I was seated on the
green S-shaped chair, staring through the glass wall and searching the faces of
every man that walked into the restaurant. I would flinch in anxiety whenever I
caught sight of someone that looked like Farouk and let out a deep sigh when I realise
that he wasn’t the one.
How
could I want someone to be here and not be here at the same time? Gosh! Rafiah,
you’re weird!
Five days, three
minutes and five seconds ago, Farouk invited me to a lunch date. I remember
vividly the remarkable way it had happened. I had just arrived from work and
was about to take a shower when I heard my phone ring. I had dashed out of the
bathroom and hurried to the bed to grab my phone. My heart juddered when I realised
that it was Farouk calling.
He had requested to see
me the following week to talk about some career-related issues, and I swiftly
said yes. It was all I had wanted all week. To get a chance to see Farouk
again. To sit beside him and watch him flash the nicest set of teeth I had ever
seen as he laughed about a random issue.
And there I was, twenty
minutes before the scheduled time, sipping from my bottle of Fanta and
wondering how I would stay composed when I set eyes on Farouk again.
I took out a mirror
from my bag and checked my face for the eleventh time. Mucus, dust, a stain on
my teeth. Whatever. I needed to eliminate anything that would distract Farouk
from admiring my beautiful face.
After confirming that
my face was still in order (my face still glistening courtesy to my new brown powder
and my lips still shimmering with my strawberry gloss), I turned on my data and
went through his website.
I gasped in surprise,
disappointed with myself for not realising that he had made a new update that morning.
At 08:45 am, Farouk had published a new post titled ‘When I Find Love.’
I couldn’t help but
wonder if it was a fictional or non-fictional work. Could Farouk be writing
about me? Well, time will tell.
I was still scrolling
through his older blog posts when I noticed someone enter the restaurant.
Without looking up, I was certain it was Farouk that had walked through the
door.
Whipping my head up, I
caught sight of Farouk approaching my table with a bright smile, as always. He
was dressed in a grey t-shirt and black pair of trousers.
“Asalamu ‘alaykum. May
I have the honour of sitting in front of this beautiful lady?” he said with a
grin.
I flustered and tried
to hide it with a laugh. “Please sit, Farouk. Wa’alaykumu salam.”
“Thank you!” he replied
as he settled on his seat. “So, what have you been up to, Rafiah?”
I sighed deeply and
gulped down the last of my drink. “Well, I’m trying to withstand the pressures
from my family members. Finding the right spouse is really challenging. But my
family members believe it is much simpler than that. Like I could visit a
website and download the right man automatically,” I said with a chuckle.
“You are beautiful and
smart and intelligent. You shouldn’t be concerned about finding the right
person to spend the rest of your life with. You will always find someone
perfect for you. If not now, later,” Farouk said.
“Well, my younger
sister is getting married this weekend. So I had to mute notifications on my
phone so that I could breathe. Believe me, it is not easy at all. And some of
the men out there have these patriarchal and orthodox beliefs. It’s crazy what
these men see women as!”
Farouk laughed softly.
“I think I understand what you’re saying. I’ve met a bunch of them.”
I continued. “And I’ve
tried matchmaking websites. It was a disaster. We’ll stay here till evening if
I relate the encounters I’ve had with men I met from these platforms.”
“I have been in a
similar situation. One of my aunties tried to match me with a lady. The lady
and I share zero interest. We couldn’t relate with each other at all,” Farouk
laughed, and he sat upright. “For example, I have similar interests with you,
you know,” Farouk said, and I wondered if that was a hint that we were a great
match.
I cleared my throat and
looked up at Farouk. “I have decided to become a writer.”
Farouk shook his head
as he watched me carefully. “There is no rush at all. It takes time to make a
big decision like that of your career.”
I rolled my eyes. “I
thought we were here to talk about writing.”
“Well, you caught me. I
actually wanted to spend time with you. What would you like to eat?”
“Oh, I really can’t
eat. I’m sorry. I have to get to work on time,” I said with a frown.
Farouk raised his left
hand and checked the time on his wristwatch. “Okay. We have twenty minutes to
go. I promise to make use of that time judiciously. And I’ll drop you off so
that you’ll get to work early.”
I smiled. “Okay then.
I’ll have basmati rice and fried plantain.”
“Nice choice,” he
grinned as he stood up. “Give me some minutes. I’ll get that right now.”
My stomach flipped in
excitement as I watched him walk towards the counter.
***
About twenty minutes
later, Farouk was driving into the company’s building as we laughed at his
story of searching for amala in the
UK. As Farouk parked his car, I noticed Munir walking past us with his bag of
lunch. He turned sideways when he spotted us in the car and hurried inside the
building.
Farouk and I sat in
silence, knowing full well that we had witnessed the way Munir had totally
ignored us.
“I’m not really close
with my brother. But he has never ignored me in public. This is completely
unusual,” he said and appeared to be deep in thought.
