The woman in jeans

It was a sunny, hot, and humid day, as any of Beirut’s other days during summer. Such weather combined with the effect of the sea air made Sammy feel hot and get frustrated and lonely like any other day. He admired the fancy Maserati - which stopped next to his car at the traffic light - and looked on the blond lady sitting in the Maserati with favor. He checked her out, memorized her features to fancy her for the rest of the day.

Sammy had adored life, adventures, the abundance of love, and sex. Early days with Lola, they’d enjoyed mind-blowing sex following unforgettable nights out. When Lola had been his official girlfriend living with him, they used to make love before going out; they’d call it – having dessert first then going to dine. Not long after marriage, Lola preferred Scheduled sex, then turned to ‘let us have baby’ sex. Now Sammy had been suffering boring marriage for more than a decade. He started to call his wife Lola a barn owl. He did not call her a barn owl because her black eyes began to take a heart shape, but due to her recent mindset. Since her mother passed away, Lola became influenced by the knowledge of death and believed that doom was the only reality since we would soon die.

The lady driving ‘Jeep Wrangler without doors’ caught Sammy’s eye at the next traffic light. Her beaming smile radiated happiness. And The tattoo at her neck turned him on to give more burning glances in her direction. She glanced at him in return, “It’s a Jeep thing; you wouldn’t understand,” she said and drove away when the light turned to green. ‘What a woman in simple jeans and a white T-Shirt!’ He thought. ‘She looked attractive, smoking hot in her relaxed body and the way the sun of the beach had bronzed her skin.’ Sammy wished to chase the Jeep Wrangler up and have a second glance at that lady in Jeans, but he had no time. A few days earlier, Michel, the chief editor in the fashion magazine, where Sammy worked as a reporter assistant, had called him to his office. He’d given him a mission to cover the Fashion Week in Dubai, and his flight had been scheduled for tonight.

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……………..

“So you’re going to have fun in Dubai!” Lola interrupted Sammy while he was packing his luggage.

“I told you. It’s a business trip.” He answered, ignoring to look at her.

“Business and pleasure trip, is not it?”

“It’s the first time the chief editor assigns me to travel abroad and do the job of a reporter rather than reporter assistant,” Sammy said and showed Lola the assignment letter.

“So what!”

“So, It’s my opportunity to be promoted.”

“Then make sure you are going to do a good job. Rather than spending the nights drinking like you are doing here,” Lola said and pointed to the bottles of booze in a glass cabinet.

“You know I drink only occasionally.”

“And I know that your occasions happen very often, and at the end, your liver will shut down.”

“Don’t worry. the liver can keep working even if part of it is damaged or removed.”

“No. If your liver shuts down completely, you can survive for only a day or two.”

“Then why don’t you shut up and get out, leaving my liver in peace!” Sammi shouted and pointed to the door.

“It’s not only your liver. It’s the potential of getting a sexually transmitted disease.”

“Why!”

“Because when you’re going to get drunk, you’ll like to get back to the hotel with good company.”

“Fine, let me face my fate and have my liver screwed up. And as a bonus, I get STD,” Sammy said and quickly folded a shirt after he’d noticed a lipstick mark staining the collar as evidence of last night’s adventure with Sonya, the best hooker in town.

“It’s not as simple as that. Getting STD means you would transmit it to me.”

“You know we are rarely having sex.”

“Even though. Once could be enough to make me sick and die.”

“I promise I’ll not go with you to bed anymore.”

“Are you talking about divorce?”

“I’m talking about my business trip, about my opportunity for a promotion, about my hell,” Sammy screamed and closed the suitcase.

