Welcome, dear reader!
So this is the first of what I’ve titled ‘the Original M & D’ series. These were the series I first wrote on my original blog. And since they hold a special place, I decided to name them accordingly, so you know how this storytelling journey commenced. This was the very first story, originally written in 2016.
Anyway, lemme not take too much of your time. Let’s get right into it!
“Ahh yes! Another Sunday, another good day in church!” Marcus Addo-Dery sighed to himself, feeling very pleased as he killed the engine of his Hyundai Elantra, nicely parked in his preferred space in the vast car park.
Indeed, another Sunday had arrived, and just like every other church, Water Brook International Chapel was holding its regular service. And as always, the twenty-something year old guy was more than happy to be here.
Getting out of the car, he took out his Bible, checked out his appearance in the window, nodded in satisfaction at how dazzling her looked in his brown kaftan, then made his way to the auditorium.
As he stepped onto the compound leading to the auditorium, the usual familiar faces waved at him and called out to him.
“Good morning, Marcus!”
“Mr. Addo-Dery, how are you doing?”
“Marcus, Marcus! We go meet after service, wai!”
A big smile on his face, he waved at them all. From acquaintances to church counsellors to bosom buddies, it was always great to be in church to see all these loved ones. It was definitely the feeling of community that made this church a beloved place for him.
Then as he moved on, he saw her.
That familiar chocolate-skinned lady, with fascinating curls and super-expressive eyes.
Allison Ennin.
He nodded and waved slightly at her. “Hi.”
She nodded and responded quietly, “Hi.”
As he moved on, entering the auditorium where the sounds of worship music filled the atmosphere, he shook his head.
Oh, how that girl used to be the desire of his heart! There was a time when the thought of her stoked a fire of excitement in his chest, and he wanted nothing more than to be with her. Gorgeous and passionate, she was certainly a special one, and he had pined after her deeply back then. So when the opportunity arose for him and her to develop a relationship thanks to certain programs organized by the church, his excitement knew no bounds, as he was convinced this was the precursor to a wonderful relationship with an amazing lady.
But it never worked out. For reasons known to only her, Allison was not a fan of relationships and treated the whole concept as something contemptible. He had tried to hold on for a while, but it became glaringly clear that it would never work out.
And with time, he had moved on. It had not been easy, but as he passed by her and gave her that simple greeting, there was no doubt that he was totally over her.
He had moved on.
***
“May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more…”
As she recited the benediction along with the rest of the congregation, Allison looked in his direction, and taking a deep breath, thought to herself, Yeah, it’s time to do this.
She had debated with herself for over a week on whether this was a wise thing to do. Of course, there were two opposing voices on either side of her shoulder giving their opinions: one claimed it was a terrible idea and she’d be better off staying silent and moving on with her life, while the other claimed it was better she speak up and clarify the whole matter.
That Sunday morning, she had woken up and come to the decision that the latter voice made more sense. And throughout the service, in between listening to the sermon, she felt more fortified in her decision.
It was time to get it done.
***
“Hi, guys!”
Marcus and a few other guys were standing around in the youth church hall, heartily chatting as they usually did after service, when they heard that familiar feminine voice of Allison. Turning to her, they responded collectively.
“Hey, Allison!”
She stared at him. “Um, Marcus, could I see you for a moment?”
Marcus’ eyes squinted for a minute. Why would she want to see him?
Maybe someone had sent her to ask him for something urgent or so.
“Sure,” he responded, excusing himself from the group gathering of his friends, some of whom looked as confused as he was, as he followed Allison outside the hall.
Standing at the door, he nodded and asked, “Okay, so wassup?”
“Ummm… can we talk at the car park?”
The car park? That had Marcus a little more perplexed. It wasn’t that somebody had sent her or something; this was probably some personal issue.
But why? Surely it didn’t have anything to do with the past, did it?
Well, following her would explain that. So he walked with her silently to the car park.
The place was still packed with cars, as it was only a couple of minutes since service had ended. The place would only really become bare after about two hours or so, with all the after-service meetings, official and unofficial, coming to an end by then.
