Love in a not so hopeless place.

 "Yoh B, Wagwan" was the text. That was the text that changed the whole trajectory of our relationship. Now as you continue to read you, might find yourself wanting to judge me for calling it a relationship. It is my prayer that you don't, It is my hope that you will understand why and actually join me in calling it that.

I'm not really sure what Riri meant by  "We found love in a hopeless place" but I wouldn't want to call the matatu a hopeless place to find love. Yes, that was our first point of contact.

It's just occuring to me now, that I've met a number of potential suitors in the matatu. But I'll tell you about one. Just briefly, if you may.

It was during the Christmas holidays 2021, I was travelling late. I was seated at the back of the 14 seater matatu. That was the most uncomfortable trip home. To this day. The Nyeri - Marua road was still under construction and what could have normally taken 2hrs to Kerugoya ended up taking almost 5hrs. I am not exaggerating. 

One of the things that make Kenyans Kenyans is trying to tell the driver what to do in the event of a slight inconvenience. Whatever we were experiencing, however was not a slight inconvenience, if I may add. But I am sure that the driver was doing his best.  "We dere usiende hivo, sasa ona tumepitwa" " Dere kwani hujui kuepuka jam?" "Sai ningekuwa Dere wa hii gari ningekuwa nishapenya" Calm down Kinuthia. The driver is well capable, and he definitely knows what he is doing. Please get your own vehicle.

That was the beginning of our conversation with the gentleman seated infront of me, and we got acquainted as he was explaining to me what he could have done if he was the one behind the wheel. I also noticed that he had paid for the seat next to him and later learnt that he was a photographer and the seat was meant for his tools. They must have been so comfortable. I was quite jealous. Of his equipment. 

He was actually good at it, the photography thingie if the shows on showmax he claimed to be a part of the production team was anything to go by. He was also quite a brag but I didn't mind it. I kind of liked it, I must admit. You'd have also liked it, Judge Judy.. it was different. 

I wasn't exactly smittened by him immediately but he kind of grew on me with time. He was interesting, well read, travelled and had a good command of English. He was also quite intelligent. My ultimate aphrodisiac if you know me. After a while of interacting, constant calling and flirting, he told me that he'd actually marry me. Aaaww..And after like a week of him professing his undying love for me (Yes, I interpreted it as that) we got into a very small argument,he insulted me and that marked the end of our fairytale.

I got really mad;it was obviously within my rights, he tried to play victim but you can't really gaslight a self aware babe. Lol 'laughs in sarcasm'. He ofcourse came to me with endless apologies, calling after every two minutes but  I had this grand idea to make him work really hard for an apology . You know, to teach him a lesson or something.? When I decided to actually forgive him and let bygones be bygones (We literally had a wedding to plan) it was too late. He had already forgotten about me. Ouch. 

On Christmas day the following year, I tried texting him to see if we could patch things up but he flat out told me that I was toxic and not good enough for him and that due to the above reasons, he'd cut me off.  I tried talking sense into him but he mentioned that I should never contact him again.

I felt a sharp pain in my heart. Literally. Some of these Nairobi men if not all can be really heartless. And toxic. Or both. Or worse. 💔

I decided in my head that I'd never fall for any matatu guy to avoid reliving the same experience  but when love comes knocking, it's only noble to answer.

I boarded a matatu at Nyayo stadium to go to GM for work. It was in the afternoon, I quickly took the first empty seat I set my eyes on. I was quite tired, I had come from work that whole morning and I wasn't happy with the fact that I had to work afternoon too. I'm literally just a girl.

I was also hungry and by now you should know that girls and hunger is a dangerous combo. I settled and stared into space thinking about nothing in particular. We then stopped at Bellevue, and I  thought that maybe I had reached  my destination immediately the driver started the vehicle. Omg, I turned to the guy next to me, "Ghaii tumefika GM?" I asked him in a low tone, to avoid embarrassing myself to the other passengers. He was so kind and told me that we were not yet there and that he'd let me know when we got there. I tried explaining to him that I actually knew the stage and that I had been carried away a little but he didn't seem to buy that.

I could smell the Creed invictus dupe of off him. I was literally seated next to him. The power of now. The power of being in the moment. I say this because up until when I spoke to him, I had not smelt the perfume. I know my scents well incase you're rolling your eyes and wondering how I identified it. Infact, I am a perfume vendor if you must know. I also couldn't help but notice his Tevise watch and his very cute Nike SBs. In case it's not so obvious, I go for the watch and the shoes. The fragrance is a bonus. But you must atleast smell nice.  "Oh, nice watch, I complemented my new found friend as I not so obviously made a movement that would make him appreciate my gold Casio watch that was well placed on my left wrist. 

The kind gentleman took the complement, and without saying anything acknowledged my watch as well and I made it my life mission to get his number within the few minutes from park side towers to enterprise road. I should also mention that I also sell watches and shoes alongside perfumes and that was how I got Nate's number. (Follow for more tips, lol)

He was a good looking gentleman, I came to see after spending an awfully amount of hours on his Instagram. I was careful enough not to like his pictures for the obvious reason I didn't want to seem so thirsty. But I really was thirsty. I was thirsting for him. But how could I make it a two way traffic affair?.

'Thankyou for today. You are so kind. I could've probably found myself in Kitengela were it not for your help". That was my first text to him. Oh I added a cute little emoji at the end. We had a small exchange, that went for about 30 minutes.

God knows I tried saving the conversation by any means necessary. But I could only do so much. I could respond to his WhatsApp stories with emojis or a few words or sentences once in a while. That again could lead to a 30-40 minute conversation. I was growing really impatient.

Once I pulled out my entrepreneurial card and we had a one hour conversation. That was progress. My rizz game was getting better. I can promise you, I have a high IQ and I know for sure that I didn't come out desperate. He didn't have the slightest idea that I'd marked him,for lack of a better word. He thought I was cute and kind and  that we could be good friends. Friends was a good start tho I didn't particularly take it well. Ew. I had to up my game!

The back and forth went on for a while and I came to learn that he was two years older than me, he was the first born in a family of four, and still lived with his parents, he was a tech bro, really smart, he loved animals, his favourite artist was Rod Wave, he hiked atleast twice in three months ,his favourite meal was 'chapa-ih' and he was really passionate about fashion. The most important thing I'd come to learn was that he was very single. Or so he told me. That was the most important detail. 

He eased up to me after a while, I don't know why but I could think of a few reasons. For one, I'm such a vibe, it's impossible not to like me. Second, actually that one reason is enough. I don't want to go on and on and have you rolling your eyes and have you thinking that I'm abit narcissistic.

Then the fateful day came. It was on July the 15th at 1404hrs that the text came in. "Yoh B, Wagwan". That my friend translates to, I love you B. No, please allow me to me explain. First, to all the male friends who call me B; y'all have a very special place in my heart. I could literally marry y'all if I could. Second, I'm really obsessed with the British slang and being addressed in the British slang is my ultimate love language. Now I know it might still take you a while to understand but I hope you're not entirely lost.

I stared at that text for what seemed like eternity . I was shaking, with happiness, do not be confused. I had finally gotten to him. My response would determine the path our relationship took. Please allow me to call it that. So I had to be really careful. I had to carefully craft a text that affirmed his decision to make me the love of his life. 

It took me a whole 48hrs to craft the following text...

"Wagwan Nate......"

Happy New Year Folks.

Cheers 🥂.