Hello, dear reader? I hope you are fine. I am here with yet another episode? Happy reading love. The circle episode eight…enjoy?
Episode 8-Purple Rain
Nana Kwame called Shirley in the evening and they spoke until almost midnight.
“ Wow. Is that the time? I always lose track of time when I am with you” Nana Kwame said
Shirley smiled across the phone
“ Let me leave you to go to sleep now, beautiful. Let’s talk more tomorrow”
“ Alright, Nana. Have a good night”
When the call ended Shirley thought about him, it felt as if she has known Nana Kwame for years. They got along so effortlessly.
Nana Kwame stalked Shirley’s Instagram page for a bit before he finally dozed off
Shirley still had some weeks off work, so the next morning she drove Alex to the Airport. He wanted to speak to Stella to get it done and over with.
After dropping her brother off, she decided to play some tennis and have lunch with Fitzgerald. She hadn’t seen a lot of him after Femi’s scandal.
After lunch, she went window shopping at the mall. She was jamming to one of her favorite songs when a call interrupted it.
She groaned and picked out her phone from her back pocket.
It was Jemima, one of her colleagues at work.
“Why is this girl calling me?” she said to herself
It rang a couple of times more before Shirley answered
“ Hey Jemima,” she said unenthusiastically.
“ Shirley? How are you doing?”
Shirley rolled her eyes and replied.
“ I am good. Yourself?
“ What does she want?” Shirley thought to herself
“ I am fine too. Ummm…I wanted to know when you will be resuming office”
“ Why? Besides, I copied you in my email when I was leaving. Has something happened?”
“ Nothing has happened. Well, nothing bad though. I spoke to boss about this wedding I needed to travel out of Accra to attend and she said I can only go if I can get you to cover for me for the two days I am away”
“ Me? I am not in Accra o. I am in the Northern region”
Jemima chuckled.
“ Northern region? Come on, Shirley. I just saw your story on IG, you posted a video of you on the tennis court. Where do you normally play again? Isn’t it at Tesano? ”
Shirley had completely forgotten that Jemima follows her on Instagram.
“ oooh, this girl!” Shirley thought
“ Please, Shirley. It is just for this Thursday and Friday”
Shirley groaned
“ Why me? Can’t Percy, Karen or even Ato cover up for you?”
“ The workload is quite a lot. Also, you are a bit more conversant with my work”
Shirley sighed
“ Okay but you owe me big time for this Jemima”
“ I know and I am very sorry for the inconvenience”
Shirley stayed quiet
“ Let’s talk again on Wednesday. I will let you know if anything comes up”
“ Sure Jemima,” Shirley said and ended the call
She was upset, she didn’t have any plans on those days but going into the office wasn’t what she wanted to be using her free time for.
On her way home, she decided to stop at one of her favorite smoothie places. She had quite a big lunch with Fitzgerald, so the smoothie was just what she needed.
“ It is going to take twenty minutes please?” the waiter said.
“Twenty minutes? Oh? Really why? I come here often oo. Don’t you recognize me? I haven’t waited for more than ten minutes before”
“ Yes, please. I do recognize you ma’am, but today we had a little technical problem. It just got fixed”
Shirley sighed and looked at her watch.
“ Okay fine. I will wait. Do you guys still write customer names on the cups? ”
“ Umm…yes please we do”
Shirley chuckled
“ Do you remember my name then?”
The waiter smiled and shook his head
“ Is it Sandra?” he asked
“ No. It’s Shirley”
“ Right! Right! Shirley”
Shirley nodded and smiled back.
“ Okay. I will be right there” she said pointing to a table in the back.
She yawned and stretched when she sat down; she was starting to feel tired.
As she waited for her smoothie, she checked some of her work emails.
A very beautiful lady walked in with a cute little girl about a year old, on her shoulder. Her perfume immediately filled the room, Shirley couldn’t help but lift her head to find out who owned that lovely scent.
Shirley was stunned by her beauty, she wished she could take a photo of her to have evidence when she eventually tells Hazel about her, later in the day.
The lady smiled and spoke softly to the waiter when she walked to the counter.
Shirley stole glances at her and the little girl any chance she got. They sat on a table a couple of meters away from Shirley’s and waited for their order too.
A couple of minutes later, Kwadwo walks in.
He looked really dashing in his sunglasses. He had on a dark blue Ralph Lauren shirt, black jeans, and black suede shoes. Shirley looked at him from head to toe. He really looked good; time has been good to him.
