn't wait till the next day when she finally arrived so I could tell her how annoying her boyfriend was.

I noticed as my taxi pulled over in front of a really big restaurant that I was probably under dressed. Looking at the type of cars around my black trousers and blue sleeveless top may not have been very appropriate. I remembered I had a necklace in my bag and put it on to add some style to my plain look. I got out carefully in order not to damage the cake I was holding. Dean tasked me with delivering the cake he had ordered for Adel at her welcome dinner. She had finally come back!

I rushed into the restaurant after paying the taxi driver. Dean had called me a thousand times because I was late. He said Adel was a bit jet lagged so he didn't want her staying up so late. I smiled when I saw Dean waving at me. He and about 5 other people where sitting at one table. I walked to them and put the cake on the table with a smile. "Everybody this is Doris, my coworker who loves being late." Dean teased and I heard some giggles. "Finally I get to meet Doris." I heard a familiar female voice say. I knew it was Adel. I turned to look at her and froze. I thought I was looking in a mirror. She looked just like me!


To be continued... 

Just like Adel

Dean walked to my desk and when I saw the look on his face I knew he wanted me to do something. "What do you want this time?" I asked turning away from my table. He led me to his desk and asked me to fix an issue on his computer. Dean was so bad with computers it wasn't funny. "So did Henry call you?" He asked. I shook my head. "Chale I don't think he's interested oh." I replied getting up from his desk. Dean frowned. He was just about to talk when our boss walked into the office. I turned around immediately and went back to my desk.

Henry was the older brother of Dean's girlfriend. I thought he was cute the day I met him and Dean gave him my number. That was a month ago. I hoped he would call judging by his wide smile when we met but after a week I just gave up. "Doris I have a new job for you."  my boss said and signalled for me to come to his office. I walked briskly behind him. He handed me a file and said it was a pharmacy advert I was to work on it with Dean. He made it clear that they were a big shot client and so I had to bring my sharpest ideas. I smiled and rushed to Dean's desk. I'm a copywriter who loves her job and challenges excite me. My thoughts of Henry disappeared just like that.

Even though we were nowhere on our project Dean suggested we go to a coworkers wedding. I tried to play the workaholic card but he would have none of it. I finally agreed and we went. It was a beautiful wedding I must say and it really refreshed me. We sat on the same table with Sedem another lady from work. Half the time Dean was on his phone most likely chatting with his long distance girlfriend Adel. He always kept in touch with her and talked about her all the time. My buddy was smitten. It made hanging out with him so much easier because I knew there were definitely no strings attached. "Guess what?" Dean asked as I stuffed my face with a huge slice of wedding cake. "Henry said he lost your number. Adel just told me." He added. I wiped my lips with a tissue. "That again? I thought I told you I was over him. Crushes don't last remember?" I said. Dean just ignored me and kept on typing. Sedem was interested in the topic all of a sudden. Dean told her a very badly fabricated story of the day Henry and I met. I rolled my eyes and looked out for another person serving cake.

Just then a guy came out of no where and shook Dean's hand. They laughed and joked for a while and he turned to me and shook mine too smiling so widely. "I didn't know you were around." He said to me. I stared at him not sure what to say. Then he continued. "You two are not matching colours this time?"  then it hit me. He thought I was Adel. This wasn't the first time. Before I could correct him Dean jumped in and did me the honours. The guy stared at me again and apologised. "Wow, this is.." He started but the phone in my pocket vibrated and I jumped to answer the call.

After talking to my boss over the phone I realised we had less time than we thought to finish the project. We had until Monday afternoon to come up with 10 scripts and Dean hadn't even taken a look at the file. Even though I insisted we leave to do our work Dean still managed to let me stay. "We haven't met with a representative from the company yet even." I nagged. "Don't worry. I'll do that on Monday morning. Have I ever failed you before?" He asked. I shook my head. He was right. I looked around and took in the beautiful environment with my glass of champagne.

