by Iaz Grant
Vivia Fleckenstein
Copyright © 2016 by Vivia Fleckenstein
All rights reserved. No part of this guide may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Published by Grant Publishing
Meeting You Suddenly
"You seemed really excited." Pricilla noticed as her husband, Manny was packing his luggage for the three days trip.
Manny smiled at his wife, "We have been planning this for two years. Now that the others have answered yes, there's no way we can postpone it again."
Pricilla smiled and helped her husband to put the toiletries and underwear in his bag, "Harry and Chris sounded excited too. The three of you seemed to miss your class so much."
"Didn't I tell you how much we love doing things together during our senior year?"
"Yes, you did."
He turned around and put his hands around his wife's waist, slightly pulling it closing on him. Pricilla wrapped her arms around her husband's neck, "We just want to get connected again just like before. It’s been twelve years, but our journey together shouldn't be put down."
"I can see that."
Manny nodded and pecked a kiss on her lips, "I think I will miss you the very moment I walk out that door."
"Really? Then, why don't you forget about your high school reunion then?"
"Don't be so mean Mrs. Williams. If Harry and Chris heard you, they'd surely be on their knees."
"Then, let’s just make this night like it is the last night we are going to see each other."
Manny felt excited with that invitation, "I guess we really should."
The husband and wife decided to do their bedroom event. The next morning, Manny playfully pouted as he and Pricilla said their temporary goodbyes. He rented a cab to bring him to the airport. Their reunion will be happening in Mexico.
Just like every day, Gwendolyn woke up late again. She had to shake everything in her bedroom just to pack her luggage. How can she be so irresponsible when she's already thirty-one years old and a psychiatrist? She wore the black jeans she first grabbed by arm length. Next were the white shirt and black boots. She just has to tie her hair up and put some color to her lips. The cab was waiting in front of her house when Gwen went out.
"You are surely breaking all your records, Doc." Mr. Smith, the cab driver, said as he started the engine and go.
Gwen sighed, "I forgot to set the alarm. By the way, how's your son doing, David?"
"Oh, he's doing fine. He's gaining some weight now since you gave him some vitamins and medications."
"You shouldn't let him handle any of those medications without you or his mother. It will tempt him to use more than what he should. Also, always talk to him even for the littlest thing. It’s best if he always has someone to talk to."
"Yes, I told that to my wife too. She said she'll be staying home for a while. Our daughters will be the one to look out for our little store. I guess, I couldn't retire anytime soon. Our children still need us."
Gwen smiled, "Family is always a father's sole priority, right? Your wife was so proud of having you as her lifetime partner."
"I am the luckiest man when I met her. To this generation, wherein divorce was just a game after the wedding, we are just glad that we still have each other to hold on to." Mr. Smith looked in the mirror to meet her eyes, "What about you? Haven't you met your perfect match?"
That silenced the female doctor. She doesn't know if she was going to answer or not. Gwen has been single for five years. Her career and profession were the ones she's treating as her lifetime partner.
"You don't have to answer the old man, Gwendolyn. You can't just simply find someone even if you want too. Just let it come and get you."
Gwen chuckled, "Such a romantic, aren't you? I am not hoping nor searching. All I want to do was to give my best for my clients and my profession. This is all that I have."
"I know."
As they arrived at the airport, Gwen was climbing from the car as fast as she can when someone bumped into her. She dropped her wallet, but the man helped her. There, the moment she faced the man, they both fell into silence.
"Manuel."
"Gwen."
Manny and Gwen seemed to be lost in their own worlds when they met unexpectedly. She slowly accepted the wallet without parting her gaze from the man. Manny, on the other hand, was obviously lost for words. He surely doesn't expect to see her. While Gwen thought she can be really civil and sociable when she meets him, but in reality, she's not.
"Oh!"
Thanks to Chris, who had seen them, Manny and Gwen parted their gazes from each other. They both looked at Chris that was striving to them with open arms.
"Gwendolyn!" Chris gave her a big hugged the very moment he approached, "I'm glad you've made it!"
She confusedly nodded and pushed herself off from Chris's embraced, "Yes, I am delighted for this milestone too."
Chris laughed, "You never change, Gwen."
"I shouldn't change, at least not everything."
"Oh, by the way, I haven't told you, Manny was one of the organizers of this reunion."
Gwen looked back at Manny and her thrifty smile, "It’s nice to see you again."
