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"Are we still in Kitalo City?" Latoya asked as I led the way to Chicken Crunch, a start-up fast food spot in the city that had reminded me of her the moment I bit into their food.
"Yeah, we are." I chuckled lightly, understanding why this fast food hub must be such a shock to her system. It was fast food heaven, with several stores specialising in all kinds of delicacies, the actual street smelling like the kitchen of a skilled chef.
Latoya was in awe as she took in our surroundings, the wonderment in her eyes reminding me of the innocence of children. How she could be breathtakingly sexy and heart-warmingly cute at the same time was as big a mystery to me as the Great Zimbabwe Ruins.
"Wow, I'm shocked that this has been out here and I had no clue." she marveled as we entered the air conditioned dining area of Chicken Crunch, my steps deliberately slow behind her so I could subtly enjoy the enticing view of her rhythmic walk for a few seconds. One day, maybe I'd write a song about how this girl had me permanently hooked with little to no effort.
"Did you move out of the city when you left your old flat?" I asked her once we'd settled in a booth together, the gears in my mind hard at work to remind me not to stare.
"Yeah, I moved to Kisho Valley to live with my sister."
"Your sister? You found your family?"
She shook her head, her energy shifting from relaxed to slightly wound up. "Just Cheyenne and Gogo."
"Wow, Cheyenne, your sister who you thought about everyday for years?" I confirmed, surprised. I got a simple nod from Latoya and called to mind a memory of her telling me about being separated from her family at eleven, her eyes filled with regret and sadness as we sat in the dim studio during a break we'd taken on one of our late night music-making sessions. She'd been distraught, her sadness bearing a weight that completely changed the mood in the room. "What was that like?"
"So nerve wracking," she exclaimed through a nervous chuckle. "I thought she'd hate me."
"Why would anyone hate you?" The words tumbled out of me in a sensitive pitch, very clearly indicating that I was taken aback by her words. She was either oblivious to how weird that was, or kind enough not to address it, because she didn't comment on it. Instead, she averted her eyes, the corners of her mouth slightly drooping as she said, "My dad's people hate me."
"Because of the accident?"
"Yeah. They still believe I did it on purpose."
"They're out of their minds." I said with a simple shrug.
My words were followed by silence, the arrival of our waiter with our drinks leaving them suspended in the air. Latoya nursed a kiwi banana smoothie while I popped the lid off my tried and tested Hunters Gold. The quiet moment between us stretched, my mind swimming with questions about what she was thinking but choosing to let her process it the best way she knew how.
