Rift 7

Over the next couple of weeks I went over design ideas with Steven. This assignment was the perfect distraction for me. I also got really close to Steven. I felt I was even getting a little too close when I stay at his studio till it was pretty late one evening. We were installing some curtain rods and some wall fixtures. We were having so much fun listening to some of the songs he had recorded and working that I totally lost track of time.

"Yikes it's 11:35pm!" I exclaimed when I picked up my phone. I quickly sent my sister a text to let her know that I would be home soon. "Don't beat yourself up. I have that effect on lots of women," Steven teased with a smile. Gosh his smile was so attractive! I shrugged and packed my things. When I was ready to leave Steven asked if I wanted him to take me home because it was late. I smiled at his thoughtfulness but said I was fine. We walked to the roadside and I grabbed a taxi. I didn't want to request a cab with my phone because it would take a while. I hoped into the cab and waved Steven goodbye as the car left. I felt guilty thinking about him the way I did.

When I got home I rushed into the house as quietly as possible. I knew Alex was asleep and didn't want to wake him up. My nephew was a very light sleeper. When I got in I saw Kuukua. She was just going to bed. "Are you from Steven's place?" she asked. I nodded and she smiled. I knew what that smile meant but I wasn't in the mood to explain to her that we were just friends. So I just went straight to my room to sleep.
At work the next day I got a call from Julian. He told something very worrying. Fii had been in an accident and was on admission in a hospital. "It's not too bad but he will have to be in the hospital for a while," he said. Just as I guessed it was a motorbike accident. Fii was a speed freak on his bike. I immediately had a flash back to a time when we were dating and he had a minor accident. "I'm going to see him after work. Should I come and get you?" Julian asked. I said yes and we made plans.

Julian picked me up from work that evening and we went to Fii's hospital. My heart skipped a beat when I saw him in the hospital bed. He had a huge bandage around him arm and some minor dressed wounds. When he saw us he smiled and that lifted up my mood a little. Julian's phone rang and he left the room to answer it. "Hey, I didn't think you would come," Fii said. I shook my head and sat down on the chair beside him. "Really, and why is that?" I asked. Fii shrugged and asked if I wanted to drink anything as he pointed to the little fridge next to his bed. I told him I was fine and wished him a speedy recovery.

From nowhere at all he said, "I honestly thought you knew about Nina and I. It was silly of me to assume and definitely not fair to you. I'm sorry," I was not expecting such bluntness from him. I paused for a while and told him it wasn't a big deal. I knew now and that was good enough for me. "Nina is actually a good fit for you," I said and smiled. It hurt me to see him with someone so close but everyone deserved to be happy and I had to deal with that. Fii put his palm on mine and leaned closer to me. His eyes sparkled in the light like they always did under his long eyelashes. It was when I could literally fell his breath on my face that Julian walked in. We both moved back and looked away. I could tell Julian felt awkward. He tried to make an excuse to leave the room but I insisted on him staying. Whatever he stopped from happening was definitely not a good idea.

Julian, Fii and I talked and made jokes like old times. The conversation quickly came to an end when Fii had another visitor, Nina. The first cold breeze that entered the room was the disapproving expression she had on her face when she saw Julian and I. She tried to pretend but I had known her for too long to be fooled. I greeted her casually and picked up my bag to leave. "Oh why are you leaving, you should stay," Nina said sitting down on Fii's bed. I lied about going to work early the next day and said my goodbyes. Julian did same and we walked out together.

As Julian drove me home I couldn't help thinking about what happened. "You know he still likes you right? He never stopped," Julian said to break the silence. I shrugged and looked out the window. At a point in my life those two meant the world to me. My boyfriend and my best friend. How things went sideways I just didn't understand. Now the two of them were happy and here I was nice and lonely. "Maybe I should learn from Nina and take someone else's man," I accidentally said aloud. Julian immediately turned to look at me. "Who me? In fact I agree. Should I give you my girlfriend's number?" he joked and I laughed. I was glad to have him around. He always had a way of making me laugh no matter what.


To be continued... 

Broken 12 (finale)

When I was on my way home Kevin called me and asked me to come over. I smiled and went to his place. He said he had a really good movie he wanted us to watch when I got there. It sounded like a good movie. He put it on in his room and we watched it on his bed. "It's really nice having you around." Kevin said and kissed me. I smiled. It was like old times. We would either go out with friends, basically Kevin's friends or hang out at his place. "I am sure we will make it work this time." I said pulling my phone out to take a selfie of us. Kevin didn't exactly say anything. It was his shrug and reluctance that made me uncomfortable. "Kevin, am I getting this wrong?" I asked. He tried to kiss me again but I held him back.

I slid off the bed and picked up my bag. "Mag don't be like that. I really like you. I just don't want to rush things." He said. I shook my head. "What? So what are you taking me to a resort for? I'm confused." I replied. He rubbed his eyes and shrugged again. "Daisy told you? There goes the surprise. I wanted us to spend time together." Kevin said. I couldn't believe it. I felt like a fool. I turned around and walked out. "Where are you going? Come back." He said. It was clear he didn't want a relationship with me. At least not a serious one. I left his place and went straight home.

"You were right. He really is trash." I said, on the phone with Daisy when I got home. She was always my shoulder to cry on when I was upset. I should have taken her advice. Now here I was heart broken again by the same man. "Don't beat yourself up. Kevin is a cool guy. It's normal for any girl to like him. What's important now is that you've realized he's not good enough for you. I'm proud of you for questioning him." She said. I nodded. "You know what? I think I like Pablo. I'm just scared. I can't take another break up. What if he leaves the country?" I said. Daisy adviced me to talk to him. "Every break up makes you better. You now now what you should avoid. Remember how many guys I dated before Lawrence?" She went on. She was right. I decided to talk to Pablo after work the next day. "Go girl, go for what you want. If it doesn't work out learn from it and keep going!" Daisy cheered and I giggled. She was my best friend for a reason!

When I went to work the next day Pablo wasn't at his office. I went to check on him during lunch time but he was still not there so I called him."Hey Maggie, what's going on?" He said over the phone. I asked why he wasn't at work and he said he was going to explain everything later because he was busy. My heart skipped a beat when he hung up. He had left? But why? I sad down, completely feeling defeated. I had my chance and I blew it. One moment these guys were all over me and now I was alone again.

After work Daisy came to my department. She walked right to my desk. "Where is Pablo? I didn't see you guys go out for lunch today." She asked. I looked up at her and told her what was going on. "What? That's bad news. Did you tell him how you felt?" She asked. I just shrugged and Daisy shook her head. She said something that was so true. "You need to tell him. Even if he's leaving he needs to know. What do you have to lose?" Daisy said. I took a deep breath and picked up my phone. Daisy nodded and left to the airport to pick up Lawrence.