He looked around for a few seconds and spotted the beautiful lady and the little girl. He smiled and walked to them, he sat next to the lady and picked up the little girl onto his lap.
Shirley was confused, she managed to look at the lady’s ring finger and there was a beautiful ring on it.
“ Kwadwo is married?” she thought to herself.
Kwadwo’s back faced her and the whole time she prayed he wouldn’t turn to look in her direction.
“ One Pulpy Pineapple and a croissant egg sandwich for Shirley?!” the waiter called out.
At that moment, she had completely forgotten that the waiters call out the names of customers when their orders are ready.
The waiter called out Shirley’s name again and this time she awkwardly stood up and walked to the counter pretending not to notice Kwadwo looking at her.
She quickly swiped her card to make payment and rushed out; she walked swiftly to her car and sped off.
Kwadwo was shocked to see her so shocked he was stuck to his seat. He knew he had to react but he couldn’t do anything. He was watching from the glass window when Shirley sped off.
He quickly picked up his phone to text her but he didn’t know what to say without sounding like a jerk.
Shirley called Hazel when she got to the main road. Hazel was packing to close work
“Hey, can I call you back soon?” Hazel said
But Shirley ignored her.
“ I just saw Kwadwo. He is married and has a daughter”
“ What?!”
“ Yes. I am a thousand percent sure it was him”
“ Wow. Did he see you?”
“ I think so”
Hazel looked at the office clock. She had a few things to do before she closes. She sighed.
“ Shirley, hold that thought. I have to quickly finish up some work but I will call you as soon as I close. I promise”
“ Okay sure. Bye”
Kwadwo’s countenance dropped suddenly after seeing Shirley. His kid sister, Nana Adwoa noticed immediately and checked in on him
“ Hey, Kwadwo? You good?”
Kwadwo was lost in thought and didn’t hear his sister speaking.
They called out their order and Nana Adwoa went to get it.
She got back to the table and touched Kwadwo’s arm.
“ We can leave now, Kwadwo,” she said
He stood up and held the door for her. When they got to the car, Kwadwo strapped his niece in her car seat and joined his sister at the front.
He drove in silence to his house, Nana Adwoa wondered what happened to Kwadwo because he was in an okay mood on their way to the smoothie place.
“ Did something happen, Kwadwo?”
He turned to look at her
“ I only saw someone that’s all”
“ Who?”
“ An old friend”
“ Really? At the smoothie place?”
Kwadwo nodded
“And you didn’t say hello?”
“ She was distracted by something. I will give her a call later” he lied
“ is that the reason why you are down?” she asked
“ Down?”
“ Yep”
“Oh no. I am still tired from the flight. That’s all. I need to take a nap when we get back”
Nana Adwoa knew he was lying but didn’t push it any further. They drove back home in silence.
When they got home, Nana Adwoa picked up her daughter from the backseat and Kwadwo picked up some grocery bags from the boot of the car.
Nana Adwoa was expecting to find her husband in the living room but he was still in the guest room.
“ Let me go and check in on Jake,” she said
“Sure,” Kwadwo said.
“ Ooh? And thanks for the smoothies, Kwadwo. You were right it’s really a nice place. I am sure it’s going to be my favorite spot while I am in Ghana” Nana Adwoa said and smiled
“You are welcome and I am glad you love the place. I knew you will love it” Kwadwo said.
He walked to the kitchen and dropped the grocery bags on the kitchen counter and placed all the smoothies they ordered in the fridge.
Nana Adwoa went to the guest room with the baby.
“Hey babe,” she said
Jake was still stuck in a zoom meeting, he smiled at his wife and pointed at his laptop. Nana Adwoa wasn’t expecting him to still be in the meeting.
“ what are you guys still talking about?” Nana Adwoa asked and chuckled.
Jake rolled his eyes; he too was fed up with the meeting.
Nana Adwoa giggled and placed their daughter on his lap then kissed him. She changed into something more comfortable.
“Do you want to spend some more time with Kayla? She looks sleepy” Nana Adwoa said
Jake looked down at their daughter who was fascinated by the images on her daddy’s laptop.
“Sure no problem. She can sleep on my chest ” Jake said and smiled
“Ooh? You sure?”
Jake nodded.
