TO LOVE A BROKEN MAN

19

                                   

He was late and tardiness wasn’t a good sign on the first date because it meant she was about to be stood up. Masika met Kwame at the Friendsgiving dinner and they instantly hit it off so she didn’t hesitate to say yes when he asked her out on a date, because she was ready to forget about Lwazi and celebrate the fact that she dodged a bullet.
     
On paper Kwame was perfect. He was an avid reader like her and they both shared a love for Chinua Achebe, he also loved to travel and beguiled her with tales from his adventures spanning from China to Suriname, and most importantly he didn’t come with a whole lot of baggage. She wasn’t sure what he did for a living because he recently moved to Johannesburg and that might be a problem because she wasn’t looking to support another man financially. 
     
“Can I take your order, ma’am?”
     
She had to crane her neck to see his face. “Not yet, I’m still waiting for someone.”
    
The waiter’s smile vanished like it wasn’t even there and he cleared his throat as if he sensed her discomfort.
     
“Unfortunately I’ll have to allocate this table to someone else if you’re not going to order anything.”
     
“But I’m waiting for someone.”
     
“I understand that, ma’am, but it’s been 30 minutes maybe you should call and find out if they’re still coming?”
     
She almost laughed because it was stupid of him to suggest that, like it wouldn’t be the first thing to do in this kind of situation.
     
“Thank you for mansplaining that to me because I totally had no idea I had to call when someone is running late.”
     
He frowned, confusion apparent on his face as they engaged in a staring contest. “Mansplaining?” The word sounded foreign on his tongue.
     
“Yes, it’s a real word.”
     
“I’ve never heard it before,” he said with a slight shake of his head.
     
“You can get me a glass of water with sliced lemons and no ice while you go look up the definition.”
     
“I’ll give you a moment to decide on your food order.”
     
Masika trained her eyes on the door and disappointment sank faster than the Titanic to the bottom of her stomach when a curly-haired woman walked in but frustration slowly turned to curiosity when she came straight to her table, sporting a wide smile.
     
Heads turned when she passed because she moved with a poise few women possessed and she didn’t let the attention go to her head.
     
“You must be Masika.” She stretched out her hand.
     
Masika hesitated before shaking the stranger’s hand because her smile was disarming up close and she had to admit she was jealous of her high cheekbones. She was beautiful with smooth velvet skin the colour of dark chocolate and she smelled just as delectable.
     
“Yes.”
     
“Nice to meet you, I’m Amari.”
     
She didn’t know anyone by that name so her confusion was warranted.
     
“Can I have a seat? Kwame will be joining us soon.”
     
“Are you his wife because I didn’t know he was married?”
     
The sound of her delicate laugh was pleasing to the ear. “Relax, we’re not married.”
     
Masika’s first instinct was to take flight because she couldn’t even fight to save her life, but her feet turned numb before she could summon the will to run faster than Caster and save herself from further humiliation.
     
Amari was still smiling so maybe she wasn’t here to start a fight but Masika wasn’t comfortable enough to let her guard down.     
     
“I can see why he likes you,” she said, staring into Masika’s eyes.
     
“Did he tell you that?”
     
“Yes, he did.
     
Masika didn’t know what to make of this but she was growing impatient the longer they had to wait for Kwame to show his face.
     
“Are you his sister?”
     
Amari laughed, shaking her head. “I’m his girlfriend, we’ve been together for a few years.”
     
That son of—
     
“There he is.” Amari waved so Kwame could see them from the back of the restaurant, something she didn’t need to do because he would’ve found them with no problem since this place wasn’t that big.
     
Masika couldn’t take her eyes off him because she was baffled to see him smiling as he approached and seemed much at ease, seeing them together.
     
“Ladies. I see you two have met.”
     
They kissed before he sat down and she couldn’t help but feel like they were putting on a show, which made her even more confused because Masika failed to understand what was happening.
     
“You didn’t tell me you have a girlfriend.” She didn’t return his smile, there was nothing to smile about knowing that Amari was the main chick.
     
“Because I knew you wouldn’t come if I had told you.”
     
Oh, so his brain does work he just chose to be stupid unprovoked.
     
“You’re right I wouldn’t have because there’s no reason for me to be here.” She got up and grabbed her bag from the table.
     
“Wait.” He held her hand and the tight grip around her wrist stopped Masika in her tracks. “Please, don’t go.”
     
Did he really beg her to stay in front of his girlfriend? What kind of madness was this? Lefa will never believe her.
     
“What do you want, Kwame?” She couldn’t bring herself to look at Amari because she wouldn’t be so calm if she was in her shoes.
     
“I’m sorry if you feel like we ambushed you but I really wanted you and Amari to meet.”
     
“Why?” she asked.
     
“Because we would like for you to be in a relationship with us,” said Amari.
     
Her ability to remain so calm was something to be admired because Masika’s head was spinning and she was close to losing her marbles.
     
Masika snatched her hand out of Kwame’s grip and fell back on the chair she deserted a moment ago, clutching her bag close to her chest.
     
“You mean a threesome?” She lowered her voice, eyes wide like saucers.
     
“No, a throuple.”
     
“I’ve never done that before.” The words left her mouth before she could stop them.
     
