It was my eighteenth birthday, and since it came just days after Valentine's Day, he had made plans for us to spend that weekend together. He hadn't even consulted me, all I'd received was a text telling me to be ready. My father was not around, and I knew that leaving without my mother's express approval would amount to a big argument but when you grow up with super strict parents you come to appreciate asking for forgiveness rather than permission. He'd bought me a beautiful white dress I had been wanting for a long time. At 110 USD,it was expensive. We were just kids,broke but hella happy, wanting to love like we see in the movies but at the same time realizing we were for financially disabled so we ended up appreciating all the minor details,from simple cheap dates to the occasional expensive weekend retreat. I had started working out and by this time my body was taking on the fine symmetry and muscle to fat ratio I had always wanted. The dress fit like a charm. That for me was another endearing quality for me. I don't know a man who can pick out an outfit for his woman that will fit perfectly apart from him. This I paired with some stilettos I bought some while ago and was waiting for the perfect moment. He was to pick me up at 7:00 p.m and he was there, right on time. This isn't one of those fairy tales where he ushered me into his car or something like that,we took an Uber to this amazing place called Stedmak. It was beautiful. The place looked like one of those images on Pinterest. I knew that this date had not been for me, he was interested in another girl and she bailed on him with just a day to go so he had asked me,but I was here,with my favorite person in the whole world and nothing would dampen my spirits. A waitress ushered us to our table,he ordered for me. At the time I was on a vegan diet and one of the main reasons I had been able to persevere was because of his constant support and encouragement.
“We are going to Narok for the weekend,” he said
“No!” I shot back. Escaping for a night out was completely different from going away for the weekend.
“Yes we are. Tell me a reason we can't go.”
“I don't have extra clothes.”
“I packed a bag for you.”
“I don't have extra underwear.”
“Packed those too.”
I was running out of options. The bastard had out-thought me. I wanted so badly to go, but the repercussions were too dire. And then he called my mom and handed me the phone.
“Hello Mum.”
“You can go this weekend. But when you come back we'll talk about why you left without asking for my consent.”
He'd actually asked my mother for permission to take me away. He was smirking, something I only saw when he felt he'd pulled off something amazing.
“Thanks Ma! I love you.”
**********
Narok is beautiful country. All you can see for miles on end is arid country and getting to gaze upon it on a moonlit night is pure magic. He had booked a place for us in Naserian Lodge. Some locals refer to it as Ol Genges. It was the most tranquil location I had ever been to. Our ‘room’ was comfortably bigger than our entire apartment. A bedroom with a sitting area, an outdoor deck that had a small hot tub, a kitchenette, an informal dining table and even a small pool. These were features I would appreciate the following day because we had arrived too tired to do anything. We slept as we had come, me in my dinner dress and him in his…whatever he was wearing because he literally has no fashion sense. I woke up late the following morning, I have never been an early riser, to find him already making breakfast. He is a decent cook, better than me by far and he made us tea and coffee, blueberry pancakes which have always been my favorite, scrambled eggs and the hotel did also bring us the standard breakfast they offered. He even encouraged me to break my diet for a day, after all some moments are worth enjoying. We had gotten a tour car to the Mara, and for a fee they let you drive yourself around the park. We got to an observatory and it was here that I poured out my heart to him. He was both everything I could ever want…and nothing I could ever have. He always told me that we could never get together and with time I had come to accept that. I had seen him grow from a skinny boy to a lean young man,from a raging rake to a new person who wanted nothing but to find love,that is what we all want in the end isn't it? He'd gotten broken along the way and now that we were finally together,alone,in a place of silent reflection and quietude, I realized that no one would ever really love him as much as I could. I knew his most intimate secrets,I had lived them with him. I knew he wasn’t perfect, but he did the best impression of it I’ve ever seen.
