Night By Night

Chapter 8

The pain digging him in the sides was but a prick when compared to the wrenching he was getting in his heart; nothing in his life had been the same ever since Jennifer walked out of that hospital room. He had not been able to focus and Malcolm had been goading him to make a bold move and convince her to return, or else he would wither away. But what could he do that would make her come running back. She didn’t even have to run as long as she was headed in his direction.

Two weeks had passed and he was walking stronger now and was given clearance to go back to work, but his head wasn’t where it should be. On several occasions he had used his employees’ cars to circle her office, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. He even parked outside her home, hoping to see her as she got in. Once he saw her as she was going jogging and he almost suffered from an anxiety attack. Malcolm was right. He could not go on like this. He had to do something. But what?

He searched the recesses of his mind trying to find a way to appease her, and found little there. Then suddenly an idea came to him, perhaps out of desperation, or maybe as a primal instinct to be with his soul mate, for she had to be. No other woman before had even been more to him, not even his ex wife, and he knew that he had to be with Jennifer.

He called Malcolm and informed him of his intentions.

“Are you serious?” He asked. “Man that is a solid idea, but are you sure?”

“As sure as I’m ever going to be buddy. She came to see me and she walked out after, and seeing her in tears gripped me and almost gave me a heart attack. It was a good thing the doctors were close and gave me something to ease my anxiety, or I would have been a goner. Someone like that, who can affect me in such a profound way, should not be allowed to walk away.”

“But are you sure she will fall for this? I mean, why would she even think to go on a cruise with you?”

“She will. I am going to make her want to go when I’m done.”

“So what about providing her with the stability she had mentioned? It seems if you aren’t able to do that, then nothing else matters. She lost faith in you. That’s what you need to restore,” suggested Malcolm.

Malcolm was usually the player, so it seemed insensible to be taking advice from him, but hearing him speak now, Adrian could not help thinking he had reached new heights of maturity. “The way you are talking now, if someone else had told me that you would be doing that, I would have told them they were lying.” He slapped him on the back. “Welcome to manhood,” he teased.

“Whatever man. I know when to be mature. I just choose not to be most of the times because all of these females keep coming onto me man, and if I make them aware that I can be responsible and sensitive, then they would never leave.”

“Well what if you lose the right one for you while you are busy playing? Have you ever thought about that?” asked Adrian.

“The right one for me will never leave,” he laughed. “I got skills. In the mean time you need to go get yours. I gotta go.”

“See you later then,” Adrian said. He took up his beer as he followed Malcolm to the door, and emptied the contents in his mouth.

He left the empty bottle on the counter and walked to the computer. First things first; he needed to see what options he had in terms of arranging passage on a cruise. He browsed through many websites until he found a cruise that seemed ideal; it would be a tour around the Mediterranean Sea. He smiled at the ideas already surfacing and picked up his phone. He had some arrangements to make if this was ever going to fly. Malcolm already knew his part. He leaned back against the chair and stroked his chin; this just might work, and there was no way she could refuse.