Curious – Episode 17


By Paula Keyne

Adanna didn’t want to admit it but she was having an exciting day way more than she could ever have imagine and if she was truly being honest with herself then she will have to admit this was her best day yet in South

Africa. They started out window shopping and then had a light lunch at a restaurant then he told her about a boat party that his friend was throwing later in the day and invited to come as his date. He dropped her at the

hotel where she freshen up and prepared for the party and when it was time he picked her up. At the party,she saw a lot of celebrities and they all seemed to know Thomas and it made her realize how little she knew about him,well once they are somewhere quiet,she will try her best to know more about him. The party was filled with alcohol and cigarette smoke that made

the place stuffy,soon they were seated and more drinks and wraps of blunt were being passed around,since she does not drink,she helped herself to the small chops on a beautiful craft table by the corner

“Should I roll one for you?” Thomas asked her

“Nahh am good” she replied

“I guess its more for me then and I don’t mind that” he whispered in her ears. She ignored him and looked around her,the party was in full swing and people appear to be in cliques. They was a section where they were playing foosball and at another there seem to be a beer drinking competition going on and in another corner there was definitely a making out session going on,it was like they were trying to tear each other’s skin out.

“Stop staring”

She looked at him “am just observing”

“Yeah right”

“Can you take me to the rest room”

“Believe me you don’t want to go there”

“Well I want to, now get your a$$ up let’s go” she stood up from the couch and he followed suite then led her to the door,he waited outside while she stepped in and wished immediately that she hadn’t, all she saw were couples in different positions,she turned around and walked out almost immediately

“You believe me now?” He took her hands in his “let’s go” he waved at the host and they left. The drive back was in silence and he walked her up to her door.

“Thanks for everything,I had a good time” she said as she opened her door

“You are welcome” he replied and then an awkward silence followed and he shifted nervously with his hands in his pockets”I guess this is good night” and turned to walk away,then paused and faced her “be ready tomorrow morning, you are following me to work, I will be here by 7”

“And where is work?”

“You will find out” and he walked away.

She watched him go and then proceeded to her room,she dropped her bag and got rid of her clothes and had a quick shower,then she changed into her nighties and climbed her bed. She took her phone dialled Adams number, he picked immediately and they spoke for over an hour and as soon as the call ended she was fast as sleep.

……………

Work she discovered was a photo sh00t for a fashion magazine as she discovered Thomas was a photographer. This morning,they were at a private

beach where the shooting was taking place. Everywhere was rowdy as everyone was going about their business. The editor of the fashion magazine and Thomas were going through details for the sh00t and also arguing about things she could not hear.They were supposed to have started but one of the.model was yet to arrive and the other three were being the ultimate divas and driving everyone insane. She recognized two of the models from a TV commercial, where they had appear sweet and down to earth but the real life version of them were just the opposite.

When the last model finally arrived,they had to rush up her makeup and get her ready for the sh00t. Soon,shooting commenced and Thomas worked his magic. She had never seen him so concentrated and it was mesmerizing watching him work. He was confident

about his work and it showed in how he carried himself and the orders he gave. Half way into the sh00t,the model who arrived late slapped another who  returned in kind and soon a tussle began and in the process they pushed another model who collapsed. Staffs ran in to break the fight and the model who fainted was taking to a corner where she received medical attention.

The editor gave an hour break to sort things out and also for lunch. Thomas walked off the set and towards the water and began smoking, that was probably his hundredth cigarette for the day,she lost count after he

finished the first three packs. She picked a plate and took some sandwiches and two pack of juice and went to meet him. She gave him a pack of juice and a sandwich and they ate in silence and watched the waves. After a while he led her to some rocks where they sat down

“Sorry about all the mess you had to witness,I would have love to tell you this was a one time thing but this is the fashion industry, its always a miracle if a sh00t goes smoothly” he took another cigar from his pocket “do

you mind if I smoke” when she nodded he lit it and took a long drag

“Those models must be very strong to knock the other one off like that” she said and he looked at her like she was a child and laughed

“Lord Adanna don’t be that naive,even a rat would have knocked her off her feet. Its very obvious that she needs to eat something but all these models are always starving themselves its crazy”

“I guess she wants to maintain her trim figure”

“What about if she dies in the process huh?” He took another drag and faced the sea.

“What made you become a photographer?”

“Money,I needed money so I worked as an assistant for a photographer and with time I grew in ranks and started shooting for myself and then went to a film institute for a programme and returned fully”

“Wait,so you are saying you don’t like your job or what?”

“Am saying I got into it because of the money,I don’t hate but I also am not that thrilled about it like I once were. I like the art of photography,I mean its like immortalizing a moment you know but am at a point right now where I want more. I have always wanted to do documentaries but here I am taking photos of those entitled brats but am not complaining because the

pay is good and looking how far I have come and am grateful. I mean who would have thought that a boy like me could ever leave the slum and make it this big”.

” I guess your family will be proud of you”

“Maybe but they are all dead so I don’t know if they are proud or not”

“What happened to them?”