The two came to stand by one rather old Toyota Corolla. Marcus had his hands in his pockets, still wondering what it was that made Allison want to have a conversation this private with him, considering they now barely ever spoke to each other.
“Um, Marcus. There’s something important I wanted to ask you. I just feel like it’s necessary I do this. So please bear with me.”
“Uh, sure,” Marcus nodded, waiting to see what she had to ask.
She took a deep breath. “Umm… do you have feelings for me?”
Marcus was taken aback. If there was anything he didn’t expect, it was her asking this question.
“Uhhh…”
“Okay, scratch that. Have you ever had feelings for me? Like the time we worked together? Did you like me?”
This was not in the least what Marcus had been expecting, and truth be told, he didn’t want to answer the question. These were feelings he had gotten over a long time ago once their relationship inexplicably dissolved, and he had no intention to think about or even consider them.
But for whatever reason, she had asked, and it would be unnecessarily rude to refuse to answer. So he nodded his head. “Yeah, I once did.”
“But why didn’t you ever tell me?”
He squinted his eyes. Was she really asking this question? Really?
“Ummm, it’s simple, really. We spent quite an amount of time together, and you said enough for me to know that what I wanted would not work. What I desired is a long-term relationship; I’m not a fan of just falling in love for the sake of it. But every time the concept of relationships came up, you expressed a straight-up personal non-preference for it. You mentioned how you don’t want to marry, how intolerant you are of proposals from guys, and how you’d bluntly shoot them down. Then that period where you just stopped talking to me, with that reason you gave? Come on! It was obvious. Okay, just answer me this question. Assuming I had said something, that I had officially proposed to you. Would you have said yes?”
“Umm, that’s not the –“
“Allison, please. I answered your question quite smoothly. It’s as much of a yes/no answer I require as you did. Would you have said yes?”
Allison sighed. She looked up briefly, then said, “I definitely would have said no.”
Marcus shrugged. “See? I could see it plainly. I mean, your words were more than enough to advise me that this would not end well.”
Allison then took a hold of his hand. “But… isn’t there a chance to start over?”
Marcus was now really puzzled. He wasn’t expecting this sort of behavior from Allison. She was the type of girl who wouldn’t even hug a guy, and on a number of occasions where he had tried what she was doing, she had briskly whisked away her hand. She took the “Don’t Touch Me” mantra to a whole new level when she was in her element, so this was quite confusing.
And that’s what he said. “Uh, Allison, I’m confused. What’s going on? Start over as in?”
“As in how we once were quite close. And maybe go down that path. I was pretty radical back then, I admit it, but things are slowly changing. And I was wondering if…” she trailed off.
No need for her to finish the sentence, though. Marcus knew what she was getting at.
He sighed within himself.
“Allison, I won’t lie, I was pretty crazy about you back then. I remember all the time we spent together, even as just friends, and it was always a highlight of some sort for me. It was great. But things have changed. It’s been almost 3 years since the fire died, and really, I have no intentions of going back.
“In any case, I already have a lady in my life.”
The soft grip on his hand grew limp with that last statement. Her face was a portrait of disappointment.
“Look, Allison, I don’t wanna be a jerk, that won’t get me anywhere profitable. But after the attitude and all, I really lost it all for you. I’m glad you’ve changed, but the truth is, I love Temwani. She’s a wonderful girl, and life is amazing with her. Yeah, by the way, she’s Zambian. Never thought I’d date a non-Ghanaian! But really, it’s too late. When I wanted you so bad, you had shut your heart off totally. Now it’s too late to start over. Maybe we can rekindle the friendship and talk a bit more or something, but nothing more than that. I’m sorry.”
She nodded, head down. “I understand……. I guess I should be going now.”
He wanted to tell her to wait, but, that statement had suddenly activated an awkward atmosphere that was not strange to either party. Staying there any longer would only cause more discomfiture between the two. So he muttered, “Sure. Uh… next week then.”
She mumbled a response, and the two went their ways.
Well, that was awkward. Really, really awkward. I wonder what comes up next. Let’s see in the coming episodes…
