“Thanks for Everything”

Anne sat at the study table in her living room. She never did that. The study table was more of a living room ornament than a functional work station. She worked at a restaurant as a short order cook, she didn’t really need a study table. She just liked how she had decorated her study corner in the living room. It was the whole pink and black aesthetic of course it wasnt much of a corner in such a small living room but she liked it nonetheless. She’d toyed with the idea of a youtube vlog too. But those were dreams long past, now she worked long hard shifts for just enough for her and her little one bedroom house in the city. It wasn’t much but it was a lot more than Jim was making right now. Jim was her boyfriend whose not her boyfriend (yet she hoped). He’d been down on his luck, tarmacing. Jim had called her at work; she usually wouldn’t answer but he had called so many times she’d thought there was an emergency of some sort. He sounded frantic and troubled while he told her how he needed about 200 thousand shillings to sort out some issue with this new venture he’d been starting. She tried to pay attention when he rumbled about his future but she often didn’t retain much. She wished him well, that was enough. Anyway, she was working and promptly promised to call him later.

She worked the night shift so it meant she got home at around 3am in the morning, usually dog tired. On this particular day, no matter how tired she was she couldn’t seem to fall asleep. Jim needed her. She was up at 6am, doing the math. she figured if she moved around some savings, make a few cost cuts around the house she could swing about 100 thousand. She glanced at her phone; the screen was cracked but functional. She’d been meaning to replace it but hadn’t gotten around to it. That had to wait, Jim needed her. It was 6:20. Jim was probably asleep on one of his friends couches. From past experience, she knew he silenced his phone when being hosted so as ‘not to disturb the host’. She texted him. “Babe? Are you awake?”. The reply came in quick. “Yeah. any luck?”. Without hesitation, she began typing, “So we have like 100k. Will that help?” She stared at first, then retyped it “So I can pull around 100K. Itatosha?” and pushed send. She stared at the typing bubbles intently. She secretly wanted him to get on his feet and make things official. He always said “Babe, you know I can’t wife you when I’m broke. Mahari huko kwenu ngori.” She’d met all his friends and they spent every waking moment together when he wasnt with them. The way Anne saw it, this was an investment in her future marriage. The reply came in, crying emojis first, her heart sank. “Aki weuh! 100 is not enough. You can’t try aki. Aki babe.” She could practically hear the disappointment in the text, she was letting her future husband down. “Let me see what I can do Babe. Aki pole babe.” She tried to sound sympathetic but also determined to help. He didn’t reply for another 10 mins. Anne decided to make her breakfast, she was beating eggs when her phone finally buzzed across her kitchen. She practically ran to it. “Sawa.” The reply was kurt she could tell she’d disappointed him. She decided the best way to comfort him was to get him what he wanted.

Anne would spend the day calling almost every one she knew. The story she was using was that she had fibroids that needed to be taken out. She wasn’t entirely creative. She’d watched a talk show where they were discussing it. She knew it was not always life threatening and she knew the operations costed well over what she needed. By mid day, she had the full amount and just in time, to call him and give it to him personally. She dialled his number but he didn’t pick up. She thought nothing of it and sent a text instead. “Babe, where are you? Can we talk?” The reply was instant “I’m at my boy’s. Ulipata?” Anne replied almost giddy “Of course babe. I could’t let you down. You can come for it?” He said give him an hour.

Anne had an hour to get ready for her reward. She tidied up and hoped in the shower. She showered for longer than usual, she knew he did his best work when he was happy and relaxed. And today, she had taken a lot of his stress away and given him a reason to be happy. He had never made such a big request. Actually, at first she would offer small favours here and there when he mentioned he was suffering and he would refuse it. But he had slowly accepted help for small things like new clothes and a small allowance but never anything big. She told herself he felt ashamed having to rely on his future wife to get by and that’s why he asked so little. But this was big and if everything went well, Anne would finally have him, the way she wanted; all to herself.

She put one of his tshirts and waited for him. She didn’t just wait, she anticipated and fantasized about her future with Jim. By the time Jim knocked, she felt even better about this decision to ‘boost him’. When she opened the door, she hugged him so tightly that he pushed her off lightly asking “Kwani what’s up?” with an awkward giggle avoiding eye contact. “Nothing! I’m just happy to see you.” Anne replied as she let him in. Before Jim even sat down he asked “Sooooooo? Form?” Another awkward giggle. “We can do a bank transfer. I have an app. Sit down. Si ata you get comfortable.” Anne sat on the couch pulling Jim down with her. Huddled over her phone, he looked over her shoulder as she transfered the money to him. His phone buzzed a few seconds after she had hit send. Her heart sank but Jim was finally smiling. “Yes! Aki thanks babe. Aki you dont know how much I needed this.” Jim said cheerfully all while hugging and kissing her. What followed was less of she had even hoped for. She wouldn’t describe it as worst she’d ever had. It seemed rather bland almost obligatory to her than appreciative. While he slept from undeserved exhaustion, she stared at him again imagining the almost certain days ahead. It would a series of celebrations and love she had not known before. She thought nothing of the repurcussions of telling everyone in her circle she had massive fibroids. She was blissfully oblivious.

