PROMISES OF A FIRST: GETTING THE PRIZE
I got off the taxi in the parking lot of the second largest mall in the city, Nswazi Shopping Centre and looked around for any sign of her, even though I knew she wouldn’t be anywhere around. The trip home and back had taken me an hour and I was back in town. A few minutes earlier I had called Bagomotsi and he was at home so my worries were minimized. I was now worried about the task ahead of me that was Winona. A few meters away from where I was standing was a few girls I had seen at school and they waved at me and I waved back. They kept stealing glances at me and I wondered if it was my outfit or my looks but either way I ignored them. Out of what was obviously nervousness, I decided to call her and check if she was already in town. After three rings, she answered.
‘Hey, I was just about to call you’
‘Oh, what a coincidence; what did you want to say?’
‘Well, I wanted to tell you I’d be a little late because my mother is still home and we are supposed to leave together’
‘How late are you going to be?’
‘I’m not quite sure, maybe twenty minutes’
‘I’ll stay put till then’
‘Ok then, see you in twenty’ and she hung up.
I was wondering if she really was being delayed by her mother or whether she was getting cold feet. The worst nightmare for every guy would be giving your all to a date with a beautiful dream girl who then does not show up. I started walking towards the mall and as I brushed past the afternoon shoppers, I took a deep breath in and closed my eyes for a short prayer. I went past two possible tsotsis who were leaving the mall and held on tight to my pocket, which had the extra cash and my cell phone. I don’t blame Neo for having a phobia against these guys because they do look scary at times, more especially with their sly stares. Even during the day, these guys could be dangerous.
Afterwards, I got in to the designated restaurant and saw our reserved table where I sat down and relaxed. I looked around the restaurant and there were a few couples dining in the classy restaurant. My watch told me the time was five past three so I took in a deep breath. The couple a few meters away from where I was seating seemed to be arguing about something as the guy’s face was bent down while his counterpart was seriously straightening him out with words I couldn’t make out. For a moment I did wonder if this how it turned out after some time and had no one to answer me.
My concentration on the young couple was cut short by the sighting of the beautiful figure standing at the restaurant doors. I cleared my throat and snapped out to her. She noticed it and slowly started walking towards the table. She was beautiful indeed, just what every guy would dream to have. The yellow bandage dress she was wearing sure did match her skin color and this made her beauty strike out even more. She had a matching hand pouch to go with it and black bracelets and ear rings to match her stilettos and hair. The look did not strike only me but a few other guys in the restaurants as I saw a few heads turn when she walked in. I didn’t have to stare much as she would be mine for the whole day and nobody could change that. She flashed a smile at me when she sat down and this made me a little more nervous but a gulp of air in and out made me relax a bit.
‘Hey, sorry for the delay; my mum was still going about with her hours-long make-up and I had to wait for her because I really hate taxis’.
I ticked the taxi issue on my mental list of her likes and dislikes as a first before responding.
‘That’s totally fine by me; it’s not like you totally ditched me or something so I’m fine with it. Even a whole five hours of waiting would have been nothing if it’s for you. You look beautiful by the way’
‘Oh that’s so sweet Brandon, you are a darling. Thank you’
‘Is it? I mean of course it is’ I said with my wobbly hands looking for something to look busy with to no luck.
Fortunately the waiter arrived with the menus and gave one to each one of us. This temporarily kept me busy as I moved through the pages and Winona did the same. I could see it in her face that she could notice that I was nervous. Then there was the silence. More silence. Finally the waiter came back for our orders and at the same time we spoke.
‘Mozzarella pizza with…’ and we both laughed. I kind of felt stupid as the waiter looked at us waiting for the orders. I decided to act like a gentleman so I gave her the chance to order first.
‘You order first please, I’ll order afterwards’ I said with a smile I had spent a whole thirty minutes practicing at home in front of the mirror and I hoped she liked it.
