My One True Love

Chapter Seven: Fearless

WILLIAM...

The cab had left us right at the entrance of the hotel and we were now making our way inside, Adalet had insisted on taking one of my suitcases and now she was walking in front of me. "I know this is probably not the exclusive 5-star hotel you're used to but it's the one closer to where we are playing tonight," said Adalet nervously as we slowly walked to the reception. I laughed and shook my head, she really thought I was some kind of rich, spoiled brat. In my defense, I wasn't, I never liked to spend money on useless luxuries but sometimes my parents insisted.

"I don't care where I stay, a room is just a room to sleep in," I said with a shrug and she stopped and stared at me with confusion written on her face. I smiled and walked over to one of the receptionists.

"Palmer House Hotel, do you have a reservation sir?" asked the young receptionist without looking away from his computer. He looked tired and probably wished his shift were over. "No, actually I wanted a room for two," I said casually and Adalet began to speak up but I quickly took her hand and tightened it a little bit to as if to tell her to let me handle it. I felt Adalet tense under my touch but she stayed quiet.

"A room for two, would you like one bed or two separate beds?" asked the receptionist as he finally looked at us. I was about to respond when Adalet interrupted quickly, "two please."

I chuckled as she blushed and stayed quiet through rest of the check-in process. "Your room is 216 and here are your keys, if you need anything the reception is open 24 hours." I nodded and thanked the young man.

I didn't realize Adalet and I were still holding hands until I began to walk away. Adalet yelped in surprise and blushed before I let go of her hand, "sorry, I forgot I was still holding your hand," I said as I passed a hand through my hair, something I did a lot when I was nervous or frustrated.

She laughed sheepishly and waved me off, "that's okay. Although I could've gone to share a room with my orchestra buddies." I froze, she was right, but then something occurred to me.

"And how many people would be sleeping in the same room?" I asked as we got into the elevator.

Adalet followed me and responded, "I'd say about six, but what does that have to do with anything?"

I smiled and let her exit the elevator before me as we reached the second floor. "Well, I don't think you enjoy sleeping on the ground and besides, I already booked the room," I said calmly as we reached room 216. I opened the door and Adalet walked in and turned on the lights.

The room was clean and small. It smelled fresh and of lavender. Adalet quickly picked the bed closest to the door and let herself fall on it. I stared at her in wonder, she truly was filled with surprises and excitement, just so full of life. I placed my luggage on a small table near my bed and began searching for my toothbrush and my pajamas. After a few minutes, I had brushed my teeth and I was now dressed in my pajamas. I walked out of the bathroom expecting to hear Adalet going through her stuff, instead I found he the same way I had last seen her. She was laying on the bed with her eyes closed but now I saw she had fallen asleep. I smiled and carried her to the end of the bed where she was supposed to be sleeping under the covers. In my arms she groaned and made herself comfortable as she rested her head on my shoulder. After a few attempts, I managed to untangle myself from her grasp and tuck her in. I sighed and looked at the clock, it was now 1:58am.

I grabbed my phone and saw that I had five missing calls from Adrianna and one from my parents. I decided to call them later, I didn't want to wake Adalet, she was probably going to be very busy in the morning. I got into my bed and turned a few times before I was comfortable enough. I was beginning to doze off when I heard soft snores behind me. I chuckled and shook my head as I began to submerge myself in sleep again. This time, the last thing I thought of was Adalet's soft hand in mine and her deep blue eyes gleaming with excitement.

The bright light of the sun woke me up. I groaned and turned the other way but it was no use. I tried opening my eyes to see where the source was coming from and saw a small gap in the curtains from where the light was streaming in. I stretched and looked at the clock, it was now half past eight. I turned on my phone while I walked to the bathroom to take a shower. When I was done, I walked out of the bathroom with khaki dress pants and a green shirt under my brown sweater. I walked over to the nightstand and saw a note written in cursive letter. Good morning, Your Majesty. You'll probably see this hours after I'm gone, I have rehearsal with the orchestra from 7am 'till noon - Adalet.

I smiled and took my phone before heading downstairs to the hotel's restaurant. Inside it was almost empty, there was only a table occupied by three businessmen, another with a family of three and at the very end, an old couple was sitting enjoying their warm drink. I grabbed a plate and began looking at all the food there was. I decided to go with some scrambled eggs, a few strips of bacon and a small bowl of cereal. On my table there was already a coffee waiting for me, I looked around wondering where it had come from and saw one of the hotel's workers smiling at me with a faint blush on her cheeks. When our eyes met she quickly hurried off before I could thank her for the coffee.

