Thabo reached his destination. He parked his car on the pavement in front of his best friend’s house. Sanele, Thabo’s friend, was home waiting for him. Sanele was in the kitchen when Thabo rang the bell.

“Come in! The door is not locked, Tbos,” Sanele shouted.

Thabo walked in and Sanele could tell by the look on his face that Thabo had a favour to ask. 

Even though Thabo and Sanele had known each other since Grade 11, Thabo still struggled with asking favours from his best friend.

“I fail to understand you, Thabo, sometimes. Why is it difficult for you to ask for help or a favour when you need one?” Sanele once asked him.

Thabo chuckled and said, “I simply don’t want to take advantage of you because you are my rich friend.”

“Tbos, you know we ate noodles together and sometimes we slept with empty stomachs at university. What I have now is mostly an inheritance from a father I didn’t know I had until he was on his death bed,” Sanele said.

“It is all the same, Sanele, mfethu. I can’t help but ask a favour from you when I’ve exhausted all my other options.” Thabo closed the conversation with these words. Sanele simply sipped his coffee and changed the TV channel.

Now, when Thabo walked into Sanele’s house, he had the same look he always had when he needed a favour. 

“Spit it out, Thabo. What is it, mfethu?” Sanele asked, joining Thabo on the couch.

“Do you remember that girl I told you about?” Thabo asked.

“Which one? There are many girls who think this is your house,” Sanele said, chuckling. 

“I am talking about the girl I had my crush on while I was attending Mfuleni High,” Thabo said, looking at his friend who said nothing but stared at him, waiting for him to say more.

“Well, umh, I asked her for lunch at my place,” Thabo said.

“That’s great news, Tbos. So what’s the problem? Are you nervous since you’ll be seeing her for the first time after so many years?” Sanele asked. 

“That’s not entirely it, bro. She thinks my house is your house. You know most of the pictures I post on Facebook are taken from your place. Everything happened so fast and I asked her to lunch before asking you first,” Thabo said, wiping his face with his hands. 

“Eish! Tbos, you should have asked me, bro yam,” Sanele said, biting his lip.

Sanele looked at his friend and he could tell that he was holding a prayer inside. That was true. Thabo was praying for Sanele to spend the following day at his girlfriend’s place. He couldn’t imagine himself postponing his lunch with Thandiwe. What if the only chance to meet with her was the following day’s lunch?

“I understand, bro, if you have plans. I thought you were going to Nelisiwe’s place tomorrow. I’ll just tell Thandiwe we will have lunch another time,” Thabo said.

Nelisiwe was Sanele’s girlfriend. Despite his big beautiful house, he spent most of the time at his girlfriend’s much smaller house. Thabo, on the other hand, spent much of his time at Sanele’s house. 

“Why don’t you take her to a restaurant or something?” Sanele asked his friend.

“I already told her we were going to meet at my place. I mean your place. You know what I mean,” Thabo said.

“It’s OK, Tbos, I get you. You can have the place to yourself tomorrow because I’ll be at Nelisiwe’s place the whole day,” Sanele said, walking to the kitchen to pour juice.

“Thank you, bro! I don’t know where I would be without you having my back,” Thabo said, happily.

“I have a question for you though, Tbos,” Sanele said when returned from the kitchen. He put the glasses on the coffee table.

“What is it?” Thabo asked, drinking his juice.

“When are you going to tell Thandiwe the truth? You know you won’t be able to keep lying to her saying this is your house for long. From the way you describe her, she is nothing like any other girl that I let you bring here,” Sanele asked with a serious face.

“I will tell her everything when the time is right, Sanele, mfethu. I might tell her the truth tomorrow when I meet her,” Thabo said, brushing his chin.

Thabo was thinking hard about Sanele’s question. When was he really going to tell Thandiwe the truth? After how many dates was he going to be ready to tell her the wealth she thought he had was not his?

“Might? No. You must tell her the truth, Tbos. The sooner the better. If she truly feels something for you and is not into you because she thinks you are wealthy, she will stay. If not, she will leave you. Either way I think is a win for you. As much as you want her in your life, you want her to love you for who you truly are,” Sanele said. 

“Wow! When did you become so good with relationship advice, Sanele? I can see Nelisiwe’s impact on your life. She really is for keeps,” Thabo said, chuckling.

“Stop joking, maan, Thabo. I mean it. You need to be honest with her,” Sanele said.

“I hear you, Sanele. My relationship with Thandiwe shouldn’t be built on lies,” Thabo said.

Thabo hung out with his friend for about two hours before driving back to his place in Gugulethu.   

Tell us: Have you ever lied to try to impress someone? How did it work out?