Marriage is a thing of a culture E-Book

Claudia Nneka Hirsch

• Herausgeber: novum publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 356

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Marriage is often seen as the crowning glory of a partnership. But does marriage really make you happy? Is it the happy ending - or the beginning of the end? To what extent do the signs change when you come from different cultures? Nigerian Helena has to ask herself all these questions when she meets Lukas, who takes her by storm and quickly turns from lover to husband. He not only turns her feelings upside down, but also her entire life, because he comes from Germany. Soon afterwards, Helena's best friend Claire falls in love with Edward and marries him, a person from her own culture. Does this automatically mean that she and Edward will have a more harmonious relationship than Helena and Lukas? Will they be happy marriages? And will love and trust endure?

Leseprobe

Introduction

Dear readers,

I am Claudia Hirsch, an emerging voice in the world of literature, and it is my sincere pleasure to introduce myself. As a native Nigerian who is now a proud German citizen, I draw from a captivating mix of cultural influences and personal encounters in my literary work.

The fact that I am not only a passionate reader, but also in a happy binational marriage, has given me a deep understanding of the complex nuances and delightful nuances that come with such relationships. I am aware of the personal challenges of marriage, not least because I am fortunate enough to be sheltered in a loving family that includes my wonderful daughters Marion and Elisabeth.

Through my writing, I want to share my life experiences, insights and personal odyssey to inspire and support others who are traveling similar paths in their marriages. My goal is to promote understanding, love and connection in diverse relationships by offering a fresh and insightful perspective on the complexity and triumph of love that transcends all cultural boundaries.

As you read this book, you can expect a profound exploration of self, love, marriage and a wonderful complexity of diversity. My words are meant to provide a source of inspiration and a way of guidance for those navigating the colorful and enticing world of (binational) marriage. My words not only reflect my own experiences, but have also been inspired by people who have told me their stories and trusted me to write them down. Although I have of course changed the names of the real people, my aim was to make their words as authentic as possible. Therefore, many Nigerian and pidgin expressions have been retained - their explanation can be found in a separate glossary at the end of the book.

I invite you to join me on my journey; a journey in which I want to share my stories and insights with you - and my passion when it comes to fostering resilient and lasting relationships that can bridge any gap between different nationalities and cultural backgrounds.

Life is unpredictable. Happily married? What is that? Does it even exist?

My name is Helena Nwachukwu, married name Helena Zimmerman, and this is my story.

How it all began

I grew up with four siblings and my father; my mother died when my youngest brother was still a toddler. Dad did his best, listened more than he spoke, and made sure we had everything we needed.

I had spent my whole life in Nigeria, but there was always this strong feeling in me that one day I would get the chance to travel abroad. I was really fascinated by "white people" - I found them very attractive. In my opinion, light-skinned people had better relationships, especially in terms of the unhealthy partnerships around me, where a lot of the women suffer all kinds of abuse. In my opinion, that didn't happen with "white" people.

After leaving school, I moved to Lagos with my friend Claire. The noise, the crowded streets and the boisterous atmosphere were overwhelming. Lagos was a sharp contrast to the small town I came from. Then there was the stifling humidity and the resulting heat of the day - luckily the nights were a little cooler. But none of that mattered, because I had fallen in love with Lagos and especially its nightlife.

This is also where I met Lukas Zimmerman, a German expatriate who stole my heart. You'd think fate would have decided in my favor and made my dreams come true, right? Well, I found myself alone in a sports bar in Lagos Island on a Friday night. I had arranged to meet my colleague Esther there to hang out for a bit, after all, the weekend was just around the corner. She was obviously running late, so I grabbed a drink so I wouldn't have to sit idly by and let my gaze wander around. And suddenly there he was, a real Adonis in a dark gray T-shirt and low-slung jeans, strolling through the front door as if he owned the place. I felt my heartbeat accelerate immediately. He was looking straight at me! I froze for a second or two and looked back, and then suddenly I didn't know where to put my eyes. I alternated between staring into space and at my glass until I decided to get up and make my way out.

