Catherine woke with a start when she heard a knock on the door.She had always been a light sleeper. She squinted as she checked the time on her phone.7:47am. Trust Becca to come home so early.
She crawled out of bed and yawned as she walked across the flat to the door. She didn’t even bother to check who it was before she unlocked and opened the door.
‘Oh’ The man standing in front of her said with disappointment.
‘Hi,morning. I was hoping to see Rebecca. Uh, I’m Timi.’
Rubbing her eyes, she looked him over. ‘Uhm,Timi?You must be Becca’s boyfriend.’
Moving aside to create space,‘Come on in.’
‘Thanks,sorry to disturb you , but is she home?’
'No,but I’m sure she’d be home soon. Come in though, it’s cold
outside.’
She pointed to the only couch in the living room, ‘Have a seat.’
Just realizing that she was wearing only shorts and a sheer tank top, she crossed her arms around her chest.
‘Give me a minute to put on something more decent.’
He nodded and sat down,taking out his phone from his pocket.
Back in her room, as Cathy put on an oversized t-shirt that was
hanging on the door of her wardrobe, she wondered why Becca didn’t tell her that her boyfriend was coming over so early. She
removed her shorts and put on her checkered pyjamas bottoms
instead.
When she returned to the living room after a short bathroom
break, she saw Timi skimming through a magazine that he
probably picked from the center table.
When he sensed her presence and looked up, she spoke,
‘Becca didn’t tell me that you were coming over.’
‘Actually, I wanted to surprise her.’
‘Well, you surprised me. She told me she had a boyfriend but I
can’t say she told me a lot about you.’
She took that moment to really observe him. Even while seated,
she saw that he was tall. Through his tight-fitting shirt, she could
tell he was muscular, he looked like he worked out a lot.He
wasn’t terrible looking face-wise too, his dark chocolate skin was
smooth. Cute, she thought as she mentally high-fived her friend.
‘We started dating just recently, and I think she told me you were
out of town.’
‘Yeah,arrived last night. Do you want coffee or tea or something?
I need some caffeine in me if I’m to continue this conversation.’
As though her subconscious was agreeing, she yawned.
He chuckled, ‘Yeah, I’d have whichever.'
‘Alright, you’d have some black tea, give me a minute. You can
turn on the TV, I’m sure Becca paid for cable.'
Catherine put the tray containing their cups of tea, sugar and milk
on the small dining table and signaled for Timi to come join her.
‘Help yourself.’
‘Thanks’ He replied and added some milk.
Catherine sipped her tea, it was the way she liked it- plain.
She took her phone and dialed Becca, to Timi, she announced,
‘I’m calling Becca. Don’t worry, I won’t ruin your surprise.
‘Hey, Becca, morning’ She said, when the call was connected.
‘Hi, Cathy. I didn't expect you to be awake this early. What’s up?’
‘Nothing much,where are you?’
‘On my way home,why?Is anything wrong'
‘No,not at all. I wanted to cook and wanted to know if I should
cook yours. But, tell me you aren’t driving.’
‘I pulled over,and yes,cook mine.'
‘How far are you from home?’
‘Not too long. I’d be home in fifteen to twenty minutes’
‘Alright, I’d start cooking. Bye.’
When she disconnected the call,she told Timi,
‘She’d be here in twenty minutes tops.’
‘Ah,good,thanks for not ratting me out’
‘No p.I should be giving you a tough time asking you questions
since this is the first time I’m meeting you.You know,to check if
you are good enough for my friend. I’m too hungry to do that
though. I should ask you,does your surprise include breakfast?’
‘It does actually,I plan to take her to eat at that new coffee shop
in the estate.’
‘Good,I don’t have to cook for you guys.’
‘Thanks for sparing me the interrogation’
‘Oh,don’t get cocky. It will still happen. Another time when I have
food inside me.’
He smiled and took a last swig of his tea.Catherine cleared the table and got started on breakfast.
Timi was watching a rerun of a soccer match when he heard a car
drive in the front yard.
‘Catherine, she’s here.’
‘Oh,well it’s about time.'
Rebecca walked in carrying her heels and purse. She walked right into the kitchen and hugged Catherine.
‘Ah, Cathy, I’ve missed you. You are a godsend. When last did I get home to a hot home cook…’
‘Hey baby’ Timi announced himself.
‘My goodness, Timi! What are you doing here?’ Becca asked,
surprised and disengaged herself from Catherine.
Becca immediately embraced Timi and he gave her a peck on the cheek.
‘Ok, now that you’re through rubbing your boyfriend in my face,I’d give you two some space. Keep an eye on my food.’Catherine said and slipped out of the kitchen.
‘Darling, I’ve got to say, you surprised me.’ Becca gushed.
‘That was the plan.’ Timi replied as he pulled Becca closer.
‘Hope Cathy didn’t give you a hard time, she can be quite
inquisitive’
‘She didn’t, she promised me a probing later though.’
Becca laughed against his chest.
‘That sounds like Cathy alright.’
‘So babe,I came to take you out’
‘Oh,’she said delightedly, ‘do I need to change my clothes?'
‘You look perfect. You might want to take a jacket though. Harmattan is setting in and I’d like us to walk.’
‘Cathy, we are heading out. 'Becca called out and took her keys
from the bowl.
‘Have fun. It was nice meeting you,Timi.’ She locked the door and
walked to the kitchen only to find her yam slices burnt.
~~
Hope you enjoyed that. That's only the beginning, definitely stick around for more. Please vote, comment and follow. Thanks.
-Eliza 😘
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The Street And The Neat
ChickLitA story of two women in their late twenties, who have everything they could ever want, a successful career, some cash in the bank and a great family. What else could they wish for?... Right, love
