HEJ, MY LOVE

TRAP

Sierra didn't accompany Jonas to the airport. Though she knew he would come back, she didn't wish to go through the process of airport goodbyes, which were always heart-wrenching no matter how many times one saw a loved one off at the gates.

So it was at their doorstep that Jonas kissed his wife goodbye while Leone blushed and hid his head within the suffocating hug he gave Rufus.

Leone was happy to see the kisses back in business between his parents.

In the little boy's eyes, cuddles and kisses meant there was love and happiness. Leone loved the signs of affection.

"I'll call you when I get there."

Sierra nodded; Jonas began to walk to the taxi but came back to kiss his wife again.

Rut still colored the man red when he thought of what she did. Jonas had waited all his life, not for someone like Sierra, but for Sierra. Every event of the man's existence was staged so they would meet. For Jonas, only the divine could shatter their bond.

"I can't leave; come with me."

"Jonas, it's too late. Besides, I have work; seriously, go."

"Alright, alright."

This time the man walked away for good. Mother and son waved. Those were the last images Jonas had of them.

He took a direct flight with Emirates and landed at Dubai International seven hours later. Of course, the first thing he did was call Sierra.

"Is everything okay?" The man had an odd feeling he couldn't shake off from the moment he left them.

"Yes, Jonas, how is it for you?"

"Just landed," Jonas lifted a hand to make the chauffeur holding a small board with his name aware of his presence.

"Mr. Potsmann?"

"Yes," Jonas answered.

Sierra waited for the man to resume the call at the other end.

"What are you doing?" Jonas asked.

"I'm having lunch?"

"With Erik, I presume."

"Jonas."

"I've only been gone seven hours that you are seeing another man."

"I hope you're joking," Sierra couldn't reply the way she wished as Erik's stare was upon her.

"Yes and no," Jonas said.

A heatwave of Dubai temperature hit the man. The contrast between Sweden and the United Arab Emirates could make one have a cardiac arrest. Jonas hurried to get into the back of the car waiting outside the airport, "I'm jealous."

Sierra smiled; she didn't think her husband would admit the feeling. She wasn't the type of woman to maintain friendships with people of the opposite sex when in a relationship, but Erik was one of the rare people she could consider a friend in Sweden. Jonas had no other choice but to tolerate the friendship.

Her husband had absolute faith in her. Erik was the issue; the man didn't seem to have the decency to keep a respectful distance from the married woman. He continued to invite Sierra out to eat, giving her more work and making sure she pronounced his name daily.

The practice would have most couples arguing from dusk till dawn, but Jonas knew better. Suspicions would result, and they would swim in trust issues before they knew it.

Sierra covered her lips with her hand, slightly turned to the side, and lowered her voice, "tu sais que tu es l'homme de mes rêves. Je n'aime que toi [you know you're the man of my dreams, I only love you]."

Jonas' cheekbones rose while the ensemble of his face reddened and made the chauffeur turn the aircon up. The couple mainly communicated in English and exchanged short sentences in Swedish, but French remained Sierra's love language to Jonas's joy. Her words in French triggered the man, especially when she took a soft yet sultry voice and pronounced them in the bedroom.

Jonas looked out of the window and let the landscape calm his desire, "I miss you."

"Tu me manques aussi."

Jonas looked down at his legs; yes, it was the little things that turned him on. He was happy to be seated and that the ride was long enough to let him check in at his hotel with dignity.

"I'm sorry about that, Erik," Sierra said when she hung up.

"Sorry for what? Swimming in pure bliss and wooing your husband. I'm so jealous."

"Why?" Sierra asked.

"The chemistry. I wonder if I'll ever have it."

The woman smiled, "do you really want it?"

Erik seemed to be the guy who loved to run after what he couldn't have.

"Of course, I do," Erik said, straightening his position.

"Then why hunt married women," Sierra asked as she twirled the spaghetti around her fork.

Erik grinned, "eh, do you really want an answer?"

"If you have one to give, then yes."

"It's the picture. When I see you guys, I can imagine myself in that spot. With single women, you just don't know how they'll be. I mean, not everyone gets a six months trial with a child included, to test their compatibility."

"Touché," Sierra replied, making the man attempt to explain.

"Please don't take it the wrong way. It wasn't a pun. I guess I'm afraid of investing and failing."

"Well, you can't have what I have without it, Erik. Sometimes one has to dive. I mean, I plunged for Jonas. I took that risk, and yes, we suffered and went through the loops of hell, but guess what? Call me an SM, but I'd do it again. I would willingly do it Over Again if it meant being with Jonas. What theㅡ," Sierra exclaimed as Erik grasped her hand.

"Sierra, I need one of you. I swear, are you sure you don't have a twin? I'm desperate; I want what you described."

Just as Sierra opened up, Erik shed some of his skin too. The woman discovered he was more of a romantic than what his outer persona showed.

Sierra laughed, "she's out there, Erik. God always creates us in pairs."

The woman was stunned by her comment. Since when did she evoke God positively? Even though Sierra refuted many things concerning faith, she could not get around the idea the divine played a part.

How many chances did she have of meeting Jonas? Cecile placed a few chess pieces, but what guided the dying woman's will?

So many questions remained, and the answers seemed to be something the human mind could not assess in its integrity.

"Have faith, Erik."

"You sound like my mom."

His mother was a divorcee who didn't remarry. She preferred to live alone, but still, she prompted her son to find love. "Erik, it's not because it went down the way it did for your dad and me that the same thing will happen to you. Find a woman, man, or whatever you fancy, and be happy. I don't regret a thing; I don't regret marrying your father and having you, do you hear me? I'd do it again. I'd do it again because I would not want to miss being your mother."

"Okay, Sierra, I'll start meditating."

"Oh, my husband does that."

"Sierra, why didn't you start there? Tell a man to meditate if it gets him to meet the right one."

They both burst into laughter without knowing all their movements featured in photos taken from the other side of the room.