Life-moving moments

Chapter 14

(2002)

"No, no Tweety. Not now please, my baby."

It's no use. Tweety has no plans to go anywhere.

So now, I'm stuck outside Matt's house, on this Friday morning.

"Shit, shit, shit!" I say, banging my head against the hooter, which also stopped working a few months ago.

Aunty Wadi comes outside to see what is happening. I'm not surprised that Matt is not with her. He's still furious with me.

Lately, things have not been any better between us, nor has it been any worse. We're still stuck in this weird tug of war, me pulling away, him pushing back. Me asking for space, him giving me less. And, now that his parents are aware that things are tense between us, they seem to not be able to get enough of me. They invite me for supper at least once a week and Aunty Wadi tried to give me an engagement ring. I told her we weren't seriously discussing marriage but it hasn't stopped her from bringing it up nearly every time I visit.

She's also started wanting to have serious discussions about religion and conversion and made it painfully clear that she would not acknowledge any grandchildren that weren't Muslim, just as Matt had predicted.

The night before she tried to rope Matt in for support and he refused to take sides. I was just as annoyed with him because he hadn't taken my side either. He was the one who had prematurely mentioned marriage to his mother but now he refuses to put an end to the discussions. It had ended up in a fight that lasted well into the night and then I curled up on the spare room bed, not wanting to drive home so late and overslept. I ended up taking a sick day from work. I didn't want to but I was exhausted. 

So, here I am, trying to get to my car started, so that I can get home and rest before packing for camp and picking up Emily and Andrea.

"Maybe it's a sign," Aunty Wadi says. "It's not right that you're leaving while things are so uncertain with Mogamat. You need to learn to stick it out and resolve your problems and not run away."

"I'm not running away." But I know I am wasting my time, even as I say it.

"Come inside and have some coffee." She walks back into the house, and I know that she assumes I will automatically follow. I do eventually, after realising that it would be better making arrangements to get away from here while sipping coffee than sitting in a cold car. 

She smiles when she sees me enter and puts the kettle on. While she is making coffee, I message James.

ME: Hey, I'm in a pickle.

JAMES: I like pickles.

ME: You won't like this one. Is Terence home?

JAMES: You're looking for Terence?

ME: I'd prefer you, but he has a car.

JAMES: Explain please.

I do. While I sip my coffee, I message James and make a plan. Thankfully Aunty Wadi was silent the whole time.

When I finish, I looked up to find her smiling at me.

"So you cancelled your plans?"

That's what she'd assumed I was doing.

"No, I asked my friends to fetch me and my cousin PJ will come and tow Tweety."

Aunty Wadi's face falls.

We sit in annoyed silence when my phone pings with another text.

TERENCE: Okay, so, I didn't want to drive up and down so I organised a lift for Emily and Andrea.