Night Out....
It had been a while since she'd been out with her girls. Amal called them up and arranged a night out...just the three of them...just like old times. Her girls, hmmmn. They had seen each other through childhood. They had lived through acne and boyfriends and late blooming. They had been each others pillars through heartbreak, bereavement and failure.They had shared tears and laughter and fear. She loved them deeply even though they had somehow grown apart over the years. The consolation was always that they were there when she needed them as she was for them.
They were going singing. Something they thoroughly enjoyed and have never been able to outgrow. Rumaging through her wardrobe for something to wear, Amal thought about how lonely she'd been feeling recently and wondered if she was ever going to find true love again. She settled on faded blue jeans and a black sequined kaftan top and a matching pashmina.It had been ages since she treated herself to a long hot bath. Deciding there was still time, she filled the tub with hot water, bath salts and jasmine oil and slipped in. She allowed her body to adjust to the heat before lying back and closing her eyes.
The combination of heat and lovely rising fragrances made her feel a bit giddy. For some reason, the yearnings she had long learned to stiffle stirred as she began to imagine not being alone in the tub any more. She imagined him, faceless and strong, his hands rubbing her back ever so lightly as she relaxed and let herself sway to the rythm of his soft subtle massage. He stroked her back, shoulders and the nape of her neck till he was sure every strained muscle had surrendered. Pulling her back close to him, he caressed the length of her arms and began to sponge her all over, keeping his movements deliberately slow and sensuous.
Amal could feel her heart begin to race and............the water getting cold! She snapped out of her daydream and hated herself for allowing such thoughts to evade her. Pulling the plug, she decided what she needed was a cold shower and proceeded to have one.
Moving on...
Why is change so scary? We take a decision to move on, yet hold on to the same things that we need to move away from....And love, what really is it? Amal strives day after day, after day to figure it out.
Being alone was not a welcome thought. She had long concluded that alone hurt real bad. Who would share her dreams, her hopes, her tears and her fears? Who would celebrate her feats? Yes, she had the girls but they had other lives outside their ring of friendship. Someone actually had the gall to suggest a support group.What in the world did a support group in Nigeria look like? AA with a different mission? Thanks, but no thanks!
Maybe she needed to stop looking for love and let love find her. YES! That's what she would do. Recalling her last date gave her the shivers. Brenda, her lifelong friend had set it up with a guy from her office. Reluctant at first, Amal succumbed after meeting Ibrahim 'accidentally' at Bren's office. He was cute and witty. A deadly combination where Amal was concerned.
They had dinner at a quaint Italian restaurant and everything was great. Ibrahim was great company....making her laugh, teasing information out of her with ease and finesse, talking modestly about himself. It was a pleasant evening until just before dessert, he picked up a toothpick and began to pick strands of steak from his teeth and to Amal's complete horror, examine them carefully before putting them back in his mouth and eating them! It happened four times before she excused herself, went into the ladies room and stayed there till she got her act together. For reasons unknown, the singular act of recycling his dinner cost Ibrahim his ticket to date number 2.
