Apprehensive, anxious, flurried and uptight are few words that describe how I feel right now. I am a bundle of nerves and I honestly don't remember a time in my life when I ever felt this nervous. I have done many presentations in front of many elite business men and I have never been as uneasy as I am right now. My stomach is in knots every time I think I about meeting Thembisa's father and I have been having a serious case of the runs since last night.

What's stressing me out the most is the fact that I want to make a good impression on the man whose daughter I would like to marry someday. Even if I tried to push us meeting to a later date it won't change the fact that I'll have to meet him at some point so I might as well get it over and done with. My anxiety gets triggered by small things and I can feel it being triggered right now so I roll two blunts. You can say what you want about how I choose to deal with anxiety but smoking helps most of the time so after rolling my blunts, I stand by the balcony as I smoke. It seems to do the trick because I find myself more relaxed than I was a couple of minutes ago.

I get back inside so I can start getting ready for lunch with Thembisa's family at 2pm. I take a shower and I get dressed in a crisp white shirt with khaki pants and a salmon pink blazer that has a pink and white polka dot pocket square. After spraying some cologne, I check myself out in the mirror and I'm impressed with what I see. I check the time on my phone and it reads 1:20 which is enough time to drive to Thembisa's apartment then get to the restaurant. I send her a quick text once I get to her place and she comes out in a few minutes.

You'd think we spoke about colour coordinating after seeing her in a salmon pink blouse with white jeans and white heels but I can honestly tell you that it's merely a coincidence. She talks to me during the drive to the restaurant and I give her curt responses because my mind is elsewhere. I park the car and I almost turn around and run back to my car as we walk into the restaurant but I can't be a pussy now. Thembisa gives our name to the hostess who leads us to our table that is still empty. Thank goodness. I order a tall glass of water just calm my nerves down and my girlfriend seems to notice my odd behavior.

"Baby relax." she places her hand on top of mine.

"It's easy for you to say because they are your family."

"I understand but I need you to just take a deep breath and relax. I know you're probably having a million scenarios about how terrible this may go but I want you to know that it won't be as bad as you think. I'm right by your side and if I feel like he is becoming too intense then I will deflect it."

"Okay baby."

A few minutes later her mother walks in with a tall man who has a hard look on his face. They walk towards the table and we get up so we can greet them. Her mother who I remember from the launch party is dressed in a yellow dress which compliments her skin tone and she looks as beautiful as I remember. Thembisa is her mother's clone and you'd think they are sisters because of how youthful her mother looks. Her father on the other hand is dressed in a navy blue suit with a white shirt and the intense look on his face can make anyone want to run for the hills, myself included. Here we go.

"This is my boyfriend Kofi. Kofi this is my mother who you may remember from the launch party and my father."

"So he is the guy from the launch party who you claimed was just your friend?"

"Ma..." Thembisa drags which makes me chuckle.

"What baby? I was simply asking."

"We were friends at the time but he is the one."

"It's nice to finally meet the man who stole my daughters heart." she stretches her hand out to me and I gladly shake it.

"It's nice to meet you too ma'am." I say and her father simply stares at me.

"Dad do you have anything to say?"

"I'm looking forward to getting to know the guy who my daughter is in love with." his baritone voice finally says.

"It's nice to finally meet you and I am looking forward to spending time with you."

We take our seats and Thembisa gestures for our waiter to come drink orders for her parents since we already got our drinks. Thembisa's dad keeps his eyes on me which makes me feel slightly uneasy. I'm usually cool calm and collected but today is a different kind of day because it's a big deal for me. Her mom speaks which breaks me from my thoughts.

"Please tell us about yourself. Thembisa has told me a few things about you but I would like to get to know you a little bit more."

"Well I'm originally from Ghana but my family moved to Zimbabwe when I was six after my father got a job offer. After graduating with a degree in business management I struggled for a while because I didn't have any financial support so I decided to start my own business. I have my own detergent company that has grown tremendously over the last six years."

"Thembisa never mentioned that you have a business which is quite impressive."

"Thank you ma'am."

"Tell us a bit about your family." Thembisa's mom says which makes me sigh. Thembisa notices this and holds my hand under the table so as to let me know that it's okay because she knows how touchy this subject is for me.

"I don't have much family around me besides Ms Cassie who took care of me when I was struggling and my mentor who is the only father figure I have. As far as my biological parents go, I haven't seen them in years even though I have tried so hard to look for them."

"I'm sorry about that Kofi. Now I feel bad for asking."

"It's okay ma'am. This is something that I have accepted." I add. It goes silent for a moment then our waiter comes with our food.

"How did you two meet?"

"We met at Ms Cassie's cafe and I was mesmerized from the first time I saw her. I kept hoping we would meet again and I got lucky when we met again through a friend."

