Episode: 5 The Invitation
644 Words
"Some opportunities arrive disguised as ordinary conversations."
The first time Dominic called me...
I didn't answer.
Not because I didn't want to.
Because I panicked.
My phone vibrated across my desk while I was highlighting notes for Constitutional Law.
Unknown calling...
I stared at the screen as if it had personally offended me.
"Who is calling?" I whispered.
The phone continued vibrating.
Five more seconds.
Then silence.
I exhaled.
Immediately...
Another notification appeared.
Dominic: You don't answer unknown numbers?
I laughed despite myself.
Me: I wasn't expecting you to call.
Dominic: Fair enough.
Another message.
Would you rather I asked first next time?
A smile crept across my face.
Most people would've been offended.
He simply... adapted.
Me: Yes.
Dominic: Done.
That was it.
No guilt.
No complaints.
No "I guess you don't like me."
Just...
Done.
It was strange how refreshing basic respect felt.
A few days later, he called again.
This time...
I answered.
"Hello?"
There was a brief silence.
Then a low, calm voice.
"So..."
"...that's what you sound like."
Heat rushed to my cheeks.
"I could say the same thing."
He chuckled.
It wasn't loud.
Just enough for me to hear it.
"I imagined your voice differently."
"Oh?"
"A little louder."
I laughed.
"I save that for people who annoy me."
"So I'm safe?"
"For now."
Another quiet laugh.
It surprised me how easily conversation flowed.
There were no awkward introductions.
No forced small talk.
It felt...
Comfortable.
As though we'd skipped straight past the stage where strangers pretend to know each other.
We spoke for nearly two hours.
About everything.
And nothing.
He told me stories about delayed flights and meetings that ran longer than expected.
I told him about university.
About accidentally sleeping through an alarm.
About Lindiwe threatening to confiscate my phone because, according to her, I smiled at it too much.
"You do?"
I covered my face with one hand.
"...Apparently."
"I'll apologize to her someday."
I laughed.
"I don't think she'd believe you exist."
"Smart woman."
There it was again.
That quiet confidence.
Not arrogance.
Not ego.
Just...
Certainty.
Weeks passed.
Calls became part of our routine.
Some lasted fifteen minutes.
Others stretched late into the night until one of us admitted defeat and yawned into the phone.
Somewhere along the way...
He stopped feeling like someone I met online.
He became...
Dominic.
The person I wanted to tell about my day.
The person who reminded me to eat when I'd skipped lunch.
The person who somehow knew I was upset before I admitted it.
One Friday evening, while I was walking back to my apartment after class, my phone rang.
"Hi."
"You sound tired."
"I am."
"Long day?"
"The longest."
He was quiet for a moment.
Then...
"Can I ask you something?"
"When have you ever waited for permission?"
Another soft laugh.
"I've been thinking."
"That sounds dangerous."
"It usually is."
I smiled to myself as I unlocked my apartment door.
"What have you been thinking about?"
"You."
I froze.
For some reason...
That single word carried more weight than a hundred compliments ever could.
"I've been offered a long-term business project in Los Angeles."
"Oh."
"It'll keep me there for quite a while."
I set my bag down slowly.
"Congratulations."
"Thank you."
Silence settled between us.
Not uncomfortable.
Just...
Heavy.
Then he spoke again.
"Have you ever thought about leaving South Africa?"
My heart skipped.
I leaned against the kitchen counter.
"I..."
The truth sat at the edge of my tongue.
Every day.
Every single day.
But dreams were one thing.
Reality was another.
"I don't know."
"I think you do."
I closed my eyes.
"Maybe."
His voice remained calm.
Unhurried.
"If you had the opportunity to start over..."
"...would you take it?"
I didn't answer.
Because for the first time...
It no longer sounded like a hypothetical question.
- Writer
