Execution Plan

I am annoyed at Calvin Gyamfi. Christine has put such a good word of him, and yet he couldn’t come to her birthday party.  But I cannot be mad at him. Calvin is a very occupied man, so it's no surprise that he didn't come to Christine's birthday party. 

But he promised her. When it comes to being there for your siblings, you must know that there is a bond, unlike any friendship. However, that's why I am Christine's best friend. I need to present her with the best gift.

Even though it isn't her birthday anymore. 

I am not an idiot, though. I highly doubt that the CEO of Danial’s Corporation will reply to me without thinking that I'm some liar. And even if he does, it could take months for him to consider coming to Toronto. But, if I can persuade him, then I’m sure that she’ll meet him again. I have a lot of planning ahead of me.

But right now, I am comforting a moping Christine. Both of us are sitting on our favourite rotting bench in High Park. We always sit here to talk about stuff. Christine has her elbows on her thighs, and she is covering her face with her hands. She is sulking (more than usual) and seeing her in this state sucks. The worst part is that I don't know how to help. Usually, I would give her advice about how to deal with her problems.

But I am an only child.

"Don't worry Christine. I'm sure he will come next time," I reassure her. Looks like I said the wrong thing because Christine lifts her face. She then looks at me and gives me an 'are you dumb?' look. I have no idea why she is giving me a dirty look.

I’m going out of my way to help her. I could be at home watching true crime videos, but here I am.

"What?!" Christine’s face softens when she hears my defensive tone. My question causes Christine to sigh and sit up against the bench. 

"I know that you’re trying to help, but that isn’t going to happen. Calvin has missed my birthday for the past five years. And even though I knew he wasn’t going to come, I still let my hopes up. But I constantly get disappointed." Christine sniffs once she is done speaking. I sink into my seat in defeat.

If Christine can’t convince her brother, then I am truly up for a challenge. But I’ve dealt with worse things.

"Do you want him to come?" I ask genuinely. Christine nods frantically. I smile internally, I can tell that when I bring Calvin here, she will be happy.

"I just want to see my brother again. We video chat every now and then, but now it isn’t enough. He used to visit a few times a year. But now, he doesn't visit at all." Christine chuckles at how puny her voice is. 

"I know that I sound like a brat. But he is the only family member that has supported me when I come here to study for my bachelor’s and Master’s," I nod at Christine's words. I don't think she's being a brat at all. Christine really cares for her brother, and she wants to see him again.

After a few seconds, we both laugh. I don't know why, but even when either of us is feeling our worst, we can find comedy in the situation. Christine and I then spend the rest of the time talking about anything and everything.

I smile softly at Christine. She’s lucky to have someone like a brother that cares about her. I can tell that bringing her brother to Toronto will be a difficult task. However, this is Christine fucking Gyamfi. I will do anything to make her happy.

And seeing my best friend smile will be more than enough for me.  

"Besides," I look at Christine as she smirks. "I thought that we were here to 'spill the tea,'" I roll my eyes at Christine. She always has that weird look whenever something happens to me. But she is the only person that I can be able to tell this particular story. This is the first time I feel so dirty about a night with a guy.

I mean, there's Johnathan, but I'm ready to tell him yet. 

"So, I went with a few colleagues from work to the bar. We were having a good time and this guy approached me. He wasn't ugly, but he wasn't handsome. One thing leads to another, and I left with him," Christine nods and folds her legs. 

"Was he good?" I almost facepalm at her question. Christine is saving until marriage. Yet she asks me like she knows what a good lay is. 

"I would give the guy a four out of ten. He kept on trying too hard, and he wasn't that big. Then I found out that the loser was married and had other side hustles if you know what I mean.

So, I took screenshots of his messages and sent them to his wife. I’m hoping that she will leave him," I retell last weekend’s events with a perfect narrator’s voice. Christine gasps and covers her mouth as I simply spill the tea.

Christine then goes on about how safe I should be. Which makes me internally roll my eyes because I’m not an idiot. I know how to avoid diseases and pregnancies.

I refuse to get pregnant from a one-night stand.

Christine then takes off and says goodbye. I wait for her to leave then look up at the sky. The cyan hue allows my thoughts to run free. Recently, I have been thinking of my past actions. Thanks to the recent incident, I must be mindful about how my actions might harm others (even though I didn’t know he was married).

I’m beginning to resent my past actions. My childhood wasn't the best, and because of that, I have found commitment to be very scary. Why should I attach to people who will eventually leave me in the end? However, what I'm doing isn't wise. Without knowing it, I’m harming other people who I’ll most likely never meet again.

My eyes become blurry as I try (and fail to) deny the truth about myself. Despite being crushed by people’s selfishness for years, I still desire to be in a loving relationship. I wipe away the tear and face the task at hand.

I need to make sure that Calvin comes into Toronto. 

I look down at my phone. If I ask Christine about what Calvin's number is, she'll get suspicious. So, with a sigh, I go onto Calvin's social media. Once I’m there, I send an honest message to him. 

“Hey, Calvin.

I’m sure you’ve never seen me message you before, but I was with Christine when you couldn’t come to her birthday party. You really hurt her feelings and she cried on that day. As one of her closest friends, I want her to be happy. And I think that it’ll be nice if we can plan for you to visit her later this year. You may have missed her birthday, but I’m sure that it isn’t too late.”

I press send and quickly get off the app before I’m tempted to delete it. Do you ever have those moments when you need to message someone, but then once you send it, you feel dread? And waiting for the looming reply makes you anxious?

Just me? Okay.

While I wait, I try taking my mind off it. I go back home and change for work. I then drive to the building and do my job. Work was fine. As I said, not much goes on in the studio; apart from once every few months when the kids start acting up.

As I leave the building, the worst thing about my job calls me up. I plaster on my best fake smile and wave to him. He comes up to me and we have a mild conversation, but I don’t even want to think about this, but I remember this conversation dragging on forever.

Once he finally shuts up and leaves me alone, I walk out and go towards my car. As I am about to open the driver seat, the ding from the app pops up, I look down and I see that Calvin has responded. I smile once I try to look at his message.

This is going to be the message where Calvin will say yes. He will be so thrilled that I, Christine’s best friend, have contacted him and will make plans with me for him to visit her at Toronto.

Trust me, the next thing you'll read will be about how Calvin came to Canada.