I looked around and saw some of my coworkers. I picked up my bag and walked out. This conversation was not something I wanted anyone to hear. I noticed I was alone in the corridor so I called Pablo. "Hey Maggie sorry I was just about to call you." He said. I hesitated a bit then gathered courage. "It's fine. Pablo I wanted to tell you something..." I started. He tried cut in but I stopped him. "Let me do this please. I think I have feelings for you. I know I haven't really showed it and all I do is talk about my ex but I realise the only reason why I want to be with him is because I'm afraid of starting over again. But sometimes starting all over again is a good idea. I already know you are leaving the country but I just thought I'd tell you." I said.

My heart was pounding when I finish talking and he was quiet. "Do you have anything to say?" I asked. "What I was trying to say is that I'm at the parking lot. I can actually see you. Turn around." He said. I turned around and there he was. He was in a t-shirt and jeans. I almost dropped my phone when he walked up to me. Without saying another word he kissed me. I felt all types of butterflies."I'm not leaving. I just had an issue with the taps at my apartment. The place got flooded that's why I couldn't come to work. It's fixed now." He said. We both giggled but I felt really silly. "I'm glad you told me this." Pablo said. I couldn't help but smile. It was a good feeling. He took my hand and suggested we go and have dinner. As we walked to his car I couldn't help staring at him. I wondered why I was so afraid to start a relationship with him. He was perfect!

The End

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Broken 11

Kevin dropped me off at home and went back to his. He said he was really tired. When I got inside I couldn't help smiling. Finally we were going to come back together. I took out my phone and was about to call Pablo when I heard a knock at the door. I smiled and walked to the door. I thought it was Kevin but to my surprise it wasn't him, it was Pablo. "Hey sorry for popping by unannounced. I just dropped off one of the guys a couple of blocks away and decided to see if you were home." He said. I smiled and asked him to come in.

"Where's Maxine?" I asked. Pablo told me he dropped her off at home before he dropped the guy off. I smiled and didn't ask any more. It didn't look like he was interested her. When he sat down I told him all about the party and how things went. "Did you see the date of the first message?" Pablo asked. I thought for while. "Wait, why are you asking?" I asked. He said he wanted to know if the messages were made up or real. I felt a little offended. "It's like you don't want me to be happy." I said. Pablo shook his head and apologized. I thought hard and remembered the conversation started weeks ago so I told him. He nodded and there was an awkward silence for a while. "I think I should go." Pablo said. I felt bad instantly. "No don't. I don't mind the company. I'm sorry about what I said." I confessed. I stood up and went to my kitchen and returned with a bottle of red wine and two glasses. When Pablo smiled I knew we were back to normal again.

We had wine and played a card game I had. We both didn't know the rules very well but we made it up as went and it was so hilarious. It didn't make sense to me how much fun I was having. We finished the second bottle of wine and when we were on our third I knew we should stop. We are awfully close to each other. "Does Kevin make you happy?" Pablo asked. I paused for a while and nodded. "I think we are cool together." I said. I looked away because honestly I wasn't exactly sure of what I was saying. That whole week had been weird. "Does Maxine make you happy?" I asked. Pablo laughed. "She's just my friend. You don't seem to believe that, huh?" He answered. "You, make me happy." He added. I wasn't expecting him to say that at all so I sat there, inches away from him, speechless. Pablo noticed my nervousness and looked away. It's like he could read me.

It was pretty late so Pablo got up to leave. I wasn't sure how to react to what he said but he seemed ok ignoring it. "That wine is brilliant. Anyways I'll see you at work on Monday." He said. I nodded and he left. That night before I slept all I thought about was Pablo. I was a total mess. It didn't make sense at all. Kevin was finally taking me seriously but I felt weird. I wanted to discuss it with Daisy but I knew she would be bias.

The next day I saw Daisy after church. She invited me over for lunch. She said Lawrence had travelled so she needed the company. I nodded and we went over to her place. As we had a really good meal I told her I knew about the surprise Kevin was planning for me. She looked very surprised. I told her I read their conversation on his phone and she nodded.

"Lawrence said I should leave you to choose the person you want to be with. He's right, I've been too hard on Kevin." She said, looking away. I was going to tell her I thought I had feelings for him but she went on."I wanted you to move on so bad. When I found out Pablo liked you I thought it was perfect timing. You know his contract expired two weeks ago and he renewed it? I won't be surprised if it was because of you." She said. I froze. "But anyways you said he likes Maxine so at least now everyone is happy right?" She asked. I wasn't sure what to say. "Kevin was asking me which weekend you are free. What should I tell him?" She asked. I wanted to tell her the truth that I realized I had more fun with Pablo but I wasn't sure what I felt for him was real. Just then she had a call and the subject never came up again.

To be continued.... 
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Broken 8

After a few more hours of drinking and chatting Kevin decided it was time to leave. He took me to my place. He told me there was a really good movie he wanted us to watch. I smiled and politely turned the idea down. "I have work in about 3 hours so I need to sleep for just an hour and go. A system maintenance procedure. Maybe over the weekend." I lied. He wanted to come in for a while but I told him it wasn't a good idea. I kissed him and said goodnight.

When I got inside my head was racing. A part of me wanted to call Daisy or Kevin and ask what was going on but I wasn't sure they would tell me the truth. I called Pablo instead. I told him what I heard and he calmed me down. "Don't over think it. It's probably something irrelevant. We can talk about it tomorrow, just go to bed it's late." He said. He was right. It was very late and I was probably worried about nothing. I took a shower and went straight to bed.

The next day when I got to work I walked straight to Pablo's office. I followed his advice and tried not to ask Daisy or Kevin what was going on. Pablo was having a cup of coffee when I got in. "So I'm here, let's talk." I said when he saw me. He shook his head and asked me to come and look at something on his computer. I walked to him reluctantly and looked at it. It was code. He had found the glitch in a programme the whole team had been working on. He had fixed it too. It was very impressive. "Wow how did you do this?" I asked, inspecting it even closer. He smiled and promised to show me how he did it. I gave him a high five.

Our boss then walked in and asked what was going on. "Maggie and I have fixed the glitch." Pablo said. I looked at Pablo and he smiled. Our boss was very glad. She gave me a smile, congratulated us and walked out. This was the first smile I had got from her in the past 3 months! Just like magic I had completely forgotten about Daisy and Kevin. "Hey sit down and let me teach you how I did it before you blow our cover." Pablo said and we both laughed. "Not so loud, jeez." I teased.

After work Pablo suggested we stay late so he can teach me some more coding and I gladly agreed. When I was packing my stuff to go to his office a coworker Maxine smiled at me. "Is it official yet?" She asked. I. Wasn't sure what she meant until I saw her glance at Pablo on the other side of the hall. "No no we are not going out. Just friends." I said. "Oh ok, he asked me to have a drink with him on Saturday night but I thought you guys were dating so I told him I'll think about it." She said. "Oh. Really? Well errm so well you can go then if you like, I guess." I stuttered. "That's good news." She said with a big smile on her face. I nodded and grabbed my bag.

For some reason I wasn't interested in taking Pablo's' tutorial class' anymore. Just then Pablo walked to my desk. "Are you ready?". He said. I had almost no choice now. I nodded and grabbed my bag. Pablo spoke to Maxine for a few seconds and followed me to his office.

