First, perhaps I should explain a small joke between Alexandre and Elia towards the end of the last chapter. Waffles are a stereotypical 'Belguim' snack so quite an apt thing for him to be eating. Alex, you could say was 'flying the flag'. Elia, meanwhile was in a way (and in jest) throwing shade on his little Belguim bubble by mentioning pretzels which are stereotypically German. You could almost say she was trolling him by claiming she prefers Germany over Belguim.
Still, I may remove it at some point, once this story is complete I intend to go through it from the beginning and try to make edits and improvements etc. Anyway, this chapter is one I'm excited to share as it reveals an important aspect Alexandre's backstory and discusses his father.
"Can I." She began tentatively. "Let you in on something?"
"Of course."
"It concerns, Joél." She could almost feel him tense up at the mention of that name.
"Has he done something to hurt you?" He asked, his tone much more serious.
"No, not hurt me." She assured. "Just, seriously vexed me up!"
"How?" He asked, concern still evident in his voice. Elia explained the conversation she'd had with him, the Facebook post he'd made following it and how angry she was. Alexandre meanwhile listened quietly.
"Now." She concluded passionately. "I'ma bout to bun im out!"
"What?"
Elia paused for a moment, she'd forgotten for a moment that she was talking to someone who had no knowledge of either Jamaican or Mexican slang.
"Sorry!" She exclaimed. "I meant I'm gonna destroy him... verbally that is!"
Alexandre chuckled.
"Seriously man, he ain't getting away with this, I'm part the way through my reply, and I'ma post it in front of all his mates AND take a screenshot in case he tries to delete it!"
"How do you think he'll respond?"
Elia was slightly caught off guard by his question, she'd not given that much thought.
"Well," She began, mulling it over in her head. "I'm not sure I even care."
"But would you if, say for example, he turned it around on you, twisted your response and used it against you."
"How can he?" Elia challenged. "I'll have a screen cap of my original response so whatever trick he tries I'll have proof, and the truth on my side."
"I don't doubt that Elia, and I'm behind you on this. But you've seen for yourself how manipulative and cunning he can be. If you get angry, on his page, for all his friends to see. Don't you think he'd try to twist that and claim that your words are proof of a guilty conscience?"
Elia was silent, he had a point.
"Yeah but," She began. "He's in the wrong and the fact that he's gone out there, in the public domain and played the victim and is basking in all this sympathy that he's been getting, under false pretences"!
"Perhaps," Alexandre suggested. "We should just let him have it."
"Why? He's lying."
"He's a sad and lonely man, Elia. He's alienated just about every friend he's ever made, including you. The only validation he can get is from a bunch of people over the internet that he'll likely never meet face to face."
Elia let out a big sigh.
"I just feel like I can't stand by and watch while he lies and twists things to make himself look like some saintly victim because he's far from it."
"Elia. We've been called to board, I'll have to go. Just, give it a day, can you do that before you reply to him? We can meet up tomorrow if you have spare time?"
"Ok." Elia agreed. "I've no plans. Have a good flight."
"Take care of yourself, and stay calm."
Elia heard the smile in his words, she said goodbye then hung up. She let out a smile herself, their conversation had alleviated her mood. She went back to her laptop and copied the words she'd written, closed the page then pasted her words in her email drafts. She'd take his advice of holding off her reply, but she wasn't ready to let it go completely.
Later that evening she got a text message from him asking if he could stop by mid-morning the next day. She responded, consenting and passed on the address of her apartment, she found herself actually looking forward to his company, and was surprised when he turned up pretty much on time.
"Hello" He greeted. She smiled and waved him in.
"Your hair looks nice." He observed. Looking at her springy curls admiringly.
"Thank you."
"It looks better than how you wore it at the wedding."
Elia looked at him curiously.
"How did you know how I wore it at the wedding?"
"Carlos." He informed her looking embarrassed. "He has a picture he took on his phone of you, Jazmin and Mariah, the three bridesmaids."
"Oh, I see. I remember him taking it now, yeah I washed that look out the very next day."
