The Battle Of Love vs Social Class (episode 3)
Little kind gestures can make a person more attractive than he/she already is. When you do good without expecting anything in return, you attract blessings you never imagined. That little kind gesture by Olivia made Dennis fall even more in love with her. It was refreshing for him to experience genuine kindness from someone that didn’t know how wealthy he was. Before then, he has already received gifts from people, but these were people that already knew his financial and influential status in the society. They knew Dennis came from a wealthy family so he always thought they were kind to him because they knew who he was. However, Olivia’s case was extremely different because she had no clue that Dennis was from the upper social class in the society. She also had no idea that the man she gave that little money to, parked the latest G-wagon a block away from the restaurant. If only Olivia knew the calibre of men Dennis belonged to, she would have been dead surprised that he waited all evening till she closed from work just to get her phone number. At this point, it’s safe to say that she was genuinely nice to Dennis and wasn’t a gold digger after his money.
As Dennis walked down to where he parked his car, he couldn’t stop smiling as he reminisced on what happened that evening. His heart was gladden as he looked at the phone number Olivia gave to him. For some weird reasons, he felt accomplished and fulfilled for the day and couldn’t wait to contact her.
On the other hand, Olivia thought about Dennis on her way back home. She was excited whenever his thought popped up in her mind. For some reasons, she felt drawn to him but was also scared at the same time. Maybe Olivia’s spirit sensed the hurdles that were before her if she ever thought of going into any form of relationship with Dennis. It was a long shot but she was confident in God’s direction for her life.
Before then, Olivia hadn’t been in any serious relationship. She had been single for a long time and almost forgot what it felt like to be loved and cared for by someone. Due to her poor background, she was mostly interested in working and providing for her family. She felt that relationships were luxury only meant for the upper and middle class citizens because she didn’t have any time and attention to give to any man.
Any hour unpaid was a luxury Olivia couldn’t afford and this mentality succeeded in making her perceive relationships as unimportant. Before then, so many men had made passes at her but she turned them down. But for some strange reasons, she was somehow into Dennis. They both thought of each other all night before retiring to bed.
The following day at around 10am, Dennis called Olivia on phone to check up on her. The phone rang for few seconds before she picked up. “Hello, Goodmorning” she said, “Morning Olivia, how was your night?” He asked and she immediately knew who she was taking with. “Dennis? Is this you?” She asked and he replied “Yes dear”.
They spoke for a while before Dennis asked Olivia out on a date. “I would love to see you today, will you make yourself available tonight at any time convenient for you? He inquired, “I will be working afternoon shift today and will close in the evening by around 8pm, so I don’t see how possible it can be” she said.
Dennis paused for few seconds and thought of a possible solution. “What if I pick you after work and we can go to somewhere nice to have dinner, will that be ok by you?” He asked and she was mute for few seconds, “I still don’t think it’s a good idea because I won’t have the time to change from my work uniform into something suitable for the occasion” Olivia said but he told her not to bother. He assured her that she was perfectly fine to go on the date with her work uniform. After deliberating for a while, she finally agreed.
Immediately Olivia agreed to the date offer, Dennis’s joy knew no bound. He was extremely happy but tried his possible best not to let his excitement show. They spoke for a little while before saying “Goodbyes” and ending the call.
All through that day, Dennis and Olivia were excited at the thought of their upcoming date. Olivia smiled all through that day at work to the extent that her colleagues even noticed. She kept her little secret to herself and didn’t share with her nosy colleagues that kept asking why she was so happy.
While Olivia smiled all through the day, Dennis on the other hand was planning to surprise her. He called a friend of his that had a boutique and ordered two nice dresses for Olivia. He described her size to the lady and she was quick to detect what outfit would fit her. In less than an hour, the outfits arrived at Dennis office. He kept this little detail a secret and didn’t inform Olivia that she wasn’t going to wear her work uniform to the date as she thought. Dinner reservations were made at a nice restaurant close to where Olivia worked and at this point, it’s safe to say that the date was going to be a nice one because alot of thoughts and efforts were put into it.
Finally, the scheduled time for the date drew nearer and it was time for Dennis to pick Olivia up from work. He didn’t want to go with his car for fear that she might find out that he was extremely wealthy. Due to this, he made use of one of his dad’s company saloon car that had the company logo and write-ups on the body. Dennis didn’t want to blow his cover as a low class citizen. He drove down to Olivia’s work place and waited for her outside the restaurant parking lot.
