The Letter

Eight

The flight had been uneventful for the most part. They sat together but nobody felt the need for conversation. As soon as Emmy settled in, she dozed off. It had been a long day and it was past 9 already. Some hours earlier, she was okay and happy. Now, her brother is missing and their lives are in danger.

Something had woken her. What was it? She, more than anything, hated to be woken up. Looking around, she noticed her father was talking.

"We are about 20 minutes out. Let's discuss some bits" he paused for effect. When he was sure he had their rapt attention, he continued, "we cannot be caught off guard. We stick together always’’ he ended, with a long and hard look at his son, who broke the eye contact.

‘’Uhm, I need to pee, Dad. Are we allowed to do that?’’ asked his daughter sarcastically.

After a nod of approval, she stood and made her way to the restroom. Good thing, they were travelling business class. They weren’t the richest but Jeff never compromised on their comfort. This she was thankful for as she opened and saw the bathroom. She did need a shower and to clear her head. It didn't take too long, it was, however, still for public use. On her way back, a calm voice stopped her.

"You smell really nice. Is that lavender?"

If she hadn't just taken a shower, she might not have bothered,kz but it was definitely directed at her.

bn

She turned, who was it but the man from the airport. Her clothes had been rumpled for a while. Using her fingers to straighten, she wondered why she was so self-aware. She wasn't usually like this.

"Are you r-referring to m-me?" She stuttered.

"Where are my manners? I'm Fred. Frederick George. You can call me Fred anyway." he said with a smile and an extended hand.

This was met with bewilderment. Why was he talking to her and what was she many to do with his hand? Too many questions but there he was, with the perfect smile on his near-perfect face looking at her. Till then, she thought she would never find anyone even remotely more handsome than the men in her life but this man would give them a run for their money. He wasn't blonde like her brothers but he had the most perfectly cut dark hair she had ever seen with such lovely eyes, it was impossible to look into those and not smile, at the very least. They were the colour of a jewel but she wasn't thinking properly enough to remember which. Then his cheekbones, so beautiful they should be in a museum. He was seated but he looked like spent most of his time outdoors. He had dark skin on a body that visited the gym every now and then, no doubt. His mouth was moving, he was saying something. How long had she been staring

"I'm sorry, I should get back to my family" she managed, her face turning a bright red.

He looked like he wanted to stop her, he didn't hide the hurt on his face.

"It is not your fault," she said and added with a weak smile "My dad worries easily" and she left before he could take another beautiful breath. What was wrong with her? She swore she was usually more coordinated than this. Before she could go too far, she heard a call ahead.

"Emmy, you okay?" Her brother had all but stood up. A different voice was mouthing her name, trying it on for size. The childish grin was out for all to see. It's just a name, calm down, she thought. Thanks, Steve. Thank you so much. Of course, Steve didn’t understand the look she was giving him.

Jeff nearly tore her apart, to be sure she was indeed alright. ‘’What was the delay?’’ he asked, spinning her this way and that.

‘’I’m fine, Dad,’’ she answered, no way she was going to tell him about the man, Fred. Why was his name at the tip of her tongue? Whatever it is, it was past.

Their flight landed and he felt physically ill. Jeff couldn’t bring himself to look at his children. If he felt this way, how would they. If only they were coming back under much friendlier circumstances as he and Rachel fantasized.

After the landing, it was all mechanical. His children handled everything. He couldn’t be more proud. He looked at them one by one, his source of strength. Steve and Emmy, how beautiful. Emmy, his baby, who wasn't with them but was being approached by some man. What? Why would this stranger look at his baby that way? He felt the life rush come back, as he marched up.

‘’So it is Emmy then’’ Fred was saying

Emmy looked back to see him again. Was he also going to taunt her in person, as he had successfully done in her thoughts

‘’Well, I thought to mention that you still owe me a handshake…’’ he broke off to check out her reaction. She seemed not really in the mood for a conversation. He had been told that he had a way with women. This one was proving difficult. ''I’m waiting, Emmy’’ he tried again. ‘’You know what they say about keeping a stranger waiting’’ he had just used his last resort and the unimaginable happened. She laughed and did so in style. She was so beautiful. He was looking at one of those women who didn’t need to do too much to dazzle. Her hair was in an unfastidious bun but she rocked that look. Her eyes were the colour of the sun. Her face was just as symmetrical as it was artistic. It looked like extra days had been put into it, with a softly pointed nose and high cheekbones that spoke of pure beauty. And her body, that body would make royalty question their origins. She could easily have anybody do her whim with that smile of hers. ‘’You should laugh more often, it soothes you’’ he found himself saying, hopefully, that wouldn’t scare her off.

‘’First off, what do they say, do tell’’ she couldn’t stop giggling. But that changed as soon as she caught sight of her dad. The man was fuming. She had completely forgotten the bag. Finding theirs, she made to get away from Fred before he got all fatherly on her.

‘’Fred, I need to get going. This was nice.’’ And she was gone. While he was caught up, thinking of how wonderful it felt to hear his name roll off her lips. He didn’t see the man coming at him.

‘’Dad?’’ silently pleading with him to back off.

Lucky for her, she did know how to get to him. Much to his dismay, he found himself wanting to talk to him less and less. Facing her, he said softly ‘’You know you can’t go about talking to strangers. Not at a time like this.’’

‘’I’m sorry. It was not really a talk anyway.’’

‘’I have secured us a ride’’ Steve chimed in, irritated that all of a sudden, no one was in such a hurry. ‘’Question is, where do we go from here?’’