Monday morning Dean and I got to work very early. I gave him the file to read while I finished up on a script I had written the night before. "Heh for real?!" He shouted. I turned and looked at him confused. I rushed to him and asked if there was a problem. He shook his head. "You know what? Let me stay and finish up the scripts while you go speak with them." He said and quickly turned over to his computer without even bothering to listen to what I had to say. I complained a little and just left when he didn't badge.

When I got to the client's office I was asked to wait. It was one of the biggest pharmacies in Ghana. "Hello, Mr. Brock will see you now." The Secretary said. I smiled and walked into his office. It was a very big office with very beautiful decor. I wondered if I was going to meet Lestor Brock himself, the CEO. I noticed the man sitting at the desk didn't have grey hair. As I got closer I noticed he looked familiar. "Henry?" I asked. He looked up at me, clearly surprised. "Hi, what are you doing here?" He asked, taking off his glasses.


To be continued... 

Grace of Fear 3

Baaba froze. Her heart started pounding like the night before. Then a few pieces came together. The bikers must have been the robbers and they may have accidentally dropped the money.  She grabbed her phone and with her shaky hands and called Ralph but he didn't answer. He was the only one she could talk to. She rushed out of the room with the money in her bag and headed for his workshop.

   When she got to Ralph's workshop she was directed to go into the store room. "Ralph, something bad has happened. Some man got robbed and..." she blurt out as she entered but stopped when she realized he was not alone. There was a tall guy standing in front of Ralph. He turned to look at her. "A man got robbed? Where?" the tall guy asked. Baaba looked at Ralph and back to him. "Somewhere around Kaneshi School Junction, in my area." Baaba replied. "What's his name? I know some people who live there." The tall guy added. "I don't know his name but he has a daughter called Nasara. They say the robbers used a special key to open all his doors." Baaba added. The tall guy said wow and smiled. "Bikers are just strange." Baaba said grabbing Ralph's hand and sending him outside. "You heard they were bikers?" the tall guy asked. Baaba froze. She realized she had said too much. It happened a lot when she got nervous. "Ei, did I say bikers? I meant robbers." She said and faked a laugh. Ralph excused himself and went outside with Baaba.

   "Baaba what is this all about?" Ralph asked when they were alone. She hesitated for a while and finally said "it's about the armed robbery I was talking about." Ralph looked scared all of a sudden. She told him the whole story of how she picked the money. Ralph looked a little excited and scared at the same time. Just then the tall guy walked passed them. Baaba turned and watched him. He kept stealing glances at her too. It was when another guy on a bike came to him that things became clearer to her. 

 Then she saw it, the snake tattoo on the other biker's leg. Her heart missed a beat then she heard Relph's voice. "Baaba, stop looking at them. Look here." he said. She managed to do as he said. "Yo, ma guy. We dey go come." The tall biker yelled and hopped onto the back of his friend's bike. Ralph nodded and waved as they left. "Were you part of them? Ralph what is going on?" Baaba asked almost in tears. "I needed the money so we could leave this place. I had nothing to do with the shooting. The man brought his car here and his key holder had his house keys so I just made a copy. That was all. They said they'll give me 500 cedis if they got the money. The man is very rich so it's not so bad. I swear I didn't know they would shoot him." Ralph explained. He had to get her to trust him.

Baaba listened in shock with her mouth slightly open. "I think we should send the money back. I can give it to the Police." she said. "Are you mad?!" Ralph yelled. He looked around to see if anyone heard him. If the Police find out, I'll go to jail or the biker boys will kill me. Those guys are hard. Let's just take the money and go." He suggested. Baaba felt guilty. "What if the man dies? What will happen to the girl? If we tell the Police about the bikers we won't go to jail. Just say they forced you." She said. Ralph considered it for a moment and shook his head. "Look, these guys are untouchable. Even the Police are afraid. Where's the money?" He asked, looking around. When he saw that Baaba wasn't convinced he held her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. "If you go to the Police both of us will die." He said.



