Chapter 13 Miz
13
MIZ
Miz: So I met one of the women on the list—Gelila (aka Gigi). We skyped.
Aimé: Oh yeah? And?
Miz: Nice, funny, works at the Yorkville Sephora.
Aimé: Ooh, connections
Miz: She is saving for uni to study coding! So she’d use the $ for that.
Aimé: Sounds perfect.
Miz: Except she looks EXACTLY like Muna, even has her same voice. fml
Aimé: Maybe her long-lost twin? Lol.
Miz: Too spooky.
Aimé: It will be good for K-money to get to know a different Muna to cancel out the old one that broke his heart.
Miz: Not the point of this mission.
Miz: But ok. I’ll put her as a Weak Maybe.
After Gelila, next on my list of contacts from Hani is a woman named Khadijah. She wants to meet outside the Rabba mini-mart that’s on the same block as my work. Of all the Rabbas in the city? I avoid that location on account of one very judgy woman from back home who works the prepared foods section and makes me feel as if I’m ordering too much food. A girl who runs the equivalent of a marathon every week’s gotta eat, okay ? But time is tight, and Khadijah’s available in the middle of the day, on my lunch break, so I agree reluctantly, hoping I won’t run into the prepared foods lady. Again, what I do for you, Kal!
I should have knocked on wood because, when I get there, who do I see sitting at a table outside the store enjoying an iced coffee and scrolling through her phone? The prepared foods lady. Brilliant. She’s wearing the store uniform of branded black polo and pants, her chiffon scarf (green today) covering her hijab cap thrown over her shoulder.
To create some distance, I wander off toward a grassed area where a dog walker is wrangling leashed dogs and text Khadijah.
Me: I’m here.
Khadijah: I’m outside sitting.
I look back at the woman and see on her face the same thing I’m sure she reads on mine: complete disappointment. But I plaster a fake smile on my face and approach her. I’m pissed that I’m automatically down to three candidates now because no way in hell am I handing Kal over to her .
“Hi! I didn’t know it was you,” I say, as if it’s a lovely surprise.
She puts away her drink and turns sideways in her chair, as if she’s about to leave. Be my guest, and save us both the trouble!
“You live in this area?” she says, all accusatory.
“Oh no, only work. Too fancy for my pocket,” I say, gesturing at the high-end condos.
She smiles, tight as plastic wrap. “Sit?” Must I? I drag out the metal chair noisily. My butt has barely touched the seat when she asks to see a picture of this man who needs a sponsor. Sensing my hesitation, she adds, “Maybe I know him.”
“You don’t,” I say with total certainty, trying to think of a quick and painless way to end this interaction. Tell her he already found someone? But then why did I agree to meet?
“Okay.” She takes a sip from her iced coffee. “Did you bring the deposit?”
“What deposit?” I ask, confused.
“To start the discussing,” she says, as if this should be obvious.
Is she joking? But she holds my gaze, dead serious, unblinking. Who ever heard of upfront payment just to talk? Come to think of it, she’s way too unblinking. It occurs to me she could be purposely sabotaging this meeting because she doesn’t want nothing to do with me or mine neither. At last! We have something in common.
“Ohh,” I say, as if I forgot to bring the money. “How much would that deposit need to be?”
“Ten percent,” she says, “of the total.”
“Oh, I don’t have five grand on me right now,” I say, perfectly straight faced.
She doesn’t miss a beat. “Call me and we’ll meet again when you have it?”
“Let’s.” I leave her to finish her refreshment. Like hell we will.
Aimé: So did you call her back?
Miz: What you think?
Aimé: Lol
Miz: No way, met up with Helina, Dufferin Mall.
Aimé: Mm-hmm, go on.
Miz: Born here, going to U of T for poli sci, needs $$ for studio time w producer.
Aimé: Oh, an artist! Good for K! They’ll have that in common.
Miz: Was actually approached for this kind of thing before but said no b/c the guy was not Ethio.
Aimé: Slightly racist.
Miz: Points for patriotism , and she’s in her 20s.
Aimé: So what? Put her in the Strong Maybe.
Miz: Yeah?
Aimé: Slim pickings ok?
Miz: U right, ok. Then there was Samri. Met at the Second Cup up by Finch stn.
Aimé: Girl you been all over.
Miz: She came here 15 years ago, wants $ for house she’s building back home for mom.
Aimé: Strong Yes.
Miz: Right! So, 2 strong—Samri, Helina. 1 weak—Gelila. 1 hell no—Khadijah.
Aimé: Wat happen to #5?
Me: Melat was a flake. Giving me runaround. Just say “not interested,” man! Simple!
Aimé: B/c u ppl are so good @ directness.
I set up a coffee date with Kal and schedule for Samri and Helina to meet us there, half an hour apart over the space of two hours so their comings and goings won’t overlap. Hani comes through at the eleventh hour with one more contact named Nardos. I add her to the Strong Maybes only because she is available on short notice on the date I’ve picked for the introductions with Kal and seems cool on the phone. I give myself a pat on the back. They don’t make friends like me anymore.