Coffee Shop ( Episode 8)

Ekanem wakes up the following morning feeling unusually excited.

She remembers that she didn’t get a feedback yesterday from Richard about his employee so she decides to give him a call.

“Hi Richie!” , she says to him.

“Hello Eky. Sorry for not calling you when I returned from the hospital”, he says to her with a soft voice.

“Don’t bother yourself dear , how’s he doing? “she asks Richard.

“He will be fine, no life threatening injuries. Where are you? “, he replies.

“I am at home, enjoying my holiday”,she says to him in a playful manner.

“We could hang out today, I have no lectures today “, he replies.

“Do you have any place in mind ?” She asks him.

“We could grab lunch at this new seafood restaurant down town”, he says to her.

“Okay! 1pm would be perfect”, Ekanem replies.

“See you then”, he says and ends the conversation .

Just as she ends the call, Chichi enters her room after knocking.

“Hmm ! love in Ekocity! , I can see that you and this your biker. …oops dispatch rider guy are on cloud 9 ” , she says excitedly.

“Chichi leave me alone ! .Besides that was Richard”, she replies.

“Really! how is he doing? .When is he going to visit us again?. How’s his girlfriend?. Are they still an item? “, she asks Ekanem in a shy manner.

“Hmmm, Chichi all these questions are beginning to scare me. I thought you were serious about Roland. The last time we spoke about him,you said he is your soul mate. What was the word you used …hmm I think you said he is the one” ,Ekanem says to her .

“Ahhh!can’t I just ask about Richie. I don’t even understand Roland nowadays. He doesn’t call as he used to. Anyway I am still watching the guy in 4D, if he messes up, I will dump his behind like piece of garbage”, she replies Ekanem.

They discuss for a while until Ekanem goes into the bathroom to freshen up for the day.

It is almost time for Ekanem to leave the house to meet Richard. She wears something simple and classy and puts on light make up.As she picks up her phone and purse ,her phone rings.

She sees an unknown number on her phone screen and goes ahead to pick it up.

“Hello good morning”, she says to the unknown caller.

“It’s me baby”, the familiar voice replies .

“How many times will I tell you that I am not interested in dating you Philip? “Ekanem says angrily.

“You have refused to pick my calls. I had to use another person’s phone to call you ” ,he says with a soft voice.

“It’s not going to work between us. We are not compatible. How else do you want me to explain myself to you”, she says to him hastily.

As they argue with each other, the line cuts and just as she is about to put the phone inside her purse, the phone rings again.

She picks up the call with annoyance and says ,” can you just give me some space?”.

“I will do that if that’s what you want”, Toks replies.

“I am sorry, I thought you were someone else ” Ekanem replies in a fidgety manner..

“Is everything okay?” , he asks with a soft voice.

“Of course !.how are you doing? ,she replies.

“I am doing great. There’s this new movie that is trending .It was produced by a famous comedian. Would you like to watch it …with me when you are less busy ? , he asks.

“Hmm! I am still on leave.I wouldn’t mind. What day do you have in mind?” , she replies.

“Will tomorrow by 6pm be okay?” , he asks .

“Yeah”, she says to him.

They discuss briefly and ended the phone call.

Ekanem waits in the living room for Richard who confirms via a text that he is close by.

He arrives in some minutes and they both go to the restaurant for lunch.

After a hearty meal 0f seafood okra soup and eba , they discuss over a bottle of wine and peppered grilled fish.

“I hope that your ex boyfriend has stopped bothering you? “he says to her.

“Not really but I will handle the situation. Don’t worry”, she replies.

” I haven’t heard you speak about kokomma recently,are you guys okay? , she asks.

“We broke up some weeks ago”,he says to her

Wow! ,you didn’t tell me. What a coincidence, we both broke up with our partners around the same time” , she says with a straight face.

Richard holds one of her hands across the table and stares at her.

“Maybe we keep making mistakes because we are meant to be together Ekanem” ,he replies.

“Hmmm “Ekanem says as she takes a sip of wine.

He watches her as she drops the wine glass on the table after taking a sip of wine.

“I see you don’t share my opinion? ” , he says to her.

“I am sure you made your earlier statement because you feel lonely without your ex-girlfriend”, she replies.

He smiles and says “Ekanem, I cherish our friendship so much. I can confidently say that you are my best friend ” .

“I cherish our friendship as well”, she replies .

“The truth is that I have always loved you Eky. I didn’t want to jeopardize our friendship by dating you initially. When you told me that you were dating Philip,a part of me died. I went into a relationship with kokomma thinking that I would find you in her but I felt empty with her. I know this sounds horrible but truth be told Eky,I kept on wishing that you and Philip would break up so that I would have another opportunity to tell you about my feelings for you, Richie says to her with a soft voice.

“This is all so sudden, I really appreciate you and I know that it must have taken a lot of courage for you to say how you feel. I am going to give it some thought and get back to you. I sincerely do not want to jump into another relationship. I hope you understand”,Ekanem says to her.

“Fair enough, I will give you all the time you want dear “, , Richie says to her with a soft voice

THE END