*****

The airport isn't congested thankfully......I guess most of the arrivals had left before we got here. I'm sitting in the waiting room with Ismail more or less glued to my side. Gladys suggested we wait for her while she went to search for her son, a suggestion I could hardly fault.

While my eyes devour the activities around me, my head, specifically, my imagination, keeps making a sketch of what Chuma looks like, it shouldn't matter to me, but like I said, I have this bad feeling about him. Not one you get because you feel you've met someone, but one you get when you feel someone is about to cause chaos in your otherwise peaceful life.

And no, this isn't because I feel threatened that just maybe he'll steal Gladys' attention, thst's the least of my worries. I'll actually be grateful to anyone who can get Gladys to back off, I just don"t enjoy this feeling i'm getting concerning the new addition to our lives. Although, it would be nice to have a man around, maybe he could be a positive influence to Ismail, help him come out of his shell and maybe get him to speak. That thought makes me feel just a little better.


I feel Ismail stiffen in my arms, I peg that to mean Gladys is coming back, I look towards the direction he's facing and I see Gladys hurrying back to us, behind her is a rather imposing man who I refuse to believe Gladys birthed.

For the first time in my entire life probably, I look on with wide eyes, why should anyone be that.....big? And I don't mean big in that Rick Ross or even Dr.Dre way, I mean big like The Rock in his younger days big.....and Gladys is nowhere close to his size. He has on a short-sleeved polo that hugs his biceps and a pair of cargo shorts exposing his strong calves that look like they belong on a professional footballer. His chest is rather broad, hell, he should probably be in some fitness magazine. It would make sense that he's into law enforcement

I'm so busy staring at his imposing size, I barely realize they're right in front of us, until Gladys speaks, "Isidore, meet my son, Chuma. Chuma, meet my angel, Isidore" she makes the introductions with a sweetness to her voice

I get on my feet and realise he's very tall as well. I'm about 5ft.8"....and i'm currently in my 4-inch heels, putting me at 6ft on the mark, still, my head doesn't quite get to his shoulder....now for a woman like Gladys who is just about 5ft.5" to have a son this tall? What did his father look like?

"Oh, the lady who snatched my mother. Nice to finally meet you." his voice unsurprisingly matches his size; imposing, commanding....big. My eyes travel upwards, the journey causing me to curse inwardly. See, i've always loved my height, it has many advantages, especially when I complement it with heels, one of which includes, I rarely meet taller people who require me to stress myself trying to look at them.....so understandably, I hate times like this.

When my eyes finally reach his face, an odd feeling washes over me. He's handsome too. Maybe not in that pretty boy way, nothing conventional and he doesn't have the looks to intimidate a woman, but he does have an edgy, dangerous look about him, enough to realise he's not the type to be messed with. And for the umpteenth time, I find myself trying to reconcile this obviously hard, commanding person to the soft, meek nature of Gladys.

I receive his hand which engulfs mine in a shake, now I know my hand is NOT that small, "It's nice to meet you as well." I reply, and then I realise something strange....I'm not tense. I'm shaking a man and I don't feel tense at all. I pull my hand out of his grasp and fold it at my side.

He notices, I see the way his smile falls just a little, but once his eyes land on Ismail, his face brightens up. He stoops down to Ismail's height, "And who's this little soldier?" As expected, Ismail retreats behind me. If he could be scared of little old Gladys, then he should be terrified of the giant in front of us.

He looks up at his mother with a smile, "Mum, is there something on my face?"

Gladys laughs, "Oh no, Ismail is kind of shy and doesn't speak English"

He raises a brow and returns his gaze to Ismail, "Really? So, what does he speak?"

"French, he speaks French"....I can't say the catalyst behind my speech, but let's just call it a reflex action, I mean, I'm just standing here and staring like a mute. I might not be much of a talker, but I'm no mute either.

His eyes leave Ismail and makes a trail upward until it lands on my face, "Is that so?" He asks, his eyes not leaving my face, "Then we're going to have a problem, cuz I suck at French." He gives me a small smile with just a flash of teeth. He has nice teeth. But who cares?