A perfect smile is one of the things girls usually like in a guy and just a little advice to the guys, before you smile at a girl, think about this: am I making a good impression or am I scaring her away? Don’t ever undermine the power of a smile because even in the worst situations, it can save you.
‘I’ll have mozzarella pizza with chicken and pineapple topping, please. And oh, a glass of orange juice with ice blocks and a straw’ and the waiter wrote that down before turning to me.
‘I’ll have the same but with a cola instead’ and he walked away. ‘Juice, hey?’
‘Keeping this pretty me pretty takes a whole lot of work if you ask me’
‘So juice keeps the magic on your pretty face?’
‘Well, that and a few other things like that smile on your face, makes me happy and if I am happy, I guess I stay pretty’
‘Okay…I’ll take that as a compliment and thanks’.
She just smiled some more and continued to read through the menu. It was awkward being nervous like I was when your girl was as confident as she was. I guess Masego was kind of right about me not being able to handle Winona. I decided to do away with the silence because the more talk, the more confidence there would be for me.
‘Are you…are you going to Botho’s party later?’ and she nodded but when I tried to go on, she smiled before looking me straight in the eyes.
‘Look Brandon, I totally understand how you must be feeling right now but let me enlighten you on something. I am a nice girl if you want me to be and it’s a pity most guys don’t see that. I mean when I fall for a guy, he should consider himself lucky because I am this girl who rarely loves anyone and actually show them I do but I do know how to love. But then, when a girl loves a guy, she expects to be loved back. With you, I can clearly see you do like me but the fact that you are all shy and have been since day one kind of spoils things. Yes, on that note I told you I have a weakness for shy guys but once a guy over-does it, it turns my feelings sour and that is a total no-no for me. When you are with me, feel free and just be yourself. Don’t let how you feel be blocked off by the nervous side of you’.
That was some speech and it did help me. You see girls; even you can take the lead in these sorts of things. You don’t have to let us be in control of everything. I straightened myself out and looked her in the eye before using the speech all to my advantage.
‘I get what your point is Winona and to be honest with you, I’m not nervous. I am just a little dizzy because of the beauty you hold…’ It was a lame line but it worked as she grinned so beautifully before I continued, ‘…I do like you Winona, seriously I do. But before we can get any serious, I’d like you to take into notice the fact that I have no experience whatsoever’.
The waiter came over with our orders and placed them on the table. The smoking pizzas smelt so good and I thanked him with my usual smile.
‘I’ll come back with the bill’ and we nodded before he left. I turned to Winona whose face was clearly filled with nothing but love for the guy that was me. She signaled me to continue.
‘Even without the required experience, I want you to know I will try by all means to make this relationship work. Of course there are a lot of guys with experience out there that you could be with but the fact that you chose me makes me appreciate and like you more’.
I took a slice of pizza and had a bite while what I had just said was sinking in to her mind. She looked like she could cry anytime and wit
h this I knew I had won my first battle. She took a sip of her juice and from there nothing but the language of love flowed as we talked more and more. We both enjoyed the conservation with our pizzas and drinks and I knew I was home. After the waiter brought back the bill, I gave him my card, mostly to impress my beautiful date. Who would want their girl paying on the first date? The magazines I had read, and Bagomotsi’s Protocol, had taught me this one fact: you do not let a girl start wondering who would be footing the bill by delaying. Immediately when the bill comes, you pay. Besides, it’s in our nature as man to care for and impress ladies
An hour later we left the restaurant and I decided to take her to Le Carbon Black café for the dessert. Her intended limit to the day’s outing of 4 pm was long forgotten. We walked the 500m distance, talking on the way about what we both wanted and didn’t want. She talked the most and I honestly enjoyed listening to her. She sure was the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my junior high with and hopefully, my life. We had a whole lot in common and this was what I had hoped for.
