NO MAN LIKE HIM

24

The trip was easy to plan.

Thomas was going to take a week off from physical school and study online while they were in Bayonne. On the other hand, Gigi was also going to let Sasha run her business during her absence.

After all that happened in the last few days, Gigi had no trouble kicking Vanessa out of the company. There was nothing she could threaten her with anymore, plus she had enough to deal with with all the backlashes from the public on her family. So it was with a light heart that she was going on her trip, head freed from all worries.

They took the train for almost two hours. Hakim had never visited the French countryside so it was a great experience for him to watch the wide fields through the train's windows. Once they arrived at the station, they also had to take a taxi for twenty minutes or so before arriving at their destination, which was a nice house that belonged to Gigi's parents.

It was pretty and very well maintained despite the fact that no one had been there for years. Gigi confessed that she was paying for the weekly cleaning services, ever since her parents' death.

Hakim liked it a lot but still, he couldn't understand why white people loved to spend time in secluded areas like that. The place was surrounded by tall trees and there was no other house for miles. If you asked him, it was the perfect scenery for a horror movie and he didn't mind telling Gigi and Thomas while they helped him get the suitcases in the trunk.

"But don't you just appreciate the quiet?" Gigi said, taking a deep breath. "No one is around, the weather is great, we can all go for a walk in the woods later or enjoy ourselves by the beach...It's amazing! I wish I could live here all year round. I would have certainly done it if it wasn't for work."

"Yeah mom but Hakim has a point," Thomas said, dragging his heavy suitcase toward the house. "I literally watched a scary movie yesterday and there was this family on a holiday, just like us, in a place like this. They were all butchered by a vicious killer and no one even found out for days because there was nobody around to hear their screams as-"

"Ok, that's enough." Hakim quickly stopped him. "Let's not talk about that kind of stuff, we don't want it to be manifested into reality now, do we?"

"Oh my God, you're such a wimp !" Thomas mocked.

"No, I'm not but better be safe than sorry."

Gigi chuckled as she pushed the door to the house open. It was just as she remembered from her younger years. She smiled at the memories flooding her mind. She had so much fun every time she came to Bayonne with her parents. It was their favorite place in the world so they never failed to spend their holidays there.

Now, it was weird to be back in the Bayonne house without her mom and dad. But at least, she had Thomas.

And Hakim.

They went upstairs where she showed her bedroom to her son before heading to what used to be her parents' room. She opened the door and sighed.

"It's exactly the same." She told Hakim who was just a few steps behind her. "It feels like I was here with my parents just yesterday. Yet, here we are...My own kid is going to sleep in my room while I will be in my parents' bed. So strange, right?"

"Yes, very." Hakim agreed. "Did you come here with your...Husband, before ?"

"No...Augustin was very busy...We never had the opportunity to spend a holiday here."

Gigi had a small smile on her face but Hakim definitely heard the sadness in her voice as she said those words. She shrugged to chase it all away and went to open the window. Gigi breathed the fresh air in. She could almost taste the salt from the beach, not too far away. She missed it more than anything and wished to go there in the afternoon.