A TIME TO HEAL

CHAPTER FIVE

I TRIED to pick Kelvin up in the morning of the days that followed, but he was always out of the house before I arrived. At first, I'd thought he was at home and ignoring me until a neighbor of his shouted at me for knocking heavily on the door continuously. He informed me rudely that he was out of the house and that I should do the same by driving out in my shinning car. He really did call my car shinning. I was relieved for the interruption because my knuckles were getting raw from knocking too hard.

I went back to the silent car rides but this time around my conscience chastised me for going off on Kelvin. He had not hurt me in anyway and my words had clearly hurt him. He wanted nothing to do with me, because he was doing a fine job avoiding me.

During closing hours, I waited for him for hours in the car but he never once showed up. I couldn't even catch a sniff of him, it was like he never existed. His perfume scent still lingering in my car was the only thing that reminded me that he really had been there. We had been friends laughing, singing and sharing donuts together. I had known him for only few days and I managed to disrupt whatever friendship we could have had.

The most eventful thing that happened to me all week was finally finishing up my project and submitting the edited version to my boss. I'd heard whispers all week in the coffee room that my boss was going to be traveling to Abuja with one of the staff. They were going to present the drawings and schematics of the earpiece to the company that would mass produce them.

I was excited, because I knew without a doubt that I was the one going with him since I worked on the project. Thinking of how exciting the trip was going to be erased my worries over Kelvin. When my boss called I and Gwyneth into his office later that week, I moon walked over there to hear him finally tell me that I was going to go with him. I stood next to Gwyneth and wiped the grin off my face to seem serious as my boss motioned for us to sit.

"Fatimah, I want you to put Gwyneth through on the project you recently finished, since she's the one going with me to Abuja," he said without warning.

My heart stopped beating and I looked from my boss to Gwyneth, my head moving in slow motion. Gwyneth was wearing a smile now; the smile I should be wearing.

"What?!" I asked dumbly, my voice coming out as a whimper.

"Fatimah put Gwyneth through. Is that so hard to understand?" He raised his hands and dropped them in annoyance.

"I understand, sir. I just thought I was the one going with you since I worked on the project," I finished in one breath.

"And you did an outstanding job, I couldn't be prouder. We have so much more to do and I don't want you with me so you can work on something else while I'm away."

"I really don't mind. I could work on the project and still go with you."

He sighed and took out a sachet of antacid to chew before replying me. Gwyneth remained by my side still wearing that stupid grin.

"I know that, but it's going to be too stressful. Gwyneth will do, you focus on this." He passed me a file of documents and I picked it up. It felt like a bomb parcel.

"That seems reasonable to me," Gwyneth said.

I shot her a menacing look and that wiped the smile off her pretty face.

"Yes, you can leave now. I've a meeting soon." My boss dismissed us and I walked toward the door holding the file that felt so heavy in my hands.

I noticed Gwyneth trailing behind me and I remembered that I was meant to put her through. As I got to my desk, I opened the bottom drawer and fished out the notepad I made all the jotting I did while working on the project. I handed it to Gwyneth.