As I picked up my bag, I looked up and saw that he had found his way to my table. With a smile, he held out his hand and introduced himself: "Hi, I'm Lukas." After a firm handshake and a "Hi, I'm Helena", I withdrew my hand, grabbed my bag and fled. As I was literally running away, I took a quick glance behind me to see if I had lost him. As fate would have it, however, I didn't escape this dream of a man.

"Hey, what's the rush?" he asked as he caught up with me.

"Sorry, I really don't have time," was the best I could come up with as I tried to keep my composure and not gasp.

"Then I can at least give you a ride," he offered. "Where do you live?" I declined his offer, because I was speechless and didn’t want to go with this man in such a state. "All right," he replied with a stretched grin, almost as if he knew exactly what was going on in my head.

"Can I have your cell phone number?" He sounded hesitant, as if he was expecting another rejection.

"Sure, why not?" I smiled weakly. What could I say? I'd seen white men before, but never up close, and certainly never a man with big blue eyes looking straight at me.

Esther never got in touch to apologize for standing me up. I couldn't blame her though; maybe the universe wanted to bring Luke and me together this way?

I spent the rest of the night and the whole of Saturday dreaming about the incredible attraction of this man. He had the same blue eyes as the Clark Kent of my imagination, and that hair! Gorgeously tousled and certainly as soft as it looked.

On Sunday afternoon, right after the service, my cell phone rang. Lukas wanted to know if we could go out for dinner that evening. To say I was excited to see him again would be a complete understatement: I was delirious. I immediately called my loyal friend Claire so she could help me choose a dress. "Please be prepared to come with me, I'm not going out alone," I pleaded. My excitement was certainly not going to get the better of my common sense!

"If yourBoboagrees, no problem," she agreed, "I definitely want to see him with my own eyes."

We emptied my entire closet for three hours and I tried everything on at least twice before finally choosing a little black tank top, a red high-waisted mini skirt and black ankle boots. This made me look much more confident than I felt. As we only had an hour left, I went into the shower to freshen up, put on a little make-up and sprayed some Coco Mademoiselle on my wrists and behind my ears to make myself even more irresistible. At six o'clock on the dot, the doorbell rang.

To the minute! What a gentleman!Claire hurried past me to the door. From my seat at the kitchen door, I could hear her introducing herself and telling him quite firmly that she was 'joining' us. Well, that's what he got for it now, not everyone was as much of a rabbit's foot as I was. He let out his already familiar giggle, said, "Absolutely," and looked over at me. "You look adorable," he said, pulling me towards him. Once again, my brain and tongue turned to absorbent cotton. At least I managed to say, "Thank you, you too".

We went down to his car, where his driver was waiting for us. Although I didn't know much about cars, I recognized that it was a fancy red Mercedes.Luke held the back door open for Claire and me, then closed it and sat in the passenger seat. I immediately nudged Claire and gave her ournow you know what I mean look. She rolled her eyes and grooved a little in her seat. We were both bursting with unbridled excitement.

"Where are we going?" I asked when I was sure I had my voice under control.

"Let me surprise you," he replied over his shoulder. We talked the whole way. As far as I was concerned, the evening went perfectly.

The driver stopped in the parking lot of the Le Méridien Hotel. It was my first time there, Claire's too, I knew that. We had only ever dreamed of such a luxury establishment. "Have you been here before?" he asked in my ear as we entered the club. Loud Afrobeat was playing from the speakers. 'No,' I replied curtly.

As much as I enjoyed the nightlife, I still needed to hone my manners, especially in such awkward situations; but I did my best. I paled in comparison to Claire though: she was exuberant and the absolute life of the party. She seemed to be enjoying her performance to the full as she danced next to me. As Lukas watched her with amusement, I took the opportunity to catch a glimpse of his face. For a moment, I was mesmerized by his prominent jaw, pronounced chin and full, luscious lips - until I looked up and saw him staring down at me. Embarrassed, I averted my eyes and mumbled that I needed to sit down.

I went in search of a place to sit down and think about how much more embarrassing this evening was going to be.

When Claire saw that I didn't want to dance with myBobo, she pulled him onto the dance floor. I wasn't worried, Claire was very open-minded. But I noticed that his eyes were on me the whole time.

