BLUSHES AND ROSES
“Are we to speak of these flowers as a symbol of love?”
Saturday night can be a little different from other nights. It was a night after Friday; the last day of the working week. A night before Sunday; the day to attend Church, stay after service, and prepare for the coming days. It could also be a night to relax, de-stress, catch up with a few things, do something or do nothing.
For me, it was a night to block out everything and enjoy myself. My back on my bed with my eyes closed, listening to music without any bother, was the highlight of my day. I wasn’t going to doze off. I’d had plenty of sleep earlier in the day, and now all that was there for me to do was to relax every part of my body and de-stress.
‘This… this is perfect’, I said aloud to no one but myself, as I stretched my body like a cat’s and moved it into a more relaxed position. I smiled to myself as I listened to the music playing. The next song that was about to be played was one of my favourites, and I prepared my vocals to sing along with it. But as the song started, I heard a ringtone.
‘Oh Oh Oh! Why now?’ I grumbled as I left my bed out of annoyance, looking for the phone that was ringing. Normally, I would have let the call ring until the person calling gave up, but this phone had a number very few people knew, and I had always reminded them that it was to be used for emergencies.
Finally, after finding the phone on its second ring, I looked at the screen to see an unsaved number. Going against my desire to ignore it, since I didn’t have the number saved and also because it had spoiled my mood, my curiosity got the better of me and I answered the call.
‘Hello?’ I asked in an annoyed voice. ‘Sooooo this is your safe space. Uzu here. What you doing?’ I looked back at my phone after hearing the voice of the caller and slapped my face with my other hand after recognizing the number.
Returning to the phone call, I replied, ‘Uzu! Hi! Can you explain to me how you got this number? I’m very sure you aren’t supposed to have this’.
‘Yeesshhh, you sound angry, but then you see that’s where you are wrong’, Uzu laughed before continuing. ‘Remember when you called me that day, one time, for us to go out and watch one newly released movie like that?’
‘What?’ I replied at first confused until I remembered and continued, ‘Okay, yeah I remember’.
‘Yeah, you called me with this number and I saved it’, Uzu replied sheepishly.
‘Uzu, I’m very certain I have never called you with this number. So better tell me how you got this number’.
Uzu laughed out loud after that and finally confessed in his own way, ‘Okay, fine. I was lying about that, but you don’t need to know why I have it. What should concern you is why I’m calling. So can you guess why I’m calling?’
I rolled my eyes after his last statement and finally sat down. ‘This is going to be longer than I expected’, I thought to myself and dropped my phone beside me, putting it on the loudspeaker. ‘You want us to go out, don’t you?’
‘Ding ding ding, you got the answer right. Now answer my first question’.
‘I’m not doing anything, but leaving this flat of mine today is a no no’.
‘Ah yes, I already expected this and that’s why I prepared something you can’t ignore’.
‘What’s that?’ I asked him with curiosity laced in my voice, expecting something ridiculous from him.
‘Begging. Please please please Anu. Please leave your comfort and house, and come out with me. Don’t leave me to be all by myself on this awesome Saturday night. Please, Anu! Pleaseeee!’
I laughed out so loudly after hearing him that I even snorted out a bit of catarrh from a cold I had been treating for a while.
‘Oh my god. Look at you acting all pride-less and needy, thinking that would take me out of my house. Oh my’, I replied to him before laughing at him again.
‘I know I’m getting to you already, and I’m glad to have made you laugh like you just did, so come out already. Let’s go!’ He pushed again and I give in a little
‘Ah! You know you have to do a little more than this to get me to get out. What do you have in mind?’
‘Why not let that be a surprise, and you, you say yes’.
I thought about it for less than a minute before answering him, ‘Alright, let’s go, but it’s only because I trust you have good taste. What should I wear by the way and where are we going?’ I asked, already scanning my clothes.
‘That’s part of the surprise’, he replied.
‘And what should I wear?’ I asked again.
‘Part of the surprise too’, he replied again, but so abruptly that I thought he had ended the call, until I heard from the phone a few seconds later, ‘But wear something nice’.
Half an hour later, I’m waiting patiently outside the building I lived in. Wearing a long-sleeve, above-the-knee gown, I was pretty sure I looked decent to wherever we were going. With half of my braids packed up and the rest let down, I thought I looked a little different from what I usually look like during the week.
Checking the time on my watch, I sighed peacefully; thankful that it was a Saturday night. Less than five minutes later, a car comes slowly to my side and parks beside me. It’s black, sleek and powerful. It was Uzu’s car, and I found myself smiling brightly.
He winds down the passenger window next to me and quickly tells me to stay where I am.
‘This might just be interesting’, I thought to myself as he carefully got out of his car while holding something I couldn’t see clearly.
‘Can you close your eyes for a minute?’ He asked me before moving a bit close to me.
‘I’m really trying to figure out what’s going on here’, I tell him while smiling and close my eyes.
‘Here, for you’, he said to me not more than five seconds later, and I opened my eyes to see a bouquet of flowers in his hands.
I find myself blushing unexpectedly. ‘What?’ I ask him, extremely flattered and confused.
‘These are for you… Congratulations on getting promoted and well’, he says that, and sheepishly continues, ‘getting ready on time for the first time on a Saturday’.
Laughter escaped my mouth and for a while words too.
‘Thank you Uzu. I really appreciate this’, I tell him after feeling deeply, the effects of his action towards me. ‘Where did you get these by the way?’ I also ask him after checking and confirming the flowers to be roses. ‘I’ve never seen these being sold anywhere around here before’.
‘Ah, that. That would remain a secret for now’, that’s all he replies.
Maybe I’m not someone very sane. Maybe I’m not very normal, but the thing about what we share together, the way I enjoy the silly things he sometimes does, our perhaps not very funny sense of humour and the way he makes me feel at times, leaves me to enjoy every part of him even when I don’t understand myself.
After his last statement, I realized how deep my feelings were for him.
Unable to stop myself, I move closer to him, the flowers between us and whisper to him, ‘Say. Are we to speak of these flowers as a symbol of love?’
I know that as I wait for him to react to my words, and my feelings, my eyes are probably sparkling, but when I watch his eyes sparkle too, and his lips curl into a smile, my heart becomes extremely full.
And as he whispered back to me, ‘Yes’, I knew Saturday nights could never remain the same again.
