SCRIBBLES: THE BEST WOMAN - THE FINALE
THE BEST WOMAN - THE FINALE
I remember the first time I saw her.
I basically forced her to wear my lunch at that student-friendly restaurant because…I can’t actually remember what caused me to trip because she’s the clumsy one between the two of us. But I was glad I did in the end. I sort of wish that’s not how our first encounter went but what can you do eh? It was her eyes that I noticed first. Then I noticed the ridiculously tight skirt she was wearing when she walked out on me. Man! That ass... I tried to catch up with her but by the time I got out of the restaurant she was gone.
A couple of weeks later I saw her coming out of the Arndale shopping centre.
I knew that was my chance to make things right so I did what I did best- embarrass myself and others around me. I think it was Timbaland’s “Apologise” that I serenaded to her. Ha-ha. Her face said it all. I refused to stop until I saw her smile which she did after I tried to bust-a-move. Ha-Ha. Man, uni days were peak! I used to all kinds of stupid things. But I’m glad I had no shame in those days because I doubt I’d have gotten her real name and number.
We hung out every other day after that.
Found out that she was studying Biotechnology and had an affinity for horror movies like me. It was happy days up until half way through 2nd year. I have no idea why I was too…shy (?) to ask her out properly. I always put it down to being too busy with uni work or the fact that she started telling me about this friend she’d made. Eric. Never saw him back then. He was her roommate’s brother and doctor. He had apparently studied medicine at Cambridge. Felt that I had to let her know that I was doing alright in my degree and engineering is just as impressive. So, I arranged for her to see the Tesla coil and just as the sparks started to show…corny, I know…I asked her out.
She cried.
I will never understand girls! How you gonna cry when man asks you out? But that’s what she did; and then proceeded to walk out on me for the 2nd time since we met. She refused to speak to me for weeks. I was so annoyed. Months of me being patient and this was how it ended? I partied hard those next couple of weeks. Told myself I’ll play it cool. Couldn't believe no girl had caught my radar since I met her. That’s not how it should be. Especially at uni! But then, after one lecture, she shows up and apologises for how she handled things and asks if we could still be friends.
Friends?!
This girl was mad though! Like I was gonna be friends with her after that. If I was a girl, I’ll probably say she broke my heart but I’m not so… yeah. She looked like she had lost a bit of weight too and was sort of frail. In the end I agreed and after a couple of awkward weeks we found our rhythm and became best friends. Didn't quite see her as a sister though. The thoughts that ran through my mind prevented me from ever seeing her as such. Heard about Eric a lot more and so I started dating too. Things were good.
Then, graduation came.
In September, I strolled up to her new apartment in Deansgate and asked her for a lift to work. Ha-ha. Her face made it all worth it. She couldn't form complete sentences and refused to go anywhere until I explained myself causing us to be late for our first day. The company that we were both working for was a pioneer in technology solutions so I had no problems applying to work there. Having Kemi there was an added bonus. It was all happy days after that until that stupid dinner.
Eric had cropped up again.
They had had so many “meetings” and “appointments” as she would call it that I asked her if she’ll like to double date with me and my then girlfriend, Julia. Oh man! Julia… wow…the things that girl could do. I guess it was all those yoga classes or summat. He was alright, Eric. Didn't think he was right for her at all but she seemed to think he was amazing. Eric this and Eric that. Being with Julia did help me I guess but it didn't feel right as she was getting too attached and I just… wasn't. We broke up shortly after that. Can’t, for the life of me, remember how that happened actually. All I knew was that I needed to get away from Kemi for a bit.
So, I applied for a position in the company’s site in Italy.
Italy was a blast. The guys there sure knew how to have a good time. It was during such a time that I met Cara. We were on our way to have another night out but Aldo said should have dinner at this cool restaurant his friend owned. I had no idea this friend of his was going to be the woman that I’d marry. Who would? She came out of her office when one of her staff members told her Aldo had arrived and ran to greet him. She took my breath away. She smelt like…freshness? I dunno ha-ha. All I knew was that I was not leaving that restaurant until I knew all I could about her.
She was different.
Granted, when I first saw her I only noticed her soft supple full lips. That was mostly because they were painted a dark red colour which contrasted greatly with her fair skin. But then I started talking to her and I was gone. She knew all sorts of things and wasn't afraid to speak her mind either. Though it seemed she hung out a lot with guys, she was still…feminine. And she ate proper food. Kemi had apparently gone on her own journey to Damascus and completely changed her eating habits after I asked her out that time. Anyway, it seemed like I had an effect on Cara too because we did not notice when the guys had left and we had been talking for hours. I left her restaurant that night happier than I had been for a while.
Then, it was Christmas.
England seemed so different. Having Kemi come pick me was a shock too. I thought Paul was meant to but apparently I was wrong. She was so happy to see me. And come to think of it, she looked even thinner than usual. I assumed it was one of those crazy crash diets her celebrity of the week was doing. She drove me home and was talking a mile a minute. She had changed. Hell, I had changed. It took me a while to get back in synch with “us” but by the end of the night I managed to because we ended having one of our legendary loooong conversations that had us up all night. I guess that was mostly due to the 3 bottles of wine we finished. Well, to be fair I probably had most of it.
Time flew by after Christmas.
