He’s Not Nonchalant, He’s Chalanting Elsewhere (Part 2)

Read part 1 here

I arrive at Bosphorous with six minutes to spare, but Adwoa and the rest are already there. The aroma of delicious food is making me hungry, and I’m grateful I already told Adwoa to order a drink for me.

Since she said they were at the rooftop, I make my way to the top, looking forward to the Turkish meal I am about to devour.

I see her immediately I get there, waiting for me at the top of the stairs. 

“You made it! And you look so fab!” She gushes, hugging  me. 

“Come on, we have a little private spot in the corner over there. And no pressure or anything, but Jerry was right about his friend. He’s really handsome, and he’s excited to meet you.” she says with a teasing wag of her brows.

“Adwoa, leave me alone,” I say, laughing at her antics.

I lose the smile I am sporting when we reach the table and I see the two men sitting there. Didn’t Adwoa say that the other man was single? 

“Jerry, this is the amazing Tracy, my stylist-turned friend,” Adwoa announces with a flourish, not noticing the tension. My stomach drops.

“Jer-ry?” I stutter as the situation turns even worse than I had first thought. “He’s your Jerry?”

Finally noticing something amiss, Adwoa glances between me and the man, who appears to want the earth to open up and swallow him. His friend, who is actually very handsome, just looks confused and uncomfortable.

“Do you know each other?” Adwoa asks with a frown.

I snort hysterically. “This is Kwame. My – you know.”

It’s her turn to look shocked and then flipping mad. “What the hell? Your Kwame? That buzzo bastard who doesn’t appreciate you?”

I let out another snort. “Yes, that Kwame.”

“The fuck? I’m not even going to ask if it’s true because that shameful look he has now says it all.”

“I’m sorry,” he says quietly, and I feel like taking one of the drinks on the table and throwing it into his face. But I don’t.

“But how? I knew he was called Kwame too, but it’s generic enough not to sound off any alarms,” Adwoa continues, ignoring his pitiful apologies.

“And I didn’t know he was called Jerry,” I admit bitterly. “Three years with this man and he never told me his English name. Claimed he doesn’t use it anymore so it doesn’t matter. Bastard.”

He didn’t tell me even though I had asked him more than once, but he had told Adwoa.

That is when it hits me. My nonchalant man had been chalant for my friend. All those texts, messages and little gifts had been from him. What he never did for me after all these years of serving him like an idiot, he had done for her in two months. I nearly burst into uncontrollable laughter when I recalled that random “Girl to Girl” tweet from my timeline  last year: “He’s not nonchalant; he’s chalanting elsewhere.” I remember laughing out loud when I saw that tweet, recalling how real that was. However, I didn’t think it applied to me. After all, there were exceptions to rules, and my Kwame was one of those. Now I feel so stupid and dumb, unable to speak as I watch the train wreck in front of me. My ears are ringing so hard that I can hardly hear his pathetic apologies to Adwoa. 

“If you know what is good for you, you will delete my number from your phone. If you call me and come anywhere close to me again, I will report you for harassment.”

I can’t stand there to hear any more. My feet feel like rubber, but staying in my humiliation is worse. I feel numb and weak as I rush down the stairs out of the restaurant. I almost burst into tears when I realised that this memory was going to taint one of my favourite restaurants for me. I think I hear someone asking if I’m alright, but I don’t stop – I can’t stop or I would break into a thousand pieces.

When I get to my car, I lean against the driver’s side, taking deep breaths. I hear the click of shoes behind me and turn around to see a contrite Adwoa. I’m a little confused to see her here, even though I know I shouldn’t be. 

“I’m so sorry, Tracy. I had no idea. I swear to God that I had no idea. I would never have put you through this if I had known. I’m still shocked that it was the same guy we were both dating.”

I give her a weak smile. “I know that you didn’t know, Adwoa.”

She exhales. “I’m so pissed.”

“He wasn’t the same guy, though,” I say quietly, thinking back to what she had said. “He was different with you. He obviously likes you a lot more.”

It hurt to say the words, but they were true. The nonchalant guy had been very chalant to Adwoa. Remembering the discussion we had the day I braided her hair makes me cringe in embarrassment. I had defended him so stupidly, and she had been right all along.

Adwoa scoffs. “Likes me? He had a girlfriend the whole time he was dating me. That bastard told me that he was single when we met! He lied to me the whole time and I can’t forgive that. Even if it wasn’t you he was cheating on, I wouldn’t have forgiven him.”

“You’re not taking him back?” I ask.

The look she gives me tells me that she thinks I’m crazy. “Why are you surprised? Did you really think that I was going to continue the relationship with him like nothing happened? He cheated on you and made me the other woman in his affair. I also don’t believe anything he ever said, if he could live such different lives as he did with us. I told you that man was a dud. I just had no idea that I was dating the same dud.”

“You were right about him not being nonchalant. He was very chalant with you,” I say bitterly.

“I told you! Bastard.”

For some reason, it makes me laugh. 

She leans forward to give me a hug when I stop laughing. “I’m so sorry. I know that this must hurt a lot. You cared for the bastard.”

I know that I’m going to have a good cry later, but I’m not on the verge of tears anymore. Having Adwoa there makes it better, despite the weird circumstances.

“I won’t lie, it will take me a while to completely get over it, but I think I’ll be fine.”

“That’s the spirit! You deserve so much better,” she says.

She had always said this, but I had been in denial. “Yes, I do,” I finally admit.

She has taken this so well that I almost forgot that she has also been blindsided. Especially since she thought she had met a good man. “And you? How are you holding up? This was definitely not how you envisioned the evening going.”

She shrugs. “Honestly, right now I’m still at the rage phase. I was going to give him a real chance because he came across so good. However, we only dated for two months and he was still on probation, so I will get over it quickly enough. On to better things and all that. Come on, let’s go home. We can order Pizza Hut and pick it up on the way.”

I unlock the doors and sit in the driver’s seat, locking my seatbelt in as she walks around to sit as well. “I can’t believe we had a heartbreak debrief in the parking lot.”

Adwoa chuckles as she clips her seatbelt, too. “Better to let out some of the emotions now. You know, something just occurred to me.”

“What?” I ask after turning on the ignition. 

“We could have sorted this mess out earlier if we had met each other’s man before now.”

“You’re right! Or even shared photos.” I say this after pulling out of the parking lot and driving home. Our friendship is fairly new, but I’ve never felt more connected to someone, and I know she feels the same.

“So, moving forward, we’re sharing photos from the talking stage. Deal?”

I turn toward her briefly to smile at her. “Deal.”

“And no more nonchalant men for you,” she adds.

“Double deal!”