The Perfect Breakup (Part I)

Friday afternoons take the longest to end especially when it is your birthday weekend and you have plans. James and I had a trip planned for the weekend and I was very excited about it.

I found out about the trip a week prior when he surprised me with a flight ticket. We would be going to Samfya. I had always wanted to visit the town and spend time on the beach but I never liked the idea of driving for ten hours just to get there. I was so elated when I read the email with the flight information. I opened it every day just to make sure it was real and I wasn’t dreaming.

It had been a busy week at work for me. Between countless meetings and site visits, I had no time to pack or create a list of things that I would be carrying on the trip with me. I had to do all this the night before.

Most of my afternoon was spent in the office playing Spider Solitaire while waiting to knock-off. I had already finished my work for the day. As soon as the clock struck 5.30 pm, I left. I had about fifteen minutes before the store I was getting my new bathing suits from closed. I made it with only five minutes to spare and bought four bathing suits. I knew we would only be there for two days but I needed options. I always need options.

After getting the bathing suits, I bought a few other things I needed for the trip and headed home. I tried to call James but he didn’t pick up. “I can’t wait for tomorrow!” I texted instead. He didn’t reply. I assumed he was still at work and so I decided I would try and call him after an hour or two.

I finally got to my house and was greeted by Sasha, my dog. She met me at the door every single day without fail. After petting her for a few minutes, I changed into more comfortable clothes, turned on my speakers and started playing music out loud. I think Sasha could tell I was in a good mood and something exciting was happening. My best friend Ashley agreed to look after her while I was away.

“Oh, darling. I wish you could come with me. Sadly, you’ll have to stay with your aunt Ashley this weekend. I promise I’ll take you with me next time.” She let out a low growl, as if in response to me. I chuckled and walked to my bedroom with her following closely behind.

I laid out all my clothes for the trip on my bed, opened my suitcase, sat down and started packing. Sasha laid herself at my feet and I sang along to the 90s R&B songs blasting through my speakers as I packed.

After half an hour of packing, I looked at my phone and saw that I had a message from James. I wondered why I didn’t hear my notification alert but then quickly realised it was because of the sound of Lauryn Hill’s voice filling up the house. I turned the volume down and opened the message.
“Abigail, we need to talk,” it read. My heart sunk.

There were two things wrong with that message. Firstly, James never called me by my first name. Even when we argued he never called me Abigail. I was Abby to him and everyone else.
Secondly, we only ever “needed to talk” twice before this. When he was moving to another city for a few months for work and when he had something to say about my terrible online shopping habits.

With so many things running through my mind, I anxiously replied, “What do we need to talk about?” After what felt like 5 hours, but in reality, was only 5 minutes he replied.
“I’m breaking up with you. I know you weren’t expecting this but I have been thinking of this for some time. I believe this is what’s best for us,” the message read. I had never experienced heartbreak yet I knew what I felt in that moment was my heart breaking into a million pieces.

I remembered to breathe and eventually gathered the courage to reply:
“I don’t understand. I thought everything was okay. We were okay. We are okay. Did I do something wrong? Please tell me.” He replied almost immediately, “I’m sorry Abigail. I’m really sorry. You are an amazing woman but I can’t continue this anymore.” My first name, again.

When I didn’t respond, he tried to call me. I was trying to figure out how to react. As I didn’t pick up any of his calls, he sent another message, “You can still go on the trip tomorrow. Take Ashley with you. I’ll send all the hotel information and both flight tickets to your email. I’m sorry Abigail.” My first name, again.

I think Sasha knew something was wrong. She climbed up the bed and spread herself on my lap while I just sat there, motionless, trying to figure out what went wrong.

After an hour, I called Ashley.

“Hey girl,” she picked up excitedly, “I thought I was only getting Sasha tomorrow. Did I mix up the dates? Please don’t tell me I mixed up the dates.” I stayed quiet for a few seconds. All she could hear was me breathing. “What’s wrong?” a now concerned Ashley asked, “Abby, do I need to come over?”
In almost a whisper, I responded, “He broke up with me.” I only realised tears had started streaming down my face when Sasha licked my the. “I’m coming over,” Ashley said.

With my phone still in my hand and Ashley still on the call on the way to my house, I went on to cry for a few more minutes while Sasha cuddled me.

Part 2 here.

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Hey guys! Welcome to day 20 the final week of the Afrobloggers Winter Blogging Challenge! This week’s theme is story-telling. I decided to try something I’ve never really done before on my blog and write something fictional. This will be a three part story and will end on the last day of the challenge. What’s the point of a blogging challenge if you don’t try something new?

Don’t break-up with someone over a text message. That is rude. Please let me know in the comments if you were once in a relationship that ended over a text message. I would love to know!

Follow the blog to keep up with all the posts in this challenge! Also, find all WinterABC 2021 related posts here.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Wonani Xx

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