LIZZIE'S WORLD: A drink with Chris

Liz finally steps out of her comfort zone and spends some alone-time with Chris. ILLUSTRATION| FILE

What you need to know:

  • When he walks off to fetch our orders, Chris turns to me. “So I take it you’re still single, eh?”
  • I bristle. “That’s really none of your business.”
  • He shrugs. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.”

The rest of the week passes quite smoothly. I don’t hear from Louise at all – and I don’t expect to – and all my attempts to reach Fatma hit a dead end. She’s not taking my phone calls and when I call her office to find out where she is, her PA tells me that she’s taken a few days off on compassionate leave. I figure there really isn’t much for me to do but wait until she is ready to talk… but the fact that both Mariam and Fatma are recovering from their personal dramas means I don’t really have anyone to hang out with in the evenings after work.

And so the days drag on. One evening Chris pops his head round my office door on his way out. “Liz you’ve been hanging out later than usual at the office these days. Everything alright?”

I look at him glumly. “Yea. It’s just that my friends are really busy these days,” I say.

“Oh,” he nods. “Well, this is really unlike you. Come on,” he motions for me to stand up with a large wave of his hand. “Let me at least buy you one drink today.”

“You know, I don’t think that that’s-,”

He stops making that expansive motion and holds his palm up, silencing me. “Nope, no argument from you today. All work and no play makes Liz a dull girl. Come on! It’s an order!” he bellows and I startle out of my seat and pack by handbag in record time. “I’ll drive,” he says as we enter the lift. We get to his car and he holds open the passenger door for me. “I’m going to take you somewhere where you can enjoy many happy hour cocktails,” he quips.

I laugh. “Cheapskate,” I quip back. “I demand better than half-price cocktails.”

“I think you’re the type to simply demand a cocktail, whatever the price,” he throws back. We both laugh as he reverses out of the parking lot and a warm feeling floods over my heart as I remember and welcome the camaraderie we used to have before his ex-wife Bertha came into the picture. As we drive through traffic, my cell phone rings and I pick it up. It’s Jo.

“So tomorrow’s Friday evening, are you busy?” she asks me. “I want to throw a little dinner party and I want to invite you.”

“Is this about that blind date business?” I ask her. I notice Chris give me a sharp look when I say ‘blind date’.

“Well, not exactly blind now, seeing as Johann and I will be there. But yes, we would like you to meet someone. We think you two would be perfect for each other.”

“Um…” I dither.

“Do you have other plans? We can reschedule until Saturday if you want.”

I consider my empty diary. “No, tomorrow evening is fine. I’ll bring some wine,” I say. Jo then briefs me on what type of wine and what time to arrive and when I hang up, Chris is just pulling his car into the parking lot of one of those trendy boutique hotels with those fancy lounges that are cropping up all over Nairobi.

We walk into the lounge in silence; it’s a lovely place decorated like a factory floor with exposed beams, high ceilings and industrial-scale fixtures, but very fancy. He signals a waiter who seems to know him very well, and who directs us towards a semi-private booth. “The usual for you, sir?” he asks. Chris nods. The waiter turns to me and I order a mojito.

When he walks off to fetch our orders, Chris turns to me. “So I take it you’re still single, eh?”

I bristle. “That’s really none of your business.”

He shrugs. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.” He gives me an intense look and once again… butterflies in my tummy. I squirm a little bit in my seat. “So your friend is going to introduce you to someone?” I nod. “Well… all the best with that,” he says as the waiter drops our drinks and we both sip in silence.

“Can we talk about something else other than my love life?” I ask him. “I mean, how’s yours, given that you’re such a high-flying single CEO and the women must be chasing after you in droves?”

“Well…” he starts, and I brace myself to hear him tell that perhaps, just perhaps, he has finally met the love of his life – and it is not me.