……………………………

……………………………

As well as his luggage, Sammy carried a dark thought to Beirut International Airport. ‘I did not mention divorce, Lola had done, and the only reason stopping me from divorcing her is my two kids.’ He kept repeating while roaming the duty-free shop. No showcases caught Sammy’s interest, so he went straight to the liquor store. ‘It’s better I carry a drink than relying on the expensive mini-bar in the hotel room.’ He thought and picked up two bottles of scotch, ‘this must be enough for my trip of three days.” Heading to the cashier, Sammy noticed a woman in simple jeans and a white T-Shirt passing the store. The woman in jeans turned her face, looked at him, gazed for a moment, and disappeared among the crowd. ‘I swear she is the one I met at the traffic light - driving Jeep Wrangler. The same beaming smile, the same tattoo at the neck,’ he thought. ‘And I swear she recognized me and smiled.’ Sammy left the two bottles of scotch behind and rushed out. ‘I must find her; I’ll use any excuse to talk to her, I’ll introduce myself as a journalist and would like to interview her about... about ... about any topic, it doesn’t matter. First, I must get hold of her.”

Sammy looked everywhere he could reach; among the crowds, inside stores, at or around gatehouses, till he gave up, ‘ Seems no chance. Silly of me to waste more time.’ He thought and ran back to the liquor store to buy the two bottles of scotch.

The cashier at the duty-free shop was pretty. Sammy picked up a small box of liquor-filled chocolates beside the two bottles of scotch. “Two separate receipts, please,” He told the cashier. She looked at him as if she was expecting something, and she was right.

“You can keep the box of chocolates as a gift,” Sammy told her with a big smile.

The cashier grabbed the box and got it closer to her heart. “You are so kind, sir,” she said and pointed to his dark green shirt. “And so elegant as well.”

“Ah, thank you. I must dress well. I’m a journalist in a fashion magazine.”

“Really!”

“Yes, and this is my business card; you can call me anytime.”

“For sure, I’ll do. When are you back?”

“In a couple of days,” Sammy said in a hurry and rushed out when he noticed the woman in Jeans passing the store, then disappearing among the crowd.

Now, Sammy had no time to go and search. It was boarding time.

…………………..

…………………..

Waiting in his seat till the plane took off, Sammy’s mind was still busy in the woman in jeans. ‘She’s different than any other woman, my feeling to her is different. There is a kind of magnet connecting me to her. She’s like a mirror to a feminine image already in my mind. She’s like my woman or the woman I should have married.’

“So, you are again!” A husky voice interrupted Sammy thought.

He looked up to see the woman in jeans taking the seat next to him.

“Sammy, how are you doing?” She asked and looked him in the eye. Her mouth parted, exposing her white teeth and the wrinkles that appeared at the corners of her eyes showed her happiness to meet Him.

“You know me?” Sammy asked and gazed at her face to remember if he had met with this woman in jeans earlier. It had happened very often that a hooker met with him and reminded him that once she had slept with him. But he could remember nothing. ‘Oh no,’ he thought. ‘No way that this woman could be one of those hookers who usually I took them to bed while being drunk and not aware of small details like facial features and so on.’

“Why are you gazing at me like that? You still don’t remember me. I’m Samya.”

“Samya?”

“You are Sammy, and I’m Samya, similar names. Is not it?”

Sammy, stunned. He stared into Samya’s eyes. “Samya, you mean you are!” He touched his lips as he was in thought, “you mean you are Samya?”

Samya exploded in laughter that caught the attention of other passengers, “Yes, You are Sammy, and I’m Samya, similar names.” Samya could not stop laughing. She Leaned forward and put her two arms on Sammy’s shoulders, “ Yes, I’m your childhood friend.”

“Till we were ten years old?”

“ Yes, till my family immigrated to Abidjan.”

“So, you lived in Africa?”

“More than twenty years. We came back to Lebanon just recently.”

Sammy looked at Samya’s face trying to compare her facial features with the one in his memory from childhood time. “You look so different now,” he said, admiring how her black hair framed her face to give her the look of a film star. And how her body became alarmingly, sexual, and thin.

“And you look different,” she paused, giving herself the liberty to laugh and pat Sammy’s face. “definitely, you look very different than the clumsy boy you used to be.”

“Then, how did you recognize me?”

