Post by Addie on Jan 5, 2007 20:40:07 GMT 3
Chapter 61
Throwing his only bag, his carry-on, onto the floor next to the door, Marat banged his clenched fist against the wood. Even after the long flight from Moscow to London, he had so much energy. Knocking on the door again, he was prepared to see Alexis open the door and be surprised. He didn’t care if she smiled at him, slammed the door in his face, or looked annoyed; he just wanted to get something out of her.
From inside, he finally heard the soft sound of bare feet walking on the wood floors towards the door. But as the door opened, he had to look farther down than he would normally. Instead of Alexis’ tall frame in the doorway, Marat was met by a barefoot Izzy still in her work clothes. He definitely got an emotion out of her, a look of complete and utter shock.
“Marat? What are you doing here?” Izzy asked staring up at him.
“I’m here for Alexis. And you can tell her, I’m not leaving here without her,” Marat said smiling.
“Whether you like it or not, you will be leaving here without her,” Izzy replied sticking her hand on her hip.
“What are you talking about?”
“Alexis isn’t here. She’s not even in London,” Izzy sighed hitting her forehead with the palm of her hand. “You two are impossible.”
“Where is she, Izzy?”
“She called me before she left the airport in New York City. She told me she was going to Moscow to get you back, not come here and wait for you.”
“Please tell me you’re joking with me. She went to Moscow?”
“Yes, for you. She went there for you, and you came here. Which is why I’m so tired of the two of you. Why can’t you make it easy on each other and call each other on the phone?”
“I have no idea. Did she call when she found out I wasn’t there?”
“I haven’t heard from her. You might still have a chance. Call her, find out where she is, and get your ass on a plane to that city!” Izzy said sternly but broke into a smile at the end.
“I’m on it,” Marat said picking up his bag. “Thanks, Izzy. I’ll see you at the wedding.”
“What did you just say?” Izzy asked following him out into the hallway.
“You heard me!” Marat called back as he flew down the stairs and out of Izzy’s view.
“Ugh, I need to get a boyfriend,” Izzy sighed and walked back into her apartment. “Crazy in love indeed.”
*****
Stepping off the plane in Frankfurt, Germany, Alexis remembered how much she hated switching planes. But in order to get to Shanghai in time, she had to fly from Moscow to Frankfurt and then to Shanghai. The trip was going to be exhausting, not to mention the danger that her suitcase would be lost in the shuffle from one plane to the other.
Hauling her laptop carrier on her shoulder, Alexis was starting to believe that it was an extra limb. She never went anywhere without, especially when she traveled by airplane. The airports were all starting to look the same. Every terminal was filled with uncomfortable plastic leather chairs where people would slouch low in their seats and dream of their destinations.
And to be honest, Alexis was tired of doing that. When she had arrived in Moscow, she thought her life would be amazing. She thought Marat would be angry with her at first, but then everything would be fine. They would live happily ever after, but now she was alone and flying to a far off destination just to interview someone. When she had asked for the interview, she had been an uncaring, empty shell of a human being. Was going on this interview a good idea?
Staring around the terminal, Alexis found her gate and sat down in a chair nearby. From where she was sitting, she could look out the window and see the black night twinkle back at her with airplanes taking off on the lighted runway. If she had to be laid over for the two hours, she might as well get something accomplished and call her mother. Maybe her grandmother could offer some advice. It felt great to be dialing the phone number knowing she had a family to count on.
“Hello?” Alexis heard her mother answer the phone.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, sweetie. How are you? Are you in Moscow now?”
“Actually, I’ve already been there and left.”
“Oh, no. What happened?”
“It’s not as bad as you think, well, I don’t think it is,” Alexis sighed biting her lip. “When I got to Moscow, I found out he wasn’t there. He had left a few hours before for London.”
“Sweetie, that’s not bad. Perhaps you should have called first, but just think about it. He went to London. Maybe he was looking for you,” Madeline suggested.
“Why would he do that?”
“Because he loves you.”
“We had a horrible fight though. He probably hated me afterwards.”
“Did you hate him after the fight?”
“Yes, of course. I was angry. But hours later, I was over it.”
“I’m sure he acted the same way. After all the adrenaline of fighting wears off, the anger subsides and we see the mistakes we made and how much we love the person,” Madeline explained.
“I guess I’ll never know. I’m not even on my way back to London. I’m on my way to Shanghai for an interview,” Alexis sighed.
“You will know, just not now. Go to Shanghai, work your butt off, write an extraordinary article, and come back to London. Once you’re home, you can call him and sort everything out.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
“Thanks, Mom. I think I’m going to get some sleep while I wait for my next flight. I’ll talk to Grandma next time, send her my love.”