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 knew exactly what the smile meant. I shook my head and walked out to talk to her.


To be continued... 

Broken 7

"What about this?" Daisy said holding up a dress. We were in a shop trying to pick a dress for her to wear to a friend's party. Daisy was a serial shopper when it came to clothes. The best part of shopping with her was that sometimes she felt very generous and bought stuff for me too. I nodded at her but she didn't really like the dress so she put it back on the rack. Just then my phone rang. It was Kevin. I answered it. He wanted to pick me up so we go to a pub. I couldn't help myself from smiling. After the call Daisy winked at me. "Was that our Spanish boyfriend? The way the girls in HR are jealous of you eh?" She said giggling. I shook my head and told her it was Kevin. Her smile vanished immediately. "Maggie, are you still entertaining him?" She said. This was the very reason why I didn't want to tell Daisy anything. Luckily the shop attendant brought her a dress she had requested for in a bigger size and that ended that conversation.

When Daisy was done shopping I looked at the time. Kevin would arrive at the mall any minute. I hoped Daisy would be gone by that time. I walked Daisy to her car and waved at her as she drove off. I noticed Kevin's messages saying he had arrived. I went to him and we were off to the place. It was nice spending time with Kevin even though we would most likely be with some of his friends. It was still cool. We were finally trying to get back. 

The pub was very busy and a little crowded. His friends, PY and another guy were already sitting at a table so we joined them. They ordered drinks and some finger foods. I sent a text to Pablo and told him I was sort of on a date with Kevin. "Mag, a night with the boys is not a date but whatever rocks your love boat." He said. I giggled and kept texting him. Pablo was such a goofball!

 Kevin got up and went to the bathroom leaving me and his friends behind. It was a bit awkward so I continued chatting on my phone. I felt a vibration on the table and realised Kevin had left his phone. Someone was calling him and my heart skipped a beat when I recognized the number. It was Daisy! Why was she calling Kevin? Did she know we were together? Why didn't she call me instead?

I saw Kevin return and calmed myself down. He picked up the phone, saw the number and walked out to take the call. I was just too curious. I followed him and hid behind him to eavesdrop. "What is it princess Daisy." Kevin said sarcastically. "You need to calm down. I'm not forcing her to do anything. Are you jealous? How will she find out? You worry too much. Look, I need to go. Later." he said and hung up. I turned around and rushed back to my seat.


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 5

As I packed my things into my wardrobe I saw a call from Pablo. I smiled as answered his call. My smile faded immediately I realized the voice wasn't his. "Hello madam please do you know a Pablo Ortiz? He is currently on admission at St. Patrick hospital." A lady said. My heart skipped a beat. I grabbed something to wear and sped to the hospital as fast as I could.

When I got to the hospital I spoke to the receptionist who was the one called. She directed me to his doctor's office. I was asked to fill some forms by the doctor. I told him our workplace had insurance but unfortunately Pablo didn't have his card on him so I paid the bill. "We have discharged him so you can help him get home. He's fine but it's just a precaution we are taking." The doctor said showing me to his ward.
When I entered Pablo's room he gave me a half smile.

"Somehow I knew you would be the one to come." He said putting on his shoes. I sat down on the chair in front of him. "How are you doing? I had a serious scare when they called. What happened?" I said. He looked quite fine but just a bit not himself. "It's nothing, I passed out because I haven't had a meal since yesterday." He said. I stared at him. "What? Are you serious? Why haven't you eaten in that long?" I asked. He giggled and said I sounded just like his mother. Then he changed the subject. I realized he wasn't comfortable talking about the topic and really wanted to leave the hospital so we left.

I took him to his house. He kept saying it wasn't necessary but I joked about the doctor telling me tuck him in bed before I left. His apartment was really nice. It was small but very cozy. I went straight to the fridge and saw opened it. To my surprise it was fully stocked. "Goodness, you have all this good food and you are not eating?" I said out loud. Pablo shrugged. "Don't worry it won't happen again. I was working on some crazy project and got carried away." He said. I shook my head and sat down next to him on the couch. "I don't want to sound like your mother so I won't say anything about this anymore." I said. Pablo nodded and smiled. He picked up his remote and turned on the TV. He flipped through a number channels and landed on a movie channel. "You have make up on. Did you have to leave some fancy place to come get me?" He asked. I shook my head.

I told Pablo I had a date but he rescheduled. "A date? Ouch." He said. I asked him what he meant by that. "The other night you said you weren't ready to date anyone. I guess what you meant was I wasn't good enough for you huh?" He said. My jaw dropped. "No, it's not like that at all. Oh the guy..." I started but Pablo giggled and told me he was just messing with me. I calmed down a little and told him Kevin was my ex and how I thought we were going to get back together. There was something about Pablo that made chatting with him so easy. He was a perfect listener and unlike most people I knew he didn't judge me.

I told Pablo about Kevin, how we broke up and how I thought he wanted us to work things out when I met him at his place. When I was done I felt I had said too much. I didn't know how Pablo would react, after all he did try to kiss me once. But then again that day we both had a lot of drink. "He definitely likes you. He wouldn't reach out to you if he didn't. He's probably scared he'll get you caught up in more drama that's why he's moving away from you." Pablo said, sipping on a glass of water. I smiled, he was probably right. It made the most sense. We kept talking for about 2 hours.

Just when I  Kevin sent me a text."He wanted to know if I was upset about rescheduling. When I smiled Pablo guessed it was him. He leaned over and read the text. He snatched my phone and started typing a reply."Hey Pablo what are you doing?" I asked trying to get my phone back. He giggled and gave me back the phone when he was done. "I sent the coolest reply." He said. I shook my head and read what he typed. It read, "No it's fine. I'm just leaving one of my coworkers place to go home." I looked up Pablo. He was still giggling. "It's not like it's a lie. He'll ask you who it is soon." Pablo said as we walked to my car. He was right. Kevin asked if it was 'the white boy'. I asked Pablo what to say and he said to say yes so I did. I shook my head again and put my phone in my bag. We said our goodbyes and I drove off.

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 9:18pm. I wondered who it was. I opened the door and to my total surprise it was Kevin!


To be continued....
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Broken 4

Kevin sat down next to me. He had with him a bunch of papers. I was wondering what they were. "I haven't been straight with you. I haven't been fair to you and it kills me.You deserve better." He said. The girl you saw here the night we split is my ex girlfriend. She told me she was pregnant and the baby was mine. I didn't believe her so I took her to a hospital to be checked. It was true. She was pregnant." He said and passed me an ultrasound photo, then he went on. "I wanted to have a DNA test to be sure it was mine. I don't trust that girl. Why was she now telling me? She said she didn't want to have the baby in Ghana so we arranged for her to go to outside the country. The day you were here with Daisy she was coming for the ticket. The flight was later that day. I was a fool. I should have told you everything. I just thought she was lying and if I had proof she would go away." He said rubbing his eyes. I was shocked. The information I was receiving was too much. "Children are a gift from God no matter when they come." I said.

