Blind Date
Chris Tima tapped his left foot impatiently while glancing left and right. People whizzed past him in different directions while a few milled around the newspaper stand next to him. The aroma of French fries coupled with deep fried chicken wafted through the street and caused massive salivation. He reached for his phone inside his black and red jacket when he felt a polite tap on his right shoulder.
" Hi," A slim light skinned beautiful lady in a red blouse and fitting black office pants smiled.
She had black curly shoulder length braids.
Chris reciprocated her smile then asked, “Sharon?"
She nodded as they shook hands.
“Let’s go inside," he suggested while gesturing towards the KFC entrance, just a couple of meters from where they stood. Kentucky Fried Chicken had recently opened their first franchise in Nairobi's Central Business District just a couple of months ago on Kimathi Street. It automatically became Nairobi's most popular rendezvous for hip urban youth.
It was hardly any surprise when they noticed how packed it was. Fortunately, there were more seats upstairs and they sat next to a large window overlooking the entire Kimathi Street. Chris glanced down and noticed how a majority of Nairobians had shiny sweaty foreheads, because of the scorching May afternoon sun.
“I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," Sharon Chege said. Chris found her set of small, white teeth quite appealing.
“What’s important is that you showed up," he smiled.
Sharon was pleased with what she saw. He was much taller than her since he stood at almost 5ft 8 while she was a mere 5ft 5. His dark skin complexion ranked highly in her 'marking scheme' plus he had a cool soft spoken demeanor quite rare in most Nairobi men she came across.
A short and plump waitress in a black T-shirt and matching black jeans approached them with a couple of menus in her right hand. She had a red badge engraved with her name pinned on her T-shirt.
“Good afternoon, my name is Irene. Please take a look at the menu," she smiled amiably while handing over the menus to them.
Christopher's gentle looking pair of eyes almost popped out of their orbital confinements at the astronomically priced fries, chicken, toppings and beverages. I should have chosen somewhere familiar and pocket friendly, he silently regretted. He masked his worries with a fake smile and clenched his teeth as Sharon ordered the KFC meal combo of the day-a couple of chicken drumsticks accompanied by French fries and a 500ML Coca Cola that amounted to six hundred and fifty shillings.
Chris never spent more than a hundred shillings on any meal.
“What will you have sir?"
“I’ll have some fries and a Coke."
Irene dutifully jotted down the orders and rushed to the kitchen. Chris glanced cautiously above his shoulders and when he made sure no one was looking at them, he reached into his jacket. He removed a small black plastic bag then took out two large cookies. The cookies were beige in colour and were approximately 4 inches in diameter.
“Here," he handed them to Sharon. Her thin pencil drawn eyebrows shot up in surprise. She appeared somewhat hesitant by the manner in which her eyes darted back and forth from the cookies to Chris.
“You can eat them now," Chris assured her. He reached into his pocket again and pulled out one cookie. Sharon watched him as he made short work of the pastry and she followed suit.
“These are awesome cookies. Where did you buy them?" She asked as she wiped off crumbs from her mouth.
“I bake them."
"Really?"Sharon asked. Wow, he can bake! She smiled inwardly. He had no idea how impressed she was.
“I’m a marketing officer at Cooperative bank. I work at the University Way branch," she said to him.
“I hope you won't convince me to take a loan right now. I don't even have a bank account," Chris chuckled.
“What?" She exclaimed. “Do you know it is illegal for an adult to not have a bank account. An active one for that matter!"
“I’m in some serious trouble, aren't I?"
Sharon burst into laughter. It was genuine, not a forced response out of courtesy.
“After we have lunch, I will personally take you to one of the Cooperative tents and you will open a business account. Since you are in the business of baking, you must take a business loan."
The upstairs section was filled wall to wall with young fashion conscious lads donning brightly coloured snapbacks, hipster sunglasses and skinny jeans. Their female counterparts were dressed in short skimpy dresses that revealed way too much skin for a regular weekday. There were loud bursts of animated laughter here and there since they came in their own groups. As they posed for selfies, some peculiar ones took multiple photos of the crisp brown aromatic chicken and fries.
“Why do people take photos of their food?" Chris asked. He found it quite strange that a normal person hardly flinched when taking pictures of the delicacies on their plate but didn't have the guts to bow their head and whisper a prayer of thanksgiving before eating. Sharon glanced at her wristwatch then craned her neck as she tried to spot their waitress behind the busy red and white counter. Waiters and waitresses rushed to and fro balancing full trays with one hand while receiving cash with the other. She couldn't really blame them however she expected more efficient service from the globally successful fast food just like she often watched in the movies.
“Can I have another cookie? I'm starving and I doubt whether our meals will be ready today," she turned to Chris.
He reached into his pocket for the small black plastic bag and took out one cookie. Sharon stretched her hand as if she was reaching for the cookie in Chris' hand but to his surprise, she snatched the black plastic bag.
She flashed him a sly grin as she chewed one cookie after the other.