Aaargh.
I CAN’T BELIEVE Talia set me up on a date.
I only saw the guy twice at her’s.
Not only I have my teen’s class dance routine that I absolutely have to finish, but I’m in one those days where hot flashes are every 5 minutes; it’s hellish.
Since he is a friend of hers, I feel compelled to go so that she stops talking to me about him.
But I plan to eat quickly, without having dessert.
Fortunately Talia will join us after work, that’s when I’ll take the opportunity to leave to work on my routine.
I just put on jeans, a pink top, and I don’t bother with perfume.
Bummer.
With my tummy, my top is too tight. I really have to stop eating sweets when I feel peckish and start eating fruits instead.
The guy has invited me to a restaurant that I don’t know at the TROPICANA beach in Libreville.
I am so stressed out, I’ve got hot flashes again, which although they have diminished a lot thanks to my food supplements; I feel them as they are about to melt my face.
Having purposely arrived 15 minutes late, I pray that when I arrive he will no longer be there.
But when I open the restaurant door, I see him.
He looks up at me, and smiling, stands up, waving his hand to make sure I see the table where he is.
No doubt.
God has ignored my request.
_ Me, forcing an embarrassed smile as I’m approaching: sorry for the delay.
_ Mark : no worries.
It’s not the waiting that counts, but who we wait for..
Pfff, typical common and tedious phrase.
After reading the menu, I order grilled fish and a salad, just to make an effort to lose a bit of my belly.
To make conversation, Mark keeps bringing up topics to which I only respond with briefs “yes”, “no” so that he gets bored.
But obviously he doesn’t get it.
During dinner, Mark leans towards me, extends his arm, gently takes my hand, which he closes in his.
And lowering his tone of voice : you look lovely, especially when you’re blushing.
Aaargh. It’s infuriating.
I heard there are 3 or 4 women for every man in the world. Can’t he just go to one of them?
“Blushing”.. Can’t he see that I’m attacked by hot flashes?.. Honestly.
Please, Lord, make him receive an important call so that this unbearable moment stops.
And I PROMISE to try harder to cook for Talia and Ada who always cook for me.
And to stop killing spiders. Hum.. I mean.. I’ll try.. We’ll have to see.
Because many of them are so huge that I bet they are monsters coming straight from hell.
But it’s hopeless.
Today, God has decided to be deaf.
As naturally as possible, I remove my hand from his, pretending to take my phone out of my bag to take a look at my messages.
Phew, I feel free..
_ Mark , not taking his eyes off me (help.. Talia , where are you?..) : Can I ask you something about your job?
That’s it. THANK YOU Lord.
I bet he’s going to ask me this silly question “if dancing is a REAL profession”, and I’ll be able to use that as an excuse to leave.
_ Can dance actually be started at any age, or is it better to start as a child?
Blimey. Although this question is very common, I am so taken back that he asked it that I stop while raising my glass.
_ Me, more relaxed, and putting down my glass after taking a sip of my juice :
It depends on the objective.
As such, it is perfectly possible to start at any age if you wish.
But to build a career, it is better to start as young as possible because the joints and muscles are still very flexible.
Mark asks me another question about dancing, and a wave of warmth washes over me from head to toe.
Bummer. I should have worn my pretty pink dress.
I take advantage of the fact that I once again want to go to the toilet (I really need to go to Pilates classes more regularly to exercise my pelvic muscles more), excuse myself, and go with my hand bag to the toilet to put on some perfume water; peach scent.
Unfortunately the rose scent one is in my other hand bag at home, but the color of the bottle is the same.
As I returned to my seat, my bag brushes against his glass of red wine; which spills over his white polo shirt.
Aaargh.
I apologize to him (damn, what bad luck), he replies that it’s not a big deal; and heads to the toilet.
A few minutes later he comes back, his polo shirt still stained.
He must not have been able to clean himself properly. My poor darling..
Perhaps he should have had white wine, it would have been less obvious on his polo.
_ Me (in order to relax him a little): by the way, enough about me, let’s talk about you. What do you like to do in your free time?
_ Mark, while passing his napkin over his polo shirt : I really enjoy going
_ Me, cutting him off as I already know where he’s driving at : yes, I also really enjoy going to the cinema.
But I mean beside that?
_ Me, taking a handkerchief out of my bag to pat my forehead from sweating slightly (embarassing damn hot flashes, they’re going to spoil my date), and again cutting him off as I know for sure what he is going to say: yes. I do also sometimes prefer to just stay at home.
Isn”t that amazing that we have so much in common?
Hang on a minute.
Am I wrong, or did he just discreetly look at his watch?
Don’t be in a hurry to go home my darling, we have the whole evening ahead of us.
Finally I order a dessert to spend more time with him.
An ice cream to cool me down.
Except that Mark doesn’t do the same, but already asks for the bill.
As I’m about to tell him about myself again, I see Talia walking in.
Mark, who spots her at the same time as me, gets up and joins her towards the door before she can get to our table.
And I can hear “..I’m very sorry, but.. ..’Keeps talking about herself..”
Then he comes back to the table, and kindly says goodbye to me without giving me time to respond.
_ Me, mouth open and completely lost, while Talia sits on my darling’s chair : hang on. Has he left?
_ Talia, embarrassed : he said he had an emergency.
Seona, you kept sending me and deleting your messages, but you left one where you said he was harassing you.
I’ve known him for ages, stop always exaggerating.
_ Me: the messages were just by mistake.
We were having a great time, but you arrived too early. You put him off.
Aaaargh!!!..