“Okay then, I will be downstairs Netflixing with Kwadwo”
“Of course. As usual” Jake said
Nana Adwoa laughed. She kissed him and kissed Kayla too.
“ I love you,” Jake said
“ I love you more Darling. Call out to me when need anything”
“ Where is my smoothie?” Jake asked
“ oh sorry. I forgot about it. Let me get it for you” Nana Adwoa said and left the room.
Shirley was the one that introduced Kwadwo to the smoothie place a couple of years ago. They hang out there twice and Kwadwo fell in love with the place.
When he was taking his sister there that afternoon, he had a funny thought of maybe running into Shirley there but he brushed it off because he knew it wasn’t going to happen.
He smiled to himself when he thought about everything that happened that afternoon. Seeing Shirley again made him miss her a lot.
“ I really have to call her,” he thought.
Nana Adwoa got back downstairs with a smile on her face. Kwadwo loved the effect Jake had on his little sister. She is the happiest whenever she is around him.
“ Is Jake okay?” Kwadwo asked.
“He is still stuck in the zoom meeting. I think his work people have forgotten that he is on vacation”
As Shirley drove home, a lot of things were running through her mind.
“When did he come to Ghana? Did he have plans of ever calling me?”
When she got home, she saw Alex. He was speaking to Brigitte. He had returned from his trip to Kumasi; she wasn’t expecting him until the next morning. She suddenly forgot about her problems when she noticed that Alex wasn’t looking cheerful.
“Hey? What happened? Why are you back so early?”
“ Hey Shirley” Alex said
“ How did it go with Aunt Stella?”
Shirley was so worried, she couldn’t bear another bad news. Seeing how hopeful and excited Hazel was about getting back together with Alex she hoped Alex had good news
“ It went fine. Very fine, actually”
“ So why the face? You seem sad”
Alex sighed
“ I just lost a patient. A little girl. She was one of the reasons why I kept postponing my leave. I had plans of going to see her tomorrow. Nurse Miriam called me last night to tell me that the little girl kept asking for me”
“ oh no. I am so sorry Alex”
“ Thanks. It comes with the job; that’s why I don’t like getting close to patients. It hurts so much when you can’t save them”
Shirley went closer and hugged her brother
“ You are going to be very fine,” she said
“ I know you are very sad now about your patient but I am dying to hear more details about your visit to Kumasi. How did it really go?” She added
Alex smiled and looked at Brigitte
“ You were right mom. Shirley is a little impatient”
“ A little? She is a lot. I am glad that you can finally see it too” Brigitte said.
“ Seriously?! You guys. I am going upstairs to my room, I don’t want to know anything anymore” Shirley said and stormed up the stairs.
She was already in a bad mood from seeing Kwadwo and Nana Adwoa.
Alex and Brigitte laughed then Alex run after her. They went to her bedroom together and Alex cheered her up. When he saw that his sister was a lot calmer he went ahead and told her everything.
Stella asked Alex what his real intentions for Hazel were and Alex right away mentioned marriage because he wanted them to tackle everything. And also to let her know that he wasn’t playing any games.
He made sure not to touch on the fact that he is a doctor because a part of him knew using that approach would touch on some sensitive nerves but he assured Stella that he was never going to take Hazel for granted or let his job come in the way of their relationship.
He waited a short while to allow Stella to make sense of everything.
After a nerve-racking two-hour conversation Stella agreed to give them her blessings.
She prepared Jollof rice and they ate together, Alex immediately knew where Hazel got her great cooking skills from.
Shirley was very happy for her brother.
“ So are you two going to get married for real?” she asked excitedly
“ Yes. Eventually but not now. I have to ask her to be my girlfriend again you know? Then we will take it from there, but now we are in a good place and I am very excited about that”
“ Me too. Have you called her yet? Does she know?”
“ Yeah. She was very happy. She said she is on her way here. She said you two have to talk. Are you okay? Is it Femi? Did something happen?”
Shirley smiled
“ Just girl talk. Nothing serious. We are only catching up”
Alex shrugged
“ Okay then. I am going to take a nap; I am tired. I will leave you girls to gossip” Alex said and chuckled
Shirley smiled and watched him leave her room. She freshened up and waited for Hazel.
After she closed, Hazel went home to change and pack a “backup” bag. She had a lot to talk about with Shirley and Alex so she decided to sleep over depending on how long both conversations took.
Nana Kwame FaceTimed with Shirley well she waited on Hazel. She was so excited about Nana Kwame but after seeing Kwadwo her feelings were starting to divide.