Went back to Italy and began to really make Rome my home because it sure felt like it. Everything I needed was there, bar my family. Things between Cara and I were moving so fast that I didn't realise we’d only been dating for about 8 months before I asked her to marry me. And I proposed to her in front of Kemi as well because I knew then that Cara was the one for me and Kemi was just a dream. Ha! She even cried tears of joy for us and had to excuse herself because she felt stupid. She didn't come back for ages but when she did she got the party started. Drinks were flowing, men were singing. It was a great night.
Then, the wedding planning commenced.
Kemi was a dream. She knew me better than I knew myself so I ran everything by her. It took a while for Cara to understand the relationship Kemi and I had. It was only when I told her that Kemi was dating Eric that she calmed down…slightly. I knew there was no way I was going to convince my mother that I would be getting married in Rome so Cara, her family and her friends agreed to fly over to England to have the wedding. Kemi, mum and Paul helped out a lot until we arrived in England. As soon as we arrived, I made a bee line for Kemi’s to ask her to be my best man. I knew Paul wouldn't mind as all he wanted to do was be in charge of stag night which Kemi was grateful for. She was a big part of my life that I wanted her there with me on the day.
Granted, that is not how I originally thought things would play out.
But such is life. The wedding turned out to be the best day of my life. I had Cara, the woman who made me have hope again, on my left and Kemi, my best friend and the girl that haunted my dreams for 6 years of my life, on my right. It was the day I had all my embarrassing moments at uni displayed in front of all my family and friends in the form of a slideshow, with added commentary, by Kemi. I never saw her again after the photoshoot as she’d call it. Tried to find her before we left for France for our honeymoon but I couldn't. I vowed to get back at her for humiliating me publicly after the honeymoon.
Then, the day came when everything changed.
I got a phone call from Tobi early yesterday morning. He told me things that I knew not to be true. He told me that Kemi had a severe heart attack two weeks ago which is stupid as that was the day of my wedding and she was there. Plus, she is only 26 years old and would have told me if she had some heart condition. So, I played along and asked if I could speak to her because, come to think of it, I hadn't spoken to her since the wedding. That’s when he dropped the bombshell. I could hear Benjamin (or was it Lola?) crying in the background.
“You need to come down here. Now”.
I make my way to Tobi and Lola's house like a mad man.
I refused to believe that the phone call was real but I wasn't going to take any chances. These people are lucky Italy is not far. I get to their house and find it in total chaos. Toys everywhere. Food for tomorrow covering every inch of any table in the house. As soon as Lola laid eyes on me she broke down. Tobi took me to the conservatory and let Lola be. He is telling me the whole story but I can’t comprehend it. Coronary heart disease? How could Kemi have found out she had CHD whilst we were in uni and not have told me? How can everything have been doing so well if she’s…Oh my God! This cannot be happening. Wait. What?! Did he just say that Eric was her doctor?! The regular "appointments"…
“I thought that they were dating”, I whispered.
“Dating? No, no. Never! Kemi was always in love with-”
“Who?”
Tobi looked down. Ashamed at what he was about to say.
“Fine, don’t tell me. But tell me this- why am I only finding out about this now. Two weeks have gone since she… Well, since it happened. Did you all lose my number?”
I am getting frustrated by the second.
Tobi sighed.
“She asked us not to tell you”.
“Not good enough Tobi! You should have called me! If Lola was dying and told me not to tell you until two weeks after her death how would you feel?”
“That would never happen. Lola is my wife!”
“And Kemi is my-”
Lola comes through the door enraged.
“Your what? Your friend? Your best woman? My sister was in love with you for the better part of her youth and you make her your best woman?!”
Tobi holds his wife back.
“Lola…”
I shake my head violently.
“No, that is not true! I asked her out years ago and she said that she didn't and will never see me that way and that we should just be friends”.
Tobi and Lola looked shocked.
“What?”, Lola said. Tears back in her eyes. “She just said that it will never work between the two of you now that she had CHD and that you are better off as…friends”.
“What?!”
“She didn't want to ruin your honeymoon with her “misfortune” as she liked to call it”, Tobi said as he took his wife back to the living room to console his wife.
This had to be someone's idea of a bad joke.
Better off as friends?! What?! Are you telling me that I could have had six years with her instead of six years of could have beens? But that’s just it with Kemi. It’s is always a case of 'What might it have been like?'. Is that why she made me believe that she was dating Eric? So that I’d get over her? She didn't want to ruin my… I cannot believe her! Benjamin comes downstairs and runs up to me. I hug him and take a really good look at him. He is still wearing the…the suit that we both went out to get him for the wedding. A tear escapes my eyes. Great, now I am crying in front of an 8 year old kid. I sit on the ground and feel Benjamin sit next to me. He holds onto me and sits there with me in silence, waiting for tomorrow.
Tomorrow will be the first of many days I will truly be away from her.
Tomorrow is the day that a family loses one of their own way too soon. It is the day an 8 year old learns to deal with death. It is the day that a woman loses her baby sister, her best friend. It is the day a mother deals with the fact that she is still living whilst her daughter is dead. It is the day that friends lose one of their own; a vital part of their group. It is a day that I will never forget.
Tomorrow, I lose the woman of my dreams forever and continue the rest of my life with the woman of my reality.
THE END
If you are reading this it means that you actually made it through all my blabbering and for that I thank you. The "short" story turned out a lot longer that I thought it would. It was only meant to be 2 pages but that turned into 10 :/. This is what revision does to me lool. Procrastination is awful!
If you have any comments on how I can make my stories better, please leave a comment below :)
Till next time!
Luv, Mo
xx
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. If it at all resembles your life it is purely coincidental.