OMARI

22: OMARI

"This is the final boarding call for flight GB4809 to Johannesburg... final boarding call for flight..."

"Dude. You good?" Omari turned to Lesley.
"Yeah. What, I don't look good?" Omari replied.
"Mm, nah."

Omari chuckled, looking at his phone to check the time.

Ten past ten. Zero messages.

"Yandi!" Omari knocked on the large dark brown door, pressing on the doorbell countless times.

The door opened slowly, Yandi standing beside it.

"Omari, please go home. It's late, you have a trip. You shouldn't be here."
"Look, I just need to know if you're okay. The way you left. I know you told Laurie you had an emergency but you know I knew better than that," Omari answered.

"I ... what happened today, I just couldn't handle. And I don't know how much more I can with the way your circle and mine are made up," Yandi spoke, her eyes meeting his.

Omari sighed, running a hand over his face.

"So what are you saying?" He asked.

She stayed quiet, looking down.

"You should go for your trip, Omari. Go lead the life you want. You have so much ahead of you and you're young-"

"Stop."

"Omari we can't continue with this, what don't you understand?!"
"You're saying all this in the moment, you don't mean any of it," Omari pleaded.

"I mean it! We're risking so much and there's so much hiding and laying low and what happened today was messed up! Simi was onto you and there was nothing I could do because- because in what capacity was I going to stop her... huh?! Your friends were there, Laurie was in the next room and God knows what would have happened next?!" Yandi hissed, on the brink of breaking down.
"Baby-"
"Omari, please leave."

"Yow, let's get this trip on the tracks," Lesley stood from the waiting chairs and tapped Omari's arm.

They had an estimated ten hour journey ahead of them to Casablanca, and Omari was not ready for the jetlag he was about to have.

He checked his phone one last time, finding no new messages and shoving his phone back in his pocket.

Yandi was clearly serious about them ending 'whatever they had going on'.

***

"I will miss y'all so much. I'm sure I'll visit again for fun," Bisa hugged Laurie and Yandi.
"We'd love that! Travel safe babes," Laurie said, pulling away.
"We'll miss you," Yandi added with a smile.

"Also I'm sorry about last night. I hope you got home okay." Bisa said to Yandi.
"Yeah, its all good. You know how it is with the neighborhood watch and their drills," she laughed softly.
"Oh don't remind me!"

"Anyway, say hi to Zee and the kids, alright?"
"Yandi? Anything for Lawrence?" They smirked at her.
"Tell him I said hi? Why are we even having this conversation?! Bisa, goodbye," they all laughed, bidding her goodbye.