In the Interlude

Chapter 13 - Persuasion

Aïcha hadn't heard from Tom in the past four days. No text. No call. Nothing, nada, rien. His last text on Sunday had sounded so enthusiastic, full of promises and if she was honest with herself, she was a bit disappointed by his radio silence.

He had occupied a fair amount of her thoughts. She even contemplated taking the bull by the horns and call him herself. It was the twenty-first century after all. Women were proposing to men, so why can't she make a simple phone call?

But Aïcha eventually did what she was a master at and locked away all her conflicted feelings and tormented thoughts in her already overstuffed, closely guarded box of emotions. She had a deadline to meet on a project, paperwork to finish in preparation for her upcoming move, and of course, her daughter to take care of. There was no time to indulge in the luxury of impatiently-waiting-for-some-guy-to-call-her, and she was not about to call him either. That was settled.

The week went by very quickly and it was already Thursday, Aïcha's preferred day of the week. A day that held the promise of anticipation, the promise of a weekend just around the corner. She didn't have anything planned and her daughter would be staying with her grandparents, as she did once a month. This meant two days just for herself, and herself alone; two days of complete freedom to do whatever she wanted. She was already making a mental note of the tv show she planned to binge watch ...

Her daydreaming was interrupted by her phone ringing loudly on her desk. She glanced at the screen, her breath hitched within her throat.

"Hello, Aïcha? This is Tom. How are you doing?"

"Good. How about you?" she managed to answer in a steady voice.

"Very good! Sorry for not calling sooner but the filming schedule was really intense and crazy these past days, not counting the bad cell phone reception in the Atlas mountains, and then-"

She gently interrupted him. "That's okay Tom, you don't own me an explanation. Remember, no commitments, no promises, right?"

He chuckled. "Yes, I do remember. So, anything exciting this weekend?"

"I have a date." She heard a faint gasp on the phone, then added teasingly, "with myself and I."

Tom could hear her smile and tease over the phone. Two can play that game. "Well, that sounds interesting. What about a date with me?"

"Pardon?" she said in French completely caught off guard.

"Well, let me rephrase, do you want to spend some time with me this weekend? And before you say no, let me explain further."

"Okay, I'm listening."

"I know you're in Casablanca, but I was wondering if you could drive to Marrakech this Saturday. I have something in mind for us to do on Sunday. We'll have to get up very early in the morning but it'll blow our minds. I promise."

"Tom, I don't know, it's ..."

"Trust me, it's worth the drive and I promise you won't regret it. I made arrangements with the hotel where I'm staying and they are holding a room for you. Just say the word so that I can put everything in motion." And then added in his irresistible French accent, "Alors, tu viens?"

Aïcha hesitated, briefly appearing at a loss for words. There was no reason for her to say no and she liked how he took matters into his own hands, thinking and planning the whole thing. But if she was honest with herself, she didn't like the idea of driving to him all the way to Marrakech and certainly didn't want him to pay for her stay in the hotel. On the other hand, she was definitely intrigued.

Sighing loudly, she finally said, "I don't know what to say, really."

"Say yes. Come on, when was the last time you did something spontaneous, a bit crazy and fun, for yourself and not for someone else?"

He was right. She didn't give herself permission to be spontaneous anymore and deep down in her heart, she knew she wanted to go.

"You know what, I'll be there."

"Brilliant!"

"On one condition though. I'll take care of the hotel."

"Are you sure? It's really not a big deal and we have a great discount thanks to the production company. It will also make things easier for us on Sunday."

"Sure, but I am paying for my hotel room. This is non-negotiable."

"Comme vous voulez!" surrendered Tom in French. "Can't wait to see you. It's going to be great, I promise!"

Aïcha stood by her desk clutching her phone in her hand, flustered and feeling the heat on her cheeks. This was one of those days where she was thankful she worked from home. She just accepted a date with Tom fricking Hiddleston, she would be staying at the same hotel as his and only God knows what he had planned for them on Sunday-very-early-morning.

Again, her emotional box of emotions came in handy. She will have all the time in the world on Saturday to torture herself with this during her drive to Marrakech. Until then, she had to carry on, one way or another.