I ate my meal in silence as I looked at the TV, I wasn't really paying attention so instead I took out my phone and began reading my messages.

From Adrianna:

William where are you?

Please call me

Your parents just informed me you are not arriving today, should I be concerned?

From my father:

William I am glad to hear you landed well on Chicago, I was surprised when you said you were going for a quick visit. If you really want to help us expand the business you will need to meet with Reynold Dawson, he is our financial adviser in the United States and his office is near Fulton River Park.

Your mother is worried about you and she misses you

Please tell us in advance when you will return

I placed my plate with the rest of the dirty dishes and took my coffee cup up to the room. I needed to find where the Fulton River Park was before I left.

Once back in room 216, I searched in the internet for Mr. Dawson and I found I was a bit far away, thankfully I found the number of his office and called beforehand. It turned out to be a good call since his secretary told me it was his day off but she had scheduled a meeting the next day. I looked at the clock and found it was almost noon and Adalet would be back shortly so I decided to stay in the hotel room to respond the messages I had read during breakfast and work from my computer.

The hours passed faster than I realized because the next time I turned away from the screen was when Adalet ran into the room wearing blue jeans and a very elegant crimson sweater that made her stand out. I only stared at her as she tried to regain her breath. She set her instrument's case down on the bed and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry I'm late, I know I said I'd be back here by noon but rehearsal took longer than I thought," she said with a slight blush on her cheeks, she looked as if she had been running.

I looked at the clock on the screen and saw it was half past one. I chuckled and got up, I saw Adalet gulp as I moved. "That is fine, Miss Trent, I took time to work on some pending matters," I said calmly.

She crossed her arms in front of her. "have you ever been to Chicago?" she asked and I shook my head. "Then why are you here working? You should be out, exploring, taking a walk and eating as you go," she said with an incredulous look on her face. It was in that moment when I heard the loud rumbling of a stomach. My eyes widened and a laugh escaped me. Adalet looked like she were about to turn into a tomato. She quickly put a hand over her stomach as if telling it to be quiet.

"I believe that the one who is hungry is you, Miss Trent," I teased and reached for my wallet. Adalet didn't say anything and I continued, "let us go find something to eat for that hungry beast inside of you," I said and finally, Adalet laughed.

"Hey, not fair, Your Majesty," she said, clearly out of arguments.

"I will let you decide what we shall eat, my treat," I said as the both of us made our way out of the hotel room. Adalet seemed ready to protest but I quickly shook my head, "you cannot argue with the Prince." Adalet smiled but didn't say anything, she just gave me the look that the discussion wasn't over.

We were sitting on a table at Pizzeria Uno as we waited for our meal. Adalet had insisted on walking over to the restaurant, she wanted to see everything around her and actually take her time to get a look at her surroundings. Due to that half an hour walk, I could see Adalet was even more jumpy than before. She said the pizza there was incredible so we had decided to order a large deep dish pizza for both. Minutes later, the pizza arrived to our table and Adalet quickly grabbed a slice.

I chuckled and grabbed my own slice and took a fork and a knife in my hands. Adalet shook her head, "no, you have to enjoy this pizza like a normal person, not like royalty," she said as she pointed to my hands.

I rolled my eyes, a very unroyal move, and placed the utensils back on the table. Slowly, I took the pizza in my hand, I could feel the warmness rolling off of it and the weight of the slice. I placed the pizza in my mouth as Adalet watched me intently, waiting for my reaction. In one bite my eyes widened, it was really good. "So?" asked Adalet expectantly.

I nodded, "this is fantastic," I murmured and Adalet laughed softly. After that both of us continued eating and talking. I learnt that she used to work in the family business raising cattle, she once had an older brother but he had passed away a few years back due to an accident, her favorite color was white and her favorite food was Italian.

"Okay I've got another question," she said as she finished her last slice of pizza, "why is the Prince handling all the expansion and administrative work of his company instead of someone else?"

I leaned back on the seat, "well, my father has always been into teaching me to earn my own life and earnings, he wanted me to work to learn a few things like respect, teamwork, humility, courage, etc. But last year he became pretty sick, he's diabetic, and because of that he decided to hand me some bigger responsibilities of the company so he could focus on his health." Adalet stayed quiet and nodded as she drank from her glass of lemonade.

