When her father dies, Salma feels her world has been blown up by an atomic bomb. She caves into the grief and becomes a shadow of her once bubbly self. Her mother tries all she can to help her grieve 'healthily', but Salma doesn't want any of that...
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"Where are you taking us?" Desdemona asked, looking out of the car window like Scooby-Doo. The car had taken so many turns from NaaStudios and honestly, I was beginning to share in Mona's curiosity. Rahim looked at us and only smirked, shrugging.
"I'm not telling." He swiped his lips across his lips and looked ahead. I rolled my eyes, trying to busy myself with my cellphone. In my pocket was still the business card Nadia has literally shoved in my face, but I did not know what to do with it. She did say I could call her anytime, but what was I going to talk about with her? These thoughts swarmed through my mind but I had no reasonable answers to them.
I was jolted back to reality when the car came to a sudden halt. I looked out of the window and we had parked in front of a restaurant. There was a neon sign that read 'Hassana's Eatery.'
"This is my mother's restaurant," Rahim announced, stepping out of the car. We followed suit and were immediately hit by the heat in the afternoon. I checked my watch and it was 1:00 p.m. I guess we had spent more time for the photo shoot than I thought. A doorman bowed and opened the glass door.
I had never been to this eatery, but Rahim's mother sure had exquisite taste. The marble floors and classy jazz music playing in the background as well as the wooden furniture littered around the large building gave the eatery a vintage, yet classy look.
Rahim led us to a three seater booth by a window which was wide open. I picked up the menu, browsing through the numerous options. My eyes widened when I realized every item cost an arm and a leg. Rahim's mother was probably cashing out a lot! Soon, a waitress in a pencil burgundy skirt and a white button-up shirt walked up to our table, a notepad and pen in hand.
"Welcome to Hassana's Eatery. What can I get you?" she asked, smiling at us.
"I'd like your waakye with all the protein you have." Desdemona was the first to make her order. I dropped the menu and stared at her in horror. She only shrugged,"What? Nadia made us fast for whole days. I've been surviving on bananas and water."
"Whatever floats your boat," I muttered, picking the menu back up. I wasn't really hungry so I chose, "Ice cream, a scoop of vanilla and a scoop of strawberry and a bowl of potato chips." The waitress nodded, diligently jotting everything down.
"The same thing she's having," Rahim said.
"Great minds think alike." Mona muttered, rolling her eyes. I stared at her with a lopsided grin. There. She was at it again, trying to play matchmaker between Rahim and I. She was like the human version of Tinder.
"Whatever," Rahim retorted, smirking at her.
Soon, our orders were placed in front of us and Mona was the first to begin. Her plate had eggs, assorted meat and some fish. She really wasn't kidding when she said she wanted all the protein they had.
"Can you please tell my mom I'm here?" Rahim asked the waitress as she placed his bowl of potato chips in front of him. She nodded and disappeared behind a glass door. Soon, a short light-skinned woman with a small tribal mark on her right cheek appeared, walking towards us. She opened her arms wide, enveloping Rahim in a hug when she reached our table.
