Reunion

Thankfully äke did not say anything more about it.

After a few minutes, ana came back to the dining room.

"Children, have you brushed your teeth? The car is being heated at this moment. We should get going now," she addressed Raya and Adi.

"Sorry ana. We'll be fast," Raya said, rising up from her seat. Adi stood up with her and they both went out of the room. With the two of them gone, ana sat down and said to Ms. McCrae.

"By the way dear, I heard that you will be staying with our family since this is your first time in Kazakhstan. I hope you make yourself at home here. You can approach Leila or Otto whenever you need anything."

"Thank you ma'am. I hope I am not imposing too much on your family."

"Of course not! You are an important person that Arystan needs by his side and we are glad you came. Be comfortable around us and just focus on assisting our Arystan well."

Ana gave her a reassuring smile.

"I hope we can tour you around Nursultan if we have the chance. There is so much to see. Who knows. You might want to stay in Kazakhstan for good," äke said to her, joining their conversation.

Ms. McCrae smiled.

"Yes sir. Who knows."

They are adopting her way too fast. Senti said that she will leave one day and nobody knows when. 

"We are ready ana," we heard Rayana call out from the door.

Ana rose from her seat. Äke and I stood up with her.

"We should get going now dear. Adilet has a tutorial class in the afternoon," ana said to Ms. McCrae.

She stood up and offered a polite handshake.

"Take care ma'am, sir."

"We will see you again in the New Year dear," äke smiled as he also took her hand.

"You can go back to your room and rest for a bit," I told her.

She nodded and we all took our leave from the room. Her towards her room and us, towards the door out of the house. 

In the courtyard, we all exchanged goodbye kisses.

"We'll see you again in the New Year. It's best if you take a break early and come to Nursultan on the 30th," äke said to me as he sat down on the driver seat.

"I'll see äke. Be careful on the road. Drive slow."

"Alright son," he nodded and closed the door.

Ana, Raya, and Adi waved at me as the car circled the fountain. I stared after them until the big gate closed automatically, concealing the car from view. Now shivering, I turned towards the house and sprinted towards the foyer. I was about to go up to my room when my eyes caught Ms. McCrae sitting in the living room. She's typing on her laptop. I went inside.

"Is your room alright Ms. McCrae?" I interrupted her.

She looked up to me then closed her laptop.

"Yes sir. It's more than alright," she answered me.

I don't know if she's deliberate about it but she somehow always give her full attention whenever she's talking to someone. 

"That's good to know. By the way, Senti will be here this afternoon. I believe this is the first meeting between you two after some time. You and I will have a short discussion with him about the things we need to work on first. He also told me that he will be coaching you in person about some of the important tasks that I need you to do."

"Yes sir. He told me about it."

"Good. I'll see you later for lunch."

I went back to my room and laid down on the bed, grabbing my phone from the bedside table. I held up my phone with one hand and double tapped it with my thumb. The screen lit up.

I typed away Philippines in the search engine without much thought. I've been to Australia number of times but not to the Philippines. Beautiful beaches surfaced the most when I searched for images.

I let go of my phone and my thoughts started drifting to a familiar face.

She's beautiful, what can I say? It is a beauty that remains in your mind's eye and you can't help recall such a face.

Her eyes are the most interesting to me. She wears them partially hooded and piercing. You can't stare at them for long. 

 Before I could reorganize my thoughts, my mind drifted into a dreamless sleep.

*****************************

I was woken up by a knock on my door and Otto calling out.

"Mr. Nikolaev lunch will be served in a few minutes."

I stretched my body to the entire space of the bed, content and happy with my nap. It had been some time since I had a fitful sleep. Such deep sleep rarely comes to me.

"I'll be down in a few minutes Otto," I called out in answer.

I heard him walk away without another word.

I got up from the bed and went to the lavatory. I washed my face and combed back my hair with wet hands. I'm glad I slept well. I have been struggling with sleep for the past few days because of a new song I'm working on. I'm kind of stuck with it.

The dining room was empty when I came but the food was already served. I dialed Otto's number as I took my seat.

"Please tell Ms. McCrae to come and eat lunch with me," I told him.

"Okay sir," he responded and ended the call.

A couple of minutes later, Ms. McCrae entered the room.

"Have you rested?" I greeted her with a polite smile.

"No sir. I was with Leila working in the garden."

I frowned. She was gardening with Leila? Why? She should rest when she's tired.

"I'm okay sir. I am tired but not enough to put me to sleep. Jet lag makes me feel a bit edgy. I have to do something."

She took her seat opposite mine.

"Okay. Let's eat."

She nodded and put a serving of shurpa in her bowl. She tasted it and a satisfied smile appeared on her lips. I didn't notice I was staring at her until her eyes met mine.

"You should eat too, sir," she said, her smile gone.

I nodded and put pieces of lamb meat onto my plate. I also transferred some of the broth into my bowl and started eating without a word. I feel like a creep.

"Thank you sir, for letting me work for you. Senti had a slip of tongue and said about how much you were against the idea of working with me as your manager. I understand. You must not be comfortable with the idea of being around a woman most of the time. I want to assure you that I don't cross boundaries. Work is all that I came here for and it would stay that way.."

I looked up from my plate.

She is smart and brave for bringing this topic out in the open. I prefer not to have any discussion about this because I don't want to seem to undermine her because she's a woman.

"But I hope we can be friends, Ms. McCrae."

She nodded.

"To a certain extent sir," she said with a polite smile.

A certain extent? I wonder how far that extent could go.

We finished our meal in silence. She looked relieved when I told her that she doesn't need to sit down for a mandatory tea time again.

"Dahlia!" we heard someone blurt out from the door.

The voice is familiar and I don't need to look to see who it is.

Ms. McCrae's head whipped to his direction and my eyes followed after her when she stood up and ran.

In a matter of seconds, she was enveloped in his arms.

Strange but I felt a slight twinge in my chest.

*******************************