The universe was merciful to me and the rest of the evening passed quickly and smoothly. Lukas dropped us off at Claire's apartment, where I planned to spend the night. When we got out, he held me back and asked if we could go out again on Friday - without Claire. "Just the two of us," he said. A thousand thoughts flashed through my head in a split second. I was nervous about being alone with Lukas, but I had never gone on a date without Claire. Her cheerful and sometimes annoyingly loud presence made me feel safe; I could just stay in the background and observe everything. Nevertheless, I agreed to go on a real date with him.

The next day I was groggy and unable to concentrate at work. Claire and I had barely slept for two hours. We'd stayed up chatting about Lukas, playing what-if games and imagining endless fairytale situations. She was a little annoyed that she couldn't be there on the next date, but quickly came to terms with it. "I'm happy for you, Helena, I think you and Lukas will make a good couple," she said in the early hours of the morning.

"Well, I don't know if we're a couple yet. Let's see how it goes on Friday first."

Thursday dawned and I was completely exhausted from all the excitement. Late in the morning, I dragged myself to the office of my supervisor, Mrs. Ernest, to tell her that I had to go home.

"Are you ill?" she asked.

"I think so, ma. I don't feel very well."

"I've never seen you in such a state. You can go."

How was I supposed to explain to my boss that it was the constant fluttering of butterflies in my stomach that was distracting me from my work?

I came home and called Claire to come over after work. Shortly after five, I heard her at the front door. "I brought your favorite food!" she chirped as she came in, "Moi-Moiand peppered snails," and placed Mr. Bigg's bagson my bed.

"Seriously?" I was already munching on the bags. "How did you know I was hungry?"

"I know you, Helena, and I know that you haven't eaten properly since last Sunday."

Honestly, if there was anyone who knew me, it would be Claire. We had been close friends since secondary school.

"Helena, Helena, wake up!" A repeated knock on my arm.

I opened my eyes and looked at my cell phone, 00:28. So I turned around and closed my eyes. "No, Claire. I really need to sleep now."

"Helena," she said more urgently and shook me. "Please, wake up, something is bothering me and we need to talk about it now."

"Oh, my goodness, Claire," I moaned into the pillow.

"It's about Lukas."

Okay, that woke me up. I sat up and turned to face her.

"What?"

"I think Lukas is too good to be true."

So that was it? That was the reason she had woken me up?

"Claire, are you jealous because you're not coming tomorrow? Is that what this is about?"

"No, I'm just saying that this whole thing just seems unreal and ... and a bit suspicious. What if he's an impostor?"

"Are you serious about this? What could possibly go wrong? We haven't even had a real date yet."

What was going on with Claire? She was starting to get on my nerves.

"I don't know, I'm just worried."

"Good night, Claire - and please don't wake me up again."

I lay down and closed my eyes, trying to fall asleep again.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

I guess she couldn't go back to sleep either, because a moment later I heard her get up, sneak into the living room and turn on one of our favorite shows on TV. We used to watch this show together, but I kept my eyes closed and forced myself to let go.

Our first real date

On Friday morning, I woke up early and excited. Luckily, I was still on sick leave. Claire was behaving strangely, so I ignored her. She wasn't going to spoil my mood today. She made herself breakfast while I sipped a glass of orange juice. That was all my stomach was ready for. After I had bathed and got ready, I asked Claire if she would accompany me to the hairdresser. "Of course I'm coming with you. I don't want to miss anything," she replied. We took a cab, and Claire talked the whole way, obviously back to her old self. I was glad I didn't have to think about Lukas while I laughed at her stupid jokes.

"Wait, what do you want to wear?" she asked as the hairdresser fixed and straightened my hair. I hadn't decided yet, so I told her I might just wear the little red dress she'd given me for my birthday last year. It was a silk dress with an open back, a slit that reached almost to my hips on both sides and a round neckline.

"Nooooo," she whispered loudly, looking at me with feigned horror.

"Why not?" I wanted to know.

"Isn't that a bit too revealing? We don't want him to get any ideas, do we?"

