by Wampaze, Nya
Tina was at the airport an hour before her lover touched down. When she finally saw him push his trolley looking for her, tears of joy ran down her cheeks. She rushed to where he was and hugged him tightly. Ted managed to hold back his tears, but the jubilation on his face was quite obvious. He was smiling like a toddler who had just been excused from eating his veggies. The hug lasted for about five minutes before Ted kissed his lover on the cheek and they headed for the taxi ranks.
They drove to Tina's house where she had prepared him some great Kenyan delicacies. Ted had especially loved “ugali,” a dish made of maize flour on his first visit to Kenya and Tina made sure there was lots of it. For the first time, he got to meet Tina's siblings, who were all on their school holiday. Ted was near the woman he loved, with great food and great company. He was definitely in paradise.
Tina's siblings promised to teach him Swahili, which they did over time. After about two weeks of his stay, he could make broken sentences in Swahili and could understand a few phrases here and there whenever two people spoke the language next to him.
On his first Saturday in Kenya, he decided to take his lover out on a date, typical of his romantic nature. They went to a fine restaurant in town and ordered some great food. It was evident that these two really enjoyed each other's company. Throughout the meal, they were laughing heartily and sharing in each other's joy. They were to have ice cream for dessert and Ted promptly signaled the waiter when they were ready.
Tina was enjoying her strawberry flavored ice cream, when halfway through, she felt something hard in her mouth. She quickly spit it out into her hand. There it was. The most beautiful diamond ring she had ever seen in her entire life was right on the palm of her hands. Ted, whose face was down pretending to tie one of his shoelaces, looked up to her and with a broad smile on his face asked her, “Will you marry me?”
Tina was left speechless. She could not believe what she had just heard. She had not seen any of this coming. She felt a mixture of joy and surprise rush through her body and her adrenaline glands had definitely opened up their gates. She stood from her chair and went to where Ted stood. She hugged her fiancée with joyful tears running down her cheeks and waiters clapping and ululating around their table. Just like that, Tina and Ted got engaged.
Tina's siblings laughed their hearts out when they heard how Ted had proposed to their sister. They were very happy for them and could not stop asking questions about the expected wedding.
There was definitely reason to celebrate and the two love buds chose to celebrate their engagement away from the house. They planned a weekend getaway where all they would have to do was show their love to each other. Ted chose a private hotel deep in the outskirts of town for their little adventure. They left for the hotel on Friday morning and were expected back on Tuesday.
As they checked into the hotel that morning, Tina had been left behind, paying the taxi driver, as Ted could not communicate with him in Swahili. Meanwhile, Ted was at the reception, booking a room. When he told the receptionist that he wanted a room for a couple, she was hesitant. “Am sorry, Sir, but as a Christian establishment, we do not allow commercial sex workers in our rooms,” she said as she gestured at Tina with her right hand. Ted was startled.
“What?” he asked. “Am sorry, but that's a policy from the management and there's nothing I can do about it,” came the response. “How dare you call my fiancée a prostitute?” he vented in anger. “Who is your boss? I want to talk to him now!” he added as he banged his hand on the reception desk. The receptionist, fearful that she may get in trouble with her boss, replied in a soft voice, “Am terribly sorry, Sir. I must have mistaken her for someone else.”
“Please forgive my misjudgment. I will be happy to give you a room.” Ted still looked disgusted but seemed to accept the apology. He did not want to spoil the good mood he was in. He took the room key and headed for the elevator with Tina behind him. She did not give any indication that she noticed what had transpired between him and the receptionist.
Their first stop was the shower once they got into the room. They opted for a cold shower as the coastal town was rather hot, even at that time of the day.
They washed each other's backs and played with the water. Ted stroked his fiancé's hair and repeatedly told her how beautiful she was and how much he loved her. As they continued to shower, Ted's member started getting hard. Tina could feel it growing along the crack between her butt cheeks.
As if to tease him, she dropped the shower gel that was in her hand and bent over to pick it up as she rubbed her butt onto his crotch. Ted's penis was rock hard by the time she was standing up. He pulled back her hair and started kissing the back side of her neck. Tina always loved it whenever he kissed her neck. She took a deep breath as she savored the pleasure in the kiss.
Ted worked his way down her body until he got to her smoothly shaved vagina. He started fingering her, much to her delight. She moaned like she had never been fingered before. She turned around and placed her lips on Ted’s, giving him a deep kiss. She inserted her tongue in and out of his mouth with perfect rhythm, just like Ted always wanted it. He grabbed a condom from the bathroom dispenser and quickly rolled it over his manhood. He grabbed her by the thighs, signaling her to jump onto his waist.
She did this, landing her vagina on the head of his hard penis.
Ted was breathing heavily and he wasted no time in getting down to business. He lifted her higher, positioning his penis for the penetration. She started bouncing up and down as she enjoyed the pleasure of having Ted's manhood deep inside her. They made sweet love for about ten minutes.
