Chapter 71: Chapter 71
I sit in dismay, waiting for the bag which didn’t show up for almost three hours. I went to Paris when I was 10, that’s was on my 10th birthday. I remember when Rosa and I escaped from our hotel and bought some ice cream three blocks from the hotel, we sat for two hours in the shop without our parent’s permission. Our parent was so worried, they called cops and when the cops caught us, we thought we’re made terrible crimes and we’ll go to prison after.
I was so scared that day, I’m scared of the cops' car, the sirens, and the two officers who sat in front of us. But things got clear when the officers took us to our parents. I walk circles in front of the baggage claim, biting my nails and terrified. It’s been three hours I’m sitting in here and I have no idea where’s Dmitri is, he didn’t call or get me. I’m in serious shit right now, if I get caught, damn me. I make my way to the information center and asked the officer about the delay.
“I can’t understand your language” He says, the airport is so noisy, I can’t even hear him clearly.
“My bag, Mon bag! Bag! Bag?” I say in a high voice, I give him a hand sign.
“My bag hasn’t arrived” I point my index finger to the baggage claim.
“Oh! The bags do not make it onto the right flight sometime, wait for the next shuttle from Milan. It’s probably on that plane…” He says.
My heart nearly stopped as I heard his explanations, I lost my breath and my blood ran cold. I make my way to the waiting room and sit in the waiting seat, biting my own nails till I have no left. I tried to call Lena but it’s disconnected, I called Dmitri but the call in through the voicemail. My fear is getting worse when I saw a couple of cops standing in front of the gate and checking on people.
I keep waiting for the bag and stay cool, but knowing this is my last time doing this, it would be the end of my life on earth or maybe this would be my new beginning of life. I can’t wait for all of this to over, get back to the cozy bed, and lay down with Lena next to me, sitting next to each other, holding hands till the day is over. But if both of them let me die here, I definitely would never forgive them for the rest of my life especially Lena, the love of my life.
I reach over my phone and try to call Lena once again, but it still. I can’t reach her or text her. I make my way to the baggage claim and standing in front of it. It’s almost ten minutes I’m standing in here, waiting for the bag to out of the baggage claim and keep my eyes open. Lena must be worried about me, she may waiting for me in the hotel. “My bag!” I yelp, I point my index finger to the bag. “My bag” I take the bag quickly from the claim.
“Merci! Je vous remercie beaucoup” I’m thanking to the officer man who sits in the information center 32 feet from me. He smiles at me and raises his thumb up. I raise mine and leave the place quickly. I carry the bag with me and walk in dismay, there are cops everywhere. I didn’t carry drugs with me but I carry a lot of money inside the bag and that maybe can causes trouble. I keep my way out and I see Lena standing next to the exit gate, she’s biting her nails.
I walk closer to her and reach her from behind “Bonjour” I say. Lena turns around and facing me, with tense faces “Oh! God… Bonjour” She says, kissing my cheek and hugs me. Lena cups my cheeks with her hands, caressing them gently “I’m so worried! Welcome to Paris” She kisses my cheek once again. “All good?” Lena asks as her hands still on my cheeks. “I’m terrified!” I heavily breathe as I point my gaze to the cops.
“I was starting to worry after Dmitri called me, where did you come from?” Lena asks, her eyes looking at me in tense. “Over there” I point my finger to the baggage claim area. “You didn’t go through customs?” She asks. “No, I just walked out of that gate and it brought me right here” I explain. Lena raises an eyebrow as she stares at me “You skipped customs? Holy fucking shit! It’s genius!” She chuckles, her hands grab my arms.
“Well, should I go back?” I ask in dismay. “Fuck no! We’re going to the hotel” Lena laughs softly. “I’m gonna eat you for dinner” She runs her hands through my chest and giggles. Lena takes my hand and about to walk out of the place but I hold her hand and make her turn around, facing me. “Lena, I was so freaked out when the bag didn’t show up, I almost bailed!” I say in a low voice as I point my gaze to Lena.
“Well, it’s a good thing you didn’t! There’s over 500 grand in that bag!” She whispers, her eyes point at mine. “Dmitri would have had you killed. Come on…” Lena takes my hand and we walk out of the airport. “Where'll we going?” I ask as I get into the car. “Hotel” Lena stares at me as she raises her eyebrow. I sit in silence on our way and relaxing myself from the shit that I just through, we reach the hotel after 15 minutes drives.
“Thank you!” Lena says to the driver as she gives him money. I off my ass of the car, looking around the place as I highly raise my eyebrow. “Is that the mid-range hotel that you mentioned?” I ask. Lena laughs softly “No babe, I booked another hotel that you deserve!” Lena says as she carries the bag with her. I tell nothing but nod and I follow her behind, we walk into the hotel together. Lena holds my hand with her another hand as we walk into the hotel.
We reach our room and get into the room. Lena puts the bag on the table and starts doing her job. “What will you do with the money?” I ask her curiously. “Alright so there’s not only money in here, but also the numeral numbers” Lena starts scanning the bag. “I will send the numeral to Sasha through email to pay her money back and the rest of it I’ll keep with me and send it to my account” She explains. “H…how about the others?” I stutter.
“The others? What do you mean?” Lena asks. “The others, I mean your friends...” I say. “Oh, Jeez!” Lena laughs softly. “They’ll get the money when we’re back to New York” She says. “Oh, okay... babe I think I need to take a shower for minutes” I say. Lena off her hands of the bag and leave the seat, she walks closer to me and hugs me. “Is that okay if you do shower on your own tonight? I have a couple of things to do in here” Lena says, wrapping her hands to my waist.
I smile, my eyes looking at hers, feeling the guilty inside her eyes. “That’s okay baby… Just do your job and fix the problem, okay?” I say, cupping her cheek and caressing it gently. Lena runs her face closer to me and kisses my lips gently, she kisses me with all love that she had. “Okay…” She whispers, staring into my eyes and smile. “Okay, now I gotta go” I chuckle, my eyes looking at her. Lena laughs as she off herself from me, she back to the seat and do her job.
I grab the towel with me and make my way to the bathroom, leaving Lena behind. I try to understand our situation, I give Lena space to do her job and focus on them. I’ll do my best to be a good girlfriend for her, support her in every situation she’s in. I turn on the shower and feel the water run down through my body, disappeared to the drain. The day will be over soon, the happiness is on the way. We’ll settle everything done and things will be alright.
“Huhh…” I exhale deeply, feeling the calm warm water down against me. I try to think positive and calm myself down, manifest good thoughts to my own that everything is gonna be alright. The reason why I'm here is because I trust Lena, I trust her as I trust my own because she’s the part of me. I turn off the shower as I realize that I’ve been soaking myself for almost 30 minutes, I off from the shower and make my way to the bedroom with a towel wrapped on my body.
“Lena?” I’m looking around the place, I didn’t see Lena in here. “Babe?” I say, I take the vase on the table silently as a weapon if there’s something happens in this room. I walk closer to the dining table next to the window, facing the city center of Paris. A beautiful view distracts me from missing Lena for a moment before I see something that surprised me on the table. “God! What is it?”