ANOTHER POOL BOY

 

Hello Hi,

 

Welcome (back) to my blog! It’s been over a year since I last wrote on my blog. Too many life changes happened - I recently moved countries and started a new job, yes, again! I could write a book about my life experiences over the past couple of years but those are stories for another day. For today, something happened that inspired me to write again. Almost like a rendezvous but I said “uh-uh, not today”. Below is my story.

ANOTHER POOL BOY

I got up early on Sunday morning, with lots of plans in my head for my day. First, I was going to go for early morning mass, then do some house chores, after which I would go to the pool, then wash my hair, do laundry, call some friends… the list went on and on. I went to the indoor pool as I suspected that the outdoor pool in my building would be packed with people, since it was a hot afternoon. As I was got into the area, a man was leaving the pool. Yes, I was going to have the pool all to myself; I thought to myself. I said hello to him, took off my bathrobe, put on my swimming cap, and goggles, and then got into the pool. I started my usual routine, going across the pool at the shallow end, since I was still afraid of the deep end. On my second lap, I heard a big splash in the pool that made me stand up. It turned out that the man had jumped back into the pool and started swimming at the deep end. Oh well, if he keeps swimming over there, I’d still have the shallow end to myself. By the time I was starting my third lap, I saw this man standing right across me in the shallow end. I hoped his preference for that area would be short-lived. When I got beside him, he started talking to me.

“Do you live here?”, He asked

“Yes I do”

“Are you new? ”

“No, are you?”, I asked to be polite.

“Yes, I moved in 2 weeks ago.”

“Well, welcome to the building!” I smiled, like any friendly neighbour would do

“Where are you from?”

“Nigeria”

“I’ve been to Africa many times but not Nigeria. I’ve been to Ghana, Togo…” he continued.

“Where are you from?”, I was curious.

“I’m from Lebanon. Have you ever heard of Lebanon?”

“Yes, I have. I’ve never been there though.”

“Are you married?”

“No”

“So do you live here alone?”

I hesitated to answer for security reasons. I was not sure if it was a good idea to let a stranger, especially a male one, know that I lived alone. All the same, he was a new neighbour and I figured it couldn’t be harmful, as long as I did not give him my apartment number. Since there were over 100 apartments, it would be difficult to find me if he turned out to be a weirdo. Plus, I did not feel like telling a lie on a Sunday, so I responded yes to his question. He proceeded to tell me that he was not married. He had recently moved to the country and was initially living with his brother and his family for a couple of months but now he was living alone. He also asked about my swimming -  I told him I was still a learner so I preferred to be at the shallow end. He thought I was a good swimmer and that with practice, I would be perfect. By this time, I was getting impatient to continue my swimming, so I started to kick my legs in the pool and once he paused, I said thanks and swam off.

He was already by the other end of the pool when I got there. I was impressed with his fast swimming skills but at the same time, I was beginning to feel that he was a bit creepy. He started conversing again. He asked for my phone number. He said he was single and looking for a girlfriend and he thought I was beautiful. He suggested taking me out for coffee or a meal, and he said he would teach me how to swim.

“Thanks, but I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”

“Okay, but can I take your number to be your friend?”

I said okay; I could give him my number just to be a friendly neighbour but I had to finish swimming first.

He started telling me that he planned to marry an African lady. He had no interest in marrying a fellow Arab.

“Good for you”, I said and resumed my swimming, wondering how that piece of information was important to me.

While I swam, I couldn’t help but remember a guy I had met 6 years ago. I wrote about him here. He was also from Lebanon and a newcomer to the country. I had found him online to teach me swimming and after the first class, he texted me to ask if he could move in with me since we were both single. He said he would teach me swimming for free. Of course, that was where the swimming lessons ended for both of us. Fast forward to now, another Lebanese guy asking me to be his girlfriend the same day we met, just because I was not married, and I lived alone (I did not even tell this guy that I was single). I wondered if this was a cultural thing.   

I turned around and this time, he was sitting above the pool right across from me, with his legs in the water. It was as if he wanted to get a better view of me. I felt annoyed but decided to ignore him as I had limited time set for the pool. When I eventually got out of the water, I took my belongings and said bye. He reminded me that I had agreed to give him my number. I reluctantly put in my digits, then he called me to check that he had the right number. He asked if I used WhatsApp. “Not really”, I said; this time I lied not caring that it was a Sunday., He said he would call or text me then. We said our goodbyes and I left wondering if I should not have given him my number, but I told myself that it was good to meet and be friendly with new neighbours.

By the time I got to my room, I had received a message from him. It was not a text message; it was on WhatsApp and it read “Hi beautiful” with a wink. It was at that moment that I decided that I did not want to have a new friendly neighbour, at least not for this week and with that thought, I blocked his number.

 

Thank you very much for reading. In case you msised, the previous story about the pool guy was published here. Please don’t forget to subscribe to my Blog and Youtube Channel (VivioGogo) and share with your friends. Also follow me on Instagram @ugochiukah and @lavivisblog, and on twitter @vivio_gogo . Until next time, stay safe. XOXO, God bless. 😊