CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Butterflies, Marky!
I know I told Alice that I was not going to do anything crazy but after wandering around Paris aimlessly for a while on foot, I find myself in front of PSG head office.
I have no idea what I am doing there....
Who am I kidding? Of course, I do
I need my husband even though the only thing he had done for me in these few months of our marriage was throw money at me but I need him.
I need him to tell me that everything was going to be okay. I know I am not getting that from him but the thought of him telling me that is comforting. I watch the sun go down and the street light of Paris come on just standing and watching my husband on the bill board
“You have that look again” a thick hoarse voice said to me and when I turned toward the voice, I saw a really tall dark skinned man. He had a soft smile and that made him look more handsome. He is cute, well-muscled and those tats looked sexy on him. I won’t mind defiling my matrimonial bed to spend one night embraced in those arms
Control your horny self, Bewaji!
“What?”
“I said you have that same look on your face again” He repeated himself.
That accent…
He is British and kind of look familiar but I can’t place the face
“You don’t remember me, do you?” He asked with a smile. He knows me, but how do I not remember him when he looks so fucking familiar. Looking at his wristwatch, am not a wristwatch freak, but I don’t have to be a freak to know he is wearing Gucci. His sneakers… Nike. I don’t know the brand of his t-shirt but he is clothed with designers.
Fuck! He smells so good. He smells like money. His guy is rich and how the fuck do I not know him
“I am sorry” I said in defeat when I came up short
“That is fine… good for me actually” he replied “The other day you were here, you looked both sad and angry but now…. You just look sad. Is Kylian bothering you again?”
“What?” I blurted out. How the fuck does he know that I am married to Kylian? Then he bursted into laughter
“You should see your face” then he laughed more.
Damn!
This dude is handsome and I love the sound of his laughter.
“Forgive me, I am sorry for teasing you like that” he muttered. Okay, he does not know about Kylian. “Just that the last time I saw you, you weren’t so relaxed. I tried pulling you off…” he trailed off
Oh my God! Did he just say he pulled me the last time I was here? He can’t be the blind man
“You were the guy I hit, aren’t you” I let out with utmost remorse. He smiled “I am so sorry, I didn’t know what came over me then”
“It is fine but is that all you remember about me?” I don’t think I met this guy for the first time during my psychotic break, I know him from somewhere else…. but where?
“This has never happened to me since I went pro… this is good” he smiled brightly at me “Can you walk with me?”
Walk with you? Okay, that is a red flag. How can he be asking a stranger to walk with him. As handsome as he is, what if he is a fucking kidnapper?
As always, I guess he could read what was going on in my mind on my face as he raised his hands up
“I promise you, I am not a kidnapper, you can trust me on that” he declared looking so cute
Seriously, Bewaji, you really need to get your emotion in check
“How am I suppose to know that? I don’t know you? I don’t even know your name?”
“Oh, I am sorry” he sighed loudly “I should have introduced myself first, I am Marcus”
“Marcus what?”
“If I tell you that, then you know who I am and I want to get to know you before what everyone say about me gets in the way” he admitted.
Okay! I think he is some celebrity of some kind… an actor maybe. He wants to know me but why?
Wait a minute, is he in love with me? I could feel some butterflies in my stomach at the thought of this man’s advances
“Why do you want to know me?”
“Because you look lost, I hope to be some kind of navigation to help you find your way”
And just like that, the butterflies died in my stomach. So, I am just a charity case
“I am not lost” I grunted at him. I am not, right? I know things have not been going the way I want but that does not mean I am lost. He smiled softly and said
“The walk is a fifteen minute walk, it is not far”
“You are a stranger and my Mama told me never to go with strangers”
“Every Mama tells their kids that and if you don’t trust me, snap my pic and send it to your Mama”
He is not the kidnapping type but one can never be too safe and I snapped his picture. He looked surprised.
I am sorry, did this nigga really think I won’t do that?
“Did you think I won’t snap you” I said as I pocketed my phone “I send it to her already”
He laughed out loud
“It is all good” he complimented. I didn’t send it to Mama but he does not need to know that “So can we go now?”
I obliged and walked beside him. Cars moving, pedestrian walking, going about their business, golden light, silver light up in the street, half-moon up, gentle breeze and a fresh air, I know I had some reservation but this is actually comforting. I always thought I would be going on my first walk around Paris with my husband, I can’t believe I am having that with a complete stranger
“So, where are we going?” I conversed first
“You will see”
I nodded and continued walking gently with him
“So where are you from?”
