Jozi Jordan

The adventure begins in on an airplane to Johannesburg. Well, that’s not completely true, but this is a story and I have creative freedom to spin the facts a bit. After a huge work day I leave my home in Cape Town. During the drive to the airport I begin to get excited, the prospect of thee months off makes me feel like Christmas Eve for a 5 year old.

A softboy friend shared this playlist me with me.

When I first listened to the playlist I was amused to find that I had already liked and added most of the songs to other playlists of mine. As a proud sad girl; I dived right in, and immediately this song stole my heart:

Song of the month for me.

Jazzy drums, melancholy guitar and the most beautiful voice. A song with feeling. Not necessarily lyrics that are applicable to me right now, but I enjoy listening to music that throws me into a situation. And - well in some ways - this is a song about missing someone. And I have been missing Jordan. I watch the sunset over cloudy Cape Town disappear with Tommy’s Party in my ears and a huge amount of excitement to see Jordan filling the rest of my body.

We haven’t seen each other in about two months. And prior to that there have been intermittent long distance stints dating back to early 2022. After living together during COVID and cohabiting the most beautiful loft in St James, Jordan moved to Joburg for independence and to fulfil a plan to live with her best friend that had been put off for quite a few years.

While it was challenging to adjust to long distance, the space and time alone was so important for both of us. Long term relationships during the COVID restrictions were interesting as many people were catapulted into the lifestyles that were more ubiquitous with that of retired couples. Social isolation, codependence and maybe a lack of romance seemed to infiltrate many relationships.

I absolutely cherish mine and Jordan’s year and a half living in “Bellemer” together. We were lucky enough to share it with six incredible people and hold some beautiful experiences of running through the mountains and swimming in the ocean together. Yet when Jordan pitched her plan to move to Joburg for part of 2022, I was so proud of her. Both for her opting for independence, self care and youth. As well as the inevitable growth that we would both go through during the time apart. Our relationship’s success is due to incredible communication as well as a healthy amount of time apart. Absence does indeed makes the heart grow fonder, and my heart is about to explode with fondness right now.

I land at the airport and am greeted by hangryness. Jordan - driving a car about ten minutes away - senses this and instructs her sister, Erin, in the passenger seat to tell me to get something to eat. One overpriced egg mayo sandwich later and I’m feeling that five year old froth again.

There she is! Shit! Why did I choose a stinky egg mayo! Smooches hello and an excited chat with the Magrobi sisters as we drive home narrating the highlights of the nighttime city they grew up in.

Friday holds my final work day. I have probably put in some of the best work of my life over the last month or two to get a big feature completed for ekko. My hope was that today would be a walk in the park, filled with goodbyes to colleagues and tying up a couple loose ends. And, well it was inevitably a bit more of hectic than that… I finished off almost everything though. Just one pesky database on Kikapay was sad that I would be leaving it, so I would have to give it a special goodbye the coming Monday.

Friday night was looking stacked: an old friend’s birthday dinner and a night out to the infamous party called Toy Toy.

Dinner was lovely.

Snacks: abundant.

Old Cape Tonions: plentiful.

Rollies: bottomless.

Howzit you well?: scarce.

Shit talking: palpable.

Double slit experiment: problematic.

Friends: dear.

Food: late, but delicious.

We’re in the Uber. Off to Toy Toy. Nic is standing on the side of the road - looking lost - we wave him off: “hey wait!” he calls, but our Uber drives on. We call Suzi and Frik who claim it’s a good thing that we left Nic behind: “dead weight anyway”. We pull off an Uber U-Turn, which is like a normal U-Turn except you have to promise the driver a tip and ignore the GPS yelling at you. Laughter in the phone, it’s a prank! Nic is in the car with Suzi and Frik. Yeah yeah good one fellas. Sorry Sir; “One more Uber U-Turn please”.

There’s a line outside the club. A guard is putting stickers on our phone cameras, no evidence of misbehaviour it suggests. Nic asks if their sticker budget has increased due to the fact that modern smartphones have a paparazzi worth of lenses on the back. A Dutch business student calls us “youngsters”. We unanimously decide to don the title and proceed to absolutely send it.

They don’t put stickers on the selfie camera…

Many x-rated things happened. The stickers on our phone cameras and Black Label tequila special ensure that (faint) memories are the only things that leave with us at 5am. Well, that and a vape that we borrowed without returning. A blow out to celebrate many things: Leo and Jordan, Jozi Jordan, Sabbatical Leo and Friends.

Jordan captures our arrival home on Saturday morning in a poem:

Wordle When we get home At 5am With pupils that Cannot focus, Like moths to a light We do today’s Wordle And get it in 3 tries. 9 July 2022

Saturday morning witnesses Leo and Jordan spooning on the sleeper couch. Unmoved from the position that they lay down in. Erin brings us coffee into bed, bless her. She asks for the scoop, “what happened?”

“Very hard techno and Shirts with their boets off” my brain gives its best effort. “Everyone has sunglasses on inside” “lots of lollipops, how many did you steal Jordan?” We wash off kleptomania and cigarette aroma to meet Bruce, Jordan and Erin’s stepfather, for breakfast. Benedict Baskets, coffee, cute chats and the waitron recognising Jordan as a local put the lack of sleep at the back of mind.

