The Segment (Completed)

53. Time To Go

(Unedited)

Farrah couldn't help the smile that found its place on her lips as she saw the spread of pancakes, fruits, sausages, bacon, and pastries on the table. She felt Richard's hand on the small of her back guiding her to take a seat. She sat down and watched as Richard plated up pancakes, with bacon and syrup for her. Farrah just watched in silence as Richard continued pouring tea for her, the smell of cardamom wafting in the air.

"I remembered you mentioned halal bacon the last time we had pancakes," Richard murmured, as he fixed a plate for him. His gaze never once meeting hers.

"Richard," Farrah placed her hand on his wrist halting his movements. "You...I...Thank you," she said haltingly and as she tried remembering to take deep calming breaths. Thank you?, that was not what she had wanted to say at all. What is wrong with me?, she asked herself breathing heavily.

Exchanging sad smiles and stealing glances of each other; breakfast was a rather somber affair. They didn't know what to say to alleviate the ache that they both felt. Perhaps, the words to ease the pain haven't been invented yet. Perhaps, there was nothing left to say.

"We'll need to be leaving soon. You'll need to be in Heathrow around 1-ish, am I right?" Richard asked quietly as he sipped his coffee.

"Yes, that's right," Farrah agreed. "I'll just freshen up and we can head out."

"I'll let Ben know," Richard said frowning into his coffee.

They sat next to each other in silence as they sipped on their drinks, the heavy breakfast from earlier churning in their stomachs.

***

Farrah stood at the door, as she let her eyes travel across the guest room. The thought came in unbidden; how did Richard's room look like. It felt as though something has possessed her; she dropped her bags with a thump and walked slowly towards Richard room. Turning the doorknob slowly, her heart started beating faster. Whether it was in fear of getting caught or something else; she wasn't sure.

It was a spacious room with large bay windows. The light grey curtains were drawn, and even from the door she could see the hints of the lake shimmering from the distance. The room had a lingering spicy, musky scent; which she knew was the cologne that Richard loved using. She tried ignoring the King size bed in the middle of the room, but her gaze was drawn to it as it ignored everything else.

It was a beautiful piece of carpentry that sat on a beige and black Afaw rug. The sheets and duvet were a rich grey. Again, her feet moved by itself and she found herself sitting on the bed, her palms lightly running over the duvet. Farrah saw the glimpse of the journal sticking out from underneath a pillow. As she made a move to pull it out, there was a knock on the door.

Richard's hear was aching. Farrah was sitting on his bed, in his room, in his home. Farrah was due to leave his bed, his room, his home in the next few minutes. He watched her for a second more before he knocked on the door frame, "Ben's ready and waiting."

Farrah nodded and stood up. She took one more look around the room before she walked out. Her head bowed low as she walked ahead. Stopping to pick up her overnight bag and her handbag, she felt Richard's hand on her shoulder as he silently took the overnight bag from her. The walked to the car in silence.

Opening the door for her, Richard watched as Farrah climbed in silently. He closed the door before the opened the boot to put the overnight bag in. Once it was all in, he knocked on the door twice, signalling that it was safe for Ben to start driving. Richard spun away, his hand covering his mouth as he heard the crunch of the gravel as the tyres started moving. He couldn't bear watching her drive out of his life. He lifted his face to look at the sky as his hand moved to the back of his neck. He blinked back tears as he took deep breaths to calm his pounding heart.