INTO THE VOID

CHAPTER 26: DINNER FOR BREAKFAST

Petrichor woke up around past eight in the morning. She was exhausted from all the dancing and emotions of the previous night, so, technically, her body needed the rest. As she woke up, she turned around on the bed in search of Xaviere; he was not there. In his place, she found an empty space and wrinkled sheets.

“Where has he gone to?” She wondered. She sat up straight, stretching here hands above her head while she yawned. She rubbed her fingers on her eyes. As she had her hands up to her face, she noticed there was something on the ground. She took her hands off her face and leaned over for a better view.

Looking at the floor of the couples resort, she saw a bunch of red rose petals scattered on the tiles. The petals were arranged in a way; they seem to lead somewhere. Petrichor smiled at the gesture. It was corny and unlike what Xaviere would do but it was romantic; corny but romantic.

She got of the bed and followed the trail of flowers. She wore a big t-shirt to bed; it was Xaviere’s. She followed the trail of laid out petals and then she found the end. It was a romantic, pleasant surprise and at the same time it was hilarious. Xaviere was being unnecessarily extra. He stood at the side of a table wearing a long sleeved white shirt with the sleeves folded up halfway. He had a pair of royal blue trousers on and the shirt was neatly tucked into the trousers. He had a pair of dotted, black brogues on.

It was not the dressing that she found funny; no far from it. In fact, she thought he looked hot with the first few buttons of the shirt undone and his chest showing. It was the fact that he was being dramatic. The shoes were neatly polished, his hair was combed out and the height of it all, he had a rose lodged in his mouth; that was so cliché.

“Oh my God Xaviere...” Petrichor said with her hands over her face. “What’s all these?” Petrichor asked in hysteria.

“This is just a little token of my love for you.” Xaviere responded, now stretching his right hand towards Petrichor. She took it and walked towards him. He drew her close to himself and placed a kiss on her lips. He gave her the rose he held earlier. Petrichor took and held it up to her nose. He led her by hand to the chair and in the most gentlemanly fashion; he drew out the chair for her.

“Thank you.” Petrichor said in an exaggerated British accent. She used both her palms to smoothen the shirt to her thighs like she would have done if she was wearing a gown. She always accused Xaviere of being the dramatic one but she also had a goofy side. Xaviere pushed the chair forward gently. He then walked to the other side of the table and had his seat.

“You know Xaviere, it is called breakfast in bed not gourmet cuisine on a table.” Petrichor said chuckling. Xaviere laughed a little then smiled. He paused for a bit and then smiled. He took a brief pause and then said,

“I went a little extra for an extra special person.”Petrichor smiled, blushing hard. She looked at the table shyly.

“Ok, Mr. Casanova; what’s for breakfast.” Petrichor said, trying to change the topic as she always did whenever she blushed.

“Nothing too serious; I rather you see for yourself.” Xaviere then dramatically took the dome shaped lid off the plate that was set on a tray in the table. By the side of the dish, there was a bottle of sparkling strawberry champagne and two wine glasses set upside down. By the other side of the dish, there was cutlery laid ever so neatly on the napkins.

After the lid was taken off, Petrichor could see the meal; it was a lavish breakfast package. Xaviere personally selected what was served; Spaghetti Bolognese with an amazing Ethiopian side sauce. There was also Irish potato chips and tomato sauce.

“Ouuu lala…” Petrichor exclaimed. “I love Spaghetti Bolognese. I didn’t even know they had this. Thanks a lot for this.” Petrichor said. It was an interesting dinner. They ate and had conversations. Xaviere was being very attentive. He steadied his gaze on her and watched her lips intently as if he was literally reading them. He made her know that she had his undivided attention. The food was not exactly much; it was not small either. It was just right but there spent almost an hour eating. Xaviere made her laugh as much as he could. He did his best to elongate the duration of their meal. He acted as though this would be the last time he would see her so he savored the time they had.

“What…what are you looking at?” Petrichor asked. She asked because Xaviere had suddenly gone quiet. He said nothing; he just looked at her very intently. After a brief silence, he then said,

“I am looking at you.”

“C’mon, stop it Xaviere; you see me all day, what else is there to see” Petrichor asked smiling.

“Exactly… I see you too often and because of this, I sometimes forget how beautiful you are. Sitting here right now, looking at this marvelous artwork you call a face, I am just marveled.” Xaviere said.

“Oh, stop it Xaviere.” Petrichor said, blushing hard.

“No, really, you’re really beautiful. Those eyes, those lips, that skin, your hair; everything is just perfect. An amazing blend, a beautiful collage that will outwit the brush of the greatest artist; not Michelangelo with his ceiling works, not Da Vinci and his Mona Lisa, not Picasso with his cubism, Van Gogh cannot compare; Petrichor Dune… you are a work of art.” Xaviere said.

“I don’t even know what to say.” Petrichor said after shyly looking away. Her cheeks went pink; she was blushing hard.

“It must be hard walking around being this beautiful.” Xaviere said.

“I don’t get. Why?” Petrichor asked.

“So many people flirting with you and all; it must get annoying.” Xaviere said.

“If your plan is to make me blush uncontrollably, congratulations, you are doing a really good job.” Petrichor said. Xaviere smiled and said,

”I can see that.” He then looked directly into her eyes and smirked. After a few seconds of silence, he said, “Come give me your hand.” Petrichor stretched her right hand over the table. What was a full tray was now a bunch of empty dishes and used napkins.

He took her hand and got up from the table. Xaviere held her hand in his and walked a few paces away from the table. He out his left hand into his pocket and brought out his phone and then said,

“What is a romantic meal without some slow dancing?” He tapped on the phone and then Nina Simone’s feeling good started playing loudly over the Bluetooth speakers. He had taken out his time to organize a playlist of slow jazz songs that Petrichor liked.

“Awn… this is so beautiful.” Petrichor said.

“Beautiful things for a beautiful woman; milady, shall I have this dance?” Xaviere asked with an exaggerated bow. Petrichor smiled. He grabbed her by the waist and her hands were on his neck; her fingers wrapped behind it. They paced from side to side to the rhythm of the songs. They danced for minutes to different classics. At a point she had her head on his chest and said nothing; they just swayed there together.

Xaviere did not know much about the Marimba or a Talking drum; he could not jump energetically like Andrew. He could not learn an Ethiopian dance in minutes; he did not know much about classic machismo but he knew one thing. He knew that he was in love with this woman and he would make attempts at bringing her happiness and that was exactly what he did. It did not matter how many dinners or elaborate breakfasts he had to plan; he was willing to do it.

So, there they were; a love stricken young man dressed like the protagonist of the French romantic novels he claimed not to like slow dancing with a girl who just woke up from sleep that had his big T-shirt on; it was an interesting breakfast indeed.