Fifi - Book 2 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – It never rains but it pours.

After a few more days of sightseeing and shopping in Paris, Annisa surprised David by announcing they were going on a journey to explore more of France! She had hired a car and a driver to escort them down to a beautiful old city in the south of the country.

They left Paris on a bright and sunny morning, and as the spectacular views of the French countryside whizzed by, David was actually feeling relaxed for once. They arrived at their destination around midday and checked into their accommodation before being quickly chauffeured to a field full of lavender and sunflowers, but that’s when David’s mood changed!

The fields surrounding the city were a sea of purple and yellow stretching out as far as the eye could see. The lavender was in full bloom, the delicate flowers swaying gently in the breeze, filling the air with their soothing scent. The sunflowers stood tall, their bright yellow petals reaching towards the sun, adding a pop of colour to the picturesque landscape. But despite the stunning scenery, David couldn't shake off his feeling of discomfort dressed in his fancy feminine outfit.

As he stumbled around the field, getting his six-inch designer heels stuck in the soil, the excitement he was faking was becoming impossible to maintain. His frustration was evident as he struggled to walk, and a young boy and his sister laughing and pointing at his shoes, soon began to grate on him.

Feeling foolish, David didn't say much as Annisa took pictures and bounced about with excitement. But as his heel got stuck in the ground for the second time in as many minutes, causing his unsuitable shoe to slip from his foot, David finally snapped and erupted in a fit of rage, turning to scream at the children after the young boy made another comment sending his sister into a fit of giggles.

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Shocked by David’s explosive outburst, the children burst into tears and fled to the protection of their outraged parents. Annisa, taken aback and embarrassed by David's sudden loss of control, quickly apologized to the parents as she frantically searched for a plausible excuse. The parents were visibly furious, questioning what kind of monster would scream at a pair of playful children. A crowd of onlookers quickly gathered, adding to the embarrassment as Annisa pulled out a wad of cash and offered to buy the children something nice to make up for their traumatic experience. With a burning sense of shame, Annisa grabbed David's arm and announced they were leaving as the crowd glared at them with disapproval.

As they drove back to their hotel in silence, David was consumed with remorse. He had not only humiliated himself, but he had also ruined Annisa's day. The person who had taken him in when he was stranded, the person who had always defended him and treated him with kindness, going above and beyond to make him comfortable, and never once asking for anything in return. He knew he had to make it up to her. And after a few hours of wallowing in self-pity in his hotel room, he devised a plan to do just that.

Scouring the internet for something she'd like, David stumbled upon an enchanting old town square brimming with historic buildings just a stone's throw from their hotel. It was touted as one of the most picturesque and romantic spots in the country, and David knew Annisa would adore it. He couldn't wait to see her eyes light up as she explored the charming streets and snapped countless photos. Determined to give her the evening of her dreams, David would put on his best flashy fashionista persona, ready to fill Annisa's social media followers with envy.

With a knock on Annisa's door, David was met with her frowning yet stunning face. Apologizing for his earlier behaviour, he explained how uncomfortable he had felt, and how much he deeply regretted his earlier actions. And after promising her it would never happen again, Annisa reluctantly agreed to go for a walk.

After an hour of preparation, the pair emerged from the hotel, looking stunning as David, forcing a smile that stretched from ear to ear, sauntered out into the city on elevated feet. As they strolled through the streets, David couldn't stop gushing about the mouth-watering treats in the bakery windows and the intricate details on the building facades. But despite his best efforts, Annisa remained distant and visibly upset. Her usually bubbly demeanour had been replaced with a gloomy expression, and her responses to David's attempts at conversation were short and dismissive.

As time slowly ticked by, David pulled out all the stops, cracking silly jokes and pulling cutesy poses in a desperate bid to win back Annisa's smile. And then, as if by magic, a man approached, asking for the time in French. With a sly grin, David pretended not to understand, answering the man in English and winking at Annisa. To his delight, she burst out laughing, before graciously telling the man the time in his native language. And just like that, the ice was broken, and Annisa's beautiful smile returned to her face.

But just when things seemed to be looking up, the skies opened up and a deluge of rain began to pour down. Scrambling for cover, the duo sought refuge in a small alcove as they watched the ancient cobblestone streets fill with water, bringing back painful memories for David of the devastating day he lost everything in Jakarta. Luckily, the storm was short-lived but left behind a sea of puddles that would be a challenge to navigate in their current attire.

"Oh no, how are we going to get back now?" Annisa exclaimed, staring out at the flooded streets.

"No problem, this water is no match for these shoes!" David exclaimed, determined to stay positive and not let their day be ruined further. "With their magical platform soles, I'll stride right over the water without getting wet at all." And with that, he did something completely out of character, tottering out into the soaked streets and jumping and splashing in one of the puddles.

