”
Another shock of my life! I recognized her! It was Afrakuma – my first love. I felt like I was going to die out of a heart attack. She hadn’t changed much. Her image was still so fresh in my head. It was just impossible for me to forget her.
I was not so sure that Afra as I liked to call her, would recognize me. She didn’t even act like I looked familiar even when Yvonne introduced us. Through the hangout, all my attention was on her, particularly to how she has grown more beautiful.
Her eyes shown so bright and when she talked, the movement of her lips drove me crazy. The love I had for her from the secondary school days had been rekindled. Anytime she smiled, her cute lips were just tempting. I sat across her as she and Yvonne talked.
Apparently, she had been out of the country for a while and only returned some few weeks ago. I checked her finger to see if she was married and fortunately for me, she was not. All this while, it seemed I wasn’t even there at all. On the contrary, I was comfortable with my position. The least I wanted at this moment was for her to recognize me in the presence of her sister.
What would possibly change now if I reminded her of who I was? The entertainment prefect she deliberately insulted years back? Or that pathetic guy she met for the first time at the inter-colleges games? Was I now going to demand a reply to my letter? “This is a girl who just came back from Yankee; there is no way she’d be looking out for guys like me with the classes of men she’s come across,” I thought.
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I took a look at the piece of paper Yvonne had given me earlier. This time, I wasn’t as enthused about it as I was before.
Yvonne had to use the wash room, leaving Afra and I alone. For a moment, there was absolute silence. Come and see mumu. I had my eyes glued to my phone as if I was doing something important. I was just going through the messages from my network service provider over and over again.
“So is this the way you treat an old acquaintance?” I shook. Was the question directed to me? I looked behind me, but there was nobody there. Did Afrakuma just ask me that question? Does that mean, she recognized me?
“Excuse me, what did you say?” I asked.
“I know you heard me. Anyway, I understand your game but you know it’s a game meant for two people,” she said. Which game was she even talking about, Nintendo or Fifa? This Yankee ladies can sometimes be really irritating. At first I thought it was even her accent but she was serious. She wasn’t smiling at all.
She wrote her address on a tissue paper and handed it to me quickly. “Let me see you tonight so we can catch up with old times,” she said, laid back and smiled at me.
Did I just get an invitation from the very girl who ditched in high school? I couldn’t think far. In fact, I couldn’t think madness for her.
We were interrupted by loud singing from the other side of the restaurant. They were singing the ‘happy birthday song’ – three waitresses led by Yvonne. When Afra saw them, she stood up in surprise. I stood too and sang along. Yvonne presented Afra a cute cupcake with a lit candle on it. Afra blew out the candle and they hugged each other. It was such a lovely scene.
It felt so good how Afra responded when I wished her a happy birthday. She was extra nice due to the excitement. I wished she stayed in that mood forever. In fact, I wished she was this excited when I sent her my carefully-written-love-letter. I’m sure she would’ve replied perfectly. Well, if wishes were horses, beggars will ride.
The waitresses also served us some chips and chicken. Apparently, that was Afra’s favourite food. I saw Yvonne really loved her sister. She had given her a really nice birthday treat and Afra couldn’t stop thanking her for that.
When we were all done, Yvonne and I escorted Afra to the roadside for a cab. Then we walked down the road holding hands.
“Hey, Kwame, about what I wrote on the paper, I know how this might sound to you but I’m actually serious about it. I really love you Kwame,” she said, looking straight into my eyes.
O boy, i knew she meant everything she said. I just didn’t know what to say. I was just stuck between the two; My first love who had shown up from nowhere and my ‘only friend’ who was now interested in me. I didn’t want to make her feel bad by turning down her proposal but I couldn’t open my mouth to say a simple yes to her.
What am I going to do? I didn’t want to turn down Afra’s invitation and I couldn’t say no to Yvonne either.
To be Continued
© 2017
