“A white guy?!!!” All the girls shrieked at the same time, incredulous.
“Oh? You people why?” Kyerewa asked, lowkey not surprised by her friends’ reactions. They had always joked about how none of them could ever be attracted to a “white guy” …until Kyerewa. If her friends reacted this way, how would her parents take it?
After the first encounter with the stranger she later got to know as Brad, they struck a friendship.
Kyerewa wasn’t sure how she made the time, but now she always looked forward to going to the café, a little more than usual, hoping she’ll see him. The first few times, he had only said hello, like clockwork. But after a month and a couple of weeks, she had invited him to have a seat, much to his surprise. Honestly, Kyerewa was surprised at how quickly she had taken to him. She had made it a point to get to the café a few minutes earlier, so she could finish her tasks for the day to make time for her chats with Brad. It had almost become a ritual.
So, she wasn’t too surprised when he asked if they could go on an actual date.
“But we’ve been talking?”
Brad laughed. “I know, but maybe somewhere different. Different is good…sometimes.”
“True.”
She liked this guy. She didn’t believe in love at first sight, but they had definitely struck a good rapport right from the first day. He had a great sense of humor and was surprisingly more “Ghanaian” than she thought. He knew even more afrobeat music than she did, and his love for waakye needed to be investigated.
As she got to know him, she briefly felt ashamed for writing him off the first day.
“You racist!” her friends had teased her as she filled them in on everything.
From their regular chats, Kyerewa learned that Brad was from the UK, but his job had brought him to Ghana for a few months.
“I must admit, the British accent is hot,” Betty faked as they gathered around Kyerewa for more information.
“Ei, who would have thought, Kyerewa?!” Ana howled in laughter, in a much better mood than the last time they had met as a group, which was about 2 months ago.
“The no-nonsense, I don’t have time madam,” Manza added.
“Ei, Manza, you’ve also joined them?” Kyerewa said incredulously.
Manza winked and shrugged.
“Herh my girl, today we’re going to make a toast in your honour,” Naa chipped in while keeping an eye on Aiden and Eden running around.
“Yessss,” all the girls agreed.
“Yessss,” Aiden and Eden echoed, giggling.
Kyerewa rolled her eyes. She would have probably blushed if it weren’t for her dark ebony skin.
The girls had really gotten her this time…
…………………………………………………………….
As the girls teased Kyerewa about her new catch, Betty’s phone kept ringing, much to her annoyance. She didn’t’ get why Lanre, her ex, was being so consistent with his calls. After her break up some years back, she decided to focus more on building herself up in every way. She had taken her new fashion business as her baby and wasn’t ready for any distractions.
“Pick the call,” Manza had nudged her, but Betty had just shrugged and whispered, “Later.”
Betty wasn’t ready to go down that road. It had taken a while for her to get over what Lanre had done to her. The pain she felt after she had found out he had been cheating on her all that while almost killed her. She had heard the “all men cheat” mantra but thought it would never apply to her. It had taken a lot to eventually forgive him, but she firmly believed that forgiving him didn’t mean she had to let him back into her space.
“I can forgive but never forget,” she had said tearfully, the day she had told her friends about everything that happened. Since that day, she had resolved never to cry over a man again. What she needed to focus on now was growing her business.
Breaking her train of thought, she sat down at her desk back home, feeling relaxed after a good time with the girls. She opened up her folder and started to draw up some designs. Betty had landed a big client and wanted to get it right. This could be her opportunity to give her business the push it needed…
……………………………………………………………………..
Naa had been having sleepless nights for some time. She found it ironic because she almost always felt exhausted but couldn’t get quality sleep when her head hit the pillow. Sometimes she wished she could knock Papa’s head; he was busily snoring and changing gears when she could barely catch a few winks. She had found a way to turn her sleepless nights into a time for prayer, but sometimes she also wished she could get quality sleep so she could feel well-rested and concentrate at work. Thankfully, the twins slept throughout the night most of the time. And it was no wonder because they were a very active bunch. Papa often offered to take care of them on weekends so Naa could handle the other chores. But time never felt enough for her.
“You still won’t consider getting help?” Papa sometimes asked, a bit concerned.
“No o, I don’t think anything can change my mind. I don’t want to risk it and bring any bad person into our home.”
Papa shook his head, trying his best to hide a smile. He loved his wife but sometimes felt she took on unnecessary burdens when she could make things easier for herself. The last thing he was going to do, however, was trying to convince her any further. His wife could be headstrong when she had made up her mind.
On one of the weekends, when Papa decided to take the twins to the new fun house that had opened not too far from their home, Naa took a nap after preparing a hearty meal and prepping for the rest of the week. After a lot of tossing and turning, she finally fell asleep. She didn’t even hear when Papa and the kids got back.
“Naa,” Papa shook her gently. “We’re back.”
“Mmmm…welcome back, my loves,” she responded sleepily. After a few seconds, she sat upright, the sleep vanishing from her eyes.
“What?” Papa asked, a bit alarmed.
“I had a dream, Papa.”
“What was it about?” Papa asked, used to his wife’s dreams.
“I quit my job…”
*******************************************************
Do you agree that you can truly forgive without forgetting, like Betty?
Again, like Betty, what disappointment have you faced and how did you get over it?
How do you balance parenthood or other responsibilities with you career, and what advice would you give Naa?
Thanks for reading! As always, please help me spread the word so others can enjoy this series as much as we are.
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