"I hope it won't be too squeezed," I said to the lady. I had gone out to fetch a bottle of water at the interval and found that someone had sat at the end of our row.
She smiled and replied, "No I don't think so." It was nevertheless not a very good seat, owing to the large pillar right in front of it.
"Can you see the stage well from there?" I smiled.
"Yeah, out of one eye!" We laughed. As the concert progressed we whispered one thing or another about the music and the performers.
Then she asked me, "Are you a musician?"
I looked at her quizzically. "How did you guess?"
"Well, you have made a number of musical comments," she replied. I was surprised that I had made myself so obvious, though it was not as if I wanted to stay hidden.
"I have sold myself!" I joked. She laughed, showing very white teeth. She was a large woman with an ample bosom. Her whole frame shook with the laughter. I found myself wondering if she was not attracted to me in the same way that I was finding myself being affected. For some reason I suspected that she had been sitting elsewhere and made her move when I had left my seat. If she had been watching she may have noticed me whispering to my neighbour, and guessed that I was telling him I would come back. Did she hope that I was going to return?
With these thoughts in my mind I looked at her face, and a spark seemed to jump between us. The smile we exchanged was charged. It was with shock we realized that a whole piece had started and ended while we were wrapped up in each other. Wordlessly, we agreed to return our attention to the concert we came to, and paid for. The orchestra was as good as I had heard, which was why I had bought tickets a full two weeks before the performance. Might as well get the full value, thought I.
At the end we walked out together. In the foyer, I stretched out my hand. "I am Rex. Pleased to meet you."
This seemed to amuse her for some reason. "Hi. I am Angela." The smile stayed on her lips.
"Which way are you headed? I could give you a lift if you are going anywhere on Ngong Road," I offered.
"The evening is still young. Maybe we could stop somewhere for a cup of coffee or something." Wow! I was gobsmacked. So the attraction was mutual! "Where are you parked? I am next to the Wa Thiong'o Memorial Hall."
"I am just opposite the entrance of the Hall."
"Follow me." She said it so simply we could have known each other for years. So I stood next to my car to watch her go to hers. When I had marked it, I waited for her to reverse out of her slot before climbing into mine and following her out of the gate and onto Kenyatta Avenue. She turned out to be a very fast driver. After getting through the traffic lights, she sped off so powerfully I almost lost her. I had to get past the two cars between us quickly or I would lose her. I reflected that we had not exchanged numbers during or after the concert. I was just in time to see her branch off onto Fifth Ngong Avenue. At the newly-built iconic Prism Tower she led me into Kikwetu Dishes. I had seen a similar restaurant inside town; this must be a branch of that one.
She had chosen the place, but now I chose the seating. I took her up to the balcony, which as a matter of custom would not be very busy. In fact we found the waitresses leaning against the bannister at the top of the stairs. One smiled a welcome and followed us to our table at a discreet distance. When we were seated she came over.
"Good evening!"