Chapter 5

With permission from the senior manager, Gyebi and Asabea went on errands to supply fresh fruits, vegetables and other frozen products to the mall under the eyes of the manager, Mr Quansah, who gawked at Gyebi with his spectacles lying lazily on his nose.

“You must be wary of this guy,” he said. “I don’t trust him at all.”

Whilst in the truck with him on one of their errands, Asabea, inspired by Mr Quansah’s comments, asked Gyebi to tell her all about himself. Listening attentively, she picked out the most important character traits and compared them with the utterances of her boss.

I must also be wary of Mr Quansah. He seems to dislike Gyebi for no reason at all. With much courage, she interrupted apologetically and spoke up.

“Have you realised that my boss doesn’t like you?” she asked.

“Yes, I have. If I were your boss, I wouldn’t be happy to see any other man around you. I don’t blame him at all.” At first, his statement didn’t seem to sink in until it registered in her thoughts.

“Say what? You would have done the same if you were in his shoes? I never thought of that.” pointing to the building and shaking her head. “You mean, him? interested? No! I don’t believe it.” Gyebi restrained himself from commenting. A word to the wise was enough.

Gradually, Mr Quansah began to hate Gyebi all the more.

“You’re late today, Asabea. Is it because of that guy? I told you he was no good, didn’t I? If he really wanted you to keep the job, he wouldn’t be ruining your chances like that.” Asabea glanced at her watch. She was right on time. Why was he complaining then? Gyebi’s reaction to her shock made her react better this time.

“Are you going out with him?” asked her boss.

Asabea’s jaw almost dropped.

“It’s just a question. You can choose to answer me or not. Whatever you do, you do at your own peril.”

“He’s only a friend,” she replied.

“And I’ve been seeing you together too often to assume that you two are just friends. There must be something beyond that. Are you two being intimate with each other?”

How does that concern him? She thought to herself. Gyebi must hear this.

“I’m going to fire you if I keep seeing you with him, and since you did not answer my question, I suppose it’s a yes.”

Asabea gawked at him.

“Yes! I didn’t hire you to be entertaining men,” he said, peeved. “You had better be careful”

From then on, Mr Quansah sought every means to find fault with her and Gyebi. For several months, he found nothing on her until she received a letter to proceed on leave. Asabea, howbeit, did not seek further clarification although his actions were incomprehensible. Gyebi encouraged her to overlook his impetuous acts and consider joining him as a permanent partner.

“If I join you, I will still be working at the same place where I was fired.”

“Why do you say so?”

“We’ll still supply them with goods, won’t we?” she said.

“If that will be a bother, you won’t join us on such errands. You’ll be doing something more fulfilling. To begin, I charge you with the duty of finding an appropriate uniform for us,” he said

“Wouldn’t it be difficult to do in these hard times?”

“In spite of the circumstances, I still charge you with that task”

A few months later, however, the authorities took a second look at her case and found her innocent of all allegations laid against her. Mr Quansah was involved in some financial malfeasance and her testimony was crucial for a decision to be taken on him.

In spite of the blanket, coupled with the several layers of cloth employed to ward off the cold, nothing could prevent him from thinking about Asabea, his heartthrob and keeping his eyes open. Love had engulfed his heart like a blanket and there was no disentangling himself from it. Gradually, the authorities tightened restrictions upon the citizens. People needed special chits to go out of their houses or face arrest for breach of the law. Soon, they would be monitoring his activities too. What a bad time to fall in love! Nobody could touch, hug, shake hands, or draw close to anyone else. The one-metre gap of ‘social distancing’ between two persons was mandatory. Even at the store, spaces were allotted for customers to stand in wait for their services. Even family members had to be wary of one another and it made Gyebi hate the situation all the more.

It was such a daunting task to wake up, having tossed and turned overnight and in deep thought, disrupting nature’s greatest gift of sleep which he took very seriously. It was difficult to keep his neck up straight neither could he lift up his head although his eyes were wide open. There were no messages or missed calls to console him. It felt like such a tragedy. These are what he needed to keep him going in such a time as this, yet, friends, for the shock of it all, had coiled into shells like snails. The bed would be his friend for the time being after faithfully doing its duty for the night. What if someone else, like her manager, who was obviously and shamelessly exhibiting his interest in her, professed his love for her before he did? Would that be the end of his dreams? His fears were quite tangible considering how beautiful she was and the fact that their friendship had not advanced to a stage where he could consider himself secure and legitimately bound to her. What if the other man who had proposed to her before Covid became serious about her all of a sudden? He must hold on to his faith at all costs and it would pay off in the near future. It was lockdown after all. Who would seriously think about a relationship in times like these? He smiled at the thought yet, wiped it off the instant her manager’s face came to mind. That man was a real threat. Asabea’s manager gave him a run for his money. Who will have the last laugh? Him or the other two men in the picture? The strange feeling that this man had not given up fighting for Asabea’s love came over him.

If he ever came chasing her, he must be a wizard then. He thought to himself. Another thought came repudiating this assertion. Are you not a wizard too to be chasing her? No! I’m her age mate. I fell in love with her unceremoniously. I didn’t hide my intentions and I didn’t have to sabotage anyone for her sake. He’s just a jealous loser!