INTO THE VOID

CHAPTER 25: THE SPEECH OF SILENCE

“I’ll tell you what the problem is Andrew. The problem is you trying to impress my girlfriend. What exactly was that? You were all over her tonight.”

“Come on Xaviere, you are over reacting. We were just having fun.”

“Well she’s mad at me.”

“What is she mad about?” Andrew asked.

“I don’t know. I was just here, sitting down and sipping a cocktail. Then she just showed up when I was talking to Alkarma, the Eritrean girl and then she just…”

“Wait, wait, wait… hold up for just a minute. You brought your girl out to dinner, refused to dance with her and then started talking to another girl in the same premises; bruv, that’s some playboy stuff and I never known you to be on a roadman thing. So, in essence, you caught an ‘L’; you brought the ‘L’ upon yourself. Why in the world did you move mad like that?” Andrew asked.

“We were just talking. There was nothing to it; we were just having a conversation.”

“C’mon bruv, for someone so smart you some do pretty dumb stuff sometimes. Girls are territorial; they like to mark their space. Just the same way you not happy about all the attention she gave me; that’s the exact same way she’s not happy about sharing you.”

“We were just talking; that’s all we did.”

“Women aren’t logical when it comes to things like this. You should know this, aren’t you the psychology freak?” Andrew asked pointing both his arms at Andrew with his palms open.

“Damn, I think I just messed up; I’ve messed up big time.” Xaviere said with a look of sudden realization on his face. “What do I do now?” Xaviere asked.

“Well, you apologize. From what I’ve observed, Petrichor is mature enough to talk about such things. She’s female and of course, she might let her emotions cloud her judgment sometimes but it is moments like this that define a relationship; communicate.” Andrew said.

“Thanks bro; and I'm so sorry for lashing out at you like that earlier.” Xaviere said as he turned around hurriedly headed towards the room.

“Don’t mention it; you do owe me a solid though.” Andrew said with a loud voice to Xaviere who was now quite the distance away. Xaviere hurried into the suite. He ran in the hall and up the stairs. He walked quickly to their room.

When he got into the room, he saw Petrichor sitting on the bed with both her hands crossed. She had taken off the clothes she wore to the dinner. She looked at Xaviere as he walked in. She looked intensely at him and then removed her gaze. Xaviere walked into the room and sat on the other side of the bed. As he walked in, he did not match her gaze with his. Looking in her eyes was not new to him but never had he seen them this way; so much unspoken emotion lodge behind her beautiful optical organs.

For about fifteen minutes, they said nothing to each other; not a single word was uttered. Xaviere did not even touch his phone and neither did she touch hers. They sat there in silence but there was a heavy, visible tension in the room. After much internal deliberation and rehearsals, Xaviere finally said something.

“Petrichor, I am so sorry.” He barely even finished his sentence before she replied. Unlike him, who had to careful construct and plan what to say, Petrichor was equipped with an arsenal of replies and comments. It is quite interesting to see the level of preparedness females have for arguments; they are naturally ready.

“Really, is that all you’ve got to say?” Petrichor said, interrupting his flow of speech. “I followed you, all the way from Canada. I got on a plane to an entirely new continent that I’ve never been to. Think about it, that’s how much I am ready to put into this thing; whatever it is we are doing. I try my best to make you happy and give you all I can and we come here and you don’t even talk to me.

C’mon Xaviere, what was that out there? I got dressed for you. I sat at a dinner table for you; for no other reason but you. The least you could have done was to acknowledge my existence.”Petrichor said now tearing up. “I get it; you don’t dance I know but c’mon Xaviere, I leave you for a few minutes and you start flirting with some girl. That’s disrespectful. That’s very demeaning; it is an insult to me. I just wanted you to be here and be…” Petrichor was still speaking when the tears began to flow. She started crying. She wanted to speak but the words would not just come out.

“I am so sorry. I swear I would never hurt you. I am really sorry and I mean it.” Xaviere said now hugging Petrichor in his arms. It was not a mutual hug; it was more like he was holding her together and without the support of his arms, she will fall apart. She had her hands covering her face as she cried. Xaviere held her close to his chest and repeated the apologies.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you and what I did was very dumb and I'm really sorry. I wasn’t talking because honestly, I was kind of jealous of Andrew. You guys spoke so easily. I was intimidated and I am sorry. You deserve more.”

“Why will you be jealous of Andrew? I did not travel all those hours in a plane with Andrew. Andrew is not the reason I am here. Andrew is not the one I met at Alice’s shop. Those memories are ours; mine and yours. You don’t have to be jealous about anything. You don’t have anything to worry about; you don’t have to be insecure around me. You bare enough for me. I am yours; I am your Petrichor.” Petrichor said now holding his have in her hands. He hugged her again but this time, she hugged him back. It was not a short hug.

They said nothing. They sat there in silence but a different kind of silence from the former one. It was tranquil; a peaceful moment that the chaos of words should not ruin. They hugged so tightly that he could feel the rhythm of her heart on his chest. In this silence, that hug said more words than they ever could.

Just as they did the nights before, they got in the Jacuzzi together; this time, there was no hurry. He was gentle. He held her in his hands like an egg that would break in not properly handled. He touched her body like he had never seen her before. He held her with a new value; like she was a rare treasure he has had for a long time but now just discovered its worth.

They sat in the circular tub facing each other, bodies bare. The water in the tub was about chest level; it scented of tropical body wash. The Tilkili were a little extra and had rose petals in the bathrooms of the couple’s resort. The water was warm and steamy. The bathroom was a little foggy from all the steam. It was in this water, that Xaviere ran his hands like a sponge over Petrichor; she did well to return the favor.

After a session of their slimy bodies slipping over each other, the two love birds got in bed and slept off. Xaviere wrapped his hand around her and watched her fall asleep. He ran his fingers through her hair and examined the features of her face as though he was seeing it for the first time. He fell asleep a while later, with his hands around her waist. He held on to her as if for some weird reason she would magically disappear while he slept and he would never see her again.