Swapping Places Chapter 29

Read Chapter 28 here. 

“Honey, what’s your schedule like today?” Daphne asked Kobby as she applied mascara around her eyelashes.

“The usual, I think…a meeting or two. Why, you’ve got plans today?”

“Yeah after my morning shift, I’m meeting up with Del. We’re going car shopping…is that what it’s called?”

“Who’s getting the car again?”

“Del. You said you’d get me a car soon and I’m patiently waiting so no pressure.”

“It’s going to be financed by her bank?”

“Yep.”

“Which car is she considering?”

“Um…we are keeping an open mind for now. Anything sleek and functional would do.”

“That shouldn’t be the only thing you look out for, you know. There are far more important checklist points.”

“I know…that’s why we have you. We are just going to ogle at cars and act all girly. When we make up our mind, we’ll let you know.”

“Okay. Don’t commit to anything.”

“Yes boss.” He chuckled.

“We might also pass by the salon but I hope to be back before it’s too late.”

“Don’t worry, you ladies have fun.”

“Thanks, darling.” Kobby bent over to kiss Daphne’s cheek and paused.

“What?”

“I don’t want to mess up your makeup. I’ve almost lost count of how long you’ve sat there brushing powder on your face.”

“Oh come on…don’t worry, I’ll fix it if you do mess it up.”

“Um…I don’t want to have powder in my mouth,” Kobby said and stood straight.

“That’s so unromantic of you, Kobby.” Kobby smiled and kissed the top of her head.

“Honey…”

“I know…that’s why we are going to the salon today. I’m going to take it off.”

“Good girl.” Daphne shook her head and resumed her facial work of art.

*

“So what are you doing to your hair?” Del asked when they sat down at the salon.

“Braids. Large and long.”

“Okay, I’ll go with extensions then.”

“Oh but why? What happened to us wearing the same look?”

“Nothing happened to it. We can still wear the same look. Let’s do extensions.”

“No, I want to wear braids. My husband goes gaga when I wear braids. I’m about to take off my weave-on. Can’t wear it again.”

“That is your problem, Daph. You have a husband to please, I don’t.”

“Robert doesn’t like you in braids?”

“He likes me, period,” Del said with a shrug as she flipped though pages of a magazine she had just picked up.

“Haha…do this for me, Del!”

“What’s the big deal about hairdo, Daph? There are braid caps now.”

“Oh no….the last time I took one off in front of Kobby, he freaked out. I think it almost traumatized him. I’m not going to put him through it again.” Del couldn’t help but laugh.

“You must have seriously freaked him out. How bad was your hair?”

“Oh it wasn’t that bad ooo! Kobby can just be a little dramatic sometimes.”

“Uh huh.”

“So is it going to be braids?”

“No.”

“Oh come on, don’t play hard to get. You know you’ll eventually cave in.”

“Nope, not today.”

“But why?” Daphne pouted.

“Because I’ve no business looking the way your husband wants you to look. I owe him no such obligation.”

“Do it for me.”

“Then I get to choose the color of the nail polish.”

“Something tells me you’re going to choose an awful color just to spite me.”

“Oh you do know me, twinnie. It’s so heartwarming!” Daphne groaned. Delphine laughed.

“So what’s it going to be, sis?”
The sisters came out of the salon a couple of hours later wearing loose braids down to their waist and purple colored nails. Daphne stopped and stared at her toenails as she wriggled them.

“It’s not so bad…”

“Come on, you hate it.”

“But I could grow to love it.”

“I can bet you a hundred cedis that you won’t,” Del said and opened the back door of their Uber vehicle. They sat down and the car drove off.

                                *

“Here are my babies!” Doreen said excitedly when the twins walked in.

“Good evening, mum,” they greeted. Daphne hugged her.

“How’s marriage treating you?”

“So far so good. Can’t complain.”

“Are you sure it’s not Kobby who’s supposed to say that?” Del said teasingly.

“Why don’t you get married so we’ll hear what you have to say?”

“Tell her for me,” Doreen said.

“Mummy, have you met Del’s new boyfriend?”

“Kakra has a boyfriend? Who, what’s his name? Where does he come from?”

“Calm down, mum. We’re not that serious.”

“Oh yes you are. Don’t try to downplay it. He’s good looking mum and he appears to be a gentleman. I’m sure you’ll like him,” Daphne said.

“Invite him over for dinner,” Doreen said to Delphine.

“But mum, he’s very busy…”

“Too busy to meet his potential mother-in-law? Then he’s not a serious boy. Tell him your mum and dad want to meet him.”

“Mum, please don’t scare him off.”

“Me? On the contrary, I’m going to give him something to think about so he can make up his mind faster.”

“Why are you in a hurry to send me off, mum? Do you not want me here anymore?”