"This is for you." He announced holding out to her a small paper bag. Elia looked down at it in surprise and curiosity.
"What is it?"
"Take a look."
Taking it she opened it up and peeked in, letting out a laugh at the sight of a rich, dark coloured waffle sprinkled with what looked like icing sugar.
"Ok." He confessed. "It's not actually from Belgium. But they're the best in town and fresh today."
Elia let out a giggle and thanked him. "What's that phrase I've heard people say over here?"
Alexandre looked at her questioningly.
"Trop..fort? Is that correct?" **
Alexandre let out a broad grin.
"Ah, tres bien." He praised.
"Euh," He continued. "I wondered, maybe you'd like to go for a drive?"
"Where to?"
"Anywhere and nowhere?" He suggested shrugging. "Along the coast, explore more of the Riviera maybe?"
"Explore?"
"Yes." He looked at her with a small tentative smile. Elia returned it enthusiastically.
"Sold!" She declared. "I can never resist a little exploration! Lemme just go get my bits'n'bobs!" She dashed back up the stairs, reaching the top before realizing Alexandre had stayed where he was.
"Coming up?"
He obeyed and began following her and Elia began rummaging through her camera bag making sure she had everything she wanted.
"My roommates are out at the moment." She informed him adding an extra battery to her bag in case she should need it, she then tucked her waffle safely in a side compartment where it wouldn't squash. "You should meet them sometime, they're good stuff." She then made her way from the living room along the small hallway which led to the top of the staircase where Alexandre stayed rooted.
"It's small." She acknowledged. "The bed and bathrooms are these doors right here, motioning to the left and right of the hallway. The living room at the back there which is where I sleep. The veranda is lovely, looks out towards the beach. The kitchen is around to the left of the living room there too." She looked at him and shrugged.
"And that's it!" She concluded.
"It's charming." He assured.
"Well, that sounded extremely diplomatic!"
They both chortled and made their way back down the stairs and out to where he's parked his car.
"What." She began teasingly. "No bike? Should I take that as an upgrade or a downgrade?" Alexandre let out a husky chuckle but didn't reply. Glancing out of the corner of her eye it seemed he was a little embarrassed, she immediately felt bad. She didn't mean to make him feel like that, perhaps it sounded flirty? It wasn't her intention. Either way, she figured maybe she should tone down her banter.
Once in the car, she leaned back in her seat allowing herself to relax. Looking out of the window which was ajar she watched as the beautiful Provencal scenery past her by, the warm air buffeting the top of her head and the radio playing softly. Smiling to herself she enjoyed the comfortable, tranquil feeling of it all. They past by some familiar views before reaching empty roadway with steep cliff edge on one side and open ocean on the other. Both of them by this time had started tucking into waffles and Alexandre glance over at her as she was finishing hers.
"So," He asked. "What do you think?"
"Yeah." She admitted with a smile. "Pretty good!"
He smiled and glanced into his rearview mirror.
"You can see Cap Ferrat behind us on the right." He told her.
She turned to look and sure enough, the stretch of land was there, seemingly reaching out towards the sea. On they went leaving familiarity behind. Then, after a short while, they turned a corner to another eye-pleasing sight of a rugged hilly landscape lay ahead of them with houses dotted about among the green.
"This is Èze." He informed her. "The coastal part, different to what you visited I think?"
She nodded then watched with a smile as they reached, then passed the hilly village. She turned back as they continued on, she could still make out Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in the far distance. As they curved inward she admired the view ahead of her once again, green hills capped with white cliffs, the ocean had now shrunk back to make way for a beautiful green covered valley, Elia could do nothing but stare in wonder at everything that surrounded her. Curving back out they were reunited with the ocean once more, spotting a sign she turned curiously toward Alexandre.
"Three miles to Monaco, Are you stopping here?"
"Wasn't going to." He admitted. "Unless you wanted to of course?"
"Nah, I'm good."
She turned back toward the views passing by the window, she was thoroughly enjoying this magical mystery tour! They carried on through cliff carved tunnels to another village, the village looked livelier as they went on until it looked like a bustling place full of buildings and hotels.
