HOW I MET MY CHEATING GIRLFRIEND

Episode 2

Just before she could get up from her seat, Sweeney looked straight at my eyes steadily, and smiled. This was the first time I saw her small gap between her upper teeth, with her lips that she had applied red lipsticks on. This made me to remember some local artists who used to praise their wives that had the gaps. “I think this is the best opportunity to use. I can’t misuse it!” I thought. But some fears ran into my mind. One of my roommates, James, once told me that a lady who looks at you straight at the eye must be someone “who knows a lot”. This is a Luo word that could be translated to someone who have had or met several men before. So, she’s not afraid.

“Tell me the last word before I leave, please,” she requested.

It’s the last word. I got confused. Should I tell her I was in love with her, or should I ask her to give me her phone number?

“I need to tell you two things.” I stated, “Sweeney, am in love with you and I need your phone number,” I added.

“So do you need my love or my phone number?” She asked, with her face becoming more serious.

Boy child under siege! They do say. This question was very tricky. It meant I could win one and miss the other one. “But how could we be in love without communicating?” My own thoughts disturbed my mind. If I asked for the love, and be given, I would come out of that place very happy.

Before I could give the response, there was a message notification on my tab. “Excuse me darling, you have a text message.” This is just my message notification ringtone. I had been single until I chose every message to call me darling, even if it was for Fuliza and Tala. I tried to assume it. Within a few seconds, another notification came in – so I had to check. “Oya bro, gotea Sweeney maze.” This was a text from Jumia, Kenya.

“So Sweeney is even known by the Jumia, Kenya? Or she has been posted online and customers ordered for her?” I wondered before I could realize the text was from Martine, a Jumia agent in Kisumu. I bought my tab online with Jumia and he was the guy who was my argent, but I decided to save him as “Jumia, Kenya”.

“I need your love!” After a long struggle with the best option, I opened up. I knew the Jumia man had her phone number so I could easily get it from him, even if I didn’t get if from her. I never told her anything about that guy – maybe she could get surprised. I kept silent on it, and never replied to Martine’s messages as well. “Once she leaves, I’ll go to him and get the contact. Am sure I’ll get it.” I got the best way to console myself.

“Hold my hands.” She said while getting up from her seat. She had a medium height and I was just taller than her with some inches. Her head could reach my shoulders. She was beautiful.

And what are men looking for in a lady? Zum, a friend of mine told me that when you meet a lady, “look at the front and back”. But what did he mean? Check if she’s beautiful from the face, well placed and round breasts and check if she has medium ass that’s directly proportional to her body size.

Directly proportional to body size? It’s almost 3 years since I sat in a mathematics class. Maybe, this could be the area I could mess up with. While getting up, I saw her beautiful “front and back”. I got satisfied.

“Osy, I love the way you are,” she said while holding my hands.

“…the way you are…” Could this mean that I was smart or she meant “I love you,”? Another test yet arrived! I decided to believe she also meant “I love you” and I responded, “I love you too.”

While holding her hands, my feelings got raised. I was deeply in love with Sweeney, something I couldn’t hide from her. But wait! All these were happening in public. Being a Political Science student, I was used to be in public and I was not worried. But how about this young lady? She could not even shy away from my feelings. Thank God I never worn that my tight brown trouser. Otherwise, what I was feeling could be made visible.

In the process of holding hands together for that long, looking straight at each other while being so close, what could be happening next? A kiss! I wanted to go for her lips, but just before they could meet, her phone rang again.

Sweeney immediately withdrew her smooth and warm hands from me. In a lovely voice, she said, “I love you. Take care of yourself. Bye!” She took her black purse, removed the phone, checked who the caller was, smiled and left.

Stranded I remained because I didn’t know who was calling but I just thought she could be her mother. But again, why did she have to smile at the phone? I didn’t want my conscious to take me that far. I decided to believe it was her mom. “What if she gives me love and someone else gives me her contact? I think that won’t be bad.” I said to myself because I was sure I would get her contact from Martine, the Jumia man who asked me to greet her. “But what if I don’t get it?” Another silly thought tried to linger in my mind, but I kept on assuming this.