"Me too, I am glad to see you again." Manny just smiled back awkwardly.
"Well, not that I don't want to stop the two of you for talking, but we need to go now. Everyone was already checking in."
"Okay." Gwen and Manny answered in unison.
Chris walked first while the two were left thinking of who will be the one to walk in next to their friend. To break the ice, Manny waved his hand giving way for Gwen to go.
"Well, well, look who came?" Harry said with a wide grin, "Gwendolyn!" Like Chris, Harry hugged Gwen, "Oh, I think Manny should be your tour guide."
The Trip
Gwen and Manny felt really awkward and embarrassed as they sat side by side on the airplane. She was looking out the window. Gwen seemed to be uncomfortable to sit beside Manny. She can't seem to relax or even settle down. She kept on ticking her finger on the arm of their seat.
"You can take a rest while we're on the air." Manny finally broke his silence.
Gwendolyn just looked at him and nodded, "I think so, too, but I am not that tired. Besides, the travel time is not that long. I also want to see the clouds."
A single chuckle got out from Manny, "Clouds, I like them when I am on the ground, but when I'm on a plane, no thanks. They are making the flight jumpy."
She then chuckled, "Right, it reminds me that you don't like humps or rocky roads whenever we're going for a joy ride."
"Well, simply because it’s making my head bang on every side of the car. I am not a rock star. Why should I do the head bang, right?"
Another laugh rang from Gwen, "Something's never changed, huh?"
"Yes. Something’s won't ever change."
Again their eyes met. Just with the little talk, they seemed to feel rested on each other sides. Glitches appeared to remain, but they stay casual to each other.
"How about you; what's the thing that doesn't change to Gwendolyn Jane Meyer?"
"Hm," Gwen just hummed before she smiled and say, "Aren't you supposedly asking me what had changed?"
"Yes, but I know that everybody from our class had changes through the years, but, what's more, important was what doesn't change."
She nodded, "You have a point there, but you know, you shouldn't ask a woman about that. Primarily, because we don't want to hear we aged."
"Uh-oh, may I remind you, Ms. Meyer, that I am not the one who said that. You are the one who called yourself aging."
"Wow! I didn't say that it was me."
The two awkward people suddenly went all cozy and talked all friendly to each other. Manny and Gwen were now facing each other like real friends.
"You didn't, but you said 'we,' remember?"
"It is because I a
m a woman too. If I didn't say that I do belong to that gender, you would probably say why I didn’t group myself with them when I am also a woman."
"Whoa... interesting. You read minds now?"
"I may be a psychiatrist, but I'm sorry to pop your bubbles, I don't read minds." like a mean girl, she waved her hands and pointed her fingers sharply in the air.
Manny just laughed with Gwen's reaction. Realizing how Manny was playing with her, she playfully glared at him. He then bit his lips to control his smiles. The female doctor raised one eyebrow that made Manny held up his hands leveled at his chest, "Oops! Spare me with the grudge, Doc."
Their little exchange of laughs and chuckles went silent when Gwen finally gave up to her lack of sleep. She leaned in her seat and rest. Manny carefully put her head on his shoulder to make her feel more comfortable throughout the travel. He even put the neck pillow behind her so Gwen's neck won't feel tired.
"Gwen," Manny carefully woke her up for the landing, "We are going to land. You should set straight now."
Slowly, Gwen opened her eyes and looked up at Manny. She had stretched her arms and legs before she fastened her seat belt.
"You can relax later in your hotel room. I can tell Chelsea to stop bugging you."
"You don't need to. She can understand."
"She still needs some warning."
Gwen just smiled at Manny.
Once they arrived at the airport, Manny carried Gwen's luggage for her. Although she refused, Harry said to let Manny do the task. They all know how hard she's been working with her profession. Despite being a private psychiatrist, she's also a correspondent in many criminal cases that some agencies are trying to solve.
"Here's your room key." Manny gave her the key to her hotel room, "The bell boy will bring your luggage with you."
"Okay, thank you." she said showing her gratitude with a smile.
"Hey," Chelsea broke in between them. She patted Manny's shoulder like she were a big man and suggested, "You should be the one to accompany her to her room. She's too tired to even fix her luggage."
Gwen and Manny just looked at each other, "No, it’s just fine. I can do it later." Gwen insisted.