“ I am thinking of coming to Ghana to see you”
“ Really?!”
“ Yes really. Don’t you miss me?”
Shirley chuckled
“ I do. I had the impression that you had a lot going on at work so traveling was out of your plans”
“ Well, you are right but my Grandma is turning ninety-five. I want to come and see her”
“ Ninety-five? That’s incredible”
“ Yes. It is. She is my favorite person in the world”
Shirley smiled
“That’s cute”
“ Honestly I didn’t want to come but for some reason, my whole family has decided to come down for her birthday party. So I have decided to join them. ”
“ So you really are coming to Ghana?”
“ Yep. I only decided this afternoon. I checked the prices of the tickets and it’s ridiculous but I’ll do anything for my grandma”
“ She sounds amazing”
“ She is. She really is. As a matter of fact. You will have to meet her. Would you want to be my plus one ?”
“ ooh no. A lot of your family would be there. I don’t think I will be in the right head space to meet your family”
Nana Kwame chuckled
“ They don’t bite trust me”
“ Well, first things first. Get here then we will decide”
Hazel swung open Shirley’s door and hopped onto Shirley’s bed
“ I am finally here! Goodness! I had a day today. Come on. What’s up? Spill all the tea”
Shirley chuckled
“ I am on a call” Shirley said and pointed to her phone
Hazel covered her mouth; she was embarrassed
“ Is it Nana Kwame?” She asked
“Yes, it is. Hi Hazel. What tea does Shirley have to spill?” Nana Kwame said.
“ Hello, Nana Kwame,” Hazel said and covered her face.
She shyly left the room to go find Alex. Shirley laughed when Hazel walked out.
“ She seems excited this evening,” he said
“ She really is,” Shirley said and yawned
Nana Kwame saw her yawning
“ Someone had a long day,” he said
Shirley nodded and rubbed her eyes
“ Okay then. I will leave you now to rest. When I figure out my itinerary, I’ll run it by you. My love to Hazel. Goodnight Beautiful”
Shirley blushed
“ Good night Handsome”
Nana Kwame ended the call and Shirley went to find Hazel. She was kissing Alex when Shirley walked into his room.
“Fiifi Yankey! What would you have done if it were to be daddy that walked in?”
Alex laughed
“ Well thank God you are not daddy. What do you even want?”
“ You know what I want, ” Shirley said and grabbed Hazel’s hand
“ No, wait. It’s left with one. Just one, Shirley” Hazel said trying to kiss Alex.
“ No. You like love too much. You will see him tomorrow” Shirley said and dragged Hazel out of Alex’s room
Kwadwo sent Shirley a message; he was done overthinking. He wasn’t sure that number he texted her on still worked but he took a leap of faith.
Shirley left her phone in the bedroom to charge after her call with Nana Kwame.
She was downstairs with Hazel, they were fixing themselves a cup of tea and decided to talk
“ I can’t begin to describe how very beautiful Kwadwo’s wife is. I knew I should have taken a photo of her. The look on your face shows how much you don’t believe me ”
“ Is not that I don’t believe you, but I feel like you are exaggerating just a little”
“ See I am not. I am not at all. I wonder how they met. And do you think she was around all the while, he was pursuing me?”
“It’s been three years Shirley. The man couldn’t wait on you forever. He probably met her in New Zealand. Don’t start moping over him. He is married now and how you described it, it looks like he is happily married”
“ He looked really good though. Really good. I am jealous and I am worried. What if he was the one, my one and only and I let him get away?”
“ He wouldn’t be married to someone else if he was the one. What about Nana Kwame? He seems promising, I like him”
Shirley sighed
“ Yeah. Nana Kwame is great”
“ Give him a chance Shirley. God always has a plan. He is good. Nana Kwame is probably the reason I was led to ask you to join us for the work trip. He is probably the one. You have been okay without Kwadwo for three years, just continue like you haven’t seen him and be happy with this new man that seems to be crazy about you”
They went to Shirley’s room and continued talking but they eventually drifted off to sleep.
Shirley couldn’t check her phone before she slept. Kwadwo had a lot of anxiety all night while he waited for Shirley’s reply.
When he didn’t hear from her all night and a bit of the morning Kwadwo decided to go to the office in hopes of seeing her.
