Back in Chicago, Idina was in bed, wearing only a spotted t-shirt and panties. She had her laptop on her thighs and was typing an email when she received the video call from Rosie. Her heart immediately stopped pounding, and she glanced over the unfamiliar room, posters of classic hip-hop stars pasted on the walls. The sound of a shower patted down behind the closed bathroom door. She crept out of bed, leant against a blank part of the wall and finally answered the call.

“Hey,” she said, when Rosie appeared on the screen. “I thought you had forgotten about me.”

“I would never! I was still settling in Africa,” Rosie winked. “The weather here brightened things even more than I anticipated.”

“You could see the sunlight off the ocean in the distance like you always wanted to?” asked Idina.

“Sadly not. I’m far away from the sea breeze. I only see a shard of bright sunlight streaming in through a gap in the curtain.”

Idina laughed. “Aaah and you shield your eyes as you pull yourself out of bed and go over to the window to draw back the curtain.” They both laughed. “I miss you so much,” said Idina.

As Rosie was about to respond, she froze, as if something caught her eyes. Her stare became intense.

“What is it?” Idina asked when she saw her friend’s eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“That t-shirt.”

Oh shit. The t-shirt! Idina thought, lingering like there was something on her mind, words she didn’t know to speak.

“Oh, uhm. I borrowed it from my father. We were actually busy painting his room with mom.” She faked a smile.

“Oh, it just reminded me of someone. Tej.”

“Tej as in your ex-boyfriend?” asked Idina, glancing over the bathroom door.

“I’ve been thinking about him, Idina.” Rosie’s voice broke breathlessly in her throat. “I hate to say it but I really miss him. I’m almost on the verge of calling him.” Idina looked at her with a mixture of tenderness and surprise.

“Don’t tell me you still love him.”

“I don’t know,” Rosie replied, stiffly. “I really don’t. I’ve met someone here and I kinda like him.”

“Good,” said Idina, bluntly. “You really have to move on and forget about him.”

“You think so?”

“I know so because I saw him yesterday at the mall holding hands with another girl. It is obvious he has moved on and you should do the same.”

A flash of disappointment seemed to crush Rosie.

“Yeah. You’re right. He and I are history anyway,” she said. “Anyway, I really want you to be here on Saturday for my big day. I’ll be crowned as Queen. My mom is also here.”

“Urhm. I will have to speak to my parents.” Idina sounded as if she already had other plans for the weekend.

“I will book you a flight,” Rosie pleaded, and Idina heard the shower water stop running.

“Okay. I will get back to you. I promise. Right now I have to go. My dad is calling out for me,” she said.

“Alright. I love you.”

“I love you too and thanks for the call.” They blew kisses and she disconnected, closed her laptop and released a huge sigh, licking her lips nervously.

“Who were you talking to?” a man’s voice startled her. It was a young, light-skinned guy with pink big lips and long blonde dreadlocks. He had towel wrapped around him and his six pack was dripping wet.

“No one. Just a friend.”

After the call Rosie felt hot lava pulsing through her veins. Her heart exploded across her face with anger. She couldn’t believe that Tej had replaced her when she was miserable thinking about him. Clicking her tongue, she grabbed her cell phone again from the table and went through her pictures. When she came across her favourite with him, tears threatened. She never wanted to delete the picture. Her arms were wrapped around his waist and he wrapped his arms around her neck, both smiling at the camera.

She was so in love and felt so much as if their relationship was going to last forever. It was a memory hurtful to Rosie and she wished to reverse time – to love him again. To prove that she did. To be a better woman than she was before. And now there was another woman making him happy. A tear slipped down her cheek after she deleted the picture.

She went to the kitchen and found Jude sitting at the table drinking coffee and devouring cheese grillers and meatballs.

“Hey,” he greeted, with his mouth full.

“Hi.” She brewed up a fresh cup of coffee.

“I guess this good coffee always wins, even if the sun is burning outside,” he tried to joke, but Rosie seemed far away with her mind. “Are you okay?”

“No! You boys are bloody scavengers.” She snapped her jaws shut but Jude was shocked to have heard the words come out of her mouth. She wanted to cry with her emotions spilling over into anger but she couldn’t, especially not when her servant Nicolette appeared and said her bodyguard wanted to see her.

Yasteer, just the man I needed to see, she thought. Apologising to her brother, she followed her servant.

“I wondered where you were,” Rosie said, feverish to see him with his new suit.

“Hey. Would you like to go out and have some fun?” Straight to the point, and Rosie was caught by surprise.

He must have been in a good mood and she desperately wanted that Yasteer at the time. “Are you asking me out on a date?” she smiled, curiously.

“No. Yes. Ummh,” he paused ominously, “just as friends, just as friends.” He smiled his rare smile.

Excitement clenched in her stomach and the fact that he had finally agreed, and considered them friends, made her happier.

“Get the car ready, I will be there in a minute.”

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