Category: Stories

Covidating: The Shutdown

I was so embarrassed and I just wanted my bed to swallow me up. I wondered why he would give me his number, but still act like he didn’t know who I was. Was this just to see if he could get me? So childish, I thought. I ignored the text message and dozed off.

The next morning I woke up & saw another text message asking if I was the girl from earlier in the day at the store. I refused to respond. Then a few hours later, I got another text message stating that his colleague had told him about me and was interested in getting to know me. So basically, the number I had was not for the guy I chatted with, but for his colleague. And I thought this whole time, he had purposely put his number in the bag for me. I’m still not sure how the card got into my plastic bag though.

Anyway, I was humbled.

We started talking. But we never found the right time to meet up until about 3 weeks ago when we had planned an outing for the weekend. We were supposed to go axe-throwing. And then rona (Coronavirus, of course) dropped by and our city got locked down. We’ve been stuck Face-timing since then.

Well, until the day at the grocery store. So now you know why I had to dress up just to go to the grocery store.

He’s been super sweet this whole time. He’s sent me food and we’ve had a Face-time dinner, amongst other things. But I’m not sure if I can fall in love with him. He’s just a little………. Oh, he’s here.

Him: “You look beautiful Lola, can I get a hug?”.

Me: Thank you, but not until you let me know why you’re late, I said.

Him: “It’s a really long story. Are you sure you want to know? But first, let me apologize. I’m really sorry for being late”.

Me: Yes, of course, I need to know as your reason may be a good reason to keep this going or end things, I said. “

Him: Alright then. So although I work downtown, I currently live in a neighbouring town and there’s only one long windy road that could get me here. There was a paranoid driver on the street who kept spraying disinfectant liquid on the road before every few moves, through his/her sunroof and refused to pull over to let others pass. It was quite frustrating, but it’s a consequence of the current state of the world. It doesn’t make sense to me though.

Me: I understand now. I would have appreciated a call though.

Him: I know. I just thought if I told you, you would not meet up anymore.

“You can go in now but you need to sanitize your hands and keep shut while inside”, the store associate said.

About 45 minutes later, we got out with full hands and were finally able to speak while he walked me to my car. It was quite an awkward date, but somewhat interesting regardless of us being forcibly mute. We loaded the trunk and then he asked if we could meet up again, perhaps for another grocery store run.

I said no & I still refused to give him a hug. And it had nothing to do with the virus.

Story Continuation: Part 1

Story Continuation: Part 3

Covidating: Who Is This?

As I pulled into the grocery store parking lot, I was so shocked to see people lined up all the way around the building. It reminded me of some line-ups outside night clubs. I had never seen anything like this before in such a setting. I like parking close to the store exit and I was lucky enough to find a good spot. I got excited. But that didn’t last long.

I opened the car door and then my left foot hit the ground. It was in this very moment I remembered that I wore heels. Why did I wear heels to a grocery store, you ask? Well, today was the day I finally got to spend some time with the man I’d been ‘talking to’ for a while, so I couldn’t help but dress up. Coupled with the fact that I’d been stuck home for the past 2 weeks, I thought I’d treat myself to a little dress up outing. Those heels aren’t going to wear themselves!!

Anyway, I walked up to the line and stood at the designated spot behind the last person. Then I saw someone else coming over to stand behind me. And I decided to step off the line as I was supposed to meet this man here today. I thought to myself that if I stood in line I won’t be able to stay close to him when he got to the grocery store so I decided to wait for him before lining up. Why is he late though? Rude? He better have a good explanation. So, while I wait for him, why don’t I tell you how we met, or started talking I guess?

Sometime in January of this year, I went into a local tech store to get new headphones. An associate walked up to me and offered to assist. We struck up a pretty effortless conversation. When I had picked out the perfect new headphones, I proceeded to pay. He helped with this. And then asked for my number. But I said NO. I can’t date a tech store associate, I thought. I mean, I’m above that. I got home about an hour later, after picking up a large 4-topping pizza.

I proceeded to change into my running clothes. Ironic right? I know, but it’s my life. Anyway, when I went to fetch my headphones for my run, I noticed a business card in the bag. I pulled it out and noticed a phone number on the back of it. I took a not-so-wild guess at whose it was. I put it aside and went for my run.

