‘If she could not wait for me, is it my call that she would pick?’ he asked himself and desisted from calling her.
To be stable and think properly of his next action, he sat on the chair she sat before. His thoughts went back to the days when she was dotting on him and would overlook his faults, but he ignored her. Now, it was his turn to be ignored by her.
‘Could she be seeing another man? That would be murderous because I cannot withstand it,’ he pondered.
The thought that she could be with another man in the Airport disorganized him. He began to walk around and ask questions, hoping that she could be in the office of one of the higher-ups.
Then, he walked up to a middle-aged man and greeted him, “Hello. Excuse me please.”
“Hello. How may I help you?” the man asked him.
“Do you by any means see the woman who sat there a few minutes ago?”
“Yes. That pretty lady. I saw her leaving the lobby,” the man informed him.
Now, Arthur felt some butterflies in his stomach again when he saw the lustful look on the man’s face when he said ‘pretty lady’.
He thanked him all the same, “Thank you for the information.”
He walked out of the lobby and asked the hawkers and touts who were hanging around, and one of them gave a perfect description of Nichole and ended up demonstrating how her hips were.
“Yes. The lady with curved hips. I saw her walking to the car park with a man. I’m sure they have left.”
He quickly thanked him, left for his car, and sat down. Now, he had no choice but to call and he did. To his wonderment, she picked up the call.
At Cairo.
The team members woke up early as usual. Louis was pleased with them as they gathered at the Exhibition Area, and he encouraged them by addressing them.
“Good morning to you all.”
“Good morning to you, Boss.”
“I must say that I am lucky to have you all on my team.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Boss,” they responded cheerfully and he continued.
“We have less than two weeks to go. I plead with you to put in your best so that our purpose of coming here will be achieved. Are we together?”
“Yes, boss. We are together.”
“We will put in our best, Boss.”
“We will not fail you, Boss.”
“Thank you, Boss. We are encouraged.”
They all responded one after the other.
“Thank you all,” He acknowledged them as well.
Then, he decided to call on his domestic staff members because he owed them that. When the call got through, Fred picked up his call and he inquired, “Fred, how are you?”
Fred was excited and he responded, “It is good to hear from you, Boss. I am good.”
“That is good. I called to inform you that my phone will be off for some time. Don’t get worried if you cannot reach me. Did you get it?”
“It is all right, Boss.”
“Take care,” he said and cut the call.
Instantly, he turned off his phone again and continued with his work. His only worry currently was how to get his woman and baby back without doing something stupid. Unless he comes up with an idea, he would not speak with any member of his family.
At the Airport.
“Hello, Arthur. How may I help you?” Nichole responded.
Arthur was shocked to hear her. He looked at his phone again to be certain that he called the right number. Before he could say anything, it was too late; she had cut. At that point, many deadly thoughts ran through his mind.
‘Maybe the man stopped her from talking to me,’ he reasoned before he called her back.
Although the call connected, she did not pick it up.
‘What will I tell our children? How can I handle the case of Louis and their missing mother at the same time?’ He thought and rested his head on the steering.
In An Airport Taxi on the Way to Dover.
Nichole was resting in the back seat. She could not turn off her phone, for that would be too much for Arthur to bear, coupled with the missing Louis. Neither would she want him to make a fool of himself at the airport, considering his age and status. Above all, she had not forgotten how much she loved him.
‘We can continue our bickering when we get home,’ she thought and sent a message to him with the same tone that he used on her the previous day.
(Arthur, dear. I have the privilege of taking myself back home with an Airport Taxi. Nichole.)
At the Airport.
While Arthur was resting his head on the steering, he got a message alert on his phone.
At that point, he had been drained out emotionally and physically. Then, he managed to raise his head to check the message. He was elated immediately when he discovered that the message was from her, and he quickly read through it. His face beamed with a smile, and he wiped the drop of tears that trickled down his cheek with his kerchief.
‘Nice woman. She cares about me so much,’ he concluded and quickly replied.
(It is all right, dear. See you at home.)
He turned on his ignition and drove off with an increased love for her.
At The Bailey Native Home
Nichole returned, had her breakfast, and left for work. Arthur returned as well and drove to her apartment. Then, her janitor walked to him and informed him that she had left for work.
“That is good. Thank you for letting me know,” he appreciated him before he drove to his house.
Meanwhile, he had to be at the office since Denise would not be available. So, he prepared and left for work.
At The Complex
The office was not giving him the comfort he expected, even though he had much to do. For over an hour, he could not make any headway. The tea that his secretary served him when he got to the office was getting cold. Likewise, he sipped it, picked up his phone, and sent a message to her.
(Nichole dear, I wish to let you know that I am back. Can we have dinner tonight at your apartment? Arthur.)
‘Ha ha ha. Cow. You can remain at the Airport if you like,’ Nichole mocked Arthur’s message.
She tossed her phone aside and continued with her work.
At Arthur’s Office
While he was patiently waiting for her reply to his message, his secretary informed him that he had some guests.
‘Why now?’ He mumbled before he responded, “Let them in, please.”
From that moment, the visitors coming to congratulate him on the success of his son’s marriage ceremony became endless.
“Congratulations, Arthur,” one of them complimented him.
“Thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it,” he responded with a divided attention.
Nevertheless, he was taking a quick peep at his phone at intervals while the guests came and left. Soon, the message alert came.
(Arthur, I wish to let you know that I am glad that you are back. We cannot have dinner at my apartment tonight because I don’t have food. Nichole.)
Arthur forgot that he had visitors before him and smiled broadly before he mumbled audibly, “Silly girl. At least, her reply is better than not replying at all.”