Chapter 6

Present Day...

They had dinner, but they barely finished it. This meeting was more about talking, not eating. Derrick avoided difficult questions, his go-to method of preventing Valery from shutting herself out completely.

He saved his feelings for her for a later time when she would reciprocate them wholeheartedly. 

"Look, I think I should clear the air about this." When the conversation veered off track, Valery took a deep breath and looked Derrick in the eye. "I am a wreck from what happened years ago. I have been in four or five relationships after high school, and it's always been complicated because I made them so." She did not want to beat about the bush anymore. 

 

"That makes the two of us. It's been hell trying to replace you." Derrick didn't have to say I love you to get her to understand that.

 "Derrick..."

 "No, let me finish." Derrick was ready to be upfront like she expected of him. "I get it if you want to take things slow. I will understand if you want to stay friends even if we do take a chance. But I'd be lying to myself if I said I did not feel anything for you. After all these years, I forever regret letting you slip away."

"Pfft, we were kids; why so serious?" Valery gave the back of her neck a quick scratch.

"I see you still do that thing with your neck when you're nervous." Derrick had to lighten the mood. Valery put her hand down, feeling exposed. "If you would have me, I'd like to woo you, Valery Benson."

"Wow...I don't suppose wooing me is the best right now, but I'm willing to start over as strangers," she said.

"Ah, that's not a bad idea." Derrick rose to his feet. "Hello, Miss. Do you mind if I join you?"

 

"Pfft! Hahaha, what are you doing?" Valery did not find that funny at all.

 

"You said strangers, so I'm introducing myself to you as one," Derrick said. 

"Ohhh...very well, carry on." Valery played along.

They went from being careful to laughing at each other's jokes and referencing some of their old habits. Valery did not get drunk that night, but she drove back to Margret's.

Margret was waiting on the sofa when she went in. 

"How did it go?" Margret does not move when Valery's head falls on her lap.

"It went well. We can stay friends now," Valery said, staring at nothing. "Marge, am I going to make another mistake?"

"To be honest, you should follow your heart. Derrick is here, so it makes sense if he wins you over." Margret wanted to be down to earth with her friend on this.

"That's the problem; my heart won't speak to me. Is it unbelievable that I can't keep up with my own life? My head is saying I should have been over Riley by now and moved on. Maybe Derrick might be the key to setting myself free," Valery said. In her mind, she was not okay.

Valery was holding on to the past, and it felt like she was living for someone else, not herself. It's not about hating the memories she made with the one she loved; it's the opposite.

She met a lot of scum along the way and avoided them. The few good ones that could have made a difference, she pushed away by often comparing them to a ghost.

Valery stopped trying three years ago. To feel that intensity for someone else without overshadowing the experience with ashes of the past would take a miracle to achieve. And now she was tempted to put her faith in Derrick, her first love.

Margret continues to stroke Valery's braids, running her fingers through the well-defined partitions on her friend's scalp. "It's okay. These things take time, Val. You'll pull through eventually."

"Hehe, tell my mum, who thinks I should have a plantation of children by now." Valery turned on her side, jeering.

Margret shared in that laugh. "Yeah, your dad is probably tired of giving you his surname."

"Haha! That's funny 'cause it's true!" Valery was poked to tears. 

"Alright...want some ice cream?" Margret said to her.

"Yeah," Valery answered with a hum. Who would refuse ice cream on a confusing night? 

****

Some Days Pass.

Valery stopped at her sister's to deliver the groceries as usual. This time Lily stayed back to keep her baby brother company. Jennifer's husband happened to be home early, which was new. At least that meant Valery could elope without hurdles. 

"Are you done?" Valery stuck her head through the kitchen door. 

"No, help me peel some ginger and garlic." Jennifer was born to be a housewife. She never complains about the stress of running a home, never gets a break, and is always on the go—a trait the rest of the family wished for Valery. 

They were proud she became a doctor, but that was not enough to silence their innermost desires. Africans were peculiar about their way of life. For a woman, the norm is to grow, marry, and have children. That was a Ghanaian's ideal perspective of a woman, as backwards as it may sound. Some still practised the traditions of honouring women who lived up to that standard. After every safe delivery, a fattened white fowl and foodstuffs were given to the mother. A goat is added to the list for every male child brought into the household. 

While making supper, Jennifer answers a delicate phone call by setting it to the loudspeaker. Her grandparents' sixtieth anniversary was three weeks away, and they were in the preparation zone. Talking about the decor, if the food had been ordered yet, the type and colour of cloth that the family would wear. They could spend hours discussing theme colours, and Valery found that exhausting. 

 

"Do not let her know I'm here," Valery whispers to Jennifer from afar. 

"Mama, Valery says hi." Jennifer had the juiciest smile. 

'This bi**h!' Valery uses her inner voice as she rakes her palm over her face. 

"Valery, have you secured a date for your Nana's anniversary date!" Mrs Benson threw the first shot. 

"Hehehe, probably not." Jennifer laughed at the expense of her sister's frustration. 

 

"About that, yes, I will bring a man to the anniversary."

 

Jennifer was not the only member of the family to be shocked by that claim. While her mother congratulated her over the phone as if bringing home a man was grabbing a prestigious award, Jennifer watched Valery suspiciously. As soon as the call ended, the interrogation began. 

Who is he, where is he from, do I know him? Where does he work? Is he husband material? 

And thus, cometh the moment Valery could dunk Jennifer in a hot soup of suspense by saying, "You'll know at the party," a reply that would give Jenny sleepless nights and bring satisfaction to her younger sister.