The She-wolf's Love

Julie Roberts, at an early age, had taken to computers and technology. She tried her hands on damaged fax machines, computers, printers, basically anything related to technology. She was considered a computer guru by her peers. Upon completion of high school, she wanted to travel abroad for adventures and found herself in France. A few weeks later, she sent an application to a university based in France seeking to pursue a bachelor's degree in economics. “Hello dad,” Julie's voice rang through the phone. “Hi, Julie,” her dad responded. "You have decided not to see our faces anymore, right?" “No dad. I just love her. You know Paris is the city of love?” “That's common knowledge and,” her father hesitated, “your mum and I didn't send you to France to get a boyfriend. We sent you there to study and learn.” “Come on dad, I'm not promiscuous,” she protested. “My apologies if my statement was misconstrued. I just want you to focus on school work. I have no problem with you having a boyfriend. Just know how to manage it, okay?” “Yeah dad, I will need some money though.” “I sent you money last week, Julie Jade Roberts!” Her father rarely called her by her full name and when he did, he was upset about something. She sensed the anger in his voice and used a softer tone to ease the growing tension. “You did, I just need an extra amount. You know I don't ask for extra money,” she said softly. “How much do you need?” “I just need four thousand dollars only.” “Why four thousand? What do you need all that money for?!” Louis Roberts was furious. He strongly resisted the urge to send his phone flying out of the window. As he sat behind his desk in his office, situated in a ten-floor office building away from Michigan's busy streets, he could feel perspiration starting to build up in his underarms. Four thousand dollars was small money for him given his financial strength, but he was alarmed at the coolness in which she said it. What university student needed four thousand dollars after getting an allowance of five thousand dollars earlier in the month? “You have to be careful with your spending, Julie. There are poor people in this world.” “I know dad, but I'm not responsible for the poverty they experience.” “But you are responsible for yours. If you don't have financial discipline, you'd join them,” her father retorted. She removed the earphones from her ears as she sighed. Her father was an unofficial professor of economics. Fiscal policy, supply and demand, needs, wants, insatiable desires, name it, her father never stopped drumming it into the ears of the only children he had. He had wanted more children but his ever-growing business meant he had less time for making babies. He often had one or two moments to make love to his wife but they were irregular. He had resigned to his fate. Of course, she had a sister, Emily, who was her twin, but they were non-identical. They both loved the same things but Emily was the more outgoing of the duo. She really loved to be in Emily's presence but her father's unrelenting nagging about money and related topics made her desire a few trips out of the country. Every vacation, the Roberts' spent time across America and Canada but as the girls became teenagers, the quest for independence put a stop to the family tradition. “Hey girls!” Mia Roberts greeted. “Hi mom!” The twins chorused. “Your father and I have chosen Toronto as our next family vacation spot,” “I want to go to China,” Emily said. “My friends and I were planning a trip to Mexico,” said Julie. “But...” “Maybe it's time we all went on our individual vacations,” said Emily “But your dad and I want to bond with you girls.” “Would have been great if not that the bonding would be ruined by unsolicited financial discipline lectures,” Julie moaned. “Julie!” Mia Roberts said with scorn written on her face. “I’m sorry mum,” Julie said meekly. “Your comment was very disrespectful,” Mia scolded Julie. “You know your father loves you both and he means well.” “We know and we appreciate it,” Julie responded, “Sometimes, we are overwhelmed by his nagging and admonitions. He needs to take it easy on us.” “I don’t know if you have noticed it but your father,” Mia remarked, “is scared of failing both of you. He came from nothing and worked twice as hard to get to where he is today. He doesn’t want both of you to suffer.” “We appreciate his efforts!” the twins chorused. *************************************************************************************** Grenoble Institute of Technology was home to about 5,300 students who came from different backgrounds across the world. Every year, a huge number of Africans, Asians, Americans, Europeans and people of other ethnicities converge on the university campus ideally located in the heart of the French Alps. It prided itself as one of Europe’s leading universities of technology. It was in this part of France that Julie Roberts called her home for the duration of her baccalaureate. Her parents were a little over the typical American middle class social group but not wealthy enough to be counted among the elite. Her parents were wealthy enough to own a mansion, fund a few vacations within and outside the States, buy and maintain a few cars, charter a private jet and live completely debt-free. It’s a privilege Emily and Julie didn’t misuse for a second. They knew they were privileged but they also knew that money didn’t grow on trees. Their parents had worked hard and smart to get to the financial level they were and they wouldn’t want to deprive their own children of such privilege that they currently enjoy from their parents. Emily loved to be around her mum when she was a child. She recalled her mum always telling her that she didn’t let anyone carry her when she was a baby. Not even her dad. She was over-protective of her mum. As she approached teenage, her attention began to shift away from her mum to the boys in her school. Emily had a pale white skin that flushed red when she saw a guy that she liked. She looked older than her age and people often