He looks at Ismail again and smiles at him, a big one this time, "I almost thought I'd be the only male. We'll have to work on our language barrier little one seeing we'll be spending some time together."

With that, he stands to his full height and I instantly wish he'd stoop again, this must be the bad feeling I was getting about him. I'll have to keep my distance with this one.

"Well, we should get going. I'm sure you're exhausted and famished" Gladys says as she links her arm to Chuma's

"The lady and child should walk ahead." He suggests.

The fact that those words leave his lips and somehow don't come off as corny is disturbing. I'm not the least bit offended by it either. I ignore those thoughts and make my way to the exit with Ismail who has a tight grip on my hand. I most likely won't be visiting Gladys as often as I used to....not unless her son gets a few inches shorter that's for sure. People who are too tall intimidate and scare me

Tanks ma'am. Ise ur not serious @ all u want him 2 grow shorter.

Maaaannnnnn.......i smell serious loveeeee in the air

Lovey dovey
chuma is gonna tame isi.

danyel09:
babe ur nose strong oo

As in over strong sef....

tijehi:



As in over strong sef....

safari just explained how i feel wen i meet really tall guys. Safari o u 2 mch

Safargirl, abeg give update na.

Did i just add a comment?

Safari girl I duff my cap. Your Majesty this writeup is beyond awesome .

Capitvating.....#am loving it#

Just a teaser guys.....school's been hectic and I haven't been in a good frame of mind, just had to drop something today. Thanks for the support

******

I don"t know how i've managed to do it, but somewhere between working my butt off in order to ensure that the building comes out as planned, and indulging in my guilty pleasure in secluded places, I have successively managed to avoid Gladys' son.

Though I still have to drop off Ismail most of the time at Gladys' place, I haven't met the Goliath that is her son and for that I believe props should go to the big man in the sky. She always tries to invite me in and everytime she does, I just happen to be 'running late' for one meeting or the other.

I think she's starting to get suspicious of me, once she's even asked me if i'm scared of her son, of course I said no.....which is partly the truth. I'm not scared of Chuma, at least not in the way I fear other men, there's just something about him that greatly unsettles me and I would rather not be in his presence

Anyway, moving on to my really amazing feat of avoiding Shaquille O'Neil, I have a two-week running streak currently and I'm on my third week. It's another Sunday, so understandably, rather than celebrate my achievement by giving a testimony in church or even better, a thanksgiving, i'm spending the day with my favourite duo- whiskey and cigarette.....of course I'm doing this in my balcony which overlooks my rather plush estate.

Ismail has never seen me smoke, I keep him busy whenever I want to engage in my vices, right now, he's watching cartoons in the sitting room. He still doesn't speak much, though he's warmed up to Gladys a lot more. He's yet to tell us what really happened that day, i'm aware that the nightmares remain, I still haven't gotten rid of mine so I don't expect his to leave anytime soon.....the school thing remains something I haven't discussed further with Gladys and it's only because i'm so busy running away from the Hulk.

While reading a news site on my ipad, I come across news of a police officer accused of ra+ping a 9-year old, I hold back a sneer, if I know the Nigerian justice system well- and I do, the man, if convicted- which is highly in doubt, will mist likely spend no more than 3-years in jail, three measly years, and his victim gets to suffer a lifetime of psychological damage- hardly fair

Lucky for him, he's been arrested. If he was still on the streets, I would probably have found him and meted out the proper punishment that would ensure justice was served.

I puff out a smoke and move on to the next news as I pick up my glass of whiskey, I take a sip. As I feel the hot liquid run down my throat providing a soothing heat, I notice a car passing by, actually an umber-coloured Jeep.....well, it looks like it's passing by, but it stops just as it's passing my drive-way.

I pick up my glass of whiskey and watch as the car reverses and turns into my drive-way. I raise the glass to my lips and take a sip of my drink as my eyes curiously and warily watch the car, lucky for me I'm not one to leave my front door open and Ismail has strict instructions never to open the door without my knowledge.