Soon, Ted's panting got heavier as his thrusts got faster and faster. He let her get down and she went on her knees, taking Ted's penis into her mouth. She sucked him for about half a minute before Ted pulled out his member and shot his load all over the bathroom floor. Ted smiled at her before getting his fingers back into her vagina and fingering her to an explosive orgasm.
Chapter Six.
Tina's fiancée did not get much sleep on the first day of their engagement celebration. He had a good time, yes, but something was disturbing his mind. He was restless in bed and he tossed and turned around the bed. The incident with the receptionist kept ringing in his mind. He could not comprehend why she thought Tina was a commercial sex worker.
Tina was rather decently dressed for anyone to mistake her for a prostitute. The only possible explanation was that there was some truth in what the receptionist was saying. He had, however, refused to believe that this was the truth.
He kept remembering some of the things he had noticed on the several occasions he had been out with Tina. In many of these instances, he never thought much of the events that took place. He remembered one particular incident when he was walking in town with Tina.
They came across a gathering of young men offloading bags of cement from a truck and carrying them into a nearby store. As the couple went past them, one of them shouted, “pesa nyingi za mzungu zikishakwisha utarudi tu kwa hizi zangu kidogo” (“Once the white man runs out of dollars, you will come back for my pennies”).
Ted remembered this phrase vividly. With the little understanding of Swahili that he now had, he was able to make sense of what the worker said that day. He remembered the women who made such a fuss when they stepped into the club that very first time. He could not recall what they said but he was sure they mentioned her name.
The more he thought about it, the more it become apparent that the receptionist knew what she was talking about. Thoughts of all the strange men and the women of questionable character who said hi to her whenever they walked in town came to mind. He always thought it was only logical that she knew all these people since she had been a resident of this town all her life.
It hit him that he did not know any of Tina's friends. Tina had never once introduced him to any of them. He thought about this as he lay on the bed and realized that for someone who had stayed in one place for such a long time
, she was supposed to have very many friends.
Ted was now convinced that his fiancé was a sex worker, or had been a sex worker at one point in her life. He looked to his side and watched her in her peaceful slumber. He still could not believe it.
The last stroke on the camel's back came when he realized that Tina had no job. He wondered how she was able to afford all the expensive clothes and fine jewelry with no stable source of income. During his first visit, she always seemed to be free during the day, but rarely had free time at night. There was no doubt about it.
He stood up and lit the lamp beside the bed so as not to wake his fiancée up. He took out their bags and placed them right next to the door. There was no need for him to park since they had barely unpacked anything. He then switched off the bed lamp and continued in his restlessness until the break of dawn.
Tina woke up and was surprised to see their bags next to the door. Ted was not in the room and neither was he in the shower. She reached for her phone next to the bed lamp, but before she could call him, he walked in through the door. 'We are leaving, hurry up and get ready,' said Ted, after which he walked out of the room with the two bags. She was all the more confused. They had barely spent twenty four hours at the hotel and he now wanted to leave? It did not make sense at all.
Ted went to the reception and requested to see the lady who had checked them in. Unfortunately, Saturday was her day off. He took out a pen and paper from his bag and wrote down a few lines. The note read
I am sorry for putting you at risk of losing your job. 'Mzungu' (The white man).
He then asked the lady at the reception for an envelope in which he inserted the note with a $100 note enclosed in it. He then gave it to the receptionist, after addressing it to Mercy.
Tina emerged from the elevator still looking confused. By this time Ted was already in the cab waiting for her. She knew there was something seriously wrong when she noticed that he was seated on front seat next to the driver. Whenever they used a cab, he would always insist that they both sit at the back where he can talk to her with great ease. He then told the driver to take them back to the house.
Chapter Seven
'I only want you to tell me truth Tina, is that too much to ask for? Just the truth" These were Ted's first words immediately they reached the house. Tina's siblings had all gone out. They were only the two of them in the house. 'What truth my dear?' 'why do you seem so angry?'
'When were you planning to tell me that my fiancée is a prostitute? Huh? When?' Tina could not utter a single word. She did not know what had just hit her. The first person that came to her mind was Pierre. After a moment of silence, she gathered the strength to talk. 'Am sorry my love, what happened with Pierre was the greatest mistake of…' 'Pierre? Did you say Pierre?' Ted cut her short.
'You had sex with my best friend for money? What type of woman does that? You are a disgrace! You have no dignity.' Am very sorry dear, I truly am,' she replied softly. 'That was my past life, am a different… 'Don't you dare call me dear! You are nothing but a lying prostitute! You disgust me. Two full years Tina! Two years! You never thought that I should know about your past? Would you even have told me if I hadn't asked?' You have no shame. Maybe my father was right all along. You are the biggest mistake of my life.
Ted stormed out of the house and got into the taxi, signaling the driver to drive off. Tina was devastated. She sat on the floor and cried her eyes out. In less than an hour, her whole world had come crumbling down.
Chapter Eight
Ted checked himself into the hotel where he had spent his first holiday in Kenya. He was deeply hurt and angry. Deep down however, he knew that he still loved Tina despite everything. He could not believe that he had been blinded by love that much. Above all, he was most furious with his best friend.