“Let’s see,my mum had an accident and was admitted in the hospital, my siblings were heading over to see her on a bike and got crushed by a truck and my mum died later that evening. Don’t ask about my father because I

don’t know who he is,I have never seen him and my mum never spoked about him. I was the oldest child and had to fend for the family early and I probably would have been on that bike too but I was on duty to wash the

plates at the restaurant where I worked so that’s about it”

“Geez,you had to grow up fast I guess”

“Yeap” he replied. They talked about their childhood and she even told him about her the things that had been happening in her life in the past months,she even told him about her suicide attempt, which was strange for

her,giving the fact that she had not been able to open up to anyone before but with him it was so easy to just tell him and it didn’t help that he was a good listener and she was open with him.

Soon the break was over and the sh00t continued, apart from the grumblings from the models from time to time,everything ran smooth and they wrapped up

early. They had dinner at a restaurant and then he dropped her off.

The next couple of days seem to move fast,Thomas made each and everyone of them memorable. They had a lot of fun and he took her to many places,she felt

like she was a local who had spent all their life there. The night before she was to return to Nigeria he took her to see a movie and they had dinner at a cozy restaurant by the water side and took a stroll down the beach.

When it was late, he took her back to her lodge. Once again standing in front of her door like their first night he said “I guess this is goodbye,I would have loved to take you to the airport tomorrow but I have a photoshoot first thing in the morning.”

“Its no problem, I already made plans with the hotel to take me”

“Okay,that’s cool,so then…ermm goodnight till when ever we see ourselves again” he said looking into her eyes

“Yes but you know you don’t have to leave now,we can both go inside and chat and maybe watch another movie”

Taking her hands,he replied” believe me I want to go in with you but chatting or watching a movie is definitely not what I have in mind so we are not going to tempt faith….I might be a lot of things but married

women are off limits for me and even though you are in the process of getting a divorce,you are still married so that’s just beyond me right now” he gave her a peck on her cheek and walked away.

***********

It felt good to come back home and to familiar surrounding. Adanna has been back for three days now and besides visit to her doctor, she had been indoor,she had clean,wiped and dusted everything she could lay her hands on. Since returning back to the house in Banana Island,she let go of the staffs not because she could not afford to pay them but because she couldn’t pay them but she wanted to start everything afresh and once the

divorce is final,she will get herself a new place with furniture and staff she chose herself.

She had spoken with her lawyer on the phone and had been told that Samuel had agreed to settle and everything they own will be split in two and their house and everything in it will be sold and the money split between them,tho every jewellery he gave her when they were together will still belong her and that once everything was pushed through and signed then the divorce will be final. She had already hired a real estate

agent to find a house for her. Her phone rang to interrupt her thoughts

“Hello”

“Hi,Adanna its Tony Shogo you were on my show the Tony’s show a while back”

“Yes,I know you. How have you been?”

“Am fine and you?”

“Better than expected”

“Okay,the reason am calling is to know if you will be free to be on my show on Friday,not as a guest but as a co host. Am having a round table conversation and I will like to be one of the personalities on it”

“What is the topic for discussion?”

“It’s not really a topic but errm,I got this mail from someone who wants his wife to leave her job and be a full time housewife or that she should get another job that’s less time consuming so they could try and raise a

family but she refused because according to her,she currently has her dream job and doesn’t want to leave it. So basically the discussion would just be us saying our views on the matter, whether or not she is right and state our reasons”

“Tony, you know am a big fan of yours but I don’t really think am the right person to discuss matters like this,how can I talk about someone’s marriage

when mine failed it just doesn’t sound right”

“Adanna we are not talking about how to keep a marriage or not basically we are focused on whether the lady is right to keep her dream job instead of

getting something less time consuming to start a family with her husband that’s all”

“I really don’t know Tony”

“Adanna stop this victim storyline its beyond crazy,your husband stepped out on your marriage and you divorced his sorry a$$ end of story,besides you should be the best person to talk about this after all its an open secret that your soon to be ex husband never allowed you to work so basically you have more insights in this matter than any of us”

“Hmmm,you know what lemme think about it and get back at you”

“Okay,I will like to know your answer by tomorrow so I should whether am to find someone else for the spot”

” okay I will”

“Be strong and hang in there, they are a lot of us out here who are rooting for you”

“Thanks, I appreciate it” the line went dead. She sighed and went back to her cleaning. That night she got a visit from Susan,ever since her ordeal they have become close friends,before now they only spoke on few occasions and most times it had to do with Adams but now their friendship was way deeper than that. They cooked dinner together and ate and then they talked

about different things including the call she got earlier from Tony,Susan felt it was a good platform to use to get back out there,her fans will know she is back and it will also help publicize her blog. Well seeing how she

had nothing to loose,she decided to accept,she called Tony and told him so.

When Susan left,she went upstairs to her room,carried her laptop from her table and sat on the bed. She logged on to her site and stared at her screen for a long time,she decided to change her blog’s layout. She chose red because it felt fierce and that’s what she wanted to represent. She updated new stories and surfed the net for things she felt will interest her readers. She was about logging off when a little voice in her head told her to try something new,she stared at her screen for a while and then hesitated for a bit but went ahead to post pictures from her vacation and even gave a review for the hotel and her tour. She was about updated when on second thoughts she decided to make it a new segment on her blog and asked her readers to share their own pictures and reviews from vacations.

She chose the name Adz Travels for the section. Adz from her name Adanna,she didn’t want to use Ad’s because she felt it was too boring. She checked her wall clock and discovered it was 4am,she decided to call it quits,she turned off her laptop and went to sleep.

…to be continued

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