mistook her for her mother’s sister. She once had a crush on a guy and was already in the process of approaching him when the man’s six-year old daughter ran up to him while drawing his attention to her mother who was coming in the opposite direction. She slowed down and eventually met the man. “You have quite a vivacious daughter. How old is she?” Emily asked. “Thank you. She’s six. Some say she acts like she’s ten,” he replied amidst laughter. “I wouldn’t be surprised,” Emily replied. After a few more remarks she left the young family and continued on her journey. Emily had her first boyfriend when she was fourteen. Julie was in her penultimate year in the university when she decided to pursue a graduate degree in management. Her father had once said something about retiring so he could focus on his wife. Julie wanted her father’s business to stay within the family hence her decision to obtain a degree in management after her undergraduate studies. “Coucou,” Jean-Marie cooed while kissing her lightly on her cheek, his salutation puncturing her thoughts. Jean-Marie Pierre, Julie’s first boyfriend ever. She had had a few crushes while she was in high school but had not acted on them. Upon her arrival in France, she had been dazzled by the unreserved display of love and affection by the average Frenchman. She had shared a few kisses with some boys but it had been nothing deep. She had met him in her second year in the university when she went apartment hunting. She had quit the students’ hostel because she couldn’t stand the noise and endless bickering. Fortunately for her, she found one not too far from the university campus and her parents had secured a flat for her some streets away and also bought her a car to ease her daily commute. Jean-Marie was a tall and lanky fellow who was witty to a fault. What he lacked in musculature, he had in abundance in the way he loved her. He mesmerized her effortlessly with his intelligence and disposition to learning. Coincidentally, he was also in his sophomore year at the university and they had taken a liking to each other. He was seeing someone else when they met but he later broke up with the person when the financial demands of the person were becoming unreasonable and unbearable. He spoke a smattering of French but his English was slightly at a conversational level. “Hello sweetheart.” Julie replied while returning his kiss. “You are doing great?” “Yeah, just thinking of what my thesis would be on,” Julie said. “Chouchoute calme-toi. You have some time to think about it. Enjoy the moment.” « Je veux avoir un plan bien structuré pour ma vie, » « Je sais, mais on doit savoir que la vie est en étages. Petit à petit mon amour. » “If you say so.” “Don’t worry, everything will be alright.” He kissed her on the lips and they drowned themselves in the pleasure of the moment. ******************************************************************************************* “Good morning Senator Abraham,” the well-toned man with perfectly-cut beards said heartily into the speaker of the phone. He was decked out in a black suit and pristine-black pair of shoes. He had a newspaper placed on the table in front of him. Steam from a mug filled with coffee lay beside the newspaper. He looked to be in his mid-forties. “Of course, I hope to be back in town for the big day,” he motioned to the steward to get him some water. He seemed to be doing a hundred things at once. With his phone nestled between his ear and his shoulder, he used one of his free hands to grab the cup of coffee and he took a few sips. His facial expression indicated dissatisfaction and he added some quantity of sugar to the drink, stirred it and took a few more sips. He repeated the motions until the taste appealed to him. “Alright. Ciao!” He hung up and heaved a sigh of relief. Pesky politicians, he muttered under his breath. He disliked dealing with politicians. They are always armed with a sleight of hands or two. But he needed them. They made the rules and defined the ease of doing business in any place and he wanted to do business, at least, before he retired to his home and faced his darling wife. “We are taking off in fifteen minutes,” the pilot said from the cockpit. He adjusted his seat and prepared for takeoff. Louis Roberts was a successful investment banker who had involvement in a variety of firms. He had hustled his way through high school and college and had secured a scholarship into one of the Ivy-league schools in America. He was quite a fantastic basketball player and didn’t make it to the NBA because he didn’t want to be a professional athlete. While in the final year of his post-graduate degree program, he developed a unique auditing code that made financial audits and accounting faster and accurate and he was simply offered a full-time job where he was working and some months later, he was promoted to the position of junior vice-president of the firm he was working with. Right before that, he had met Mia at one business luncheon and they became friends. They started dating two years after they met and three years after he became junior vice-president, they got married in a very minimalist wedding ceremony somewhere in Fiji. The months preceding and succeeding the birth of the twins were very troubling for his marriage to Mia. He had almost lost his job because he took out time to care for Mia. At the time, paternity leave wasn’t so common and there was lots of opposition to granting a paternity test. Mia being pregnant with twins meant that he needed to cater for three people. Some nights, Mia would wake up crying because the pain in her abdomen was unbearable. He’d pet her while giving her tummy a warm caress. The doctor they had contacted had assured them that nothing was wrong with her and that she’d need to bear the pains until delivery is due. He had declined recommending any pills for her because of the babies in her womb. She later gave birth in October, that year and the house began to register a cacophony of giggles, cries and shrieks that escaped from the twins.