Alex dropped Hazel off at work the next day, Shirley was still sleeping when they left the house. On their way to Hazel’s office, they spoke about the next level of their relationship, Alex wanted to know where Hazel’s mind was at in terms of marriage.
Alex was very happy that he finally gets to be with Hazel and be a lot more confident about their relationship.
Nana Kwame’s video call woke Shirley up. She missed it on purpose to fix her face in the bathroom and then returned his call.
She noticed that a new number had texted her but she decided to read it after talking to Nana Kwame. He had decided on his trip and wanted to let Shirley know.
“Do you have someone picking you up from the airport when you arrive?”
“Oh yeah. Don’t worry your pretty head over that. Besides, when I arrive, I am sure you will be at work. You will be covering up for your colleague on Friday right?”
Shirley groaned
“Don’t remind me. I am dreading it so much”
Nana Kwame laughed
“You will be fine. What are you going to be up to today?”
“Probably lazy around, I had a busy day yesterday. I want to rest today and tomorrow to get some energy for work on Thursday”
“Okay sure. I am heading to work now but we can text when you want to talk”
“Okay sure. Have a good day”
“Thank you. My Goodness! I can’t wait to see you, Shirley. I really can’t wait”
“I can’t wait either,” Shirley said
Nana Kwame waved at her and ended the call
Kwadwo’s presence was announced and he went from office to office to greet the employees.
When he was approaching the desk that he remembered Shirley used to sit at, his heart skipped a beat. Someone else was seated there, he looked around for Shirley but she wasn’t there. He was disappointed, his first instinct was to ask about her but he changed his mind.
He hadn’t asked the whereabouts of any employee so asking about only her will be a little suspicious. He returned to his old office with the director that replaced him when he left Ghana.
“Not much has changed around here,” Kwadwo said
“Yes,” the director said
Kwadwo’s phone chimed and he checked, it was a message from Shirley.
“Hi. Goodmorning”
Kwadwo’s eye’s widened when he saw the message
When there was no reply Shirley texted again
“Who is this please?” she asked
Kwadwo apologized to the other director and texted
“Hello, Shirley. This is Kwadwo. Kwadwo Afriyie-Boateng”
Shirley read it and smiled but she didn’t reply. She didn’t know how to react.
“ It’s really him, finally, “ she thought
“How are you?” Kwadwo asked when there was no reply
Shirley gathered herself and replied to his messages
“Have you left Dolph Oil?” Kwadwo asked
“No. Why do you ask?”
He wanted to tell her the truth but he didn’t want Shirley to know that he went to her office looking for her like some creep so he lied.
“ No reason. It’s been a while just catching up”
“Ooh okay. Umm…welcome to Ghana. It was nice seeing you, your wife is really beautiful”
Kwadwo laughed
“I am not married Shirley. That was my little sister and my niece. I should have known you will deduce that after seeing us yesterday”
Shirley was over the moon when she read the message but she wondered why she was that happy
“It’s been a long while he might have a girlfriend or a fianceé” Shirley thought
“Oh? Really? That’s nice” Shirley replied
“What about you? Married yet?”
Shirley smiled, she decided to play a little prank on him to get him jealous
“not married yet but I have a boyfriend” she replied
She noticed that Kwadwo was typing but stopped. Her prank worked, and he was very jealous. He got uneasy and decided to leave the office.
He told the director that he had other meetings so the director saw him out.
Shirley knew she had to tell him the truth but she decided to “torture” him for a bit.
Kwadwo didn’t reply, and Shirley also stayed quiet. He drove in silence back home.
By evening when Shirley hadn’t heard from Kwadwo she decided to call but he was stuck in a meeting with his family and rejected the call.
She was expecting a message explaining why he rejected the call but there was nothing.
When he was done with the meeting it was too late to call but he called the next morning. Shirley was in a mood that morning because Kwadwo left her on read for hours the previous day, she decided to pay him back in the same way by ignoring his calls too.
Kwadwo called her all day but she didn’t pick up, it got him so worried. He texted her before he went to bed
“Did I do something wrong?” he asked
Shirley read the messages but didn’t reply, she placed her phone on silent and slept making her miss a couple of calls from Nana Kwame.
Shirley woke up the next morning and called Nana Kwame, he arrived in the country earlier than planned because he couldn’t wait to see her again.
