See, the last time I saw her was late last year a few wild days before Christmas eve. Thank God for instant messaging apps, we always kept in touch. And that video call every once in a while made it bearable. For me at least.
But here we are. Within the same city, a few blocks apart. As I approach Munyu lane from the Bus Station side, myriads of feelings flood my body. Just a few more blocks and she’ll be in my arms.
Once I am at the Githurai 45 CBD main terminus, my phone rings. It’s Brian, a business partner.
“Bro, what’s good?”
“Nothing much. Are you within town?”
“Yeah. I just left the office.”
“Pop by before you leave.”
“Alright man. In a few”
“Goddamit!” I grumble immediately after the call. “Can’t a brother see his woman in peace?” Anyway, I rush to his office somewhere in the heart of Luthuli Avenue and finalise our deal in a record 5 minutes. Normally I’d be there for two hours before we even begin talking business, but today is different. I mean business. Both figuratively and literally.
Wild time check: 1645 hrs.
I am walking towards River Road from Gaberone Road. In these streets, you cannot afford to stroll. More so not when you have with you a backpack carrying a PC and other priced possessions, or else you end up with an empty meticulously incised bag. So I walk at a speed that would give those “hardworking” Kenyans a hard time cutting through my bag.
At river road, I make a quick check on my phone. I can see KCB bank straight ahead. The pin she dropped indicates she’s somewhere around there. So I spot a corner where I can comfortably make calls from and make that call. I know she’s been waiting
“Baby”, she picks up, “Umefika?”
“Almost there cherry. Where are you exactly? The building name please.”
“Uhmm…” I can hear her moving around. Probably trying to see the posters on the building. “I’m opposite KCB bank. Hii place kuna coach za…”
“Oh, I see the coaches.” I interject. “I’ll be there in a few”
“Alright” replies that voice that makes me weak in the knees.
So I pocket my phone for the umpteenth time and walk towards KCB. By now, thick dark grey clouds are forming. It will be raining soon. There must be a tout somewhere stroking his beard in anticipation for the kill that comes with heavy rains in Nairobi. Broad day light thieving.
I walk too fast with my mind AWOL, I almost go past KCB. But then she comes with a mind of her own. If you know what I mean. So I walk into the building, all the way to the 2nd floor where she’s been waiting for me. Then straight into the room.
Then it hits me. My palms are sweaty, and the heart is almost succeeding in escaping from its cage quite literally. Heck even my mouth is dry once more. This can’t be just love. I am “See sick”. You know that disease one develops if they haven’t seen someone or something they treasure for long? Yes, such.
As I scan the room looking for that face I have always stared at hours on end, I hear a shriek. A girly shriek from the corner in the extreme right. A shriek that is far too familiar. I’ve heard it multiple times especially when I tickle her.
Sure enough I look into that direction and our eyes lock. For a moment (or two) I am fixated. It feels surreal. Somebody stab me! I manage to snap out of the spell and walk towards her. But she’s not as calm as I am pretending to be. So she runs to me and hugs me.
Let’s just take a break and digest the hug, for I lack words to narrate how it felt. Okay, let me try. Have you ever tried cleaning your ears, clearing your throat and peeing after being pressed for a day? If you have, you might have a remote idea of how it felt. Not close enough but it will suffice.
So we stand there holding onto each other for dear life and I can feel her tears seeping through my shirt. For a moment I hate being a man! Were it not for the societal masculinity standards. I’d shed a tear or two. Tears of joy. But I don’t want to be labelled a sissy. But then I figure society will still judge me anyway, so I let the tears flow off my cheek into her hair. That hair that smells like a dozen lavenders. Sigh.
We cling onto each other till her tears subside. Then she plants a kiss on my lips and mumbles, “I missed you”, before taking my hand and leading me back to her spot.
A quick glance outside the window reveals light showers. I know for sure that if we stick around the CBD for long we might end up having to choose the better evil between those uptown clubs or posh downtown guest houses. So I request an Uber using our current location as the pick-up point. A coffee date/dinner would have been really nice but it’s not an option.
All this time, she’s been staring at me. The look in her eyes, priceless. I look back at her, smile and plant a kiss on her forehead. We better make ourselves comfortable as we wait for that Uber. Luckily, it doesn’t take long to arrive so we leave the CBD as soon as it gets there.
What happened between the time I made the Uber request and its arrival is a story for another day. Or maybe I just might narrate it in the comments’ section.
*** TO BE CONTINUED ***