"I paid someone to have a paternity test and I was right it was not my baby." He said handing over a paper to me. It was the results from the paternity test. Kevin was not the father of the baby. "I didn't tell you about this because I don't ever want to drag you into my past life. But when I saw you last night I felt you needed to at least know the truth." He said finally looking into my eyes. His eyes were a little teary. I moved closer and hugged him. The familiar perfume on his neck made me smile. "When I agreed to go out with you I knew what I was signing up for. You should have told me." I said tearing up as well. "You are too good for me Mag." He said. Then he leaned in and kissed me. I felt the butterflies like I used to. Nothing had changed.

The next day during lunch time at work Daisy didn't come to get me for lunch as she used to. I guessed she was still mad at me from the phone call. I still had a lunch partner though. It was Pablo. He asked me to show him a good Ghanaian food spot. I took him to a chop bar not far from the office. He enjoyed the fufu and his face turned pink as he drank the spicy soup. It was like we had both forgotten about the kiss from the other night.

After work I planned to have dinner with Kevin. It wasn't really a date even though it felt like we had patched up nothing was really official. I saw Daisy busy looking for her car keys and decided to talk to her. Maybe even apologize for the other day. "It's in your cup." I said, walking to her desk. She looked up at me and said nothing. Then she peeped into her cup on her desk and found her car keys. "Thanks." She muttered. I immediately dropped my apology. Daisy sighed and asked if I wanted a ride. That was her way of saying I was forgiven.

As Daisy drove me home I told her about my visit to Kevin's place. She was mute the whole time and then the unapproving comments started. "Why is he NOW telling you this? Doesn't it sound suspicious that when he sees you having a good time with another man now he feels he needs to tell you the truth?" she said. I shook my head. "Well, I remember the day we broke up I didn't give him the chance to explain." I replied. Daisy shook her head. I could tell she was holding herself from saying something. Surely it would have been something negative. I wasn't saying Daisy didn't have a point but she was married to the love of her life. I thought Kevin was the love of my life too. I deserved a chance to be happy with him too.

 When I got home I walked to my wardrobe to pick something to wear for my dinner date with Kevin. I found the perfect dress and put it on my bed. When I was done taking a shower I texted Kevin to ask if he would pick me up or he wanted me to meet him there.

A few minutes after my text Kevin called me. "Hey Mag, I'm so sorry I didn't call you earlier. Something came up. Can we have dinner on Friday instead?" Be said. I told him it was fine and made an excuse about having work to do anyway which was a lie. I was upset. When I ended the call I looked at the blue dress on my bed and asked myself what I was doing. I remembered Daisy's comments. She did have a point. If it was as simple as that why didn't he tell me. Even after that night he could have said something. Here I was again wondering how important I was in his life.

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 2

I had had so many drinks at this point I needed to use the washroom. "Hey, I'll be right back." I said to Pablo and walked off. I wondered what time Daisy and Lawrence would want to go home. I was having so much fun. On my way back from the washroom I was thinking about an excuse to give to make Daisy stay longer and then everything went cold. I saw Kevin walking with a friend of his. He saw me and smiled. I wasn't sure what to do or say when he walked to me.

"Maggie, looking good." He said. I could tell he was drunk. "Thanks. How are you doing?" I asked. Kevin shook his head and turned to his friend. "PY and I are chilling small. Dawg your white boy and join us. We are going to Firefly from here." He offered. I wasn't sure what to say. I turned to look at Pablo. I decided to be like him. Kevin was being rude. If he really wanted to hang out with me he would have called me earlier. "No thanks I'll pass. See you later." I said and walked back to Pablo. Kevin just stood there surprised.

Somehow I was glad I stepped out that night. I noticed Kevin was watching a football match at the bar but would regularly turn to look at us. I decided to give him a show. I sat closer to Pablo, put my palm on his thigh every now and then and laughed a lot. The laughing part was easy because he was full of jokes. After a while Kevin walked up to us. "Maggie, could you come here?" He asked politely. I walked closer to him. "We are leaving in 5 minutes. Are you coming?" He asked. PY came and joined us. I greeted him and told them I wasn't going with them. Kevin shook his head and walked off. "This is low Maggie. I didn't expect this from you. " PY said and followed Kevin. I stood there confused. Low? Just then Daisy and Lawrence showed up. "My goodness I should have known Kevin would come here. What trash did he say?" She asked.

At this point I wanted to go home. I told Daisy what PY and Kevin said and she told me not to take them seriously. I knew she was right but if Kevin was jealous didn't it mean he still liked me and wanted me back? I nodded to everything Daisy said but I wanted to go home. Pablo offered to take me as he said he was also leaving. I snapped back into my normal self with plans to call Kevin the next day to talk and clear everything out. It was annoying that I missed him.

When we got to my house Pablo walked me to my door. He told me he hadn't had this much fun in a while and obviously that was mutual. After a brief silence he leaned in and kissed me. I wasn't expecting this at all so I moved back. "I'm sorry I thought... the way we were at the pub... I figured..." He stuttered. Oh no! I had sent him wrong signals when I was trying to make Kevin jealous. I couldn't tell him the truth. "I'm sorry I just broke up with my ex boyfriend and I'm not sure I'm ready for anything right now." I said. He stared at me for a second and nodded. "Yea sure, I understand. I'm sorry I took this the wrong way." He said. "No it's my fault. I hope we are still cool?" I asked trying to make eye contact. "Yea of course." He replied. We said our goodnights and Pablo left.

When I got into bed I took out my phone and there was a text from Kevin. "Firefly was really fun. It would have been better if you had come. Are you still at the pub?" It read. I smiled and just before I could reply I got another text. It was Pablo. "Hey, just wanted to say goodnight. I'm about to crash now. See you on Monday." His text read. How did I go from having no one ever text me to having two at the same time? I giggled. I replied Kevin's message first. "Maybe next time when you invite me properly I'll come. I'm off to bed goodnight." I then went ahead to reply Pablo. "Goodnight Pablo, tonight was fun." In no time at all I fell asleep

To be continued... 

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Emotionless

Have you ever felt used but you blame yourself more than the person who used you because you know deep down you brought yourself to the slaughter house? That's how I felt as I lay on the bed with Coleman. It was almost 6am and my eyes opened by force of habit. I stared at him as he slept peacefully and wished it had never happened. I tried to tell myself to break up with him but that's what I said the last time and here I was in bed with a married man.

I got up and walked to the kitchen. Wallowing in my sorrows was not going to feed me. I opened the fridge and brought out a pack of food Coleman brought the night before. It was when I had heated it and was about to sit on my dining area that he woke up. "Good morning beautiful, something smells good." He said walking into the kitchen. I liked it when he called me that. My father never told me I was beautiful. It's funny how true that thing is. Your parents are the first people who can help you mold your self worth. My parents didn't really care much but I don't blame them. They didn't love each other. How could they possibly love me?

