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Ryker
It didn’t matter that I could conduct these meetings over the phone with Reesa. I needed to be here because Meri was here.
A month ago, when I talked her into giving this a try, I somehow thought that we’d quickly adapt to talking on the phone and video chats. It was better than nothing, but hell, how could I ever think that it was going to be enough? I needed to see her, hold her. Hence, why I had traveled back to Tabiq four times in the past month.
If Meri was miserable, she was good at hiding it. Me, not so much. My two brothers who lived in the States near me were beginning to wonder what was going on in Tabiq that I came here so often and somehow couldn’t seem to stay away.
Like Bennett, I found myself being vague. But they had been with me enough times when Meri called to realize, it wasn’t Tabiq that had gotten under my skin, it was a woman. A woman that I realized I couldn’t live without.
Bennett picked me up from the airport as Meri was working. No problem. It gave us time to talk about how Tabiq was really doing.
“And there haven’t been any further threats?” I asked.
“Nothing out of the ordinary. Even back home, politicians received threats. No one can make everyone happy. But this is manageable,” he said.
“That’s good because the election is in a couple of weeks. Things are going very smoothly at her speeches and unless something major happens, I can’t see her not being re-elected.”
“I would agree,” Bennett said. “Which makes me wonder what you’re going to do when the election is over?”
“I’m not sure what you’re getting at,” I replied.
“We stopped taking any bookings for suite twenty-one as you seem to be the one using it the most. The Hendersons have no problem with that,” he said, but I cut him off.
“And they shouldn’t, because I pay for it,” I snapped.
Bennett chuckled. “This isn’t about the room. It’s not about the election. I’m just wondering what you’re going to use as an excuse to return here so frequently after the election. Guess you could always say you’re here to visit me. Not sure who is going to buy that.”
I wanted to be pissed at him, but he was only voicing what I was thinking. “I have no idea. This isn’t what I had planned when I came here the first time.”
“I know. All you were doing was recon for the family to find out why I spend so much of my time here. Apparently, whatever you told them has worked because Mom hasn’t left me a message trying to guilt me into spending Thanksgiving with you all.”
“I told them that you are here making a difference in people’s lives. Helping to rebuild a third world country into one that can stand independently one day.” He shot me a look and then turned back to focus on the bumpy road. “Yeah. I sang your praises. But don’t worry. There was no talk about their past, or even about Mombo. It was all geared around development and education. They were very impressed. And honestly, so am I.”
“Thanks. And for the record, I sent Mom a message that Zoey and I will travel with the kids to spend Thanksgiving with them.”
“Serious? She must be over the moon and already planning the menu,” I said.
“I wouldn’t doubt that. She’s under the impression that this will be the first Thanksgiving that we are all together. I didn’t want to be the one to tell her I highly doubted that was going to happen.”
“I haven’t decided what I am going to do. I was thinking about asking Meri to come and have Thanksgiving with us,” I said.
“You’ll need to get a visa for her, but that won’t be difficult. The Hendersons have good connections to expedite that if you need to. But that is just one holiday. What about all the others?” he asked.
“You don’t attend them all,” I reminded him.
“I’m not talking about the family. I’m asking about you and Meri. Have you talked about the future? Are you planning on relocating here, or maybe she will move to the US?”
I sighed. “No, we haven’t, but we need to. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this but being apart so much fucking sucks.” He nodded. I added, “I know I can’t keep traveling back and forth this often. I’m away from the office too much and I don’t feel as though I’m being as effective with managing my time as I hoped. But I can’t run my business from here. I’d have the opposite issue and need to be leaving Meri all the time for work, instead of leaving work for Meri.”
“So, you’re going to ask her to move to the US?”
It wasn’t so easy. “She loves Tabiq like Reesa does. I just can’t ask her to leave her home. Leave everything she loves.”
“You wouldn’t be. You’d be asking her to be with the one she loves. That is if you two are as crazy for each other as I believe you are,” he said.
I know I am for her. “I agree with you. We need to find a way to be together more”
We pulled up to the resort to find Meri standing at the entrance waiting for me. “What is she doing here? I thought she was working.”
