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And many other questions.
Barry would’ve made a great politician. He volleyed those verbal grenades like a champion. Nothing the ladies asked flustered him, and he was always ready with a great answer. If Xolani didn’t already know him, she would’ve thought that he was reading from a script. But no, this was just who he was, and it made her like him even more.
Meanwhile, her girls were getting frustrated because they couldn’t rattle Barry. Their questions became even more silly.
“What’s your sign?” Justine asked.
“I’m a Gemini?”
“Is that bad?” Justine whispered to Anika.
“Very bad,” Anika confirmed. “She’s a Scorpio.”
“You don’t match.” Justine triumphantly declared to Barry.
Before Barry or Xolani could rebut that illogical claim, Nigel chimed in. “I didn’t figure you for an astrology believer, Justine.”
Xolani had already noticed that he was oddly fixated on Justine. Who could blame him though? Magnetic was Justine’s middle name. Xolani wondered if she should warn him that Justine was a maneater. But she decided not to. He was a big boy. In fact, he was one or two inches taller than Barry, which made him and extra big boy. He could handle himself.
“I’m a believer today.” Justine turned all her attention to Nigel. Her tone became seductive as she asked, “What’s your sign? I bet it’s something that matches with mine.”
Nigel grumpily returned, “I don’t have a sign.”
“Oh, a man who wasn’t born but just appeared on earth? Wow!” Justine was undaunted by the grumpiness. Smiling, she added, “That’s how I got to earth too. Did you lose your angel wings and come down from heaven like me? Or are you just from another planet, Superman?”
Everyone laughed. Even Nigel.
Xolani chuckled. “No one here believes that you were ever an angel, Justine.”
“I was, but I sinned. Hence…” Justine gestured to her whole body. “Fallen angel.”
That drew another round of laughs, and gave Barry an opportunity to get off the hot seat. The group’s conversation wandered off once Justine asked about Nigel’s job so she could claim how it matched hers.
All in all, things went well… so well that they all decided to go clubbing together after their meal.
As they walked to the club, Justine and Anika crowded Xolani between them.
“I like Barry,” Anika said in a low tone so the men, who were in front of them, wouldn’t hear.
“Me too,” Justine agreed. “He seems like boyfriend material.”
“I told you he’s not my boyfriend and will never be,” Xolani protested. But she couldn’t deny the intense relief and happiness that came from know that her friends approved of Barry.
18
THE FOLLOWING TUESDAY, XOLANI AND Barry decided to have dinner together outside their homes. Xolani arrived at the restaurant first but Barry wasn’t far behind. About five minutes later, he parked his car next to hers in the parking lot.
The restaurant looked like an English cottage, and could easily pass for the home of a wealthy baron. It was hidden behind a large gate and surrounded by lush lawns and greenery.
One did not find such a place by accident. You had to know what you were looking for.
“When I said pick somewhere private, I didn’t mean take me to the middle of nowhere,” Xolani teased as she and Barry walked hand-in-hand to the restaurant.
He laughed. “Hey, you’re the one who insists on keeping our relationship a secret from our workmates. I just made your wishes come true and found a place that none of them knows about.”
“So this is my fault?” Xolani gave him a disbelieving look. “Honey, you’re the one who has a problem with_”
“Did you just call me honey?” Barry stopped walking to stare at her with raised eyebrows.
