I know, at almost twenty-six I shouldn’t be bothering so much with them, but pursuing a doctorate tends to be quite a pricey endeavor around these parts, and I probably wouldn’t manage without their help. I just hate their attempts to direct my private life as they wish, particularly their attempts to hook me up with some girl every single time I’m around them.

Lost in my thoughts, I almost react too late when someone grabs my bag. I instinctively clutch it tighter as several voices assault me. “Hey brother are you going to Ankelodrano let me handle your bag cabs are this way Sir do you want help your luggage the bus to Ankafanantany is over there and…”

Heh, luggage handlers… I don’t even bother trying to ask them to stop, I know they don’t exactly care about what I might have to say. Instead, I just firmly push my way through them and hold my bag more carefully, in case one of them is the kind that’s specialized into making passengers and their luggage go separate ways.

After several minutes of struggling through the crowd, I finally reach the parking area. Almost instantly, the luggage handlers are replaced by a bunch of eager cab drivers. Sighing, I try to politely tell them that I don’t need transportation, I already have a car waiting for me… somewhere. It would help if I knew exactly where, of course, and my hesitation just makes them even more insistent.

Exasperated by their solicitations, I stand on my tiptoes, trying to look above their heads. Damn my diminutive mongoose’s stature, I can’t see a thing… Right then, my cellphone rings. I grab it as fast as I can and answer the call.

“Need help there, Prof?” Tony’s warm voice quips through the phone.

My lips rise into a relieved smile. “I’d be crazy to say no,” I reply in the same tone. “Where are you, right now?”

“About fifteen meters from you to the southeast, near the small tree. Think you’ll be able to reach me from there?”

I let out a small chuckle. “Well, I’ll try.” Then, almost as an afterthought: “Oh, and don’t try to hide before I get there and then pretend I heard your instructions wrong.”

Tony affects an exaggeratedly innocent tone. “Hey, why would I do that?”

“You did it last time, you fiend.” Grinning, I cut off the communication and put the cellphone back into my pocket — deep enough that it can’t be easily stolen by the occasional ‘stray paw’ — then start marching decidedly between the amassed cab drivers (now joined by several candy and cigarette sellers, I notice). Some distance away, parked under a small eucalyptus tree, is a small blue car. Leaning against it, a large athletic-looking Lycaon is grinning at me.

I gladly return the canine’s smile as I approach him. God, how I missed Tony while I was in Ankafanantany. Okay, it has been only a week… but every single minute spent with my smothering folks has just served to accentuate the longing I felt for my boyfriend.

Ah, yes. Boyfriends. It’s not like we can even appear as such in public, anyway… so when I finally reach him, we only exchange a strong, friendly handshake before Tony opens the car’s door for me and takes the driver’s seat.

He briefly struggles to start up the engine. “So, how was it this time?”

“Horrible,” I reply in an affected neutral tone. “Let’s not mention it again.”

He laughs heartily. “That bad, uh?”

I can’t help cringing. “You should have seen the girl they found for me this time. At least the previous ones were either pretty or intelligent if not both, but this one… ugh. Her only redeeming quality was the size of her father’s wallet.”

Tony lets out an amused snort. “Man, they’re getting desperate…”

“Yeah. And to think I’ll have to deal with that again during the Christmas holidays…” I shake my head at that thought. “I think the only reason why I managed to hold my sanity was because I kept thinking of you.”

My boyfriend’s smile takes an affectionate turn. “Did it work?”

I discreetly move my hand towards him and put it on his thigh. “It always works.” At this time I just want to hold him, to kiss him… and the way he looks at me, I can see he obviously shares my wish. A shame there are so many people around us, really. “So, where do we go now?” I ask in order to change the subject.

Tony shrugs. “Well, there’s that nice restaurant I found two days ago while coming home from work. I heard it was a nice place for a dinner.”

I lift an eyebrow. “Isn’t it a bit early for a dinner?”

“Well, it’s not exactly on this side of town. And since your apartment is on the way, I thought we could swing by and get you the shower and new set of clothes you probably need after your trip. By the time that’s done, we should be getting to that restaurant at a fairly reasonable hour.”

I smile again at his assurance. “That sounds like a plan. Let’s go, then.”

We reach my student’s apartment in little less than an hour thanks to Tony’s driving skills. It doesn’t look like much: one living room, one bedroom, a kitchen space and a bathroom, all just large enough for one person to live in. A small TV set in the living room and a computer in the bedroom are already enough to make the whole thing look crowded. Thankfully there’s a large window in the living room which gives a gorgeous view on the Old City some distance away.

The parents had insisted that I get a single apartment while studying in Ambatoavo. They were afraid a roommate would be nothing but trouble for me, and a distraction from my studies. They had said nothing about dating though, since in their mind a good boy like me — and the heir to their large food company — would be reasonable enough to not date outside his hometown, or without their permission.

I let Tony into the apartment — I couldn’t ask him to stay in the car after all — and tell him to wait in the living room while I prepare for a shower. As I slip into my bedroom, I hear him slump into the one only chair and turn the TV on. I drop my bag onto my bed and quickly empty it, dropping its contents into the laundry bin. The clothes I’d worn quickly join those, and I remind myself that I need to get my laundry done before my classes start again in two days.

I then wrap a towel around my waist, grab my second-to-last change of clean clothes and head towards the bathroom. As I briefly pass through the living room, Tony blatantly stares at me and lets out a small wolf whistle. I playfully wink at him before closing the door behind me.

The water is lukewarm as usual, but it doesn’t bother me too much for now with the approaching summer already warming the evening air. I bet it’ll be another story once winter rolls around in a few months though.