The Vanishing Love Story

Elijah

The day Alaine went to my launch party

Today was the day. Feeling the nerves, I opted to go for a run in my running path that was a few minutes away from home, living in a village, had its perks considering how big it is and how everyone seem to know each other. 

I ended my run in the village park, it was empty, I sat down on the bench next to the basketball court, checking to see how my stats were. After cooling down for awhile, I walked back home, to see mom cooking tapa flavored corn beef and egg, dad went out of town for two weeks since it was only just us and our dog. 

I sat down on the bar stool, and poured myself a glass of water which was placed on our Kitchen counter, mom placed some food on my plate, giving it to me. I waited for her to sit beside me, and we ate in silence, she would ask questions about Alaine, and about the launch party. She told me that she would pass by, since she was meeting up with her lawyer, Frank about her cafe that she wants to open next year. 

As we finished breakfast, she excused herself placing our leftover tapa corn beef in a glass container, and placing in the refrigerator, while I washed our dishes. After I did my chores, I started getting ready to meet up with the team in a thai restaurant near the bar area, parking was sort of an issue since it was on the other side of the uptown area, but glad the guard helped me find a spot in their public parking lot. I parked my car, walked across the street to where the restaurant was, "Soi Chicken" was the name, it was placed in the middle of a milk tea shop and a Japanese ramen place that had several branches in the Metro. 

I walked to the restaurant, meeting the receptionist who led me to the booth area, where I saw Javier and Diego sipping their water, and perusing the menu while Macy and Layla sat beside each other, having their own conversation. 

"Hey!" I say, the girls looking left seeing me go up the steps leading to their booth 

"Aye!" Javier greeted giving me a fist bump 

"What's good man!" Javier said, side hugging me 

The girls greeted me giving me a side hug and sitting beside each other, while I sat at the head of the table. The waiter pouring me a glass of water, and walking to another table to get their orders, I perused their menu, seeing my favorite Thai dishes. 

After deciding on what to order, we spent the next few minutes discussing the launch party happening tonight, it seemed that everything was ready. We then took the rest of our time together catching up, the atmosphere being a little sad because we were missing one member, but she would be joining us tonight at the venue. 

As the waiter returned to take our orders, we each placed our choices, excitedly discussing our favorite dishes. The anticipation for our meals added to the cheerful ambiance. Diego and Javier exchanged a few jokes exchanged, keeping the mood light. 

The waiter efficiently took note of our orders, and also repeating our orders. He then took all of our menus, leaving us to continue catching up with each other. We talked more about the event, my podcast, life and how Nikki has been. As our conversation shifted to her, a sadder tone settled over the table. Diego and Javier shared their concerns, recounting their calls and visits. Macy and Layla, visibly sad by how she missed the planning, rejoiced that we were finally seeing her at the launch party. 

In the midst of the heartfelt conversation, our waiter returned with a tray of appetizers and main courses, placing them on the table. The aromatic dishes momentarily diverted our attention from Nikki and how we will be seeing her later. We thanked the waiter, and as he left, we said a prayer thanking God for our food and thanking Him for giving us a chance of planning the podcast launch event.