“Yes, it is. Please turn off the lights.” another voice whispered.
Soft shuffles and muffled whispers filled the room as everyone quietly sat around the table.
Diane pulled up at the garage and sighed weakly. She rubbed her hands against her feet, hoping to calm the ache.
“One day, I'll be fine...”
Winding up the glass and picking up her handbag, she alighted from her Mercedes-Benz and shuffled to the house.
She hesitated, studying everywhere. The fluorescence bulbs cast bright glows on the surroundings, giving the potted plants and flowers a beautiful view. Diane checked her wristwatch. 7:25 p.m. Why was the house quiet? She would have concluded that Tracy and Pat had forgotten about their plans had Tracy not called some minutes ago to ask her whereabouts.
Now she was at Tracy's house and everywhere looked like a graveyard. She sighed again, fishing for her phone. But she decided against it and pressed the doorbell.
She was ready to pounce on her besties if she learnt they'd slept off. Tonight was her night and the dinner for three was something she'd anticipated more than anything.
The door creaked open and Pat leaned at the entrance in a night robe. Her hairnet hung loosely on her head. Diane's mouth dropped. Before she could utter anything, Pat pulled her in and boom! The lights came on, almost stealing Diane's sanity.
“Surprise!” different voices chorused.
“Oh, my...” Diane froze, tears gushing out of her eyes helplessly.
Her teary eyes travelled from one end of the living room to another — beautiful balloons in pink, white and red clung to the walls and ceiling. Foil balloons, just before the dining area, spelt out a gleaming ‘Happy Birthday’ and the three stunning portraits of her reclined against the walls, complemented the view.
A gigantic cake sat on the dining table, surrounded by wines and glasses. The scent of freshly fried puff-puff, fried rice, and different delicacies hung in the air.
Diane counted up to eight familiar faces at the dining and she shot an angry stare at her besties.
“You bitches!” she threw at them, laughing and wiping off her tears simultaneously as she proceeded towards them.
They all burst into laughter. Pat took off the night robe and hairnet, joining them to tease Diane.
“Make we no celebrate our bestie keh?” Pat said.
“Nah... we don't do that here,” Tracy added, enjoying every bit of the moment.
“Happy birthday, my CEO!”
“Happy birthday, Diane.”
“Best wishes, sweet girl.”
Diane's head bubbled and she almost couldn't tell who was speaking.
The birthday dinner commenced in full, from a short prayer, cutting of cake, toasting to Diane's achievements to settling for a full course meal. Seeing the pure joy that sat on the faces of her friends, Diane couldn't help but be grateful.
Pat was quick to ruin the fun. Or simply put, she caught Diane unawares.
“So birthday girl,” she began, dropping her fork. “When will you marry?”
Everyone paused, casting curious, eager and questioning glances at Pat, who had to lift up her hands in surrender.
Diane smiled but remained quiet, having a mental note to deal with Pat later for that setup. Tracy chipped in, too, and everyone began to ask.
“I'm just twenty-eight!” Diane defended herself but she'd forgotten who she was dining with.
“Just?” It was an unplanned chorus.
The door opened, and Diane's business partner, Obed, grinned from the door, a lady beside him.
“Guys, I'm so sorry. I was held up in—”
“Gracia?” Diane interrupted and threw everyone off-balance.
She stood up, ignoring their perplexed stares.
“Wow!” she laughed dryly, clapping her hands together.
“You know her?“ Amira, one of her friends asked.
“Obviously...” Obed replied, moving a step forward. “But not sure what kind of history they had together.”
Diane's eyes began to well up. Jummy, the lady in question, went on her knees.
“Dee, I'm sorry. I was jealous, naive and stupid.”
Eyes travelled, questions rose, but none were provided answers. Obed asked for the last time.
“Diane, what did she do?”
Diane spoke immediately. “We were classmates back then in high school. She set me up with a male classmate who almost raped me. Then she released a part of the video to the school's WhatsApp platform. I was expelled. Not like Adams liked school, though, he also was.”
Jummy's eyes were like the rivers of Babylon. Obed looked into them; remorse lay there. He knew deeply that Jummy was changed now, for her kindness was what made him fall in love with her.
Diane continued. “Believe me, I've forgiven her, just that bumping into her today? I didn't expect it.”
“Please, Diane, forgive her completely now that she's here. She's changed.” Pat said, and the rest consented.
Diane smiled weakly. “I have. Please, rise.”
The dinner continued. But this time, Jummy was self-conscious, only smiling when needed. Diane tried but couldn't laugh as hard as before. She glanced at Jummy intermittently, wondering how long it'd take her to finally get over what Jummy did fourteen years ago.
All images were generated with ChatGPT
