SHORT STORY: HOME AT LAST

 “Will you call me?” I asked Anthony quietly.

“Of course, I will, Yvie. Come on, this is not the end.” His response was enthusiastic, and it came with his signature cocky smile.

We were standing face-to-face in my one-bedroom apartment in Danko, where I had come to offer voluntary service as part of my church’s outreach program to Northern Ghana. The team had been in Danko for a year. We had successfully won many souls for Christ, had started a small church, and had recently begun running a school solely funded by benevolent Christians and our mother church in Accra. Our time had ended, and I was detailed to leave three days ago but I had delayed for obvious reasons. One reason, actually: Anthony. And he had come to help me finish packing up. If I had one wish, it would be that he would tell me once and for all what would happen between us after I leave.

I had many reasons to worry. In the first place, we had known each other for only ten months, but it felt we were only reconnecting after twenty-something years of separation. It always felt like Anthony and I had known each other long before we met last year.

The second thing was that even though we knew where our friendship was headed, neither of us had spoken it out. We had gone with the natural flow, enjoying each other’s company as often as work would permit. But we knew. It was in how we looked at each other across the table when we went out for a drink. It was in how effortlessly we held hands whenever we walked. It was when he stayed by my bedside the night I was struck with malaria. It was in how he got angry when he discovered I had gone to work instead of resting in bed when he returned to my place with food. He had been so angry that he had wanted to come over to my workplace to drag me back home. It was in how I would randomly drop by with meat and drinks when he was too busy to get them for himself. But I couldn’t tell him openly; neither could he. I wondered if I had misinterpreted the signs.

The third, which was more devastating, was that neither of us was from Danko. However, he had become a resident as he was posted to teach in the town's primary school two years earlier. I was from Jasikan. Worlds apart.

So, as I prepared to return to Jasikan, this would be our last time together. Time, I assumed, would eventually erase my memory from Anthony’s mind. I knew I would never forget him. He was as much a part of me as if we had been physically joined.

I had only one prayer: that God would show us the way. Just one sign…

“Hmm…” The sigh escaped.

He rubbed my arms. “Relax.”

He looked into my eyes. I wished he would say the words I read in those brown eyes. Instead, he pulled me into a warm embrace, his entire body flowing into mine. I held on, and I cried. All my emotions I had held in check ran down my face onto his chest. I could hear his steady heartbeat - such a comforting sound - and I cried the more.

Anthony held me there, his body taut. If only he would say it…

He pulled me away from him gently, looked straight into my eyes, and said with conviction, “I’ll see you again, Yvie.”

“Will you come all the way? I live in Jasikan!”

“Oh, ye of little faith!” He teased. I chucked. “Now we have so many means of seeing each other across cities. There’s Zoom, you know? WhatsApp has a video call feature, too. You’re in a village; don’t be a villager,” he said lightly and pinched my cheek.

Things were not going to be the same. I just knew it. So I said lamely, “But you will call, right?”

Anthony squinted, “Will you call me? What if some handsome tycoon in your hometown takes all your attention?”

I had not thought about that. Well, I had no such tycoon.

So there we stood in my room, not knowing how to part. We both took a small step forward. He held my waist, and I automatically wrapped my arms around his neck. Then he dropped his voice, thick with emotion, “I will never forget you, Yvie. There’s never been a woman like you in my life. I doubt I’ll ever meet anyone like you.” That look was there again. His tongue touched his lower lip and he dropped his head an inch. But just before that seal, which would have been a good enough statement for me, Dunsin Oyekan blasted ‘Open up’ from my phone, announcing an incoming call. He stepped back; the moment was shattered.

“Hello?” Pause. “Yes, that’s me.” Pause. “Now?” Another pause. “I’m on my way there. Thank you.” Click. A dull drum began to beat in my left temple.

I turned to Anthony. “Can you accompany me to Hope School?” When he nodded, I added, “The Headmistress wants to see me urgently. I’m sure she wants to know why I haven’t vacated the room after three days. Every member of my team is gone, you see.” I closed my bag, swapped my casual slippers for sandals, and Anthony and I stepped out of my room.

“Come to think of it,” Anthony said, turning so abruptly that I bumped into him, “My apologies, dear.” He held me steady. “Why didn’t you leave with your teammates three days ago?”

