My Heart Is Yours

Chapter 52

They walked back to their hotel in silence, with Richard not taking his arm off Maine and Maine continued to lean her head on his shoulder.

When they arrived at the hotel, the receptionist called out to Richard before they headed up to their rooms. He excused himself from Maine to talk with the receptionist.

"Captain Faulkerson," she said. "Mauro found out that you arrived today. He left his guitar here in case you need to use it."

Richard's face brightened when the receptionist brought out a guitar bag. He took the case and thanked the receptionist. He slung the bag over his shoulder and went back to Maine. Taking her hand to his, they proceeded to head upstairs.

"The staff seem to know you well," Maine observed as they started up the stairs.

"MJN is a regular client of theirs," he explained. "We always book here when we fly to Milan. It's a regular flight destination of the company and I usually get to fly here three times per rotation. Although, I never got to last rotation. They sent me mostly to South America last time. I got to befriend a staff who was willing to lend me his guitar whenever I'm here."

When they reached their floor, Richard heard Maine "tsk".

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I forgot to get the key from Ardee," she replied.

"No worries. Come on," he reached out and took her hand. He led her to his room. When they entered, Maine noted that there was only one queen sized bed in the room. There was a small table with two chairs where Richard placed the food they got from Gian Carlos, and a 40-inch LED TV. He placed the guitar gently on the wall beside the bathroom.

"You're alone in your room?"

"Perks of being the captain," he explained as he took his jacket off to hang on the coat rack. "Martin would have a similar room to mine since he's Head FA."

She just nodded as Richard helped her off her jacket. Once they got settled, Richard led her to the small dining table and assisted her to a chair. He then prepared the dinner that Gian Carlo readied for them. They ate dinner in silence, once in a while they would complement on the food. He cleared the table after dinner when Maine asked if she could use his bathroom to freshen up.

Richard knew that she was buying time, trying to organize her thoughts. So while she got comfortable on his bed after she used the bathroom, he went to pick up the guitar and checked if it was in tune. Maine just watched him as he fiddled with the guitar.

"How long have you been playing?" She finally asked. She sat on the center of his bed, hugging one of his pillows, while he sat on the couch near the window of his room.

"I learned to play when I was nine," he answered. "It had actually helped me focus when my parents were separated."

"What about composing," she inquired. "When did you start writing songs?"

"Mom said I've been writing poems since I was a kid," Richard replied as he plucked the strings on the guitar. "But I first thought of putting melody to my poems when I first saw you. It was the first time Rich led you to his room. I remembered you were looking for Rich's guitar. It actually got me laughing and woke me up really good. But then I saw words form in my head and a tune that won't go away. So I started writing it and then put music into the words. 'Central Park' was born. Then it just became easier for me to write and put music in."

"Gian Carlo seemed to know you pretty well," Maine remarked.

Richard smiled at the memory of their first meeting.

"It was my third time in Milan," he related with a smile. "I was just a reserve pilot back then. I was looking for a place to write. The pub had just opened that day so there weren't many people yet. So I got a place in the corner and started writing while waiting for my order. Gian Carlo took an interest since I was so engrossed in writing that I had completely forgotten about my food. He came and asked what I was doing. I thought I was in trouble. He was a very imposing man. I thought I'd insulted him for not touching my food. So I honestly answered that I was composing. He got curious and asked if I play an instrument. When I said I played the guitar, he left and came back with a guitar in hand asking me to play something. The first song that came into my mind was 'Central Park' so I played that to him. He was delighted. Eversince that day, he had invited me to play in his pub whenever I'm here. I get a free dinner for the effort...well, okay not just a dinner but everything is on the house. Our dinner tonight was courtesy of 'Gian Carlos' by the way."