 To be continued  ...

My crush on Jude

 

"Relax you'll be fine." Sayram said. I nodded and managed to smile. "How do I look?" I asked with a goofy pose. Sayram laughed and told me never to do that again. I giggled. I was getting relaxed now. In no time at all we heard the guys walking to us. My heart started racing. Sayram stood up and glanced. "They are coming!" she said excitedly. I saw Jude, first or maybe my eyes chose to see him first. He was in a yellow t-shirt and black shorts. His football boots were in his left hand. His head was down as he walked. Then I saw Selassie and Henry too. It looked like Selassie was telling his jokes as usually because they were all laughing. Then Jude looked up. When he saw us he smiled. I felt every bit of his smile. Then I turned to Sayram. "Eish, I can't do this oh." I said. She shook her head.

     "My goodness Mavis are you wearing makeup?" Selassie asked immediately they got to us. "Sela, don't be a fool." Seyram said and we all laughed. Sela walked closer to me and stared at me. "Oh but it's not bad oh. Come for a hug." He added. "Eww, take your sweaty self away." I teased and moved away from him. Jude came to sit next to me. "Sela is right. It suits you." he said. I smiled. I noticed Sayram was giving me a weird signal. She handed Henry a drink and they started talking. "Where's my drink?" Sela said walking to her. I turned to Jude. He was stretching. "I'll get you a drink." I offered and picked a coke from Sayram for him. "Ask the boy la." she whispered to me. I nodded and walked back. Jude was smiling when I came back. "What was all the whispering about?" He asked and took his drink. He looked at Sayram and turned to me. Sayram turned away quickly and he giggled, yawa. This was pretty awkward.

   You see, Jude isn't one of those hot guys you just see and have a crush on. I mean he's the best player on the football team but that's not it. I've known him for 2 years. We were so close so many people thought we were dating but we weren't. I must say he is one of the reasons I broke up with my last boyfriend. My ex didn't like the fact that Jude and I were so close. He claimed I had feelings for him. Maybe he was right. A lot of feelings can stir up when you and someone spend a lot of time together. I can't blame Jude though. I mean we are both on our Uni football team, cancer awareness club and hostel. It wasn't normal of me to ask a guy out but Sayram told me she heard from Henry that there was another girl trying to make wild. So yeah, here I was about to tell him I liked him and face either acceptance or rejection. According to Sayram, anytime she spoke to Jude he mentioned me. That was comforting but really I was one of their few common friends. Mavis you can do this!

   "Oh don't mind Sayram. Sela's silliness has caught her too." I joked. We turned to look at her. She was holding Henry's drink away from him and he was stretching for it. I laughed. "See what I mean?" Jude laughed and nodded. She saw us and winked. Henry got hold of the drink now. As usual we split up and walked back to our hostels. As Jude and I walked back I played the words in my head. We were talking about a new movie that was released. Then from nowhere at all we both said "There's something I want to tell you." at the same time. Was this fate. We giggled and played the 'you go first game'. "Ok how about we write it on a piece of paper and read it at the same time. Jude squinted. "Isn't that a bit too dramatic?" He asked. I shook my head. "Well, but it's fun. Come on." He agreed so I brought out a piece of paper from my bag. I split it into two and gave him one and a pen. "Go ahead, write it." I said. He did and gave the pen back. I smiled and wrote, "I think I like you. Is the feeling mutual?" Not romantic at all eh? I know!

   We stood in front of my room with each other's note nicely folded. Just then, Jude's phone rang. He answered it. It was his roommate. The annoying guy had lost his keys so he needed Jude's set. He told me he had to go and he'd read it when he got to his room. "You know what, don't open it. I'll call you when I get to my room so we can do the reading thing. Cool?" He suggested as he walked off. I nodded. When I got into my room, I feel on my bed and watched the note in my hand. I turned and looked at my 'not ringing phone'. I shook my head and unfolded the note. So it read...