As we had our milkshakes at the café, she told me all her favorite movies, including my all-time favorite comedy, The Wedding Crashers, which starred Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as the leads. Her music taste, which included House and Pop rock, was on my list as well. From the café, I called a cab which drove us past JMS to The Village mall where I had seen a nice necklace I wanted to buy her. In fact, I had already paid a whooping P600 for the silver and 3 carats diamond piece and I would pick it up before giving it to her.
When we arrived at the jewelry shop, she looked at me, quite surprised.
‘Don’t tell me I’m in for yet another surprise?’ she asked and I just smiled. We got inside and the shop assistant noticed me and signaled us to follow him. We did and when we got to a section where the necklaces were, he gave me a black box with the shop’s initials on it.
‘Packaged like you had asked Mr. Chidzala’ and I thanked him before we left.
We walked on to the Francistown City Council’s Central Park Playground which was a few meters from the mall and just next to JMS Primary. The park is one of the most beautiful in Francistown and its beautiful garden made it the perfect venue for a young couple like us. With the little birds on its trees sitting, the music was set right for the occasion. We took a seat not far away from the Independence Tree, planted by Francistown’s first female mayor, Mrs. Kathleen Mincer. After sitting down, I looked at Winona who cleared her throat and I knew she had guessed what I intended on doing and this sort of spoilt everything and she could see I was a little disappointed.
‘It’s okay Brandon, I’ll just pretend I didn’t see the box’ and I smiled. I looked around and for a moment enjoyed the beauty the park held. Then I looked at Winona who was also looking around. It was almost like I was with no one but her and the world had seized to exist. I loosened my tie and cleared my throat.
‘Winona Simons…’
‘Yes Brandon Chidzala…’
‘What I am about to give you is what I hope shows you just how serious I am about us. Winona, for the past three weeks, I’ve learnt to love and thanks to you I am no longer a worthless guy like I thought I was. Thanks to you I’ve got a life. Walking around with my very handsome friends made me feel like nothing but you proved me wrong. Take this as my token of appreciation’ and I asked her to close her eyes. From there, I opened the box and took out the shiny necklace. It was indeed very beautiful, just a match for her standard. I put it on her neck before she opened her eyes. The moment she saw it, she gave me this grateful look.
‘It’s beautiful Brandon, really. Thank you’ and she gave me this warm hug, making me feel those developing breasts and smell the Rebelle Fleur fragrance she had on. I smiled to myself and it was a second victory for me.
‘And just so you know it, you are just as handsome’
‘Thanks; makes me feel even better’.
We sat there as she admired the necklace before I looked at my watch and decided it was time to go home and prepare for the evening party.
‘Maybe we should get going. It’s getting a little late since we have Botho’s party lined up’
‘Yeah, you are right, it is getting late. But here is what Brandon…’ and she faced me before continuing, ‘…I like you and I just want you to know I’ll try by all means to be the best girlfriend ever. I’ll make sure I make you as happy as possible and I also hope you’ll just as well play your part. I hope Mark won’t be much of a problem to either one of us. He will try to be but hopefully, one of us will stop him in his tracks’
‘I get you and I promise to play my part. About Mark, I think I can handle him’ and she hugged me again, this time a little longer.
I was hoping for a kiss but when she stood up I thought, maybe later and we left the park. I had called her a cab and it arrived after a few minutes, of which she was admiring the necklace and I just stood there looking at the people walking by, buildings as well as the cars passing by.
‘See you at the party and again, thanks for the necklace’ and she gave me a kiss on the cheek before getting in and it drove off. I touched my cheek and felt the little gloss it had left and once the cab was out of site, I jumped in celebration. Today was so going down in my diary! A few people stared as I did before shaking their heads and walking on. I had achieved something and that alone was something. Hopefully by the end of that day, I would have tasted those oh-so-yummy lips of hers. I walked along the St. Patrick Street to the bus rank, happy as ever. When I passed by JMS I looked at the school buildings and smiled. ‘Thanks for the angel John Mackenzie’ and walked on.