“Sammy, you’re famous. You’re a journalist. I’ve been receiving the Fashion Magazine regularly since I was in Abidjan.”

“You know, we met today at the traffic light!”

“I was not sure that you were Sammy. But when I came to take a seat, I saw the Fashion Magazine at your lap, and that’s it.”

“So, you’re interested in fashion?”

“I’m a fashion designer and on my way to Dubai to attend the Fashion Week.”

“Wow, so am I,” Sammy responded and held Samya’s hand.

“How! Possible! Is it just a coincidence!”

“coincidence, maybe luck or fate, I don’t know!”

“Fate! Did you say fate?”

“Who knows?”

…………………….

…………………….

Attending the Fashion Week impressed Sammy and Samya - It took them to a world of an elite society that exceeded their expectation. The Fashion Week was participated in by everyone from the fashion industry, including Royals, Ambassadors, dignitaries, Councils, fashion universities, influencers, bloggers, Chambers of Commerce, high profile society, entrepreneurs, fashion buyers, and media from all over the world. The fashion show organized by Michael Cinco reinvented the image of a staid fashion house in a royal ambiance that takes you back to medieval splendor. Sammy and Samya had no choice but to watch like they were in a dream and holding each other hands.

“Cinco was born on the island of Samar in the central Philippines. His provincial upbringing made him fantasize the glamour of dressing up Marlene Dietrich, Grace Kelly, Joan Crawford, and Audrey Hepburn,” Samya whispered. “ Cinco said that moving to Dubai was a big leap for him, and I wish I’d do the same.”

“You will move to Dubai?” Sammy asked, feeling he was on top of the world to be with Samya in a high mood and magical place.

“Who knows, maybe we both move to Dubai,” Samya answered and kept her fingers crossed.

“Both of us!”

“One of my Dubaians friends, he is in the fashion industry and intending to launch a fashion magazine. I can help you to have a good job in the magazine.”

………………….

………………….

At night Sammy and Samya strolled along Jumeirah beach walk, one of Dubai’s outdoor and tourist attractions, with street painting, recycled art displays, comedy shows, sand sculptures, photography displays, and booths selling fashion accessories and crafts. They skipped the gala dinner held by the Fashion Week’s organizer and preferred to enjoy their privacy, talk about their present life, and recall their childhood memories. To stand the hot and humid weather, both of them dressed down in light sportswear.

“What a place!” Samya said, looking around at the combination of towers sparkling with brilliantly colorful lights, stores offering an astonishing range of merchandise, folks from around the world playing music and dancing at the beach. “No doubt, I’d love living in an alive city like Dubai. Life here has the taste of tropical fruits and the feeling that you would like to have wings to fly high over the sky and gain fish’s gills to swim deep down the sea.”

“Your husband would like to have wings and gills and struggle through the challenging life here?”

“If I can bring my kids to live with me in Dubai, I’d not care what my husband would like or not.”

Samya headed to a booth selling Moroccan kaftans. She checked the kaftans on display and turned to Sammy, “soon, I would be the leading supplier of these products to the Dubai market and later worldwide. Nothing would stop me from being successful and rich.”

“Is that why you don’t care if Your husband would like to move here or not?” Sammy asked and gave liberty to his glances to follow two Russian women he doubted were hookers, then was sure when an Indian man stopped them and went on bargaining. The bargaining didn’t take long. the two Russian women joined the Indian man, and they headed out of the walk to the car parking area.

“Why should I care about a man interested in hookers rather than his wife,” Samya answered and eyed the man leaving with the Russian women. “ My husband is a copy-paste of that Indian. He’s handsome, fit, always on a diet, but his appetite for women is overwhelming.”

“What a shame!” Sammy said and wiped drops of sweat wetting his forehead. “It’s so hot, and I’m soaked in my sweat and feel like being baked.”

Samya took off her shoes and asked Sammy to take off his boots, “come on, we’d better go and walk in the sand beside the sea. I love the waves’ sound.”

