Click HERE for previous episodes.

Miracles come in different forms, shapes and sizes.

On a lonely dark road, somewhere between 12AM and 12:30AM, a grey coloured Toyota Camry sat at the extreme corner of the road, with screeched tires, unscratched car body but awkward car position and most importantly, two scared-to-death passengers staring at the each other for some time in utter disbelief at the incomprehensible, unrepeatable flash drama that had left another innocent road user screaming “BASTARDS!” some few moments ago.

“What the fu…”

“I’m sorry” I cut in before Titi could swear. She never did except on extreme case scenarios and this was more than extreme.

I couldn’t imagine what my shocked face looked like but I almost haven’t seen Titi wear that look ever before. I wouldn’t blame her though, considering the fact that I just almost killed us both, a few moments ago.

What was I thinking?!… How could I get so carried away?!… What exactly is my problem?!…

“Baby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what I was thinking” I wouldn’t think it twice if I had to apologize a hundred times.

“You nearly got us killed. For real!”

“I got carried away for just a second and it nearly resulted into that. I’m sorry”

“Tell me. I wanna know what exactly you were thinking. Talk!”

“I was thinking about us” I replied, hanging my head like a school kid who has just been caught stealing… Like in the act.

“Oh… Urrrh… Okay” She seemed lost for words and emotionally disengaged like soldiers who have just reached a truce.

The next look Titi gave me was one “I have seen that face before look” The first time I ever drove, it was I and this same person. She knew, she hopped into the car and allowed me toy with our lives for no special or spectacular reason. I missed an oncoming bike man with four passengers and I managed to park. She gave me this same “I trust you” look.

That look has always been priceless.

Slowly, with confidence regained and head knocked out memory lane, I started the car and made for my place.

—————— 7 Minutes Later ——————–

I held the door of my apartment as Titi walked in. She stopped, turned around, looked me in the eye and whispered with a smile “Sweet Gentleman”.

Not knowing if that statement needed a reply or exactly what the reply was if it needed, I assumed I didn’t hear anything, closed and locked the door behind me.

I headed straight for the little cabinet fridge beneath my gadget shelf and drew out a bottle of Amarula and set it on the table

“Just give me Smirnoff except you’re planning to get me drunk” She said as she returned the bottle back to where I picked it from.

I smiled as I remembered that she could get drunk even by smelling someone else sipping his or her booze. One thing though was that she has never, except just once, gotten drunk in my presence. She always said she owed it to her self-control.

I set the Smirnoff Ice on the table with a little subconscious shrug; it was a ladies drink anyways. She poured herself a glass and sipped like there was more to the drink than just well, the sweetness or something

“How’s your relationship with David” I asked in a really rhetorical tone.

“Not bad, Dave is nice and caring. He’s a good listener and the very tolerating type. I sometimes feel lucky to have a man like him and I’m sure he feels the same way about me too. He’s also the always buying gifts type. He never gets tired, as much as his pockets allow him. He’s really a good man. I only wish he was more adventurous…”

“How?” I asked like I didn’t know what she meant or rather like I wasn’t expecting her to say that.

“He’s just too calm and gentle in the sense that my man can stay indoors for like eternity. Sometimes when you guys hang out, and he finds an excuse to stay back, he really isn’t doing anything. If I ask him, he’ll say he’s just not in the mood to hang out. We are parallel lines on that. I like going out and I mean even a lot more than you used to know. He complains but who cares. That’s me and I’ve tried to drop that part of me for him, I realized I just can’t. I’m never tired of being adventurous. You know that and I guess you either installed that in me or brought it out. I don’t know which. Asides that and some other blind annoying arguments he argues at times, he’s the really loving type”

I listened keenly and all through, I fought back the question I feel only females are supposed to ask their ex. I took another sip and before I knew it I found myself asking.

“Is he like me?”

Titi looked at me for like a minute or two, and as usual, I couldn’t predict what was running through her mind as she did. She dropped the glass that had journeyed half the distance from the table to her sexy lips, sat forward in her seat, pierced my gaze with hers and held my hand like we were about to pray over something.

I shivered a bit.

“Nobody has ever been like you. Nobody”

“Hmm Hmm” I cleared my throat.

“Dave is the third relationship after you and I’m still hoping to find someone who’ll make me forget you and those times. Dave is trying but I’m still hoping for the best ‘cos you were the best I ever had”

“I don’t know what to say” I said in the in the lowest audible tone possible

“You don’t need to say anything, except you feel I’m not being truthful”

I moved close to Titi, stretched over the table in-between us and her eyes got a little bit wider like it used to. I moved closer, my lips drawing and imaginary short straight line to hers. Around two centimeters between our lips and closer…

… Her phone rang

“Huh!… Sorry, excuse me” She said as she jerked up to where her bag was. She fumbled with all the this and that in her bag before finally fishing out her phone.

“Hello” She said and cleared her throat at the same time.

“I’m still at the bar. No! Just leave it in the freezer and go to bed if you want. I’m not going to stay much longer though. I’ll be home in a few minutes so don’t lock the door. Thanks dear. See ya!” She hung up, turned around and smiled.

Simultaneously as she spoke on phone, all what was going through my mind was the thought of what just happened or what almost happened.

“Guy! What are you doing?!… what the hell man?!… Who does that?!… She’s your ex and your friend’s girl. Get that into your skull…”

“That was Mercy” she said walking back to the seat she stood up from.

 Mercy was her little sister and the last of their parent’s three children.

“How’s she?”

“She’s good… I only hope she’s still good if she mistakenly locks me outside” she dragged the ‘mistakenly’ and it made me laugh.

Titi took her seat back opposite me and raised my glass to my mouth.

“Drink up” she said

“I have hands” I replied

“I insist”

I sipped the drink in the same awkward manner as she had raised it to my mouth and the drink tasted somehow sweeter like she had touched it with a magic hand.

I was very nervous ‘cos this was the first time since our break-up… No!… separation that we’ll be together, as close as this.

“I should be on my way”

“Yea you should!” I exclaimed like I just found a way out of a tunnel.

I grabbed her keys and handed it over to her as she made for her hand bag and adjusted her dress.

“Thanks for not killing us tonight”

“Seriously?!” I laughed like it was the funniest thing I’ve heard all year. But it was quite relieving we could make a joke out of it anyways.

I shoved my phone in my pocket as I walked her towards the door. I held the door open and she as she walked half way through the open door, she stopped and turned around.

The extreme closeness between us made me catch some undefined feelings. Like a magnetic force, I drew closer and we were chest-to-chest.

She raised her face to mine as I looked down.

“I miss you” She whispered and made for my lips…

“No… we shouldn’t be doing this. I’m sorry”

I moved two steps back and she shook herself out of her romantic mood.

We walked hand-in-hand to her car, and I waved her goodbye as she zoomed off.

I stood aloof on that same spot for approximately three minutes before finding the momentum to walk back inside…

… As I made my way back, my phone rang.

The vibration made me jerk around like someone who was forced out of a bad dream, forced my phone out of my pocket and picked up the call.

“Hello Dave, howfar na?”

“Guy!… Believe me when I tell you I have really fucked up!”

Mature Minds Talk.