When Stars Align

A painful past.

Amanda stared out her window and watched as Luca drove out of the estate in his Jeep. When he had arrived on her beach some years back with nothing other than the clothes on his back and a duffel bag, she’d thought he was just another tourist. She’d gone swimming with her friends back home at Elegushi beach and had spotted him from the water. He had stood out like a sore thumb with the wind ruffling his hair– his hair had been short at the time.

Later, he had come up to her and inquired about accommodation around the area. He hadn’t wanted to stay at a hotel, he wanted to experience the full effect of Nigerian culture, he’d said. She had offered to be his tour guide and show him around. They’d become friends, her naive nineteen year old self and his more experienced twenty-six years old.

He had confessed that he was a designer, a famous one and was back packing across Africa in search of inspiration. Though he’d failed to mention just how famous he was. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined he was in league with the likes of Chanel, Versace and was the son of a shipping mogul. His family was rolling in money and she had just been an aspiring dancer from a poor family. Their coming together was never supposed to happen, with both of them being from different races. But she had thought it was a fairy-tale love and when he had told her of his feelings for her, she had been in ninth heaven.

She’d given herself to him that night and it had been the most wonderful night of her life; only for her to wake up alone the next day. He had left her in bed without a goodbye or even a note to explain his absence. She had searched for him everywhere but he was nowhere to be found. He’d disappeared without a trace.

Weeks later, she’d faced the consequences of that night when she found out her period was late. She was pregnant. Her father had thrown her out of the house when she couldn’t provide the father of the baby. She had taken JAMB– an exam required to get into university in Nigeria– that year and had passed in flying colours, she had gotten admission and her father was running helter-skelter searching for the funds to pay her fees but she’d gotten pregnant. He had been so angry he had thrown her out of the house at night, in the rain.

She had wandered the streets of Lagos till she’d almost gotten ran over by a car. The driver had taken her home and helped her pacify her father. He’d taken her back and she’d had the baby, her son Alessandro. She had given him an Italian name as a reminder of his roots. Only for her to find out later that Luca had also left out the fact that he had been engaged when he came to Nigeria and had left her to marry his Italian fiancée.

She drew the curtains in anger, blocking her view of the driveway. She limped back to her bed and lied down. Her leg was still in a cast, she couldn’t wait for it to come off. The longer it stayed on, the longer she was stuck here with Luca. She missed her son and father.

The door opened and Celesté walked in with a tray in hand. She placed the tray on the bedside shelf and sat down on the bed beside her.

“I made you some chamomile tea to soothe the pain,” she pointed to her leg.

“Thank you.” Amanda whispered.

Celesté nodded her head, “si,” she said.

“Listen my child, I want to ask you for a favour, you’ll be nice to an old lady and fulfil her wishes, yes?” Amanda nodded affirmatively.

“Luca, my sweet child. Che Dio lo benedica,” she said in a thick Italian accent, “he’s not a bad person. He help me and my son and grandson. He gave my son a job at his padre’s company and sends my grandson to school.” She wiped off some tears that fell and sniffled.

This woman who Amanda knew nothing about obviously cared for Luca very much, she wished she had a mother to care about her this way.

“I’ve never seen him so happy before. He never laughs. That woman, his wife doesn’t make him happy,” she leaned in conspiratorially as if her next words were sacred, “he spends all his time here instead of his house so he can get away from that woman.” She whispered.

“I beg you, please don’t ever leave him, he’s a good man. He doesn’t deserve to be unhappy.” She held her two hands in front of her in a pleading motion and Amanda’s heart clenched, all her anger from earlier withering away.

She took hold of the old woman’s hands and brought it down to her lap. Elderly people shouldn’t have to beg their young ones for favours, that’s what her parents taught her.

“I won’t ever leave him,” she promised. There was no way Luca could fully be out of her life anyway, she bore him a son.

Celesté smiled and tipped her chin up with her finger. “Now drink your tea before it gets cold. God bless you, my child.”