“I will. Love you, sweetie. And everything will be okay.”
“Bye,” Alexis said hanging up her phone.
Putting her cell phone in her pants pocket, Alexis took off her coat and threw it over her body. Pulling her legs up under herself in the chair, she made herself comfortable before falling asleep to the sounds of suitcases rolling past and flights being announced on the loud speaker.
*****
Cursing to himself as he walked off the plane, Marat fumbled with his carry-on as he tried to retrieve his cell phone from his back pocket. Finally grabbing a hold of it, he dialed Alexis’ cell phone number. Now that he was stuck in an airport in Frankfurt, he had to find her and tell her to stay put. He couldn’t believe his luck that his lay over would be over two hours.
Following the signs hanging on the ceiling, Marat walked to his gate with his cell phone glued to his ear. Repeatedly, the cell phone rang but the call was never picked up by Alexis, and repeatedly, he would redial her number to the same response. It worried him. She was alone in Moscow, couldn’t speak the language, and didn’t know anyone but him.
Once he arrived at his gate, he was annoyed to find that all the seats surrounding it were taken by sleeping passengers. Spotting an empty seat on the other side of the terminal, he walked over to the seat and fell down in exhaustion. He didn’t even mind the fact that the person sitting next to him was hunched over in her chair with a coat splayed over their face and torso. As long as the person didn’t talk to him, he wouldn’t talk to them.
Once again, he resumed his dialing of Alexis’ phone number. As he hit “send”, Marat could hear her ring tone. Shrugging it off, he figured that everybody must have had that ring tone and ignored the nearby ringing. But as he continued to wait for Alexis to pick up her phone, he noticed that the ringing was coming from the body covered by the coat. Suddenly, the person jumped in their seat and threw the coat off their face. Not wanting to stare, Marat turned away as she answered her phone.
“Hello?!” he heard the woman scream into the phone. “What is so important?”
He didn’t mind the fact that she was screaming into her phone, what scared him was the fact that her voice echoed through his own cell phone. Dropping his cell phone to the floor, Marat stared at the woman sitting in her chair with her phone to her ear. Even with the dark windows behind her, a light seemed to show around her as Marat recognized her.
“Alexis?” Marat whispered.
“Hello? Hello?” Alexis kept screaming into her phone.
Remembering his cell phone, Marat reached down and found it under his chair. Bringing it to his ear, he spoke into it.
“Alexis, hang up your phone and look to your right,” Marat said into the phone before closing it.
“Huh? Marat? What’s going on?” Alexis asked looking to her right. “Oh, my God.”
“Now you notice me. That’s much better. I can see your eyes,” Marat said taking her phone from her hand and closing it.
“Marat, what are you doing here?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Marat replied running his hand along her jaw line.
“Oh, Marat. You cannot believe the things I have done to find you,” Alexis said falling into his arms and squeezing his waist.
“I know. Izzy told me when I went to London to find you,” Marat whispered into her ear as she remained tight around his torso.
“You went to London to find me?” Alexis asked breaking apart from him.
“Did you think I wouldn’t? I love you, Alexis.”
“Marat, I love you, too,” Alexis said as tears started to fall down her face.
“You said it!”
“I did. And I’ll say it again: I love you, I love you, I love you,” Alexis laughed as she wiped a tear from her cheek.
“Wait, before you say it again,” Marat said getting up from his chair and pulling Alexis to her feet. “Stay right there.”
Sifting through his carry-on bag, Marat found what he was looking for and brought it out into the open. Holding it out in front of her, he tore the lid off the light blue Tiffany’s box. Staring at Alexis, the diamond engagement ring sparkled at her and reflected in her silver eyes.
“Alexis, I know this isn’t the most romantic place for this,” Marat said bending down on one knee in front of her. “But just so you know, I did have something better planned. It was the night in Paris at the restaurant. I let you go then and I’m not going to do that again. Hate is strong, but love can be even stronger. Hate can ruin a person, but love can heal them. Alexis, you’ve done that for me and I for you. Will you marry me?”
“Marat,” Alexis whispered as a tear fell from her face to the floor.
“Will you?”
“Yes!” Alexis squealed as Marat took the ring out of its box and slipped it on her finger.
“I thought you would like this. We do it a bit differently in Russia, but I did some research on how you would like it,” Marat said as Alexis stared at her ring.
“We do everything differently,” Alexis laughed and hugged him.
“To think, this relationship came from hate at first sight,” Marat said wrapping his arms around her tightly.
