HEAR ME TOO!

PART FOURTEEN

About thirty minutes after the call with Uche, Ben heard his phone ring and thought it was his friend calling back to make a snide comment. When he saw the caller ID, he froze in his tracks. He was going to text her to ask if she was okay, just like Uche had suggested but he hadn't expected her to call so early. Clearing his throat, he picked up the call.
"Hello,"
"Hi Ben, good morning," came her gentle reply.
"Good morning to you too Isabel. Are you okay?"
"Yes I'm fine, thank you. How about you?"
"Yeah I'm okay."
There was a pause for a few seconds before she said "I'm really sorry about last night. I didn't mean to freak out and leave you behind."
"Oh, I-"
Isabel cut him off before he could finish.
"I know you'll tell me it's fine and that you understand but it was wrong of me to leave you there. I should have at least let you take me home. It's not your fault Ken chose to visit that restaurant."
"It's alright, I accept your apology," Ben said and deciding to clear up his confusion, he continued, "May I ask who Ken is? He seemed to really shake you up."
"Umm, he's my ex."
"The one we had a mock burial for?"
"Yes, him."
"I thought you called him Jonathan? That's if I'm not mistaken."
"Yes, I did. That's his second name. Everybody calls him Ken but I used to call him Jonathan."
"Oh! That's why I couldn't figure out who he was."
"A few months after our breakup, Winnie suggested I stop calling him Jonathan."
"Oh, why?"
"She said it might help with the healing process. I was the only one who called him Jonathan. He said he wanted me to use a different name because I was special."
"Oh. Now I understand her logic. So if you kept calling him Jonathan, you might still feel like you're special to him and try to find a reason to hold on to him."
"Yeah, exactly. It's complicated but that was the reason she gave."
"So did it make you feel better? Calling him by a general name I mean?"
"Yes it did, a little bit."
"Wow."
"Yeah. Anyway, that's that. How do I make it up to you?"
"Hmmm," Ben said, "How about a trip to Mars?"
Isabel laughed and then replied "Come on Ben, be serious."
"Okay, how about we hang out again?" Ben asked.
"I didn't think you'd want to go out with me again after what happened last night."
"Why would I not? None of what happened was your fault."
"Thank you so much. How about we hang out tonight?"
"That would be great. What time would be okay for you?"
"7pm. This time, I'm picking you up."
"Yes ma'am," Ben said with a laugh.
"Alright then, I'll see you soon," she said.
"Okay, bye."
After the call, Ben whooped and jumped on his bed. She wanted to go out with him, again! He was so happy and didn't stop to question why. Getting up, he walked to his wardrobe and pulling it open, started exploring outfit options.
*****
Uche Nweze stood at the window of his bedroom after the call with Ben, looking at nothing in particular. He sighed and kept staring outside, deep in thought. Truth be told, he wanted to settle down as fast as possible. He was genuinely tired of searching and wished the person whom he would eventually marry would just appear. Just like Ben, Uche had also been heartbroken. It happened a few years back but he had told himself after a few months of wallowing in misery that just because one person hurt him didn't mean the whole world would.
Since then, he had kept looking but he still hadn't found anyone so far. He wasn't giving up though because he really wanted he and Ben to have that double wedding they had planned ages ago. Smiling at the thought, he headed to the room he had turned to a mini-gym.
"This body has to stay in shape for future wifey," he said to himself with a smile.