The full - moon’s reflection at sea was breathtaking. They walked silently, challenging the heat and high humidity until Samya decided to tell more. “My relationship with my husband is not more solid than the structure of those sands,” she said and picked up a bunch of sands, then let it drop down through her fingers. “My husband’s priority is having a long list of women in his sexual scoring record. He said that When he first met me, he was almost a virgin, a young guy with no experience, more interested in books than going out. So, his first sexual experience with me was like entering the gate of Eden Paradise. Then that paradise became colder and colder till it was freezing and made him need to warm up in any hell.”

“was not he shy to tell such thing?” Sammy asked in sympathy and waved to a group of Filipinos taking a stroll by the water.

“My husband took advantage of his strong position. My father was not doing well in Abidjan. He went bankrupt. And I was young without a career or experience. But now that I’m a good fashion designer and have some money, I can’t take his dirt anymore.”

Samya’s attention drifted to a woman getting out of the sea almost naked. The woman lay down on a towel. She turned on the laptop to listen to the hit song ‘Sexual Healing’ by Marvin Gaye. “sexual healing,” Samya said and sighed. “ Abused Women, whose spouse tell them that sleeping with them is boring, they need a lot to heal. Listen to what Marvin Gaye says: Baby, I’m hot just like an oven. He needs some love because he’s hot, but after a man arouses a woman and gets enough of her, he leaves that woman for her loneliness and unsatisfied burning desire. Exactly like me!”

Sammy looked at Samya’s body, imagining how she could be depressed when a man neglected her enticing body and accused her of being boring and needing some spicy on top of her.

“Why do you look at me like that?” Samya asked and licked her lips.

Sammy’s memory rushed back to the time of their childhood. Though they were kids, ten years or little more, they felt a kind of arousal when they played together. Samya was more mature than him in her body demands. Every time she wanted him to feel her up, she used to lick her lips. The first time Samya licked her lips, he did not realize what she was looking for and stood still until she groped him and touched him up.

“Sammy, what’s going on? Why you’re still looking at me like there is something wrong?” Samya pushed him to say something and leaned forward, getting her face close to Sammy’s chest.

Sammy took a deep breath, pat Samya’s face, and smiled, “I’m just wondering how it could have been if your family stayed in Beirut, and eventually we got married.”

Words didn’t help Samya. Instead of answering, she pointed to a couple sitting at a distance. “ Look at them,” she told Sammy. “They’re hugging and kissing and might be feeling in love, and their feeling might be correct for the moment. But who knows what tomorrow could be hiding for them?”

“You mean if we’d got married, we might’ve been divorcing by now?”

“Why don’t you tell me about your marriage with Lola? Was it love or arranged one?”

“Love marriage,” Sammy answered in a tone that showed an evident frustration.

“And how your married life is going on now?”

Sammy recalled the chat he had with Lola before his travel. The last word she said was divorce. Now, after he’d seen Samya’s intention to say goodbye to her husband because she felt she could be financially independent, he would not be surprised to know that his wife was serious when she talked about divorce. Sammy even went on to think that Lola might be now with an old friend telling him how boring her married life was. He did not mind anything but his kids. Otherwise, Sammy would be the happiest to divorce and start a new life. Sammy looked at Samya, she was waiting patiently to hear from him, but he was not in a hurry to answer. He held Samya’s hand, and they walked for a distance, silent.

“It seems your relationship with Lola, not going well,” Samya said and slipped her index finger along Sammy’s arm.

“We’re fine. But as you know, many people have a hard time with monogamy.” After a long thought, that was the best Sammy could say. He was ready now for the backfire.

“Should I understand that you’re one of those many people?”

“We are taught that monogamy is the right way. But it’s not necessary that what they had taught us was right.”

Samya nodded her head and took off her T-shirt.

“What are you doing?” Sammy was sure now that things had become quite intense.

“Nothing. I just feel like we’re on the same page.”

“yes, on the same page. But we’re in public!”

Samya ignored Sammy’s notice and asked, “tell me, darling friend do you remember our favorites game when we were kids?”

