Finding Grace - Part 4

Manchester Airport, England

Azuka stretched languidly as he waited to disembark from the plane. He had considered taking the train from London, but had eventually decided to fly instead. He liked to travel by train whenever he could because it gave him a chance to actually enjoy the journey and see the countryside, but he needed to get in and out of Manchester by the end of the day so he had chosen to take the one-hour flight from Gatwick. He looked at his watch. The flight had arrived about ten minutes late. Not bad. I can still make the meeting for 10 o’clock with time to spare.

He bounced impatiently in his seat as the passengers in the front of the plane retrieved their luggage from the overhead compartments and stood in the aisle waiting for the doors to open. Finally, the long, winding line started to move and he pulled his trolley briefcase from underneath the seat in front of him and moved slowly towards the front of the plane.

I need to call Perkins and tell him I’m on my way. He waved his thanks to the flight attendant at the exit who was bidding the passengers goodbye in a sing-song voice.

“Thank you for flying with us. Have a good day.”

I hope I do have a good day. He was on his way to meet a potential client who wanted to build a shopping mall in Lagos. Azuka really wanted to seal the deal on the project because it would be like killing two birds with one stone. He could start the transition to move his business back home, and he would get to be near his mother….and Grace. He would get to be near Grace. The two weeks she had spent in London had been really great because they had gotten to know each other. He still found it hard to believe that the elusive girl he had spent months searching for had pretty much fallen into his arms – at the train station no less. He was glad he had met the flesh-and-blood version of his dreams, because she was everything he had imagined she would be. She was beautiful and smart. Kind-hearted and sweet-natured. And she had a great sense of humor. She could laugh at herself and Azuka valued that. He wondered again why she hadn’t said anything about them – about taking the next step in their relationship.

Maybe she really doesn’t feel the same way about me. The thought depressed Azuka and he shook it off and focused his mind on business. Thinking about Grace would distract him. Wondering why she didn’t want to date him would hurt him. And he didn’t need to mope around all day wondering why the woman he was crazy about held him at arm’s length. Today at least, he needed to be all about business. He would think about Grace tomorrow.

Tomorrow. He smiled mirthlessly. He knew he was only deceiving himself. Thoughts of Grace consumed his every waking thought. He made his way through the busy terminal towards the exit. Good thing I didn’t check in any luggage, he thought. As he headed towards the escalator to go downstairs, someone bumped into him from behind, mumbled “Excuse me” and quickly walked past.

He took the escalator downstairs and made the long trek to the taxi stand. He waved over a black cab and reached into his jacket pocket for his phone. It wasn’t there. He checked his other pockets – and his briefcase as well. Still no phone. He mentally retraced his steps. I had it in my pocket for sure…got on the plane…his secretary had called him to confirm an appointment for the next day and had had pulled it out, and talked to her for a couple of minutes. He had switched it off and put it back in his pocket. What could have happened to it? he wondered. Something stirred in his mind – he remembered the person who had bumped into him. That’s probably when I lost it…or maybe that guy picked my pocket.  Irritated, Azuka turned around and hurriedly walked back the same way he had just come in a futile effort to find his missing phone.

***

London, England

Sonia rubbed her eyes sleepily as she pressed the ‘Accept’ button on her ringing phone. She glanced at the clock on the wall – it’s only 3a.m.

“You better have a good reason for ruining a perfectly good night’s sleep!” she barked into the phone.

“Ah, is that how you answer your phone now? What if it was someone else?” her sister’s teasing voice asked.

Sonia sighed. She should have known it would be her baby sister. “Cece…you’re the only one who would yank me out of sleep and be so unapologetic. Didn’t your parents teach you any manners?” she teased back.

“My parents taught me manners, but I don’t know about you…barking into the phone like a drill sergeant.”

Sonia wasn’t really in the mood for banter. Not at 3 a.m. “What’s up, Cece? Why the early-morning call? You know the time difference.”

“I’m so sorry, but I really needed to talk to someone and I couldn’t think of anyone else. Mom doesn’t know about Azuka yet. I was going to tell her, but after what happened, I’m glad I didn’t.”