“I will come and get you for lunch this afternoon,” Nana Kwame said
“I can’t leave the office for lunch I am entitled to just an hour lunch break why don’t we make it dinner instead? I close at 5pm ”
“Sounds like a plan” Nana Kwame said
“have a good day today” he added
Shirley got to the office a little late, she placed her flat shoes into a paper bag and wore her heels. She walked swiftly to the building.
“ Please hold the elevator” she shouted
She smiled and thanked the lady that held the elevator for her. They stood in silence each of them on their phones.
The elevator stopped on the executive floor and opened. Shirley looked up to check who was joining and saw Kwadwo.
The lady was startled to see Kwadwo, she greeted him immediately. Kwadwo smiled and responded.
“ I will join the next one” Kwadwo added
“ Oh, we have room. You can join us Sir” the lady said
“ Don’t worry. Have a nice day” Kwadwo said quickly before the elevator door closed.
“ Gosh! Mr. Afriyie-Boateng is so handsome” the lady said excitedly looking at Shirley
Shirley ignored her completely and made it awkward, the elevator got on her floor and she quickly stepped out.
“ What are you doing here? Have you returned to work in the Ghana office again?” she texted when she sat down
“ Look who decided to start talking to me again” Kwadwo replied
“ You haven’t answered my question,” Shirley said
“ No, Shirley. I am not here to work in the Ghana office. I am here because of you. Why are you avoiding me?”
Shirley didn’t answer
“ Shirley did I do something wrong?” he texted
“ I have a lot of work to do this morning Kwadwo”
Kwadwo read the message and was starting to get upset.
“Why are you doing this? Do you enjoy hurting me or something? What’s with this attitude all of a sudden?”
Shirley read the message but didn’t reply.
Kwadwo saw that she has left him on read again. He stopped texting her and placed his phone in his pocket.
He chit-chatted with the new director for a bit; the director was starting to wonder why Kwadwo kept coming to the office for no reason in particular.
“ Is everything alright?” the director asked out of the blue
“ Sorry? How do you mean?”
“ I don’t mean to disrespect you at all but your frequent visits here it’s a little intimidating. Can’t help but wonder if your father has sent you to keep an eye on me to see if I am doing a good job”
Kwadwo laughed hysterically
“ Nothing of that sort. Be rest assured. My father has a lot of other things on his plate. And we were all very sure you will be able to take over when I leave. You have nothing to worry about. I am only visiting for visiting sake but if it makes you uncomfortable I will stop coming. But trust me, you are good”
The director smiled
“ I can’t ask you to stop coming here. Come on” he said and they both laughed
“How’s the old man doing anyway?” the director asked
“ He is doing very well. Thanks for asking”
“ Well, I think I will I have to leave now. My apologies for invading your privacy”
“ Don’t apologize. My love to the family and have a nice day”
The director wanted to walk him out but Kwadwo insisted that it was fine.
Kwadwo passed by Shirley’s office briefly before he left. He looked quickly at Shirley and walked to her immediate boss’s office to greet her.
Shirley hadn’t noticed him till she heard some of her colleagues talking about him. She looked around and saw him in her boss’s office. Kwadwo left minutes later and Shirley thought about him a bit but poured herself into her job to be distracted.
After work Nana Kwame came to get Shirley from the office, she was surprised Nana Kwame found his way to the place without asking for directions.
“ You have been away for so long yet still know your way around Accra,” Shirley said as she sat in the car
Nana Kwame smiled
“ Accra used to be my playground. I can’t forget and besides Accra hasn’t changed that much”
“ How was work?” he added and started his car
“ Work was fine. How was your day?”
“ Very boring. But I am happy that I get to see you” Nana Kwame said and looked at her
His phone rang, he checked the car screen it was his mother.
“ Excuse me,” he said and answered
“ Hello, Mummy ?”
“ Hi. Nana Kwame. Where are you?”
“ I am meeting up with a friend. What’s up?”
“Oh okay. So, we just run out of white balloons, can you get some on your way back home? We also want two packs of sparkling water. I forgot to get some yesterday.”
“ Okay, mummy. Is that all?”
“ Yes please. Thanks baby. What friend are you meeting anyway? Is it a girl?”
Nana Kwame smiled and looked at Shirley
“ Yes Mummy it is a girl”
“ Wow. Really? Invite her over for granny’s birthday. I want to see her”
“ You are something else, Mummy. Fine, I will try”
“Awesome! Drive safe okay? See you soon son”
“ Bye mummy”
“ I am sorry that you had to hear that”
“ It’s fine. Your mom sounds interesting”
“ She is the best. I will like for you to meet her. Would you like to come with me for my granny’s birthday?”