"Good morning. I just heated up some food." I said. He grabbed a fork and we ate together. Coleman was a very interesting guy. His wife was lucky to have him. Well I had him too but that's different. Every time we met he spoke about his wife and son 90% of the time. Most of time he was complaining about some things she did that irritated him. I always listened, unconcerned though but I pretended to care. It made him feel better.

I met him at a party about 6 months ago. It was one of these end of year corporate parties. I make it a point to attend these whenever I'm single. Boyfriends are easy to catch at these places. A nice fitted dress, long wavy hair, the right amount of make up and you are ready to grab the eyes of a wealthy executive.

Coleman was easy to approach. He didn't have a date and looked very lonely. I had never dated a married man before. Initially I didn't think it would be a problem but I know now that I was very wrong. I guess deep down, deep deep down I want to be a good person right? Maybe I was having all these thoughts because of Edem from down my lane. Ever since I met him things had been different for me. He is a very good looking young guy I met during my evening jog. He always made me laugh. Coleman was by far my youngest....boyfriend but Edem was a serious sight for sore eyes.


This story is now on Amazon Kindle. You can download it here for $2.99 (about 13 Cedis) https://www.amazon.com/EMOTIONLESS-JULIET-AZEDI-AJAAB-ebook/dp/B0767RVNHR/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1507467737&sr=1-3&keywords=Emotionless

Closure 10 (Finale)

When I got back to my room I picked up my phone and called Frank. "Hey, what's up?" I said casually. "Hi, I've been calling you last night and all morning." He said. I lied to him about having a splitting headache last night and that was why I went mute. "How was your date?" I asked. He giggled and said it went terrible. My heart skipped a beat. I wasn't ready to believe he was seeing someone. "Sorry I had to cancel on you because of her. Are you at home? I'm not far from your house." Frank said. I wanted to lie but I thought about what Mawuli said. It was time to find out where I stood in his life. I told Frank I was home and he planned to come over in the next hour.

I called Mawuli immediately I hung up with Frank. I told him everything."First ask him about the other woman to see if he's involved with her then take my advice." Mawuli said. His advice was to wear something nice, put on some light makeup and tell Frank I have feelings for him when he came here. According to him Frank would say it was mutual and we will be the happiest couple on earth. Someway some how I didn't think it would be as easy as he said. I accepted the challenge and dived into my wardrobe.

Frank got to my house in about 2 hours but it felt shorter than an hour. My heart was racing as I walked to the door. When I opened the door I saw Frank smiling with a cup of ice cream. "I had a feeling you aren't very happy about me because of last night so I brought ice cream to cool you down and forgive me." He said. I smiled like a sheep. Honestly I wanted to say yes I will be your girlfriend but that knew how stupid it would sound. "I'm not upset but I'll have that ice cream." I said and let him in.

"Sorry about last night. I had the job at the last minute. None of the guys was available and she's a high paying client so I had to step in." He explained. My eyes lit up immediately. "Oh Client, so you were with her for work." I said subconsciously. "Yes, wait you thought I went out with her? Oh no she's not even my type." He said staring right at me. I felt like it was a sufficient enough answer to the question I had been meaning to ask but I took advantage and asked him one. "What's your type?" I asked feeling his stare even more.

He smiled and said I already knew his type. I tried to keep a straight face but I couldn't. I guessed this was it. My window to tell him how I felt. "Are we exclusive?" I asked. When I saw the confused look on his face I knew immediately that I used the wrong words. "Do you like me?" I tried again. He moved closer to me. "Of course I do. Who wouldn't?" He said. I smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "So how come you haven't asked me out?" I finally asked with much more confidence. Frank looked at me in a funny way and I left him move back a bit. "Vanessa I'm not ready for a relationship. I'm sorry if I led you on." He said. My heart started racing.

After a brief awkward silence Frank stood up to leave. I sat on the couch with tears forming in my eyes. He took a few steps and turned around. "Vanessa, I know how Eddie hurt you. You deserve someone with less baggage." He said. I didn't understand what he meant so I asked him. He took a deep breath. "I have a child, with my ex girlfriend. Eight years ago she got pregnant. When I told her I was not ready to rush into marriage she left me and married someone else. I was young, stupid and afraid. She raised my daughter with her husband with their 2 daughters and never told her I was her father. To her I'm uncle Frank. It hurts me so much. I can't let you carry this burden." He said. My eyes dried up immediately. I walked up to him and hugged him. "I'm so sorry." I said.

Then a few words rang in my head; 8 years, 2 other daughters. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth. I wanted to tell you but I felt it would scare you away. Sorry you met them as my sister and her kids." Frank confessed. It all made sense now. Looking back I noticed how caring he was to Kafui and even the other kids. There was this connection I couldn't understand and it now made sense. "You are not scaring me away Frank. All this while I thought I was the only one who needed closure but you need some too." I said. "I know how it feels like to keep people out when you are hurting. I will be here by your side no matter what, to help you through this." I reassured. Frank looked at me surprised. Before he could say another word I leaned in and kissed him. It was just like the first time we kissed but this time I was the one telling him if will be ok.

Frank took a couple of months to get closure with his daughter. He decided with his ex to tell her the truth when she turned 13. That gave him the freedom and hope he needed and since then we've been the happiest couple alive.


The End

Closure 10 (Finale)

When I got back to my room I picked up my phone and called Frank. "Hey, what's up?" I said casually. "Hi, I've been calling you last night and all morning." He said. I lied to him about having a splitting headache last night and that was why I went mute. "How was your date?" I asked. He giggled and said it went terrible. My heart skipped a beat. I wasn't ready to believe he was seeing someone. "Sorry I had to cancel on you because of her. Are you at home? I'm not far from your house." Frank said. I wanted to lie but I thought about what Mawuli said. It was time to find out where I stood in his life. I told Frank I was home and he planned to come over in the next hour.

I called Mawuli immediately I hung up with Frank. I told him everything."First ask him about the other woman to see if he's involved with her then take my advice." Mawuli said. His advice was to wear something nice, put on some light makeup and tell Frank I have feelings for him when he came here. According to him Frank would say it was mutual and we will be the happiest couple on earth. Someway some how I didn't think it would be as easy as he said. I accepted the challenge and dived into my wardrobe.

Frank got to my house in about 2 hours but it felt shorter than an hour. My heart was racing as I walked to the door. When I opened the door I saw Frank smiling with a cup of ice cream. "I had a feeling you aren't very happy about me because of last night so I brought ice cream to cool you down and forgive me." He said. I smiled like a sheep. Honestly I wanted to say yes I will be your girlfriend but that knew how stupid it would sound. "I'm not upset but I'll have that ice cream." I said and let him in.

"Sorry about last night. I had the job at the last minute. None of the guys was available and she's a high paying client so I had to step in." He explained. My eyes lit up immediately. "Oh Client, so you were with her for work." I said subconsciously. "Yes, wait you thought I went out with her? Oh no she's not even my type." He said staring right at me. I felt like it was a sufficient enough answer to the question I had been meaning to ask but I took advantage and asked him one. "What's your type?" I asked feeling his stare even more.