"That's what you're worried about?" I laughed. "Grow up, Claire! You bought me the dress and I'm going to wear it.Finito."

When I told her I was going to treat myself to a facial at the spa, she was slightly shocked. "You're spending all your savings on this date, Helena."

"Yes, and I don't regret it. If you don't need a facial, just sit with me."

She chortled, "I'm buying one too, sweetie. Don't think I'm going to let you squander money on your own!"

As we drove back to my apartment, Claire asked if she could stay the night. I could guess why, but I asked anyway.

"You know that very well," she giggled. "I want you to tell me all the essentials right away."

It was slowly approaching 7:30pm and Lukas called to say he was almost there with me. Claire was suddenly even more excited than I was. I had to calm her down.

"Sit still, you're making me nervous!"

"Then let me come with you." At these words, she put on her stunning Bambi look.

"As a babysitter? You can't look after me forever! And you don't have to stay awake until I get back." "That's a real insult," she said indignantly. "Why should I stay up?Na me born you.Am I your mother?"

Dingdong!The doorbell! And I was still in my robe arguing with Claire! We stared at each other wide-eyed, not knowing what to do next. Then we jumped up at the same time; Claire went to the door while I finished getting dressed.

I heard Claire let Lukas in and offer him a seat, then she sat down too and began to pepper him with questions - questions I would have asked at some point if Claire hadn't decided to beat me to it.

"How long have you been in Nigeria?" she asked him. "About five years," he replied.

"That's a long time, did you have any Nigerian girlfriends during that time?"

"Well, I haven't always been attracted to dark-skinned girls."

Uh-oh.That was the wrong answer for Claire, unless I was very much mistaken. And I knew she would take her anger out on him. "Then what do you see in Helena?" I had to save Luke from her if I wanted him to be alive enough to go out with me afterwards.

"Claire!" I called out. "Can you please give me a hand?"

"I'll be right back," she promised him as she got up and joined me in the bedroom.

I pulled her inside and closed the door."What's with the interrogation?You well so?Are you still in the right frame of mind?" I asked her.

"Na datoyibo man weydey your parlour no well- the white guy in your living room is not quite right! How can he claim to have lived in Lagos for five years without ever having had a Nigerian girlfriend?"

I covered her mouth and told her to just help me tie the back of my dress and then thanked her. Before I could stop her, she hurried back into the living room. I quickly put on my high heels, applied some perfume and rushed to Lukas' rescue. He stood up when he spotted me and held out his hand. He looked even more gorgeous than last time: in a burgundy polo shirt that accentuated his biceps and broad chest, dark brown pants and sneakers that looked like they were brand new. And he looked at me like I was made of stardust! I slipped my hand into his and he spun me around to take a good look at me. "You look gorgeous," he said simply. At that moment, I felt like I'd known him forever. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Claire looking at us and trying to catch my eye, probably to give me a last-minute signal. I ignored her unsubtle gestures while Lukas held the front door open for me.

"Bye, Claire," I called to her and walked to Lukas' car.

Lukas once again held the car door open for me, only this time he got in next to me. He leaned over to the driver, Steve, and said, "Le Méridien, please." He didn't seem to be a man of many words.

"What's so special about Le Méridien? It's the second time we've gone out there."

He replied: "It's the only place that doesn't drive me crazy." He added that he wasn't harassed by women there as often as usual.

He got out of the hotel and held the door open for me. The fact that he always insisted meant a lot to me, however small the gesture might be.

Hand in hand, as if we had been a couple forever, we walked to the pool bar. Once we were seated, a waiter came to take our orders. I asked forSuya, while Lukas ordered grilled fish and chips and a bottle of white wine for the two of us.

Tina Turner'sWhat's Love Got to Do with Itrang out from the loudspeakers.

I could dance to that; I thought to myself. "Would you like to dance before dinner?" asked Lukas. Could the man read my mind?

