Diary of a junkie

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By Garnet
 
The love and concern we give to others is a service money can’t buy.
 
I woke up next morning to the smell of something nice; coffee! Nothing beats a good cuppa coffee at any hour of the day!
 
I don’t know how or when it started, but I turned out an ardent lover of coffee, be it white or black, hot or cold. And somehow, like everything else, Stephen knew this too.
 
With a kiss on my forehead, I sat up and let Stephen place the tray on the bed.
 
It was indeed a beautiful morning. The drapes were drawn to let in the rays of the sun. I looked at the bedside clock and to my surprise, it was just 7am.
 
I could hear Jason Mraz’ I won’t give up blaring from the speakers that stood tall from a corner in the room.
 
In the tray were two slices of bread, scrambled eggs and coffee. I munched my bread silently and listened intently to the lyrics of the song…
 
‘I don’t want to be someone who walks away so easily I’m here to stay and make the difference that I can make…..’
 
As though reading my mind, Stephen smiled at me, nodded to the speakers and said ‘to you’.
 
I didn’t need a soothsayer to tell me that he was dedicating the song to me. I blew him a kiss and continued sipping my coffee in silence.
 
Setting the tray aside, we sat upright on the bed. I was reading a novel; ‘Morning Comes Softly’ by Debbie Macomber while Stephen was busy on his laptop.
 
All the while, the songs mesmerized us with their different lyrics and tunes. There was this soothing peace in the room, and just as I was about to get too comfortable, Stephen reminds me of the visit to his mom’s house.
For reasons unknown to me even to this day, I dreaded that visit. But I kept my thoughts to myself, got up from the bed, grabbed the tray and made for the kitchen.
 
I did the dishes, and looked for something else to do but found none because the house was spotlessly clean.
 
I headed for the room in a bid to take a shower and get dressed only to be greeted with another surprise…
 
Stephen was already dressed in blue jean shorts, a red polo shirt, and black sandals.
 
Apparently, he had showered before breakfast.
 
The surprise lay on the bed; the most beautiful floral gown I’d ever seen. I didn’t know what to compliment first. Stephen or the dress.
 
“I look good, I know. The gown is for you. With those hips and ass, you’ll do justice to it.”
 
I was about to say something but found that I was utterly speechless.
 
Stephen chuckled, held my hand and led me to the bathroom. In the shower, I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering. The events of the past 72hours played in my head like a slideshow.
 
Since Wednesday, I realized that the only question that’s reared its ugly head in my mind without letting up has been; who’s this guy?’
 
I got out of the shower, wrapped myself in a towel and made for the room. It was empty but for my gown and the black flip-flops that sat beside it.
 
In less than no time, I was dressed and yes, I was drop dead gorgeous!
 
I met Stephen in the sitting room working on his laptop. He raised his head when I walked in, and I could tell from the look in his eyes that I beat his imagination. His eyes told me what his mouth couldn’t. Standing up, he grabbed his keys and we headed for the door.
 
 
The ultimate choice of man is to create or destroy, to love or to hate.
We left the house at few minutes past 12pm and made for Garrison. We stopped at the popular ‘Park n Shop’. It was a very tedious task; shopping. We bought two bags of rice, provisions, groceries, etc.
 
Stephen drove his SUV, so transporting the things we bought wasn’t so much of a big deal.
 
Stephen’s mom lived in a duplex somewhere in Elelenwo. When we drove into the gate, Stephen turned off the engine and shifted in his seat to face me.
 
“I know you’ve been dreading this visit, but I can assure you that my mom doesn’t bite. She’s such a sweet soul and I’m sure she’ll love you as much as I already do. Maybe a bit more, but I doubt that.”
 
With that, he gave me a kiss on my forehead and got out of the car.
 
I took a deep breath and did same.
 
His mom met us halfway in the compound and rushed to her son’s waiting arms.
 
From where I stood, I could tell that the love between these two was contagious. I had already fallen in love with her. She looked at her son, smiled and faced me.
 
Stanley did the introductions and I went,
 
“Good day ma,” with a slight bow.

“Nonsense! Call me mom. Every friend of Steve is a friend of mine. You look so much like my last daughter.”
 
“Mom, she’s my sister from another ma. I met her on Wednesday, but she’s an angel.”
 
“I already know,” I heard his mom say. I turned to look at her, and she smiled.
 
“What a mom can see sitting…..”
“Her kids can’t see even on top of a sky scrapper,” I ended.
 
We all laughed and went inside.
 
“Why you no tell me say you day carry your friend come? I no cook o.”
 
Her use of pidgin English was hilarious, and I laughed out loud. Stephen had not spared her house at all. It felt so much like a home. The colors of the upholstery, paint and drapes complimented each other. I was no longer cautious because she was super nice and welcoming. I helped her cook, and put things in order.
 
She was really accommodating and it didn’t take me long to start calling her mom.
 
“Call me that again,” she said.
 
I smiled and said “mom…”
 
“I love the sound of that. Promise you won’t stop calling me that,” she said holding my hands.
 
We were already on our way out, but I stopped, held her hand, looked into her eyes and said; “mom, I promise.”
 
She gave us plates of soup and stew to take home with us.
 
It was quite an eventful day. I wasn’t tired, but I wanted to go home, stretch my legs in front of the TV and spend the rest of the day indoors.
 
“My mom’s a handful, right?”
 
I smiled and let my mind wander to the events of the past couple of hours.
 
“Nope, she’s a mom. A good one at that.”
 
“I’m glad you like her.”
 
“Nope, I don’t just like her, I love her already.”
 
“I can boldly tell you the feeling’s mutual then,” Stephen replied with a wink.
 
All day, neither I nor Stephen had lit a blunt. It felt like we were dancing around the events of the previous night.
 
“About last night…” I started to say.
“Hey. It’s OK. Everything will be fine. We’ll find a way around it.”
 
He held my hand and squeezed. That simple gesture told me what words couldn’t.
 
There’s no chance, no destiny, no fate that can hinder the firm resolve of a determined soul.


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