“It’s a sabbatical baby” I use as justification for wanting to buy a pre-rolled joint at a dispensary down the road. I proceed to get uncomfortably high.

Jordan shows me a communal library in her block of flats. “Sea Leopard” catches her eye. Arctic submarine warfare, espionage, political strategy and mystery; did you say Three Body Problem of the ocean - sign us up. For context me and Jordan had both read the first book in the “Three Body Problem” trilogy and then read the second “The Dark Forrest” out loud together while discussing potential plot twists, underlying strategy and character insights. Would “Sea Leopard” fill these enormous shoes?

A communal library leading onto the garden.

We wonder around the garden and return home. Popcorn is perfectly popped against all odds. We google “Best Archer episodes” and put on one we haven’t seen recently. Jordan’s roommates return and we attempt to make a larger dent into the obnoxious joint.

I push through my foggy brain and read the first five or so pages of “Sea Leopard”. It’s somewhat captivating. The writing is layered in descriptive metaphors that throw me off a bit. We decide to come back to it when we’re sober.

Dizzy and confused I slide through the afternoon. It’s getting dark and cold when the obvious thing to do is get Chinese takeouts from a place that Jordan used to go as a child. The car doesn’t start. We start walking and hope that Sunday morning JOL (JOL = JOrdan + Leo) will be able to fix it.

There’s someone angrily shouting on the road up ahead of us. Some anxious thoughts flit over to grab control of my mind. “Don’t walk through Joburg at night” they say. As we pass the man on the side of the road, he yells: “KUK MAN!” Jordan assured me that he lives there and is very sweet. We collect our fried noodles and rice. I hear him shouting and suggest that we walk on the other side of the road as I had seen some other concerned people do. We’re drawing nearer to him and I can see how aggravated he is. My heart is beating. He turns his eyes from the portable radio at his ear to ours and bellows “FOK MAN BOKKE, VANG HOM!” Don’t judge a book by its cover Leo. We giggle and float home.

Our night is spent alone; enjoying each other’s company and watching “My Neighbor Totoro” a Studio Ghibli favourite of mine that Jordan had not yet seen. An empty nut butter sachet, a chocolate wrapper, popcorn kernels and two sleeping lovers intertwined on a single mattress mark the end of a soothing Saturday.

Sunday sees Norah Jones playing while the flat is cleaned and a kale, cheese, onion and garlic omelette is whipped up. The sky is clear and air crispy. In an attempt to rid ourselves of the issues incurred from the two previous, rather rogue days; we head off to the garage to fix the car. It’s just a loose battery terminal Jordan identifies. And she quickly fixes it. Celebrations are in order and we go off to buy some snacks for a picnic in Emmaremtia park.

We have a beautiful monthly relationship conversation on the picnic blanket. It’s something that I will be forever grateful for. Being able to be vulnerable, honest, open and inquisitive has allowed Jordan, Leo and JOL to all grow, thrive and coexist. I will always admire your emotional intelligence, self awareness, love and compassion darling Jordan - you’ve taught me so much.

We were at a festival a few months ago. It’s Saturday night around midnight and we’ve all congregated into the Yurt (a very special place for us). A friend of ours and her partner are going to be performing “Tea and Synths” - two things that I thoroughly enjoy. Yet things took a slight turn for the unexpected when, while playing beautiful synths and drinking tea, they began telling their love story. I was so inspired and awestruck by this public confession of love, I feel that it’s something that should be more common.

I just want to say how grateful I am for you Jordan. For the way that you treat me, and all the effort that you’ve put into our relationship. I am so appreciative for the incredible communication that we have, for being in a relationship with someone who is so self-aware, empathetic and compassionate and for the love that we give each other. I have so much love, respect and time for you.

Monday morning marks 3 years and 8 months of our relationship. It also marks the poorest health that Jordan has been in for a while, with a nasty cough and fever. Maybe the stolen vape was cursed? After an indulgent breakfast of chocolate Futurelife crunch, yogurt and Chuckles biscuits we head off to get Jordan a COVID test - which turns out to be a cute little adventure.

A nap in a single bed with two people is quite incredible. It’s like a dance in your sleep, with both people having to be intertwined to the point that they both move together. The subconscious tango. After waking up I proceed to make an absolutely incredible Dhal for dinner.

6am on Tuesday and the alarm is blaring in our ears. Two things are confirmed: the scheduled Uber to the airport is arriving in 15 minutes and Jordan’s COVID test result is negative. We celebrate to the best of our ability for so early in the morning. A hug and a kiss and I’m on the way to the airport. In the boarding line I receive this poem:

Eyes Your face is home. I know it so well that I Noticed your singed Eyelashes. Yet still I can Get lost in your eyes. The blue green bit of ocean You use to see the world. May our eyes always Find comfort In each other. 12 July 2022

This makes me feel like the most loved and special person on this planet. I shed a happy tear while scanning my boarding pass; a huge smile on my face. Excited for the next adventure.