Light Blue

Part xxxvi- Encounters

36

I rest my forearms on the reception desk and the moment I had caught her attention I immediately speak, not caring that her eyebrows had shot off into her hairline with surprise by my abrupt appearance.

“There’s a message? For me?” I say rather breathlessly. Her eyes widen and she catches up slowly to my annoyance. She shakes her head frivolously.

“Oh oui! Yes, a message.”

She brings up a piece of folded hotel paper from her desk and places it in front of me.

“The gentleman was in a rush.” She pushes it towards me and smiles. “He was very handsome, you are very lucky.”

I blush and swipe it off the desk quickly. “Thank you for taking the message,” I say with a large grin. She shrugs her shoulders indifferently.

“Have a good day mademoiselle.”

And she looks down to her computer as though nothing had happened. I back away from the counter before sprinting across the lobby. I don’t bother to wait for the lifts, but instead take the stairs by two all the way up so by the time I’m knocking on our room door, I felt completely exhausted. The door opens straight away and I fall in.

“Delilah!” Amelia shouts. “Please warn me next time you run off like that!” But her voice contained ill contained excitement. “What does it say, what does it say?”

“Okay, wait! Let me just…catch my breath.”

I sit down onto my bed and she does the same. With trembling fingers I unfold it and I stare without unseeing at the familiar scrawl without taking it in. Amelia nudges me gently and I clear my throat and start to read the writing.

“Hey, Delilah.

I guess you’ve probably been wondering what’s been happening, and why I just disappeared after that day.

I won’t write my apology here however. I want to say it to you face to face because you need to hear it from me directly.

I’m not sure what you’re feeling right now. You could feel nothing at all. But they shouldn’t be written in a little note. Please, even though I’ve acted like an idiot, and you may be angry, but can we please meet up? I want to know that I haven’t, well, ruined things.

I’ll be waiting by the Statue of Liberty at 2pm. If you come, maybe we can talk things through. If you don’t… well. I kinda get the answer, and you won’t hear from me again.

Oscar”

I then re-read it in my head quickly over and over again, and Amelia does the same over my shoulder. I keep running my thumb and fore finger down the edge of the paper and creasing the start of the folds on each side so much that they become worn and fragile, ripping the paper along the fold, creeping towards the writing like a spidery vein.

“Wow,” Amelia says finally, looking up with a wry smile. But then she falters and her brow furrows. “Oh Delilah.”

“What, what it’s nothing,” I say, but I know what she’s talking about as she looks down to see the now smudged name. Another drop falls and another and another and she gently takes it out of my hands and puts it aside.

“Come here.”

She hugs me and I lean my head onto her shoulder.

“I actually hate him Amelia.”

She hushes me up. “No, you don’t Delilah.”

“Gods! He’s so infuriating. I have half a mind not to meet up with him. After all this and he sends a note! A note Amelia! I just about got over it, and now he’s back in the picture. Does he have any idea what he does?” I sulk and sniff.