Dark coffee

Chapter nine

A week passed since we went to Albion Hill campground. It was 1:30 pm; I just finished my class when I received a text from Darell that I nicknamed in my phone contacts Coffee because he always drinks one every time I see him.

"Hey I just finished, where are you?"

I replied to him "Join me at the main exit" As soon as I sent it, I headed to the meeting point. A few minutes later he came. It has been two days since he had told me we would go out without telling me exactly where. When he came  closer, I rushed to ask him happily "Can I know now where are we going? Why all this mystery? You want to kill me?"

"That's exactly what I want!" He replied sarcastically

I sulked to him "Please! Tell me, I hate surprises and you know it!"

"It's not with this face expression that I'm going to tell you something. Just follow me and you will know." He then started to walk. A few steps later he stopped and looked at me with a face that meant "So, you coming?"

"Fine!" I said while walking . Once we were outside, we got into his car. 10 minutes later, we came in front of a duplex where he stopped. I asked him confused "Where are we?"

He simply answered, "Guess."

I thought for a moment. Then, I looked at him with a smile on my face while he parked in the lobby "You took me to your place?"

"Yeah," he replied looking in front while my eyes were on him.

We got out of his car. Before getting in, he explained to me that his brother was at school. Only his grandparents were there. The fact that his grandparents were there was stressing me a little. I knew how much they meant to him. I was afraid they didn't like me but Darell reassures me.

He then opened the door. The seconds where he did it, a delicious scent of African food invaded my nostrils and delighted my taste buds. There was a beautiful song playing. Its softness literally carried us to Ghana. We put our coats and bags in the entrance dressing room.  From what I saw, Darell's duplex was beautiful. The decor was modern with an African touch. While I was looking around, he asked me "Have you ever eaten Ghanaian food?"

"Never," I replied to him.

"I'm going to make you discover some dishes today. Are you hungry?" He asked me

"The minute I came to your house, I was hungry!" I told him.

We laughed. He then took me to the kitchen where his grandparents were and introduced me. They welcomed me with joy. His grandparents didn't really speak English. Darell was my translator. I decided to wash my hands and help his grandmother to set the table since she was doing it alone when I came in the room. Meanwhile, Darell was helping his grandfather, who's diabetic, to take his blood sugar. To see him help his grandfather and interact with his grandparents revealed to me a lot about the man he is. After a while, the food was finally ready. The four of us settled to eat. Then Darell introduced me what was on the table "So, here it's Waakye"

Waakye looked like brown rice but I had no idea what it was. It wasn't a traditional food for South Africans. I think my face was expressing my thoughts because he added, "You have no idea what it is, have you?"

"Right," I say embarrassed. His grandparents looked at me what made things worse.

He laughed and said to me pointing at each food he was saying, "It's cooked rice and beans; you eat it with avocados, eggs, Kelewele in other words Fried plantain, chicken and Shito a kind of brown sauce but be careful it's spicy.  Also, if you want, you can add Talia in English spaghetti but it's not an obligation."