Finding Grace - Part 7
Monday, July 9, 2012 at 1:33AM 
A few hours earlier…
Lagos, Nigeria
Mixed emotions roiled in Grace as she stared at man in front of her. She hadn’t seen him since the night he broke off their eight-year long relationship. He looked the same as always – sharply dressed in a navy suit, striped tie and purple pocket-square. He leaned casually against the large oval table in the conference room, completely at ease where she felt awkward and confused. What does he want? Why is he here? She prayed for strength and wisdom as she exhaled, unaware until then that she had been holding her breath.
“Hi, Alex.”
He corked his left eyebrow and smiled teasingly. “Is that all…just ‘hi’?” he asked. “Is that all the welcome I get?”
Grace was puzzled. The last time she had seen Alex, he had told her that he was with someone else – his soul mate – and his manner had been very cool and matter of fact. Now, several months later, here he was – teasing her…flirting with her? She didn’t understand what was going on and she decided to be direct. After their breakup, she had agonized over the relationship – analyzed every little thing she had said or done in the weeks leading up to the end. She had endlessly wondered what she had done wrong…why he had broken up with her when she thought things were going so well. She had wished she could see him and ask him, but her bruised pride stopped her. She looked at him again – he was smiling at her, but the smile she had adored so much now looked cocky, arrogant. She decided to be direct.
She walked around to the other side of the table and he followed her with his eyes – the way he used to when they were dating. It used to make her feel special, but now it just felt invasive.
“Alex, what are you doing here?”
“What do you mean, what am I doing here? Can’t I come over and see my best girl?” he asked teasingly.
His best girl? She shook her head. Does he think I’ll fall for that line? She still didn’t understand why he had come to see her.
“Your best girl? Alex, do I need to remind you that we’re no longer dating? Or that you’re married?”
He chuckled, uncurled himself from the table and sat down. “Grace…the fact that I’m married doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends does it? I don’t think we should throw away all the years we had together just because I happen to be married to someone else”, he said.
Grace looked at Alex and comprehension dawned on her. The last time she had seen him, he had been very clear about the status of their relationship and she had believed him when he said it was over. In the months since then, he had never made any attempts to contact her. If he really wanted to remain friends, he would have done things differently. He had married someone else just a couple of months ago and instead of focusing on his new wife, he was here, trying to rekindle a friendship with her – his ex-girlfriend.
She looked at him again – if this had happened two months ago, what would I have said? I would’ve probably jumped at the chance to maintain some kind of relationship with him. She had loved him so much that she would have said ‘yes’ to anything that would keep him in her life. But, that was then – before she met Azuka. Since then, everything had changed – Azuka was everything she had wanted and more. He was kind, gentle…and he treated her with respect. With Azuka, she felt safe. She felt like she could be free to be herself and he wouldn’t judge her…wouldn’t hurt her or betray her. She knew she couldn’t be friends with Alex because he obviously wanted something more. Something she would have given willingly a few months ago, but not anymore. She looked at him again and felt exhilarated. She had spent months grieving over their breakup, but as she looked at him, she realized that she was free. She didn’t love him anymore – she wasn’t hung up on him anymore…she no longer envied his wife. In fact, she felt sorry for her. Poor woman…wonder how she would feel if she knew her husband was here chatting up his ex.
She looked at him again and smiled. “Alex, I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing. We both know why you’re here and don’t sell me that stuff about ‘friendship’.”
He tried to say something but she stopped him. “Please, don’t say anything else. I think it’s better if you just leave and we both pretend like this never happened. It seems like you’re already tired of your marriage, but that has nothing to do with me – sort it out on your own time.”
His congenial smile finally disappeared and his tone turned caustic “I never knew you to be so rude…and cruel.”
She sighed. “I’m not being cruel…I’m just telling you the truth because I don’t want you to leave here with a false impression. There’s nothing more between us and it’s best if we leave it that way.”
Alex’s handsome features shifted into something ugly and he called her a foul name. Shocked, she gasped. “If you don’t leave now, I’ll call someone to throw you out!” she reached for the intercom that sat at the end of the table.
With an effort, he re-arranged his expression and gave her a sardonic smile. “I actually came here to do you a favor because I know how desperate you were for us to get married…just thought I’d throw you some crumbs.”
He brushed invisible lint off his right breast-pocket as he stood up. He walked slowly towards the door, taking his time – as if to let her know that he was leaving because he wanted to and not because she asked him to. “You don’t know what you’re missing. “
Grace released a pent up breath when the door closed behind him. I do know what I’m missing…nothing. Nothing at all.
***
Three days later
London, England
Azuka took a sip of his tea and logged onto his e-mail account. He was expecting an important e-mail from Perkins and he hoped it had come in. He set his cup down and shook his head. His desk was in a state – a bad one. He had been so busy these last few weeks trying to finalize the deal with Perkins, and he had some outstanding paperwork to do. He always just stacked his papers on his desk – his secretary called it haphazard, but he preferred to think of it as methodical chaos. Somehow, he was able to find exactly what he needed when he needed it, and he had warned his secretary not to arrange his desk. Ever. He would never be able to find anything if she did. He knew he wasn’t the tidiest person, but he lived alone so it had never bothered him. He made a special effort whenever he was home with his parents because he knew his mother liked everything neat and tidy. "Azuka, there is a place for everything and everything must be in its place” his mother would always say. He wondered whether Grace was like his mother –What would she think about my desk?
