The incessant ringing
of the phone woke me up from my sleep or was it a nap… I didn’t even have the
energy to check what time it was. I picked up the phone lazily and answered in
a hushed tone.
“Hallo…”
“Hi, Brian,”
“Hi,”
“You sound unwell, are
you okay?”
I figured quickly it
was a guy. Kev.
“Oh! Kev I am good, I
was just taking a short nap & I kinda lost track of time.
“So you’re around?”
“Yeah, I just
returned, Wassup”?
“All is cool, I just
thought you could come over, catch up a bit then maybe see what next. I also
want you to meet some friends of mine you’ve not met yet”
Some chill went done
my spine when I interpreted the words uttered by Kev. Last those words came out
of him, ignited a chain of events that led to me & Cera… & her drama!
“Oh come on! Not again
Kev, remember what Cera & I got to … and what she is doing now.
“What? Come on dude…”.
“Yeah! Cera. We will
talk about that when I come over.” “Wait! One more thing, is she part of your
guests tonight?”
“Just come Brian. We
are friends right?”
“Sure, Friends”
I didn’t know why I asked whether Cera would
be attending. It was either just a formality or I was hoping to see or meet her
without the effort or her knowing or feeling as if I still needed her.
Emotionally I didn’t need her but if she was telling the truth about that kid,
then it would be my latest weakness. I looked at the clock on the wall &
was surprised how time had flown so fast! I stopped the meditation track still
playing on the home theatre & repositioned myself for a power stretch &
a relief yawn.
The creaking of my
bones was just out of this world as I stretched to relax. My mind was quick to
conclude and remind itself that it had been a long while since I had fish or
any of their products, my shameless mind had the audacity to remember fish
Wednesdays with Cera. Not Now!!!
I walked slothfully to
the fridge & got myself a fruit smoothie made by another ‘friend’ of mine a
few days earlier. It tasted fresh enough, or maybe it was the maker I had in
mind. I switched on the tv & the news were full of the day’s earlier
bombing of our enemies installation. Then the comments and views of the happy
citizens followed through. This is always a smile generator for me. The
particular station then brought up a file clip from a past air show we had
performed earlier in the year for the president. I couldn’t help smile harder
as I walked away. I hated feeling excessively good about myself. It always
acted as a barrier to progress.
I hit the shower &
stayed a little bit longer than usual. I dressed rather fast, for a guy who was
just from sleep. I had now gotten used to harmonizing my own clad. Cera had
been the head of that department when she was around. “I want my man to look
good. It makes us look good” she was always saying that. As I was picking my
keys from the table, a high zone thought crossed my mind, “How I would love to
be in a state of indecisiveness over which ride to drive…” Would be nice! Good
life to me that seemed.
For the first time I
didn’t have the energy or rather the psych to push my 2 stage twin turbo B4 to the
limits I normally do after thrilling air experiences. There is always some
extra adrenaline for my auto angel - Tootsie. I drove at a humble 70 Km/h.
Later figured that it was the much I had weighed last I was on the scale. I
quickly glanced at the fuel gauge and I was pleased with what I saw. I wouldn’t
need to refuel any time soon. I arrived at Kev’s residence within the time
frame I had set for myself. His lot had some pretty alien rides & I guessed
they belonged to the ‘new’ acquaintances he wanted me to meet.
Definitely by the time
I got to the gate leading to his driveway, they had all heard Tootsie’s blare
extraordinaire. By the time I stepped off her, Kev was at his front porch with
arms wide open. Before he could even say hi, he was already talking about Cera.
“I Know you are not in
good terms, but you are both my friends & I don’t wanna lose any of you…”
“Okay! Got that Kev.”
“Good. Welcome home.”
“Thanks.”
It was a striking 4 bed massionette with a Qatari customized
interior, at the corner of a modern gated community. Just like me he had picked
the airport view & the rest of the neighborhood. He loved Qatar! Never
figured why & he bought it in cash! By the look of the interior, he had
closed a great deal in the recent past. There were new fittings, full size art
work & a new set of leather recliner couches. I noticed all this coz I was
shunning the alternate act of scanning through faces of the people around me. I
instead preferred to be looked for and approached. It was easier for me since
all my opening statements appeared awkward, or so I thought. I don’t know how
much time had passed but it started getting really weird standing there all
alone without even a glass of water in hand. I was a still in a haze as well,
think I slept out of phase.