"I'm glad you found each other because I could tell you're a good guy even from the first time I saw you. She talks about you quite a lot and the excitement in her voice plus the smile on her face lets me know how good you are to her and I want to thank you for loving her wholesomely because her ex mistreated her after she gave him her all."

"It feels good to hear that from you ma'am."

"What actually attracted you to my daughter?" her dad finally speaks.

"Besides her beauty and her amazing aura, I would say it was her ability to make me open up about anything and feel wanted. There isn't a day since we met that I don't feel good when I am around her and that is why I decided to be with her. Being around her makes me genuinely happy so I found myself gravitating towards her quite easily. She is an ambitious woman and I just like how hardworking she is."

"So what makes you different from the other guys?" he further questions.

"Dad..."

"What Thembisa? I just want to know what differentiates him from the other guys."

"What makes me different from other guys is how serious I am about her. I don't want to play any games with her—all I want to do is to shower her with adoration, respect and to treat her like the queen she is."

"Has he been treating you well?"

"Yes dad. Kofi respects me, showers me with love every single day and the kindness he shows me feels surreal at times."

"Hmmmm." is all he says.

The waiter returns to clear the plates on our table and Thembisa's father asks me to join him at the bar so we can have a one on one. Wish me luck.

"The reason why I called you to the side is because I wanted us to speak man to man."

"Okay sir."

"What are your true intentions with my daughter?"

"I am serious about your daughter and I would like to marry her someday. I was hoping to get your blessing because I would like to propose to her after our one year anniversary."

"Hmmm... what makes you so sure she is the one you want to be with for the rest of your life? I mean you have been together for less than a year."

"I know it may seem like a short while but I have no doubt that she is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I was a loner for most of my life and I was so miserable before I met your daughter. However, my life did a 360 the instant she walked in and I'm truly grateful for her. She makes feel something I have never felt my whole life and I would be honored if she agreed to spend the rest of her life with me."

"Marriage is a lot of work Kofi, are you ready for that type of commitment plus having kids running around while running your own business?"

"I understand that marriage is a lot of work but I am willing to put in the work."

"I respect that and I can see how much you care about Thembisa. The way you look at her and treat her makes me see myself in you a little bit but I ask that you stay true to your word because if you break her heart then you and I will have problems. I still see her as my little girl even though she is all grown up so I naturally feel the need to protect her, you'll understand this when you have kids."

"Does that mean you are giving me your blessing?"

"Yes but don't make me regret it?"

"You don't know how much this means to me and you will not regret this."

"I hope so, now lets get back before Thembisa gets worried that I'm being too harsh and ends up coming for you." he says and we walk back to the table.

"So... how was that?"

"I think he is a good guy and I know you are in good hands."

"I told you dad." Thembisa says.

"We should head out now, we have a friends birthday dinner we need to get ready for." her mom says.

We walk out of the restaurant and we wait for her parents to go in their rental car before we leave. I may be keeping my composure on the outside but it feels good to know that her father gave me his blessing to marry his daughter. I was certain he was going to shut me down but I'm glad he gave me his blessing and I will honor my promise for as long as I live.

"Are you coming up?" she asks when I pull up to her apartment.

"Not today."

"Why not baby? It's just for a few minutes." she says with that look on her face.

"Baby we can't do that with your cousin in your apartment."

"She went somewhere that's why she didn't come for the lunch."

"Okay baby." I give in.

We head up to her apartment and the few minutes she asked for turn into an hour and when we walk out of her bedroom we find her cousin sitting in the living room watching tv. I just hope she did not hear us because that would be a bit awkward.

"When did you get back sis?"

"About ten minutes ago?"

"So you heard us?"

"Girl... you're so loud. I'm surprised a complaint hasn't been filed by one of your neighbors." she says and we laugh.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that." I apologize.

"It's okay Kofi. How did the lunch go?"

"It went better than I thought. Dad was a bit harsh but Kofi kept his composure."

"I wish I had been there to witness this but I had an emergency meeting. Nevertheless, I'm glad that it went well."

"Well I should head out now. Chi please take me downstairs."

"Okay." Chi answers and I give Thembisa a brief kiss before leaving her apartment.

"So the reason why I asked you to come with me is to ask you for a favor. I would like you to find out what type of engagement ring your cousin would like. I know you girls talk about these things so I was hoping you would ask because if I ask then it'll be too obvious."

"Wait you're already planning on proposing?" she says excitedly.

"Yes, your father gave me his blessing so I would like to do it after our anniversary."

"Okay, I will find out for you."

"Thank you. I know you two share everything with each other but she cannot find out about this."

"I won't say a thing, you have my word."

"Alright. We'll talk later."

"Bye Kofi." Chi says as I get into my car. I drive home with a smile on my face because my dream of marrying Thembisa is slowly coming to life and I am over the moon. For once in my life I feel genuinely happy and I can only hope that things go up from here.