He hadn’t spoken to Grace in a few days and he missed her. The whole thing with his phone had cost him a couple of days…and then the dinner with Sonia three days ago had complicated things. He ached to call Gracie and talk to her, but he wasn’t sure what Sonia had said to her. What if she told Grace that he had made a pass at her? If Grace believed Azuka had made a pass at Sonia, she would never trust him. She was already so fragile from whatever had happened to her before they met…so much so that she had still not told him the full story. He didn’t want to push her away or make her think he was playing games. The worst thing was that he still didn’t know where he stood with Grace. Did she like him as a friend or something more? Was she attracted to him enough to want a meaningful relationship with him? Everything had seemed so simple before – he had met his mystery woman and had fallen in love with her. In his dreams, she always loved him right back, but the reality was very different. She had responded to him…kissed him like she cared about him, and then just closed him out. She hadn’t answered his question about their relationship, her sister had made a pass at him and now he was left wondering what Sonia had said to Grace about him! The whole thing is a mess…maybe I should just let it go…
He turned his attention back to his email and smiled when he saw the mail he had been expecting. He double-clicked on it and quickly scanned the contents. As he read, an idea formed in his head and his lips curled in a slow smile. Yes…it just might work.
***
Five days later
Lagos, Nigeria
The intercom on Grace’s desk rang and she picked it up. She looked at her watch….2.30 p.m. She usually closed at 3 o’clock on Fridays and she hoped it wasn’t something that would take more than thirty minutes. She had managed to convince Annie to come out with her tonight and they planned to go and see a movie at Silverbird Cinema that evening.
She spoke into the receiver “This is Grace.”
“Good evening, Madam.”
It was her secretary “Hi, Tarila. What’s up?”
“You have a visitor, Ma. He’s waiting for you in the conference room.”
A feeling of deja-vu washed over Grace. Wasn’t it just last week that Alex had come to ‘surprise’ her? He had done such a good job that she had almost ejected him from the conference room. Had he come back? She would be surprised if he had because she made her feelings very clear the last time she saw him. Besides Alex, she couldn’t imagine who else it could be. The last time, she had thought it would be Azuka, but that hadn’t turned out well. She was still surprised that he had never responded to her text. Maybe he got tired of waiting for me, she thought sadly. She was surprised because she hadn’t thought he was that fickle. He had made her feel like she was really special to him, but maybe he was just like Alex after all. She had tried to talk to Sonia about it several times, but lately Sonia always seemed to be studying and had no time to talk.
“Okay…did he ask for me by name?” Maybe it was a marketer or someone trying to solicit business.
“Yes, ma. He specifically asked for you, and he said he would rather wait in the conference room rather than come to your office.”
Yeah, yeah…don’t tell me. He wants to surprise me. It’s probably Alex again and this time I’ll call the security guard downstairs to throw him out.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes” Grace said, resigned to having one more unpleasant encounter with Alex.
“Yes, ma. I’ll let him know”
“No!”, Grace exclaimed. “No…umm, just don’t say anything to him. Let him wait for me and I’ll be there soon.”
“Should I offer him something to drink?”
“No, don’t worry. I’m sure he won’t stay long.”
Grace picked up her purse and shut down for the day. She would just deal with Alex and close from there. Her heels clicked on the tiled floor as she hurriedly made her way to the conference room. She waved to James, her colleague whose office was right next to the conference room. Good thing he’s so close. He can handle Alex if things get out of hand.
She paused outside the door and took a deep breath. She wasn’t even going to give Alex a chance to spew his nonsense. She opened the door and started to speak as she walked in.
“Listen Alex, I’m not sure why you came back, but…”
A low chuckle sounded from the opposite end of the long room “I don’t know who Alex is, but I’m sure glad I’m not him.”
Startled, Grace stopped. Azuka was walking towards her with a smile on his face and a single red rose in his right hand.
Stunned, she stood rooted to the spot as he stood in front of her. Somehow, she found her voice.
“What are you doing here?”
He chuckled again and the sound sent a warm shiver down her back. “…and I thought you’d be happy to see me.”
“I have some business to take care of here in Lagos” he continued “and I thought it would be nice to see you.”
Nice? Better than nice. It was wonderful. All her worries and doubts about Azuka disappeared. The look in his eyes, the rose, the fact that he was here at all told her everything she needed to know about how he felt. She wasn’t sure why he hadn’t replied her text, but she knew it wasn’t because he didn’t care. Because he did. She could see it in his eyes…and she felt it in his touch as he held her hands in his and caressed them gently.
He held out the rose to her and solemnly said “Cece, I’m hopelessly, senselessly and madly in love with you. Please will you accept this rose?”
Grace laughed at his attempt to parody The Bachelor and Azuka laughed with her. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
She buried her face in the crook of his neck as he swung her up into his arms and when he kissed her, she felt like she was home. Finally free of her fears, she was ready to step out in faith and love again. Content, Azuka held onto his Grace. He had found her after much searching and he was never going to let her go.
Onyih Odunze.
Thank you for reading Azuka and Grace’s story! Come back on Sunday July 15th for a special treat, and find out when our next series will start.
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Reader Comments (2)
Aha! Sweet ending.
Lol! Thanks...