Careless Whispersby George Michael was playing as we danced. Lukas pressed me a little closer to him and I could feel his breath in my ear. My heartbeat accelerated. Was he just as nervous as I was, but brave enough to hide it? His lips touched my ear, and a shiver ran down my spine. In the blink of an eye, all my courage evaporated. "I think I need to sit down," I said breathlessly. Fortunately, when we returned to our seats, our food was already there. I immediately pounced on it because I didn't know what to say. He smiled knowingly and watched me eat. He must have realized that his proximity made me feel insecure. "Thirsty?" he asked, and I nodded silently. He filled my glass half full of wine, which tasted sweet and dry at the same time.

As the evening progressed, the guests slowly but surely left the bar. Lukas wanted to take me to the neighboring casino. I didn't feel like it, so I said we could do that next time.

"That means there will be a next time. Great!" For the first time, he sounded excited as he hugged me. I could only smile. That smile froze, though, at his next words, "I love you, Helena." He looked like he was just as surprised by his words as I was. Well, it was good to know that I wasn't alone this time.

He asked for the bill, paid, and we walked to the car in silence.

I had no idea what to say, so I asked the first thing that came to mind: "What do you do for a living?" No answer.

"How long have you been in Lagos?" Silence.

As we got into the car, he turned to me and took my hands in his. He looked deep into my eyes and began: "I'm an engineer and have lived here for five years. My parents are German, I'm single and I've never been married. Are you happy?"

"Not quite. But I'll ask you more questions when I think of them."

"It will be my pleasure to answer them for you."

In return, he wanted to know something about me, about my family, which state I came from, why I had left home, and about my fears and dreams. I answered all the questions except the last two. He asked again and wanted to know why I hadn't answered those questions. "I'll tell you one day," I said.

We got back to my place around midnight and Lukas got out to open the door for me. Steve, the driver, spoke up for the first time: "Madam, there must be something different about you;OgaLukas has never looked at anotherNaija woman." I looked at him in silence and got out of the car. Lukas walked me to my door and shook my hand; we said goodbye and he walked back to his car.

I was stunned when I entered the house. No lights, everything was silent. "How can you love someone and then just wish them a good night?" I wondered aloud. "That doesn't make any sense."

I was startled when I switched on the light in the living room and saw Claire looking me straight in the eye. "What are you doing, creep?" I asked her. I walked past her and lay down on the bed. She followed me excitedly. "How did it go?" "No comment," I replied, because I wanted to savor the memories alone for a while before I told her anything.

"You won make I beg you abi? Should I get down on my knees now? Please go on, I'm all ears; I need to hear all about yourOyinbo Bobo."

I blamed it on tiredness and promised to tell her everything the next day.

"These eyes resemble who wan sleep? Do these eyes look like they want to sleep?" she asked. "We can sleep all Saturday;tonight na gist night, tonight we want to ratchet!"

I knew she wouldn't give up until I had told her everything, so I gave in.

Claire listened attentively without saying a word, which was very unlike her. Finally, I asked her if she was okay. She just nodded and told me to carry on. "That's all," I replied.

"Hmm. Anyway, don't worry. If he loves you like he says he does, he'll start dating you again soon."

"We'll see. Can we sleep now?"

I didn't sleep for a second but stared at the ceiling and reviewed the whole evening in my head, reliving every scene. At some point, just before dawn, I fell asleep. After what felt like five minutes, I was woken by Claire's voice calling my name in a worried whisper.

She was standing at the living room window, still in her pyjamas, peering through the drawn curtains. I rushed to her to see what was going on and peeked out too. Lukas was fast asleep in his car, which was parked outside my house. What on earth was he doing there? I hurried out in my pyjamas and knocked lightly on Steve's window. He rolled down the window, limp and exhausted from spending the night in the car. "What's going on here? What's happened?" I asked.

"Madam,Ogasaid he wanted to sleep near you and asked me to drive him here. He didn't want to disturb you; that's why we spent the night in the car."

I was speechless, went back into the house and told Claire what was going on. "Why didn't you invite her in?" she asked, about to head off to do just that. But all we could see was the back of the car as it drove down the road, away from my house. Everything happened so fast."Your bobo don go;your sweetie took off," Claire stated matter-of-factly. I nodded, still trying to comprehend what had just happened. "Now don't just stand there, call him," she urged me as we went back inside and closed the door.

"And what should I say?" "Anything! The main thing is that you call."

