Irakabiri

Chapter Seven

Things went back to normal after the incident that in the end solidified the friendship amongst the four of them. They spent more and more time together hence making memories that would last a lifetime. Zuba reduced her relationship with Mr. Gihu to mere work-related interactions. When that did not work, she gathered enough strength to let it all go as she still had her inheritance to last her until the next opportunity. She quit her job at the BNetwork.

For many of her coworkers, it was as though she was admitting that she still had feelings for Mr. Gihu while he was moving on with the new hire in the public relations department. To her friends, if she was no longer involved with Mr. Gihu, all was well. To Zuba, it was more than what she was feeling, it was the words of Mrs. Gihu, the trip to Kigali, and more. She had a better understanding of the world and of herself on a deeper level, which made her want to start her life over in a way.

Meanwhile, Kwezi and her mother had been texting each other more than once a day. All of Zuba' s efforts had not been in vain after all. A month later, Kwezi finally accepted her mother's invite to dinner on the condition that it be held at her house and not her mother's. There were still some memories she did not want to awaken by going back to the house she grew up in. Zuba offered to help Kwezi prepare the dinner while Butoyi grabbed the drinks.

Bukuru was not in the mood lately as his ex-wife had completely canceled the Christmas trip from Brussels to Bujumbura with their kids with no plan of going back on her words. The three friends decided to give Bukuru a little bit of space while checking on him daily and throwing out the beer bottles whether full or half-empty on his coffee table. The news had taken its toll on him. The three of them had to better figure out something soon to stop him from spiraling into depression.

When Saturday came, Zuba got up early to help Kwezi set everything up for the dinner.

She found Kwezi in bed,

"What are you doing? I thought you had to go get your hair and nails done in a few?" Zuba asked.

"I don't know about all this. I think I should slow down with the mother situation. You know, give myself a month or two before making such a huge step."

"You're not chickening out now, are you?"

"No, of course not! It's called being smart, strategic, level-headed."

"Listen Kwezi," Zuba said as she pulled out the blanket and left Kwezi no choice but to sit down, "Between me and you, it's okay to admit you've been waiting on this day a long time and you're just a little scared. You never really know until you know. I may have gone to Kigali hoping that my mother and I would be in a better place by now but even if I didn't get what I wanted, doesn't mean I did not get what I needed. I have no regrets because I tried. I no longer sit up wondering what things would be like if I had the courage to go to Kigali. I did that. I must say, I am proud of myself for it."

Although a lump of hurt could be heard beneath Zuba' s voice, it was true that it took a whole other level of courage from Zuba to make that step. Kwezi saw that her friend was opening about the aftermath of the reunion and asked,

"Do you wish to have done things a little differently?"

"Yes, but it doesn't matter now," Zuba replied.

"Why not, maybe you'd have gotten a different result."

"True. But there's always going to be a billion ways to do something and I did the one I felt compelled to do. I think if I were to have planned all of it more carefully to the last detail, it wouldn't have been organic."

"Maybe not. But..."

"Enough with me Kwezi, you need to get up and start getting ready."

Kwezi obeyed and went to take a shower while Zuba poured herself a cup of tea while watching a documentary on wild animals. It was interesting to see how the wild animals behaved in their natural habitat compared to when they are put in a cage at the zoo.