"No, it’s not. Look, you fell asleep on the plane. It seemed like the trip had broken your rest day. Manny should serve you all day until you finally regain your strength. Let him do what you should do for now."
"Chelsea's right." Chris agreed, "Man, didn't you know that Gwendolyn was under a lot of stress lately? She has been in a lot of trials giving testimonies as a psychiatrist."
Manny shook his head, "I haven't been watching the news or read the newspaper lately. I was too busy with my book."
"See? While you're busy building your book, she's busy facing a lot of legal question just to clear or even give clues about one's sanity in the court. Go and help her, okay?"
Again, Manny and Gwen just looked at each other. The man just sighed and smirked before he agreed, "Fine, you guys win, but as I agree, you people should also help Harry for the room arrangement, okay?"
"That's a no-brainer request, Man. Go. Gwen, you better have a good rest. We still have two days together." Chris said until Manny and Gwen finally rode an elevator.
"Do you think it’s going to be fine?" Chelsea asked Chris as they looked nowhere.
"We all know what happened, but we can't let things ugly until the end, right? Besides, we didn't tell a single lie to Manny. Gwen was really having a hard time as a psychiatrist."
One Room
Until they reached the hotel room, Manny stayed in his words. He never left nor created any reasons to get out of the deal. He carried Gwen's luggage. She quickly reached the bed and dropped on it. Manny just smiled looking at her.
"You really are tired, aren't you?" Manny expressed his concerned.
"Oh, yes." Gwen curled in the center of the bed looking at Manny, "I don't get to have a real sleep these days. Earlier, I woke up later than the alarm. I thought I even believe that I am already late. But you know what? I am glad to know that we both arrived late in the airport."
They then laughed together. He grabbed a chance on sitting in the chair next the lamp table, "You should sleep. Take a rest. "
"You're not going back to them?"
"I am in your service for now. Chris and Harry can handle that."
Gwen took one pillow and put it under her head while hugging the half of it. She looked at Manny with her sleepy eyes, "Tell me about your book. What it is about?"
"Uh, it’s just about life and family."
"I thought it was a romantic novel."
"You know me better than that, Gwen."
Her voice was getting weaker, "The book was about how one should open their mind to the things around them. As a professor, I have been with different students every day. I can see how they coped or not. I have seen their struggles."
"Are you helping them?"
"There are times that they come to my office to talk about something. There are private matters they are sharing with me, about families, friends and love lives."
And then, he hasn't heard any response from Gwen again. Manny just smiled as he leaned his back on the chair watching over Gwen. Minutes or hours had passed when he woke up in the darkness of the bedroom. Manny had fallen asleep without even noticing it. He turned on the lamp beside him and found Gwen still sleeping.
"I'm glad you still have a nice dream."
A knock on the door made him stood up and open it. It was Harry. The latter peaked a little inside the room before he focused on his friend, "Where is she?"
"She's still sleeping. I think she's too tired." Manuel explained as he opened the door wider to welcome Harry inside.
Harry went in to see Gwendolyn sleeping like a baby in the bed, "Well, the dinner was ready downstairs. I thought she can get some before she goes back to sleep."
"Don't worry. I can bring some for her or rather; we can call the service to bring her some food when she wakes up."
A disapproving look had washed over Manny as Harry's eyes hover around him, "What?" Manny asked wondering about it.
"I was just checking if you did something that you might regret."
"What do you mean by that? Haven't Chris and Chelsea told you that they asked me to accompany her?"
"They did. Only I was a little worried about you. Manny, I, Chelsea and Chris knew what Gwen means to you since we're in high school. I don't want to see Pricilla crying because we let the two of you became close again."
"You can't be serious, Harry. Gwen and I were long separated. I am married and she's probably thinking of having her own family too."
"That's why I am telling you to try and be civilized. Try not to give a different kind of meaning towards your real intentions. Gwen had her heart broken by you."
"I know. I'll remember that."
"I think we should get down now. I don't want to hear Chelsea's sermons like her husband."
"Okay, let’s go." Manny took one last glance from Gwen before he followed his friend. Little did he know, the woman was already awake and she heard everything Harry had said.
The group had already finished dinner when Gwen came down from her suite. She greeted everyone. The women of the group were complimenting her on her appearance. She was now wearing shorts and checkered shirt with her dirty blonde hair waving down her shoulders. Chris was slightly hitting his elbow on Harry while looking at Gwen.