“No, it was love. Love at first sight.”
THE END
Throwing his only bag, his carry-on, onto the floor next to the door, Marat banged his clenched fist against the wood. Even after the long flight from Moscow to London, he had so much energy. Knocking on the door again, he was prepared to see Alexis open the door and be surprised. He didn’t care if she smiled at him, slammed the door in his face, or looked annoyed; he just wanted to get something out of her.
From inside, he finally heard the soft sound of bare feet walking on the wood floors towards the door. But as the door opened, he had to look farther down than he would normally. Instead of Alexis’ tall frame in the doorway, Marat was met by a barefoot Izzy still in her work clothes. He definitely got an emotion out of her, a look of complete and utter shock.
“Marat? What are you doing here?” Izzy asked staring up at him.
“I’m here for Alexis. And you can tell her, I’m not leaving here without her,” Marat said smiling.
“Whether you like it or not, you will be leaving here without her,” Izzy replied sticking her hand on her hip.
“What are you talking about?”
“Alexis isn’t here. She’s not even in London,” Izzy sighed hitting her forehead with the palm of her hand. “You two are impossible.”
“Where is she, Izzy?”
“She called me before she left the airport in New York City. She told me she was going to Moscow to get you back, not come here and wait for you.”
“Please tell me you’re joking with me. She went to Moscow?”
“Yes, for you. She went there for you, and you came here. Which is why I’m so tired of the two of you. Why can’t you make it easy on each other and call each other on the phone?”
“I have no idea. Did she call when she found out I wasn’t there?”
“I haven’t heard from her. You might still have a chance. Call her, find out where she is, and get your ass on a plane to that city!” Izzy said sternly but broke into a smile at the end.
“I’m on it,” Marat said picking up his bag. “Thanks, Izzy. I’ll see you at the wedding.”
“What did you just say?” Izzy asked following him out into the hallway.
“You heard me!” Marat called back as he flew down the stairs and out of Izzy’s view.
“Ugh, I need to get a boyfriend,” Izzy sighed and walked back into her apartment. “Crazy in love indeed.”
*****
Stepping off the plane in Frankfurt, Germany, Alexis remembered how much she hated switching planes. But in order to get to Shanghai in time, she had to fly from Moscow to Frankfurt and then to Shanghai. The trip was going to be exhausting, not to mention the danger that her suitcase would be lost in the shuffle from one plane to the other.
Hauling her laptop carrier on her shoulder, Alexis was starting to believe that it was an extra limb. She never went anywhere without, especially when she traveled by airplane. The airports were all starting to look the same. Every terminal was filled with uncomfortable plastic leather chairs where people would slouch low in their seats and dream of their destinations.
And to be honest, Alexis was tired of doing that. When she had arrived in Moscow, she thought her life would be amazing. She thought Marat would be angry with her at first, but then everything would be fine. They would live happily ever after, but now she was alone and flying to a far off destination just to interview someone. When she had asked for the interview, she had been an uncaring, empty shell of a human being. Was going on this interview a good idea?
Staring around the terminal, Alexis found her gate and sat down in a chair nearby. From where she was sitting, she could look out the window and see the black night twinkle back at her with airplanes taking off on the lighted runway. If she had to be laid over for the two hours, she might as well get something accomplished and call her mother. Maybe her grandmother could offer some advice. It felt great to be dialing the phone number knowing she had a family to count on.
“Hello?” Alexis heard her mother answer the phone.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, sweetie. How are you? Are you in Moscow now?”
“Actually, I’ve already been there and left.”
“Oh, no. What happened?”
“It’s not as bad as you think, well, I don’t think it is,” Alexis sighed biting her lip. “When I got to Moscow, I found out he wasn’t there. He had left a few hours before for London.”
“Sweetie, that’s not bad. Perhaps you should have called first, but just think about it. He went to London. Maybe he was looking for you,” Madeline suggested.
“Why would he do that?”
“Because he loves you.”
“We had a horrible fight though. He probably hated me afterwards.”
“Did you hate him after the fight?”
“Yes, of course. I was angry. But hours later, I was over it.”
“I’m sure he acted the same way. After all the adrenaline of fighting wears off, the anger subsides and we see the mistakes we made and how much we love the person,” Madeline explained.
“I guess I’ll never know. I’m not even on my way back to London. I’m on my way to Shanghai for an interview,” Alexis sighed.
“You will know, just not now. Go to Shanghai, work your butt off, write an extraordinary article, and come back to London. Once you’re home, you can call him and sort everything out.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
“Thanks, Mom. I think I’m going to get some sleep while I wait for my next flight. I’ll talk to Grandma next time, send her my love.”