Kwame sighed, worry etched on the lines around his eyes. “I know but D said you’d be open to it.”
     
What?! She was going to kill Demetrius with her bare hands, there was no question about it.
     
“You don’t have to make a decision right now, we’ll give you time to think about it,” said Amari.
     
That would be easy to do if they were talking about a job offer not this.
     
“There’s nothing to think about…”
     
She stopped at the sound of her message alert. It was Lefa telling her that his grandmother was admitted in hospital and that was all she needed to read to get herself out of this freaky situation.
     
“I have to go, Lefa’s grandmother is in hospital.”
     
“I’ll go with you.” Kwame also got up.
     
“No. You don’t have to do that I’ll get myself an Uber.”
     
This was already awkward he didn’t need to make it worse by leaving his girlfriend alone.
     
“It’s okay.” Amari smiled, reassuringly but that did nothing to put Masika at ease because deep down she was actually intimidated by her.
     
“I’ll see you at home,” he said, pulling Amari in for a sultry kiss that had Masika looking away.
    
It was clear to see they loved each other and that she didn’t belong in the equation.

     
Masika was relieved he didn’t make small talk as they walked to his car, her mind was all over the place and she couldn’t hold on to a single thought that mattered. Kwame kept his distance even though his presence was hard to ignore and he didn’t seem to be aware of his allure, and she couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing.
     
Lefa wanted to know if she was on her way because Tebello was busy playing the bored rich housewife at one of the many business functions Gosiame loved to attend to make himself seem important. With his mother and Argentina in the same space there was bound to be drama especially because they were still not on the same page about the whole Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
     
“What are you doing?” she asked when Kwame got in the passenger side.
     
He chuckled, slowly shaking his head. “I sometimes forget that here we drive on the left.”
     
“Is it safe for me to get in the car with you?”
     
“Yeah, it is, I promise.”
     
She stared at him a while longer, contemplating what to do next because it felt like getting in the car would mean she wanted to be part of their love triangle. He waited, patiently, holding the door open for her.
     
Oh, fuck it! She had nothing to lose anyway.
     
Traces of Amari’s perfume still lingered inside and the backseat was storage for her jackets and shoes, reminding Masika that she was in her territory. He turned on the ignition and the radio came on, playing Essence by Wizkid & Tems and he started moving his head to the beat.
     
“What?” She caught him staring at her.
     
“I’d like for you to think about our proposition.”
     
“Buy me something to eat first then maybe I’ll think better with food in my belly.”
     
“What would you like to eat,” he asked, a smirk playing along his lips.
     
“Anything is fine as long as it has no nuts.”
     
He made a U-turn and stopped at a McDonald’s drive-thru and ordered more than enough food to bribe her. Starting with the McFlurry was an easy choice, nothing made the world feel like a better place than ice-cream did.
     
“So, you’re the type that has dessert first?”
     
“I don’t believe in delayed gratification,” she said.
     
“Okay, I feel you.” He chuckled.
     
“Why did you choose me, Kwame, doesn’t your girlfriend satisfy you enough?”
     
His luscious eyebrows gathered in a frown as he turned the radio off and the silence felt rather ominous.
     
“Being in a throuple isn’t all about sex.”
     
“So, is this about inflating your ego by being in a love triangle with two girls fighting for your attention?”
     
His frown deepened because this conversation wasn’t going as planned.
     
“They are not the same thing.”
     
“Enlighten me, please.” She rolled her eyes.
     
“Unlike a love triangle what we’ll have is a balanced, consensual and committed relationship.”
     
“So, we’ll do everything people in a normal relationship do?”
     
“Yes, but there will be times when the three of us won’t be together.”
     
“What about sex?”
    
“That’s a conversation we should have with Amari present because we’ll need to have rules and boundaries for our relationship to work.”
     
If only he knew that she didn’t want Amari in the picture
     
“So, you two have done this before?”
     
“Yes.”
     
“Your girlfriend is either incredibly brave or stupid.”
     
It looked like her comment hit a nerve. “Why do you say that?”
     
“Because if I were in her shoes I wouldn’t share you with anyone.”
     
“The beauty of our relationship is that we understand a person is capable of loving other people.”
     
Looking at him, it was hard not to believe a single word that came out of his mouth.
    
“So, does that mean you’re already in love with me?”
     
He smiled, stealing a glance in her direction. “I’m attracted to you and the chemistry is there, and I don’t doubt that you and Amari will get along if you give us a chance.”
     
She unwrapped her burger and ate in silence but she enjoyed nothing about it because her taste buds were working against her, and she was sure the knots in her stomach would force everything out in a spew of vomit.
     
There was a parking ticket machine at the hospital’s entrance and the steep prices were proof of how greed driven the private sector was. Because the parking area wasn’t even big they had to wait for someone to leave to get space.
     
“You don’t have to come in with me,” she said, when he unfastened his seatbelt.
     
He nodded, facing forward. “When will I see you again?”
     
She didn’t understand why the mood was sombre all of a sudden.
     
“What you have going on with Amari works for the both of you but I can’t be a part of it.”

She got out of the car and walked away without so much as a backward glance, at this point she might as well stay single.