Sammy controlled his voice to hide how he was heating up, “ Of course, I remember. The game of bride and groom.”

“Fine, today we would play a different game. If I mention a country, you hurry up to the left side of the beach. If I say a bird, you run to the right side of the beach. Suppose you’re confused or go in the wrong direction; you’ll do what I ask you to do.”

“Fair enough,” Sammy said and expected the trick of the game.

“Are you ready?”

“Ready.”

“Okay. Turkey.”

Sammy stood still, “Do you mean the Country or the bird?”

Samya jumped up and screamed, “Loser, You got confused. Now you would do what I ask you to do.”

“Fine.”

“Kiss me,” Samya said and licked her lips.

Sammy folded her and gave her a peck on the cheek.

“Kiss me like you used to do old days.”

Sammy gave her peck on the lips.”

“That was the kiss when we were kids. give me a proper snog, not just a peck,” Samya said and opened her mouth slightly, then leaned back and changed her mind. “It’s so hot here. Let us go to your hotel’s room.”

“Good thought. I’ve two bottles of scotch, and that’s a lot for one person.

……………………..

……………………..

Sammy and Samya woke up early. They were in the same bed and an empty bottle of scotch next to them. Samya got out of the comfortable king-sized bed, stretched out, said good morning, and walked out onto the balcony. The hotel room was on the twenty-second floor and offered an extensive view of the sea. Samya rejected having any feeling of guilt that she cheated on her husband. ‘I’m not supposed to carry a burden on my shoulders that I’m not responsible for; my husband, who neglected my femininity, is responsible.’ A stream of last night’s lovemaking memory passed her mind. ‘What’s happened was the best coupling I ever had. I felt like all my five senses were stimulated to help me attain higher states of satisfaction.’ She closed her eyes, clearing herself from any anxiety symptoms, and surrendered her soul to the energy of the sunlight and waves’ movement. Then she came back into the room, smiled at Sammy, and headed to the bathroom to have a shower.

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……………………..

‘What a spectacular woman! What amazing lovemaking. The best in my life.’ Sammy thought and headed to the coffee machine to make a cup of Espresso. ‘what happened in the bed was not pleasurable but phenomenal and total-body experience.’ Sammy remembered the last argument he had with his wife. ‘She was the one who talked about divorce.’ The mind-blowing experience of sleeping with Samya made him less careful about his kids’ stability. ‘So what! Let me go on and get Lola, the barn owl, out of my life. The kids have their future; they need their mother more than me,’ Sammy told himself and poured a cup of coffee. ‘What my kids want from me is money, and I’m going to make more money.’ He finished the short cup of Espresso in three sips and relaxed at the armchair next to the floor–to–ceiling window. ‘I’m supposed to be grateful to Samya. She’d promised to help me get a good job in the magazine her friend intends to launch in Dubai, and I know how honest she’s in her promise. Here, I would have the opportunity to work, challenge all restrictions, and open the doors that would help me make a fortune and start a new life. So, no point in hesitating, and goodbye to the past.’

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………………………..

Samya came out of the bathroom, fresh, sparkling, and dancing all over the room with her cell phone. “pretty good, honestly, I’m happy, delighted, and sure the limit is the sky,” she told Sammy after finishing a phone call. “My friend, The one in the fashion industry and intending to launch a fashion magazine, he knows about you and fan of your articles. He is willing to give you an offer you can’t refuse,” Sammy hopped and rushed to hug Samya, but she stopped him. “Wait, still more. He also got the approval of his company’s board of directors to finance my workshop to make Moroccan kaftans, evening gowns, and women’s nightwear.”

“I can’t believe it; you make it happen.”

“Our dream has manifested in reality,” Samya said and pulled Sammy to the balcony. “Look, this is Dubai, the city of gold and diamond, opening her arms for us.”

“For you and me, and we will work and love and make miracles.”

“I’ll support you,” Samya said and raised her hand, “I swear, I’ll do. I’ll inspire you, motivate you, and do my best to make your life better.”

