To Be Loved

Chapter 4

At the airport, there stood a man looking at his phone in amazement and shaking his head in disbelief. His wife never failed to amaze him. He sighed, looking at his watch, wondering where that brainless friend of his was. He told him he was going to get something to drink, and it had been 20 minutes, and he hadn’t come till now.

He took a sip of his hot black coffee and felt its bitterness slide down his throat, then the caffeine penetrating every cell in his brain. He doesn't understand why people love to drink it to the point of getting addicted, and his wife is the same.

Right, his wife is going to drink that damn coffee. She never learns or listens; she isn't allowed to drink it, and the doctor has forbidden her from drinking too much caffeine. 'I'll let it go this time, but it would be better to drink a small amount. I will send her a message to remind her.' After sending the message, he looked at the door and started to get annoyed; his lazy friend still hadn’t shown up yet.

'What happened to him? What took him so damn long?' He thought and sighed for the millionth time; they were going to be late, and the person who was supposed to pick them up was about to arrive. He stood up to look for him. Before reaching for the glass door handle, it was opened, and there stood his childhood friend, Mr. Danny f*****g King.

Danny King is the only friend he had unwillingly. He forced his friendship on him and wouldn't leave him alone. It's not like he doesn't have any friends; he has some, but they aren’t close to him like Danny. Even though he is annoying, he considers him a brother, and even his own family loves him and treats him as their son as well. Being the only child in his family, he's blessed to have Danny as a brother and business partner.

But sometimes I will be glad to end this damned friendship. He never fails to get on my nerves, like now. I told him to hurry up. I don't want to be late. But of course, Danny f*****g King will never listen.

''So, didn’t I tell you not to be late, you useless man? What the hell happened that led you to take that damn long to get one cup of coffee? Is the machine broken?” I yelled at him.

''Come on, man, not you too.'' I raised my eyebrow.

''Why did it take you so damn long?” Ignore his frustrated voice and ask again.

''What else other than my pretty wife, ash.'' I can hear the scream.

"What did you do to her that led her to yell at you?"

''Why should it always be me the one at fault?" I scoffed at him.

''Really, you want to know? I could tell you a thousand reasons if you want to.''

''No, thanks, dude, I'm fine.'' He smiled warily and scratched the back of his head.

''So, what did you say or do?" I asked him again and folded my arms.

''I may or may not show my disgust and opinion at her craving.”

I patted his shoulder and said, ''You're a dead man; I will pray for you, buddy, and buy a flower every day and put it on your grave.”

''Ha-ha, you are so funny, Mr. Angry Wolf'', I said, giving him a death glare. He isn't allowed to call me that; he lifts his hands in a surrender motion.

''Okay, don't kill me now; my wife will do that later.”

''You deserve it.”

''Oh, come on, I am your friend. How could you side with her and not me? If you know what she was craving, you will feel sorry for me and act the same as me.'' Danny was rumbling to make himself clean.

''No, I will not; you know the rules of pregnancy. Don't ever show any kind of judgment on their cravings, body changes, or hormonal swings, coz the moment you do, you will wish that you had cut your tongue.''

''I know that, but..."

I interrupted him. ''You know, but what did you do? Do you know that you dug your own grave with your own hands?''

''Give me a break, dude; stop judging me without even knowing what she is craving for or how bad her hormonal swings are." His buddy shuddered in discomfort.

''Believe me, I had faced hormonal swings beforehand; besides, what is she carving for?'' And I regret telling him that I felt pity for him.

''She wants to eat sushi covered with peanut butter and dip it in noodle soup. What the hell is that? I am human, you know. I couldn't control my mouth at that moment, and she started to cry, yell, curse at me, and demand that I don’t talk to her and sleep in the guest room. How did you handle your wife during her pregnancy?" I was holding my laugh to not anger him more.

''She didn't have a weird craving. She hated any kind of food, probably me too, and I had to force her to eat, and after that she wouldn't talk to me, so your wife's condition is better than mine''.

He hit his head and groaned. Jass's conditions were worse than those of his wife. ''s**t, I forgot you were this close to losing your s**t, sorry.''

''Nah, it's okay.'' He felt his phone vibrate in his jacket pocket, which meant their car had arrived.

I patted his shoulder, telling him that the car had arrived, and we walked together towards the car.

''Just find a way to make up with her, or I can tell you that you will sleep in the guest room for the rest of her pregnancy.'' He responds with a groan.

''Then help me find one.'' He said with a scowl.

I hit him on the back of his head and said, ''Just be sincere and honest with your apologies and do something good to win her forgiveness.'' He nodded in agreement and mumbled, Okay.

We arrived where the car was parked and saw my driver-s***h-bodyguard, Johan, waiting for us beside the car. ''Welcome back, sirs." He greeted us.

''Thanks, Johan; it's good to be back," Danny replied, and I just nodded.

He opened the car for us, and we both sat in the back seat. Then Johan starts the car and takes off to their destination.

After a while, Omar finally asked Johan while checking his emails.

"When are you going to fetch Jasmine?" Omar asked him while his eyes were still reading the email.

''I called her to know when I should go to pick her up, and she told me she would text me when she finishes," Johan replied immediately.

Omar nodded and said, ''Okay, inform me when she does. Understand."

''Yes, sir,''

''Good, we'll drop Danny off somewhere first, then we will head home after.''

''Okay, sir.''

In Mr. Alex's office, Jasmine was seated in front of him with a triumphant smile on her face. She got what she wanted; a full cup of coffee was in her hand, but she wondered when he would open his mouth and speak. They had been sitting for half an hour, and he didn't talk or say what he wanted. She could feel his hesitation through his eyes.

She was about to go first and initiate the first speech, but thank God he finally spoke.

''How was your first day of teaching?" I raised my eyebrows at him. I know this wasn’t what he wanted to ask, but two can play this.

I smiled and said, ''It wasn't this bad. I thought that I was going to embarrass myself, but it turned out to be fine in the end." He hummed in response and didn't say anything at all again with the killing silence.

I sighed. “Don't tell me that you have invited me to ask about that. What do you really want to ask about, Mr. Alex?"

He cleared his throat and said nervously, ''N-no, not only that, y-you know..." Another deafening silence.

"No, I don't know. Ask directly, old man; I don't have all the time." I could see the tension and irritation on his face.

''Stop calling me that!"

''Then speak up and give me another cup of coffee, and I will think about that!'' I shrugged at him.

''I will not do it.'' He retorted.

''Me either, so what do you want to talk about?"

''How is Mrs. Novak?''