  My heart sunk. My eyes teared up. Why? I dropped the paper on the floor and closed my eyes. Just then there was a knock at the door. I wiped my eyes dry and opened the door. It was Jude. "Yes, May the feeling is mutual." He said and walked in. I couldn't help it. My tears betrayed me. Jude saw his note and hugged me. He wiped my tears with his thumb and kissed me. Someway somehow I wished his note had said he liked someone else. At least that way I'd still have him around as my friend.


 Can you guess what Jude's note said?

Grace of fear 2

 The bikers rode around yelling at each other for about 10 minutes and left. When all was clear Baaba looked for her keys and made a run for it. Luckily for her they didn't return. She breathed a sigh of relief when she entered her Auntie's house. Her hands were still trembling with fear when she laid down to sleep. After another 30 minutes she managed to fall asleep.

 Baaba went about her morning chores very quickly the next day. It was Saturday and she wanted to tell Ralph the good news. As she did her usual trip to the market for her auntie, she was so tempted to buy herself a thing or two with the money. She knew her Auntie would suspect her if she did so she left praying that where she hid the money was still safe. She called Ralph and asked him to meet her at the market. When she saw him she smiled and told him to guess the good news she had for him. He didn't seem amused at all. In fact he was quiet unhappy. This was strange.

   Ralph liked meeting up with her and was usually happy when she initiated it. "Ah, what's wrong? Did Bra Yaw ask you to pay for something again?" Baaba asked concerned. Ralph shook his head and shrugged. Bra Yaw owned the fitting shop where Ralph worked. He was very stern and would make his workers pay for every tiny mistake they made. Bra Yaw was another reason why Ralph wanted to leave for Kumasi. "What is the surprise? I have a lot of work to do." Ralph snapped. Baaba felt offended. Why was he taking all her fun away? Just then, Ralph's phone rang. He signaled at Baaba and walked away to answer the call. He was speaking very low so she wouldn't hear what he was saying. When he walked further away and turned his back to her she left. "I'll keep everything to myself then." she muttered as she walked away, a little heart-broken. B

 Baaba took the long route on her way home. She wanted to think. It was hard to think with her auntie yelling and screaming in the house over trivial things. As she walked home she couldn't help thinking about Ralph. He was the first friend she made when she moved to her auntie's house. She enjoyed his company because he was always full of smiles. He would always listen to her complain about her auntie and reassured her. Baaba didn't understand why he was acting strange. Maybe there was another girl. One who entertained his leaving town plan more than she did.

As she walked, she saw a large number of people in front of a house. She recognized one of the people, Agnes. Agnes used to work at the bar with her. Baaba walked to her and asked what was going on. "Some people robbed the man who lived here yesterday oh. They said the robbers used a special key to open all the doors. We are not safe anymore oh. The man and his daughter were asleep kwraa. They stole some plenty money the man had and shot him too." Agnes narrated. Baaba listened. "Ei, is he dead?" Baaba asked. "No he's been sent to the hospital. I feel sad for Nasara, his daughter. Her mother left the father last year. They said she preferred the father. Now she'll be forced to live with the mother. That woman is terror." Agnes continued. Baaba's heart sunk. She knew what living with a terror woman felt like. She noticed the time and rushed home.

 When she got home she was scolded for leaving a single plate unwashed. Baaba could not take it anymore. She was leaving, with or without Ralph. She went to her room after cooking the evening meal. She noticed Ralph had called her a number of times. She rolled her eyes and put the phone aside. She took out a pen and paper to write a list of what she needed to run away with. Then she locked her door and took out the money. She hadn't even counted it. The piece of paper around the money had something written on it. Baaba noticed it was a list. It read, "tomatoes, fresh fish, cabbage, light bulb, story books for Nasara..." Baaba froze.


 To be continued ...