-Episode Twenty Four-
‘You look more beautiful in person,’ he says with an amused look on his face.
‘Thank you.’
‘Would you mind standing over there so I can have a look at your body.’ ‘Excuse me, ’I stare at him blankly
‘It’s okay if you are not comfortable with that,’ he quickly says ‘What the Fuck?’ I almost blurt out but I stop myself in time. ‘Aren’t you gonna have a seat?’ I ask
The edge of his lip quirk upwards in response before he pulls a chair, settles in.
‘Waiter,’ he calls the waiter over and orders for the both of us. He doesn’t even ask me what I want. He just orders me a tuna sandwich with salads and tea.
‘You could have asked me what I want to eat,’ I say after the waiter walks away.
He gives me a snobby grin,’ You need to eat healthy so you can lose a bit of some weight.’ ‘Say what?’ I ask my eyes wide open in shock. ‘How much do you weigh?’ he questions
‘Lord,’ I laugh wondering where the conversation is leading to.
‘Don’t take this the hard way, you are beautiful but I feel you should lose a bit of weight, I like women slender, the smaller the s£xier,’ he winks
‘Jesu.’
He is about to speak again when the waiter walks back to our table with the food. He places it on the table.
‘Enjoy your food,’ he says before walking away.
‘Thank you,’ he responds
‘Zaria Nel, such an interesting name,’ he says as he takes a tentative bite of the chicken on his plate.
At this point I am just staring at him as he eats, believe me I am in shock, not only is he short but he has no manners too, what a bad combination.
He looks up at me, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ he asks through a mouthful of food.
I decide to ignore him I need to get out of here soon.
‘Hello? Do you hear me talking to you? You are ignoring me, what’s wrong?’ he asks ‘Excuse me, I need to use the rest room,’ I rise to my feet ‘Feel free,’ he says
I quickly walk towards the bathroom with my bag in my hand unfortunately there is no exit at the back, I am doomed.
I pull out my phone and dial Melanie’s number it rings twice before she responds.
‘You need to come and bail me out of here,’ I quickly say
She laughs, ‘It’s that bad?’
‘It’s more than bad.’
‘Still at the same place?’
‘Yes.’
‘Okay.’
I wash my hands thoroughly and make my way back to the table. He looks up at me and smiles. I smiled back as I sit down.
‘So are you Zambian?’ he asks as soon as I settle down.
‘Yes.’
‘You don’t look Zambian and your name suggests otherwise.’ ‘Well it’s just a name,’ I shrug
‘So you said last time that you haven’t been seeing anyone for a while. Is that right?’
‘Yes.’
“Why?’
‘Why what?’
‘Why is a beautiful lady like you single?’
‘I was seeing someone but he left me for someone else.’
‘You know why he left?’
‘He fell out of laugh.’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘What do you mean?
‘I think you have an attitude and hence men run from you.’ ‘Oh.’
‘You haven’t even touched the food I have bought you that shows how arrogant and rude you are.’
‘I think I have heard enough, ‘I stand up.
‘And where do you think you are going?’
‘I am going home I won’t stay here and let me insult me.’ He stares at me, smiles, gulps his beer and stands up too.
He is about to respond when Melanie appears, ‘Excuse me,’ she says
‘And who are you?’ he asks as he cocks his head and glances down at her body.
‘She is my best friend,’ I frown.
‘I am really sorry to interrupt your dinner but there’s an emergency at home,’ she says ‘What kind of an emergency?’ he asks
‘It’s not something I would wanna talk about here,’ come on let’s go, she holds my hand. ‘Gladly.’
‘Are you just gonna go and leave me leave all by myself?’ he asks ‘Yes,’ we respond in unison and with that we rush out of the place. Once outside we burst into pearls of laughter.
‘Wait! That was Albert?’ Melanie asks
‘More like dwarf Albert.’
‘Lord, I could basically see over the top of his head,’ she laughs
‘He looks so different in person and to think he was this tall macho man.’ ‘I am done I am not going for any of these dates ever again.’ ‘Was he that bad?’
I roll my eyes, ‘Let’s get going.’
‘Well I didn’t come with my car I got on a taxi so we use your car.’
I hand her the keys, ‘you are driving I don’t really have the strength.’
****
‘Thanks for inviting me out to dinner tonight I didn’t expect this at all,’ she says moment before we leave the restaurant.
‘I am glad you had fun.’
‘I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my night.’
Dinning with her was hundred times better than I had expected.
There’s never a dull moment with Yedda, she is fun and exciting to be with. I feel so comfortable with her as if we have known each other for years.
‘Have I told you how stunning you look tonight?’ i ask She smiles, ‘You did.’
‘I just feel like saying it over and over again.’
‘Then keep saying it.’
She is wearing a blue cap- sleeved lace dress, her bosom spills up at the neckline, cut straight across. The heels of her sandals accentuate her long legs.
‘You are the most beautiful woman, I have set my eyes on,’ I say We are standing very close together next to my car, holding hands.
‘I love you,’ she says
‘I love you a lot Yedda, you are everything to me.’
She smiles at me, ‘How did I get this lucky?’
I scratch my head, ‘You beat up someone and ended up at the police station.’
She laughs.
‘Beating up that girl was a blessing in disguise; see how I ended up meeting you.’
‘I know right.’
I lean in closer and kiss her lightly on the lips and hurriedly say, ‘We should get going.’
She steps aside as I open the car door for her. She climbs into the passenger seat and waits for me to walk around.
I like being with Yedda, she makes me feel complete. She is the first woman I have been with since I lost Janet. It’s actually surprising that not only to me but my family and friends that I am finally moving on after years of holding on.
I hope Janet is happy about my decision to move on and I hope she continues to rest in peace.
****
A gambling Heart