Chapter 16 #2
Didn’t notice the ring thing but I randomly looked him up on Facebook after he friended me on LinkedIn. His profile is open and he’s got photos of his wife and wedding pics and his two little kids on there and everything. Looks like he’s been married for at least 10 years. xx
Thank God for good friends like Kofi. I rushed onto Facebook – an app I hadn’t actively used in at least four years – and searched ‘Jeff Paulson’ and, sure enough, his profile popped up immediately.
Scrolling through it, I saw hundreds of photos – updated as recently as last week – of him and his wife, whose name was Veronica.
She seemed to also be a doctor, and was stunning to boot, with the most gorgeous blonde dreadlocks.
As Kofi said, they had two children; one was five years old and the other was two, and they looked like the perfect family; like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting, in fact. Just perfect.
Wow. A whole family. That just made what he did with me in the car even worse.
A would-be cheater!! A scoundrel. Ragamuffin, some would even say!
For the sake of my peace of mind at work, I decided that I wasn’t going to crash out over it.
I thought of his poor wife. How many times had he done this without her knowledge?
A phone notification broke me out of my concentration. It was a OuiMeet message from Theo:
Hi. I’ll see you tomorrow at 8 p.m.
The sharpness of the message stung; he still seemed a bit hurt by our last conversation, but I was hoping I could make it up to him tomorrow.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to spending time with him again.
I snuggled up to Toby and thought of Theo as I fell asleep, waiting to see what tomorrow would bring.
It was just past 3 p.m. the next day, and I was at Sade’s flat, working my way through a bucket of KFC while we swapped stories about recent escapades.
Things between her and Kofi were clearly still going strong – evidenced by the load of laundry she was halfway through when I showed up, which included more than a few pairs of men’s boxers.
I made sure she watched as I stared at the boxers on top of the laundry basket – Calvin Kleins – Kofi at least had good taste.
‘So,’ I started, biting a strip of chicken from the bone, ‘it begins. So when’s he moving in then?’ Sade responded by playfully jabbing me in the ribs before coming to sit down and join in the feast.
‘Oh, whatever – quit being so dramatic!’ she exclaimed, tucking into a drumstick.
‘Honestly, I really like having him around; it just feels … real, you know? I know we’re moving fast, but I’m genuinely happy.
He’s like this big, excitable ball of light, and right now, that’s exactly what I need.
And seriously, thank you. You really came through for me – you’re a real one! ’
She then stared off into the distance for a moment, her eyes glazed over in what looked like a trance, and that’s when it hit me: this bitch had fallen in love.
‘You look like a bitch in love by the way,’ I said, breaking the silence.
‘Either way, you two are incredibly cute together – Kofi can’t stop talking about you at work and I’ve never seen him this way with anyone else in all the years I’ve worked with him so you must be doing something right, girl.
Anyway, I love you both and when you guys get engaged, just know that I will be claiming that maid of honour position. ’
Sade didn’t reply, but instead smiled warmly. It was truly great to see her so happy. If I could just get a crumb of that at some point, then life would be great.
‘What’s going on with you and Theo these days anyway?’ Sade asked. ‘Are you guys still seeing each other?’ I updated her on the recent events taking place with Theo and me, making sure to ham up the reasoning as to why I couldn’t allow for anything deeper with him at this point.
After I was done, Sade just stared at me and shook her head. Uh oh.
‘Girl. You clearly like this guy. And if you’re beginning to develop feelings for him, why do you care what your family will think?’
‘Sade, have you forgotten that we are both African women who come from annoying-ass families? I don’t want to be given the third degree by my parents if they ever found out how we met – it’s so embarrassing.
’ I finished up the last of my food, feeling Sade’s eyes burn into me, full of judgement. She was such a lover girl, this one.
‘Cassie, babe, let’s be real for a second.
Your brother just had a baby with his girlfriend – no ring, no vows, just vibes.
Your mum’s gearing up for round two at the altar.
And your dad? He’s out there roaming around London like he’s the star of a nineties R&B music video, trying to win her back instead of acting like a grown adult.
Traditional? Babes, please. Your family left “traditional” in the dust years ago.
