“Hmm, the way I’m happy, eh. Now that they lost the election, they should go and learn sense. Ahba! Your governance is not going well and we say it aa, they’ll gaslight you and talk to you as if you don’t know the first thing about what you’re talking about. Arrogance and high-headedness. Baby, I’ve never seen some before in this life. Honestly, I hope they use this time in opposition to think long and hard about the nonsense they’ve engaged in and make necessary changes.”

It was morning, and the Smith couple, as always, were preparing for work. Among other things, the recent election results were discussed. Obviously, they were very pleased that the ruling party had lost heavily, having grown tired of the incompetence, impudence and utter ineptitude.

Wayne shook his head. “They had better ooo. I’ve never seen some myself. And they were always pontificating about how they’d change the country’s fortunes for the better when they were in opposition. Always claiming the government of the day didn’t listen to Ghanaians and whatnot. Meanwhile, they were ten times worse. Chale, they really should learn sense. Because nowadays, Ghanaians won’t be doing that loyalty rubbish anymore. If you’re terrible in government, we’ll kick you out. Period.”

Alayaa nodded in agreement as she buttoned up her husband’s shirt. “Exactly. Look at me and Stephanie, for example. Proper Loyal Ladies since nursing training college time. But we made up our minds that enough was enough. I mean, political parties aren’t like football teams, where we have to pledge allegiance even when things are clearly wrong. This is our livelihood on the line, and you people have made it clear to us that you don’t care about that. So chale, out the door you go.”

“Simple as that,” Wayne agreed. “Chale, that identity politics thing we grew up with, it’s slowly dying. And I love it. The only ones who continue doing that are the idiot footsoldiers, and as for them, the least said, the better. For the rest of us, our allegiance is to Ghana, not to any political party. Nobody’s holding us to ransom and going to pretend like we owe them everything. We don’t!”

“None at all. By the way, I forgot to mention it, but as you mentioned that part about owing them everything,” Alayaa remarked, “I just remembered. Madam Henrietta gave me an update on Sodjah.”

Wayne’s face darkened at the sound of that name. “What is it?”

“Hmmm. She said he’s still moping about, feeling sad that we’re not talking to him, he really wants us back in his life, blah blah blah…”

He shook his head. “Na whose fault is that? Is it not his? If he wasn’t such an entitled little brat, wouldn’t we still be talking to him? Please, we beg paaa, we’re still on the road to forgiveness. He shouldn’t push it. He shouldn’t push it kraaa!”

“Mmmm,” was all Alayaa could muster, her husband’s mood switch causing her to briefly step back.

Wayne noticed this and immediately doubled down. “Sorry, my love. I shouldn’t have let my emotions take hold like that. It’s just… you know how I feel about disrespect and ingratitude. It’s something I’ve seen in my past, and… chale, you know…”

“Ssshhh, it’s okay,” Alayaa shushed him. “I know. Just take it easy. You know I’m also still peeved at his behaviour, and I was never really up for him staying with us in the first place. But… maybe, just maybe, one of these days, we should just… you know, meet with him. Let him see how much his ingratitude hurt us, after all we did. Gain some closure, then move on. Because the last thing we need is for this anger and hurt to remain in our hearts. It won’t help any of us.”

Wayne nodded. She was right. “True, true. Lemme just… take some time, then we’ll decide on that.”

Alayaa nodded, smiling as she rubbed her husband’s chest lightly. “No problem, my husband. Whenever you’re ready, just let me know.”

“Sure. And babe, thank you for being the voice of reason.”

“You’re welcome, Wayne. I love you.”

He leaned in and gave her a deep kiss. “I love you too, my queen. Now let’s get moving.” 

***

It was afternoon, and as usual, Natalie was busily working away at her computer, editing various records of court proceedings and ensuring no mistakes were left uncorrected. Some lawyers had been complaining recently of certain errors after receiving their record of proceedings, and she didn’t like hearing of such. Justice Paul had not yet commented on these complaints, but she knew better than to wait for him to summon her.

As she scanned the screen for any typos on the open document, her phone buzzed beside her, the screen lighting up with a notification.

She turned to look.

It was a message from Marty.

“Hey Nat, just checking in. How’s your day going?”

She smirked, then looked around to ensure nobody was paying attention to her before picking it up and responding.

“Not bad ooo. Busy as usual. You?”

The response came almost instantly.

“Same here, chale. Just finished back-to-back meetings. Just wanted to see how you were holding up.”