“And I promise the same. I’d devote my life to your happiness and give you my full support.”

“Indeed, I need your support. You know, my friend’s company is in the line of making functional clothing, one of humanity’s basic needs. But through my workshop, I’ll take them to the fashion domain. Fashion has its way of style and individual taste.”

“I know.”

“Of course you know, you’re the expert. You will support me in media to make me a star.”

“I’ll make you a legend. People will forget about ‘coco chanel’ and talk about you. About my wife, my lovely wife.”

“Your wife! You want to make Lola a star!” Samya objected and came back into the room.

Sammy followed her, “Who talked about Lola? I was talking about you.”

“About me! What’s being wrong with you, Sammy. How you dare consider me as your wife.”

“I mean my future wife. My wife when we get married.”

Samya put her sport - dress on.

“What are you doing?” Sammy held her hand.

“Take your hand off me. I’m leaving.” She said and pushed Sammy away.

“Why?”

“Because what you’re saying makes no sense. We’re talking about business about freedom, and you talk about marriage.” Samya said and put her tennis shoes on.

“You said you wanted to divorce your husband.”

“Yes, I said so - but not to get out of jail and enter another jail.”

“You consider me a jail?”

“Yes, I do,” Samya shouted and headed to the door.

Sammy opened the door and waved her goodbye.

Samya walked a few steps, turned back, and looked Sammy in the eye, “Do you really want me to go?”

“You are the one who wanted to go.”

“Yes. For sure, I want to go. I need to sit a little on my own to clear my mind, then get ready to attend the Fashion Week activities.”

“Good luck, and goodbye.”

Samya walked a few steps, then turned back, “Listen, we are childhood friends and should try to be friends forever. We are going to have a new page in our personal life. We’ll struggle together and support each other, but… .”

“But what?” Sammy asked in a firm voice.

“But never talk about marriage.”

“What about what happened last night?”

“You can think about it as it was a one-night stand or part of childhood dues, but not as a love commitment.”

Samya walked a few steps again and stopped, “ I might not be sure of a few things, but the one thing I’m sure about is that I’ll not turn my desire to a bond.

“I understand. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye,” Samya wiped a few tears. “Ah, Sammy, listen. My friend is inviting us for dinner tonight. He would introduce us to the company’s directors and brief us on his plan in the domain of the fashion industry.”

“Good.”

“Pretty good, is not it? And now goodbye.

……………………..

……………………..

Sammy closed the door, walked out to the balcony, looking at the sea. Deep in the heart, he was pleased that Samya had rejected his marriage proposal. He remembered the couple who were hugging and kissing at the beach. ‘They might have been feeling in love, and their feeling could’ve been correct for a while,’ He thought. ‘They might have come under the influence of the moment and thought about getting married. It might be the same as happened to me a short time earlier when I’d told Samya I considered her my future wife. But who knows what the future hides!’

Sammy remembered his kids, who could be the victim of his possible divorce with Lola. ‘Marriage is not a game to play or fun,’ he thought. ‘Marriage is a responsibility. It’s building a family and having kids. The future challenge of marriage is the struggle with monogamy. No couple should get married unless they were aware of that challenge and ready to deal with it according to what kind of couple they were.’

Sammy liked that conclusion and felt guilty that he called his wife a barn owl. He realized that her tendency for the culture of death and the belief that doom was the only reality was not her fault. ‘I’m not any different than Samya’s husband. I’d neglected Lola’s femininity till she might have hated having sex with me, and that could be the reason we came to the relation of ‘let us have baby’ sex.'

A flock of birds flying over the sea caught Sammy’s attention. He admired the freedom given to them by nature. ‘Those birds have the whole space to enjoy flying freely. They have one problem that when they get tired, hungry, or need to make love, they have to get back to the earth. But they don’t let their needs become a bond. The birds rest, eat, make love, and fly again.’ Sammy thought, smiled, and went back into the room to dress up for attending the Fashion Week activities.