She stared at him one last time lying peacefully on her bed before she scribbled a note “Leave the key at the usual place” and left it for Jim as she ran off to start her shift. She would fantasize all day almost burning a few dishes in the process. Over her break, she called her best friend, Connie and filled her in on what she thought was the biggest romantic leap someone could take. Her best friend had been apprehensive about Jim but on this phone call she was more than apprehensive. In fact, Anne thought Connie was just rude about the whole thing. She churned out all the questions Anne had failed to ask her self while she ‘hustled’ for the money. “Why did he ask you first, Anne? Si he has so many friends? Si you told me about that friend of his that lives in sijui Runda ama ilikuwa Rosslyn and drives a prado? Aliruka hawa wasee wote for you and your peanut salary?” All very logical questions but also rude. Anne stuck to her guns making up excuses for him where she could but eventually she said “Ah we ishahappen.” before hanging up. Her fantasies were now replaced by doubts and fears which Anne tried her best to shun away.

Her work shift ended and Anne headed straight home even reading on the bus home to keep herself from thinking about all the things that could go wrong. She kept thinking “He didn’t say he’d pay me back. Will he?”. An old couple got on the bus startling her from her thoughts. As she watched them help each other on the bus, she decided to trust Jim. After all, she had committed herself in her mind and with her wallet to this man. She texted him “Hey. Uliweza kusort?”. The phone buzzed a few seconds later, her phone buzzed again. She excited to check it. Another donation to her imaginary fibroids. She put her phone away and began to fantasize again. When Anne got home, she found her dishes done and the living room tidied up. Jim also made the bed and left her a note reading ‘Thanks for everything.’ Anne smiled and texted him again. “Found your note. You’re welcome Babe.” She had dinner and slept.

***

It had been three days since she had heard from Jim. He had sent a text saying he would be out of town sorting out the issue and it would take a few days before they could speak again. Anne didn’t think anything of it and wished him luck on his trip. It was a Saturday, Anne’s day off. So she slept through most of it being tired from back to back shifts at work. Also considering she was now a bit broke and the love of her life was out of town. She literally had nothing to do. When she woke up at around lunch time, She checked her phone first. There were a few more donations to her invisible fibroids and a bunch of missed calls. The number of times Connie had called alarmed her more than anyone else. They hadn’t been speaking since she had proved to be unsupportive of her relationship so it was a bit out of the ordinary. Connie had also texted “Call me as soon as you wake up.” Anne dialed Connie’s number urgently.

“Anne? Where are you?” Connie sounded distressed.

“Home. Why?”

“Have you been online today?”

“No. I just woke up. Connie whats wrong? You’re scaring me.” Anne laughed awkwardly.

“Jim.”

“Jim? Jim is away on business.”

“Anne I don’t think it’s business he’s away for.”

“Huh? Connie what are you talking about?”

“Ok let me just tell you the whole story. So I was IG right. You know I follow this socialite huko. The one I was telling you went to Bali with her boyfriend and hid his face so well even the bloggers are thirsty to know who she is. You know her nani!”

“Ah Connie I haven’t even had coffee today. Get to it!”

“So I was her IG, sindio? She’s getting married today.”

“Ah Connie! Please tell me you haven’t left me 6 missed calls cause you want to gossip about a celeb. Ata I’m still mad about the shit you said about Jim.”

“Ok ok since you want to be a bitch. Let me just send you the screenshots you can judge for yourself how gossipy it is.” Connie hung up.

Anne’s phone buzzed continously in a few seconds with dozens of photos from Connie. Anne rolled her eyes as she opened them. What she saw next would break her instantly. It was Jim getting married. The wedding was flashy and as intended looked like the wedding of the year at least. Anne kept swiping left over the photos, not feeling or saying anything at first just taking it all in. The last picture was the bride holding up a bag she had just been gifted by her new husband. Connie captioned it “Bloggers have already done research. The bag costs about half a million.” Anne threw her phone across the room in a fete of rage. She screamt at the top of her lungs for a few seconds before she began to sob quietly. She couldn’t believe it. That he had been engaged all this time, they had been ‘friends’ for about 8 months. That she had given him money to buy his future bride her wedding gift all while Anne fantasized about her life with him. How could she have been so stupid? Not just putting up her savings but basically traumatising her whole family in the process. All she had now was a note “Thanks for everything.”

“Everything? So basically he broke up with me in a cryptic note.” Anne thought to herself. As she did, the rage inside her began to burn, she wanted to plot her revenge. He deserved all the pain the world for what he’d done to her. She got up and picked up her phone realising it had another crack on the screen now. She began calling his number. No one picked up. The second time she called, it disconnected immediately. “He blocked me!” She screamt as if informing the non existent audience that was laughing at her pain. She began to sob again. Revenge was starting to seem more and more elusive while insanity creeped into her slowly. She replayed all the memories of their encounters together. She had thought she knew his friends but she had no way of reaching them right now. No numbers or social media handles. He was homeless according to her. She was in the dark. He’d left her in the dark.

Her phone buzzed again another donation to her fibroids. She needed to fix that, she knew but instead she opened social media and immediately searched for the socialite’s page. She watched every carefully curated story on her profile while she sobbed. From the makeup transformation in the morning to the church service to her ‘future husband’ dancing with his current wife at the wedding reception, pausing and zooming in every time the camera caught the groom. She was in the middle of this self inflicted pain, when she heard a knock on the door. “Could be him?”She thought to herself. “No stupid! He’s at his wedding reception.” She dragged herself to the door, picking up a tissue to wipe her tears before she got there. It was Connie. Vodka and ice cream in hand. When Anne opened the door and saw this, she broke down again instantly. Connie smiled and hugged her. She whispered in her ear, “Let’s get the son of a bitch!”