“What gave it away that I am not French” I questioned politely looking at him
“You are speaking English and if you were French, you would know who I am”
“I do know who you are but I just can't place your face”
“Same thing, so, where are you from and I don’t think you told me your name?”
“Call me Bewa and am from Nigeria”
“Bewa? What does it mean?”
“The full name is Bewaji and it means, I woke up with beauty”
“That is not a lie” Marcus noted with a soft smile on his face
He is flirting with me, my butterflies resurrected and I couldn’t help the chuckle that came out of my throat.
“We are here” he turned towards the front yard of a restaurant. I stopped. Did he bring me to a restaurant? Does he hate eating alone that much?
He turned back to me when he didn’t hear my footstep
“What?”
“A restaurant?”
“Are you surprised that it is not my kidnapping cave? Come on”
I guess I should be glad it is not. He opened the door and the bell above the door made a chunk sound. I followed him in.
The restaurant was nearly empty expect for the eldery black woman with grey hair who met us at the door who greeted Marcus warmly and hugged the hell out of his body. I am guessing the relationship is more than of a cook and her client. They seem close
“It is good to see you again, Marky”
“Thank you, Madam Black”
“What will you be having? The usual?”
“No, I need something spicy” Marcus announced
“And your lady friend?”
“She will have what I am having”
“Coming up, go have your seat”
Marcus made his way to table at the extreme end and I followed steady behind him
“What if I wanted something else?”
“If you did, you would have corrected me but you didn’t” he pulled out a chair for me
Such a gentleman!
“Your name is Marcus, why is she calling you Marky?”
“That was my nickname when I was little”
“My guess was right, you two are close” I muttered
“You can say that, she lived on my block when I was little”
I nodded and started caressing the marriage ring on my finger, a habit that I started recently
“How long have you been married” he gestured to my hand
“Couple of months”
“So, does your husband know that you have an unhealthy obsession with Kylian Mbappe?”
“What” I retorted in surprise
“What happened to you that day?”
“I..I…I wa..” I stuttered badly trying to rack my brain with something to say but came up short
“Let me guess what happened, you and your husband had a fight… You needed a vent and Kylian was here”
Marcus, thank you for giving me a way out
“Something like that” I cracked up “So, you are from London?” Trying to change the topic
“Manchester, where are you from in Nigeria” he asked and just like that, we started getting to know each other. Going from one question to another
“So they just flog each other with soaked... what did you call it, koboko, soaked koboko for no reason?” Marcus questioned in astonishment as I tell him about the New Yam Festival that occurs in my home town back in Nigeria. Adult and young man will flog each other during the day and run around the village with burning bunch of sticks at night. I loved it when I was younger, watching the men get flogged. It was usually bloody and they will laugh about it. It was fun to watch and the fire parade at night was always so beautiful but when I discovered that it was a fetish occasion, I stayed away.
“It is fun”
“Forgive me but I don’t see any fun in people flogging each other till blood comes out just because new yams were harvested”
“There are cultures way weirder than that and trust me, when witnessing the festival yourself, you will love it”
“I don’t think so” he retorted
“Any girlfriend?”
“No, just got out a relationship and please don’t ask me what happened” he cautioned me. Judging from the pain his eyes hold in them, I think it was painful one
“I wasn’t going to” I totally was going to but he is not going to know that “Are you okay?”
“Getting better every day”
Madam Black carries a pot in her hand and placed it on the table. Hot steam blocked my view and I couldn’t see what was in the pot but from the aroma that engulfed my nose, I don’t need to see the food to know that this is one hell of a hot pepper soup
“Pepper soup!” I cried out excitement, Madam Black nodded
“I will get some plates” she moved away
“What were you saying about me kidnapping you?” Marcus taunted
“I take that back” I uttered without taking my eyes from the hot delicacy in front of me. I hurriedly collected the plates from Madam Black
“Enjoy” She muttered and left. I scooped put some of the catfish with pepper soup water into my plates and took one spoonful.
“Hmmmm!” With my eyes closed, I savoured the food in my mouth. My heart ached with joy at the taste. The last time I tasted something this good was when I was about to leave home and my mother made it. This is what I call spicy, it felt so good to taste pepper again. Maria was always adding pepper as if the pepper was begging not to be cooked. The salt, maggi were in correct quantity, I could taste the onions
Fuck!
“This is so good” I giggly commented as I scooped more fish into my mouth
TO BE CONTINUED NEXT SATURDAY, 9.00PM WAT
0 Comments