It’s so unusual for me to show up anywhere late let alone a first date. I’m always early for everything including other people’s events. Sometimes I’m so early that I help them set up for their events. However, I’m not complaining. I take pride in being an early bird. That was how I was raised and I’m glad I was able to maintain the habit even after moving out from home.
My mum used to make us believe that being late was the biggest mistake we could ever make. If we overslept and nearly missed the bus to school, she would make such a big deal of it that me and my siblings developed a fear of being late. Eventually, that fear turned to a habit that has earned me the admiration of my friends and work colleagues.
“One of the reasons I hired you was your punctuality.” My boss said to me a few months after starting my new job. “I have never seen a candidate arrive as early as you did for an interview.”
“Thank you,” I said
“Keep it up. You will go far with such time management skills.”
Everyone is usually impressed by my punctuality so I always strived to show off just how good of a timekeeper I am when I meet someone new.
Ken and I met at a friend’s wedding and instantly hit it off. He was one of the few people who were at the church at that time and I thought that he was the event planner since there were people still setting up the decorations.
“I’m here for Paul’s wedding.” He said.
“Really? So you’re an early bird like me?” I asked.
“Not really. I just didn’t want to get caught in traffic and miss the whole church ceremony. I live in Kitengela and it’s a long drive to Westlands.”
Since we had a lot of time to kill, we talked for a while and got to know each other. I found out that he was a lecturer which was a bit intimidating since I remembered how my lecturers were strict.
“Do you harass your students?” I asked jokingly.
“No, I’m one of the cool ones. My students love me.”
“That’s good to know. I don’t think I had any good lecturers. One of them almost made me miss graduation because he lost my marks.”
“I can’t do that. In fact, I always follow up when I notice any student has missed attendance or exams.”
“Wow. I wish I had lecturers like you.”
We spent the rest of the day together but he didn’t ask me out on a date that day and I thought that he wasn’t interested in me or maybe I did something that turned him off. However, he called me later that week and finally asked me out.
“I haven’t stopped thinking about you.” He said. “Can we go on a date this weekend?”
“Of course. I was wondering when you’d ask me.”
“Where do you want to go?” He asked
I suggested Captain’s Terrace since it was a good compromise for both of us. He didn’t have to drive so far and it was close enough to my place. However, I didn’t consider that I had several errands to run on the same day which would make it difficult to get to the date in time.
I tried my best to start early so I could finish early but it seemed everything that could go wrong went wrong that day. My hair stylist and nail tech were all busy by the time I got to their place so I had to wait for more than an hour. My tailor had also not fixed my clothes and one of them was the one I wanted to wear to the date.
The date was at 6 pm and by 3 pm, I hadn’t finished doing my hair or nails. By 4 pm, it was obvious that I was going to be late so I called Ken to let him know that I would be running a bit late.
“That’s fine.” He said and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“I will tell you when I leave home.”
Ken was surprisingly understanding which put me at ease but I was still determined to get to the date on time. I finished my errands around 5 pm then took an Uber back home so I could freshen up and prepare for the date.
By 5.45 pm, I was headed to Captain’s Terrace and I got there 20 minutes later. I was quite impressed by how fast I had arrived for the date but Ken thought otherwise.
“I thought you were a good timekeeper.” He said as soon as I sat down
“I am. I’m only 5 minutes late.”
“You’re still late.”
“Well, I had let you know that I would be late.”
“You’ve given me a bad impression of you.” He said
I thought Ken was joking but he kept reminding me that I was late, albeit for five minutes.
“Did you wait for too long?” I asked, thinking he was angry because I made him wait for a long time.
“I got here 30 minutes ago but it’s not about that. I expected better of you.”
“I’ll make it up to you on the next date.”
“What next date?” He mumbled.
I heard what he said but ignored it to avoid more confrontation. After a while, I had to apologize hoping that he would stop reminding me that I was late. He didn’t accept my apology and the date was a nightmare.
Ken was moody despite my best efforts to cheer him up. I understand that being late for a date can come off as rude or inconsiderate but I had called him an hour before the time we were supposed to meet to explain that I would be a bit late. Besides, I was late for only 5 minutes which I didn’t think would be an issue.
Sure enough, we didn’t go on a second date. We didn’t even talk much after the first date. I tried reaching out to him but he blue-ticked me and when he replied he simply said that I wasn’t his type.
Check out
He Took Me To A Kibanda On Our First Date As A Test
On Our First Date, He Criticized Me For Wearing Heels Because It Made Me Taller Than Him
He Came With A Sex Toy To Our First Date
She Asked Me To Pay Her Rent And Child’s School Fees On The First Date
I Got My Period While On A Date
My Date Ended Up Liking My Friend More Than Me
He Showed Up To The Date With A Bad Flu
He Spent The Whole Date Trying To Convince Me To Get Him A Job
