25 The Search for Louis

“We have called Denise house, and his security man said he came around, changed his wears, picked his belongings and left.”

“Left for where, please?” Nichole asked amidst tears.

“Mom, calm down, please,” Julie, who just heard that Freya had contacted Denise, staff members advised. Then, Arthur looked at his distressed daughters and lover with empathy and advised as he stood up.

“It had been a hectic day for all of you. I think you all should rest. Phil, kindly come with me.”

Then, Nichole anxiously inquired, “Where are you going?”

Nevertheless, he gave her a perfunctory response, “To look for our son.”

He walked to his study while Phil followed him. After they took their seats, Arthur gave Dr. Quain a call. He suspected that Louis could have been involved in an accident, and the shock made his phone to fall off his hand. When the call connected, the doctor greeted.

“Hello, boss. Good to hear from you.”

He ignored the formalities and went straight to the point, “Dr. Quain, is there anything I need to know about my son, Louis?”

Now, the doctor vacillated between providing him information about his son which his profession demanded that he should keep secret, or dismiss him with a flimsy excuse.

“Not really, boss,” Dr. Quain lied.

All the same, Arthur pressured, “When last did you speak with him?”

“Today, when I wanted to communicate with him, my phone fell off. I called him back, but his phone was off.”

“I see. Thank you, doctor.”

“You are welcome, boss.”

Now, he gave Phil a searching look and asked, “Do you think that he returned to Egypt?”

Then, Phil who had been attempting to get across to Louis on his phone while his father-in-law spoke with Dr. Quain looked up from his phone and said, “It may not be impossible. It may be and emergency came up, and he left at once.”

“You may be right. Call the airport and request for their manifest.”

“All right, father.”

At the Parlor.

After Mr. Bailey and Phil left for the study, Nichole interrogated Freya and Julie.

“Did you call his house?”

“No.”

Freya replied.

“Why? What if he had gone home?”

“We were considering that from the time he left the registry and the time we noticed his disappearance, he wouldn't have gotten to Sevenoaks.”

Then, Julie intercepted, “What will make him return to Sevenoaks without informing anyone?”

“This is not the time for blame. Let's call his house,” Nichole advised. Then, Freya called Louis's janitor, Fred, and he picked at once.

“Hello, Mrs. Anderson. How may I help you?”

“Hello, Fred. Have you seen your boss today?”

“Oh! No, Mrs. Anderson. Have you forgotten that he travelled to Cairo?”

“Oh! I just remembered. Thank you.”

“Don't mention.”

Freya cut the call and looked at Julie and her mother, who were following their discussion. They looked helpless. Just then, Daniel, who had woken up from sleep, walked to the parlor by himself. Then, Nichole called out his name the moment he saw him.

“Daniel. You are up. Come.”

Daniel walked up to her and rested his head on her laps after he greeted. Then, he inquired, “Grandma, are we not going for the marriage ceremony again?”

They chuckled and Nichole educated, “The ceremony is over. It was over when you were sleeping.”

Now, the aghast Daniel raised his head from his grandmother's laps, looked at everyone, and asked, “When was I the Page Boy? I did not write on any wedding page.”

His mother and Aunt smiled softly and waited for their mother's response. Then, Nichole encouraged him as she made him to sit beside her and informed him.

“You don't need to write anything on any page. You only bear the wedding rings, which you have done.”

Now, Daniel felt better. Then, Nichole looked at Freya and requested.

“Shall we leave? He must be hungry by now.”

“All right Mom.”

They stood up and walked to the door when Arthur's voice halted them.

“Louis had gone back to Cairo. We will reach him when he disembarks.”

Nevertheless, they were a bit relieved. At least he was not missing nor in danger. Nichole was satisfied with the information. She looked on while Julie and Freya asked questions

“How did you find out, father?”

“We called the airport for the manifest.”

“What time did he leave?”

Phil, who was standing beside Arthur, answered.

“Two o'clock flight.”

“Oh! There must be an emergency that made him to leave abruptly,” Julie pointed out. Then, Nichole advised, “Let's go. We will worry about that later.”

Howbeit, Arthur was not done annoying Nichole for the day. Then, he announced as though it was his right, “Freya, we are coming over for dinner. Assist your mom to prepare for us.”

Freya, who had just recovered from a shock as a result of the news about the missing Louis, was elated, and she accepted, “That would be great, father.”

It was a few minutes to 6 pm. Phil drove his wife to her mother's apartment, while Daniel and Mrs. Bailey followed from behind. Soon, they got to their destination. The janitor had gone far in the preparation of the dining when they arrived, but he had to adjust immediately to accommodate the additional people.

Subsequently, Mr. Bailey and Julie arrived after a few minutes and waited alongside Daniel and Phil, while Nichole and Freya were in the kitchen making sure that the dinner was seamless.

'I have had the satisfaction of being with her throughout today. I will sleep peacefully this night,' Mr. Bailey thought, and watched them set the table. When they were done, Freya announced.

“Dinner is ready. Father, hubby and Julie, please come over.”

They walked to the dining table. One problem that they encountered was the sitting position. How will he ensure that he sits beside Nichole? Likewise, Mrs. Bailey watched them take their seats on the dining table with six chairs, and waited for them to be seated before she would take her seat. Mr. Bailey took his seat where his late brother and Nichole's husband, Mr. Williams Bailey, used to sit when he was living – at the head of the dining table. Julie and Freya knew where they usually sat when they were younger, and they sat on their respective seats opposite each other, leaving the two seats beside their father empty. Now, Now, Phil, who was carrying Daniel on his lap and must sit beside his wife, sat at the other end of the dining table with his wife by his left hand. Nichole, who did not want to sit by Arthur's left-hand side, quickly ordered.

“Daniel, go and sit beside Julie.”

Then, Mr. Anderson put Daniel down to enable him to walk to the empty seat in between Julie and Mr. Bailey. But Mr. Bailey was smarter. He quickly announced, “Oh! Daniel, I feel you should sit beside your Mom. I will assist her in feeding you. Okay.”

“Yes, grandfather.”

Daniel responded and made a turn back to the seat beside his mom and on Mr. Bailey's right. Now, the only seat left was the one by his left, which was where she sat when her late husband was alive. All the same, she tried to pull another string.