"Something doesn't mean anything, Claire. I'm not playing this game, and I'm not going to let Lukas play mind games with me. If he can sleep outside my house, he can call. If not, that's fine too. I'm looking to the future."

"So now you dey make shakaraabi?Are you making him squirm now?"

"E don do abeg,please, that's enough now. What is meant to be will be. If it's not meant to be, then nothing we do will make it so. You know I'm not imposing on anyone."

"Not nobody," she said firmly. "This is theOyinbo Boboyou were so obsessed with before."

"So what? You can have it if you want."

I got out of my pyjamas and went to take a shower. I reminded Claire that our friend Naomi was having a welcome party for her boyfriend that day. The wordpartymade her forget all thoughts of Luke - typical. "It's just what we need after all thisOyinbo drama." Pause. "Wait a minute, isn't Naomi's boyfriend white too?"

"Eh-hen- so what? What's that got to do with me? Come and have a bath, let's relax. It's Saturday."

As I was getting dressed, I received a call from a number I hadn't saved. I was skeptical about taking the call; after all, this was Lagos, where anything was possible, so I just let it ring. Claire came out of the bedroom with her sandals in hand. "Why didn't you take the call? I heard your phone ringing."

"It was an unknown number," I replied.

"What if it was Lukas?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"Very funny. Go on, call us a cab." For a split second, I considered the possibility that the caller was Lukas, but quickly dismissed it. I had already saved Lukas' cell phone number. Our cab arrived and soon we were on our way to Naomi's apartment.

When I pulled up outside the bungalow, I noticed a car that looked just like Lukas'. I hadn't memorized his license plate, so I couldn't say for sure if it was his, but what were the chances that we had a mutual friend? I dismissed the whole thing as a coincidence.

Naomi greeted us cheerfully, said we should feel at home and disappeared into the crowd. I was glad that I had Claire with me. I would have felt completely out of place in the sea of strange faces in Naomi's house. However, the longer the party went on, the stronger the uncomfortable feeling of being watched became. I turned to Claire to let her know that I wasn't feeling well and wanted to leave. "Come on, dance and enjoy the party; stop acting so weird," she said, brushing my discomfort aside.

"I just want to get some fresh air," I said and went out through the front door. My eyes fell on the car, which was so like Lukas' car, and on Steve, who got in on the driver's side. My head must have been playing tricks on me! I walked up to the car and knocked on the driver's side safety glass. Steve rolled down the window and didn't look very surprised to see me there. "Good evening, ma'am," he said.

"Please call me Helena," I replied, trying to sound normal. "Where's Lukas?"

"He must be in there somewhere."

"Are you following me? This whole thing is starting to creep me out."

He tried to explain to me how much his love for a Nigerian woman was affecting his boss, but I didn't feel like it and waved him off.

"I'll go in and find him. Someone needs to tell him to behave like an adult!"

I snuck back into the house to find Lukas, but he was somehow hard to spot. Instead, Claire came up to me and said excitedly, "Guess who I've just seen!"

"Lukas," I replied dryly.

"How do you know that?" "I saw his car earlier and just spoke to Steve, his driver. Come to think of it, how does Lukas know Naomi?" We had sat down on a couch in the living room to chat. Most of the guests had just moved to the dining area, which had been converted into a dance floor, when someone cleared their throat right behind me. Even before I turned around, I knew who it was.

"Hello, Helena," he said, "would you like to dance?" He just looked disconcertingly handsome - what was this unhealthy fascination with this man, even now that I wasn't really excited about him? I put my hand in his and he led me to the dance floor. As we danced, there was a sense that we were both distracted; I by his proximity and the fact that I suspected he was stalking me, and he by God knows what. I suggested we go outside to talk instead. "Sure, we can get in the car," he agreed. Steve unobtrusively pulled away when he saw us approaching. We both sat in the back seat and left the door open.

"Helena," he began, "I am truly sorry that our relationship seems to be deteriorating rapidly. I wasn't in control of my emotions; I thought I would lose you if she revealed it too soon. But it just happened. And I hope I haven't lost you already."

