Miss Thick

CHAPTER 54

“Have you been to the last floor at the palace before the rooftop?” Phiwo asks as we make our way inside the private airport. After over three weeks as queen, I finally made time to see Carter’s family in Bologna. Our birth month is in a week, so I will be spending the week with Nick’s family and come back to South Africa just in time for Futhy’s birthday.

“I haven’t, why?” I question, turning to him.

“That floor was specifically designed for the reigning queens. Since you can’t be given a whole, a whole floor seems fitting. Everything is in there. A huge ass bedroom with two guest bedrooms on the side. An indoor pool, a Jacuzzi, theatre room, gym, kitchen and an office. It’s actually a whole house in one floor.”

“Why was I never given a tour to that floor?” I ask, astonished. Like why ngempela? He laughs.
“Your stuff will be moved there and you will officially move in once you’re back. Anyways let me not keep you waiting. Go serve your in-laws.” I laugh, hugging him and he also laughs because he knows that’s not how overseas in-laws work.

I say my goodbyes to my other siblings and board the family’s private plane. All royal houses, I believe, have their own private jets around here. Imagine standing in line with a king or rubbing shoulders with a queen at a public airport waiting for a normal flight. That would be strange. Carter has already taken a seat. While my guards look for somewhere to sit, I go sit next to him. You could believe that because I’m travelling to a distant nation where no one knows me, I won’t be in danger, but this is not the case. It turns out that I should always have my guards with me. I unbuckle my seat belt and climb into Carter’s lap after takeoff. He just chuckles and encircles me with his arms.

“Couldn’t stand the distance?” I shake my head with a pout and he laughs.
“So I am only meeting your parents or…”
“My parents own a modern hi-tech mansion, so my three younger siblings live with them. My brother and his wife visits them occasionally, it looks like they stay there. My married sister lives with her small family in Ferrara but they are all going to be home since they are keen on seeing you.”

“I’m not that interesting. What is there to see?” he laughs.
“Well they are interested, so let them be.”

…
We arrive at Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport after over 19 hours in the air. Carter has arranged transportation for us, so we pile into the cars and are transported to his family’s home.

“So don’t you have a place to live in town?” I ask and he chuckles.
“I have one that I never use for obvious reasons, but my younger makes it a point to clean it at least twice a month.”
“You should take me to see it maybe tomorrow or the day after and we can just spend the whole day there.”
“I like your thinking, love.” he winks at me.

Outside this stunning glass-and-steel home, the cars finally come to a halt. How much did this actually cost? It’s safe to assume that the Carters are well-off. The sun is warm against my skin. I am only wearing a vest, track pants and sneakers. You can’t fly in a formal attire and expect to be comfortable for the duration of the flight, especially if your flight is as long as mine. I even wore a sports bra to allow my boobs to breathe.

While late August in South Africa has a bit of warmth, here you can tell that the sun was blazing hot during the day. We come through the front door with Nick holding my hand. We enter to see this gorgeous lobby. Futhy would create something like this. It is simply breathtakingly lovely. We walk to what I believe is a lounge, where there is a lot of white individuals with brown hair, some black hair and some blond hair. 

“My God, Nick. You’re finally here.” a woman in her late 40s leaps from her seat and rushes up to Nick to hug him. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you two mom.” He returns the hug. She turns around and smiles broadly at me.
“You must be Nouma.” She also hugs me. “I am Jean Marie, Nick’s mother.” I love the way she pronounces my name.