I
detest lunch meetings mostly because all I want to do is eat but
well, we can't avoid everything
we hate. A
lunch meeting in the capital, Kampala is an extremely ambitious move
since Ugandans aren't
ardent time-keepers.
Why
have a lunch meeting when you can have the meeting after lunch?
The
boss,
Mr. Paul Scarvedell,
picked a fine restaurant
in the upscale suburbs of Kololo,
the type with a
large
entry gallery
with
professional waitresses
ready to treat you right as long as you were willing to pay the
fortune the food they served cost... US$10
was the price of
the cheapest item on the menu. The
type of restaurant
filled with the
usual
social clusters
of
people;
the selfie-taking girls obviously less interested in the meals they
ordered than getting the perfect picture taken for their social media
pages,
social
X-rays,
the expatriates
simply looking for the best food and the lame office people like us.
How is one expected to concentrate in such
an environment?
The
orders came well garnished but never enough to fill one's tummy,
after 15 minutes which wasn't
bad considering the number
of clients they were serving and the time of day, lunchtime. Back
on the table, the boss was saying something
I couldn't
quite
make out as I was distracted by a couple that
was entering the restaurant, a couple evidently by the way he kept on
touching her and the radiant,
intimate, no,
more than that, provocative smile. Was
it directed at
me? Extremely
far-fetched given
that I
was at the back of restaurant and he was closer to her than I was. I
was so caught up by her smile that I hadn't
taken
time to look at his
face... an old face,
the
type of face with
wrinkles you
give a 70 year old man. I
need
to have my eyes fixed. They
were walked to a table two
tables close to mine and
the closer they got, the more I could see the lines on his face,
Jesus
he was +70
years old!.
How
could the lady... my mysterious lady with a radiant
provocative
smile probably directed at
me enjoy the company of this... this 70 year old man
who happens to use a cane to support his yet-to-die self?
Mr
Paul, saying
something
to me I caught halfway,
"...We
need to come up with a plan Roland, a quick plan to push the sales.
Did
you meet the head of sales?
That
sonuvabitch thinks we are still in the 90s, he is going to run down
my company and I'm
gonna
let
him do it because he happens to be a brother to one of the founding
board members!
We
are not tapping into the market, look everywhere, people are buying
smart-phones, what does that tell ya? They
need power, convince
them to step away from the traditional Umeme.
Solar
is the Future and we are offering it at the cheapest price. Sell your
souls for all I care but make me more money! Are
you listening to me Roland?"
"Yes
sir, I'm working with the sales team to see that we double or better
yet triple our sales”
I replied
My
mind drifted back to the lady... my lady. She wore a plain black silk
dress with wide shoulders. Her legs were crossed and I couldn't help
but run my eyes up the highlight curve of the top of her foot and the
shimmering curve of her thighs under the black silk. She
was sipping on white wine, and he... too old to drink, was drinking
sparkling water.
Cross-generation
sex doesn't
apply to this particular couple so I will call it multiple-generation
sex. What
could they be possibly talking about? She
can't be more than 25 years old and yet they were having a
conversation! He must have fought in the 80s war or the 60s war or
any other war much earlier than that. Oh
come-on little lady, what are you two talking about?
I
saw
something on her face, something
in
her posture and how free she was with this... this
old
gentleman... happiness. She
seemed pretty happy to be with him. Could
it be? Is
it possible for a 70 year old man to make a 20 year old lady happy?
Was
i missing something?
Paul
couldn't
stop swearing about
one thing or the other and I was struggling to keep up, "...It
is this fucking country
Roland,
business is fucking slow and everything is politically
driven. If
I want to construct a building in Kampala,
the yellow guys have to fucking will it to happen. Can
you imagine? We
are going to change this country, we are going to burn down all the
yellow idiots and take our sales over the fucking moon!
I
want
billions flowing in!
My
wife is choking me out, I'm
blowing millions on
her stupid interior designing campaigns. Last
week she purchased a new rug
off Amazon, a US$920
rug, what am I supposed to do with the fucking rug when I'm
broke,
Roland?
Women don't understand the dynamics of making money, they just spend
and spend it probably out of boredom. She's trying to get me to
purchase two dogs, dachshunds. Do you know how much it'll cost to
bring those little idiots into the country and what for? After a few
weeks, she won't want them anymore!! Aye Aye"
“Women
can drive you crazy but you should keep her happy because you'll be
at peace. Bring the Dogs in and smile as you deliver them”
I said to him with all the pretence I could muster for he was/is the
boss, the rich man complaining about US$920 - the type of money I
didn't have.
Money,
I thought,
the little ghost keeps evading my presence,
if I had enough like the 70 year old, I could take my lady... the
lady and her provocative smile
with cherry
lip
gloss. The
perfect lady to replace my good-for-nothing wife... wife or more of a
live-in girlfriend. I'm
still waiting for her to leave my apartment but that wish seems
evasive with every passing day as she organizes (what was already
organizes) my apartment. He
was touching her soft hands and whispering something to her as she
laughed... hah hah hah... not too loud and not too shy, I was
laughing with her in spirit. What
could he have possibly
whispered in her small ears,
"Honey
my water just broke" or "One
of my old friends just died of old age"?
I
was dying to make out something of what he was saying to my lady.
Jesus,
the way she looked at him! Is
it possible to fall in love with someone way older or younger than I?
She
was with him for more than the money, they had a connection, they
understood each other and most importantly respected each other
as per what I observed.
I...
I
was jelly... Jealous,
I wasn't
getting any of that with my live-in lady
who did nothing but bring in more and more of her things into my
space. I
should
kick her out, her and all her pathetic blenders and glasses
- my
glasses were way better than hers. Yes,
I should get rid of her, the social X-ray she is
and save enough to acquire a fine piece like the old gentleman. Mr
Paul
called for the bill and soon the lunchtime meeting was over but I was
a different
person... I had a lady.
Back
at office, I relayed
the events of the meeting to my boys with the exception of what my
boss had said because clearly I hadn't
picked up any of that. Jimmy, the serious one had this to say,
“If a 20 year old lady has the intellect of a 30 year old man, it
is possible for the two to connect and actually have meaningful
conversations or fall in love. Age is nothing but a number unless it
is manifested in the way one acts, talks or thinks. There are men our
age (35) who still act and have minds of 20 year olds. Those men
won't be able to have a sensible conversation with an intelligent 20
year old lady. In the same light you won't be able to have a
conversation with a 20 year old lady who acts like a 16 year old
adolescent.” With that, Jimmy answered some of the questions in my
head about the lady, my lady of the day... the lady with a
provocative smile...
Cash, good cash will tint the age.. The old will look young and behave as such.. They will from their old eyes, Eye young women without a blink because greed drives them.
ReplyDeleteGreed or more like satisfaction. They are longing to fill a void and to be understood or listened to. It sucks being an old person though it comes with extra experience and enlightenment.
ReplyDeleteAge is a beautiful thing if you live through it well.
DeleteAge is a beautiful thing if you live through it well.
Deleteits more of satisfaction on both ends both have a void thats been built in them by their particular age group and cant stand being with a person of their age anymore. totally understandable
DeleteWow! Amazing piece. That's a true reflection of the society today.
ReplyDeletewow! so typical of my lunch dates, usually its more of the looking out what you were missing inside the office walls.
ReplyDeleteGreat piece. In the wise words of Aaliyah (God Rest Her Soul) Age ain't nothing but a number.
ReplyDelete