Simple Happiness

Chapter Five

Liz smiled when the driver started the car and left the railway station. She had outdone herself this time.

"Lissette Lukorito, you're genius!" she said.

"Did you say something Ma'am?" the taxi driver asked.

Her jaw dropped. Did I say it out loud? She wondered.

She pursed her lips and shook her head. "No. I didn't say anything."

The fact that Ethan believed her charade filled her with joy. She was finally free of him. What if she decided to get into the same taxi with him then things went down south? She imagined what the news headlines would look like: TWENTY-THREE YEAR OLD WOMAN RAPED AND MURDERED IN COLD BLOOD. The thought of it made her shiver. She blinked and shook her head. What a scandal it would be, she thought.

Ethan remained dazed at the direction Liz's taxi went for a moment. He was wondering what had happened to make her leave in a hurry. Who's Sunshine? He wondered.

That girl made him worry. He didn't understand why. It was like he lost himself when he met her.

At first, when she got into the taxi and left, he almost got into the next taxi. He wanted to tail her and make sure that everything was alright. However, he decided against it. They had only met today. He thought it would be foolish to follow her around.

Whoever said that love could turn a wise and intelligent person into a fool was right. Look at what he had become — a stunning and respectable programmer who was used to being chased by girls worried sick over a girl he barely knew. He had never done that with any other girl. Liz was his first. He didn't understand why he was very attracted to her from the first moment he laid his eyes on her. She was special. He was yet to find out why.

He stood there for a while, thinking about Liz then hailed a taxi and left.

Liz got to Tamara's house in the darkening of the evening. Tamara was happy to see her. They hadn't seen each other for a while.

"How was your trip?" Tamara asked, sitting next to her.

Liz smiled. "The trip was okay," she said. "I met a hot guy today."

Tamara's eyes lit up as her jaw dropped. "Tell me everything," Tamara said. "Who is he? How did you meet? What does he do? How..."

"Hey, slow down." Liz threw her hands in the air. "How am I going to answer all those questions?"

"Forgive me for my curiosity," she said. "I just want to know the kind of man who made you want to fall in love again."

"Who said I want to fall in love again?"

"Are you sure?" she moved closer and scrutinized her face. "It's not every day that you get to meet a hot guy."

"Well, you're right," Liz said. "Are you going to let me tell you the rest of the story?"

"Of course, spit it out."

"Okay. He was sitting next to me on the train. His name is Ethan. He's very handsome. You should have seen him."

Tamara smiled. "Hmm..."

Liz cupped her face with her hands and smiled. "He has very beautiful dimples," she said.

Tamara gave her a wicked smile and threw small punches at her. "You noticed his dimples..."

"It was impossible not to," she said, then stared blankly in the space.