Honey,not my Ring Finger.

Lynn and Tony are in love but every time he kisses her ring finger she always acts weird. but why?

Chapter 2.

Lynn was about five feet-seven inches tall. Two inches shorter than Tony. Both were light skinned, with distinctive color tones though. Tony was half-African, half-Scottish while Lynn was full blooded African. With an unnatural inner beauty, hidden deep inside her skin that seemed to unravel an unelaborated emotional sensation to Tony every time she smiled. She had a set of white perfect teeth. Lynn was attractive, always attractive even without makeup. And Tony grew fond her quicker than he realized. They started spending time together. More and more time, and soon work and Williams slowly faded out of the picture.

Tony was twenty eight then with no records of any serious relationships. In fact, not even an elementary one under his belt. Justin and William had occasionally teased him that he was a f*g but both knew that it was work that had been eating up much of Tony’s social time. So when he met Lynn, he thought the search was over even before it had started. Justin and William now teased on a different platform; when would the wedding be? Or, was he still waiting for his princess to come riding on a horse back?

He already had a good job, a beautiful house built with the finest material there ever was and on the most gorgeous place in Mombasa. Now it was time to get a home. The pressure was too much and he wanted to move on; get a wife, settle down and start making babies. And Lynn was the woman he wanted to share his vision with. She was not in any relationship Tony knew of and they had been dating ever since they met at Justin’s party. Exactly three weeks down the line. She liked him. Tony had seen that and asking her to marry him would not be too much to ask from her. The day was today. Valentine’s Day. When the vision would be shared. For the first time.

‘You look like you’ve just won a million bucks’. Tony said with a grin on his face. They hugged.’ You must have spent an eternity in the dressing room, you look thumping great’. He whispered to her ear then planted a kiss onto her right cheek.

‘Thanks. You look fine too’. She said straightening his tie down. Tony pulled a seat for her. She slid in and said another ‘thank you’. Tony was back to his seat before it cooled down.

‘You didn’t drive…’

‘That piece of junk is still in the garage. Two weeks and four different mechanics now and it still can’t even start up’ Lynn said.           

Once upon a time, Peugeot 505 was purchased by a very wealthy man in Mombasa to his wife. Twenty years later, she passed away in a plane crash near Malindi. The man did not want to remember much of his wife’s death so he sold the car. Lynn’s father was the buyer, three years before he met his wife. Now that was the thing Lynn was trying to bring back to life and still optimistic.

Tony laughed ‘you should let it go’ he said and wished he could add…’and let me buy you a new car, your model, just name it’ but he was so close to bankruptcy the other day that he could get himself arrested for having such a thought. Instead, he said ‘we’ll work something out’.

‘Oh! No, Tony. I’ll be fine, thanks anyway’ she said quickly and put a palm on Tony’s hand. ‘It’s okay’. She whispered. A smile pulled on Tony’s face and he got lost in the moment that he didn’t even know when he started speaking again.

‘I love you Lynn, I love you so much’. He kissed the back of her hand. Lynn smiled and in an instant, she was serious again. It was barely two minutes since she got to the restaurant but the mood was already on. She looked like she wanted to cry. Tony liked it. Who would care anyway? Wasn’t it valentine’s day?

‘I love you too Tony, I have always done’.

Finally.

Tony almost jumped up as if she had just said yes to his proposal. But it was one step forward. A sign he did not have which added up to his confidence. He now thought that he knew what the others must have felt and wanted to grab Lynn. Put her on his laps and kiss her on the lips as they did to their women then ask her to marry him when he was done. But he remained calm. Stunned by hearing Lynn confess that she loved him, without him asking her to do it.

He stared at Lynn until she regained composure and kissed her fingers again, gently till it started feeling awkward. He let her hand go but he did not stop gazing at her. Lynn shot a few admiring glances at Tony, but she couldn’t keep up with the game. So she quit and started blushing. The smile was always perfect and Tony loved when she combined both. Her flattering eyes reminded him how much he had been missing on these world while he was busy killing himself with workload. And time had really passed so fast on him. He remembered what William had been telling him.

Indeed, life is too short and if the clock is not watched, big achievements would die while they’re still dreams. Just like a river that flows into an ocean, but never fills it, we will be if we let ourselves follow the common channel of life. There is always a different path somewhere, for everyone. The challenge is to find which is for you.

That was when William was really something, before alcohol did him no justice. But he chose that path and Tony had already started his. Lynn was his destiny.

He looked out. Darkness was crawling in pretty fast and the darker it became the dimmer the neon bulbs in the restaurant lit. The distinct colors they shed now became more pronounced. Tony could hardly tell what color Lynn’s dress was anymore. The red light radiating from the bulb above them illuminated Lynn’s face and she looked more beautiful than before. Tony noticed that Lynn was getting more and more appealing every time he looked away and back to her again. He lowered his gaze to her chest. The cleavage was deep. Tony swallowed hard he thought Lynn heard. His blood warmed up and he desired her more. Then she looked up.  Tony quickly turned to his watch before he got caught.

To his surprise, it had only been twenty minutes since Lynn set foot in the restaurant. They had just been talking. Tony turned round in search of one of the men in black and white. Today, they had an additional touch of red to their waiting attire. He caught glimpse of a tall slim guy walking back to the kitchen. Tony lip-synced something to him while pointing at the wine bottles on their table. The waiter shook his head back and forth and disappeared.

