A Wonderful Encounter

For months now I’ve been avoid the scale. No woman wants confirmation that her weight was on the rise. But avoiding the scales did not help, because my clothes confirmed my fears. I was getting big and I had to do something about it or buy new clothes that fit. As exciting as shopping was, buying a larger size was terrifying.

I approached Matt and asked him to be my personal trainer. It was difficult to admit that I needed help, but it was better than buying a size 38 pants. Just a thought of wearing a bigger size sent me racing on a treadmill. What made me work harder were the stares I was getting from my colleagues. One person even asked me whether I was expecting. I was mortified.

‘You don’t look that bad,’ Thando lied. She was a good friend who wanted to spare my feelings.

‘She’s lying to you,’ Matt said. ‘A true friend would tell you that you’re becoming too big for your jeans. You’re literally spilling out of your pants.’

‘I’m sorry, Q, you know I love you, but I have to agree with Matt on this one,’ Ed said.

I covered my face with my hands. I don’t know how I’d let myself go.

‘I’ll help you get rid of the muffin top,’ Matt said. ‘You have to strictly follow my plan. No cheating. No slacking.’

I nodded. I was determined to lose this weight.

‘May I ask what caused you to…’ Thando hesitated, trying to find the right words. ‘…let yourself go?’

It was a good question. One I didn’t want to face. The overeating started after I found out that Sbu was engaged. I knew that I had lost him forever, so I turned to food for comfort. After all, nothing says all is well better than chocolate.

‘You know what you need?’ Thando said. ‘A boyfriend. Having sex will help you burn a lot of calories.’

I laughed. She was right. If I wanted to forget about Sbu, I had to get back into the dating world. ‘I don’t know. I don’t want to be hurt again.’

‘Oh don’t worry. I know this guy from varsity. He’d be perfect for you. And he’s so sweet, he wouldn’t hurt a fly,’ Thando said.

I nodded. ‘I guess one date wouldn’t hurt.’

That response resulted in a string of blind dates. All my friends decided to set me up. Even my editor, Gail, had a friend, who had a friend who was single.

Most of those blind dates were disastrous. It was enough to put me off blind dates for life. I had just about given up on meeting someone special when I ran into a young man at my favourite restaurant in Sandton.

He was handsome and younger that I. He was a musician. I was there on a bad blind date and as luck would have it, his band was playing there that night. It made my bad blind date tolerable.

The attraction was instant. I gazed at him on the stage and he winked at me. He played his guitar so well. He fingers gently striking the right cord each time.

All of the sudden, it was the two of us in the room. He was playing the song for me, looking straight into my eyes. I was having a lovely time until I was reminded that I was on a date with another man.

I blinked away from my daydream and focused on what he was saying. He was rambling on about what he was worth, how much money he had in the bank, what car he drove and about future acquisitions. I was bored out of my skull. But I didn’t leave, because I was hoping to have a chance encounter with the guitar player.

When the band exited the stage, I tried escaping the horrible blind date, but failed. Mr self-important wouldn’t let me leave. When I told him I had to go, he started weeping. I was so confused. So I stayed for another hour to stroke his ego.

When the date finally ended, I was sure the band had left. I was disappointed. I’d hope to meet them, tell them how wonderful they were, and perhaps slip my number to the guitarist while at it.

As I walked to my car, someone approached me. It was the guitarist. He smiled and waved his hand. I waved back.

‘I saw you suffering there on your date and wished I could rescue you,’ he said. ‘But your date was so big I was afraid he would punch me.’

I laughed. ‘Q,’ I said extending my hand.

‘Excuse me?’

‘My name… I mean… My name is Qaqamba, but everyone calls me Q.’

‘Nice to meet you, Q. My name is Tato. I’d like to buy you a drink. Would you like to go back inside for a real date?’

I smiled. Things were suddenly looking up. We went inside for drinks and had an opportunity to get to know each other better. Tato rescued my evening and turned a horrible experience to a wonderful encounter.

The Ghost of Boyfriends Past

I was yet to meet a woman who did not remember every single detail about her first boyfriend. It was a memory that never faded. It was probably lodged in the part of the brain that never suffered from memory loss. We remember their scent, the way they kissed (even if they were terrible kissers) and we wonder what could have been. My first boyfriend’s name was Khaya Luvo. He’d been a soccer player. Very fit. Tall. Handsome. Every girl at school had wanted to be with him. He’d only wanted to be with me. I was the lucky girl that got him. We thought we’d end up married and have two children. A boy and a girl. Or maybe I was the one who’d fantasised about the marriage and the children, and that’s where the problem had been. We’d wanted different things. Khaya had wanted to see the world and I’d wanted to settle down and start a family.

So we’d gone our separate ways.

Of course, that was me many years ago. Now settling down and starting a family were far from my mind.

After receiving a call from Khaya, I started thinking about him a lot. I wondered if he ever left our village and travelled the world like he’d wanted to. I wondered if he ever settled down and had children. I doubted it. He was a free spirit who couldn’t be pinned down.

I was due to meet Khaya in the evening and I was going through the laborious task of choosing an outfit for the evening. I wanted something that said, “I’m cool. I’m a free spirit” and I avoided anything that said, “I wanna settle down”.

Thando was by my side, assisting me choose an appropriate outfit.

Clothes were scatted all over the bed and some were laid neatly on the chair.

‘I can’t believe Khaya is in town,’ she said, daydreaming. ‘Please remind me why he dated you and not me? I was the pretty one.’

‘You had a boyfriend, remember?’

‘That was only because Khaya wouldn’t give me time of day. I finally got the hint and moved on.’

I laughed. ‘You had a massive crush on him, and I ended up getting the man.’

‘Not funny. I was angry with you for days.’