“I will. Love you, sweetie. And everything will be okay.”
“Bye,” Alexis said hanging up her phone.
Putting her cell phone in her pants pocket, Alexis took off her coat and threw it over her body. Pulling her legs up under herself in the chair, she made herself comfortable before falling asleep to the sounds of suitcases rolling past and flights being announced on the loud speaker.
*****
Cursing to himself as he walked off the plane, Marat fumbled with his carry-on as he tried to retrieve his cell phone from his back pocket. Finally grabbing a hold of it, he dialed Alexis’ cell phone number. Now that he was stuck in an airport in Frankfurt, he had to find her and tell her to stay put. He couldn’t believe his luck that his lay over would be over two hours.
Following the signs hanging on the ceiling, Marat walked to his gate with his cell phone glued to his ear. Repeatedly, the cell phone rang but the call was never picked up by Alexis, and repeatedly, he would redial her number to the same response. It worried him. She was alone in Moscow, couldn’t speak the language, and didn’t know anyone but him.
Once he arrived at his gate, he was annoyed to find that all the seats surrounding it were taken by sleeping passengers. Spotting an empty seat on the other side of the terminal, he walked over to the seat and fell down in exhaustion. He didn’t even mind the fact that the person sitting next to him was hunched over in her chair with a coat splayed over their face and torso. As long as the person didn’t talk to him, he wouldn’t talk to them.
Once again, he resumed his dialing of Alexis’ phone number. As he hit “send”, Marat could hear her ring tone. Shrugging it off, he figured that everybody must have had that ring tone and ignored the nearby ringing. But as he continued to wait for Alexis to pick up her phone, he noticed that the ringing was coming from the body covered by the coat. Suddenly, the person jumped in their seat and threw the coat off their face. Not wanting to stare, Marat turned away as she answered her phone.
“Hello?!” he heard the woman scream into the phone. “What is so important?”
He didn’t mind the fact that she was screaming into her phone, what scared him was the fact that her voice echoed through his own cell phone. Dropping his cell phone to the floor, Marat stared at the woman sitting in her chair with her phone to her ear. Even with the dark windows behind her, a light seemed to show around her as Marat recognized her.
“Alexis?” Marat whispered.
“Hello? Hello?” Alexis kept screaming into her phone.
Remembering his cell phone, Marat reached down and found it under his chair. Bringing it to his ear, he spoke into it.
“Alexis, hang up your phone and look to your right,” Marat said into the phone before closing it.
“Huh? Marat? What’s going on?” Alexis asked looking to her right. “Oh, my God.”
“Now you notice me. That’s much better. I can see your eyes,” Marat said taking her phone from her hand and closing it.
“Marat, what are you doing here?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Marat replied running his hand along her jaw line.
“Oh, Marat. You cannot believe the things I have done to find you,” Alexis said falling into his arms and squeezing his waist.
“I know. Izzy told me when I went to London to find you,” Marat whispered into her ear as she remained tight around his torso.
“You went to London to find me?” Alexis asked breaking apart from him.
“Did you think I wouldn’t? I love you, Alexis.”
“Marat, I love you, too,” Alexis said as tears started to fall down her face.
“You said it!”
“I did. And I’ll say it again: I love you, I love you, I love you,” Alexis laughed as she wiped a tear from her cheek.
“Wait, before you say it again,” Marat said getting up from his chair and pulling Alexis to her feet. “Stay right there.”
Sifting through his carry-on bag, Marat found what he was looking for and brought it out into the open. Holding it out in front of her, he tore the lid off the light blue Tiffany’s box. Staring at Alexis, the diamond engagement ring sparkled at her and reflected in her silver eyes.
“Alexis, I know this isn’t the most romantic place for this,” Marat said bending down on one knee in front of her. “But just so you know, I did have something better planned. It was the night in Paris at the restaurant. I let you go then and I’m not going to do that again. Hate is strong, but love can be even stronger. Hate can ruin a person, but love can heal them. Alexis, you’ve done that for me and I for you. Will you marry me?”
“Marat,” Alexis whispered as a tear fell from her face to the floor.
“Will you?”
“Yes!” Alexis squealed as Marat took the ring out of its box and slipped it on her finger.
“I thought you would like this. We do it a bit differently in Russia, but I did some research on how you would like it,” Marat said as Alexis stared at her ring.
“We do everything differently,” Alexis laughed and hugged him.
“To think, this relationship came from hate at first sight,” Marat said wrapping his arms around her tightly.
“No, it was love. Love at first sight.”
THE END