"It makes sense, since you're going to be King and all," she said and then she looked at her watch. "Do you want to go to the Riverwalk?"

I nodded and asked the waiter for the check. In a few minutes we were walking along the Riverwalk. We walked in silence but it was comfortable, I watched as she looked at everything around us with excitement and awe without realizing that I was looking at her the same way. We bought an ice cream nearby and headed back to the hotel since Adalet had to get ready for her performance later that day.

"I'm going to take a shower," she said once we were back in our hotel room. She disappeared inside the bathroom while I checked the messages on my phone. My girlfriend had sent me only one message after I had responded her messages from last night and it only said have you made the deposit to my account? She hadn't even bothered to ask me how I was or what I was doing, which annoyed me. I sighed and turned off my phone. That's when I heard Adalet's phone vibrate.

She was still showering but I wasn't going to answer without permission so I knocked on the bathroom door. "Adalet, you have a call from... Judy Mckenzie. Should I answer?"

"Yes please, tell her I'll call her after the concert," she yelled back and I heard as she turned off the shower.

Meanwhile I answered, "Hello, this is Adalet's phone."

I heard a pause and then a soft, croaky voice on the other side, "hello? Who is this? Is Adalet there?"

"I am William Johns, Adalet told me to answer and tell you that she will call you after the concert tonight." I said and the other woman sighed.

"Okay, thanks William," was the last thing she said before hanging up. I placed Adalet's phone next to her instrument's case and her black, concert binder. Adalet joined me a few minutes later in a black, long dress, along with her hair dry and brushed.

"Did Mackenzie say why she called?" she asked as she made her way to her backpack from where she took out a makeup bag. Then she turned to look at me.

I shook my head, "she will wait for your call later tonight."

Adalet frowned and nodded as she walked back into the bathroom. "She probably wanted to remind me that I'm a bad friend for not going with her to help her pick out some things for her wedding."

"Your friend is getting married?" I asked, trying to continue the conversation.

"My best friend and yes, in May if I'm not mistaken but she's trying to make sure everything is ready way before then we've already decided on the cake, the dresses, the venue and this weekend we were going to choose the flowers and caters," she said calmly and I stopped and turned around.

"The groom is not supposed to do all that with his bride? I mean not the dresses part but the other things," I asked confused.

"That's what I thought too but her boyfriend, David, preferred not to participate in anything involving wedding preparations," she came out of the bathroom then, it was the quickest I'd ever seen a woman put on makeup. Her makeup was simple and natural that made her eyes stand out and her lips looks so smooth and kissable. Kissable? What was I thinking? Adalet Trent was only my friend.

"What? Are my eyes smudged?" she asked with wide eyes.

I chuckled and shook my head, "no, you look absolutely stunning Miss Trent," I said and I saw her blush slightly. She looked at the time and it was now almost 7pm.

"I better get going, we are supposed to be there at 7 to make sure everything is ready. The concert is at 8:30 if you would like to go," she invited me nervously and I smiled widely.

"Of course, Miss Trent, I will be there," I said confidently and she smiled.

"Great, I'll see you there," she said as she grabbed her things and headed out.

I took a fresh set of clothes and headed for the shower. Twenty minutes later, I was ready in a black suit. I walked out of the room and headed for a coffee shop near the Art Institute and walked over to a park on one side of the institute. I saw as couples walked along with their pets, children played tag and elderly couples just sat there looking up at the sky which was now dark.

Before 8:00pm I remembered I was going to get Adalet flowers, thankfully a flower shop was near and I bought a bouquet with white roses before walking over to the Art Institute and found that people were already inside waiting patiently for the concert to begin. I bought a ticket at the entrance and went to my seat at the center of the auditorium.

Time flew by as I waited and soon the musicians all took their places and at last, the concertino. The concert began with the tuning of the instruments and then, Haydn's music surged powerfully, of course I recognized it, Haydn was one of my favorite composers. The orchestra was, in fact, great. Their precision with accents, tones and vibrancy really left you at the edge of your seat. The emotion was cut short when the concert ended an hour and a half later. The crowd clapped, their eyes filled with awe and the applause rang through the auditorium for a long time as the musicians began to leave the stage. It was time to go meet Adalet backstage, I sighed, I didn't know why I felt so nervous.