Chapter 15: The Weight of Hope (English Version)
"Let’s go! Sorry to have kept you waiting," I said to Joseph. "We can finally leave. It’s going to be a beautiful day."
"Yes," Joseph replied. He knew exactly what had happened, but he didn't dare say more for the moment. He stuck to the tour. We went to see the majestic Table Mountain, then Greenmarket, the Muslim quarter, before taking the road to see the penguins. It was fabulous: the coastal road, the mountain slopes of all kinds stretching forever with strange, exceptional rock formations. My father would have loved to "claim" land here to discover what was hidden beneath this rocky African soil.
Except that there, while we were driving toward the beach, I was in for a lecture—the full treatment. Joseph could see that I was texting, and he wanted to know more about my life and my love stories. Since he was a world away from my country and he was married, the road invited confidences. Naturally, I told him everything. He had a flair for it and had correctly spotted that my Andy wasn't "my" Andy, the U.S. Navy doctor, but a total charlatan.
I had explained to Joseph, however, that it was over with Bon Jovi; I just wanted him to know the truth. My "crush" had taken a hit. Dating an idol married at 66 was a bit crazy, and Andy had simply slipped into my daily life on TikTok. He seemed like a kind soul, full of good intentions, supporting many humanitarian causes... and I was going to show Joseph that it was true.
The discussion continued all the way to Berta’s, in a small seaport, where we once again enjoyed lobsters and oysters while talking about my wild stories with Andy. Joseph kept telling me stories about his friends in Rwanda, Congo, or South Africa who were getting scammed by "Nigerians"—those seductive charmers of social media. They swindled girls all over the world and stole their money. Joseph had clearly seen what had happened at the bank.
As we were finishing the meal, I received a text from Andy that distressed me, and Joseph noticed. Fortunately, this country was full of beautiful discoveries. The penguins were waiting for me; too bad I couldn't swim with them—the water was freezing. After a good photo session, we stopped at a vineyard. The vineyard was manicured to the centimeter, with a sophisticated, even chilly atmosphere. We took our seats at a long bar under a massive red chandelier. We did a tasting, and it was mostly Joseph who drank everything. Nothing interested me. Was it the wine that was bad, or the bad news I was receiving?
Over a glass of champagne, I had to contact the travel agency. They had made a monumental error that was snowballing onto my other flight. Instead of forgetting my far-fetched lovers by drinking champagne, I had to play a puzzle game to secure my departure, because flights out of Cape Town are always full. Then, we made a second, much more pleasant stop at the Constantia vineyard. There, I was truly charmed. Joseph was a good friend, a good advisor, and a very kind travel companion. He could see clearly that I was in a mess with my social media love stories. I didn't want to leave South Africa anymore. I felt good there.
Back in Cape Town, I had reflected deeply and stopped looking at my phone. Arriving at my room, I took a good nap, then I went to eat a little something. The next morning, I went to the flower market, I returned to the Green Market to listen to choirs of young Africans singing. Finally, I left for Johannesburg with hope—always that hope—that Andy would arrive with his son to join me so we could leave for Canada together.
That was not the case.
He never showed up. I stayed standing at the United Airlines counter, lost in my thoughts, waiting for my boarding pass for four hours in the hope of seeing him come running with his son... I had even bought a huge bag of biltong for them to eat on board, notebooks for his son because he loved to write, a hoody from Lesotho and a South Africa cap to build a bond right from the start.
Then, I took a deep breath and I boarded all by myself, like a big girl. That was the end of the adventure.
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