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Chapter 15
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Just for two weeks Chapter 16
Chapter sixteenIt was a perfect day for walking. The paths were a rustling carpet of golden leaves, and air hung heavy with the smell of dry brush and bonfires. Lola and Tayo were walking in the direction of the Meadows and talking. They spoke at length about culture, she being eager to hear of how the West African society had been instrumental in their business development, and he wanting to know what most English people (not just the moguls) thought about cultural imperialism. She found his question challenging and felt torn between reality and her own idealism. "You know, America is less racist than England, which inspires hope" "That's encouraging, really" Jason acknowledged but things are not that bad in England, especially this young generation, and I have hope in British" Lola raised her eyebrows, wondering if he was being polite, but he seemed not to have noticed her skepticism, he had gone to talk about some of the encouraging interactions he had experienced with th
Just for two weeks Chapter 17
Chapter seventeenThe next day, Lola took the train to her grandparents for the holidays. She slept through the journey but woke up as the train Drew into wall reef and passengers with luggage began bumping their way down the aisles. She waited for the others to get off before retrieving her two cases - dragging them down the steps and over the gap onto the platform where her grandparents were waiting. They looked older and shorter than Lola remembered, each wearing tan clothing, grandfather's was open at the front. Grandmother's buttoned to the chin. Grandmother's hands were clasped around her handbag as though grasping a horse's reins - fingers curled tightly around leather, hands drawn back, close to the waist - while Grandfather kept his arms folded over his chest in order to keep glancing at his watch, eager to get home. Traffic was slow around wall reef, but then it was a quick run through Fortress and Baldwin Hill into Lentil View. "It's really lovely to be back," Lola
Just for two weeks Chapter 18
Chapter eighteenA male servant welcomed Jason and ushered him into a brightly-lit room abuzz with the animated chatter of people drinking as they mingled. Jason looked for Lola but couldn't see her. Everyone was dressed in fine clothes and seemed completely at ease in the grandiose setting; enormous chandeliers hung from the ceilings and festive swathes of Holly and ivy decorated the large bay windows, waitresses in frilly white caps and starched aprons wove through the room, balancing silver trays on their fingertips. One stopped to offer Jason a Canapé, which he accepted with a glass of wine and made as if to mingle, peering at flower arrangements or gazing at painting until, to his relief, Lola appeared. She was wearing a midnight red sequined dress that clung to her body all the way down to her ankles, where the material spread out in a circle hiding her shoes. She hugged him in greeting, which surprised him. "Come and meet my grandparents," she said. First, She introduced h
Just for two weeks Chapter 19
Chapter nineteenOn Tuesday, they shared walnut cake at the Cadena; Wednesday, they ate chicken curry at Raj Lawal restaurant; Thursday, they drank coffee in her room, and on Friday they attended St. Patrick's weekly seminar on theater. They had considered going to the Moulin Rouge on Saturday to see Kenya famy's Moon light, but decided instead to stay in Jason's room and listen to jazz. Lola loved the smell of Jason's room - a comforting mix of Old spice, Brylcreem, and old books. Occasionally, when they were not together, she would catch the scent on Jason's clothes or on the clothing he had touched. His room was on the first floor of staircase IV, Large and sparsely furnished. In it was a bed with three neatly folded blankets - two white and one Milk - and, at the far end of the room, a fireplace, boarded over and replaced with a coin-operated heater. The heater was always on when Lola visited and she suspected he rarely turned it off. He had told her that when he was younger he ha
Just for two weeks Chapter 20
Chapter twenty"Will you show me a photograph of your mother" "Of course."He stood up and took an envelope from his drawer and then, choosing one of the photographs taken on the day his father had one of his business milestone."And your father?" Jason passed her another picture. Jason didn't resemble his father at all, only the eyes with the thick eyebrows."Any more?" She asked."That's it.""Oh come on!" She tugged at the envelope.It's only a picture of his younger self and one of Jimmy's mother. "Is that Jimmy's mother" she said. Having seen Jimmy with the striking resemblance, he explained, letting her look for herself without making it sad. "I didn't know that" Lola felt relived, staring at Pamela's large brown eyes and perfectly arching eyebrows. Her skin was smooth and her hair swept up high in a Sophie Loren style. She could easily have been a model. "I can't imagine how much you miss her.""We're getting by, me and Jimmy," Jason replied, standing up to change the rec
Just for two weeks Chapter 21
Lola worried about Jason, not knowing how best to comfort him. She'd hoped that he would return to her grandparent's with her, but he seemed keener to spend the summer with his cousin, which she could understand given that this was his only cousin. In the meantime, although she had been dreading the time away in her parents, things had not been quite as bad as she feared, at least not in the beginning. It helped that Grandma and Grandpa haven't had any fuss lately, and the weather at St Patrick was lovely. There was also Madame Jane's Provençal Cooking, which could never be underestimated. Emelia had come to join them for few days, too, so all was going well until Grandmother received a letter from Nathalie Murdoch. "N" for notoriously nattering, nitwit Nathalie who wrote to inform them (never asking, always announcing) that she and her husband would be visiting over the holiday. Grandfather was delighted (typical). Mother was furious. Mr Murdoch had been grandfather's fri
Just for two weeks Chapter 22
Dear Jason, How could you possibly think that you were boring me? I want lots of emails and even longer ones, but make it less polite and formal next time. Tell me how much you've been missing me and how much you dream of me - otherwise I'll start wondering what you're up to with those northern lasses! I do wish you are here. The weather is beautiful warm, just as you would like it, and we spend most of our time outdoors. Most days I circle to the near by town of Beaulieu to outdoor Market where we buy fresh breads, pastries and smelly cheeses (I know you are not a fan but just wait till you come). In the afternoons I visit the local café and sip my café-au-lait, while fending off all the French men (ha ha!), And I gaze across the Côte d' Azur and dream of you. And in between these dreams, I've been reading the books you suggested, I also have a few suggestions. I've also corrected one or two grammatical errors - you'll see them marked in red. Well done and très bien! Reading
Just for two weeks Chapter 23
"Now, we're ready to party!" Abdul announced, Clapping his hands while Jason saw to the women's baskets and carried them to the kitchen."Custard pie. Scotch egg," Abdul mumbled. "Cheese straw. Swiss roll. Treacle tart. Now that's what I'm talking about. Sausage rolls." "Abdul," Joyce shouted."Bloody hell, woman! Abdul jumped, one hand hovering guiltily over the sausages. "Why are you shouting?" "I said I haven't seen your friend here before.""That's because he is just visiting for the first time in a long while, daft thing," Abdul laughed. She waited for an explanation, but none was forthcoming. The boys from the company had arrived, and she had lost Abdul's attention to samir, who wanted to know what they were celebrating. "It's a party for my cousin," Kyle explained."Come ladies, I think you've worked hard enough. Let's join the party." The front room was crowded, and Jason recognised only a few people, some were from the company, others from the hospital, and Mr and M
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