Right Person Too Late

chapter 16

Arsema

"Fesese, kem may nehase."

Song: Ashenda by Eden Gebreselassie, Trhas Tareke and Rahel Haile

"So, are you gonna tell us what went down last night or what, Mia?" Harper asks the second Mia steps foot out of her room the next morning. The two of us are standing outside her door a cup of coffee and a donut in hand for her, having finished our own ones long before she woke up. The girl of the moment's hair is frizzy and sticking up in all directions as she attempts to smooth it down, yesterday's makeup still caking her face.

"God, can you guys let me wash my face first at least?" she whines.

"Oh, our bad." I go to put away the breakfast items in my hands when she snatches them.

"No, no, no! I was talking about you guys, not the coffee."

Chuckling Harper and I follow her into the bathroom, ready to hear all about what went down on her date with Miles. I hop up onto the counter while Harper sits on the edge of the bathtub as Mia removes her makeup.

Harper starts, "well, it must've gone well if you didn't even wash off your make-up before going to sleep."

Mia raises her hands to cover her face as her cheeks turn a rosy red. "He's actually so nice you guys –"

"Oooo Mia's got a crush!" Harper and I chime in at the same time, giggling.

"– shuddup! I'm just saying...egh, this is such a clichey thing to say, but he's not like the other douches I've dated."

I clap my hands in excitement. "Awww, this is too perfect! Does this mean that I can make a wedding pinterest board and playlist for you guys?!"

"Oh shush you. I'm just saying...and the fact that he's so damn hot makes things like twenty times bette—"

I lightly slap her over the head trying to get rid of whatever image she was going to plant in my head. "Ew, no no no I do not need to think of Miles like that. Yuck, yuck, yuck, please don't."

* * *

"Kndey sat eyu zjimir? (Tigrinya translation: what time does it start?)" My 'aunt', Tibletse, asks the day before Ashenda as she does my hair.

I say 'aunt' because when it comes to Ethiopians every family friend is your 'aunt', 'uncle' or 'cousin'. According to those rules I've got millions of all three in Melbourne alone when in reality barely any of my blood relatives live here. Like everyone else Tibletse is one of my mum's oldest friends and every year since I moved to Melbourne she does my game (Tigrinya translation: traditional Ashenda hairstyles for young women) for Ashenda because she claims that no one else will do it as good as she does. And, well she hasn't failed whatsoever, so for the near future I will not be going to anyone else.

I meet her gaze in the floor length mirror in front of me. "Entay? (Tigrinya translation: what does?)"

Refocusing her eyes on the braid in her hand she replies, "Ashendaw newa, mare (Amharic translation: Ashenda of course, honey)."

"Ahhh, yeah I think the invitations said around sebat seat, gin (Amharic translation: 7 o'clock, but) knowing habeshoch (Amharic translation: Ethiopians), it probably won't start till nearly 9 at the very earliest."

Laughing Tibletse finishes off my hair before sending me off home with the new habesha kemisoch (Amharic translation: traditional Ethiopian dresses) that mama sent over for Mia, Harper and I.