Chapter Nineteen
Zola
Zola had messaged Alvaro an hour earlier to apologise that Bella could no longer make their date due to an unscheduled meeting , but he hadn’t responded.
She found herself refreshing the Tinder app repeatedly, hoping for an understanding reply from him.
But as she travelled towards Cowcaddens on the subway line, she was soon feeling disheartened that she’d let him down one too many times.
Alvaro had moved to Glasgow a year ago, leaving his small Spanish hometown to study law.
He seemed to enjoy the bustle of a big city but had told ‘Bella’ he could find it overwhelming at times and in his spare time he loved exploring the stunning Scottish highlands, something Zola had always wanted to do since arriving but had never quite gotten around to.
Zola had spent hours chatting with Alvaro over the past few days, as he poured his heart out about past relationships and values.
The pair shared a love of music and travelling; their dreams aligned in so many ways.
Alvaro was entirely focused on his career, he wanted to really make something of his life; he was determined, sweet, and a very sincere person.
Zola was equally motivated; she was a go-getter – one of those people who knew exactly what she wanted and how to get there.
Sitting on the subway, Zola tried to refresh Tinder for the fifth time since cancelling the date she’d set up between ‘Bella’ and Alvaro.
No signal. She could feel her frustration and disappointment rise, knowing she might have upset him.
Alvaro seemed like the type of guy they hadn’t had really the pleasure of writing up on the Dicktionary Club yet.
A good, honest man with something special about him.
The subway stopped at Cowcaddens, and Zola wandered across the road to her flat.
When she entered, she spotted Curtis sprawled on the sofa, playing the Xbox with his headset on.
‘Hey, babe!’ Curtis called out, glancing up briefly as he heard her enter.
Before she could reply, she was hit with a horrible odour. ‘Jesus Christ! What is that smell?’
Curtis shot her a grin, then his gaze returned to his game.
‘Babe?’ Zola walked in front of the TV and stared down at him. ‘I’m asking you why our flat smells of shit.’
Curtis pointed to his headset to warn her to keep the noise down to ensure his gamer friends didn’t hear her.
Zola held her hands up to him for a reply, but he ignored her and continued interacting with his mates online.
She huffed, scrutinising the state of the living room.
Empty energy drink cans and yesterday’s washing remained hanging over the clothes horse.
She headed to the kitchen, popped her bag on the worktop and opened the fridge.
Suddenly a loud fart echoed through the apartment. Zola paused, turned around and shot Curtis a stare through the doorway.
‘So, that’s why our flat smells of shit!’ she yelled in disgust.
‘Babe, come on!’ He pointed to the TV again, not wanting anyone to overhear a domestic.
‘Seriously! You don’t want your mates to hear me, but you’re fine with them hearing your arse rattling, yeah?’
She slammed the fridge door shut and stormed through to face him. Even when she was standing right before him, his attention was still darting between her and the TV.
‘Babe, come on. I’m sorry,’ he eventually managed.
‘Look at this fucking place, Curtis. You’ve been off the entire day!’
‘Oh, you need to calm down, woman! It’s been my day off.’
‘ Woman? ’ Zola spat. He knew how much she hated that chat.
There was a silence between them, then he groaned under his breath.
‘I do everything, Curtis. I go to work, I do the washing, I make the fucking dinner. I’m tired, Curtis. Just help more,’ she said more softly, feeling emotional this time. ‘It’s not nice to come home to this.’
‘I will, Zo. I do my best. I’m sorry, babe.’
Zola felt her shoulders relax, feeling almost guilty for storming in and creating such an atmosphere.
Then another huge fart exploded out of his arse. Curtis erupted into laughter, curling up into a ball, his eyes watering with tears. Zola stood in front of him turning rigid with fury, anger rippling through her veins.
‘I can’t do this!’ she hissed, almost choking on the stench, appalled by his disrespect. She returned to the kitchen, grabbed her bag, then stormed into their bedroom.
‘Babe, oh come on!’ he called out. ‘It’s only a fart!’
She opened the door just wide enough to scream, ‘It’s fucking disgusting. The entire flat smells of shit! You smell of Wotsits and shit!’ Then she slammed the door again.
From the living room she heard Curtis’s muffled voice say, ‘All you do is feed me vegetables. What do you expect?’ But she chose to ignore him.
Curtis had never been the tidiest person in the world, but since they moved to Glasgow, he’d had more free time and had chosen to spend it mostly in the gym or playing video games.
He wasn’t domesticated, but it had never bothered Zola when they lived in London together.
He was hardly in the house then, but in Glasgow his social life took a dip, and now that he was working part-time hours and hardly leaving the house, it really bothered Zola. She’d begun to loathe him for it.
Zola began lifting clean clothes from the laundry basket, hanging them on rails and leaving a large pile to be put away on his side of the bed.
‘Zola,’ she heard him call out, but still she ignored him. ‘Babe, come through. Sit with me and watch me play!’ Curtis moaned.
She held her head in her hands briefly, opened the door and said coldly, ‘I’m not your mother, Curtis. I’m not impressed by video games or how loud you can make your arsehole sound! Get to the fucking toilet.’
She heard the echo of laughter from the men he was playing with over the TV and banged the door shut again.
‘She sounds like your mother, bro,’ she overheard one of them say.
‘Nah, she’s all right,’ Curtis replied coolly.
Zola sat down on the bed, feeling herself shake with anger and frustration. She brought out her phone.
One new Tinder message.
Her heart bounced in her chest. She felt panicky, wondering if Alvaro had replied or if it was just another potential date she had lined up for Bella.
Alvaro: I’m sorry you can’t make it, Bella. I was thinking of you all day. If you don’t like me, then I have to know x
Zola’s heart melted as she imagined the sweet accent behind his words. Immediately she began typing.
Bella: I do like you, Alvaro! I’m so sorry. I’ve told all my friends at work about you today and how amazing our chats have been! Please, meet me tomorrow. I promise I won’t cancel; if I do, you never have to chat with me again. X
Zola paused, biting her nails at the three dots as he typed.
Alvaro: OK. Tomorrow. x
Alvaro: Tell me about your day, beautiful x
Zola lay down in bed and continued to message Alvaro late into the night, telling him all about work, about Andrea, and making up a story about her unexpected meeting and deadlines she had to make.
She giggled at his replies as he described his hectic day as an intern at a law firm and his take on Glasgow so far.
Zola completely understood what it was like coming to Scotland as an outsider: a new city, new people with rough-sounding accents.
She empathised with his struggles and how he was missing home.