Once Greg’s brother Patrick was gone, I slumped onto the nearest seat, face in my hands, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
I had always felt uncomfortable around Patrick, but he had just taken that discomfort to a whole new level; this time, he had actually made me feel fear.
Of course he had clearly been under the influence of the marijuana he had been smoking, but that provided little comfort as he seemed to constantly be under its influence, anyway.
That he had gotten into that state while in my home, though, was even more troubling, especially since I did not know how to address it.
Greg had obviously given him his key to make the deliveries, and so the logical thing to do, would be to simply ask Greg not to give him the keys again; but after his lengthy silence, I did not feel like that was something I could bring up now.
He would want to know why, and I was not ready to get into the details of what his brother had done, or how terrified I had been. I did, however, have to get in touch with him to thank him for the stuff he had sent, and that sent my heart pounding in a different way altogether.
A cursory look through the shopping bags revealed foodstuff and usual household items, but when I got to the envelope Patrick had mentioned, I found there was nothing ‘usual’ about its contents as I counted out twenty crisp Shs 50,000 notes. One million shillings!
Greg had given me money many times before; he had insisted on it and would not take no for an answer, but never had he given me this much in a single go without a specific purpose.
For a second, I wondered if this was his way of apologising for his silence, but I could not help but feel there was more to this overly generous gift.
Because it was so much, it felt almost like a pay off, a parting gift of some sort; and I could not help but wonder if the baby’s arrival had touched Greg so much he wanted to cut all ties with me.
The mere thought of that made my blood run cold, for although Greg and I had broken up lots of times, it was I who had initiated those breakups, and I had always known he would be there if I wanted him back.
That he would not be there, was a thought too terrible to bear. Or maybe I was just being paranoid? Perhaps the money was nothing more than a very generous gift.
There was only one way to find out; taking a deep breath, I picked up my phone.
Just in case he was with Linda, I stuck to our usual mode of communication and sent him a text. “Hi. Patrick brought the shopping and money. Thank you so much, though you shouldn’t have sent that much.”
A few minutes later, a reply arrived.
“Hey, you’re welcome. I know things must be hard at the moment. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch, things have been pretty hectic of late.”
“So I can imagine. Congratulations,” I replied.
There was a brief pause after the notification that the message had been read, before he typed back: “Can I see you later tonight?”
It was not the response I had expected, but certainly one I wanted.
“What time?” I replied eagerly.
“Not sure, but definitely late. Don’t wait up, I’ll wake you.”
And just like that, Greg was back.
Suddenly all my earlier fatigue vanished, and although he had told me not to wait up, I knew I would not catch a wink of sleep until he arrived.
celebsteph@yahoo.com
