A Valentine Day Fiasco Chapter 3 – Reconnecting over dinner.

The house was a beautiful looking story building and his flat was the one in front on the first and only floor. He excitedly climbed the staring case skipping as many as 2 steps at a time. He had never been this excited in a long while. Was it because he was seeing Cynthia again? Probably. It was going to give him an opportunity to patch things up with her fully and move on. As soon as he got in he started composing a message to Cynthia. He had no idea where she lived so choosing a place for dinner was a bit confusing. He thought it over and decided to call her instead. At the second ring she picked up the call.

“Hello”, she said

“Hi, it’s John”

“Yeah, I know that” she replied with a giggle.

“I just realized I don’t know where you stay so picking out a meeting point was quite confusing for me. So could you help me out? I stay close to 1004 in Victoria Island. What about you?”

“That’s cool. I stay in Victoria Island also. Saka Tinubu.”, she replied.

“Awesome. Let’s meet up at L’Afric. It’s a really good restaurant. That is if it is okay by you.”

“Sure no problem. By what time though?”

“How does 6 o’clock sound to you?”

“Sounds okay by me”.

“Cool. See ya then”.

“Yeah till then.” Then he hung up.

He was looking forward to it. He got into his bathroom to freshen up. He already knew what he was going to wear. It was not a date just a friendly meet up and he had an idea of how he wanted to look.

   Cynthia on the other hand stared into her wardrobe confused as to what she was going to wear for this “dinner”. After a lot of deliberation and consideration she settled on a semi-formal long sleeved cream top, a pair of blue denim trousers and a pair of black mules. After her outfit was ready she called the mechanic to fix her car. She has some hours before the dinner and she should use the opportunity. He came over almost immediately and started working on the car. Soon enough he was done with it and she paid him for his services. She tested the car and it worked just fine and she was glad. She didn’t want to have to hitch a ride with John coming back as getting a taxi by the time they would be done would be difficult. With less than 2 hours to spare she headed straight for the bathroom to freshen up. After dressing up, she did her makeup making sure it was not to serious. In an hour, she was ready. She headed out the door with a black clutch purse containing her phone and some money since they would likely split the bill and headed out. It was better being too early than coming late after making an appointment she reasoned. Besides she hated being tardy it was one of her unwritten rules. So she drove out of the compound and headed to L’Afric.

By the time she got there John had already arrived. He saw her from his vantage point as she entered the restaurant which was the whole idea. He was surprised she made it on time in contrast with most ladies who are usually late. She sighted him waving at her and headed towards that table.

“Hey, you’re early.” He said

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You came early. That is what it is supposed to mean. I didn’t expect it; you being a lady and all. You have to agree with me that most ladies are tardy, arriving late most times and then saying they were ‘fashionably late’. I mean who does that?”

She smiled at that. She had to agree with him. Most ladies are always late.

“I understand what you mean. However I strive as much as possible to always be on time. So I guess I am one of the exceptions to the norm.” She said in return.

“You definitely are.”

She settled down into her seat while he motioned for a waiter to take their orders. He placed an order for their special rice along with a bottle of white wine. Since she was new to this place she decided to order what he ordered since he seemed very sure of himself while ordering it. While waiting for their orders, they chewed on the groundnuts offered as they got seated.

“I sincerely hope their special rice comes out good. I ordered that since you confidently ordered it. I take it you eat here often”, she said

“Yes I do sometimes and when I do I always eat their special rice. They take some time to serve your order but when it arrives it is usually worth the wait”.

“If you say so” she concluded.

After some minutes went past while waiting for their food they talked about anything and everything. From the universities they had gone to after secondary school to their secular jobs even the weather.

She found out that he attended Unilag and worked in an engineering firm on the island while he found out that she had studies at UNN and was a computer graphics designer at an IT firm at Lekki. Time went by quietly and in no time their food arrived along with their wine. They ate and when they were done the waiter brought their bill. He wanted to pay it but she insisted on splitting the bill into two. When they had both settled the bills they headed out of the restaurant. While walking to where her car was parked, it was oddly quiet so Cynthia decided to say something.

“It was nice having dinner with you”, she said

“Yes it was. I enjoyed it. But why did you have to make a fuss about settling the bill in there?” he asked

“First of all, it is the 21^st century. Women can foot their own bills. Secondly it is not a date. I can’t conscientiously burden you paying for everything when it is not a date.”

“Was I complaining?”

“No but I have my principles and this is one of them.”

“I see.

Since said it was nice having dinner with me, I hope it was nice enough to consider hanging out with me some other time. You can pick a date.”

“Yes. It was nice enough”. She smiled.

“I’ll get back to you on that that.”

They got to her champagne colored Camry and she got in.

“Goodnight John”

“Goodnight Cynthia”

At this she drove off. He went to locate his own vehicle, climbed in and zoomed off.

Click here to read Chapter 4.