'Puzzled'

Episode 29 - Friends We Are Not

Episode 29 - Friends We Are NotMonte Carlo, France, 27 December

I finish the steaks and go up to my room. The light off, I come to the window and stand there, peering into the night. My gaze is fixed on the blinking dot of a lighthouse in the sea. Its rhythmical signals, echoing in my heart, inspire and instil hope in me.

I hear a knock on the door.

'Yes?' I shout.

Cautiously, the door opens. A ray of light falls into the room, accentuating a silhouette of maman.

'May I come in?' she asks.

‘Yes,' I nod and move my eyes back to the ‘blinking dot’ of the lighthouse.

She walks in.

'Sitting in a complete darkness again?' She asks, but I don't reply.

'Chéri…, ' she says, 'have you been out?'

Silent, I keep staring out the window.

'We were worried about you, didn’t know what to think … something’s happened?'

'Nothing's happened. I was in Nice, took Domino for a walk ....’ I reply, finally.

She comes close and stands behind me.

‘You could have let us know that you'd be late.' she says.

I feel her hand on my shoulder and shrug it off.

'Mum, I'm not a kid anymore and I don't have to report back to you on my every step.'

'But we worried about you, tried to call you on your mobile, but you didn't answer it. We didn't know what to think, where to look for you.'

'I've left it at home. And anyway, why to look for me?' I ask, annoyed.

'But Chéri, before you never disappeared for a whole day.'

I don’t respond.

'Luke, dear, I do understand ... '

'What do you understand?' I look at her.

'Well, that you have a girlfriend in Nice ... ' she replies.

'Mum, I don't have any girlfriend there!'

'Chéri, it's absolutely fine with me if you don't want to talk about it. But you both look gorgeous on that photograph.'

'What photograph? What are you talking about?'

'Don't play innocent, you know what I'm talking about, the photograph of you two on your f*******: profile. '

I dash to my desk and open the laptop. Going to my profile, I see the same bogus photo that threw me off balance just a few days ago. Really, that’s too much! I delete the image and change my privacy settings, locking my profile for 'non-friends'.