Natalie’s lips curled into a small smile. It was early days, but Marty always had a way of making her feel noticed, even amidst his demanding schedule. The man really was a good man.

She typed back: “Thanks so much. All is well by God’s grace.”

A moment passed, then another message arrived.

“Great, great, good to hear. Listen, I’d love to take you out one of these days. Just you and me. What do you say?”

Her smile faded, and a look of uncertainty replaced the glee previously there.

Was Marty asking her out on a date? Because that was… unexpected.

The phone buzzed with a follow-up message from him. “No pressure, but I just want to treat you. That’s all.”

Biting her lip, Natalie typed, deleted, and retyped before finally hitting send.

“I don’t know, Marty. I dunno if I’m ready for this.”

A few minutes passed, and for a moment, she wondered if her hesitance had turned him off. She started to reconsider. Maybe I shouldn’t have brushed him off like that.

Then his response arrived.

“I understand how you feel, Nat. But it doesn’t have to be complicated. Just a meal. Good food, good company. You deserve that, don’t you?”

She stared at the message and nodded. Marty had a fair point; she certainly needed some cheer in her life. And considering how supportive he had been throughout her healing process, it was only fair she allowed him to give her that.

She sighed and typed back: “Okay, sure. Just a meal. That sounds good to me.”

His response was immediate, almost as if he’d been waiting for that positive response to follow.

“Perfect. How about Friday evening? I’ll pick a place and let you know.”

Natalie couldn’t help but smile, already eager about this outing. It had been a while, but finally, she was gonna get her mojo back. Starting with this little ‘date’ with Marty.

“Alright. Friday it is.”

***

“The way you’ve done your face diɛɛ, I can see you don’t like this type of plantain chips,” Akyaa remarked, noting the disdain on Elias’ face as he stared at the packaged plantain chips. It was evening, and the two were on her balcony as usual, chatting about different stuff.

Elias nodded. “I dunno, but… me, I’m used to the good old ones. The ones the hawkers sell. That’s where the crunchiness lies, chale. These ones… too artificial for my liking.”

Akyaa smirked. “You think the ones the hawkers sell are pure and untainted?”

Elias looked confused. “Aren’t they?”

Akyaa stifled a laugh. “Oh, young man, you have no idea. That crunchiness you’re talking about, you don’t know some of them have been melting rubber bags and frying it with the chips to maintain it?”

Confusion quickly turned to shock. “Ah, seriously?”

“I’m telling you! The day Maa saw some of them doing that, she barred me from ever eating those plantain chips. Not that she needed to, anyway. As she said it, I was like, never again. I’m not letting them poison me for nothing.”

“Oh wow. Then I’ll probably have to reconsider my preferences.”

“Please do, wai. I need you alive and healthy.”

Elias smiled at her. “Thanks.”

As she munched on her plantain chips, he gazed at her.

Taking a deep breath, he thought to himself, This is it. This is the moment.

He had been waiting for the right moment to let Akyaa know how deeply in love he was with her. And at that moment, it just felt like the stars were aligning. With that sweet comment from her, it just felt right to tell her how he felt.

He cleared his throat, and she looked at him.

His heart pounding in his chest, he swallowed hard, then began.

“Umm, so Akyaa, there’s something I want to tell you…”

The sound of the gate opening interrupted him. They turned to see who it was.

The bodies stepping into the compound had their jaws drop in absolute shock.

It was Felix walking in.

With Yaa right next to him.

Holding his hand and kissing him on the cheek.

He saw the stunned looks on the faces of Elias and Akyaa, and simply shrugged, a sheepish smile on his face. Yaa, however, wasn’t so hospitable with her looks, shooting the two a most scornful glare while they made their way up to his apartment.

Elias and Akyaa simply continued to watch them in amazed silence until they were out of sight.

Elias then turned to Akyaa, too stunned to go ahead with his proposal. “Am I dreaming or something? He’s gone back to her? Really?”

Akyaa simply clapped her hands in shock. “Herrrhhh! Herh, herh, herh! See, I knew this Felix boy had no sense, but I didn’t know it was this bad. Eii! Enti after all the rubbish this nyati-nyati girl came to do here, he’s taking her back? Herh! Ewiase paaa!”

Well, Elias’ moment was ruined. Will he get another chance? Let’s hope so. As for their Felix housemate, he’s clearly a bigger fool than we thought. And Marty’s plan is slowly unfolding…