The first thing I did waking up one day, a few mornings to my birthday, was to check the clock; making my heart skip a beat. “My supervisor, who doesn’t forgive lateness, was going to have my head; in fact, I had just given it to him on a silver platter.”
I murmured a lazy prayer, brushed my teeth faster and set off. As late as I was, the mate and his driver didn’t have mercy; they stopped at every bus stop, prospecting for passengers though there was no one around. That was very annoying.
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My woes worsened when I realized my phone was dead as I didn’t charge it the previous night. It meant I couldn’t be online to check stuff so I sat staring into the atmosphere and thinking; then, I remembered my birthday was fast approaching.
I thought of organizing something with a few friends, so I made some calls to invite them over; I told dad about my plans and he was cool up until I pitched the idea of him leaving the house for me. Officially, preparations had begun.
Boy Friend Issues
Someway somehow, I almost gave up as most of my friends were not sure if they could make it. I told myself I wasn’t cancelling; Hence, I didn’t convince anyone to be there (I’m sure some even forgot). My boyfriend made it worse by trying to make me feel bad for not telling him earlier. In my defence, I told him I just decided to do it.
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“What if I have also planned to take you out and you made this decision without me,” he asked.
My face fell (to think I had spoilt his plans for some birthday that was going to flop anyway). He didn’t want me to cancel because he didn’t want to be the reason for the cancellation. I had to improvise to avert a failure on the d-day.
I left the food, cake, drinks, water and everything else for my dad to handle. All I needed to do was to make sure my people showed up (those I didn’t have to beg to avail themselves).
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As at Sunday evening, I still hadn’t heard from those who said they would get back to me. The excuse someone gave was that she had cramps… Can you imagine? I thought to myself, maybe they would show up by surprise.
I was talking to my boyfriend on phone and didn’t realize how late it was until he wished me a happy birthday and prayed for me. Then I realized the day had finally come; yeah, he was the first to wish me a happy birthday (winking). We talked some more then he left me so I could sleep a bit. But I didn’t have that nap immediately cos the messages started coming in; the warm wishes and blessings were just great; the love was just perfect. I was at it even around 3 am; frankly, I don’t know how or when I slept though.
Party Time
A knock on the door startled me from my two-hour sleep. Sitting up now, I frowned slightly but headed for the door to check anyway; it was my dad. He wanted me to open the main gate for him to go get the food from Adenta and the cake at Lapaz. With sleep disappearing from my eyes, I started putting things in place and by 7, I was done. I left for the salon immediately.
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On the way to the salon, I had a WhatsApp call from a strange number.
“Maame” a female voice called.
I knew the voice and was surprised this fellow was calling my line in the first place. She started raving about how my brother was going around telling their cycle of friends she’s a prostitute. I heard she went to my brother’s house wanting him to sleep with her but he refused.
“If your brother doesn’t take care, I will disgrace him; I will call some friends on some radio and TV stations and everyone will know about his dark side” she added.
“My brother is a big guy in society so that revelation would affect his reputation if she really had something on him”, I thought. But I seriously didn’t know why she called me in the first place.
“You called to drop this bomb and expect me to be your messenger?” I monologuised.
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More Wahala
At a point, I couldn’t hear her but I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t interested. I hang up and decided not to answer if she called back. But she kept calling so I answered. “Tell your brother to call me or I’ll carry out the threat,” she said. Apparently, my brother wasn’t answering her calls that’s why she was threatening him through me.
All this while, I was supposed to be in the dryer but because of her insecurity and plenty talk, I hadn’t even washed my hair. I called my brother and told him to call his deranged girlfriend because she claims he is not answering his calls. He too was coming to explain some plenty things but I stopped him right there; I had had enough for a day.
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I washed my hair and was seated under the hair dryer when my dad called, making me panic a bit. I actually thought he was waiting for me at the gate cos I had the house keys with me. He explained how he was stuck on the N1. Sadly too, he had an accident when the tire closer to the driver’s end got burst (I don’t know how that could have happened but it did). That meant aside my dad’s safety, the food and drinks were going to delay. Too many things to worry about.
As if that wasn’t enough
By 10 am, I was nowhere close to braiding my hair. This is the same me who gave invitees 12noon; there was no way I could finish braiding before noon. I was too frustrated to think straight so I called my bestie (Naya).
She suggested the stylist improvised with a simple style, making me get home before the guests start coming in. I did just that, finishing right in time and even got some drinks from a nearby store.
Back at home, Naya kept insisting I took my bath and got dressed before my boyfriend (Kay) came. I was reluctant cos I was tired already. Before I decided to go take my bath, I told her to meet Kay at the junction in case he called. Naya refused to pick up Kay and his cousin, Kojo, nagging me for not listening to her (the bathing matter). I went out to meet them at the junction, brought them home and then went to take my bath.
At 12noon, I had only three (3) people at my ‘small something’; small indeed. I wasn’t bothered because they are the most important people in my life. Plus, I knew they wouldn’t disappoint.
My dad called to ask how many people were in, to inform the number of goodies he was to bring. He was surprised and disappointed to hear the number. I told him not to worry na we were having fun; you know what they say—the fewer the merrier. The food finally arrived and I served my lovelies. We ate, and ate and ate until we were tired of eating. We couldn’t finish everything, but nothing goes wasted under my watch; yeah, I know I’m a foodie. Not when there is something called take away. Hehehehehhehehehehe.
In The End
We cut the cake and were chit chatting when Naya said she had to go; it was getting late and the rain too was not ready to stop. I saw her off and came back to continue the celebration. We continued the conversation and the laughter until Kay and Kojo too had to go. This particular goodbye was painful; like the saying ‘anything that has a beginning has an end’ (except relationships and marriages—even some end) so I had to let them go.
After seeing them off, I went to the salon to braid my hair; the attendants were fast as I was done by 9 pm. I was eager to get home to open my gifts. Getting home, I was happy to see the gifts because I knew it was from their hearts. I really had a good time and will surely do this again.
Life is all about having a good time… Miley Cyrus
I don’t want to miss out on the chance of having a good time… Victor Webster
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME…
Story by Judith Ankomaah Dei
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