I pulled the seatbelt
away and grabbed the bag of curry rice Farouk insisted I take along. “I need to
get back to work. Thanks for lunch…and everything.”
“I should be thanking
you for taking time to see me. I’ll be travelling to Abuja this evening. I
should return next tomorrow, and I hope to see you again.”
“Me too. Bye. Asalamu ‘alaykum,”
I smiled at him as I alighted from the car and walked into the building.
I had just stepped into
the office when I noticed someone shove my hand. Asmau dragged me to the
kitchen and placed my hand on her stomach. “Rafiah, the baby kicked!” she
squealed in excitement.
“SubhanaLlaah. That’s
amazing! Have you told Jamal?” I asked.
“Of course! I sent him
tons of messages, and he replied with dozens of love messages. I am so
excited!” she grinned at me. “So, how was your date?”
I smiled shyly and
looked around. “I think I might have feelings for Farouk,” I was saying when
Munir entered the kitchen.
Shock and embarrassment
engulfed my face as I froze and stared at the ground. Why did he have to appear
at that exact minute?
“Hi, ladies,” he
greeted us as he grabbed a ceramic plate from the rack and set his lunch on the
table.
“Hi, Munir,” I said as
Asmau and I stared at each other and hoped he hadn’t heard what I said earlier
on.
“Are you okay, Munir?
You’re not your usual bubbly self,” Asmau said with concerned eyes.
Munir smiled at her,
and for the first time in a long time, I saw him flash his set of teeth at us.
“Not really fine. I have mild Malaria. I’ll take the day off tomorrow,” he said
and turned towards me. “How’s preparation for Rasheedah’s wedding?”
“It’s going well. I
think everything is perfect for the D-day,” I replied.
“I hope I’ll be
invited…unlike Tolu’s own,” he chuckled.
“I’m sorry about that.
If you hadn’t given me the go-ahead, I wouldn’t have attended with Farouk,” I
said with a pleading tone.
Munir scratched his
neck and rolled his eyes. “Did you really expect me to say no? I wouldn’t do
that, nah,” he said as he rinsed the
plate. “Well, I’m used to my brother winning my friends due to his charm and
fame. So I signed for it before introducing you to him.”
“I’m so sor…”
“It’s fine, Rafiah.
I’ll catch up with you guys later,” he gave a forceful smile and moved to the
other side of the table with his lunch.
Asmau and I gave
ourselves a knowing look as we walked out of the kitchen and returned to the
office.
***
It was Rasheedah’s
henna party, and ladies took out their phones to capture every moment.
Bottles of kunu tsagyi and trays of spring roll
were placed in front of us as we stretched our hands and legs and gisted while
the henna artist designed our skins.
I was ecstatic!
Rasheedah would be getting married the next day, and we were all gathered to
design our skins for the D-day. I smiled in excitement as a cold gush of wind
tickled my skin. What could go wrong? Mom had collaborated with the wedding planner
to ensure that the day would be perfect as planned, and Khalid’s parents had
spent millions to make the wedding a grand one. Knowing that my sister would
become a married woman in some hours’ time made me joyous.
“So by this time
tomorrow, Rasheedah will be kissing Khalid with free will,” Maimunah, one of
our distant cousins, said with a laugh.
Rasheedah widened her
eyes and smiled shyly. “Maimunah! Don’t say that! You’ll start to make everyone
picture Khalid and me kissing. And I don’t want that.” She gave a burst of throaty
laughter. “Firdaus, did you tag me on your Instagram story? I want to repost.”
“Oh, I forgot. I’ll do
so now,” Firdaus, one of Maimunah’s friends, said as she rammed her fingers on
her phone.
Rasheedah was looking
exceptionally beautiful in a blue gown and gold veil. I was still admiring her
looks when a lady tapped my hand to inform me that my phone was ringing.
‘Farouk’ appeared on
the caller ID. Unable to place the phone to my ears because my hands were
painted with henna, I stealthily clicked on the ‘answer’ button and placed the
call on the loudspeaker.
“Asalamu ‘alaykum,
Rafiah. How’s the party going?”
“Wa’alaykumu salam.
It’s going well. Have you returned to Lagos?”
“Yes, I have. And I
really need to see you. I wouldn’t be able to do anything if I do not express
my thoughts.”
“The henna hasn’t dried
up. I cannot leave now. I’m sorry,” I was saying when I noticed that everyone
was staring at me, especially Rasheedah, who wore a smirk.
“I’ll come over to your
street and wait for you in an eatery…for how long it would take. I don’t mind.
I’ll wait. Is that okay by you?”
“Yes, it is. I’ll send
the address,” I said as my heart faced faster.
Is Farouk about to
propose? Should I also be imagining walking down the aisle soon? Are all these
a dream?’ I thought as I listened to Farouk talk about his flight and how the
airline had delayed the passengers for more than one hour.
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