FROM THEN ON

Chapter three

''So where are we going?'' Sabrina asked. ''Honestly, I don't know,'' I said. ''I arrived just yesterday and I haven't really been out...'' I confessed. ''Well here in Washington, there is this amazing restaurant down town we should totally go there,'' she said. ''Uh...sure,'' I said. ''Don't tell me you don't have any money?'' Sabrina asked. ''Money? Honey, money is my middle name,'' I shrugged. ''Is someone bragging?'' she asked victoriously. ''No, I'm just stating a fact,'' I shrugged trying to brush off the fact that I just proved her right. ''Good. Well we better get going,'' she said and hailed a cab. I don't remember the last time I sat in a cab. Why would I want to sit in a cab when I have a fleet of cars at my disposal. I looked at the cab with disgust as it parked in front of Sabrina and I. ''What's wrong? Is somebody missing his limo?'' Sabrina teased as she saw the disgust in my eyes. ''No,'' I lied and opened the door for Sabrina to enter and then I entered after her and shut the door. The cab was really old and smelly and I wasn't the least bit comfortable. Sabrina smiled at me and I fake smiled back. This is going to be a long night, I thought.

''So stranger, are you going to tell me your name or what?'' Sabrina asked. ''Oh I'm Pete,'' the cab driver replied. ''Uh she was talking to me,'' I said to the cab driver annoyed. ''Who said I was?'' she asked laughing. ''Ha!'' the cab driver laughed. ''So you weren't talking to me?'' I asked. ''Oh I was,'' Sabrina said. ''I just wanted you to feel less important, stuck-up,'' she added. ''Well do you want to hear my name or not?'' I asked ignoring the fact that she called me a stuck-up. ''See, that's what a stuck-up person would say. Always trying to shift the conversation to themselves,'' Sabrina said rolling her eyes. ''Fine I won't say my name then,'' I said angrily. ''What if I want you to?'' she asked. ''Then I will,'' I replied. ''Then I want you to,'' she said. ''I'm Robert but most people just call me Rob,'' I said. ''Well nice to meet you, I'm Sabrina,'' she said smiling. ''Is that your full name?'' I asked. ''Of course not. I just met you I can't tell you everything about me,'' she replied. ''Fair enough,'' I agreed. ''How about I tell you my full name and you tell me yours?'' I asked. ''Deal and don't lie, I'll know,'' she replied. I raised my right hand up and placed my left hand over my chest indicating that I wasn't going to lie. Then I said, ''My full name is Robert Bernard Julio Stenson,'' I said. ''Julio?'' she asked surprised. ''Yeah my mum's half Spanish,'' I said. ''Cool I'm half Spanish too,'' she said casually. ''Do you speak?'' she asked. ''Oh yeah,'' I said. ''Do you?'' I asked. ''Si,'' she replied and we started speaking Spanish. We arrived at the restaurant and things just took off from there. Sabrina and I had a lot in common than I initially thought and I really enjoyed spending time with her. We laughed and really had fun and we spoke Spanish a lot. As I walked her home, we kept talking and getting to know each other more. When we arrived at her door, the last thing I wanted to do was to say goodbye. Not for that night and definitely not forever but we had a deal and I was leaving Washington tomorrow. ''You know, you proved me wrong tonight. You may be a stuck-up a little but you have a side to you that any sane girl would be lucky to even talk to. You should bring that side out more often,'' she said smiling. ''Thanks,'' I said smiling. ''So I guess this is goodbye forever?'' she asked disappointed. ''Yeah, goodbye,'' I said and with that, she shut the door and I walked back to the hotel sorrowfully.

