After lying to my girlfriend Carole that I was still at work, I continued on to my rendezvous with Jasmine. But how Carole had known that I was going to see Jasmine kind of disturbed me; the chic had an uncanny way of knowing things she wasn’t supposed to know.  I wasn’t perturbed for long though, because the thought of meeting up with Jasmine sent shivers down my spine; it was that same feeling you get when you are doing something you know you shouldn’t be doing, but you do it anyway, because it’s too tempting to resist.

I was excited and frightened, exhilarated and apprehensive. Even the light traffic jam that evening seemed the worst ever in the history of traffic jams. Finally, I got there, parked my rusty Toyota, and walked into the well lit gardens. It was getting dark.

I hadn’t expected to find her there waiting for me, and indeed she wasn’t. That’s typical girl’s behaviour; a girl always has to be late, even if she doesn’t need to. Probably, the thought that a man waited for them gives them a kick.

I sat down, and tried to organize my thoughts. I knew that this meeting with Jasmine wasn’t going to be easy. From what I had seen, Jasmine liked having her way, and she was headstrong, stubborn, and quite persistent.

In addition, she was ruthless, cold hearted, and a heartless monster.  She had called the meeting, so she was calling the shots. I had no idea what she wanted from me, only curiosity kept me from leaving.

After some time, maybe fifteen minutes, I ordered for a drink, something expensive so that Jasmine would know that I have good taste. 30 minutes later, she still hadn’t shown up, and I was getting tired of playing the "she is walking in next” game.

Twenty more minutes, and the woman still hadn’t shown up. I was now almost done with the wine bottle, and was getting impatient. 

I didn’t even have her phone number, so I couldn’t call her. I hadn’t remembered to get it, in my excitement of making a date with her.

For all I knew, she could be anywhere, including being with some other guy. Once I let that thought into my head, it totally refused to leave. Within five minutes, I had convinced myself that Jasmine was somewhere with some guy, me all forgotten.

A cold realization dawned on me; Jasmine had stood me up! I had been waiting for the chic for more than two hours, I had to admit it; she had played a stunt on me. Still, a part of me believed she was still coming. So I gave her another hour.

I cooked up all sorts of lame excuses for the woman; she was caught up in traffic jam, she was working late, she had got lost and was still locating herself.  When she still hadn’t come an hour later, I got up, feeling sorry for myself, and headed home.

Back in my flat, great anger came so suddenly that I grabbed a cup and smashed it against the wall.
Then I saw her. Carole was seated in the sofa, looking at me calmly. 

I understood that all that time I had been waiting for Jasmine; Carole had been here waiting for me. I felt so rotten that I promised to try and fall in love with my girlfriend.

I decided that I was done with all girls, especially Jasmine.  That wasn’t the first time I was promising to cut Jasmine out, but this time I really meant it. I wanted to be a good man for Carole.

Carole didn’t ask where I was from, but she probably knew. Opening my mouth to tell her about my new resolution concerning her and Jasmine, she cut me off.

She stood up, looked me in the face, and said, "Shem, you know I love you. But I can’t chase after you forever. When you are done playing little boy’s games, maybe I will still be here waiting for you.

Till then, please, leave me alone”. And she walked out the door, leaving me feeling like the world’s greatest loser.

Ends