“You two are too grown for me now. I want babies to pamper and spank. Gosh, I miss that.” The sisters laughed. 

“Honestly, it’s nice to see you both. You look nice. How long did you have to sit your butts down for this?” Doreen said, touching Daph’s braids.

“It was pretty quick…two, three hours tops.”

“I see…beauty is pain indeed.” The sisters laughed again. 

“Where’s dad?”

“He’s in the room.”

The sisters entered their parents’ bedroom with a loud greeting. Doreen shook her head with a smile and entered the kitchen. 

The four had dinner together and George asked Daphne how her marriage was faring.

“Not bad…we are not screaming at each other and hurling plates at each other so that’s a plus, right?” Daphne said. Her parents laughed.

“I’m impressed, honestly. I half-expected your husband to burst in here, complaining about you.”

“So you see, I’m not that bad, I can be such a great companion to be with.”

“Or Kobby just has high tolerance levels for everything Daphne,” Del teased. 

“Oh yes, he does. Mum, please is there extra food?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Could I please have some to take home to my husband? I don’t have the strength to stand on my two feet to cook tonight,” Daphne said.

“Sure, help yourself.”

“And how far with the car search? Found anything you like yet?” George asked Delphine.

“Yeah, a couple. I have to work with the amount available.”

“If your choice car exceeds it, you let me know. Your mum and I can top it up for you.”

“Oh you would?” Del asked gleefully.

“And what about me?”

“You’re married now, dear. You are no longer our burden,” Doreen said. Daphne pouted in mock anger.

“Don’t worry, when you are ready to buy one, let us know,” George said. Daphne’s face lightened up.

After dinner, the sisters cleared the table. Del washed the dishes whiles Daphne dished out the leftover food into plastic bowls. Del turned in time to see Daphne pop a piece of meat into her mouth.

“My dear sister and meat…”

“One for the road,” Daphne said and covered the bowl.

“Anyway, thank you for spending the day with me today. I’m sure there are a million other things you could have done with your time but choosing to spend it with me is something I don’t take lightly.”

“Oh, don’t mention it. I love hanging out with my double. I hate going to the salon alone. Today was well spent.” They hugged. Their mother entered.

“Panyin, I think your Uber is in.”

“Oh okay.” Del packed the bowls into a Shoprite polythene bag whiles Daphne went for her bag and phone. Father, mother and sister came out to see Daphne off. She waved at them after she had settled at the back of the car. They waved back. The driver asked if he could start. She said yes and he tapped the screen of his phone. He took off. 

                                 *

“How was your day?” 

“It was great actually. Spent the entire day with Twinnie going car window shopping if there’s a thing like that, we went to the salon and then came home to spend time with mum and dad. How was yours?” Del said as she straightened the bed cover around her. 

“Busy. A lot of clients trooped in today. My back and arms hurt.”

“Aww….it seems the masseur is in need of a massage.” They both chuckled.

“Yeah, I do. Would you do me the honours?”

“I suck at those things, Rob.”

“We have to correct that. You can’t be with a masseur and not be an expert in what I do.”

“Haha I hear you. So, my sister mentioned you to our mum today and he wants to meet you.”

“Okay…” Robert said after a second’s hesitation.

“I know…I’m sorry. Daphne blurted it out before I could stop her. But if you’re not ready, I could come up with an excuse.”

“Oh no, when you meet the right one, there’s no point in delaying the inevitable, right? Let’s do this.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, please tell me your dad isn’t a cop or a soldier.” Delphine laughed.

“Not even close. He’s not the problem. It’s my mum you should be worried about. Dad’s cool.”

“Oh I’ve a charm with women so I’m sure I’ll sail through.”

“Hmm…we shall see.”

                                    *

Kobby leaned against the bathroom door with crossed arms whiles Daphne showered and asked about her day. She narrated their rounds and they both laughed over the funny moments.

“How are your folks doing? It’s been a while since I visited. I should pass by one of these days,” he said.

“Yeah we can plan and pass by one of these weekends. And mum has asked Del to bring Robert over.”

“For what?”

“What do you think? She wants to meet Del’s new guy and possibly future husband.” Kobby rolled his eyes. 

“Why you rushing this? Del has known that guy for how long, three days?”

“Well, when you meet the right one, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve known each other, right? I once heard this theory that with guys, you can tell if a lady is the one in the first…was it the six or ten minutes? How true is that?”

“I don’t know…”

“What about me? When did you know I was the one? The first time you walked over to my table?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” he replied absentmindedly. Or was it when….

“I still think you shouldn’t rush Del into this. Del is an amazing lady. She will find a great guy.”

“And who says that can’t be Robert?” Kobby sighed.
© Josephine Amoako 2017