“Isn’t it too soon to meet the family Nana Kwame?
“I don’t think it’s too soon Shirley. I really like you and I know you like me too. And I will absolutely love my family to know the girl I plan on dating soon.”
Shirley blushed.
“Are you sure about this?”
“One hundred percent. Don’t worry, I will be with you all the steps of the way. You have nothing to worry about, they are nice people. Trust me”
Shirley looked at him and nodded
“Okay, I will go with you. This is me trusting you, Nana” she said
Nana Kwame smiled
“ Thank you,” he said
They drove to the mall and Shirley helped him shop. They got some other things Nana Kwame thought they might need for the party
When they got back into the car, Nana Kwame stared at her making Shirley get a little shy.
“ What are you looking at?” she asked
“ You. You are really beautiful” he said
“ Stop! I am shy. Let’s go. Start the car” Shirley said and covered her face
Nana Kwame smiled and took her hands off her face.
“ I am serious,” he said
Shirley blushed
“ Thank you, very much, Nana Kwame. Now can we go?” she said
Nana Kwame chuckled and started the car
He reached out for her hand and when Shirley slid her hand through his fingers, he placed a peck on her hand.
He didn’t want to keep his mother waiting for the balloons for long so instead of eating at the restaurant they ordered a takeout.
He dropped her home and opened the door for her. He hugged her and told her he would be picking her up on Saturday for the party.
“ Sure. What time?” she asked
“How does 7 pm sound?”
“ 7 pm is okay”
When Shirley entered the house, Brigitte met her at the door
“ Who was that?” she asked and smiled
“ A friend mom”
“ He is very handsome. Where did you meet him?”
“ Mummy, I just got in. Can I please settle down at least?”
“ Fine.” Brigitte said
Shirley chuckled and went to greet her father.
When Shirley told Hazel about the party she insisted that Shirley gets a new dress. She closed early on Friday and met with Shirley. They went dress hunting at the mall and found a perfect one.
Hazel went to their house in the afternoon on Saturday to fix her makeup and make sure Shirley looks beautiful to meet Nana Kwame’s family.
Nana Kwame went to get her thirty minutes early. Shirley asked him to come inside to greet her family too. Brigitte was impressed and she secretly wished his relationship with her daughter will work out.
After some minutes, they left for the party.
Shirley was stunned by the house, it was huge. She couldn’t believe her eyes. It was decorated beautifully and elegantly. Nana Kwame told her to relax but she couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated.
They walked into the house and Nana Kwame led her to the living area and then went to find his mother. There were some guests already seated, Shirley greeted them and admired the house some more.
Nana Adwoa came down the stairs, she was looking for the event planner.
When she saw Shirley and the others in the living room she smiled and walked to them
“ Are you doing okay?” she asked and smiled
“ We have some snacks over there. You can help yourself to some ” she added pointing to the corner of the hall.
Shirley recognized her immediately and her heart skipped a beat
“ What’s Kwadwo’s sister doing here?”
Nana Adwoa walked out to make sure everything was going well outside.
Nana Kwame came out with her mother, she was excited to see Shirley.
Nana Kwame took Shirley by the hand and they went upstairs to another living room that was more private than the previous one. He left Shirley and his mother alone to chit-chat for a bit while he goes to get her a drink.
Shirley admired the hall and saw a big portrait photo of the founder and CEO of Dolph Oil.
She was confused but maintained her composure.
“ Hello, Love. My Gosh! You are beautiful” Kourtney said
“ Thank you, ma’am”
“ What’s your name darling?”
“ I am Shirley”
“ Shirley! Beautiful name too”
Kourtney heard Kayla crying in the other room
“ Oh? I am Sorry. Excuse me. That’s my granddaughter, she has woken up” she said and went inside
Shirley nodded and when Kourtney was out of sight, she quickly texted Hazel.
“ You wouldn’t believe what I just discovered Hazel”
Kwadwo came out of his room and called out for his mother
“ Mum? Granny needs you” Kwadwo said and walked into the hall
Shirley was startled to see him and so was he.
“ Shirley? What are you doing here?”
“ Your family owns Dolph Oil?! ” Shirley asked surprisingly
I hope you enjoyed reading, this episode. I will see you with episode nine. Goodmorning?