‘Days? More like months. You wouldn’t talk to me. But what was I to do when the village hunk asked me out?’

‘I guess.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘If I were in your shoes, I would have done the same thing.’

I grabbed a Stoned Cherry tight fitting dress from my wardrobe and showed it to Thando. ‘How about this one?’

She nodded and smiled. ‘I like it. It says, I am hot and available.’ She giggled.

I rolled my eyes and decided it was a perfect outfit for me. After all there’s nothing wrong with being available to a man who’d see you naked.

I arrived at the restaurant five minutes late. Being early would have made me to appear desperate. Being too late would’ve made him think I wasn’t interested. However, being five minutes late was perfect. It kept him guessing.

The hostess smiled at me. I gave her my surname; I’d reserved our table under my name. While she was checking her records, I looked around the restaurant, wondering if Khaya had arrived. I couldn’t see him.

‘Let me take you to your table, ma’am,’ the hostess said.

I followed her. ‘Excuse me, has the other party arrived?’

She nodded and pointed at a table in the far corner where a large, balding man sat.

I stopped on my tracks. ‘Are you sure?’ I whispered. I was convinced she was mistaken.

She nodded and continued walking toward the opulent man. I followed her, my steps now hesitant.

I walked around the table and stood next to the empty chair facing my date. Lo and behold, it was Khaya. A much older version. One that I found myself not attracted to. He looked like he was carrying the world’s problems on his shoulders.

‘Khaya?’

He looked up at me. A smiled formed on his face. I saw a hint of the man I used to know.

While I got better with age, Khaya had gotten worse. Maybe I was being a bit unkind; it was just that the man sitting in front of me looked nothing like the Khaya of my childhood.

I noticed that he was wearing a ring. A wave of relief flooded me and I smiled widely.

‘Qaqamba,’ he said his smile widening. ‘You look good.’ He stood and pulled my chair for me. Always a gentleman.

‘I’ll ask the waitress to bring you drinks and take your order. What would you like to drink?’ the hostess asked.

I ordered a glass of red wine and Khaya ordered the same.

I looked at him and smiled. ‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘You don’t look too bad yourself.’ As the lie left my lips, I knew I shouldn’t have said it. I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression. But what does one say in such circumstances?

Looking at him, I realised that it was not that Khaya had lost his handsome looks, it was the sadness in his eyes. He used to always wear a smile that reached his eyes, but there was none of that tonight. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know what was troubling him. I came here for a fun filled night and not to be turned into a therapist.

Our waitress returned with our drinks.

‘What have you been up to?’ I asked. ‘I see you’re married.’

He stared at his ring as if seeing it for the first time. ‘Separated,’ he said.

‘I’m sorry.’ I started feeling a little uncomfortable again. I wasn’t interested in his troubles.

‘Kids?’

‘Two,’ he responded. ‘A boy and a girl.’

It was funny how the tables had turned. Khaya was living my dream and I was living his. He’d settled down, while I remained a free spirit.

‘Why did we break up? Please remind me.’ He chuckled.

I smiled and took a sip of my drink. I was already thinking of a way to get out of this date without hurting his feelings. I knew nothing good could come out of my date with my ex.

Office Date

Thando’s plan had backfired on her. She’d invited Sbu, the man she had a crush on, to dinner at our house. She had hoped that he would like her, but he didn’t. He’d spent the entire dinner paying me compliments and asking me awkward questions.

‘He sent me flowers at work,’ I complained to Thando. ‘How did he even know where I work? This is all your fault.’

Thando looked away.

‘What’s that look?’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘Thando?’ I stood in front of her.

‘Okay…’ She shrugged, as if what she would say next was inconsequential. ‘He asked me for your work address.’

‘What? And you gave it to him?’

‘I was visiting Steve, hoping to bump into him, which of course, I did. When he walked into Steve’s office, I thought it was because he wanted to see me, but instead he wanted your address. I was so disappointed.’

Ed walked into the lounge from the kitchen, carrying snacks. He sat next to his partner Matt. ‘So he sent you flowers, I don’t see a problem there,’ he said.

‘Exactly,’ Matt said. ‘I thought you’d be happy.’

‘I don’t like him. I don’t want him stalking me,’ I said.

‘I liked him,’ Matt said. ‘He seemed like such a gentleman.’

‘No one asked you for your opinion, Matt,’ Thando said. ‘Q, I think you’d be a fool if you don’t date him. He’s handsome, he’s tall, and he’s rich.’

‘And that’s the only reason you are attracted to him, isn’t, Thando? His wealth?’

Thando scowled at Matt. ‘Call him, Q, before someone else snatches him.’

I hoped that someone else would snatch it, but it didn’t happened, gift continued pouring in. Every time flowers were delivered at reception, all my colleagues pointed to my office. I thought that if I ignored his advances, Sbu would lose interest. I was wrong. Nothing discouraged him. He sent me many gifts, each with a request to have dinner with him. When he didn’t get a response, he decided to come to the office in person.

‘What are you doing here?’ I asked.

‘I’m here to find out why you won’t accept my invitation to dinner,’ he said.

‘Er… ‘ I cleared my throat. ‘I’m busy.’

‘It’s just one dinner.’

I didn’t respond.

‘You have to eat don’t you?’

I nodded.

‘So, I thought that if you won’t come out to dinner with me, then I’ll bring the dinner here,’ he said. He wheeled a tray of food, similar to the one used by hotels for room service. It was filled with food.

‘You brought this with u?’

He nodded. ‘Well, I had someone bring it up for us. So what do you say?’ He pointed at the tray filled with the most delicious meals.

How could I say no to that? I looked at the food, it smelled really good. I smiled at him. ‘Since the food is here… I guess I can’t let it go to waste.’

He smiled.

And that’s how Sbu got me to go out on a date with him.