The door opens just as I take another sip of my drink, still content watching this ballsy person who i'm very sure I do not know, get out the car. Once I get a full view of him, I literally choke on my drink and go into a coughing fit. I guess my coughing catches his attention as he looks up toward the balcony and takes off the aviator glasses he has on....he gives me a nod of acknowledgment like he's not aware I'm choking. What the hell is he doing here? Almost immediately something odd occurs to me.

I didn't get a call from Gladys at 6AM....and it's Sunday

Lol...he will drag her to church...
Thumbs up ma'am and dnt stress yaself in school, I cn feel ya stress cos it aint easy

Whoaaah!!! Safari baby updated 2day...tnx 4 the update baby

Thanks Safari for d update.

Kudos Safarigirl! You are too too much. More Grace.

Am loving this story.....more grease to your elbow......goodluck with your studies. Am following

HELLO MY FELLOW LITERATURE-LANDERS, THIS IS ADEH39, THIS IS TO INFORM U THAT THE MISS NAIRALAND 2015 CONTEST IS CURRENTLY GOING ON, AND I AM ONE OF THE CONTESTANTS. I CAN'T DO IT ALONE, I NEED THE HELP OF U GUYS, I WILL HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR IF I HAVE YOU PEOPLE AT MY BACK. PLS, HELP UR LITTLE SISTER BY VOTING FOR ME WHEN THE TIME COMES, THE CAMPAIGN IS CURRENTLY GOING ON NOW........ PLS I NEED VOLUNTEERS 4 D CAMPAIGN TOO... VOLUNTEERS SHOULD KINDLY VISIT THE CAMPAIGN THREAD AND DO THE NEEDFUL, PLS I NEED ALL THE HELP I CAN GET FROM U GUYS. YOUR VOTES COUNTS. THANKS.

Hope nothing bad has happened to Gladys

Hi guys......no this is not an update ......just wanted to ask you all a favour. Can you pleaassseeeee visit Romance section to vote Twaci for Miss Nairaland? She really deserves it cuz she's a real sweetheart.

@Twaci, you sef no try o, you couldn't inform us you were contesting kwanu? Abeg, can we get the link to the page to vote? Thank you

safarigirl:
Hi guys......no this is not an update ......just wanted to ask you all a favour. Can you pleaassseeeee visit Romance section to vote Twaci for Miss Nairaland? She really deserves it cuz she's a real sweetheart.

@Twaci, you sef no try o, you couldn't inform us you were contesting kwanu? Abeg, can we get the link to the page to vote? Thank you

I pmed u na! Sure dear! When the voting starts, I'll surely let u know. Just spread the word . Thanks dear!

Safariiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......no carry me play ooo come and update jor. Infact if ‎​you don't update,we won't vote....do I have any supporter in the house?

Yes dear,u do!

Safarigirl.... I'm kind of getting confused wit ur many stories ooo, Pls try to complete one of dem nah, I so much love d one u completed d other tym, b4 u started the three stories dats going on nw, Pls ehn, my brain is too small to load all dis stories in, I understand d fact dat u are going through Writers Block.........,

Pls i hope u will complete dis one o, cos u just left us hanging wit d other two.

Pls, don't be offended o, dats just d way i feel.

Well, ur stories are too touching nd interesting 4 me to ignore. So i'm following till d end.

adeh39:
Safarigirl.... I'm kind of getting confused wit ur many stories ooo, Pls try to complete one of dem nah, I so much love d one u completed d other tym, b4 u started the three stories dats going on nw, Pls ehn, my brain is too small to load all dis stories in, I understand d fact dat u are going through Writers Block.........,

Pls i hope u will complete dis one o, cos u just left us hanging wit d other two.

Pls, don't be offended o, dats just d way i feel.

Well, ur stories are too touching nd interesting 4 me to ignore. So i'm following till d end.

lol.....sorry dear.