He took out his laptop from his bag and video- called Pierre. 'Salut mon cher ami, comment ca va?'(Hi my dear friend, how are you) inquired Pierre in a rather jovial mood. 'What kind of person has sex with the girl his best friend is in love with Pierre?' Ted asked. 'What type of friend knows that his best friend is dating a prostitute and lets him go ahead without telling him?'.Pierre was dumbfounded.
He could not look Ted in the eye. 'Sleeping with Tina was a mistake Ted, we were both drunk. Am really sorry.'
Are you now? Don't you think it's a little late to be sorry? When were you planning to tell me that she's a harlot? Are you sorry about that too?' Ted's voice was now at its peak and he was boiling up. Had Pierre been there with him, he might have strangled him with his bare hands.
'I had no idea she was a prostitute, I would...' 'Oh so now you pay a woman to have sex with you and you don't know that she's a prostitute? How stupid do you think I am?' Ted interjected. 'I never paid her for sex! I only gave her money so that she could keep it secret. I didn't want her to tell you anything and jeopardize our friendship. Ted you have to forgive me. Am really sorry.' 'Guess what Pierre, you paid for the sex and it's good that you are sorry, because am sorry for you too' Ted slammed the laptop screen shut and sat on his bed.
Immediately the video call was disconnected, Heidi walked into the living room where Pierre was. 'So that's what you want to do in Kenya huh? You have lots of nerve Pierre. You refuse to visit my sick mother so you can go cheat on me with some black whore? You impotent bustard! You know what? Am done.' Pierre was still digesting the incident with Ted and he could not find words to say to his wife. With teary eyes, he mumbled, 'forgive me Heidi. Forgive me.' Heidi went into the bedroom and packed all her belongings.
That was the last time Pierre ever saw his wife.
Ted lay on his bed feeling empty inside. He remembered his father's words, 'black women are nothing but sluts' and could not help feeling the pain.' He felt like someone was piercing a dagger straight through his heart. It was too painful for him to even cry. He only had a single tear run down his left cheek.
Tina had stopped crying and was going through her photo album, remembering the good times she had shared with the love of her life. Her past had caught up with her and she regretted every single moment of her life as a prostitute. She wanted to call Ted, but was not sure how he would react. She wasn't even sure whether he would agree to talk to her in the first place. As she flipped through the album, she opened a page where she had placed her travel documents which she had been able to get in the one year that Ted was in France. She looked at the passport and visa and no longer saw their importance.
Later that night, she finally gathered the courage and picked up her cell phone to send him a message.
I am deeply sorry for having kept you in the dark about my past life. I had always wanted to tell you the truth, but didn't know how to start. I am now a changed person. You walked into my life and changed everything about me. The old Tina is dead and buried. The only thing that did not die with her is the love I feel for you. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
Ted's eyes welled up with tears after reading the message. He could not hold them back anymore and he cried like a little child. He did not even notice when he fell asleep.
Early the next morning, Tina was sweeping her verandah when she heard a car park outside the gate. At the back of her mind she hoped beyond hope that it was Ted. She was hesitant to open the gate as she had no idea what she would say to him. Ted stood at the gate for a few minutes without knocking. She could see through the space between the gate and the ground that those were Ted's shoes.
He finally knocked on the gate, and she opened. It was an emotional moment for both of them. They stood staring at each other without saying anything for five straight minutes. Tina was crying and Ted's eyes were almost filled with tears. He stepped forward, opened his arms and hugged her.
Tina's siblings could not help but cry as they watched from the window. 'Am sorry Ted. I really am.' She said with her head on his shoulder. Ted paused for a moment and took a deep breath. 'I love you Tina,' he whispered in her ear.
Chapter Nine
/> Over the next two days, Tina took her time to reveal all the secrets of her past. She explained to her fiancée what had driven her to prostitution. She told him how hard it had been when she decided to turn over a new leaf and narrated the story of how assailants were sent to rape her by one of her former workmates. Ted also took this opportunity to tell her how his father felt towards their relationship. He however told her not to despair as the love they had was genuine.
Ted felt sorry for her. All the anger he had previously felt turned into pity. He told her that everyone deserves a second chance, no matter how bad they messed up the first time. He only had two conditions that he wanted her to agree to for the sake of their relationship. She had to promise that she would never even think of going back to that lifestyle and there would be no more secrets between them. Tina smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
Ted reached into his bag and pulled out a folder that contained some documents. He told her to close her eyes as he pulled out two of the documents. When she opened her eyes, Ted said to her ' Bienvenue a Paris'(welcome to Paris) as he handed her two airline tickets to France.
He had bought the tickets before travelling to Kenya.
Tina was excited beyond words. She jumped up and down like an adolescent teenager. Tina called her siblings into the room and broke the good news. They were all happy, apart from the youngest of them all who was quick to ask 'sasa ukituacha nani atanipikia uji?'(if you leave us, who will cook my porridge). They all burst into laughter. She assured him that she would get him a nanny to cook his porridge just like she did.