The day passed like nothing, as my head was filled with thoughts. The hours passed like smooth air; undetected, as my insides felt like heavy rocks. And before I know it we were back at the hotel after the time we had lost.
"Hello?" I answered my phone as it rang the moment we got in the room, after I was done with work, to be met with a man's voice on the other line.
"Hello? Is this mister Toby Finley?" he asked
I glanced at Jasmine who had plunged herself into the bed, exhausted. "..Yes" I hesitated for a second there... I studied her still body, concluding that she has probably fallen asleep the moment she had shut her eyes, and here I am on the other end of the room anxiously praying that this wasn't the police on the other line.
"I am Richard Cuban, we met a month ago to discuss your business plan"
I released a breath I didn't even know that I was holding, making my once tense body relax "Ow... Yeah!"
"Well, I would love to invest in it. I am available this Friday to talk if that's okay with you"
Friday? Two days from now... I can ask Hannah or Simon to take care of Jasmine while I am away, just for a little bit. "Yeah! Sure! Thank you, sir!"
"Good. Then, see you on Friday. I will send you the exact time and place"
"Sure. Thank you, sir". He hung on the phone before I can pull it far from my ear. But when I did, I stared at the screen for a while before it dawned on me.
Richard Cuban called me!!!!!
He wants to invest in my project!!!
As I couldn't contain my excitement, I ran towards Jasmine jumping on her bed, startling her. She jumped up to sit straight, fixing her eyes on me. She tried reading my face, checking if I was angry at her. When all she saw was a huge grin, she grinned back. "Achichi" I started, making her perk up before we both yelled "BOOO!!"
I held her face in my hands and looked closely into her eyes "I.will.have. my own business!!" She looked at me stunned for a second but smiled when she saw how excited I was. "Days from now, I will bring you to my own flower shop, okay?" Her eyes lit up as she nodded her head frantically, making her cheeks rub onto my palms.
That one action on her part, and that single simple and innocent sensation she created in me made my time stop. Or was it just my own wish? I got into a trance at that one moment, taking her fully in; her beautiful orbs, her tiny pink nose, her rosy cheeks, and her grinning lips.
Noticing that I froze, she tilted her head to the side examining my state with her pure, bright eyes, which led her to put pressure on my left palm and move her long strands of silky smooth hair to tingle my arm and hand. The moment that our closeness created didn't last that long, since it was interrupted by my ringtone, causing us both to aim our attention toward it.
My hands slowly let go of her face, as if my whole system was begging me not to.
And I wish I listened to its warning because picking the phone up... was the biggest mistake of my entire life... She-
"Hello?"
"Is my daughter Jasmine there?!" was the first thing I heard
"Sir, please calm down" there was a commotion on the other line... But all I knew was-
"Please! is my daughter with you?!"
-She was about to leave...
"Thank goodness, you are okay!" her mother hugged her the moment she saw her and started bawling her eyes out, then pulled away from her making sure she was there, she started caressing her cheeks as if she still didn't believe it.
"Thank you, young man, for taking care of her" I heard her father say but all I saw was her wiping her mother's tears away while she, as always, cried silently.
"You can call me Toby, sir"
"I don't know how I could repay you, Toby. But if there's anything I could do, then I will. Just name it"
Give her back to me then.
MY GOD! what am I thinking ?!
I noticed the way she looked at the Ivy plant hanging from the ceiling on her left considering it was used as decoration. She noticed them and smiled amidst the creeping tears making a trail down her face... Ivy means friendship, affection, and fidelity.
Was she thinking of me when she saw it?
My curiosity got the best of me as I turned to her father "One question, just one question sir"
"Yes, of course!"
"Does she know anything about flowers? I mean-like, the meaning and such"
"I do not think so"
Then, did she choose the purple hyacinth to apologize by chance?
"We didn't really get the chance to buy her flowers although I think she learned a couple of things out of books. Even though she acts like that, she is actually brighter than you think"
"Yeah, I can tell" I looked down because that was exactly how I was feeling now and to my luck, I noticed his wrist...
The exact, same watch as mine. She wasn't kidding when she said that her father had the same watch as mine.
So that was why she followed me.
That was why she felt safe around me.
She viewed me as a father while I... Just like an Idiot, I saw her, as a woman.
"I'll- I'll take my leave now"
Her father gave me his hand to shake "Thank you again. And, you are welcome in our shop anytime"
"Thank you, sir" I shook it as I gave him a tight smile before I turned, taking my leave from there.
Don't look at her and just go, I kept telling myself. Because I couldn't trust my feet to lead me away from her anymore. It was over and it was for the best. I had business to deal with and she was better with her family.
Now everything is back to its rightful place.
I reached out, and turned to walk on the same street we met, only for my shirt to be clutched from behind halting me in my tracks.
She followed me!
I turned to see her, hoping to meet her eyes... but those I wanted to meet were directed solely on my watch.
RIGHT!. I was just another father to her.
God! Why am I being childish?! I need to stop these thoughts!
She looked up at me grinning "Achichi?"
Nothing. I said nothing. I was holding on to the tears that kept trying to form. I turned to look away from her but I heard her voice again "Achichi?", she asked again, her tone got lower now, like she has sensed my anger. "A.chi.chi?" hesitant and more like a whisper, it came out of her lips to penetrate my soul and push my tears out fully on display. I glowered at her, mad at myself and mad at her for making me this way...
Why am so bothered with her viewing me as a father figure?!
SHE IS JUST A CHILD FOR GOD'S SAKE!!
I reaped my watch off my wrist and yanked her hand away from my shirt, which was easy since her grip loosened when she noticed how weird I was behaving.
"Take it and go back home, or you will get lost again and no one will save you this time. So you better stay home and never get out". My ears caught how my pitch was, low and harsh like it was filled with venom.
I didn't want it to be that way.
It wasn't my intention.
But it already happened...
I spun around, and walked away, not before witnessing that tear, I made her shed, fall slowly on her cheek, tinting it.
"Achichi bo" I was able to hear her murmur so slowly when I was two meters far away from her, which made me halt.
I wanted to turn around and run back to her.
I wanted to just apologize for the way I just treated her.
I wanted to at least stay a bit longer with her...
"Honey! Jasmine! Get in. You shouldn't go out alone anymore okay?"
But now... It was now or never.
I had to go.