He smiled and said I already knew his type. I tried to keep a straight face but I couldn't. I guessed this was it. My window to tell him how I felt. "Are we exclusive?" I asked. When I saw the confused look on his face I knew immediately that I used the wrong words. "Do you like me?" I tried again. He moved closer to me. "Of course I do. Who wouldn't?" He said. I smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "So how come you haven't asked me out?" I finally asked with much more confidence. Frank looked at me in a funny way and I left him move back a bit. "Vanessa I'm not ready for a relationship. I'm sorry if I led you on." He said. My heart started racing.

After a brief awkward silence Frank stood up to leave. I sat on the couch with tears forming in my eyes. He took a few steps and turned around. "Vanessa, I know how Eddie hurt you. You deserve someone with less baggage." He said. I didn't understand what he meant so I asked him. He took a deep breath. "I have a child, with my ex girlfriend. Eight years ago she got pregnant. When I told her I was not ready to rush into marriage she left me and married someone else. I was young, stupid and afraid. She raised my daughter with her husband with their 2 daughters and never told her I was her father. To her I'm uncle Frank. It hurts me so much. I can't let you carry this burden." He said. My eyes dried up immediately. I walked up to him and hugged him. "I'm so sorry." I said.

Then a few words rang in my head; 8 years, 2 other daughters. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth. I wanted to tell you but I felt it would scare you away. Sorry you met them as my sister and her kids." Frank confessed. It all made sense now. Looking back I noticed how caring he was to Kafui and even the other kids. There was this connection I couldn't understand and it now made sense. "You are not scaring me away Frank. All this while I thought I was the only one who needed closure but you need some too." I said. "I know how it feels like to keep people out when you are hurting. I will be here by your side no matter what, to help you through this." I reassured. Frank looked at me surprised. Before he could say another word I leaned in and kissed him. It was just like the first time we kissed but this time I was the one telling him if will be ok.

Frank took a couple of months to get closure with his daughter. He decided with his ex to tell her the truth when she turned 13. That gave him the freedom and hope he needed and since then we've been the happiest couple alive.


The End

Closure 8

The next couple of weeks were very interesting. I saw Frank after work. We sometimes met at his office, other times at a restaurant for dinner and other times at my place. I continued planning my company's event and spoke to Eddie a couple of times but Frank gave me tips on how to deal with him. Frank was very smart and funny making being with him extremely enjoyable. One Friday night he couldn't come over as planned. I waited for him all dressed up and he sent me a message to let me know he couldn't make it. I was a bit disappointed because I looked forward to our Friday nights together.

On her way out my sister saw me taking off my earrings and walked into my room. "Why, aren't you going out anymore?" She asked. "Naa, Frank called to cancel." I replied. "Ah that's annoying. The way you are slaying the dress eh you can't waste it like that?" Wendy said and I giggled. The dress was actually one of my favourites that I hadn't worn in a long time. Luckily for me it still fit like a glove. "Look, Kokui is having a party at her place. Her big sister has invited some of her friends too so don't tell me you don't want to go because my crowd is young." Wendy offered. I smiled. It's like she ready me mind. I finally agreed and we went together.

When we got to the party I went straight to sit on the couch while Wendy rushed to look for her friends. I pulled out my phone to see if Frank had replied my text but there was nothing. I sent him a text to suggest we meet up later since I was already out. "Hello" , I heard a guy say. I raised my head and saw a guy about or younger than Wendy smiling at me. "Hi." I replied and looked back down at my phone. "Is the party boring?" He asked. I nodded and faked a smile. Unfortunately my neutral responses didn't deter him.

I felt my phone vibrate and I quickly picked it up. It was a text but I didn't recognise the number. I read the first two words, hi Nessy and knew who it was immediately. Only one person called me Nessy, it was Eddie. He said he wanted to meet me and talk so I should let him know when I was free. "You've been on your phone since you came." The guy next to me said. I almost forgot about him. "Yea, I think I'm at the wrong place. That is the exit right?" I said getting up to leave. He just nodded and watched me walk off. He probably thought I was the biggest snob in the world. I stopped and turned around.

Halfway to the door I stopped and walked back to the guy. "Hi I'm Vanessa. I'm really sorry about how our conversation turned out I'm just a bit distracted." I confessed. He seemed surprised, pleasantly surprised. "No, it's fine. I'm Opoku." He said. "Nice to meet you. I'll be off now." I said shaking his hand. He smiled at me and I turned around to leave, this time with a clear conscience.

As I stood outside the house of the party trying to catch a taxi I got another text from Eddie. He said he was sorry again and wanted to meet me the next day. A taxi came by and I quickly hopped into it. The driver stopped at a fuel station not too far from the place I was. I took out my phone to see if Frank had replied and what I saw next surprised me. I saw a guy like Frank in a suit with a lady in a black dress coming out of a car, laughing and walking into the fuel station supermarket. I got out of the car immediately. I told the driver I'd be back and went to inside too. It was when he turned around and saw me that I realised it was Frank.

To be continued... 

Gifts

I woke up immediately I heard the door bell ring. I slowly closed my eyes again when I remembered I wasn't the only one at home. Surely my little brother, Elorm would be awake. That video game playing boy was always awake. Unlike him I preferred to sleep till mid morning because I was on vacation.

When I heard him open his door I pulled my covers closer and tried to go back to sleep. I was almost successful when my brother barged into my room. "Eyram there's a package for you!" He said, excitedly. I looked at him suspiciously, wondering if he was up to any of his usual pranks. "Elorm, if I go downstairs and it's not true I'm putting your X box, Y box or whatever it is called in a bucket of water." I threatened. He just giggled and asked me to hurry up. I got out of bed and made my way to the living room. Our parents had left for work.

Elorm was not joking. There was a delivery man on a bike with a box. I walked over to him. He asked me to sign in a notebook and handed over the box to me. Then he left. I wasn't sure what to say because I was not expecting anything from anyone. I looked around the box to see if there was a sender's address but I saw nothing. "Open the thing la." Elorm said. I giggled and opened it. My eyes gleamed when I saw what it was. It was a tablet pc. It wasn't brand new but it was an awesome tablet I had been wanting about for some time. I was very eager to find out who gave me this amazing gift.

There was a little note that read "hi Eyram, a friend of mine was selling this at a really good price. Immediately I saw it I thought of you. I hope you like it. Anna." I held the note staring at it for a few more minutes. I knew the handwriting, there was no mistake it was from my cousin. "What did the note say?" Elorm asked when he noticed my change in mood. The truth is that I felt very bad. Just a year ago she left the country because she got a scholarship to study abroad. I promised to keep in contact with her but I didn't. I remember her calling me often but I rarely returned her calls. Even after such a long silence she still thought about me. I smiled and realised I had a lot of calling to do.

