The Mechanic

20

The alarm rang and groggily, Sebina reached for her phone only to fall to the floor with a loud thump! Oh, yeah, she had slept on the couch and every inch of her body hurt.

She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Then she glanced at the bed and Bert was nowhere, the bed made neatly.

The door opened and he came in with a tray that had milk and two boxes of cereal as well as two bowls and spoons, nothing extra. "Good morning." He smiled at Sebina who looked absolutely horrible in the morning. "You look like you got hit by a truck."

"Thanks," she said. "Waking up really brings out the beauty in me. I'm gonna go brush my teeth and clean up. Be right back."

Bert laughed lightly as she walked away, part of her sleeping shirt stuck in her crack. He shook his head. "Crazy woman."

When Sebina came out, it was like she had not even looked the way she did when she woke up. She was beautiful, with her short hair neatly cleaned and curled, her face glowing and radiant despite the lack of makeup. Those skin treatments she paid for were really worth it, especially when she couldn't wear makeup often at her job.

Bert looked at her as she folded the blanket she slept with before she came to sit next to him. They ate their breakfast in peace, sharing jokes now and then and having a good time.

.

In the evening, it was time to work her magic so Sebina put on a sweetheart neck line royal blue velvet dress that hugged her body in all the right places, the slit in the left leg showing off her thigh while the floor length hem trailed slightly behind her. This time around she brought a makeup artist to beat her face and do her hair which she opted to wear in its natural state, her edges laid expertly by the makeup artist.

Bert had already left and she had less than an hour to drive to the venue.

The driver got her there with a few minutes to spare, just as the rain started. After thanking him, she got out on to the red carpet that was laid out, feeling like a celebrity as a man in a tuxedo held an umbrella over her head, shielding her from the rain while she held her dress like cinderella, trying not to get it wet at the bottom.

She was welcomed into the hall, an usher leading her to the doors which he opened for her just as the people inside stood up to clap for whoever had come onstage.

She looked at the stage and realised that it was the man himself, Bert Acheampong, and he seemed to be frozen for a moment, staring straight at her as she made her way to her table. He quickly came back to earth and started his talk.

Sebina moved from her table to where her target, Cass and her husband stood, clapping.

"Oh my!" Cass exclaimed, staring at her mid clap. "Dont you look beautiful!"

Her husband turned and eyed Sebina from head to toe. "Bless me," he said under his breath. "You don't look like a mechanic at all!"

Sebina laughed, internally rolling her eyes. "Thank you. Bert told me to dress up. Apparently this was really important. I tried my best to look good for the occasion."

Cass' husband nodded. "Before we even start the evening, would you care to join us at our table?"

Perfect. Sebina gave him a polite smile. "Unfortunately Bert is seated a little farther and I have to be by his side." Make them beg you, she thought.

"Well, that's alright. It must be nice to be newly engaged. I hope you will be able to join us later though. We are having a mini celebration for whoever gets the transport tender," Cass said.

Sebina winked at her. "Bert and I will be glad to be part of your entourage. Hopefully there'll be some drinking involved?"

Cass laughed. "You are a woman and half," she said. "There will definitely be some drinking."

"Take care," Sebina said, before walking away to her table.

After Bert's speech, he came over to Sebina with a proud smile. He made to hug her but she surprised him and placed a kiss on his lips, knowing that some people were watching, specifically Cass and her husband.

He looked at her in shock for a moment before she wiped his lips of the gloss she had left behind. She smiled and then sat down, inviting him to sit.

As the night continued, Bert kept glancing at her and when she looked at him, she was always wearing a smile that could convince anyone looking that she was in love with him. His heart broke because he knew that she was possibly not. His mood dampened and he excused himself.

Sebina, realising that something was wrong, followed him out into the almost empty hall. She stopped him.

"Is everything OK?"

He wiped his face and looked at her. "I think we made a mistake," he said. "I...I can't do this...look, I'll understand if you want to back out-"

She gritted her teeth. "No! You are not doing this, Bert! We are almost at the finish line and you are not going to ruin the night for yourself. Don't you want this tender?"

"This just got personal for me-"

"Leave your feelings out here! We can talk about them later but I didn't look this good for it to all go to waste. I know that we are good with the investment and everything but think about the future of your business! The businesses woman in me cant let you do this. Lock your feelings away and go and kick ass!"

"Where's all this coming from?"

"I want to spend some of that tender money," Sebina said with a smile.

Bert laughed. "Ok. Ok. Let's do this."

"And promise me that if you lose, we are not doing this again. Anything is possible."

"We can always try our luck somewhere else."

.

As the event drew closer to the end, Cass and her husband stood up, Sebina having talked to the two for the next lifetime. She had painted Bert in the best of lights and funny thing was that she didn't even make anything up because he was a great businessman.

"And now, to announce the winner of the transport between Europe and Asia, we are happy to say that..." Cass paused for dramatic effect.

Sebina held Bert's hand tightly. She was môre nervous than him and that was saying something because he was sweating.

"The tender will be awarded to BOKAMOSO CARS!"

Kalin and her husband, a handsome tall man with brown curly brown hair and full moon glasses, stood up, cheering loudly as the hall erupted with thunderous applause.

Sebina looked at Bert who looked a bit crestfallen. She gave him a sad smile and squeezed his hand, leading him up to go and congratulate Kalin despite the fact that he did not want to.

Kalin gave them a polite smile. "Sorry," she said to Bert. "We win some, we lose some."

Bert put himself together. He shook hands with Kalin and her husband. "Congratulations."

"All's fair in love and war. Thank you." Kalin turned away to talk to Cass and her husband.

Sebina looked guiltily at Bert. She had really tried to get him noticed by Cass but unfortunately things didn't work out. He stared at her.

"It wasn't your fault," he said, noticing her expression. He held her hands gently in his. "Thank you for trying though."

She bit her lower lip and nodded. "Do you want to get out of here? Cass invited us to a celebration party but I doubt Kalin wants you there."

Bert grinned. "Yeah. Let's go and get drunk in the hotel pool."

"Can we join?" Kalin suddenly asked.

Bert and Sebina turned to her in surprise.

She shrugged. "Cass hosts really boring parties. My husband and I would like to join you at your hotel."

"So would we," Cass suddenly said. Her husband nodded eagerly.

Bert held Sebina's waist. "The more, the merrier."