Strings of love

5.

The children chasing each other didn't matter any more. They were more of a nuisance and yet a welcome distraction. She was waiting for him. He had promised to meet her away from the eagle eye of his mom and his all loving family. She had been seating for one hour idly watching the birds in the sky and cars that zoomed past the free park where she sat. She had wondered what she will talk about and what he will say. She had imagined how their conversation would go. She smiled at the thought of pulling him away from his mother's apron strings. He should at least call her and give a reason for the delay. Mosquitoes were starting to bite her and she was getting uncomfortable as she saw it was getting dark and then she realized he wasn't going to come.
He still hadn't call as she hailed a cab which took her home. She washed her hands at the entrance of her apartment  as she entered her flatlet. She sighed as she flung her bag on her chair and checked her phone for the umpteenth time and saw nothing remarkable apart from the fact that the screen saver had to be removed.
She was so angry she couldn't brace herself to call and she couldn't imagine why he stood her up like that and not call. She felt it was deliberate and wanted her to react so he could use it as an excuse.  She made herself a sandwich and went to pick up her laptop. She wasn't going to let him define her.
She ignored every thing happening around her and shifted her focus on her lecture notes. She paused to think about their last conversation. How he had said he only had a bachelors degree and was unemployed and still living in his father's house and how he felt uncomfortable with how she may see him. She having a PhD and a job. She had argued that at least he had known she had a PhD when he asked her out and he didn't seem to be bothered about it. She wondered if there was another woman of less repute than herself who may have come into the picture. She braced herself that a break up was imminent. The relationship was awkward from the word go. Her parents were professors and demanded such a high standard from her. She had argued that her grandparents were illiterates so where were they so unforgiving and intolerant. She couldn't face them with this line of thought. Pedigree  was important to her parents and she feared the worst that she may not measure up. She loved Iyeni so much. His simplicity. The way he reasoned and how he faced challenges. Despite the fact that he had graduated before her in school and didn't have a postgraduate degree , he was more vast in international affairs than she was. She had encouraged him to further his education but he complained about finances and also he refused money from her.
Mope was confused as she typed in the Watsapp chat of the students that they were to submit an assignment. She knew it wasn't fair since the students had done their exams but she wanted to prove to herself that she wasn't a failure. She wiped her tears and switched off her phone. When she woke up in the night to have a wee, he had not even sent a text. It was a glaring message that she had mastered over the years. She had again succeeded in attracting men who couldn't stand up for her in the end. She knew his family was involved with everything about his life so she had to make him choose one. Her degrees were intimidating and not complementary to his family. She slept fitfully.