EPISODE 2: MEETING HIS FRIENDS ON VIDEO
803 Words
---
Month 2.
Week 5 of no him.
I thought I was used to it by now.
9pm calls. Voice notes. Sunday movies.
The routine was supposed to make it easier.
And it did.
Until tonight.
"Hey," Tariq said when he called. He was grinning but it was that nervous grin. The one he gets before bad news or good news.
"So... my boys wanna say hi."
I froze.
"Hi?"
"Yeah. They’re here. We’re at Jide’s place. Playing FIFA. They’ve been asking about you for weeks. I told them we could say hi for 2 minutes."
My stomach dropped.
2 minutes.
Meeting the friends.
On video.
While I’m in my house clothes, hair in a puff, no makeup, sitting on my bed in Blantyre.
"Tariq," I whispered. "I’m not ready."
"Babe you look fine. Come on. 30 seconds."
He flipped the camera before I could argue.
And suddenly there were 4 faces on my screen.
Jide. Big laugh. The loud one.
Emeka. Glasses. Looked smart.
Tunde. Quiet, just nodded.
And Kola. Kola was smirking.
"The famous Morie," Jide said immediately. "The one that stole our guy and took him 7000 miles away."
Everyone laughed.
I laughed too but my voice came out weird. High. "Hi guys..."
Kola leaned in. "So you’re the reason he’s been smiling at his phone like an i***t every night?"
"Tunde," Tariq said, warning. "Be nice."
"I’m being nice," Kola said. "I’m complimenting her."
My face was burning. I could feel it.
Tariq’s hand came into frame and he squeezed my shoulder on the screen. Like he could actually touch me.
"You guys are scaring her," he said.
"We’re not," Emeka said. "We’re just happy to finally put a face to the name. Tariq talks about you a lot."
That made my chest warm.
"He does?"
"Nonstop," Jide said. "Boring. 'Morie said this. Morie sent this. Morie and I watched this.' We’re tired of her."
More laughing.
I relaxed a little.
They weren’t mean. They were just... his people. Loud and teasing and comfortable.
Tunde finally spoke. Quiet voice. "You’re good for him," he said. "He’s less stressed since you guys figured out the routine."
That hit me. Because I didn’t know they noticed.
"Thanks," I said. My voice was normal now. "He’s good for me too. Even from far."
Kola pointed at the screen. "You better be taking care of him too. Video call therapy. That’s what we call it."
"I try," I said.
"She does," Tariq cut in. Quick. Defensive. But sweet. "She’s the best."
And just like that, the 2 minutes were up.
"Alright alright, give us our friend back," Jide said, standing up. "We need to finish this game. He’s losing bad."
"We’ll see you again, Morie," Emeka waved.
"Bye guys," I said. And I meant it.
Tariq flipped the camera back to just us.
We were both quiet for a second.
"That was... okay?" he asked.
"It was good," I said. Honest. "They’re nice. Loud. But nice."
"They love you already," he said. "Kola’s just annoying. Ignore him."
"I’m not ignoring him. He’s funny."
Tariq smiled. Real smile. Relief smile.
"I was nervous," he admitted. "I wanted them to like you."
"I was nervous too," I said. "I wanted to not embarrass you."
"You could never."
We sat there. Him with his friends in the background yelling about FIFA. Me in my room with the fan on.
And it felt different.
Before, it was just us against the distance.
Now it was us... in the world. His world was seeing me. My world was seeing his.
"Babe," he said after a while.
"Hmm?"
"Thank you for saying hi. I know it was random."
"I’d do it again," I said. "Even with no makeup."
He laughed. "You looked beautiful."
"Liar."
"Truth."
Later that night I couldn’t sleep.
Not because I was sad.
But because something shifted.
Meeting his friends made him real in a new way.
Before he was just my boyfriend on a phone.
Now he was Tariq. With Jide and Emeka and Tunde and Kola.
With a life I could see, even through a screen.
And I was in it.
Even 7000 miles away, I was in it.
That scared me.
Because the more real he got, the more it would hurt when things got hard.
But it also made me brave.
Because the more real he got, the more worth it it felt.
I sent him a text at 1am:
`Your friends are cool. Especially the loud one.`
He replied in 2 minutes:
`Jide? Yeah he’s a lot. They all said you’re pretty. I told them I already knew.`
I smiled into my pillow.
Month 2.
We’re doing routines.
We’re meeting people.
We’re becoming real.
It’s still long distance.
But tonight, it felt a little less long.
---
to be continued...*`
- Writer
