Page 37 of Words Unspoken

He thought he would take a cab. Michael pulled out his credit card and laid it on the counter.

FenLei shook her head. “No. No cab. You go change, look sexy for Ann. I have better idea.”

He watched as she pulled out her cell phone and chattered away in Vietnamese.

“There! Nephew come. He drive,” she shooed him away with her hands. “Shower! Look nice. Twenty minute, nephew here.”

Michael grinned and gave the tiny woman a hug. She hugged him back then shoved him away. “Go!”

He did. He showered, he shaved, he picked out a suit to wear. Michael had not worn a suit since his last day at Ramesly Pharmaceuticals. He felt strangely nervous as he folded the knot into his tie with practiced movements. Tonight meant so much.

Michael was downstairs before the nephew arrived. FenLei looked him over, approving. “You handsome man Mr. Michael. Ann lucky lady.”

He smiled his thanks. He hoped this worked.

Moments later FenLei was showing the address to her nephew who carefully put it in the GPS on his phone. Michael grabbed the bouquet of flowers, and they were off in the nephew’s rust bucket of a car. It was small and did not have the leg room that Michael needed but he was not going to complain. His head touched the ceiling, and he could feel every bump in the road because the shocks were shot. Michael fiddled with his cuffs and tie. The nephew said nothing, and Michael was grateful. He didn’t even know if the boy could speak English and Michael did not want to try to converse.

As they got closer to Ann is apartment, Michael’s trepidation and anxiety climbed. He tried to concentrate on the city and people walking. Whatever he thought he might say or do when he had made this plan seemed silly now. This was not going to work.

Michael closed his eyes and tried to regroup. He didn’t know if it was going to work. It might. He would just wing it and do his best. He wanted Ann back. He was not going to get her back if he just sat at home and hoped. This was the only thing he could do.

After the internal pep talk, Michael only felt marginally better. However, it did not matter how he felt. They were here. Michael opened the door and unfolded his body from the passenger seat, taking the flowers.

“Good luck,” FenLei is nephew said in perfect English. Michael looked at him in surprise then nodded. He approached the lobby and found the daunting row of buttons. Anne was apartment five-zero-six. Surely it should be the fifth row, the sixth one in. He pushed the button.

There was no response. He looked at his watch. He hoped he was not too late. Michael pressed the button again.

“What?” a cranky old lady said.

Not the right button. Michael didn’t know what to do. He could not press buttons at random, hoping to get Ann.

“That you Larry?” the voice asked.

Michael tried to lie and say yes but no sound came out. It was like his brain had lost the word on the way to his tongue and nothing worked. He tried again. Nope.

The old lady muttered something about old men losing keys all the time and the door buzzed and opened.

Michael grabbed the door. He tried to say thank you but that didn’t work either. Instead, he made his way to the elevator. Then he rethought that plan. If he went to the wrong floor, he could get lost trying to get back to the right floor. Knowing his luck, Michael would count buttons again and end up on the sixth floor rather than the fifth. No, better to take the stairs and be certain. It took a few minutes to find the stairwell. He had never taken them to Ann’s apartment, always using the elevator before. Five flights later, Michael was a little out of breath and the flowers were looking a little wilted from his slightly panicked grip. He made his way to the elevators then knew the rest of the way from memory.

The numbers on the door were mixed up. He was fairly certain this was her door. There was only one way to find out.

He knocked.

There was a rustling on the other side and Ann swung the door open with a smile. Shock replaced the smile as she saw him.

She was beautiful. She had her hair up and a navy, curve hugging dress on. His heart went into his throat and Michael knew that even if he had been able to speak properly, he would not have been able to say anything.

Michael held out the flowers. They were sunflowers with daisies and seemed highly inappropriate for the classy vision before him.

She took the bouquet with some confusion. “Michael, what are you doing here?”

He tried to speak. He should have known it was not going to happen. Michael went into her apartment, shutting the door and took her hands. The flowers were in the way, so he grabbed them and set them on the side table before grabbing her hands again.

“Michael, I cannot do this right now. I have a date.”

He raised her hands and kissed the back of a hand then laid it over his heart. Surely, she understood?

Ann closed her eyes. “I don’t understand.”