There will be no more new stories till I complete these ones, this one has beeen on my mind since last year hence I had to just get it out. But it will be completed

safarigirl:
lol.....sorry dear.

There will be no more new stories till I complete these ones, this one has beeen on my mind since last year hence I had to just get it out. But it will be completed

Thank u very much ooooo.

I hv to say sumthing b4 i get high blood pressure ni. But since dis one will be completed, i will hv rest of mind nw.

Twaci:
I pmed u na! Sure dear! When the voting starts, I'll surely let u know. Just spread the word . Thanks dear!

no other than you, you are really a darling.

treasuregr8:
no other than you, you are really a darling.

Thanks a lot

Oya, I don update, make una go vote


*****

I storm down the stairs, cursing at his incessant knocking under my breath. You'd think he didn't just see me at the balcony. He's knocking the exact way a landlord would knock when he's visiting a tenant owing rent.

I pass by the sitting room, Ismail just stares at me expectantly but doesn't make a move, he's also a bit startled by the noise, "Just stay there, i'll be back" I tell him, just in case he thinks of standing up.

He nods slightly and I continue on to the door. I fling it open just when he's poised to knock again, "What?" I spit out in anger.

He smiles at me, "Good morning to you too."

The fact that I'm in a pair of flats this time, hence far shorter than I was at our first meeting, pisses me off. I must look lika an oompah-loompah standing next to him right now. He's dressed in black slacks and a baby pink shirt with a slim black tie, I assume the slacks is teamed up with blazers or a jacket he probably left in the car....the car he'll be driving out in within minutes.

"What do you want?" my tone says it all- I don't want him in my house.

"Wow, such attitude. I don't remember us getting off on the wrong foot." he says it so casually, it further irks me.

"Can I help you?"

"Actually, I'm here to help you. I hear you have a phobia for church."

I choose to ignore him, instead, I fix him my best glare. I have a chilled bottle of whisky currently heating up and I refuse to be delayed by some Dr.Phil wannabe, "Can I help you?" I repeat, now stressing each word

He gives me a smile that would otherwise be magnetic if I'm not so pissed, "Well, I'll need you to ho change into something suitable for a church while I go help Ismail change."

I stare at him in disbelief, "You have got to be kidding me."

"Oh, I kid you not."

"Is Gladys aware of this harrassment? Does she even know you're here?" I find it hard to believe Gladys would be involved in such madness. She would never send Mr. Law Enforcement Officer to my house just to make me go to church under duress....like I earlier stated, we have a working agreement.


"First off, this is hardly a 'harrassment'..." he makes air quotes as he mentions harrassment, "secondly, my mother is well aware that i'm here to convince you to come to church today. So, if you don't mind, we wouldn't want to make a late entrance, it attracts such unwanted attention."


I just stare at him, my mind unable to wrap my head around this guy who looks like Hulk and sounds like Dr. King Schultz in Django; smooth, cunning and annoying. Suddenly something occurs to me, and I decide to engage him in his tomfoolery so-to-speak, “Well then, let's make a deal. If you can convince Ismail to go to church, I will accept your offer, and if you can't, I ask that I never have the misfortune of seeing you in my house henceforth. Deal?”

He steps up to me, invading my space and towering over me with that imposing height of his which I absolutely hate by the way, not to mention, his Cologne, which I must commend, is invading my nostrils as well. I'm extremely uncomfortable in this current position, but for some reason, which I absolutely refuse to delve into, I'm unable to step back....let's just say, it would be a sign of weakness. He has this smug grin on his face like he knows something I don't

“You underestimate me young lady, I'll have you know that I have been sharpening up my French skills the past two weeks [ï]you've[/i] been playing hide and go seek and I and Ismail are pretty tight”

He does have a point, perhaps he has been getting acquainted with Ismail more than I wish to acknowledge, but I hardly think that a disadvantage to me, “Well then, let's test your theory, shall we?”

“Why not?”

