03 - The Cruise on the Channel

Chapter 14

I have been awake for a long time when finally, my girlfriend deigns to open her eyes. Her first words are to inquire about my health. She doesn't want to believe that I'm in great shape. She knows me. How many times have I been sick in my teens and pretended to be wonderful because it was an outing day? We already found ourselves at activities when I was burning with fever. I told my mother that I was fine just to be able to go out and join Stephanie or more rarely other friends.

I assure her that I'm doing just fine, just a little pain where I got hit by the racket. She touches my forehead, caresses my bump, looks at the back of my eyes, as if she really knew how to see a symptom.

— I assure you, I'm fine.

— You know, the advantage of being best friends since childhood is that I know all your tricks.

— Don't worry, I can invent many more.

I regret what I just said.

— I know that, she exclaims, that's why I don't trust you about your health. So, how many times have you lied to me?

— I promise, Stephanie, I don't... I was just joking.

— We will see. You will still stay here all day, I prefer.

— As you wish, I do it to reassure you, but I am completely recovered. Besides, it would be better if I went to math class.

— No, I'll manage.

— Or let me see your breasts. Either one or the other.

— Neither one, you are no match for blackmailing me.

She gets up and goes to prepare a breakfast. She brings me orange juice and yogurt. Then she prepares to go to class.

— You lay in bed all day. No move! I will join you as soon as the course is over.

— Yes mom.

— Come here! I still need a kiss.

She comes to sit on the bed, and we have a long kiss.

— I trust you, she says getting up. I will miss you, but I know that I can count on you to heal in the bed.

I'm alone, it doesn't take five minutes to get bored. I get up and take a shower, then I loot the fridge. At least this forced convalescence is of some use to me. This morning I'm starving. Last night, I was unable to even eat her broth and crackers. A good cheese omelette, bread, sausage. How does it feel good! I probably took half of my girlfriend's food in one meal. She brought it from home, and it's the first time that I open the cupboards without her presence. What will she say?

It's a cheerful girl who takes care of me when I'm sick, but not for food. When I'm sick, I have to recover, and unless I have illnesses like stomach flu or food indigestion, I don't see why I need broths and yogurt. It's true, starving, I did it for at least two months.

There, now I'm bored with my belly full. I search everywhere for my belongings, but she told me the truth, she took all my clothes out. I only find my tuxedo in her wardrobe.

No book. Stephanie is however a great lover of reading. I am amazed that she doesn't have a single book. It is true that I don't know when she would have had time. I'm also a big reader, but it's been months since I've had the opportunity to open a novel, just a few San Antonio and SAS bought 10 francs from the bookseller on Walloons Square. I look at Stephanie's belongings. She has really nice things, especially her underwear. This girl is a walking fantasy. She has only pretty lingerie, not even a single Petit Bateau.

She loves fashion and has lots of clothes. This wardrobe contains more clothes than all the clothes I have, uniform and suits included. Unbelievable. And she has much more in her bedroom in Lasne.

In terms of apparel, I was pretty classic, in the sense that I put on a limited number of comfortable clothes. But she initiated me then forced me into fashion and forced me to wear designer brands, which was often out of my parents' budget. She made me spend my pocket money and my meagre pays for clothes and accessories. And she offered me a lot, which always surprised my mother. Fortunately, she had no idea of the prices and accepted that I paid for all of this with my own money or whatever she allocated to me. It was the early eighties; marketing was pushing for brands. I was in a boys' catholic school, everyone didn't care. But outside, it was necessary to sacrifice in fashion while not being called a fag in college which remained very classic.

After going around for an hour, I remember that I have to prepare games and evening activities for the Cub weekend. I find a block of papers and a pencil. I write down all my ideas for the evenings. I already had it more or less prepared in my head. I note the songs and the various animations, choose an order of passage. I think this is good. I will just need to take some fancy papers to design tokens and game accessories.

Then I put the big game in writing. I have an idea of a game that would last a whole day and include the meal. It takes a lot of preparation. I'm a big fan of heroic fantasy. I have read I don't know how many times the Lord of the Rings and I have spent I don't know how many evenings at Stephen's place playing Dungeons and Dragons. Thomas had a predilection for the Dwarf, Bruno for the warrior, Emmanuel for a wood elf and Jean-Marie for a ranger, me for a magician. We had a lot of fun; Stephen was an excellent game master. In the end, he had to create a lot of parallel scenarios, because every time we left a castle full of Goblins and Orcs, we went to town for rest and get treatment. And inevitably, we were looking for women in brothels. After a few times, he made us roll the twenty-sided dice because we had a thirty percent chance of getting syphilis. And then, when we were tired, we also had a twenty percent chance of not have a boner. Adventure in adventure. One day we all had syphilis and I treated them with a healing spell. But we were also good players, in these cases, my magician character cast a minor protection spell, and a robustness spell, and we could fuck all the whores in Azertoth. And this sly Stephen had invented incurable magical syphilitic AIDS without a level twenty priest spell. We spent the night getting rid of it before our dicks fell.

Obviously, not that with the Cubs.

I create a game that includes different characters, chance and cooperation, and whose goal is the search for the Grail.

In two hours, I have everything on paper. I will just have to make the cuts and prepare the necessary accessories.

There are still at least two and a half hours before Stephanie returns.

I decide to fulfil my promise and write the story of our meeting.

25 cents