Chapter 37: Chapter 37

MARK

"I really wish that I had the opportunity to be there." I tell Alyanna over the phone as I am driving to my first appointment and we are having a conversation about something else.

"It's ok. I have Maddy and my dad. I'll be ok." She is attempting to reassure me by her actions right now.

"I am certain that you will, and all that I wish for is to be present when it takes place." I say it in a manner that gives the impression that I am expressing dissatisfaction.

"Mark, I'm ok. Do not panic." A mumbled voice is just barely audible to me. "I truly apologize, but I have to leave right now. I'll call you after." She says. I'm sorry I won't be able to say goodbye in the traditional sense. I put down my phone and continue driving in the direction that my appointment is supposed to be.

After sitting through such a boring conference, the only thing I will want to do when I go back to my hotel room is to go to bed and sleep for the rest of the day. According to Jack, a buddy of mine from the workplace, this is not the case. It was his suggestion that we go to the local swimming pool and swim a few laps there. I initially rolled my eyes in answer, but in the end, I gave in and changed into my bikini.

Following a trip to the lavatory, the first thing I do is look at the time displayed on my phone in order to confirm that it is accurate. "2:30. It is high time that she brought everything to a close." I speak to the one that lives within of me. "I don't understand why I'm having this discussion with myself. Why do I continue to torment myself in this way?" After what feels like an eternity, I finally put an end to my rambling monologue and reach for my phone so that I can Skype Alyanna.

"Hello." Maddy answers.

You might inquire, "Hey, how is she doing?" to find out how she is doing. I ask.

You ought to inquire about yourself to her. She tells me that she is turning the phone around so that I can see her now. I can see her now. I can make out her features now. In spite of the fact that she is totally gray and seems to be very close to passing away, I think she still has a beautiful beauty. Right, let me just say that what I just had a realization about kind of renders that argument moot.

Despite having a dry throat, Alyanna still manages to cry out "Hi."

"How are you doing today? How are things going for you?" I ask. Stupid question.

"Tired." She says smiling. Jack has recently entered the building and is making his way over here.

"Hey buddy. Are you completely prepared to enter the water?" In order to be ready for our upcoming encounter, he asks me to come over and tie a towel around his neck in advance. He is confused and asks, "Who is this?" It is spoken with such astonishment that it makes me want to murder him - not literally, of course - because he has most certainly just caused Alyanna a great deal of discomfort. The statement is made with such amazement that it makes me want to kill him.

I am able to summon up as much pride as I can as I speak highly of my wife, Alyanna, as I introduce her to Jack.

Hey, it's a delight to meet you, Alyanna. I look forward to getting to know you more. Jack says. Following that, he walks out of the room. "I really should let you go," the speaker said. A hushed voice can be heard coming from Alyanna.

"I'll see you Wednesday night." I would recommend giving a short wave to the person. She doesn't say much more than a nod before hanging up the phone.

Jack does not provide any additional information regarding Alyanna's predicament. It is not a problem, but I do not believe that he was even aware that I had completed the marriage. He will go to the hot tub while I am working out and enjoying some fresh air in order to clear my head. After that, we will switch places. Before leaving the facilities, I enjoy around five minutes of relaxation time in the hot tub.

"What's going on, and where are you going?" Jack extends an invitation for you to join him on the side of the pool that is situated closest to the entrance to the building.

"It is imperative that I get back to my room. I'm kinda weary." My suggestion is that we head in the direction of the door.

Since I am unable to proceed with our chat with Alyanna for the remainder of the trip, I am in a state of misery the entire time we are traveling. It is not a mystery. I have nothing better to do than to occupy my time by sitting here at the table, playing with my pen, and ignoring everyone else who is in the room. When I overheard them using my name, I am able to know that this is not the first time that they had done so because of the way that they uttered it. I didn't care.

Before I headed out to my final appointment, I double checked that everything was ready and loaded into my car. I didn't want to be late. I went into the meeting with the full intention of leaving as soon as it was over. I wore clothes that were really uncomfortable, but I didn't care to change out of them despite how uncomfortable they were. Again, I didn't care if people called me a monster for getting it all rinckly because I was wearing suits; it didn't matter to me at all. I didn't care what they thought of me.

I was about twenty minutes away from Chris's house, and I was anxious to get there as soon as I could. After coming to a complete halt at a red light, as soon as the light went green, I made a beeline towards the other side of the junction. After that, there was an utter and absolute absence of light.

There was an abrupt change from darkness to light that occurred in a very brief fraction of a second. Before I saw that there was a door, I was conscious of the ground beneath my feet. Almost as soon as I started moving, the fact that my right hand was still holding onto a handle became immediately apparent to me. I put my left hand on the doorknob and turn it slowly while keeping a fair level of suspicion about what could be on the other side of it.

In order to find the old house that belonged to my grandma, I opened it up all the way. Once my grandma passed away, I was finally able to inherit the house that I was promised I would be able to get when I reached a particular age. That house was tailor-made for someone like me.

I'm pretty sure I can hear some rumbling coming from the direction of the kitchen. "Hello?" I yell.

"Hello Mark." I hear Alyanna yell. I walk in. Her hair is past the point where it starts to touch her shoulder and falls past that point entirely. That doesn't appear like she's wearing a wig, does it? I ask myself. "How did work go for you?" She gestures for me to come closer so that she can give a kiss on both of my cheeks as I come closer to her. As I look at her, I can't help but feel confused. "You ok?" She inquires. You have not recanted your claim at this time, have you? She responds as she takes a guitar case out of my grasp and places it on the ground before continuing.

"Sure, you can count on me." I say sitting down.

"Hello!" I am able to hear Charlie screaming inside even after the door has been closed. "Right back where we started!" Following that, two young women who are approximately the same age as him dash in behind him.

My pupils are beginning to expand very slightly. These young women are a total mystery to me. I have no idea who they are. "Daddy, would you mind if I slept over at your house tonight?" The individual who appears to be a little bit older is the one who has posed the query. My pupils once more get noticeably larger whenever you make a reference to my father.

"Of course, Alexis; why don't you go and ask Alyanna about it?" "Of course, Alexis." Charlie says as he runs his fingers through Alexis's hair while holding her in his lap. At this moment, the size of my pupils has significantly increased. "You ok?" Charlie asks me. "Definitely, you can rely on me," she said. I make statements that contradict who I am. It's almost as if I'm caught up in a wild dream right now. "Daddy, mama said yes!" The second young lady has informed me that she is going to immediately make her way over to me in order to offer me a hug. I had no choice but to put my arms around her since there was no other option.

"Wow, that's incredible!" What I mean is that it came out of nowhere. I find myself staring blankly at what I've just said as she walks away with Alexis. I can't believe I just said that.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Charlie asks me.

"Yeah, it's that simple..." I come to a stop, rise up, and begin to wander around the site, which is at the same time quite familiar to me and also quite unfamiliar to me.

"Excuse me."