NOSTALGIA

After Frederick returned to school, he was faced with a lot of difficulties, his parents were going through a divorce, they had waited till he was 18 to finalize it, they were barely tolerating each other. His Dad was rarely home, his mum was sad and depressed, the situation made Frederick disorganized and distracted, he couldn’t focus in school nor gave attention to his relationship, he barely managed to get through the first semester. Frederick didn’t want to involve Kenina, he loved her way too much to let her go, although he didn’t plan to leave it unresolved, he just never had the courage to hold a conversation, he felt she deserved better than a broken man, he dreaded that his relationship with Kenina had the possibility of ending up like his parents, he avoided her calls and channeled his energy to basketball. Basketball was his solace, his happy field, the only thing that made him genuinely happy, he was a natural who just needed a little assistance to soar. Basketball was a clutch to Frederick’s poor academic performance, the game was the reason the school couldn’t let go.

Frederick reached out to Stewart, an old friend who was also at Kenina’s school to ask how she was faring, Steward reassured him that she was fine and even had a man, meanwhile, Kenina barely socialized, she was stuck with people she previously knew, Steward inclusive.

Meeting Frederick in a setting that was not work related made Kenina gauche, she had spoken English language all her life but suddenly couldn’t find the words to communicate or answer Frederick’s questions at least, she was mostly absent minded. He was nonchalant and cared less about how uncomfortable he made her feel. She really hoped the survey would be over soon.

She couldn’t help but hope he didn’t notice her racing heart, the residue of spark was still aglow in the recess of her mind.

Frederick fed on pride like a hyena fed on carcass but at this point, was it pride or aphasia?, she couldn’t quite decipher which it was.

The field survey was finally over, Kenina’s car was being serviced at the mechanic at moment, she took a cab and now it was time to go home and she needed to get another cab. she made my way to vacate the area, seeing Kenina standing and constantly checking her phone by the roadside, Frederick offered to drive her home, of which she wasn’t sure if she made the right decision but she yielded to his offer anyway.

It was stuffy inside his car, Kenina didn’t know if it was naturally hot or her heart had burned enough to produce such heat, she wound down the car window to a moderate mid-line, the faint warm breeze filtered in, diluting the initial hot breeze. The breeze caressed my skin and hair, it made her feel better, for a moment, she didn’t care about Frederick’s nonchalant behaviour and just enjoyed being flattered by nature.

He occasionally looked over to her while feigning to watch out for traffic and other road users, meanwhile his side view mirrors and rear view mirror were all well situated at good angles, Kenina had caught his glance many times which further proved her right.

Unfortunately, the moment was short lived as the car rolled to a stop in front of her apartment and she alighted.

“Thanks for the ride, I’ll be heading in now, drive safe and goodnight” I tiredly said without mincing words.

“Wait, ca… can I talk to you for a minute” He asked softly

“For a minute? You had the whole day to talk to me or let me guess, you were keeping it strictly professional? What do you want to talk about? Never mind, I need to go to bed early”. I replied almost paranoid.

“Perhaps I can have your personal contact, so that we can go out sometime” He begged

“I still use same line as before” she replied sarcastically, walking out and almost slamming his car door, she flickered her keys, desperately searching for the one that unlocked her door.

She got in and settled in the sofa, found the television remote and selected a random music channel that she believed would be soothing to my troubled mind before going ahead to pour herself a glass of wine. She swiftly walked to the living room, placing her left leg in front of the other, swinging her waist in an attempt to dance in an amusing way.

Kenina woke up really famished, bringing her feet down from the bed and placing them on the bare floor, she took a breath before she noticed her stink, she reeked of wine and sweat, she crinkled my upper lip as if warding off the pungent smell. She flung her robe around her shoulders to protect her from the morning cold before she lazily got ready for work and had breakfast on her way to out.

George, Kenina’s father called, it was at that moment she remembered that she didn’t return his call the other day, he must be fuming, so she need not reject the call to call back later as the omission happened before can happen again.

“What a good day that you have decided to pick my call, I see you got Father figure there that you don’t need me”. He blotted out

“I meant to call you back same day, it is not like that Sir, I’ve been very busy at my work place, you know I ca...” He didn’t allow her finish before he continued

“Since you didn’t want to be part of the preparation, I’m inviting you for our 25th wedding anniversary, your mother and I will be expecting you, that is, if you won’t be busy at work” He responded

“Don’t talk like that, I’ll be there definitely but is it 25 years already?”

“No, I got married this year, you think you’re still a teen, get married soon, we’re expecting grandchildren, we’re not getting any younger” he added

“I don’t like the way you’re attacking me, how is your wi...” she barely finished talking before He cut me short again, this time she started pouting and frowning.

“Call her and find out, anyway, that is why I called you, you can get back to your precious work” He hung up immediately.

”I wonder what form of attraction my mother saw in my Father that she said ‘I do’ she muttered in an inaudible tone after making sure George had hung up.

“Time to get back to work” she said in a forceful exhalation, grabbing some files.

She brainstormed and started to carry out researches once again, winning felt good and she wanted to stay winning. She devised means of improving, being informed and getting ahead of others in facts, figures, modification and recent adjustments pertaining to surveys. She always read recent articles online and book publications offline to keep her abreast, that way, her opinion and ideas were always new and welcomed because of it’s distinct exceptionality. While she earned more scores for the company, she made myself legible for the next promotion, she improved in her learning skills, boosted her self confidence, she was being productive, it gave her a sense of responsibility, creativity, as well as increased her social recognition and accomplishment. To her, it was a greater win for her than it was for the company.

Frederick tried contacting Kenina but she was really swamped at work and was rarely free to entertain him, she didn’t plan for it to happen that way, it wasn’t her fault but maybe it was payback time.