When two hearts collide - Episode 2

 

CHAPTER TWO.

CHARLES’  POV
             I frowned when I saw the ink stain on my shirt. The shirt had already become one of my favourites as people complemented me anytime I wore it, my friends, co -workers, and even my bosses. Oh it was definitely my favourite shirt but now I wondered if thorough dry cleaning would return it to its previous state. I looked at my phone after hearing it beep and saw there was a message coming in from Amaka . The girl was becoming a pain in the neck, she kept bothering me with messages and calls, if she thought this was the way to get a man, she needed to have a good rethink and a change of strategy because no man likes a pest. 
         I thought back to when my mum first introduced us, that woman forever willing to hook me up with a ‘’good girl’’ and find me a ‘’befitting wife’’, according to her life is ‘short and transient’, and even shorter when one doesn’t have a family to spend it with. But she was getting it all wrong. It was either that or she was just bringing in the wrong girls, as none of them seemed ‘befitting enough’ or even worth my time, I had better things to do than to go on long dates with women that just talked about the latest fashion designs and where they travelled to for summer. 
       Nobody was like her or even came close to being like her. It was going to eight years now and I just couldn’t forget her perfect smile and the way her eyes brightened up anytime she was happy

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. I had lost contact with her but I still kept in touch with her family, that was until last year. The last I heard of them was that her younger sister, Ebere had gotten married. I wondered if she was married too, and if so did she have children?, was she happy? Did her husband treat her well? Such thoughts shouldn’t occur to me, but I just couldn’t help myself, Ify  was just the perfect package, we had planned to spend the rest of our lives together, have four kids, two beautiful girls and three strong boys but she suddenly left without any explanations or goodbyes. I often thought it was my fault but I never brought myself to actually believe that it was. 
     ‘’ Charles, ….Charles man, can your hear me?’’, I turned to the sound of the voice, it was that of my best friend and co-worker Ikenna. We were close from primary school and ended up working for the same company, even our names were alike, because we were both called ‘Iyke’. When we were younger, if someone called the name ‘Iyke’, we would both turn, only mine was ‘Ikechukwu’ and his was ‘Ikenna’, that was part of the reason I now bore Charles at the company, but ikenna stuck with his native name. ‘’yeah yeah I can, what’s up?’’ I said, turning to face him. He frowned and had this mad look in his eyes. ‘’I called you three times man, are you okay?, you seemed really deep in thoughts’’. I thought about my answer carefully before looking up to reply him, ‘’of course…..yeah sure, sure, was just thinking about the proposal for lagos.

Read " In the space of time " by the same author ( Ijeoma Okorie )

. Then Ikem did something I know too well, he gave me the ‘I don’t believe you look’. ‘’what?’’ I said scratching my head….’’nothing my friend, just that your answer isn’t very convincing’’, he was now moving forward, ‘’that and I know you have the proposal for lagos at the back of your palm and so you don’t need to think much about it, so tell me what the real problem is’’.
          Of course, Ikenna could tell I was lying, he was like my second half, nothing that concerned me could get past him. ‘’was just thinking..’’ I began, he scowled  and looked at me more intensely, ‘’about?’’ , I knew I had to answer now…and to the truth also, ‘’about Ify’’, I said turning away from him and waiting for him to start his lecture about how she was the one that left and how pathetic I have been all these years waiting for her to show up at my doorstep or anywhere…really. But instead he said in a low tone, ‘’for once, Ikechukwu Phillips, just once, I had hoped you wouldn’t concern yourself with her or she wouldn’t be the cause of the pain I see in your eyes, but I see that this time, just like the others, I was wrong again’’. I looked at him and knew he was right, she didn’t deserve my concern at all, not after all the pain she caused me. ‘’you know what?, am done, done with thinking about Ify, or anything that concerns her’’, ‘’really?’’, he asked, looking rather ‘too hopeful’, ‘’yup, really. So, what did you want to tell me?’’, Ikenna just smiled and put his palms together, ‘’well, if that’s the case, we have someone to meet’’ he paused, as if to say something he had missed before, ’’actually, you have someone to meet, my brother’’. ‘’me?’’, I lifted my brows in surprise, ‘’who?’’. ‘’Amaka, she’s been trying to reach you but just couldn’t, so she called me instead, and being the best friend in the world, I fixed a lunch date for you two’’, he concluded, now smiling. I sighed while grabbing my jacket, I knew this was his way of getting back at me, and ‘’pulling me to my senses’’ as he always said. ‘’okay man, let’s just get this over with’’ and we both laughed and left the office.