Loving Nicolas

Chapter 9

Two month and two weeks we've been together, Nicolas had to fly back to London again for a meeting with a producer. It was only for a couple of days and he would be back. It was depressing to return back home to find it empty. His clothes were still there. His running shoes was placed in the corner. I sank on the bed closing my eyes and imagining him to walk out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his hip while water ran over his wet skin.

But nothing of that sort had happened. Instead I changed and turned on the TV and muted it. My phone began to ring and I knew who it was before checking the caller ID. Always on time.

"Maman." I said in greeting bracing myself for her Q&A. 

"Cheri. Comment ça va?" My mother's voice filled a void in my chest, her English was good and so was her Arabic, but they still retained that French accent.

"Bien, I just got back from work." I sighed rubbing my forehead. "Frenchement, I didn't know what I was getting into when I decided to tackle fashion week."

"Vraiment? All you talked about the last time we spoke was how you're going to make an impression on the fashion industry with your collection." My mother sounded amused.

"Dieu! I did, didn't I?" I groaned rubbing at my aching head.

"Is there anything you want to tell me Leah?" 

Oh! The way she drawled my name at the end, it wasn't good when my mother said those words. There was no way I can keep it from her now. Either it was mother's instincts or she knows about Nicolas. I had no choice but to spill the beans. 

"I met someone. I like him very much." I said quickly, my heart hammering in my chest, my mouth going dry. She maybe French, but she has embraced the Middle Eastern culture since the day she married my father. 

"Oh?"

"His name is Nicolas Scott..."

"Quoi?! Un acteur?!" She didn't sound impressed. 

"You know who he is?"

"I do not live in the stone age Leah! Besides I talked with him earlier in the week." My mother sighed, irritated. "How did you meet?"

She had what?! And Nicolas had never mentioned anything about it. It must be very bad. 

"What did you tell him maman?!"  God! I hope she hadn't lectured him or even worse asked him when he'd make an honest woman out of me! I'm dying! "Maman! What did you tell him?"

"Nothing for you to worry about Cheri." My mother said dismissively. "Now tell me about him."

I knew my mother well enough to know she will not tell me what went on between her and Nicolas when they spoke. I spent the next ten minutes telling her all about him. It was hard telling her that he was living with me but I did. Not that she didn't already know about it. It was the matter on how to tell my father about it which worried me the most now. 

"You're serious about him?" She finally asked and it made me think. "You love him?" 

I recoiled from the L word. I didn't want to jinx what I had with Nicolas by thinking about it. It was just too early. At least that's what I had thought at the time. 

"I know I really like him. We've been together for over two months now. I don't know how serious it's going to get." In other words, I didn't know if it's going to end with a marriage proposal or he will pick up his things and leave. It didn't work that way here. Couples lived together for years, if they really liked each other, had children too, without marriage. Or they just drift apart from each other and call it quits.