To say I was nervous on the days leading to our first date, is an understatement.
Weird thoughts raced in my mind, competing for attention.
What if I didn’t like him?
Would that mark the end of our relationship?
Then I couldn’t brush off the thought of him probably having other women, and perhaps men too;
And I also worried that his exes might show up unexpectedly.
But the possibility of there being even the slightest bit of chemistry between us was worth taking the risk.
So I process my Shengen visa through the French Embassy in Nairobi, and in a week’s time I am off to Paris.
After a 13 hour flight with a stopover in Istanbul, I arrive Paris at 6 pm ish.
All I need is a looong soothing soak.
And probably some sleep.
I am a tired mess.
Though I’m dying to finally meet him, I reckon that he can wait.
Just one more night.
Or so I convince myself…
Nothing prepared me for what lay ahead.
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that our first face to face meet would happen in such a setting.
Neither is it often that you meet your LDR date for the first time, in your birthday suit.
But that is my privilege when, with a light heart, I step into the bathroom of my Parisian AirBnB Penthouse apartment with the best views of Paris.
As I plunge into the huge brochure-blue bathtub, my beguiling Iron Man, in all his Parisian majesty, beckons me into his pulsing heart.
The deep, haunting ballad of his ancient controversial past suddenly calls out to me. Like that time when he almost didn’t get born.
I quickly brush it off.
I’m trying to stay focused.
As old as time, he is still imbued in sumptuousness and splendor.
His tall outstretched legs radiate energy and brio.
The exquisiteness of dusk’s light enwraps his curvy column arms, saturating their surface with a lustrous-gold haze.
The clouds writhing above him like a conjurer’s milky white puff.
Sensuous and illusory.
He isn’t a male model but should have been one.
He is handsome indeed.
His only blemish?
He was molded from a different cast and has an epicene languor uncommon among his peers.
And he casts a spell over all those who fall under his steady gaze.
How could I resist him?
It is love at first sight, that’s for sure.
He and I have been in a long distance relationship for close to 21 years.
And up until now, we got along pretty well.
Even though I always did all the communicating.
I had only seen him in pictures but read so many things about him.
But we had never met face to face.
Not until this evening in April.
I digress… or maybe I don’t…
For a moment, It seems like an old, blurred vellum parchment is unrolling right before me.
If I could read the script, it would probably say just two words a billion, gazillion times:
“Don’t leave…”
Hot steam rises off the water in the tub as clouds of frothy lather rest along the surface.
Sweet fragrances of sea salt, eucalyptus and lavender fill the air and seem to dart in and out of my grip.
Sight and smell battle for attention in this immensely rigorous but enriching dream world.
I look around the bathroom and recognize its feng shui perfection.
There is a potted cactus plant on the floor, shoulders outstretched as if also in recognition of my love’s splendor.
Its leaves have an Eden-green beauty that cannot be easily rivaled.
Across the horizon, some of bae’s rivals seem to beckon me out as well.
I will let their sleeping souls rest today, however.
I am here to savor my love’s indefinable magnificence and let his vastness seep into my mind.
With luck, I will carry bits and pieces of him home as memory.
In about 5 days.
That’s the most days I could get off of work.
It’s hard indeed.
But try, I will.
I put my hands under my head.
Lean against the tub.
Slide down all the way and lay back so the water is just up to my neck.
As the heat soaks into my skin, I close my eyes, let my interior monologue take hold, and gravitate into infinity.
I am glad to finally be away from the hurly-burly and stress that is Nairobi life.
And to finally have met the love of my life face to face.
I don’t remember much of how the rest of the evening went by, but when I awoke, he still stood there still.
Ever since that first date, I have returned to Paris 3 more times.
And each time I return, I fall in love over and over again with him .
Although his permanent address is at the Champ de Mars in the 7th arrondissement, you can spot The Eiffel Tower from pretty much everywhere in Paris.
And there’s tons of best places to take a photo with my bae – the Eiffel Tower.
