Falling Walls (III)

Chapter 1

The week leading up to our trip had been hectic: India and then Germany. I couldn't wait. There was just so much to prepare.

Apart from the time I spent in the office with Tom, I hardly got to see him. In the mornings, Tom would be getting ready to leave before I got up and wouldn't get back until late at night. He did make sure though to call me throughout the day, and always had a cup of coffee with me while I was sitting in bed and he was getting dressed.

Finally, it was time for our flight to India. I hardly slept the night before from excitement and nervousness, going through all the proposals and arrangements I had prepared for the project Tom had entrusted me with. It felt good doing something useful, but at the same time I was worried I would fail. Tom only went briefly through my notes with me, leaving the detailed work entirely up to me.

It was already dark when we walked up the stairs into Tom's plane, and I couldn't help but feel extra special. Emma and Sam walked ahead. Our hand luggage had been taken off us on the ground. Halfway up the stairs, I felt Tom's hand on my hips from behind. Involuntarily a smile formed on my lips and my heart skipped a few beats.

Entering the plane, I was once again stunned. After spending the night on the yacht with Tom, I believed I knew what to expect. Many times in the past days had I imagined this trip, the flight and even the plane itself, but nothing could have prepared me for this. After being greeted by the crew, a trustworthy and experienced looking pilot and younger co-pilot, as well as two stewardesses, both in a grey skirt uniform with maroon accents, we stepped into a lounge room, superior to any I'd ever been in. The spacious interior was bright, in white and brown colours. A large white leather lounge was positioned in front of an oversized TV screen on the wall, with a long marble patterned stone table between them. A collection of newspapers and magazines were neatly piled along the side. Walking through a passage into a separate section with bar, a wooden desk and comfortable sitting area, I overheard Sam say to Emma in astonishment: "Wow! I think Tom must be really rich!"

"No," Emma whispered back, loud enough for Tom and me to hear:" It's like mum said, he's successful in Germany and has a bit of money. I think he's trying to impress mum."

"Stupid! If he has his own company than this is his plane and he's not trying to impress anyone," Sam grumbled back at Emma.

Much louder now Emma shot back at him: "You're stupid and have no idea what girls like."

"Enough!" I interfered. "Behave yourselves."

"Why?" Sam asked pertly, looking at me, challenging. "It's not like we're annoying anyone. It's just us here."

Helpless I looked at Tom who smiled amused and shrugged. "He's right," Tom whispered so Sam couldn't hear. "Relax, Engel. I'll make you a cocktail in a minute. I'll just show you everything first."

The kids were now running back and forth from one side of the plane to the other, marvelling and touching everything like toddlers. Tom must have felt my tension. "Leave them, and don't worry. It's fine."

"No, it's not," I corrected him. "This is stunning, Tom, and they can't run around like crazy and touch your stuff. They'll break everything."

"Lisa," Tom answered insistently, making a step towards me to close the gap between us. "We've been there. If something breaks, so be it. Maybe I'll break something." And with that, Tom jumped on one of the white leather lounges just as one of the stewardesses came around the corner, and began jumping up and down like a child himself. The stewardess, whose nametag read Kiesha, stopped in her tracks and just looked at Tom with her eyes wide open. Imagining that they don't get to see a spectacle like this very often made me laugh so loud, that Tom stopped his jumping and the kids came running from wherever they had been, asking what was happening. I was glad Tom was already off the lounge, or else he would have given them new ideas.

"Up for a round of FIFA on the PlayStation once we're in the air?" Tom challenged Sam, whose eyes lit up like Christmas candles.

"Is there a PlayStation here?" Sam double checked, not believing his luck.

"Yeah, get ready so we can take off. I've been looking forward to beating you all week."

"No way, Tom. You'll never win."

At that moment, the voice of the captain sounded through the speaker system, announcing our departure and asking us to take our seats.

Dinner was served on a large white dining table. The only difference to a restaurant was that we got to sit on couches.

"When you two get married...," Sam asked with his mouth full of salami pizza. Someone must have known it was his favourite. "...is Tom going to be our dad?"

Tom and I both looked at each other in utter surprise. Tom's face had turned pale. Mine felt like it was on fire. We'd never discussed this. What would Tom be to them? Did anything have to change? While I was still thinking of how to answer, Tom looked straight at Sam and Emma, who both sat across the table from him.

"Nothing has to change, guys," Tom answered in a wobbly voice. "I'm not going to replace your dad. But we can have a lot of fun together, and I'll always be there for you." Oh, what a textbook answer. I wondered what Kindle book that was from.

After dinner, we played a round of monopoly. Tom swore he'd never played the board game before but I was not surprised he won, even though I caught him several times passing money to the kids under the table.

"You look tired, Tom. You should go to sleep," I insisted when Emma challenged us to another round.

"I'm fine, but I do have to do some more work," Tom explained before leaving the table.

When I went to tug the kids in, I overheard Emma in Sam's bedroom. "I really wished Tom could be our dad."

"Yeah, that would be cool," Sam answered quietly. A feeling of intruding their privacy overcame me, standing in the dark in front of the bedroom, eavesdropping on my children talk about their deep desires.

"He'd be like the coolest dad ever. Mum's really lucky that Tom's going to marry her," Emma went on. Oh, my darling girl.

"Yeah. But he's going to be our step-dad then. I just don't know what to call him. Sometimes people think he is my dad and then it just sucks to call him Tom and explain everything."

"I know. That really sucks," Emma agreed. "But all my friends know anyhow."

"Do you think he really likes us?" Sam asked his sister after a brief silence. "I mean, he's always doing fun stuff with us, and I think he does, but maybe that's only to impress mum. That's what Josh said anyways."

"Josh sucks. Don't listen to that jerk. Tom likes you big time. He's always doing stuff with you, more than most other dad's."

"Why doesn't he want to be our dad then?" Oh dear. I hadn't realised just how much Tom and our relationship meant to the kids.

"He didn't say that," Emma tried to comfort Sam. He sounded deeply upset about the whole issue.

"But he also didn't say he wanted to."

I knew that I had to talk to the kids about our family situation and Tom in particular, sooner rather than later, but tonight was not the right time. I'd have to think about what exactly to say to them first, or I'd probably make matters worse.

"Okay, kids," I carefully announced my entry. "Time to go to bed."