Last week, I had a new article posted on Bella Naija. If you missed it, you can view it below:
http://www.bellanaija.com/2014/09/24/ugochi-ukah-finding-your-african-root/
You can leave your comments here if you prefer.
I have something new for y'all today. As usual, please leave your thoughts in the comment session and share. Enjoy.
She met him in Spanish class; the moment she saw him she knew she was attracted to him. He was dark and good-looking and when he stood up to help her get a chair, she noticed that he was also tall and gentlemanly. She had been the last to come into the class that day because she had come straight from work, which was quite far away. She knew that the distance from her work place to the lesson venue may be a problem for her, but she had decided to take the lessons because the cost was the cheapest she had found so far and she really wanted to learn Spanish. It would be an added asset to her natural brain and beauty, and would open more doors to working overseas; so she had registered for the class at the last minute, just before the deadline. She sat down quickly next to him and muttered her thanks, barely looking at him.
The
class was made up of eight people and the Spanish instructor, Mr. Nicolas was a
smallish, amicable man. He handed out some learning materials that he had
printed and as she reached to grab a copy from her neighbour, she noticed the band
on his wedding finger. “He is married and out of bounds”, she said to herself.
Mr. Nicholas asked the class to introduce themselves to their neighbours, in
Spanish. She turned to him and their eyes locked; it was then that she noticed
his hazel eyes and for half a minute, neither of them said a word. He eventually
smiled and introduced himself as Pablo. She smiled back, introduced herself and
asked him how come he was taking Spanish classes when he had a Spanish name. He
laughed and said that his country of origin had been colonized by Spain in the past but
their official language was English and so, he could barely speak Spanish. The rest
of the class was fun; everybody was friendly with each other and when it was
over, they said their goodbyes.
She left
the class a little later than the rest because she stayed behind to ask the
instructor some questions. As she walked out of the building, Pablo was standing
outside. She wanted to stop and talk to him but it seemed like he was waiting
for someone. So instead, she passed by him and said “Adios”. He smiled and responded back in Spanish. As she made her
way to the bus station, she wondered if he had been waiting for her but she
could not fathom any reason why he would be; besides he was probably married
and she did not like being too friendly with married men. When she got home, she quickly dialed her
friend’s number to return her missed call. “So, how was the Spanish class?”
Anna asked. “It was great, cool teacher and nice students. I actually saw a
good looking guy…” she began to describe Pablo excitedly. Anna sounded excited
too as she talked more about him until she added “…but I think he is married;
he was wearing a ring.” Anna sighed “Oh well! Out of bounds.” Both of them
laughed and talked about how hard it was to find a good, fine, and successful young
and single man.
The next
week came and this time, she left the office earlier and arrived half an hour
early. As she made her way into the building towards the class, she heard her
name. It was Pablo, sitting at the reception. He said that the classroom was
still locked and so, he was waiting for the instructor. She sat down next to
him and tried to do the assignments that Mr. Nicholas had given them the week
before. Pablo laughed at her and said he had only just completed his too. The conversation
got rolling, with both of them finding out that they had similar educational
background and interests. He had a Bachelors degree in Psychology, just like her
and now he was studying Law just like she was; only that he was a year ahead of
her. They were both foreigners in the land and had similar dreams of going into
entertainment law in the future. They talked about their families, most of whom were in the United
States and how lonely it was being in Australia. He was very easy to talk to,
with a good sense of humour and she found herself enjoying the conversation so
much that when their instructor arrived, she almost wished that he had not. They
sat next to each other during class like the week before and after the class, as
they walked to the bus station together, he asked her if she had any relatives
around. She answered no and inquired about him and even though she knew what
the answer was, she was surprised at her own disappointment when he told her
that he was married with a kid. They parted at the bus station and she tried
hard to push him out of her mind on the way home. She spoke to Anna again that
day. “Hmm… please be careful, you know he is married” Anna said, not sounding
pleased. “I know, and that’s why I did not ask for his contact even though we
are in the same department. You don’t have to worry about me; I can never have
an affair with a married man. Never!”
Anna was not convinced “I know you have never done that but still, keep your
distance please.” “I will, I promise. That is way below my values and standards”
she said confidently and they moved on to other topics of interest. The next
couple of weeks passed by; Pablo was her closest friend in the class but she
made sure she kept it official. They usually took the same bus back home after
class and although, she always got down first since her house was closer, she
never invited him into her home.
The end
of the school term drew closer and deadlines were approaching for final
assignments and exams. She and her study group members were struggling with a
particular question that their Law teacher had given to them. It was then that
it occurred to her to ask Pablo for help as he may have done the course the year
before. So after the next Spanish lesson, she spoke to him about it on the way
home. He gave her some good ideas and references to look up, which she found
useful and so she asked him for a favour - to teach her more, when he had the
time. He agreed and asked her to meet in
his office the next day after work hours. She was desperate for solutions and saw
no harm in meeting at an official place; she had also grown to trust him as he seemed
like a responsible man. However, she decided to go with one of her study mates,
Eve, to his office. The meeting was fruitful and they booked another for the
next day and the day after, same venue, as exams were fast approaching. The next
day, Eve canceled because she fell ill but she said she would definitely make
the day after. So she met alone with Pablo. He was an intelligent man and she
found the session alone with him even better than yesterday’s. Time flew by and
it was 11 pm, so they left to continue the rest on the following day with Eve.
The following
day, Eve was still ill so she and Pablo met and resumed from where they had
stopped the day before. Nothing odd happened the whole time and she could not
have been more grateful at the end of the session. And so it was out of
gratitude that she hugged him that night as they stood at the bus station,
waiting for their bus. “Gracias, you
do not know how much you have done for me. I owe you one” she said and then
released him. He smiled as usual and for the first time since after their first
day in the Spanish class, their eyes locked again. It was then that they kissed;
a kiss so long and sensual, probably the best she had ever had and yet the one
she knew that she would always regret. They did not stop until the bus came and
when she got home, she blamed herself bitterly, although her body still had Goosebumps
from the thought of him. She had crossed the line and broken her “values” and
she knew that she would never tell Anna or anybody else. She never got to find
out how he felt about everything, as she never called nor picked up his call
afterwards. She quit the Spanish class; which she told herself that she should
have done after the first class anyway.
Thank you for reading and have a beautiful week.
Twitter: @vivio_gogo. IG @ugochiukah