"Is this Monaco?" She asked.
"Almost. It's just up ahead."
He drove on the hotel lined street before it opened up a small, yacht-filled port surrounded by more impressive looking hotels.
"Wow! She exclaimed.
"I used to keep a boat here." He informed her.
"Really?"
"Until papa sold it."
"Sold it?!"
"Yes," He laughed."To punish me for misbehaviour."
Elia's mouth dropped.
"Seriously! What did you do?"
He laughed before answering her.
"I was pretty spoiled as a young man when I wanted to be, I'd left university without permission, with some friends and brought them here to go sailing."
"Goodness! Where was your Uni?"
"Oxford."
"OXFORD?!"
"Yes," He affirmed with a chuckle. "Maman was insistent I get a good English education."
"So, you not only walked out of uni but left the county to go off to play on a boat?"
He laughed sheepishly. "Hence why my dad sold it."
"Good for him!"
Alexandre smiled and nodded. Elia thought back to what Joél had said about Alexandre being disowned by his dad, she'd not told him over the phone the details of what Joél had said about him. She hadn't even taken it seriously, but she wondered if this was what he had been referring to in his usual twisted way.
"You know," She began. "Joél tried to claim that your dad disowned you."
"No, that's not exactly true.
But in a way, he's kind of half correct."
"An entire half?." She exclaimed jokingly. "I'd have given him one eighth at best!"
Alexandre laughed.
"Papa was an excellent man." He began. "And disproved of my lack of drive and direction. I wasn't really a terrible person but I'd been born with a silver spoon in my mouth and instead of trying to make something of myself I just sat back and enjoyed all of the trappings that came with money. That didn't bother Maman, she's inclined that way herself, yet Papa had different expectations. Eventually, he drew the line and gave me the discipline that changed my life."
"What happened?"
"He simply made me go without, cutting off my money. He did leave me with a limited amount of funds, enough to last me a short period of time. But I was to get nothing more until I'd learned to grow up and make my own way in life."
"That sounds drastic."
"Well I was early my twenties, I'd already wasted my chances in university, I was boasting about how I wanted to be a musician but was too busy concentrating on having a good time to put my heart into it. Giving me a taste of the real world was like a last resort."
"And it worked I assume."
"Eventually yes. My money ran out, my friends disappeared and music became my rescue, a way for me to get by so I started taking it seriously, I threw myself into it completely, travelling to anywhere I could get a gig, I even slept in my car sometimes. But I learned a lot, including what real friendship was, and have kept those people around me until even now, Guglielmo for example."
"It took a few years." He continued. "But I eventually proved myself to him. I resumed my studies, online, completed my education. That made him proud, he bought me another boat as a reward. Then I bought the house I had in Mandelieu-La Napoule and took my real friends with me and we all lived there, working hard on our music together in the basement. Going through that, It made me a better person. It was the best lesson I ever had."
"I reckon he'd be proud to see you now."
"He already was." He sighed. "And he really believed in me, when I got the little part in that film he knew it would lead me to something great."
"I hope you don't mind me asking." She began tentatively. "But why isn't he here anymore?"
"Accident." He told her. "He was on a train..."
"I'm so sorry." Elia murmured.
"He initially survived," Alexandre explained quietly. "He even came around for a while. But he had internal injuries and succumbed to them a couple of days later."
"That's so sad."
"He wasn't really suffering, he was comfortable. We were all will him until the end, Gabi held back a little though. She took it harder than I did."
"What helped me." He went on. "Was knowing he left in a way that was acceptable to him. By that I mean he'd never wanted have his life end slowly and painfully or where he'd become helpless, I wouldn't either."
"I can understand that," Elia admitted. "He sounded like a great man though, I wish I could have met him"
Alexandre smiled glancing at her in between keeping his eyes on the road.
"I believe." He told her. "You and he would have hit it off no problem!"
** Trop fort. Literally means 'too strong' but in slang, and in this context can be used to mean 'You're too much' (i'e, you're a goof. etc)