Hubert and I-Episode Four

“Morning love!” shouted Sam from the other end of the line “I want details, everything, spill it out girl,” “Not now Sam am heading to work but I promise to do so once I get to the office.” I pleaded. Samantha was always concerned and would pry in our lives that we were fond of calling her mother hen. “Okay, but one more thing how is he?” “Sam not now,” I insisted and begged Sam to call me back after an hour. Hardly had I settled in at my desk when the phone rang. It was Sam again still at it and this time round she had done a conference call. Caleb had also picked his mug of coffee and was seated facing me waiting in anticipation. “Hanna, how can you be working today?” shouted Alex, “Yes Hanna tell us why should you be working today?” backed Alan. Alexandra and Alana always behaved more like twins and they shared this special bond that left the group puzzled. “Talk to us Hanna and tell us all about it,” pleaded Tru. True was the modest one in the group and did not talk much. “See! Everyone wants to know what happened” went on Sam. “Ladies, relax I will give you all details in a few but do let me work first.” There was noise and arguments from the end of the line and I knew that the girls would not give me peace unless I gave them a tip of the iceberg. Summarizing the event to the ladies made them grow wild that they wanted to come over to my work place. I had to hang up the phone and work as it was a weekend and we had few hours of work that day. All that time Caleb did not move one inch he had eavesdropped on my conversation with the girls and he still wanted more details on what conspired the previous night. “Caleb what you heard me telling the ladies is just about it, what more do you want? “I argued. Caleb stood pointing his finger towards me “I smell something fishy going on Hanna and you just don’t want to tell me,” he insisted. Shaking my head I turned back to the monitor and continued working. The day seemed shorter as I had so much to handle that afternoon. Aside from the errands and the afternoon meeting with the girls I had also to prepare for my dinner date. Hubert had called me earlier that day reminding me of the dinner date and to give me details of the vehicle, driver and pickup time.

Arriving at Sam’s that evening; I was shocked to find the girls unusually on time and they were even winding up the meeting. Sam’s coffee table had bottles of wine and biting’s. “So what are we celebrating?” I asked looking rather confounded. “Us!” intruded Alex. “I just thought that we could hang out and have a drink,” confessed Sam. “Seat down and have a glass Hanna” offered Alana. Hesitantly, I sat on the sofa and I could tell from their looks that they had something they wanted to tell. “It would have been so nice if we were all included in the dinner plans Hanna.” Spoke up Alex “For us to meet Hubert and also be there for you just in case” went on Alex.  “The media people can be crazy at times you know” added Sam scratching her eyebrow. Nothing they said seemed to make sense. Confused I looked at each one of them trying to figure out what they were trying to say. Not able to hold it, Alana spilled it out. “We were wondering if you could ask Hubert whether it would be okay for us to join you guys on the dinner date” “please Hanna”. There was a chorus of pleading from the girls and it just melted my heart. Picking my handset I dialed Hubert’s number and walked out of the room. I was not sure what his reaction would be but I thought to just give it a try. After the second ring there was an answer from the other end. It was a familiar deep voice. As I spoke to Hubert I could see my girls eavesdropping on our conversation and trying to figure out what we were talking about. “Sorry ladies, but Hubert says that he had made arrangements for only the two of u,” I reported “But he would love to have you all at the dinner table tonight” I added. In a twinkle of an eye I found myself facing the ceiling as I had been lifted up by the girls and they were tossing me up and down in excitement. “Ladies please control yourselves!” I pleaded. My pleading had hit deaf ears as the screaming and shouting became louder. I had never seen those ladies that excited before.

The car that had been assigned to us had arrived at the parking in time. I was picked first and off we went to pick the other ladies from their respective homes. The journey to the venue was rather a long one as none of us knew exactly where we were heading to. The suspense had made my girls and I silent throughout the entire journey. We had shared a few giggles due to the excitement and then everyone and gone mute. The scene at Mtwapa town caught our attention and broke the silence for a while. The town was so alive and the people were so energetic it was as though they had just woken up and were ready to face the night. The vehicle drove five hundred meters from Mtwapa town and took a right turn. Aside from the sign posts that we read, we could hardly see anything outside as it was pitch dark and there were few structures along that route. The car pulled over and looking around all we could see were ruins. Jumba la Mtwana as it is famously known had a different view at night. The displayed lighting made the museum pleasant to look at. “Ladies, here we are, after me please.” Spoke the gentleman who had been assigned to chauffeur us. He was smartly dressed in a black suit, white shirt and a striped tie. Walking through a rough pathway with our high heeled shoes the designated driver led us into a cave. Hubert had stood at the cave entrance waiting for us and as we approached him he could not hide his smile. “Welcome ladies, it must have been a long journey?” he asked. “Not really, since we were enjoying the night view.” interjected Alex. Alex had always been the loudest in the group however at times she would completely shy off. Hubert was in white linen and white sandals. His silver chain and bracelet flickered in the deem lights. The cave ambiance was magnificent with a mixed blend of modern and vintage décor. It was amazingly warm and cozy inside. The cave looked like a small mountain that had had a volcanic eruption once upon a time. You could actually see the stars above from inside the cave. The cave had been beautifully lit and tables well set with lovely skirting’s. The tables had very expensive cutleries displayed. There was a beautiful well equipped bar with tall wooden chairs. I did not fail to notice the bar tender keeping himself busy wiping and tiding up the already cleaned surface. There was a huge well-polished black piano and playing it was a grayed haired man in a black tuxedo and he struggled reading the music notes. However, he was playing nice soft music that took you back in the days. We were surprised to realize that we were the only guests at that small cozy restaurant. Hubert had ushered us to a round six seat table and being a true gentleman he had pulled a seat for each lady and made sure we were all comfortably seated. We were delighted to a three course meal and we all had a wonderful conversation. By the time we were done with dinner everyone was at ease and felt at home in that cave. We were free to get our own drinks from the bar and as if that was not enough, we were entertained with music from Spain. There was a hired group that entertained us with salsa. On few occasions we would join the team and the gentlemen would lead us in the dance. Our enjoyment was suddenly interrupted by a threatening loud sound that had shaken the cave.  Terrified we all gathered at the center of the cave and looking up the roofless cave, we all tried to search the skies for answers.