To, All The Girls She Was

Chapter 3

The rain poured relentlessly outside as I sat in my car, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. The engine emitted a weak cough, sputtering it’s last breath before joining in my silence. My car had decided to die and I was stranded on the deserted road by Njuli. A frustrated sigh escaped my lips as I leaned back in my seat.

God abeg.

“This can’t be happening,” I murmured to myself, my voice barely audible over the pounding rain.

“My enemies have succeeded.”

Why was the universe conspiring against me? First, it was that dreadful meeting with the head office in Zomba, then Lindiwe calling me about the broken computers at my procurement office, and now this—my car breaking down in the middle of nowhere.

The sun was waving its last goodbyes, it was getting dark outside and an empty road was no place to be as a woman. I grabbed my phone tightly and the bright screen flashed the dark car interior.

My fingers trembled as I dialed the first number that came to my head. The ringing filled my ear and I shook my leg nervously; my heart sinking with each passing ring.

“Hello?” June answered and my words tumbled out in panic.

“June, my car broke down,” I almost shouted into the phone. “I am stranded and I don’t know what to do.”

I heard June shuffling on the other end of the line, probably moving in her bed.

“Calm down, Rumbi. Where are you?” Her voice hushed by the downpour outside.

“I just passed the Quarry, I am not far from Mpingwe.”

“Sam lives nearby. Let me call him, okay?”

I nodded solemnly, fighting back tears and cut the call, making a mental note to thank her over lunch.

Maybe—just maybe, it wasn’t the end of the world but it sure as hell felt like it.

Why could things just not fall into place? Why the sudden tumbling down of my life?

My return to the dating scene was being met with push back from the universe as the rest of my life seemed to, coincidentally, fall apart.

Why, I wondered, did love always slip through my fingers no matter how tightly I tried to hold on?

My latest dip into the dating pool was a cringe worthy evening filled with long stretches of awkward silences and hostility.

The date replayed in my mind as I sat there waiting for the rain to subside and June’s brother to come to my rescue. I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at the idea of it all.

How had I ended up sitting alone in my car, on a rainy evening, nursing an old heart that begged to be given away and even bitterer memories?

Gome, the man I thought I would marry.

The so termed ‘love of my life’ had looked me dead in my eyes after three years of dating and told me he was in love with someone else, on our third anniversary date, weeks after our families had met to discuss our engagement and eventual wedding.I had cried, begged, bargained and wallowed in grief after he left but time mended those wounds.

I had poured love into him; time and effort, but no matter how much I gave, it was never enough. My cup ran empty trying to fill an abyss that would never return my dedication or my love.

As time had passed, the pedestal on which I held and saw Gome came crushing and for the first time in years I had been with him, I saw him for his most human flaws. My love for him had polished him, shined away all his imperfections and exalted him to glory in my eyes.

Still, Gome had been and was a wonderful and kind man, and it was quite a shame that our stars did not align.

The sharp knock on my window jolted me out of my thoughts and sent my heart racing.

My hands instinctively clutched my phone on to my chest as I struggled to see outside. I cautiously peered through the window into the darkness and was met with the sight of Sam, June’s eldest brother. His enormous silhouette was illuminated by the harsh glow of his truck’s headlights.

I felt a mixture of relief and embarrassment course through my body as I rolled my window down to greet him.

“You scared me to death.” Sam’s easy grin and warm brown eyes immediately put me at ease, a welcome and unfamiliar feeling.

“Our very own damsel in distress,” Sam quipped, his gravel voice a comforting sound. “Looks like you could use a knight in shining armor.”

The rain has stopped but the ground was still wet and a moisture hang in the air.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at his lighthearted joke, the tension in my shoulders easing further. I was not getting mugged, thank goodness.

“More like a mechanic in overalls,” I replied, mustering a weak smile.

Sam’s laughter mixed with the soft hum of his truck frazzled my already frazzled nerves. Had his laugh always been that…deep and soothing?

When and where did he get so muscular and attractive? Sam was huge compared to the last time I had seen him, sizzling hot too. It should have been illegal to be that attractive. His body commanded attention and his aura pulled my eyes to him.

“Mind if I take a look under the hood?” I nodded and he disappeared to the front of my car.

June should have given me a heads up on Sam’s recent ascension to hotness, it would only have been fair.

I quickly opened my camera and checked that all my dreadlocks were still in a bun and all my makeup was still in place; I refused to look like my problems.

The red suit I had worn for the meeting still looked crisp despite a few wrinkles but surely, I could hold my own against this ambush.

“So,” Sam teased, his voice tinged with mock solemnity. “Gotta say, I have seen some pretty unlucky folks in my time, but you take the prize.”

He leaned on the car door as he spoke, his eyes settled in my face and my laugh lodged itself firmly in my throat.

My goodness, this beautiful black man.

“How bad?” I croaked.

Damn it!

I cleared my throat.

“Nothing you, me and a long day at the garage cannot fix,” he replied with a smile, “Don’t worry, I will drop you home.”

I wasn’t worried, my blood was spiked with anticipation. I was doing everything but worry. I was looking forward to sitting in his pickup with him.

“Take everything you need from your car,” Sam told me as he swaggered towards him car, his back flexing through his cotton shirt. This was going to be a long and interesting ride home.