“But that was so gooooodd! Bamli blodo straight from the clay oven with the margarine nicely melted in between! Ao, Yehowa, that was heavenly!”

“Chaleyyyyyy! I’ve always loved bamli blodo. Since my childhood days ooo. My mother of blessed memory, she used to buy it on the regular for me and my sister whenever she took us to school. And my God, we loved it! We lovveeeddd itttttt! Chale, bamli blodo eh, sizeless!”

“Uh-huh. I’m so glad we passed by the bakery before coming here. Too bad we can’t bring the bread here.”

“Yeah. Against their policy. Besides, I think it would have looked someway paaa in here. Holding black polythene bag with bread in it and drinking with the coffee. Ibi someway.”

“Oh, me, I wouldn’t have cared ooo. Kwɛ! Jamestown cutie like me, I can be shameless sometimes ooo. If I want to feel free, I’ll feel free kraa. As long as it’s not indecent or wrong, I don’t care who’s watching ooo. You can’t shame the shameless!”

“Hahahahaha! I like that!”

It was a lovely Saturday morning, and Clarence and Irene were having a simple but intimate time together, seated in one corner of Jamestown Coffee Co, where the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air and baristas and waiters were busy doing their work.

A few weeks in, and they were still enjoying this journey of getting to know each other. It was funny how neither party had anticipated this; in fact, they had both closed their hearts to the idea of relationships for a while, with Irene wanting to recover from the shock of dealing with a pure misogynistic jerk, and Clarence wanting to focus on getting out of the cursed position of unemployment.

Yet, after that day Clarence visited Shalom Temple and Delasi introduced her to him, there was this spark that lit up in him. He may not have dwelt on it straight away, as Deladem and Bruce came to join him not long after, but there was something about that sweet-looking girl that had him hooked.

And unbeknownst to him at the time, she was smitten on the spot too…

*

As Irene and the other choristers chatted excitedly in line, selecting their favorite pastries from the display case as they got things ready for the quick choir meeting, she looked back, and caught sight of the cute guy sitting alone at one of the tables.

Clarence. The guy Delasi had introduced as her childhood friend.

She couldn’t help but feel a flutter in her chest. For some reason, there was this feeling of excitement and curiosity that he sparked within her from the moment she laid eyes on him. Suddenly, she felt super giddy at the sight of him, and this impromptu desire to know him more had sprung up within her.

While Delasi, Lovia and Felicia continued to chat heartily, she stole a few more quick glances in his direction, her heart racing with each stolen moment.

Mmm… I wonder what he’s like. He seems like quite the quiet person, she wondered to herself as she returned her attention to her friends just as his friends joined him at his table. What does he like? What are his hobbies? Does he share any of my interests? Mmmm… I’d love to know. If only I had the chance to get to know him better… Lord, please give me a chance to get to know him better…

*

As the waiter approached with two steaming cups, they exchanged expectant glances, their fingers lightly brushing against each other on the tabletop. Irene lowered her eyes briefly, feeling slightly flustered by the gentleness of his touch. Clarence could only smirk in response to her shy reaction.

The cups were placed before them, with the waiter flashing them a friendly, professional smile before leaving them. With a shared smile, they each lifted their cups to their lips, taking tentative sips.

They paused for a moment, savouring the flavour of what they had just imbibed.

Then they nodded.

“This is really good!” Irene exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

Clarence nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, I didn’t expect it to be this flavourful. Chale, it’s on point.”

“Uh-huh. But then, it has Jamestown’s name on it, so it has to be on point,” Irene declared with a bit of sass. “I mean, everything from Jamestown is on point.”

Clarence laughed. “Of course, of course! Everything from Jamestown is on point. The bread is on point, the coffee is on point, Chale Wote festival is on point… its women are on point. And I’m sitting right in front of proof of that.”

Irene giggled and lowered her eyes again, once again overwhelmed by the sweet attention of this guy she fancied so much.

Clarence reached out and gently lifted her face up by the chin. She looked shyly at him.

“You are the cutest girl I’ve ever caught feelings for,” he murmured. “So adorable and sweet. I really do like you, Irene.”

Biting her lip for a second, she looked back at him. “And I like you too, Clarence,” she whispered back. “I didn’t think things would go this way, but I’m so glad they did.”

“Me too. I won’t lie, I’m not exactly a believer in ‘love at first sight’ things, but… that day Delasi introduced you and the other girls to me, something in me just… I dunno, should I say… shifted?”

Irene giggled. “That sounds very spiritual.”

Clarence laughed. “Yeah, does have a highly spiritual tone to it. But yeah, I felt something when I saw you. And boy, I’m sure glad we met again later that day.”

“Oh yeah. That prayer I prayed, eh, I didn’t think God would answer it for me that quickly. Even though it was slightly awkward how that went. Hehehehe.”