When Dennis arrived at Olivia’s work place, he called to inform her that he was outside. She told him to give her few minutes to pack up and sign out for the day. Few minutes later, Olivia was outside and Dennis horned the car to get her attention. When she saw him, she smiled and walked towards the vehicle.
“Hi, nice seeing you again, how are you doing?” Olivia said as she entered inside the car. “I’m doing even more better now you are here. Are you ready for our date?” Dennis inquired and she happily nodded ‘Yes’. Just when he was about to drive out, he remembered the dress he bought for her. “Oh! before I forget, I bought you something to change into” he said and stretched his hand to the back seat to get the bag containing the clothes he bought for her.
Immediately Dennis handed the bag to Olivia, she was shocked and surprised at the same time. She looked into the bag and looked at Dennis afterwards. “Honestly, you shouldn’t have bothered. Didn’t this cost you alot of money? I’m sorry but I can’t accept this. Also, won’t your boss get angry with you for driving the company’s car for your personal activities? What if your boss sees you with this car at the location we are headed, do you know how upset he might be with you? I really don’t want you to try too hard to impress me because I’m not drawn to this sort of things. You are a nice person and I think that’s enough reason for me to want to go out on a date with you. I’m sorry but I can’t take these dresses, kindly return them if possible and get your money back” Olivia said.
As Dennis sat there listening to every word that came out of Olivia’s mouth, he was utterly dumbfounded. Wow! If only Olivia knew who was sitting in that car with her, she would have swallowed her saliva. If only she knew that Dennis family makes a fortune every hour that goes by. If only she knew the money magnet Mr & Mrs Duncan were and if only she knew how many luxurious cars Dennis had.
To be honest, all Dennis could find himself doing at that moment was smile. He was totally speechless and didn’t know what to say or do that won’t risk his cover being blown. He just smiled and assured Olivia that it was ok for her to keep the dresses. Without wasting any more time, he told her to wear one of them for the date and excused himself from the car so she could change into one of the dresses. The car windows were tinted so it was safe for Olivia to change up.
Few minutes later, Olivia notified Dennis that she was done. He entered inside the car and was smitten at how effortlessly beautiful she looked without even trying too hard. “How do I look?” Olivia happily asked, “You look breathtaking dear, now let’s head out because it’s getting quite late” Dennis said and drove off.
As they drove to the restaurant for their date, Dennis stole glances and Olivia and she blushed whenever their eyes jammed. It’s safe to say these two lovebirds were extremely into each other and weren’t hiding their feelings anymore. Shortly afterwards, they arrived at the restaurant and ordered their meals. When the food arrived, they ate happily and talk about random things.
Deep down, Dennis wanted to make his feelings and intentions known to Olivia but was scared that she might turn him down. He succeeded in concealing his feelings all night till they were about leaving.
While they conversed that evening, Olivia didn’t reveal too many details about her family background and struggles to Dennis for fear that he might begin to pity her. She hated pity more than anything in the world and didn’t want people to do things for her out of pity. She kept things classy all through and didn’t reveal anything too personal; same with Dennis. After eating, he cleared the bills and they left.
As they walked towards the parking lot, Dennis figured it was time for him to make his feelings known to Olivia. When they entered the car, he tried to warm up the atmosphere in preparation for his heartfelt confession. “I hope you had a great time today?” He asked, “Yes I did, thank you so much for everything” she replied and he told her not to mention.
Deep down, Dennis got the signal that it was time to ask Olivia to be his partner but was somehow scared. He managed to sweep evey doubt beneath the rug and make his move regardless of whatever the outcome would be. He took a deep breath and looked into Olivia’s eyes; “I have something to tell you but I don’t know how you will react. However, I have decided to come clean regardless” he calmly said.
At this point, Olivia figured what Dennis was about to say but she didn’t want to interfere in his speech. Their eyes were fixed on each other as the atmosphere gradually began to heat up. He looked into her shiny eyes and confidently said these three words; “I Love You!”.
Instantly, Olivia was shocked and it was extremely visible on her face. She was about to say something but Dennis hushed her and said; “Don’t break my heart before I completely give it to you”.
End of episode 3 ๐
Written by Sonia Okehie