I cocked my head to the side, trying to determine from his face whether his question was serious. He looked curious. “You don’t know why I stayed?” I asked him.

“Have you told me before and I forgot?”

I shook my head. How could I tell him? In this part of my world, women should not express their intentions towards a man first.

“Are you aware now is not a good time? Kindly give me a ride, and we can talk when we return.”

He shrugged. He helped me up on his Royal motorcycle and we went to the Hope School.

Anthony waited outside under a shade tree on the school compound as I convened with the Headmistress. True to my words, her first question was, “Why are you still here, young woman?"

I couldn’t tell her that I was waiting for a proposal, so I told her I had just finished packing my things and I was on my way out when the call came.

“Well, Ms. Deli,” the Headmistress said, “I’m sorry to put you through this… aah… stress.” She sat back in her chair and sat up again. She looked uncomfortable. “You probably miss your… aah… parents and are eager to see them.” She gazed at my face which was a blank wall. She continued, “Would you mind, aah, taking the new Class Three? We just realised some of our children were more mature than Class Two but all our personnel have already left. I know how difficult this place is: the discomfort of the village life, you know. No… aah… lavish amenities.” She paused, allowing that to sink in, as if I didn’t know already. But why was she struggling to get her words out? She added, “Think about it over the next week and call me. The new academic year will begin next month. I wish you well. God guide us.” Then she exhaled and leaned back in her chair, relieved to have delivered her bad news and waiting for me to leave.

“I’ll stay, Madam,” I said.

She sat up again, “You will? Oh, thank you! Thank our Jehovah God!” She dialed a number, elated, “Hilda, she said she’ll stay!” I could hear the excitement on the other side. A prayer had been answered. I only smiled.

When she hung up, I politely excused myself and went to meet Anthony. When I saw him still under the tree where he had parked, my heart flipped.

As soon as I got to him, he asked, “Well?”

“You can call me Miss Deli. I’ve been assigned to teach Class Three in Hope School next academic year.”

Anthony lifted me effortlessly and twirled me around midair. His laughter was like heaven’s bells in my ears.

He rode us back to my apartment. When we got inside, his next words shocked me, “Call your parents, Yvie. Arrange which day my family can go and perform the necessary rites for you. I will talk to mine. We’re bringing you here.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yvie, the thought that you were leaving me tore at my very soul. What would I do with my life without you, my dear Yvie? Who else would walk with me? Who else is considerate enough to bring me food when administrative and teaching duties take me hostage? I’m selfish, Yvie. I want you for me. Forever.”

I searched his face for any trace of levity. There was none. Why did he wait for all these months?

“Why now, Anthony?” I hoped my face didn’t betray my inner childish dance.

He drew me to my sofa and we sat, my hands in his, as if I would disappear. Then he said, “I wasn’t sure if you would like to stay in a village for the rest of your life. I assumed your acts of kindness could only mean one thing but you never gave any hints so I wasn’t sure whether you were being a true friend or you might truly want more. Your gender is funny.” We both smiled. “The thought of you leaving scared me, Yvie. What if someone else truly caught your eye? Besides,” he continued, “I had made a vow that my parents would approve of the woman of my choice, with God’s help, before I took her home.”

“But I’ve never met your parents!” He had told me they were in Cape Coast, his hometown.

“Not in person. I was afraid your ethnicity would be a challenge, but, eventually, they saw that you were different. The light of God in you shone even through the pictures.” He smiled at me. I was speechless. In ten months?

“How did they ‘see’ me, Anthony?” I was curious.

“You spoke with them on countless occasions. I told you they were my leaders from my hometown. Also, the last time we took that selfie together, I sent them a copy.” He smiled sheepishly.

I remembered it all. Anthony used to insist that I spoke to a certain couple who greatly inspired him. We would speak at length on various topics. I had no idea they were his parents. Goodness!

“But Anthony, is it not too soon?” I couldn’t let my excitement cloud my better judgment. All the signs that we were meant to be were present, but did we know enough?

“Indeed, it is. But we have time to know each other.” When I sighed, he added, “Oh come on, I didn’t mean we’ll get married tomorrow!” He laughed. “I’m staking my claim so that no one else will have you. I’m selfish with you, Yvie. I… I love you. Marry me.”

There! He said it. I just flew into his arms in a warm embrace and it felt so much better. This is home at last.