Chapter Forty-Nine – A Thousand Apologies

“I can’t believe he flew all the way here just to say that to you. What are you going to do?” I asked Lara, disturbed.

“I have no idea but I’m not going to start panicking yet. This is not my first rodeo with my father. He’ll definitely come around.” Even as Lara said that, she didn’t really believe it. Mr. Johnson could be a very scary man when he wanted to be.

“Besides, my three sisters can sort me out in the meanwhile. I’ll be fine.”

*

In order not to focus on her own problems, Lara decided to focus on someone else’s.

“So, how’re you feeling?” she asked Boateng, concerned.

“Hurt. But I can’t say I didn’t see this coming. I was a shitty friend.”

“I know but still that bums. You guys were friends for five years and now its all just gone? That’s so crazy to me. Have you deeped that?”

“Yeah, I have. I still can’t believe it but I don’t blame Araba. I’ve put myself ahead of her many times and now it’s her turn to do the same.”

Lara couldn’t really argue with that so she settled for giving him a hug.

*

Things were definitely awkward between Sly and I now. I had told him I did what he asked and he had thanked me but everything felt off. It was definitely going to take us a while to find our stride again.

We both spent our time pouring our energy into his campaign. The elections were the next day so it was a great way for us to be together without actually having to talk to each other and even when we spoke it was election related.

Trudy was there but I was too drained to overanalyse her actions or get jealous by anything she did. I was way past that point now. She did coordinate us to get a congratulatory cake for Sly and the whole campaign for tomorrow, after the results were announced. That annoyed me a little but frankly I was in no mood to organise any surprises for Sly so it was a good thing she was willing to step up. Who said exes cannot be useful?

As girlfriend of the candidate, I made sure to make myself useful on the day by getting all my friends and classmates to vote. Obviously, there was no way I could have asked Boateng to vote.

I stood around the lobby of the faculty looking for ways to assist and keeping an eye on things. I was scrolling through my phone when I looked up and saw Boateng walk in. My heart skipped a beat. It literally froze.

Our eyes met and we did that awkward dance of should I look away or should I look at them. We eventually decided that even though we weren’t friends, we could at least be cordial. I stood up and walked towards him as he approached me.

“Here to vote?” I asked. My eyes asked the question that my lips couldn’t.

“Yes…and yes, I will be voting for Sly regardless.”

I couldn’t conceal my sigh of relief. Boateng also did a terrible job of hiding the hurt on his face. I was trying to think of something else to say when he made a quick farewell and walked away.

Reader, my heart was aching. I could hear the pounding and each beat hurt my chest. I literally had to place my hand on my chest to stabilize myself. Whoever said love was easy, lied through their teeth.

The day went by relatively quickly and soon, the polls were closed. It was time for the counting of the votes. Sly joined me very optimistic. I flashed him a smile and gave him a reassuring back rub. He rested his arm over my shoulder while we watched the counting.

“Are you nervous?” I asked.

“A little but I’m glad you’re here” he said.

I smiled and gave his hand a squeeze.

We paid closer attention to the polls. As the counting continued, it was clear that Sly was in a comfortable lead. With the last ballots being counted, we started to congratulate each other. Sly and I embraced, swaying from side to side. I left him to also be congratulated by the rest of his campaign team.

The celebration was back at Sly’s room. We had some cake and drinks while Sly gave his speech thanking me, Trudy and the rest of the team for helping him to secure the win and also promising to meet our expectations of him.

I smiled as I watched him. This must be how Michelle Obama must have felt. In fact, come to think of it, I have quite the responsibility going forward. I’m the first lady of the economics department now. I wondered what I would do as first lady.

The night wore on with lots of fun conversations and drinks. I was having a really hard time enjoying the night because I wasn’t too familiar with Sly’s friends. None of my friends were present because I thought it would be far too awkward to invite everyone and exclude Boateng, especially since he’d graciously voted for Sly.

I stepped out to the balcony, watching the students move about down below. I was thinking about everything and nothing in particular. I was still lost in thought when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to find Sly smiling broadly at me. I smiled back but the smile didn’t quite reach my eyes.

He noticed but didn’t immediately ask what was wrong. He joined me to look at the students down below and we decided to play a watching game, guessing who those people were, how they knew each other and what they were doing.

We played for a while and then fell into a natural silence.

“I’m proud of you” I said. He thanked me and we fell into silence again. “And I’m sorry” I added. He turned to look at me, clearly interested to know more.

“I’m sorry about the whole thing with Boateng. I’m sorry for lying and for not prioritizing your birthday” I said.

“Thanks” he said.