Boys and Pastry.
My aunty says you can teach romance.
She says to not throw love away because Sadiq is not “romantic.” She went on to say ‘If he’s into you… he’ll learn.’ So I humble myself and try. The unnatural patience I muster is from all the relationships I’ve strategically avoided in the past few years. Crazy how much you conserve when you keep the crazies out.
Anyway, back to Sadiq!
We met at a pastry shop in Wuse, he didn’t seem to know what he wanted, yet he was so sure he needed to take up all the space in front of the display case. I was losing it. Hold on, have I ever mentioned how indecision is the most unattractive thing to me? No? My bad! Indecision drives me crazy, making up your mind shouldn’t be that hard, unless it’s intentional. How do you leave your house to grab a bite without the slightest idea what you want? Not even a clue? Shouldn’t you lead with a craving? And this is not just about food. People who constantly cannot make up their minds about anything at all feel like life’s little way of punishing me.
Again, back to Sadiq.
Picture this: I’m positioned behind him, which makes it impossible to not catch a whiff of his perfume, but even if I was a mile away, I would still be drowning in it. It draws me in and a quick thought occurs to me, ‘maybe he needs help’ but I instantly shrug it off with annoyance. It’s not rocket science.
One thing about me, my thoughts have a way of climbing out onto my face and eventually rolling off my tongue. It’s a talent at this point. So, ‘have you no favorites?’ I ask, honoring my annoyance. If he’s irritated by my question, I do not notice. I know what I want; four plain croissants, two cheese croissants, two strawberry brioche and lemon cakes, and maybe a salad, the one with croutons. He simply moves out of the way and steps back without saying a word, eyes glued to his phone. Rude much? I start placing my order with the attendant who, at this point, I’m convinced knows nothing about multi-tasking. I point at what I want while I say it and it’s almost comical how it hit me that I didn’t need to be there, I could’ve stayed home and placed an order but I’m obsessed with the smell of pastry shops and the daintiness of it all. They’re usually so… Quaint.
Also, how else would I meet the subjects of my stories? I mean, I could make them up, but made up characters do not fall in love with you. It’s usually the other way round.
This whole time, there’s been no movement behind me. I’m engulfed in the rich woody fragrance of a certain someone, but there’s no sound coming from him. I’m softening. I start to wonder if he’s okay but the attendant threatens to ring me up and I remember I haven’t made my walk to the fridge to get my juices. I whisper a quick apology and shuffle away. This part is always easy, two bottles of carrot juice and two OJs. Watch and learn, young man, watch and learn.
I pick them up and turn around to head to the counter and that’s when I see his face. He was definitely made on the Sabbath. You just know God had a swell time making him. But this is not a movie, so I do not trip and almost fall or lose my composure, I simply waddle to the counter, right beside the display, where he’s now resumed his indecision. For some unknown reason, I’m no longer disturbed by this, maybe it’s because I’m about to check out and have no issue who’s holding up the line. I allow the customers who’ve just walked in borrow my annoyance, I have forgiven and forgotten. In fact, I instantly recognize his humanity and in my ‘customer service voice’ suggest he tries the cinnamon roll, eclair, a milk cake and the plain croissants. I only stop there because I’m not sure about his budget. He looks up (down if we’re being honest, I’m vertically aspirational) says ‘thank you’ and tells the attendant to take my suggestions. So he speaks! And just like that, the phone he couldn’t seem to live without goes in his pocket. He’s relieved.
To be continued…
NOTE: We’re trying out stories now, yay! Lol. Let me know if you enjoyed reading this. Please clap as much as you care, it goes a long way. Thank you. x.
