Chapter 160 - The Airport (1/2)

The Bentley is fast running on the main road, and other drivers would be completely focused on the driving, their eye and attention never straying from the road ahead. But not Dean; he's been driving through these roads, in Gabriel's super-fast cars, that the driving feels like muscle memory, fully automatic, as though he could close his eyes and drive and still reach the destination unharmed. But of course, he wouldn't do that with such a precious cargo on board.

And that precious cargo's question holds fully his attention.

”What would you do if you were in my position?”

”How do you mean, Ma'am?” Because, truly, he must clarify. Claire Monteverde's position in the universe he lives in is never a singular, simple thing; it is, in fact, one of the most subtly layered positions he has ever encountered.

”My love for Gabriel,” she says, looking out the window with the saddest eyes. ”Sometimes, I don't know what to do. I run from one confusion to another.”

Dean smiles. ”I'm a simple fellow, Miss Claire. I don't let myself confused by all the details. If it were me, I'd just follow my heart.”

Follow your heart. The words reverberate in Claire's mind. Those are almost the same words the old woman on the bus had told her. Not too long ago, she also had a simple belief about love and life: follow your heart. But these days, actual events seem to shake her out of the purity of that simple truth.

”Thank you, Dean,” she mutters. ”I needed that.”

”I've been through a lot, Ma'am,” he says. ”And always, I keep my eyes on the prize. You'll be surprised to see how simple things truly are when you start ignoring all the bullshit.”

”Yeah,” she says, thinking about Gabriel's mom. Even the memory of Matilde's face as she made that ȯbsċėnė offer back at the penthouse suite makes Claire's heart jump.

”Miss Claire,” Dean says, as the car enters the long driveway into the airport complex. ”It is possible that Gabriel is no longer here. But—”

”But it's still worth checking out,” Claire says.

Dean agrees. ”You've got that right, Ma'am.”

The Bentley deftly eases into a parking slot a few meters away from the main entrance. Dean jumps out to open the door for her. By now it is already early evening, and the airport's front grounds is awash with yellow floodlight.

Claire stands in the middle of a stream of people coming and going, uncertain of where to go next.

”I can go with you, Ma'am, if you like,” Dean says, standing beside her like some dashing bodyguard. ”An extra pair of eyes could be a good help.”

”Please, Dean,” she says. ”Thank you.”

There are so many people in the main lobby. The waiting areas are swarming with people who mostly look tired and bored and irritable. ”It seems some flights have been delayed,” Dean says, gazing at the huge information screen on the wall. ”These people have been waiting for their plane for hours.”

”Oh,” she says. She has never travelled by plane before; always, she used the bus. Or the ferry boat. She realizes now that no matter the mode of transport, there will always be these execrable problems.

The whole mess of people starts making her feel like she's never going to find him in this place. Would Gabriel even have the smallest patience to stay in such a crowded place as this?