I’d like to drive myself. We could meet at Café 41 in Eastwood Village. How does that sound?”
“That’s p-perfect too. Seven, Café 41, Eastwood Village. Seven. Café 41. I’ll b-be there by six forty-five.”
Thando smiled at his bumbling behaviour and tried to stifle a laugh. She found him incredibly charming, because he could change in a split second from being confident and dignified to resembling an awkward teenager. She was definitely beginning to like him.
* * *
Thando felt eager to meet Mandla again and yet anxious too. What if he was a con man as well? What if he was wooing her for personal gain? She stood midway between the car park and the entrance to Café 41, hesitating to go in. Then she decided to walk back to her car, her head spinning with more questions.
What if Zodwa was right? What if she was so afraid to get hurt again that she would rather miss out on a great opportunity to meet someone new? Had she really stopped living? Would she really develop cobwebs?
Thando chuckled at how ridiculous she was being and mustered up the courage to walk into Café 41. As she entered, she saw Mandla sitting at a table, reading the menu.
Heads turned towards her, for she looked remarkable in her figure-hugging black mini dress. Her long braids were tied back into a bun, revealing her large eyes, her long, slender neck, her rosy, slightly plump cheeks and a high, prominent forehead.
The mini revealed her full bottom and hips, her tiny, well-defined waist and reasonably buxom chest. Her black stockings showed off shapely, strong legs that looked incredibly sexy in stilettos. As an added benefit, the heels made her look at least three inches taller. The look was quite a change from her usual uniform of bell-bottom jeans and colourful tops that Zodwa always made fun of.
Mandla looked up and beamed when he took note of her presence. The more she saw him smile, the more he made her heart skip a beat. As she walked towards him, she felt her heart beat faster and faster like a choo-choo train.
He rose and greeted Thando with a warm bear hug, which instantly made her feel safe in his arms. She inhaled his scent and sighed. He pulled out a chair for her and as he took his seat, they gazed into each other’s eyes, which made her laugh nervously.
“Why are you laughing?” He raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“You have a contagious smile. It makes me want to smile,” she replied, picking up her menu.
Thando studied the pasta dishes, trying to make up her mind between the Alfredo or beef lasagne. She heard her stomach growl, reminding her that she had not eaten since they left for the youth centre earlier on.
“I hope you don’t mind me saying that you look wonderful,” Mandla said.
She looked up from the menu and smiled.
“Forgive me for staring as you were approaching, but wow! I couldn’t help but be captured by how graceful you look when you walk.”
“Thank you,” she replied coyly. Thando wondered what was going through Mandla’s mind as he gazed at her. It didn’t feel as if he was undressing her with his eyes. Instead, it was an appreciative look coupled with subtle desire. It made her feel sixteen all over again. What a strange feeling.
The waiter, a lanky young man with a friendly expression, interrupted their moment to take the drinks order.
“May I have guava juice first and then a glass of red wine, please?” she asked.
“Make it a bottle of your best red wine,” Mandla requested in an authoritative voice. There was something seductive yet sophisticated about the way he talked. He had an aura that dignified men usually had, as if he were above anything petty.
The waiter scurried to the bar and was back in two minutes.
“Wow, service is never this fast in Pretoria. It must be you,” Thando said and winked at Mandla, who looked pleased.
“Are you ready to place your orders?” the waiter asked.
“I’ll have the beef lasagne, with a side salad,” she said.
“And I’ll have the same, thank you.”
“Sure,” the waiter responded before dashing away again.
“Thandooo,” Mandla drawled, fixing his lips so that the “o” in her name dragged on. He was teasing her and she was enjoying it. “That is love. I think it’s an apt name for a beautiful woman like you.”
“I think you’re right,” she replied with a slight smirk.
He emitted a rich laugh, which made her blush. She wasn’t sure why she felt shy all of a sudden, but since she’d met him, she seemed to be confused about her emotions.
Fortunately he distracted her. “So tell me, how did you get started on the youth centre project?”
“It was Zodwa. She opened the centre four years ago, in memory of her father.”
“What happened to him?”
“He had a massive heart attack. It was unexpected, because he was a very healthy man. It really crushed her.”
“Losing a loved one is never easy.”
Thando nodded and then continued, “She misses him a lot. He was a very wealthy man and left her all his fortune. That’s how she built the centre, but she would give all the money up to spend time with him again.”
“Money can’t replace time, love and affection,” Mandla said reflectively.
Thando wondered if he had been through a similar experience. “Love is very important. It’s what makes us human. Without it, there’s no existence,” she said.
He lifted his eyes and smiled. “Spoken like a true romantic. Do you believe in love at first sight?”
She smiled. “I used to. Until I discovered that love at first sight may well be lust at first sight.”
He laughed. “You don’t strike me as a cynic.”
“I’m not, I’m a realist. How can you love someone you don’t know?”
“I think it’s possible.”
“When you meet someone for the first time, you don’t know what their idiosyncrasies are. You don’t know their character or their spirit. You have to get to know someone before claiming that you love them. Don’t you think?”
“Well, I believe love has the ability to strike soul mates at their first encounter. Have you ever met someone you had a deep, meaningful conversation with, someone who made you feel like you were old friends, even though you had just met?”
“Sure.”
“Wouldn’t you call that love at first sight?”
Thando thought about it and had to admit that Mandla had a point. But she needed further convincing. He was proving to be a good conversationalist and that