I walk to the sitting room, where Ismail is sitting, but his attention is fully at the entrance, forgetting his cartoon. Chuma gives me this 'watch and learn' look and approaches Ismail with a grin, "Hey buddy"

Ismail makes no move to approach Chuma, I'm instantly filled with a sense of accomplishment. I could almost stick my tongue out at the intruder, but I maintain a sense of decorum andd look on.

He stoops to Ismail's sitting position, "Comment s'est passé votre nuit?”(how was your night?)

"Bien”

I'm slightly surprised at his ability to make a sentence in French, even though not exactly flawless, his effort is highly commendable if nothing else.

"souhaitez-vous péter?" (you want to go fart?)

Ismail's face scrounges up in confusion and he looks at me as if asking for a translation of Chuma's words, i'm too busy enjoying watching him make a fool of himself to correct his mistake.

He turns to me briefly and returns to Ismail with a smile, “je dis que je suis une chèvre?” (am I saying i'm a goat?)

This time, Ismail is unable to hold his smile, he reaches out and touches Chuma's cheek, surprisingly, the most affection I've seen him show a stranger, and he says in the best English he can form, “Bad French”

Chuma smiles, “Really? It can't be that bad.”

Ismail shakes his head, “No, you bad, you bad bad"

I watch, flabbergasted that this man is able to get Ismail to not only smile, but say some English words as well. That alone should give him props by any standards, but ,y stubborn heads refuses to do any of such. Oh no, he doesn't get props for barging into my house uninvited. He's still a trespasser.

"Me, you, go out?"

I'm a little disappointed that Chuma has given up on his woeful attempts to speak French, it was so much fun watching him be an absolute clown.

As expected, Ismail looks toward me first seeking my approval, i'm happy he doesn't get carried away with Chuma's presence to forget who the real boss is around here.

“If Isi say yes." he replies.

Chuma smiles, it's apparent he's won the bet, somehow, i've forgotten what the comedy show really is about to begin with, but he has more or less gotten Ismail's approval.

"If you say yes, Isi says Yes. So? Nous allez?"

Ismail nods his head in approval.

“Bien, passon rob" he says

Ismail looks up at him and says simply, “Stop”


Chuma gives him another charming smile, he seems to love smiling, I wish I could tap into that. For someone so big, he definitely numbs his intimidating size with his smiles, and they're quite beautiful too....no, what am I saying? He's just smiling to ease Ismail's fears...and apparently, that works. Maybe if I smile more....nah, I'll probably look horrible with a smile. I'm so used to frowning, the sight of me smiling will probably scare people off

“Gotcha" they both rise to their feet, Ismail barely gets past Chuma's knee, it's a comic sight to see, but my thoughts are now centred on the fact that for the first time in over a decade, I'll have to step into a place of worship albeit unwillingly.

He walks, no, swaggers up to me with an annoying smirk plastered on his lips which I will give anythig to wipe off and even as I try to tell myself to play it cool, I'm unable to stop myself from blurting out, “You didn't tell him we're going to a church”....yeah, call it grasping at straws, but a girl's gotta do what she's gotta do, right?

“That was not part of our deal.” it may not have been, but at least I tried, “You should go find something...." his eyes roam down my body and a certain warmth washes over me. Although i'm not one to dress carelessly even when I'm within the comfort of my home, a thigh-length, assymetrical dress is hardly appropriate to receive a male guest in....more disturbing though, is the idea that his perusal of my body doesn't evoke a feeling of fear within me. This warmth is rather disconcerting....well, it must be because there is no lewdness to his look, “....appropriate. You have about 10 minutes to do that, else, I may just locate your bedroom and harass you there as well."

He nods his head at me and then follows Ismail to his bedroom as I stand there transfixed. Who really does this guy think he is? Such nerve! I must talk to Gladys concerning her son, his take-charge attitude is hardly flattering andd highly unwelcome.

lol, D's is quiet hilarious, can't laff alone, wonderful update u got there

chei, i'm trying not to laff too much so that I don't 'fart'.
Safarigirl, ur sense of humour is awesome.

Weldone.