Before I could start
valuing Kev's interior (He will ‘kill’ me for this someday) someone called me from the far
end of the room & before I could focus my vision to that end, a proverbial
pat to my shoulder shifted my concentration to my back. I was somehow startled,
not coz of the bearer of the soft touch that was right on point, but because of
how unexpected it was.
It was Emmah, Cera’s
sister. Drink in hand.
“Sorry to startle
you…” (How did she know I was?) “I didn’t mean to…”
“Hi, its okay, I am
okay now.”
“This’ yours by the
way…” (Handing me the drink in her hands)
“Thank you.”
I raised it and I was
even more surprised when the content, which, I hadn’t paid much attention to –
visual especially, a cocktail that I only tasted with Cera in vicinity, brandy, white rum, Cointreau & a dash of
lemon juice. How the hell did she
know?!! Before I could get a migraine over the issue, she told me that she had
been sent by Cera. Mmmhh! ‘No wonder you touched where you did’ – I thought to
myself. How lucky can a guy get? ‘Stop being silly Brian!’ shouted my internal.
Emmah wasn’t the slow
kind, when it comes to interpreting the things around her. She noted the flash
frown on my face that I quickly retracted as fast as it had come. I was quick
on it too coz I noted her change as well. She asked me to stay unruffled, which
was not hard for me a stunt to pull.
Eerie thoughts started
flowing through my mind.
‘Cera is trying to
hook me up with her sister,’
‘Emmah wants to keep
me for herself,’
‘Emmah the saddist
wants to have a taste of me’
I quickly brushed
these thoughts away, since it wasn’t the right place nor the right time &
quite impertinent if it wasn’t true.
“What did you say
again?”
“You heard me right Brian…
Cera sent me…”
“… and?” (My arrogance
started setting in but I tried my best to tone it down.)
“She wants to talk to
you.”
“I will talk to her
later.”
“I am sure she will
appreciate.”
“Okay…” “Oh! Emmah,
thanks for the drink. It was considerate of you.” Which by now I was sure the
drink I still held in my hands was Cera’s project.
“You welcome Brian.”
At first I was irate at
Kev for I was sure he was the engineer of that whole introductory – surprise,
welcome, thingy. I stepped out in search of him but it didn’t last long before
I softened. There was too much fun & too many new & vibrant faces that
I was anxious to meet. Actually as far as I was concerned at that particular
moment, I didn’t have the guts to face her and her drama.
Kev appeared just
before my open cover stature started getting weird and out of place. He was
even more animated to see me standing there astounded by the guests present. I
didn’t know how to start it up with him. But as the conversation kept going, I
got easy, forgot my woes & the evening presented itself rather well, the
intro’s were never ending Kev tagging me along like his little son. I was
enjoying the evening as it wore on.
In between thoughts, I
remembered of Cera’s enticement for a chat. Here I was considering my options.
Obviously under influence I would ‘feel’ bolder, when over influence I would be
under threat of succumbing to emotional manipulation of sorts. I was still in
control of my alcohol content. I vowed to stay a while with Kev who had used a
pretty obvious intro strategy we used to call it ‘forward sweep’.
In forward sweep,
whoever hosted a party, introduces the guys first and the talks with the guys
would be extra long. By this time the ladies would be introducing themselves,
and they would be still drinking. This means by the time the ladies would be
introduced, a pretty big chunk of decency & holding back would have been
eliminated by the drink. Unless the hard cores who never seem to get drunk. Kev
applying Fs meant getting laid was what was on his mind for me. I almost purged
to the thought. Guess I was too sober. Maybe later I would be hoping from
corner to corner in search of a take away.
The other stratagem we
use was the back sweep… where intros started with the ladies and then the men
followed. This one was a good one to identify the wannabes from the real. This
is how Cera & I met. Guess that’s why he didn’t even attempt it. But that
was more than 50 house parties later probably it wasn’t on his mind!
I realized that I was
out of concentration after meeting about four other of his business associates
& this was the green light to approach Cera & talk it out. Longest walk
ever & she was just a few steps away. As I got nearer, I noticed her
glowing eyes. I wasn’t quite sure whether it was excitement or sadness… that
fluid was just too much… I will handle whatever comes my way. She shifted
slightly in her position & seemed like she was deliberating on how to do
this…
It was slow motion to
me…
“Hi, Cera…”
(To be Continued)
Hi. Same Old Drama, Different Day. This blog is about me and others, nature, life, blah blah and why everything I like is great even the hurting - still great. If you disagree with anything you find on this page, Well. . . You are probably right..
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