“This is why I love you….” This song reverberated as I walked into a church on the outskirts of Nairobi. My mind was aloof to the happenings save for the parcel at hand that I had been sent to deliver. Yeah! That’s me. A typical delivery guy.
My life revolves around loading, transporting, and delivering items to clients or businesses in a safe, timely manner. Reviewing orders prior to and after delivery and ensuring customers are satisfied underwrites what I do. I always want to put smiles on my client's faces, get good reviews, and of course, but of course, tap the fat tips.
The tag on my sweater reads Nelson. I adjust it a little as I stroll into the wedding searching for an empty seat.
I love weddings. Who does not? I find them beautiful and as my girlfriend, Nina says, the best part of one’s lifetime. The couple brimming with romance, the stunning flowers on the aisle, the perfect wedding dress, the cake and the best part, the vows.
When they say ‘I do’, everyone marvels as the next phrase will definitely be ‘May you kiss the bride.”
This one was a perfect wedding, ‘a marriage from heaven’. The bride was adorable and she looked more beautiful when she smiled after catching the groom sneaking a glance at her.
The wedding setup was breathtaking. The decoration was exuberant, the bridesmaids were dressed in pink and all men were in black suits. On the altar, it was vividly written, Samantha weds George.
“Your card please,” a guard asked as I stood stuck at the entry, still marvelled at the breathtaking scenario.
“What?” I asked back.
“This is an invite-only event,” he added.
“I am just a delivery guy. I got this courier to deliver. It needs some signing,” I responded, staring into his eyes.
“Wait here,” he ordered as he disappeared into the church to get the emcee who would later sign, with no tip at all.
“Can I at least wait for the cake?” I asked, much to his stare. Anyways, sometimes I wonder why one would attend a wedding, eat nearly two plates at a buffet and still lament that they have not eaten a piece of a cake. Just a piece.
Hmmm.. anyways it was even just a bite of an apple that kicked Adam and Eve from Eden. This just but kinds of stuff seem like poison at times.
My boss called nearly twenty minutes later as I rode away from the venue.
“Nelson. Have you made the delivery? The guests have called stating that you are late. The gift session is almost coming to an end,” Mike, we call him Mikey at work, questioned and later on ranted how I had a workload waiting for me due to the delay.
“But I have just delivered it and the emcee signed it off. At the Pentecostal,” I answered, parking my bike by the service lane which was joining the highway a few meters ahead.
“At the Pentecostal. But the delivery was meant for the Cathedral,” he wondered as he explained the directions and noted that the two churches were in the same suburbs.
I had made the wrong delivery. The adrenaline, I cannot explain it. I turned back and sped off to the Pentecostal. I had never delayed nor made a wrong delivery for the one year plus I had worked at Mikey’s.
I often hear stories of delivery guys fumbling and even tampering with deliveries, but not me.
The guard at the Pentecostal declined to let me and the two of us were embroiled in a little altercation as I requested the ushers to speed up at least and cross-check the gifts.
“There is a QR code tagged to the gift. Can I at least assist as I am late for my delivery,” Insisted. By then the whole church had shifted its focus. The wedding couple who were at the podium, I guess waiting to take their vows, were also astounded.
I bet maybe the deacon had asked “Who amongst you wishes to interrupt these two from wedding? Who has a concrete reason to bar Samantha from wedding George? If no one has any reason whatsoever, stay silent forever and ever.”
Maybe this was the point where I popped in. What a coincidence if that be. But I was there for my gift only.
“Young man, let me walk you out,’ a youthful guy stated, escorting me as I clutched on the courier.
“Looks like you have been fired? What is all the tension about,” he stated as we both laughed at how the incident had unfolded.
“You almost took away everyone’s breath,” he added as we further cracked up with laughter, joking how I would have lost the motorbike and the job too.
“But the motorbike is also not mine. I am just but employed,” I told him. His name was Noah by the way.
“Do you watch football? I am a Chelsea fan,” Noah stated and the jokes that ensued after he realised I loved Arsenal were rib-cracking.
Noah stated that Betika, a leading betting website in Kenya was running a Grand Jackpot promotion known as Nduthika na Betika.
“Betika has the most Jackpot choices and arguably the most affordable for bettors in Kenya. At Betika, you can win Ksh100 million from a Ksh99 bet or Ksh50 million from a Ksh20 bet.
“You can also win a motorbike by betting on the Grand Jackpot - Each Grand Jackpot bet is a chance to win a Boxer BM 150x which are offered daily. Jackpot bonuses are also awarded at the discretion of the company,” Noah explained.
I took his phone number, called him later in the evening after I delivered the gift courier and other items. We checked out the Grand Jackpot and that is how I got my own bike.
But I cannot forget the look on the wedding couple’s face each time I remember this story.