Doesn't this feel like something we all go through? Well not all of us get tablets from our cousins, for sure! But just like Anna God showers us with gifts in many forms even though we  sometimes ignore him. Like Eyram we give ourselves so many excuses; calling abroad is too expensive, I will text her tomorrow, she's probably busy with her new friends but the truth is that Anna still loved her and that love brought her to the right place. It's time for all of us to be at the right place with God. If nothing at all we should pray to say thank you :)

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 10

Henry flew to Denmark for his treatment the next week. We skyped every night and he told me all about his experience. Everything was going as he planned it. We communicated so much I felt like I was Dean. I was glad he was getting another chance. I seemed to be the only one he really kept in the loop because Adel called me regularly to ask about him. I encouraged Henry to talk to his family more but I sort of understood them.

One Sunday afternoon, I heard a knock at my door and walked to it. When I opened it I saw Henry standing there with the most attractive smile in the world. "Henry! I thought you were arriving on Tuesday!" I screamed and hugged him. I couldn't control my excitement. He told me he just wanted to surprise me. We went inside and he showed all the cute Danish souvenirs he bought me. They were really pretty and I was really glad he was back. "There's one more thing." Henry said. I looked at all the presents on the table and looked back at him. "Really, after all these?" I asked. He nodded and leaned in closer. Before my heart started racing he kissed me. I always wondered how it would be to kiss him and I was right. His soft lips were amazing. "I've always wanted to do that." He said and we both giggled. I wanted to scream 'me too' but I played it cool. "I know my treatment isn't permanent and I'm in a weird condition and all but will you go out with me? If you don't want to I completely understand. So what do you say Miss Doris who looks just like Adel?" He asked smiling. How on this big beautiful earth could I say no?

Henry felt like a totally different person when we started dating. He wasn't cold and rude like he used to be. He was more positive and cheerful. His treatment had brought him new hope. One afternoon at work my boss asked me to go for a meeting at Brock Pharmaceuticals. I smiled when my boss told me and did some quick makeup before I left. Dean teased me when he noticed. The meeting was with Lestor Brock himself. I smiled when I saw him. He smiled back and signalled for me to sit down. I took out my note book and pen but he signalled for me to put them away. "No, you won't need those. This isn't that kind of meeting." He said. I sat up more attentively. He asked how I was doing and I instantly knew the meeting was about his son.

Lester Brock stared at me for a while and said "has anybody told you that you look very much like my daughter Adelaide?" I smiled and nodded. He leaned back into his chair and smiled. "She has told me a lot about you actually. You two have similar strengths too if you ask me and the only ones that can get through to my son." He added and giggled. I smiled at him even though I was getting a little tired of being compared to Adel. He leaned back in his chair. "How is Henry's Danish treatment going?" He asked. I could see the concern in his eyes. "Doctor Olsen is actually doing a good job according to Henry. He said heart burns are less intensive these days." I said. Mr. Brock nodded, staring straight at me.

Before he could open his mouth someone opened his office door. It was Henry. He looked straight at me and then to his father. "What's going on here?" He asked. "We are just talking." Lester Brock replied. "Henry." Adel called. She also walked into the office. She tried to escort him out but he wouldn't listen. He walked to me and tapped me on the shoulder. "Your boss has sent for you. Dad Doris has to leave." He said sharply. I turned to look at his father who was busy writing something. "Very well. It was nice meeting you Doris." He said. I nodded and got up to leave. "Doris you left your note book." Mr. Brock said. "My notebook is in my..." I started but then I saw him raise the book he was writing in to me and I immediately got it. "Ah yes, thanks." I said and quickly collected it. "Let's go." Henry whispered in my ear. I had no idea what was going on.

When we got to the parking lot I felt it was safe to talk about why Henry was acting funny. "Hey what's up? You are acting funny." I asked. Henry turned to me. "I don't want my father interfering in my personal life." He replied. I noticed from much earlier that Henry didn't like his father very much but I strongly felt it was because he unfairly made Adel, his much younger sister the next ceo of his company but now I knew it was his only choice. "Your father loves you. He's just concerned." I said. Henry laughing sarcastically. "He gave up on me. Do you give up on someone you love? I have been diagnosed with Orgosis for 4 years now and what did he do? Nothing. I don't need that kind of love Trust me you won't understand." Henry explained. I put my hand on his shoulder and it happened. He held his side and slowly fell to the ground. I could see him losing consciousness as he went down. I screamed as hard as I could to get help. "Help!"



To be continued... 

Being Francis

Francis saw his older brother packing his bags. "Hey Dan, where are you off to?" He asked curiously. Dan looked at him and continued packing. "I don't know how you manage to be happy here." Dan finally replied. He picked up a T-shirt and threw it into his small suitcase. Francis did not see that answer coming. He enquired further and Dan made it clear he was leaving their new home. His brother was even more surprised.

 Just then their sister walked into the room. "What's going on here?" She asked. Francis turned to her and explained Dan's intentions. She shook her head and turned to walk out like nothing was happening. "Pat, won't you tell him to stop this and stay?" Francis called out. Without turning Pat said, "He's not a child. He can do as he pleases." Then she left.

Francis asked his brother why he wanted to leave one more time. "Why should I stay? Father doesn't love me, he expects me to follow so many rules and what do I get in return? Constant disappointment. He says “ask me for anything and you'll have it” but he doesn't honour his words. My friends in the South are living very happy lives free from strict parents. That's where I'm headed." Dan let out. It looked like he had given this a lot of thought.

"Daddy loves us so much. Don't you see that? He gives us a lot of food and everything we need and his rules are just meant to protect us." Francis said. "I'm 25 years old, I need more than food. I have asked him for so many things and he just did nothing." Dan said, beginning to get angry. His little brother tried to calm him down but it was useless. He picked his suitcase and walked out with Francis running behind him. "I have one last thing to say. Count all the things Dad has gotten for you and see if they are worth more than the things you are asking for. I will tell Dad you'll be coming back because I know you will." Francis said almost in tears. "Good luck with that." He said and left the house.

If Pat, Dan and Francis’ father was God and they were normal Christians like you and me, can you relate to their actions? Pat is the Christian who believes but does not spread the word nor help others out. She prefers to be a Christian on an island. Dan is the Christian who loses his faith because he thinks God is asleep or maybe just picky because his prayers are not being answered. He feels all he is doing for God is in vain.

 Francis is the Christian we all want to be. The one who believes in God with all his heart and wants everyone to do same so he calls people to God and encourages them. We have probably been all these people at one point or the other in our journey with Christ. It's time to be Francis in our own little way. If you are not sure how, just pray and an idea will pop into your head, completely unique to you. God bless you :-)

Blind date

I looked around for a black t shirt. I was about to text Aziz to ask where he was when I spotted a fine guy in a black Tshirt. I smiled and put my phone back into my bag. I walked up to him. He looked really cute. Paulina told me he was cool. She was probably being her usual modest self. Then it hit me. Would he think I was cute too. I paused and turned to look at my reflection in one of the glass windows of the bar. I tossed up my hair a little and continued walking. My heart started racing when I got to his table. I smiled. He smiled back too but not as broad as mine. "Aziz right? It's good to finally meet in person." I said.