When I arrived, I went straight to Todd's room and told him how amazing it was. ''Sounds like you guys really hit it off. Too bad we're leaving tomorrow,'' Todd said. ''Yeah...'' I added sadly. ''Oh come on man this was bound to happen,'' Todd added. ''I know, I know I just wish it wasn't,'' I said. ''Well snap out of it. You're going live tomorrow so you need to put your pro cap back on!'' Todd exclaimed. ''You're right,'' I said regaining focus. ''I need to forget about Sabrina, get the job done and get out of here,'' I agreed. ''Exactly,'' Todd nodded and then I went back to my suite and went to bed. The next day when I woke up, the first thought that crossed my mind was how pretty Sabrina looked yesterday but I brushed it off. And then another thought about her came, then another, then another and then suddenly my mind was clouded with thoughts of Sabrina and I realized how I couldn't forget about her and how much I wanted to see her again. After I got dressed, I met Todd in the lobby and we sat in the car that the company had hired for us and headed towards the retirement home. On our way, I said, ''So I was thinking....'' ''Nope,'' Todd interrupted before I could say anything else. ''But you don't even know what I was thinking,'' I laughed. ''First of all, you plus thinking equals disaster and secondly, I know what you were going to say and no. We cannot go and see Sabrina one last time,'' Todd shook his head vigorously. ''But our flight leaves at twelve,'' I complained. ''And the ceremony ends at ten giving us exactly two hours to pack our stuff and get to the airport on time,'' Todd added. ''All in two whole hours?'' I asked curiously. ''Considering the traffic situation and the fact that you haven't even started packing, yes two whole hours,'' he replied. I asked, ''What if....?'' ''Nope,'' he cut in. I complained, ''But...'' ''Uh uh'' he interrupted. ''Fine,'' I said in surrender and then we rode in silence. Todd was right the ceremony did end at 10:00am. By then, I was done reporting the story which was streamed live on the television network. As the car passed by the coffee and bake shop, I peeked out the window to see whether I could get a last glance of Sabrina but I didn't see her. ''Come on buddy you can still keep in touch. You took her number didn't you?'' Todd asked after he noticed what I tried to do. ''Actually no I didn't I forgot,'' I said regretfully. By then, we had reached the hotel. I quickly got out of the car, and raced to the coffee and bake shop. ''Where are you going?!'' Todd called out. ''To get her number!'' I shouted back. I quickly entered the shop and recognized the waitress who had served Todd and I. I quickly walked towards her and asked, ''Hey is Sabrina around?'' ''No she left for Canada this morning,'' she said. ''What?!'' I asked in shock. ''Well do you know when she'll be back?'' I asked. ''No not really. She's gone to take care of her sick grandmother so I guess she'll return when her grandmother get's better,'' she replied. ''Thanks,'' I said and sadly exited the shop. Just then, Todd called me on my phone. ''Todd,'' I said. ''Hey man there's been a change of plans, we are leaving right now because the jet has to go and pick up some people from Kentucky at 12:00pm,'' he said. ''What?! But I haven't even packed,'' I exclaimed. ''Don't worry man I got you covered, I packed your stuff and locked up. I'm on my way to pick you up,'' he said casually. ''Thanks man,'' I said gratefully. ''No prob,'' he replied and with that, he cut the call. As soon as I placed my phone in my pocket, Todd and the driver arrived. I sat in the car, and then we were off to the airport. ''Why would the company do that? Why would Regina do that?'' I asked. ''Apparently it was an order from above,'' Todd replied and I knew exactly what he meant by that. Before Regina run the company, it was run by her father, Mr. Jordan Love but that was before I started working for the company. A few years ago, he retired and handed over the company to Regina but he still oversees what goes on and even though he is no longer the head, his decisions are always final and you dare not argue. I for one have never seen him before but I've heard stories about him from the employees who have been working there since he was the head till now. I spent the rest of the time asking Todd whether he had picked all of my stuff from the hotel by listing them one by one and by the time I was done, we had reached the airport. It was when we got on the jet that Todd asked, ''So did you get her number?'' ''Nope, apparently she left for Canada this morning and nobody seems to know when she'll be back,'' I said hopelessly. ''Well did you ask anybody at the shop for her number?'' Todd asked. ''Aww man...no I didn't,'' I said regretfully. ''Well we can't go back now, sorry man maybe it wasn't meant to be,'' Todd said apologetically. I just sighed and stared into thin air thinking about all the things I liked about Sabrina, all the things that made her seem different from any other girl I had ever met. I then realized that I liked everything about her. Every single thing. When we arrived, I headed home because I wasn't to report to work till Monday since today was Friday. As soon as I entered my bedroom, my phone rang. I picked it out to see that it was Ryan calling and I answered. ''Hey man you're back and you didn't even call your home boy?'' he asked jokingly. ''Sorry man, I just arrived,'' I said rubbing my forehead. ''Are you okay?''Ryan asked. ''You sound different,'' he added. ''Really? I'm fine,'' I lied. ''Duuude. How many times should I tell you that lying to me is pointless because I know you. Meet me at the bar right now,'' he said and hung up before I could even come up with an excuse not to go. I was about to grab the keys to my range rover when I changed my mind and decided to go in a cab. Just as I stepped out of the cab, Ryan arrived in his car. He quickly climbed out and walked towards me. ''Dude you took a cab?!'' he exclaimed. ''Okay you really have to tell me what happened,'' he added and hurried into the bar. By the time I caught up with him, he was already sitting at our usual spot and ordered the drinks. ''Okay what happened in Washington?'' he asked eagerly and so I told him everything about Sabrina. When I was done narrating the story, he said, ''Rob she is perfect for you. She is just what you need,'' he said excitedly. ''Yeah well too bad I didn't get her number,'' I said depressed. ''Since when did Robert Stenson give up so easily?'' Ryan asked shocked. ''Dude you went out with this girl just once and she has changed you so much. We have got to find her,'' Ryan said determinedly. ''Have you tried googling her?'' Ryan asked. ''No,'' I said and quickly grabbed my phone. I typed her name in the search box and that's when it hit me. She never told me her full name. ''It won't work,'' I said and dropped my phone angrily. ''Why not?'' he asked confused. ''Because I was so engrossed in our conversation that I forgot to ask her for her full name,'' I replied. ''Man this is going to be harder than I thought,'' Ryan said. ''Well I've got to go but let me know if anything comes up alright?'' he asked. ''Sure man,'' I replied. ''But before I go........ I'm planning to propose to Serena tomorrow when we have dinner with my parents and hers and I'd love for you to come since you'll be the best man at our wedding. Plus it could get your mind off Sabrina for awhile,'' he continued. ''I don't know man....'' I said. ''Well think about it alright? It's at The Royal Restaurant downtown at around 6pm ,'' he added as he exited the bar. After he left, I had a few more drinks, hailed a cab and went home. The next day, I woke up around 10:00am and spent an hour in bed just thinking about Sabrina and then I realized something. I quickly walked out of my room and into my office. I sat behind my desk, turned on my macbook and googled, ''The coffee and bake shop, Washington.'' The details of the shop appeared including a picture of the place and another of a woman that looked a lot like Sabrina but a bit older so I assumed it was her mother since she owned the place. I scrolled down and then I found it. The delivery number. I quickly typed it into my phone and pressed call. On the third ring, someone answered. ''hello?'' the person called. For some reason, the person's voice sounded so familiar. It sounded like the voice I had been longing to hear over and over again from the first day I heard it. It sounded like............Sabrina's.