When I got back, I freshened up, ate, then laid in bed staring at it. I eventually decided to send a “hey” message to the phone number on it. Immediately I clicked the “send” button I freaked out and felt like I had lost my dignity. I mean I just shunned him in-person today, so why did I do this now?

After a long series of negative thoughts inspired by my simple text message, I decided to toss my phone aside and watch a movie. Mid-way through the movie my phone buzzed and I froze. I eventually decided to pick it up to see what it was. It happened to be a message from this number. I opened it up and it read “Who is this?”.

Story Continuation: Part 2

Story Continuation: Part 3

The Diamond Female: Surviving Societal Norms

Eunice is my name, but my friends call me Nini. I grew up in a small and peaceful village in a country in West Africa. I am the youngest of 8 children; the only girl. One of my brothers passed away when I was barely 3 years old from a car accident. So now we are 7.

When I was quite young, I would rummage through the village for anything that caught my eyes and use whatever I found to make random items. I once made a toy car and gifted it to my immediate elder brother. Anytime my parents saw my creations, they would destroy them and scream at me for not spending my day cleaning the house or hand-washing everyone’s clothes. At some point, I lost interest in building things.

My 13th birthday was a turning point for me. Instead of the huge celebration my parents gave all of my brothers, I was called to a room and given instructions on how I should conduct myself as a female so that society doesn’t frown on me. After this lecture my parents and I went to the living room and we took pictures with my brothers. This was before I was forced to the kitchen to cook for everyone as I was told that women don’t rest. From this day on, I wasn’t able to go out except to school and to my immediate neighbour’s house only because all the children were female. It was brutal. I would watch my brothers go anywhere they wanted and at any time with no repercussions. All that was expected of them was to be home by 10 pm and to pass their exams at school.

I started resenting being female and for a few years I was what you’d call a “tom boy”. I refused to wear my clothes. I wore baggy pants and “wife-beaters” from my brothers’ closets. My parents were furious and spanked me almost everyday because of my dressing. I couldn’t care less. At that point I was hard as a rock; I could take the beating. Then one night I snuck out to a friend’s 16th birthday celebration. She had a few friends over at her house. We ate, gisted and played a ton of games. It was when I felt sleepy that I realized it was 9pm. I said my goodbyes and rushed home. When I got home I saw one of my brothers at the door waiting to get in too. We spoke briefly before my mother opened the door and he said he just got back from his girlfriend’s place. My mother let us in with a smile, told my brother to get some food from the kitchen and then she beat me mercilessly. Later that night I opened my window, jumped out and just kept walking.

I ended up sleeping by the roadside in a neighbouring village and the next afternoon I found a church and asked if I could do some work for them in exchange for food. They asked about my family and where I came from. I told them I ran away because some ritualists killed my family and tried to kill me too. They took me in and gave told me to clean the toilets daily. They also gave me a mattress to sleep on the floor with.

A few months later one of the pastors was moving to the city and needed someone to help him at his house. I volunteered to go with him and help as I was hoping to get a new lease on life. When we got to the city there wasn’t much to do in his house as he spent most of his time at the church. So I asked if he could assist with my education as I was bored. I let him know that I’d still cook and clean as usual but I needed to stimulate my mind. 3 years later, at the age of 19 I graduated from secondary school. I was the oldest in my class but I was glad that I made it through and at the top of my class.

Because of my performance I got a scholarship to study engineering. After working as an engineer for 2 years, I realized it wasn’t for me. So I eventually switched to advertising and brand management and I’m now a Vice President at one of the largest consumer goods companies in the world.

Looking back now, I realize that the tough and unfair upbringing I had is what has pushed me to the successful life I now enjoy. I have fought among men and succeeded. I do not take “no” as an answer and don’t think I ever will. I have given back to my village by building and funding schools. I didn’t want to say this, but none of my brothers is as successful as I am today. And I actually take care of 2 of them at the moment as they never graduated from secondary school. The ones that are married have wives who complain that they never help out and are always home late. I really can’t blame them. It’s what they were used to while growing up.

Anyway, I have a partner now. I feel like I’m too old to use the word “boyfriend” so I just say partner. I’m only 36 by the way. He has asked me to marry him twice already, but I’m worried that when we get married and start living together his expectations of me would be based on societal norms. We are still figuring that out, but I’m happy for now. And I’m still working on my relationship with my parents. I visit them often but the bond isn’t quite good yet.