The Crowded Room

3. Back In Black.

"Lulu, you look great."

My hands feel clammy as I fiddle with the hem of Mila's tight fitted black chiffon mini dress. Neil's words flutter in the air pointlessly. The drive to Tableview feels excruciatingly slow as he rambles on and on about how well he thinks tonight will go for me. Truthfully, I know it comes from a good place, but I just can't hear him through the blaring palpitations of my own racing heart.

My nerves are kicking in.

I shift uncomfortably in my seat; it feels like my seatbelt is choking me. The echo in my head is painful and deafening as everything tells me that this is probably a huge mistake and that we should turn around and go home. Neil sees me heading in the direction of cold turkey and laughs his wrinkles protruding in the process. I look at him while his focus is on the road ahead of us.

"What the fuck is so funny?"

He shakes his head nonchalantly with his teeth exposed from his grin.

"I've just never seen you sweat like this."

My disdain is evident. I don't sweat. I try to think of a narly statement I could swing his way, unfortunately, nothing comes to mind as my nervous breakdown draws near.

Am I this transparent?

City lights appear in the distance, and I can feel my heart drop to my stomach and my chest tighten as we enter the designated area. I clearly did not drink enough for this. After a few more minutes we stop in what seems a residential area, but I can't make out much from the dark due to it being loadsheddng.

Typical South Africa.

Neil halts the vehicle abruptly in front of a gated house and I shoot him an unamused look as the seatbelt harshly restricts my airflow. Is he trying to kill me before my unconfirmed date even starts? Ignoring him and making quick work to unbuckle my seatbelt and put on my black leather jacket, I shove my bag over my shoulders and make haste to exit the vehicle. Once I swing open the door to attempt to make a run for it, I bump into Neil who strongly latches his arm into mine to politely escort me to the gate. His smile, even in the dark, is as clear as daylight.

What is this father daughter time?

I don't get a chance to hiss and pull myself away from his annoying grasp as I see a striking vision of Pierre standing a short distance away. Even in the dark his silhouette has me gawking. Wearing a dark-coloured jean and a cream jersey he walks towards us and Neil finally lets go of my arm. With that, I am able to greet him. I give him a hug but the whole interaction feels unwholesome and stiff. He barely looks at me.

The fuck?

It is so quick and so brief it feels as if I hugged a perpendicular shaped wall.

He then shakes Neil's hand. They initiate polite conversation, but I don't listen. Instead, I become entertained by Khaya, their dog. She looks at me sceptically from behind Pierre. I stretch out my hand allowing her to familiarise herself with my scent. It takes her a while, but she looks up at me with big brown eyes and moves herself more towards me and eventually allows me to pet her. Her fur is soft as I scratch her behind her bouncy ears. She adores the attention.

"Take care of my girl."

I dramatically roll my eyes as my interaction with the dog is cut short. Pierre looks to Neil and sternly nods.

Suddenly, I am slapped harshly in the face by reality. I see them embrace and then Neil gives my shoulder an assuring squeeze. Panic arises within me once again as I watch him walk away from us and towards his vehicle.

It's now or never.

I don't get time to think about running away as Pierre whisks me towards the house. I do my best not to trip and fall as he guides me along with his hand gently placed on my lower back. Now this feels much less awkward.