Frankly Told: Halves to a Whole
Smiles and laughter seemed to hug the air in a warmth he could only smile to express. He looked on as in the square created by the tents, there danced a line of faces that in their contrast shared a certain kind of happiness.
“What are you smiling so wide for?” her soft voice cut right through his daze.
He turned, looking directly into her eyes that held so much warmth he couldn’t help but feel at peace in them and exhaled softly. She too had a smile plastered on her face and she smiled with her eyes, just as she did every day since he first laid his eyes on her.
“It is such a warm kind of place, I don’t know… I’m just feeling like… “ he sighed in relief.
She simply nodded and placed her hand on his right one, which she had done so many times but there was a different kind of comfort that time round. He placed his left hand on hers briefly and squeezed it gently. It had been a while since he was so overcome by such joy and he could feel himself get restless.
“Thank you,” he started.
“What are you thanking me for?” she asked.
“I’m thanking you for all this, for the experience of this. Heck, for the experience of you,” he responded.
She giggled and leaned on his shoulder. He could only imagine that there was no possible way she could not hear his heart pounding in his chest, so excited it was. He took in a deep breath to calm himself back to composure but the smile just would not leave.
“I am glad that this has made you feel this way,” she explained. “I can’t say what it is but for a while, there is part of you that I really couldn’t get a read off of and it really bugged me but right now, I can’t feel it.”
“There you go again, therapizing me!” he exclaimed laughing. “I thought you said no work here.”
“Okay, okay. I am sorry,” she laughed. “It wasn’t on purpose.”
“I do get the feeling though, that somehow there is something in me that feels a little different and I wish I could put a finger to it but I must admit something is there,” he agreed.
“Mhmm,” she nodded.
The wind pushed its way through the overfed and jovial crowd carrying with it, the scent of the flower gardens. The coolness of it washed over him and he had to agree wholeheartedly, there was a peace he felt in that place. The music boomed from four strategically placed speakers and the crowd grew more and more enticed with every spin of the deejay, popular song after popular song.
On the dance floor, aunties well in their years tried their best to keep up with the music and dance moves of the young ones as if there was a competition to win a meaningless pencil or chocolate. The MC on the microphone boosted the morale and encouraged them, making jokes that made the couple laugh.
“I think I know what it is,” he said finally after he regained his breath from the fit of laughter.
“Let me guess what it is,” she quickly chimed in, sitting up in her seat.
“For real?” he asked in disbelief.
“For real,” she affirmed.
“Okay, go for it.” he shifted himself and looked straight at her.
“Okay, correct me if I am wrong,” she cushioned. “What I think it is, is that work has been getting to you and being a man you are trying to carry that stress and it is eating you and every time I ask, it is oh “Work was fine today babe” but it really wasn’t.”
He burst out in laughter again.
“Am I wrong?” she inquired confidently.
“Yes.” he answered bluntly, “Well maybe not, because I mean it could be a lot of things so I shall not knock your guess. Still… you are wrong.”
“Okay,” she conceded, slightly disappointed. “What is it?”
“Home,” he responded after a pause. “I think it has to do with home.”
“Elaborate.” she requested simply.
“I mean, I feel at home here. I think it is something that I can say was a craving.” he looked at the crowds. “I think I feel at home here. Looking at aunties dancing with the young ones. Uncles talking with uncles and laughing, albeit drunk but laughing nonetheless. I think it is beautiful and soul-soothing the way it is a human experience.”
“Ah I see,” she said.
“ I used to think that weddings were always these over the top parades that honestly were just created to burn holes in men’s pockets and that’s it. We said “oh celebration nini nini but you miss the food and you are ridiculed.” he continued. “It’s ridiculous.”
She stared daggers into him and he gestured to calm her before she exploded at him attacking weddings.
“Today is different though,” he slipped in before she could say anything. “Today, I've seen what this feeling of belonging looks like. I see different cultures come in together and become one. I appreciated the invitations to all the other ones but I suppose I always saw it as a chore, you know?”
“You’d drag me to them and of course you’d shoot off in whatever direction to meet whoever you’d not seen in a long time or whatever and I would just sit there with my thoughts because you said I can’t carry work to these things.” he inhaled sharply. “ Yet, here we are again.”
“Thank you for the invitation.” he looked right at her. “Thank you for always dragging me to these things even though at some point it began to feel like a poke at me to move quickly and seal the deal on us but I see it now. The insecurity is a little bit more quelled and I am not scared of the implications of us in that way.”
“Weddings are a place where you get to see halves to a whole,” he said. “ I’d be very glad to be the other half to our whole.”
