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“What am I supposed to do if I want to leave?” I asked. “Aren’t we supposed to have the same code word?”
“Oh yeah. I guess I am too tired to think of one,” she said.
“Jet lag?” I asked. “Because it’s not too late to change your mind.”
She yawned and said, “You came all the way to get me. And I don’t want you to miss out on the gathering.”
“They won’t miss me. As you said, Kathy will keep them entertained. How about I bring you back to the resort and you can sleep?”
She nodded, leaned her head back, and closed her eyes. “That sounds...perfect.”
No. Perfect would be us skipping the gathering and spending the time together so I can figure out who Crystal Blake is.
CHAPTER 5
Crystal
I could kick myself. The perfect opportunity to get to know not just Mayson but Orion as well had presented itself, and I couldn’t stay awake. If I had slept on the jet, then I could’ve attended the gathering. Then again, if I had been asleep, I never would have talked to Kathy like I did. She most likely wouldn’t have invited me.
But today was another day, and I was more than just rested. I was determined to see Mayson again. He didn’t give me his cell phone number, but I had the next best thing. Kathy’s.
It was nine in the morning. That couldn't be too early to call. Dialing her number, I waited. It rang three times, and I anticipated voicemail. But instead, the line picked up.
“Hello Kathy. It’s Crystal. I wanted to apologize again for yesterday. I really was looking forward to meeting everyone. Especially after all the wonderful things you told me about Raya. But the jetlag made it impossible. I’m so sorry that I missed it.”
“This is Raya, and you didn’t miss anything. Well, I guess you could say you missed the same thing Kathy did. Except that she lay on the couch while I went to get her some mint water, and when I returned, she was out cold. Still is. That’s why I answered her phone,” she said.
“Oh, I’m sorry to have disturbed you.”
“No problem at all. I’ve been up for hours. Normally I’d be at work, but I have the next two days off in preparation for the wedding. But really, everything that can be done is done,” she said.
“That's good. Now you can just relax.”
Raya chuckled. “When you mean enjoy the fact that Kathy is sleeping, because when she wakes up, she wants to go dress shopping for the wedding. I told her not to worry about colors and to just get something she liked. Nope. She said it is tradition that the bride picks out something the wedding party hates.”
I laughed. “I’ve been a bridesmaid a few times. I would have to agree with Kathy. I hated every single dress. The worst one was emerald, green taffeta. It had these huge puffy sleeves off the shoulder. If that wasn’t bad enough, she also had our hair done. You know the big hair that is teased so much it takes a week to get all the tangles out.”
“I love the color green.”
Oh God. I just insulted her.“Green is a great color. Just not on me,” I said quickly, trying to fix my mistake.Please don’t let that be the color theme for her wedding.
“I have a green dress, but I must admit, the dress you described to me, well it... it sounds... horrendous. I hope you didn’t keep it,” she said.
“It was so ugly, that I couldn’t bring myself to donate it either. But even though I try to forget what it looked like; I see the wedding photos on Facebook each year in our memory feed.”More like nightmare feed.
“Thank goodness we don’t have such issues here in Tabiq,” she said.
“People don’t post pictures?” I asked.
“We don’t use Facebook. Actually, Tabiq doesn’t use social media.”
“Serious? Nothing?” I questioned.
“We use the internet for research. And of course, to keep up with world affairs, but for the most part, we are not tied to it. It was a bit challenging in the beginning. You know being so...disconnected, but after a year here, I love it. I come home from work, make dinner, and get to sit and enjoy it all together with my family.”
“Sounds like you’re settling in here nicely,” I said.
“Yes. Never thought I would. I was happy living in the United States, and really thought that it was where I would raise Joey, my son. But even he has come to like it here. A lot of that has to do with Orion. He has accepted Joey as his own son,” she said. “Oh, sorry. I’m rambling now.”
