I don’t know when I slept but I remember being jolted to consciousness by a gentle knock on my door. I wasn’t ready to wake up yet, took a cursory glance at the wall clock and noted the time as nearly 8am, and re-buried my face in the soothing pillows. But whoever it was at the other side of the door seemed determined for audience so I dragged my lovelorn body from the warm sheets and staggered to the door. We both stared at each other with surprise as I swung the door open. Adjusting my blurred vision with the back of my hand, I looked stupefied as I beheld Christiana, my primary school classmate at the entrance ready to serve me breakfast.
I knew Christy back then to have come from a wealthy family, so seeing her here, all dressed in a waitress apparel was quite unexpected. She entered and closed the door behind her ready to have a chat with me. She laid the tray down expertly and we hugged. We were good pals way back so it was no doubt we were going to have a long chat. We all spoke in unison,
“what are you doing here…”, paused and giggled as only girls know how. After ten minutes of laughing and conversing, she quickly stood up from the edge of the bed and said she had to attend to other guests as well. She took my number and promised to call me when she closes for the day. It was fun seeing her again. But I wondered,
“Why was she a waitress above all the riches her parents had?”
Well, she had her own reasons.
I took my breakfast, a warm bath and went for a walk at the hotel. It had beautiful sceneries all around, grandly embellished with an African ambiance. Later in the day, I had a video chat with my parents. This time, my granny was asleep so I wasn’t bothered with any in-law matter. My lunch and dinner were served by different persons, not Christy. I slept till the ringing tone of my phone woke me. It was Christy, she called with an unknown number. She asked if I could come outside since she had closed from work. I didn’t want to go but I remembered how I would feel when another loud moans of a philandering couple at mid-night would bring back the misery of love lost. I dressed up, locked my door and went to meet Christy. We continued our conversation from where we left in the day as we walked out.
We told each other what we had been up to. It was the first day I had the courage to talk about my cancelled wedding. She had her own story too, from how she lost her parents in a car crash, how her uncle threw her out of her own parents’ house and how she had decided to make a living out being a waitress. We comforted ourselves with our own words and recalled some funny moments in the past. Before we realised, we had gotten to her house. She lived alone so it was no problem if I wanted to sleep there. Christy was one girl I felt safe with. Even, she was one of the girls the boys feared to tackle.
We woke up with the help of Christy’s alarm. She got ready for work and we left together. She promised to take me out during the night to catch more fun. I went into my room to continue with my sleep. By this time, I had forgotten all my sorrows.
Watch out for Episode 6LOVE IN THAT FORM
