Okeke’s mood was steeped into nostalgia, and he began by reminiscing about the first time he met Bimbo in Paris. He wanted to trace back how he got himself in the mess of a distance relationship. Yes he remembered vividly the all story. But the conference of Dr. Merlissa was a big concern to him. He loathed the word “Fantasy” used by her during the conference. This word was stamped in his mind whenever his thought ran to Bimbo.
“Is her relationship with Bimbo a pure fantasy?” he asked himself.
He was alone in the big house he shared with his wife. They have been married for more than fifteen years but the marriage can be likened to a sort of routine. The death of seduction, power struggle in the house and who will out play the other. Okeke and Maria developed different tricks as the gap between them widens daily.
Okeke was relaxing in a couch sipping red wine when the images of his first encounter with Bimbo started to rush through his mind like a stream. Yes, he met Bimbo at the Paris Spot Hotel where he interviewed her as a Nollywood star. She was among the Nigerian delegation who came to the Paris film Festival and Okeke, a reknown journalist and expert in the Nigerian Film industry – Nollywood was there to cover the event.
“Hello, what’s your name?” he asked her.
“I’m Bimbo. I’m from Nigeria and this is my first time to Paris” She was radiant and gorgeous, average size in height and always smiling. Such a cheerful lady with a strong personality! Okeke looked at her from head to toe and quickly brought out his complimentary card and gave it to her.
“I want to have you on my show. Okay”
“With all pleasure”, Bimbo told him.
Okeke is a tall and good looking man, smart and full of humorous jokes. On the spot he cracked lots of jokes with Bimbo and she laughed along each time Okeke threw out another one. She asked Okeke to accompany her to her room for more chats and in the elevator he continued to amuse her until they entered inside the room. Someone knocked at the door and it was Petrolina, Bimbo’s friend.
“What are two of you doing here?” she asked jokingly. Bimbo smiled.
“Hmm. Maybe I surprised you doing the thing”, she added.
“Even so….” replied Bimbo
As the two ladies were cracking their jokes, Okeke excused himself and asked Bimbo to come to his room later for the interview. As he was coming down the steps, one of the delegates from Nigeria asked him to interview her. In the hotel, all the Nollywood Stars wanted Okeke to interview them. It was a place to gather content for his radio and magazine.
“Okay follow me”, he told her. Okeke brought out his smart phone and the recording started with his usual question of asking the interviewee to introduce him or herself. He is such a smart journalist because his interviews are unscripted and what makes his interviews profound are the follow up questions: his bread and butter to make the conversation palatable for the listeners of his radio.
“Your name please,” he asked the lady
“I’m Ifeoma Nkem,” she replied.
“When did you join the Nollywood industry?, Okeke asked her.
Ifeoma smiled at him before answering the question. It sounds like she was expecting the question. Suddenly, Bimbo walked straight in front of him and asked if he would like to join her for lunch.
“Can you give me ten minutes? I’ll be done with the interview”, Okeke replied.
“Okay darling”, Bimbo giggled and moved away from the spot. Okeke was surprised to hear her call him darling. However, he waved the thought away from his mind and continued the interview with Ifeoma who was excited to tell him that she was one of the pioneers of the Nollywood industry. Just after the interview, Okeke went outside the building of the hotel and Bimbo was just right there waiting for him.