‘I’m really sorry, I forgot’. He turned back to Lynn. She just smiled.

‘I noticed’, Lynn said. ‘Then why didn’t you tell me?’ Tony acted surprised

‘Because you were busy with whatever you were staring at’. She said almost in a whisper. She pumped her b***s up eyeing Tony seductively. They both laughed.

‘Not in the menu’.

‘Will be tonight’. Another laughter, then silence. ‘This place is beautiful, never been here before, have we?’.

Tony shook his head ‘no, was meant only for tonight and preserved. Folks here call it La Salle romantique. It’s French-the romantic room’. Tony explained. Lynn listened.

It was indeed very romantic.

Their tables was round in shape. Made out of mahogany. It was covered with a red silk clothe that stretched to the bottom, and another white one lay on top covering it completely. A brown basket made out of reeds stood at the side on a stool of same shape and material on Tony’s side. Two bottles of wine; red and white lay between a bouquet of white and red roses that tipped to the sides of the basket. On the middle of the main table were two candelabrum. One on Tony’s side and the other on Lynn’s. Several red candles burnt lazily on them producing just enough light to their table. The other tables had one but only a few liked them lit. More other candelabrum stuck out on the walls between the widely spaced lava lamps and chandeliers that hang delicately from the white ceiling. Everything that lit emitted a red light or something closer to that turning everything inside the room the same color. And dim to create the mood which was now overwhelming Tony.

 Romance.

Tony had been at the palace restaurant very early -he had made reservation two weeks before and were it not that today was Valentine ’s Day and he was too late for the bookings, he would have wanted the whole of la salle romantique to himself and his date-to see that everything was in order. And as their place was being set up he helped. Everything was supposed to work as per the plan. ‘Lynn should love this day and wish never to forget’, he emphasized till the manager politely asked him to let them do their work. And if you paid close attention, there was big difference between their table and the others. The date too was out of the ordinary.

Lynn would actually not forget this day. Tony either.

Tony was so desperate to marry Lynn. His motivation fueled by two reasons. One, to fulfill his father’s wish before he was born; that Tony would grow as a hardworking family man. Two, he was deeply in love with Lynn who was also into him as he was into her.

He inhaled slowly and let it go suddenly. He felt relaxed and he pulled out a card from the bottom of the reed basket with the wine. He gently pushed it on the table to Lynn. She opened it. The words were handwritten and she begun to read. At first smiling but then the smile faded away slowly as the words starting sinking, touching the deepest part of her chest. She put her free hand between her breast and throat to arrest the feeling but it was too far inside her soul and she teared up. She laughed, then she was doing both simultaneously; laughing and crying.

Lynn wiped tiny teardrops from her eyes with a white hanky. She then rose and kissed Tony on the left cheek and a quick one on the lips and whispered. ‘You’re so sweet sugar. You love me this much…I love you’

‘I love you even more’ Tony said and grabbed her. He kissed her on the lips gently. She perched on his laps and they didn’t mind. No one seemed to care either, everyone was minding their business. Lynn then pushed herself away from Tony. She looked into his eyes for a while then leaned back to him. Closer to his left ear.

‘Sweetheart’ she called. Tony responded and she continued. ‘Kiss me again, more and don’t stop…’ Tony was on her lips before she could finish. They were warm and soft and moist. He got deeper into her mouth till she started making sounds.

‘And my neck’ she raised her head to let Tony do her neck. He got to business immediately. Lynn threw her hands round him. ‘Oh! Tony…my ears…my cheeks…my hands…oh! This is so good’. She continued whispering and Tony continued taking instructions repeatedly telling her how much he loved her. They were in love.

Now it’s time to tell her. Do it.

Tony raised his head and looked at Lynn. She smiled and said something to which he laughed at then got serious again. He started feeling nervous  he contemplated what he wanted to say. Lynn noticed something and she became tense. He could hear her heart beats increase.

‘Darling is there something bothering you?...just tell me, what is it?’ she asked looking deeper into his eyes as if trying to understand what was going on behind them.

Will you marry me Lynn?...yes! He thought but chose to say something different.

‘Nothing is disturbing me, just thinking…’ Tony took her hands into his.

‘What-just thinking what?’

‘how beautiful your eyes are’. She smiled and blushed. ‘They remind me the first time I saw you, I couldn’t get my eyes off your face’.

‘I noticed’

‘And you did not say anything!’

‘Say what?’

‘Something. A stranger, very handsome stranger is staring at you from a distance…and you’ve nothing to say to him?’ Tony said. Lynn answered and they laughed again. The kissing started all over again but then a man interrupted before it heated up. He was the waiter Tony had called earlier. Tony looked at him and tipped his head forward slightly. The man raised his eyebrows as a response. Lynn did not understand. She looked at Tony for a clue but he was busy massaging her fingers, one by one and he was on the left hand. As she just realized what Tony was doing to her hand and did not appreciate it, she quickly withdrew it from him before he could reach the third finger. She clenched a fist. It so was sudden and suspicious that she even terrified herself too. Why had she reacted that way?

Tony wondered as he turned to the waiter who was as surprised as he was.