A happy visit

A few days had passed and the day of Maria's arrival had come. Laila was on her way to pick her friend up from the airport and she couldn't stop smiling. Though Maria's arrival also meant that the façade she had kept up in front of Olivia would start crumbling and that they would no longer be able to postpone taking action against her and her backer, to both Laila and Maria that didn't meant that this couldn't be a happy visit as well. They had each looked forward to her stay and they wouldn't let anything stop them from enjoying themselves, not even Olivia.

It had been two days since her return from visiting Noah's parents and grandmother. Though she only stayed for a day, she was glad she had gone to visit them. They had been very happy she had come and they had all loved the gifts she had brought along. Especially Noah's grandmother was very happy to see her and couldn't stop praising her, holding her hand and talking to her endlessly until she would tire herself out. HIs grandmother's reaction was the only form of proof she needed that she had done the right thing and that she should consider coming down there more often. Especially once the baby is born. That way his grandmother could meet her great-grandchild. Something that she had been looking forward to the entire time she was there. Talking about his arrival as if it was only days away, instead of months.

But right now all she had on her mind was seeing her dear friend. When Laila arrived at the airport she hurriedly headed inside as Maria's plane had landed almost fifteen minutes ago. She would have arrived there earlier but she insisted on getting Laila a small gift but finding the right thing had proved more difficult than she had expected. Laila walked to the arrivals area as fast as she could and by the time she got to the marked area it didn't take her long to spot Maria. Laila chuckled the moment her eyes landed on her friend, who was sitting on her suitcase and had her head propped on her hand with her elbow leaning on her knee. Maria was Looking as bored as if she had been waiting there for the better part of two hours, when it couldn't have been more than five minutes. Considering she would have had to wait to unboard the plane after it landed and get her bags from baggage claim, as well as make her way over from the baggage claim to her current location, even five minutes felt like an overestimation.

When Maria spotted Laila she immediately jumped up from her self-invented seat and rushed towards her to pull Laila in a big hug. "Finally you are here to welcome me. I was so bored and worried as I waited for you to arrive." After that, she held Laila at an arm's length by holding on to her shoulders with stretched arms and said, "How could you let me wait here for so long by myself? I didn't expect you to be here a half an hour in advance but surely you could have gotten here in time enough to let me walk out to a friendly face. All I got were a bunch of strangers, all waiting there for their loved ones, rubbing salt in my wounds unknowingly."

Though her friend was using many big words, Laila could only chuckle in response. "How dramatic we are being. I got here as fast as I could. If I had sent the driver alone, he would have gotten here well before your landing. But because I wanted to pick you up myself and I wanted to get you something, the schedule got a bit muddled."

After hearing these words Maria's eyes gleamed and an excited smile appeared on her face. She put her hand through the crease of Laila's elbow and said in a voice that matched the expression on her face, "Oh? Did you get me a gift? You shouldn't have..." Only to add with a chuckle, "but I am glad you did!" This caused Laila to chuckle as well before they both walked towards where the car was parked and waiting for them.

As they walked Laila apologized. "I'm sorry you have to carry your suitcase yourself. I promised Noah that I would take it easy, so I can't help you carry it and I asked the driver to stay by the car since we aren't allowed to park here. You can only pick up or drop off here. So, if they don't see a driver by the car, you are immediately fined." But Maria was having none of it. "Nonsense. It has wheels for a reason and I carried it into the airport back at home, surely I can carry it out of the airport by myself as well. Besides, I never expected anyone to be helping me with my suitcase and even if I had, under no circumstance would I have allowed you of all people to carry it for me." Laila laughed and placed her head on Maria's shoulder for a brief second as she said, "Oh my, what a gentlemanly friend I have. What man could possibly be worthy of someone like you, hmm?"

Though Laila said this, she had already found the perfect man to fill that particular role in her friend's life. Now she only needed Maria to see that as well.