“Oh, tell me about it…”

*

Clarence stood at the Spanner bus stop, his hands stuffed in his pockets, watching the roads as he waited for approaching trotros. Bruce and Nana Asor had dropped him off once they had left Shalom Temple, and it was now time to find his way back home. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, feeling the familiar sense of impatience that always accompanied waiting for a trotro to arrive.

Suddenly, a trotro whooshed past and stopped a few metres ahead. Startled, he turned to see who was getting out of that car.

He sucked his breath in.

Out stepped the absolutely cute young lady Delasi had introduced as the Jamestown cutie.

Iris… or Irene… yeah, it was Irene. Definitely Irene.

She turned in his direction… and her eyes widened in surprise as she also instantly recognized him.

Their gazes locked, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. Clarence felt his heart skip a beat as he took in her appearance.

This babe really was definitely the living and breathing definition of cute. If the dictionary ever needed a picture to describe it accordingly, they needed to find her.

“Hey,” she called softly, her voice barely audible over the sound of passing cars as she approached him. “Didn’t think I’d be seeing you here.”

Clarence cleared his throat, trying to dispel the nervousness in his chest. “Yeah, small world,” he replied, managing a small smile. “Irene, right?”

She nodded. “And you’re Clarence, right?”

“Y-yeah, yeah.”

“Cool.”

They stood there awkwardly after that, the tension between them palpable. It was like they both knew they wanted to talk to each other so badly, yet had no idea where or how to start. A pretty awkward moment for both of them.

As Clarence shuffled his feet, searching for something to say, a wide array of possible ice-breakers raced through his brain. He stood there silently, but it was a crazy moment of upheaval in his brain as he struggled to decide on what to say.

“So, uh… w-w-where are you off to?” he finally asked.

He mentally cringed at himself. Of all the ideas bouncing up and down in his cranium, that was the best he could choose?

Irene smiled back, her eyes lighting up with amusement. “Just on my way to meet a friend before I go home.”

Clarence nodded. “That sounds nice,” he stated. “I’m just…you know, waiting for the bus.”

Another moment of internal cringe. This was not working out as he had wanted.

They both chuckled nervously, the awkwardness of the situation hanging heavy in the air. This was really dry and uninspiring. He wouldn’t blame her if she had no interest in dealing with him; this shot of nervousness was really killing his vibe.

Then Irene reached out her hand. “Um, could I have your phone, please? So I can give you my number?” she asked shyly.

He looked at her in surprise, then nodded enthusiastically and took it out.

Looked like there was hope after all…

*

“It was like I didn’t even know him,” Irene murmured, shaking her head, with her voice filled with disgust. “Like, I couldn’t believe that someone I cared about like could hold such toxic beliefs. Claiming women who get upset with men for cheating are not serious in this life, saying your wife is not your family… ugh, nasty little mindsets. It was just disgusting reading through those tweets.”

Clarence’s brow furrowed in sympathy. After giving her the gist on his horrible ex-girlfriend’s behaviour, he was now hearing Irene’s own experience about her ex-boyfriend and his Twitter account with the stream of misogynistic and disrespectful comments directed towards women. Of course, he was far from impressed by this dude’s mentality.

“Hmm! I really can’t understand guys with those mindsets,” he muttered. “Justifying cheating and stuff. I really can’t. If you say it too, they’ll call you a simp. Hmm, well, at least you ended it with him, so that’s what is important.”

Irene nodded as she took another gulp from her cup. “Yeah. I heard he’s still out there saying girls of today don’t know how to recognize what’s important and what’s trivial. Abi he claimed those tweets weren’t serious, and that I shouldn’t define him by those tweets. But please, as a man thinketh, so is he. You can’t say all those horrible things and expect me to believe that’s not who you are. So yeah, me, I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t respect me or other women, and that’s that.”

“And you shouldn’t,” Clarence confirmed. “Chale, there’s more to life than being with a guy who thinks you’re nothing but a lesser species he must control and treat anyhow. That’s definitely not a part of God’s will for you. Or any other girl, for that matter.”

Irene smiled sweetly at him and nodded. “Yep. And I’m so glad He made our paths cross the way it did. It’s still early days, but… I really hope you’re God’s will for me, Clarence. I like what we have, and I can’t wait for it to grow.”

Clarence’s heart swelled with warmth at her words, his gaze softening as he took in her radiant smile. In that moment, surrounded by the gentle hum of the coffee shop and the glow of the hot morning sun, he felt more and more convinced that Irene was the one he had been waiting for. She was definitely the one worth breaking his ‘no-relationship-until-employment’ convention for.

“I feel the same way, Irene,” Clarence confessed, his voice filled with tenderness. “I’ve never met anyone like you, and I’m really excited about the future.”

Their hands found each other across the table, fingers intertwining in a silent promise of love and devotion. As they gazed into each other’s eyes, they knew that they were embarking on a journey filled with joy, laughter, and endless possibilities.

With God on their side, this would eventually become a beautiful love story…

Okay, so that’s the backstory behind their hooking up. Interesting. Let’s hope this relationship goes well…