"Did you follow me here?" I asked bluntly, trying not to get lost in those sad-looking blue eyes.

"Yes, that's me."

"That's stalking, Lukas. And it's creepy. There are hundreds of beautiful girls in Lagos. Why me?" My head and my heart were at odds with each other. I wanted to be consistent. The man was a mystery to me with his few words, his smile and his stalking habits. But at the same time, I couldn't deny that I'd been filled with crackling electricity since I'd first seen him walk through that door two weeks ago. My feelings for him were growing stronger, and secretly I wished he would tell me he loved me again. And on top of all that, he was white - which mattered a lot.

He took my hands in his and said the beautiful words I needed to hear: "Because the very first second I saw you, I somehow knew that you were exactly what I needed. I fell in love with you. And that's why I'm formally asking you to become my sweetheart and live with me."

My reason succumbed to this onslaught: before I could think too hard about it, I fell into his arms. "Yes," I replied simply. I hugged him and we just sat there admiring each other, saying nothing but enjoying the moment, which was interrupted by Claire's knock on the windshield. Claire! I had completely forgotten about her. "You should come back to the party," Claire said, "I was worried about where you were."

"As you can see, we're fine," replied Lukas. "Yes, I am," said Claire, looking at him.

When we went inside to continue partying, Claire pulled me aside and asked, "What's going on? You've just disappeared. I was worried until I saw Steve and he told me you were both in the car. Did I miss something?" "You're not missing anything," I replied, "I'm just drifting." "What do you mean?" asked Claire. "That I'm in love - wish me luck!" "Just enjoy the moment. When the train stops, get off and go back to your maiden name. Nevertheless, I wish you the very best, dearest friend, and you know it." She took my hand, put it in Lukas' and said to him: "Please don't ever hurt her! Helena is a better friend than a sister could be!" Lukas just smiled and agreed with her, whereupon Claire said, "I'll take your word for it!"

The love journey

The party was over. Lukas invited me to his house, and I accepted. Steve was happy to see me again and pretended we hadn't seen each other yet. "Good evening, ma'am." "What's all this nonsense aboutmadam? My name is Helena, so please call me that," I demanded. Steve nodded. Lukas told him to drive us to his house, which was on Banana Island, part of Victoria Island in Lagos. It was bigger than mine, too big for one person.What the hell, I thought,he's just an expat. Lukas couldn't keep his hands off me. He excitedly showed me the whole house. His cook announced that dinner was ready and brought baked potatoes, salad, grilled fish and sauce. In all the fuss, I had completely forgotten to eat anything at Naomi's party.

"I have to say something before we start eating, I like to eat fisheyes and chew bones, but I'm going to pass on that for this first official meeting." Lukas laughed out loud. "That's all right, I don't mind as long as you don't do it in front of my guests if I have any." "Of course not, I'm not that crazy about bones, it's just a Nigerian thing you don't understand," I laughed. In the dining room, I asked: "And where are your cook and driver staying?" "Steve's already gone, but the cook, Mary, is staying in the granny’s apartment," he replied. Then we went into the living room, and he asked if I wanted to watch a movie. When I said yes, he said, "Pick a movie for us." I had heard a lot about the movie where Demi Moore does a striptease but had never had the opportunity to watch or buy the video. I was glad when I saw that he had it. "If Claire could see me now," I thought out loud, then calmed down. "I already know the movie, but I'd be happy to watch it again with you," he said as I held up the video. "Thank you," I replied as I put the video cassette into the recorder. We sat close together on the longest couch, my head resting on his shoulder. He got up when Demi had put down her striptease to get a bottle of Baileys and two glasses, each with ice cubes in them, and poured us both a drink. "Lukas, are you trying to get me drunk to get me into bed?"

"No, Helena, I want you to relax, and even if I had such intentions, it certainly wouldn't be tonight." I loved his honesty! He left and came back with a glass bowl full of roasted, salted peanuts and handed them to me, which I thanked him for. We toasted each other and watched the movie to the end. "You can take the guest room if you want, or lie in bed with me," he said. Before I could open my mouth to say anything back, he quickly added: "I won't bite, I promise." "Okay, so your bed then, you go first." His bedroom was spacious, with neatly covered white sheets, purple and beige curtains and an attached bathroom. "Impressive," I said. "I'm glad you like it; I would have woken Mary to rearrange everything if it hadn't been to your taste. Do you want to go to the bathroom first?" "I haven't got anything to wear, maybe you can lend me a T-shirt, just for tonight?" "Don't worry, I've bought you something, here it is."

