How do you dress on the night your dreams come true? I wanted everything to be perfect, absolutely perfect. I wanted to show Bonolo that I could be as sophisticated as any of the girls in Joburg. Sure, I couldn’t afford all the designer brands, but I could still look smart, sexy and successful.

“I wonder how he knows you?” Aunty Resego said as she was setting my hair.

“We went to school together. It’s not like I was completely invisible.”

“But you’re five years younger than him. In school he would have thought of you as a kid.”

“Maybe he’s seen me around.”

“Yeah … maybe. It’s just so sudden … and odd.”

“Why odd?” I was getting annoyed. I didn’t need this now. I was nervous. I wanted everything to be perfect. “He asked me out. It means he must have some interest in me. Are you saying I’m not good enough for Bonolo Mpate?”

“No … no, I’m not saying that.”

She kept quiet after that. I didn’t need more doubts. I had enough of them already.

*****

Bonolo arrived at the house in his car, a BMW, a blue one. Inside it smelled like perfume. Everything was cleaned shiny and sparkled. Bonolo opened the door for me and closed it like a real gentlemen. Where did he learn such manners? He grew up in Nokeng just like me.

“You look beautiful,” he said when he got in the car. He didn’t start it right away; instead he took a moment to look at me, to appreciate me. I chose a simple black mini dress that clung to my curves (I was proud of them) and simple black, high-heeled pumps. Aunty Resego had done my hair with curls all around my face and loaned me a set of fake pearls she’d inherited from her mother after she died. I thought I looked sophisticated. It looked like all the effort worked.

“We’re going to have fun tonight. I feel it already,” he said.

“I hope so.”

He started the car and headed out of Nokeng. “I thought we’d go to the cinema in Sunnyview; it’s nicer,” Bonolo said.

“OK.”

Sunnyview is one of the rich neighbourhoods west of Nokeng. Mostly white people and the very richest blacks live there. I’d never been to that cinema. It was about a half hour drive but I didn’t mind. His car was so comfortable and he had a fantastic stereo and all sorts of great music. I just sat back and relaxed.

The cinema was in the mall – a big indoor mall with chandeliers and a glass lift. If I’d have been with Poppy we would have gone straight to the lift which went up four floors. We would have ridden it up and down a few times before moving around the shops.

“The cinema is on the top floor. Lift or escalator?” Bonolo asked.

“Lift.”

He took my hand and led me to the lift. The entire thing was glass, even the floor. It was wild watching the floor and all the things under you move away downward. I definitely needed to get Poppy to this mall, I thought.

He picked the movie without asking me. I was OK with that, though, because I didn’t know a lot about movies. It was an action movie, something to do with the world in the future. Not really my kind of thing, but I didn’t mind. I didn’t mind mostly because as soon as we sat down, Bonolo put his arm around my shoulder. Once that happened, I could think of little else. He pulled me in closer to him and after a while I let my head rest on his shoulder. Everything was going perfectly.

“How’d you like the movie?” he asked as we left.

“It was nice.”

“Are you hungry?”

“A bit,” I said.

“You know, this mall has the best little restaurant. Not a lot of people know about it. They serve fantastic steaks. How does that sound?”

“It sounds great.”

Bonolo smiled. “You’re certainly an accommodating girl.”

I felt embarrassed that maybe Joburg girls were not accommodating and I was acting too happy just to be in this fancy mall with him. But that wasn’t it. I didn’t care much about the mall or the restaurant. I just cared that I was there with him. I’d have been fine just going to Jojo’s or taking a walk in the park. He was so handsome. He had perfect eyes and perfect lips and a perfect body. Forever, Bonolo was the man all other men had to work to be. He was perfection and tonight I was his date. That was what was overwhelming me.

“Sorry, I’ll try to be more argumentative,” I said. He laughed at that.

At the restaurant we got a booth at the back. He ordered a bottle of wine and fillets for both of us. “You’re going to love the food here.”

“I doubt it.” I smiled to show him I was trying out ‘argumentative’.

“You’re funny.” He filled my wine glass. “So, tell me about Vivian Kgathi.”

“Not much to tell. I work at a pre-school. I’m waiting right now for my Matric results – I rewrote. I’m hoping to become an English teacher, English literature. I love reading.”

“That’s great.” Though he said that, I got the feeling he hadn’t really heard what I said. But men are like that, not good listeners. “And boyfriends?”

“Boyfriends?” I asked.

“Do you have one?”

“No, not really. No-one serious.”

He smiled. “That’s good. I wouldn’t want to be pushing in on someone else’s territory.”

The food came and it was as good as he said it would be. We finished our steaks and shared some chocolate ice cream. He paid the bill and we walked out to the parking lot. At the car, before opening the door, he took me in his arms. “This has been a really nice night,” he said.

“Yes.”

Then he kissed me. I’d been kissed a million times by Bonolo – in my dreams. But my imagination was nothing like the real thing. He kissed me and then kissed me again. Then he opened the door and I sank down into the seat. I lay my head back and thought that dreams really did come true.

***

Tell us what you think: Was this Vivian’s dream date? What’s your dream date?