Annisa, initially shocked, burst out in a fit of giggles and ran out to join the cross-dressed man. "I like this new, more fun side of Fifi," she thought as she looked over at her rain-soaked companion, his pantyhosed legs saturated up to the knees as he splashed about with a genuine smile on his face. 'Perhaps coming to France was a good idea after all.'

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The next morning at a little bakery next to the hotel, David was indulging in a flaky, buttery croissant when Annisa asked him if he wanted to stay another night in the area or head back to Paris as planned. She was relishing the slower pace compared to the hustle and bustle of Paris but wanted his opinion. David eagerly told her he wanted to stay, reasoning that being in a place where he didn't have to pretend to know the local area could only be a good thing. Annisa seemed thrilled with his decision but said she wanted to change hotels as the staff had been rude to her in the last one. So with her busy on her phone searching for a new place to stay, David asked her what she wanted to do that day.

"Well I still haven't completely forgiven you from yesterday," she said playfully while looking up. "So today, I get to choose everything we do."

"No problem, it's your vacation," David replied with a relaxed smile. Unfortunately, his relaxed demeanour wouldn’t last long!

The first part of the day was relatively stress-free as they strolled around in the warm weather and did a little shopping. Annisa purchased a few unique dresses and accessories in a French boutique with David leaving in pair of towering red platform pumps after Annisa insisted that she buy them for him. But when she announced that she wanted to visit a hair salon, as it had been a few weeks since she had been, David was suddenly filled with dread. Being in rural France, the chances of the staff speaking English were slim, and the announcement that Annisa wanted to take a break from practising the native tongue that day meant he would be left to explain what they wanted done in his far from fluent French!

David nervously stepped into the hair salon, his heart racing as he wondered how the visit would go. Strutting up to the front desk on his towering platform pumps, he tentatively asked if they had room for the two of them. To his surprise, the salon was empty, and they were immediately shown to a comfortable sofa and offered a soothing cup of herbal tea.

At first, everything seemed to be going surprisingly well. David was pleasantly surprised by how much small talk he was able to make in the foreign language. And even though the stylist could probably tell he wasn't fluent, he thought he had done a decent job of explaining that Annisa wanted her hair coloured and styled, while he was just there for a blow-dry.

Taken to different sides of the salon, the pair were separated and that's where things started to go downhill. A stylist with spiky pink hair and tattoos came over to join David, making him feel instantly on edge. Then she asked him a question that he didn't understand, and panic really set in. The stylist repeated herself as Annisa looked over to see what the problem was. "Qui," David said in a panic. It seemed to work for a moment, easing the tension in his mind, but then she followed up with another question. 'Qui', he answered again, as a confused look formed on the tattooed woman's face. It hadn't been a yes or no question, but luckily, she shrugged it off, put a towel around David's shoulders and got to work.

David knew something had gone wrong when he smelled the familiar smell of hair dye but tried to shrug it off and remain calm. 'Oh, well', he thought, 'It's not like my hair colour now is my natural colour anyway.' Thinking about the highlights coating his extended locks. So, for the next two hours, he sat back and let the woman work on him, feeling surprisingly relaxed. That is until she removed the towel from his head and spun him around to face the mirror, revealing his newly dyed bright blonde hair!

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David couldn't believe his eyes as he stared at his new, blonde self in the salon mirror. The stylist had seemingly transformed him into a whole new person, with a fringe cut in a feminine style. His heart was racing as Annisa approached, gushing about how much she loved the new colour and asking why he hadn’t told her about it earlier. With his mind still spinning, he tried to come up with a plausible excuse for why he hadn't told her about his plans to go fully blonde.

Making up a story about being apprehensive but finally mustering the courage to make the change, he felt like a complete fool as she peppered him with questions. Cringing, he forced out his words as he told her he had always wanted to try going blonde but was scared it might not work with his complexion.

David breathed a sigh of relief as Annisa accepted his story, even telling him that the new blonde hair suited him. But the validation felt like another blow to his weakening inner masculinity, which he was finding increasingly difficult to cling on to recently.

As the late afternoon sun beat down on them, David and Annisa emerged from the salon. David, still in shock from the events that had transpired, lagged behind, stumbling along the uneven streets as his heels sank into cracks, struggling to keep up. His mind was a whirlwind as he reflected on the near disaster that had occurred in the salon. The stress of pretending to be Fifi was taking its toll on him. Every moment felt like a tightrope walk, where one misstep could mean being exposed as an imposter. The constant fear was also taking a toll on his health - sleepless nights, loss of appetite, and a feeling of dread that never seemed to abate. But what choice did he have? He was in too deep with all the plans he once had of escaping having evaporated from his confused blonde head!

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