He opened the drawer next to his bed and handed me a brand new, sexy red nightgown with the price tag still attached.

"Here you go," he said sheepishly.

"But why the price tags, and how did you know what would suit me?" "I just liked it, and I said to myself:if I ever have a girlfriend, I'll give it to her with the label so she can be sure that no one else has worn it.And it's exactly the right size for my girlfriend."

The nightgown was still in his Victoria's Secret bag, I had never owned anything from Victoria's Secret before, I had only heard of it.

I took the nightgown into the bathroom with me and put it on after showering. Lukas wasn't in the room when I left the bathroom, but he came in wearing his pyjamas. "Have you showered?" I asked. "Yes, in the guest room."

Lukas is so sexy and handsome! "Which side of the bed would you like?" Either side was fine with me. He ended up taking the left and I took the right. We slept tightly together until the next morning. Lukas is an early riser, and he was already up making me an omelet and toast.

I'm not a big eater, but I was woken up by the smell of food. Still in my nightgown (or rather: in the nightgown that Lukas had given me), I went into the kitchen and watched him cook. It was the most romantic thing a man had ever done for me! He turned around when he heard me and told me to go back to bed because he was going to bring me breakfast there. How could I say no to that? I smiled and went back to bed. He brought breakfast about a minute later and told me that he had asked Mary to cook lunch. He asked if I was okay with staying until then. "I don't know yet, let me call Claire and see what she's up to."

I remembered a question that I had long wanted to ask Lukas, but which had always slipped away: "How do you know Naomi?" "She's my boss's girlfriend. We're both from the same city in Germany. I came to talk to him about my next vacation and didn't know there was a party going on. I also didn't know you knew Naomi until I saw you there. I was shocked and asked Steve to find out if it was really you." "Did you stalk me in any other way?"

He didn't deny it and then apologized again. 'It's all right,' I said, whereupon we both laughed and joked about it.

I called Claire; she answered her cell phone on the first ring. "So, what's happened? Is he as hot in bed as he looks? Is he a good kisser?" "Claire, Claire," I stopped her before she could say anything rude. "Don't blame me, you've been with Lukas all day and even slept over. What is my poor head supposed to think?" "Nothing happened! Has it ever occurred to you that two people in love can get to know each other without having sex?" "Confession time, I'm all ears," she giggled, "it's not funny." "Are you sure about that?" I told Claire everything that had happened, including the incident at Naomi's party. "When will I see you,abi you don marry? When you're married?" "That's one of the reasons I called: Luke asked me to stay with him for the week." "What about work and me, are you going to abandon me now?" "I won't leave you in the lurch and I'll go to work from here."

"I forbid you to stay there for a week," she interjected. "Claire, since when are you my mother?" I yelled at her. "Well, someone has to take on that role if you're going to act like a child," she said calmly.

"Give me his address and I won't bother you all week."

"Promise?" "Yes, I promise," she assured me.

I sent her Lukas' address and told her to bring me some clothes, underwear and toiletries; for security reasons she had a spare key for my apartment, and I had one for hers.

Claire arrived later that evening at 7:30pm. Lukas and I had gone to a restaurant and had already returned - I had had to put on the dress I'd worn to Naomi's party again. Luckily it wasn't too sexy. In between, I called Claire, and she didn't answer the phone. I was worried, but Luke reassured me that Claire was a big girl who could take care of herself. "You have no idea, this is Lagos, and Claire doesn't just ignore my call. She usually answers the phone on the first ring." Luke had already informed security to let Claire in when she showed up - which she did, wearing brand new underwear, shoes and bra.

"Claire!" I pounced on her and checked her body for injuries.

"What happened?" "What happened? You owe me 25,000 naira, that's what happened and please tell yourBobo