“What happened? Did Azuka do something?” Sonia asked. She had really liked Azuka and thought he would be the one to finally get Grace to forget about her loser-ex, Alex. He had seemed like a really nice guy and sometimes when she saw him and Grace together, a twinge of jealously had flashed through her. But, she had been happy for her sister. She loved her sister and wanted the best for her.

“What happened?” she asked again.

“Well, that’s just it. Nothing. Nothing has happened, even after I risked everything and told him to ask me again.”

Confused, Sonia told Grace to start from the beginning and she did. She told Sonia about that last night when Azuka had come over for dinner and the conversation they had about their relationship…told her about seeing Annie and how it had made her realize what could happen to her if she held on to her bitterness about Alex.

“And I realized that I wanted to move on…but not just with anybody. With Azuka. And I sent him a text two days ago.”

“So, what happened after you sent the text?”

“He didn’t reply”, Grace answered in a small voice. “He just ignored the text and didn’t even say anything.”

Sonia groaned inwardly. She was the last person to be giving Cece relationship advice. She wasn’t very patient when it came to stuff like that. She was twenty-seven and she had dated two people – both for less than 3 months. She had broken up with the first guy because she didn’t like the way he chewed with his mouth open and she couldn’t even remember what had gone wrong with the second one. Cece should be giving me advice! She had often wondered how Grace had dealt with her boorish boyfriend for so long. She had met the guy once and read him like a book – he was vain and shallow and thought the world revolved around him. I have no clue how she dated that guys for 8 years…and almost married him. Sonia silently sent up a heartfelt ‘Thank you’ and tried to reassure her sister.

“Hmm…Cece, he really didn’t seem like the kind of guy that would chase you around the world and then just lose interest like that.”

Grace chuckled. “He didn’t chase me around the world. Stop exaggerating.”

“Well, what do you call it then? The guy saw you in Lagos, and somehow managed to wish you to his house in the village a few weeks later. Then a couple of months after that, you just happened to fall into his arms at the train station in London!” Sonia said half-seriously.

“That’s only two continents…not around the world. And he wasn't chasing me” Grace laughed.

Satisfied that her sister’s mood had lightened, Sonia became serious. “Don’t worry sweetie. Give him a little more time. Maybe something changed while he was waiting for you to answer and now he needs some time to think. He gave you all the time and space you needed and I think it would be cool if you would do the same for him. Or maybe something happened and he couldn’t reply your text.”

Grace thought about it. Sonia was right. Azuka had been patient with her and had never pushed her for anything more than what she was comfortable with. He had respected her boundaries and her space and she could do the same for him.

“Thanks Sonia. That really makes sense.”

“Yep. That’s why I’m the big sister. Besides, even if he’s no longer interested, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, okay?”

“Yeah”, Grace sighed. “I guess not.”

Grace said goodbye to her sister and hung up. Thoughts of Azuka filled her mind. I know it won’t be the end of the world. It will just feel like it.

Onyih Odunze

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Come back on Monday June 25th for Part 5!

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Comments

[Iheanyi John]

God bless you Onyi.

Another breathe-taking piece. I like the tiny insignificant details that make the story real...a bump into someone at the airport, a stolen phone, Sonia's less-than-3-months relationships...

I just told a friend that this series is just amazing and I had been waiting for the part 4. The story line is sweet and romantic and divine at the same time. Revealing the limitations (non-omniscience) of our human nature. If only Grace and Azuka knew.......

I love and hate the suspense. I love it because it keeps my blood pumping. I hate it because I hate to be suspended - that's why I dont watch soaps and series. I wish I could get you to write the whole book, I'll be the first to buy and read all once.

[Onyih Odunze]

Lol...thanks a lot Iheanyi!! I know how you feel...I hate suspense as well, and sometimes I skip to the end of a book just so I can find out what happened at the end :) Thanks for telling your friends about it. I am so blessed that you're enjoying the series. Don't worry...I'll save a copy of my first book for you - free of charge!