For most people, dates, especially first dates, mean: lunch at a fancy place with good food, coffee at a place with a nice view, popcorn and a good movie, or some fun outdoor activity. they would have interesting conversations about the basic things, laugh at each other’s jokes, and probably crown it with a happy ending. my date with Kwarteng wasn’t like any of those, it was different, so different the end can only leave you saying, “wow”.

Kwarteng and I met at my workplace. I worked as a salesgirl at a shop that sold expensive shoes for men. The kind of work I did meant meeting different kinds of “rich” men with all kinds of personalities. Some boastful, some arrogant, others flirty and on a good day, kind and respectful. Kwarteng was one of the men that fit into the last category. He was kind, handsome, treated me with respect, and above all, had a very good job, a real job, not an audio one. He was one of our regular customers, one that I always looked forward to seeing. After a while, we became acquainted and he asked me out.

When he asked me out, part of me wanted to delay for a while and the other part wanted me to agree to the date immediately. Of course, I went with the latter, “my mind dey” already. I mean, he wasn’t like all the others who made attempts, he seemed genuinely interested in me.

We made plans for the date and I eagerly waited for the day to come. One evening, he came under the guise of buying some shoes and asked, “When do you close from work? I’d like to drop you off at home so I know where you stay. It would even make it easier for me to come and pick you up on time for our date.” I agreed and he took me home. Finally, the day for our date came and I put on my best dress. I mean I had to look the part if I was going out with a rich guy and most likely to a fancy restaurant.

He picked me up exactly on time and we headed to the restaurant. He had scored three points already by being punctual. He scored extra points when he took us to a very fancy restaurant. The first few minutes was great. We asked each other the usual questions to get to know each other very well. We later ordered our food. The food came and we ate in silence. After a while, I decided to break the silence. I asked questions. Any question at all to keep the conversation going. I asked the first question and he answered. I asked a second question and he answered. He would keep mute after answering each question. After about five questions, it felt like we were having a question and answer session so I stopped asking.

I waited for him to say something but he never did. He just sat there, chewing and drinking. I got bored. I started staring into the empty space. I asked him, “Can you give me your phone? I hope it has interesting games. I want to play a game.” My intention was to draw his attention to the fact that the date was boring without telling him directly. To my surprise, he handed the phone to me and continued sitting there. After a few minutes of playing different games on his phone, I handed it over and we decided to leave the restaurant.

I sat next to him and he drove off. He was silent. No word was uttered. Just silence.

Finally, the very quiet drive back to my place ended and I got down from the car. That was when I realized that there was a power outage in my neighborhood. The whole place was dark and silent. He asked, “Why don’t you go and put your food down, change into something simple and come and sit with me in the car for a while? Your phone is dead. You’ll be all alone in the dark house.” I thought it was a good suggestion but I was wondering how it was going to be like knowing the kind of silence he would baptize me into.

I went into my room, put the food I bagged down, changed into something easy, and went back to him in the car.

He was searching through his car when I got there. He opened the letterbox, run his hand under his seat and mine, and kept throwing his eyes wherever his eyes could reach. I asked, “Did you lose something?” He responded, “Yeah, my phone. I can’t find my phone.” I asked him to calm down so we go over everything that happened at the restaurant and try and figure out the last time we both saw the phone. After an unsuccessful attempt, we decided to continue searching the car. We turned what could be turned and flipped what ought to be flipped. We didn’t find the phone.

He said, “Go inside and check the bag with the food. Maybe I gave it to you and you unconsciously put it in there.” I went back into the house and emptied the contents of the bag. There was no phone. I told him, “I’ve gone through the bag. There was no phone.” He looked at me and said, “We were only two in this car. A phone can’t just vanish into thin air like that.” He turned on his engine and drove off. He was accusing me of stealing his phone without being straightforward. I was shocked. “How could he? Did he just call me a thief?” In my confusion, I sat by the gate, buried my face in my palms, and started crying.

Five minutes later, he drove back to see me sitting there. He got out of his car, walked closer to me, and said, “My phone is very expensive. If you know you took it, better come clean now before it’s too late. This is your last chance.”  Again, he got into his car and sped off. It’s amazing how situations can change quickly. Minutes ago, I was his date. Someone he adored. Within a twinkling of an eye, I had become the girl who stole his phone. We were two in the car, how was I going to convince him that I didn’t steal the phone?”

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That night, I couldn’t sleep. Of course, his phone looked expensive and if he insisted that I buy it for him, I wouldn’t be able to do that. A sales girl’s salary doesn’t buy such phones. I was so confused and worried that I continued crying. I couldn’t sleep all night. I went through the images of the night, trying to figure out where the phone could have disappeared.

When I woke up the following morning, I started calling the phone. I called every thirty minutes hoping someone would pick up the phone and say something to me. Each time I called the phone was off. I never stopped until around 6pm when I called and it went through. “Hello…” The voice on the other side said. I immediately recognized the voice. It was Kwarteng. I asked, “You’ve found the phone?”  He answered, “Yes. My mechanic found it. It was tucked somewhere under the driver’s seat. Sorry I didn’t tell you. I was planning to come to the shop to tell you in person.” I sighed heavily. My heart finally found rest knowing that I had been vindicated.

That same evening, he came by the shop and apologized. He asked that I give him another chance to correct his mistake; “Forgive me and let’s take this to the next level. Believe me, anyone else in my situation would have done worse than I did.”

You accused me of stealing and still want to go to the next level with me? What happened to trust? What happened to ‘a little benefit of the doubt?’ By all means, he had to accuse me of stealing because we were the only two persons in the car. I wasn’t going to fall for his half-baked apology but it was the impudence with which he talked that surprised me. I guess he thought his riches could buy him a pass out of every situation. My answer was an emphatic NO. That was it. That was the end of us.

–korkor 

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