Ogechi and I were assigned to carry out a transformation project at a small company. We met all the employees except one: Hamza. When Hamza was introduced to us, he shook our hands, briefly muttered something and walked away abruptly. I looked at Ogechi and arched an eye brow. Ogechi rolled her eyes and shook her head.
We spent time with the employees at their desks, shadowed them on their jobs and ate with them at their cafeteria. But our interactions with Hamza were always so awkward. One lunch time, Hamza came to our table and asked if he could sit down. We said yes and he did. He ate his lunch without saying a word to us. When he was done, he got up, looked at us, wished us a good day and left. I was sure he was playing a psycological game with us to wear us out and frustrate our work.
Hamza was a man of no words. So imagine our shock when he said "I respect that you keep your hair natural." Ogechi choked on her water and I fainted! Well ... Ogechi did choke on her water. We were having after work drinks and somehow got into the topic of hair. I am not sure how it got so heated but it did. Ogechi and I were the natural hair advocates and everyone else was not. Eyes were blazing, tempers were on the brink of exploding and voices were raised high. We were out-numbered and unless one of us was Rambo, it did not look like we would escape alive. Then Hamza took a sip of his drink and said "I respect that you keep your hair natural". That was when I fainted.
I woke up in the cab taking us home. "What Hamza said was nice" I said to Ogechi. She hissed. "I am not sure why he behaves as if he is too much. He does not talk to anyone. Very snobbish" she finished. I thought about it. "Maybe you make him nervous" I suggested with a grin. "Me? Is it not two of us that go there? I beg, he is a snob!" Ogechi said as she turned to look out her window. I stared at the back of her head for a while. "You like him o!" I squealed. "Ogechi likes Hamza!" I started to sing. The cab driver let out a loud "Ha!" Ogechi glared at me but offered no denial.
I had guessed there was something up when Ogechi started wearing lip gloss to work after we started the project. She made her hair once a month but now, it was every two weeks. She said she was on a "hair growth mission". I did not argue because I could not figure out why she was making all these changes. Now it was clear: my friend had a crush on Hamza. And Hamza's behaviour gave no indication that he was interested.
Six months had gone by and we were packing up to leave the small office we had been given for the project. Lunch was full of "thank yous" and "we'll miss you" from the staff we had worked with and grown to like. As always, Hamza was there and said nothing. As we packed up our laptops and other equipment, Hamza walked in. He nodded at me and walked over to Ogechi and handed her a card. She opened it and kept her head down for a while. She looked up at Hamza with the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face and said "Yes". I thought Homeboy did not just ask her to marry him! "I will not be able to go home and change" Ogechi said. Hamza smiled and said "You don't need to change. You are perfect as you are."
Eighteen months later, and for the first time, I see the card Hamza gave Ogechi that day. Ogechi walks out of the bathroom to put on her wedding dress. She has tiny diamond and silver pins in her hair and when she moves, they glitter. She looks perfect. I get up to help her into her dress. I pick up the card and hand it to her. She smiles exactly as big and as brightly as she did the day she first got it. "You kept it" I say. Ogechi runs her fingers over the card gently and holds it to her chest. "Yes I did" she answers.
This is what the card says: Ogechi
You take my breath away
When you smile
You disarm me
Your confidence inspires me
And I see beauty in your hair
Please have dinner with me tonight
Adoringly,
Hamza
Cabella
1 comment:
Awwww sweet. Is it fiction or real?
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