 "How are you doing?" He asked to break the awkward silence after I sat down. I said I was fine. A waiter came up to me and I ordered a drink. Immediately my drink came a guy walked up to us and spoke to my date. "Hey we are going to play pool do you want to join us? I didn't catch your name. I'm Kofi." he offered. I shook my head. "Not really, I don't know how to play. I'll just make him lose. I'm Selina." I said smiling. They didn't seem to take no for an answer so I gave in.

Aziz gave me a cue and a quick tutorial. "It's really not that hard. Besides no one on earth is as bad as Kofi's girlfriend in pool." he teased. I giggled. "Easy like you driving your Range Rover eh?" I asked. "Err more like me brushing my teeth, super easy." he said and gave a goofy smile. I laughed again. We were beginning to get along well. He was much more interesting in person. Kofi played first, then Aziz. When Dora, Kofi's girlfriend played I realized what Aziz was trying to say all along. He winked at me and I giggled. It was finally my turn and my coach walked up behind me and showed me how to position my cue. He was rather close but I wasn't complaining. Surprisingly, I didn't do badly at all. As the game went on, Kofi kept asking me if I had really never played before. When I potted my first ball I couldn't help jumping up and down. Aziz run to me, raised me up, spinning me in the air and said I was the best student ever. I laughed my head off when we turned back to look at Kofi and Dora's faces. Their expressions were priceless.

Right after the game, which of course Aziz and I won, we went to sit at the lounge area. The chemistry between Aziz and I was just perfect. The kind where we felt perfectly comfortable around each other. We spoke about the new movies we had all seen and Aziz and I were glad we had the same taste in movies. We even planned to see a new movie sometime. I took out my phone to send a thank you message to my match maker when I noticed 15 missed calls from Paulina and Aziz. I ignored his guessing they were from earlier and rushed to the bathroom to call Paulina back.

"Hey where are you?!" She asked immediately she picked up the phone. I giggled. "Oh say a blind date maybe?" I teased. Paulina wasn't moved. "Ah have you met Aziz yet? He said he couldn't find you. Where have you been?" She asked. I rolled my eyes. "Calm down I'm in the washroom. I was just a little bit late but I've seen him now." I replied. "This your lateness dierr." Paulina said finally calm. She said she had to go and hung up. I looked in the washroom mirror, straightened my dress and walked out. Just before I got to my seat a tall dark guy in a black t-shirt walked up to me. "Hi, Selina right?" He asked. I nodded wondering how he knew my name. He noticed I was a bit puzzled and said. "I'm Aziz, I've been waiting for you for so long. I would have left if it wasn't for Paulina. We said we'd be meeting outside." He explained and I froze. I didn't know what to say. I turned to look at the table I was sitting and saw Kofi and Dora laughing hard. The fake Aziz was staring straight at me. It was like he knew. I turned to Aziz and smiled. "I'm sorry about that." I managed to say. My date said he didn't like the food at the pub so he suggested we go to a Chinese restaurant. I nodded. I turned back to look at the table. "Are you coming?" Aziz asked. I smiled and walked out with him.

Aziz opened the door to his Range Rover when we got to the parking lot. I sat down quietly. "You like Chinese food don't you? Even if you don't, you'll like this particular one. They are the best." He said as he sparked the car. I was barely paying attention. Too many things were running through my head. Then I saw him. He was walking alone.   I turned to Aziz. "I'm really sorry I wasted your time but I'll be wasting more of your time if I go with you. I have to go." I said, opening the door and getting out. "What? What are you talking about?!" He asked furiously. "I don't think this date is working so I'm ending it before it gets worse." I added and ran off. I heard him swear and drive off fast.

I broke into a run in the direction I saw my fake Aziz go. When I saw him standing beside his old car I yelled, "hey!". He stopped and turned around. "Why, why did you lie about being Aziz?" I asked when I caught up with him. "I didn't lie. I just didn't say I wasn't him." He said. "Yeah? Well on this planet it's still lying." I replied. "Oh, is it that obvious I'm not an earthling?" he joked but my expression didn't change. "I'm sorry, what I did wasn't right. I just really wanted to get to know you. I couldn't get myself to tell you the truth. I'm sorry I ruined your date. I won't be causing any more trouble, I'm leaving." He said. He sounded so genuine. If he wasn't, he was the best actor in the world. There was something about him, something very nice. "You didn't ruin my date. Well, technically you did but I still had fun." I said. A smile slowly formed on his face. "We can play another game of pool if you like. I won't mind a few tips." I said stretching out my hand. He took it. "Yes, yes let's play." He said and we walked back. "So what's your real name Fake Aziz?" I teased. "I'm Paul Mensah. Yup, sorry to disappoint you. I have a nice and boring name." Paul said. I laughed again. Paulina wasn't gonna like this at all.

 The end

Monday morning surprise

As Samira walked to work she remembered the sermon that was preached at church the day before. The topic was about loving your neighbour. Even those that didn't love you. She knew one person like that at work. Sarah Brown. Sarah just didn't like her and the feeling was very mutual. From her first day at work Samira never got along with her. Maybe Sarah felt insecure around her because she was younger, she just couldn't tell. "I'll love my neighbour." Samira said with a long sigh. Just before she entered her office building she saw something interesting. There was a car having boot sales not very far away. She looked at her watch. She had enough time to do some window shopping. She saw a nice necklace. It looked like something Sarah would love. She thought for minute and bought it for her at a very good price.

When Samira got to work Sarah was not at her desk but she saw her favourite red bag and knew she was around. She picked up a sticky note from her desk and wrote a little note. She stuck the note to the present she had just bought, put it on Sarah's desk and walked away. When she got to hers Elikem walked by with a smile. "Is that a bomb you put on Miss Horror's desk?" She asked. Samira giggled and shook her head. Elikem always had names for everyone. Then it hit her that she wasn't the only one who didn't like Sarah. "Love your neighbour." She whispered to herself as she turned on her computer.

After a few hours there was a general meeting for everyone. Samira took a seat at the back of the board room next to Elikem. "Pay raise time, woop woop." Elikem whispered and did a little dance in her chair. Samira laughed. "You are such a child." She said to her. The CEO of the company walked in with some sheets of paper. He said he had bad news. The company was not doing as good as it used to and they had decided to do a downsizing exercise. Samira's heart missed a beat as he mentioned the names of the people who were being laid off. Her heart sunk when she heard Elikem's name. Fortunately for her that was the last name. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned to comfort her friend.

When she got back to her desk she saw a red sticky note and instantly knew who it was from. It said, 'thanks for the necklace. It's so lovely. Yes you are right we started off on a bad note. So your apologies have been accepted.' Samira smiled. She turned around and spotted Sarah at the entrance of the board room. She walked to her but the CEO was quicker. Samira just stood aside and waited for him to finish talking to her. "Sarah I thought we decided on 12 people? This list is short of one." He said. "Sir that's true but I found out recently that she has potential as compared to the others." Sarah replied and smiled at Samira. "Alright, I trust your judgement, have a nice day." The CEO said and walked away...... 

Love your neighbour!