Just admit that you like that male escort and have your happily ever after. ’
My best friend had such a way with words, and that’s why I loved her and her brutal honesty.
‘When you put it like that, I see what you’re saying … but … I don’t know. We’ll see. I’m seeing Theo tonight – he’s staying over – so we’ll probably chat then, I guess.’
At that, Sade cocked her perfectly groomed eyebrow at me. ‘Uh huh. Well, you guys have your chat in between getting dicked down – I’m sure you’ll change your mind eventually, and I can’t wait until you do, so I can finally meet the guy and fully give him the third degree.’
‘About that—’ I started, knowing where this was about to go but being powerless to stop it ‘—Sade, I’ll be honest, I’ve been a bit hesitant to introduce you both, not only because I’m trying to keep it on the downlow, but you know what my dating history’s been like, right?
I’ve never really had something that’s been …
all mine. I guess I was a bit nervous that he’d take one look at how gorgeous you are and somehow … forget all about me.’
I chewed on my thumb nervously as I braced myself for her response. I don’t know what urged me to bring this up, but I knew I had to be honest about that niggling fear in the back of my head.
Out of nowhere, I felt a chip land on my nose at full force, with the chip dust breezing into my nostrils. I looked up at Sade, who looked livid. Here we go.
‘Are you taking the piss, Cass? You’re my best friend. Do you honestly think I would ever do that to you?’ Her hands were crossed around her body defensively. Oh yikes.
I issued my retort: ‘NO I absolutely don’t! I know you would never cross that line … I think I’m just scared that he’d probably take a liking to you and—’
‘Lemme stop you right there—’ intervened Sade, picking up another chip and threatening to throw it at me again.
‘Don’t use me as a reason to sabotage what you have with him.
From the way you’ve made it sound, he practically worships the ground you walk on.
Has he ever given you a reason to doubt his attraction to you? ’
‘No, but—’
‘Exactly,’ she cut in. ‘Has he ever flirted with, or even looked at another woman while you guys have been together?’
‘Well, no—’
‘Right,’ Sade cut in again. ‘So is this really about him or is this about you seeing a good thing for once and self-sabotaging because you’re not used to being around good men?’
She had me there, my irritating-yet-always-right-best friend.
‘I … maybe it’s about me, I don’t know. I panicked, OK?’ I stared down at my hands, feeling sorry for myself.
‘Oh, I know you did,’ Sade replied, shoving the chip into her mouth and munching loudly.
‘I’m a bit hurt that you think I’m some kind of a threat to you and him, if I’m being honest. I’ve always wanted nothing but the best for you, and I would never want you to think I would ever cross the line in that way. You’re my sister, man.’
We stared at each other in silence, and in that moment I was grateful that I’d brought it up before it had the opportunity to turn into resentment.
‘I’m sorry sis,’ I replied, going in for a hug. ‘I’m definitely overthinking. I shouldn’t have brought you into this. Maybe I do need to do a bit more self-reflection.’
‘I know you fucking do. Apology accepted. Now hurry up and get ready so you can get your man back, for fuck’s sake.’
I threw a chip at her. I hated how she always ended up being right.
At 7.30 p.m., I began lighting the scented candles in my bedroom and living room.
Toby had annoyingly shat up a storm during my absence, and despite me changing his cat litter, I could still faintly smell the shitty odour, forcing me to have to light my never-before-used Diptyque 34 Candle – a scent I’d only ever wanted to use for special occasions.
I’d also decided to actually cook this time around, settling on steak, mashed potatoes and vegetables, which I knew was one of his favourite dishes.
With fifteen minutes to spare, I slipped into a simple but cute white dress.
It was form-fitting, understated – almost virginal, if we’re being dramatic.
I kept my hair and make-up minimal, too.
After all the time we’d spent together, I didn’t feel the need to go all out.
He’d always made me feel cute, even in an oversized T-shirt with zero make-up on.
At 8 p.m. on the dot, my buzzer rang and something in me shifted.
I hadn’t been this nervous to see him since our very first phone call, and wasn’t sure why I suddenly had a case of the butterflies.
He’d been pretty quiet on his socials since our last conversation, so I hadn’t really been able to gauge his mood up until now. I guessed I was about to find out.