Lost of Track

James put his cell phone on the living room table and walked to get a drink to the refrigerator. He also accidentally saw the tupperware containing the leftover melon sorbet that Laura had made yesterday.

He also took the tupperware and put it on the pantry table then took a ceramic bowl and spoon. James scooped out the light green melon sorbet as Laura had picked it up, scraped it into a round shape and transferred it to a ceramic bowl.

James also took a spoonful and enjoyed the sweet cold taste in his mouth, closing his eyes reminiscing about their romance that Saturday afternoon. The memory brought a feeling of longing that felt sad in his heart.

James finished the sorbet in the bowl and put it in the sink for the cleaning service to wash. Then he put the tupperware back in the freezer. James glanced at his watch, it was already 20:10. He had forgotten that he hadn't eaten dinner. It feels a bit lazy to eat. So James ordered a MacD delivery burger.

James sat back on the sofa and waited to hear from Laura. Maybe Laura hasn't landed in Bangkok yet. He still sent a WA message to Laura.

James: "Hey, have you arrived at Bangkok, Honey?"

Still no reply. James was nervous too.

James is still waiting for news from Laura, it's already 23.15 WIB. He was still awake watching the show on HBO. It's possible that Laura's plane will land around 01.00, hopefully someone will pick up Laura at the airport.

He saw from his apartment window that it was raining quite heavily. How quickly the weather changed, even though this afternoon the sky was clear. What about the weather in Bangkok, he thought, earlier Laura was only wearing a thin cardigan. Why had he not asked Laura to wear a thick jacket, he regretted. It's so bad.

Laura was still on the plane to Bangkok. It's been about 5 hours she's been in the air, she feels really bored after falling asleep and wakes up and falls asleep again because the plane lights are dim and the windows only seem dark at night, it seems the weather is not so good because she feels the plane shakes frequently.

She also checked her cellphone, there was a WA message from James. Oh, James must be worried because she hasn't opened her WA messages for a long time.

"Hello Baby Boy! Sorry I overslept earlier and just had time to check WA. I'm fine, Honey, don't think too much about me. Go to sleep!" type Laura on her phone screen and send him the message.

Finally, James's phone rang notification of incoming WA messages. James immediately opened it and was very relieved to know it was from Laura.

He immediately replied. "You make me worry, My Honey. Is it still far from Bangkok?"

Laura also read the reply from James and immediately replied again. "It's almost there, Honey. Calm down... Come on, it's already midnight, you're going to campus tomorrow, right. Love you, Babe!"

James read Laura's reply and smiled. How could he not worry, the woman he loved was somewhere in the middle of the night alone anyway.

"I'm used to getting up at 5 am for exercise, I won't wake up late. Okay Dear, I'm going to bed now. Take care, My Honey. Love you more!"

James went into his room and lay on his king size spring bed trying to sleep. Tomorrow's schedule is quite busy until the afternoon.

Sure enough, as Laura predicted, the plane landed at 01.15 WIB. The captain of the plane had informed them of the time they would land. The plane's passengers looked sleepy and drowsy as they lined up from the plane. Laura felt quite refreshed after a long sleep on the plane.

She walked towards the arrival gate and saw a man in his 30s who was well-dressed carrying a sign bearing the name Prof. Gwendolyn Laura Carson. She approached the man.

"Good morning. Are you picking me up? I am Professor Laura," Laura said in English because she didn't know Thai.

Thankfully the man can speak fluent English.

"Good Morning. Yes. I am Anurak Chaya. Here to pick you to hotel Professor Laura. Please follow me."

Laura followed the man named Anurak Chaya to where a black MPV was parked and then got into the middle seat. Meanwhile, the man put Laura's suitcase into the back bagage and got into the driver's seat.

"Miss, we will go to Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit hotel directly. You can take a rest a few hours in the room. The symposium will be held today at 09.00 AM in the same hotel. And you can have a breakfast at 07.00 AM in the hotel restaurant on the first floor." Anurak Chaya provided information regarding the detailed schedule and location of the hotel that Laura would be staying at during the symposium.

"Ahh okay. I understand sir. Thank you for your hospitality. I'll make sure that I won't be late for the schedule in the morning," Laura replied, appreciating the hospitality of the host.

Finally, after driving for about 30 minutes from Suvarnabhumi airport, they arrived at their destination hotel. The appearance of the 5-star hotel is luxurious and looks so spacious with friendly and agile hotel staff.

The bell boy unloaded Laura's suitcase and helped her to check in at the reception. Everything was so professional because the event this time was of international standard, so the venue chosen was extraordinary.

Anurak Chaya said goodbye to Laura in the hotel lobby and left her to go to the room with the bellboy who helped Laura carry the luggage. Arriving at the room, Laura also gave a little tip to the bellboy and said thank you then closed the door.

Laura wasted no time and immediately changed into bed and washed her hands and face in the bathroom. After cleaning herself, Laura also wrote a message to James to let him know that she had arrived at the hotel safely.

It is now 02:10 WIB, Bangkok and Jakarta time is the same. Surely James was still asleep, Laura thought. She also wanted to rest for a while, this little time was very valuable to replenish her energy. Laura turned off her cell phone and charged it.

James woke up at exactly 05.00, his body was used to his morning ritual. James sat on the edge of the bed and reached for his phone on the nightstand. There was a message from Laura that came in at 02.12 WIB. Laura told him the name of the hotel where she was staying which was also the venue for the symposium.

James just replied, "Good morning, My Honey" because he knew Laura must not be awake yet. He would do an exercise in the morning before calling Laura after. James usually only wears boxer shorts when he sleeps the same as when he works out in the morning.

The ritual starts with sit ups 100 times, then push ups 100 times, then squat jumps 100 times and ends with skipping for 10 minutes. James prefers the idea that his regular morning exercise keeps his stamina up every day no matter how busy he is on campus he won't be too tired.

He's been doing morning exercises like that since the age of 16, his muscles are absolutely sculpted from head to toe. James always laughed when Laura said his body was hard as a wall, was it really that hard he thought.

As James walked to get some water to the fridge, his cell phone rang. James immediately ran to his room. While panting for running fast James answered the video call from Laura.

Laura : "Morning, Baby Boy," said Laura, smiling at her cell phone, she had showered and dressed up as usual.

James : "Morning, Honey. Wow, is it tidy at this hour? No jet lag, right, Dear?"

Laura : "No jet lag, Babe. Yes, because I have breakfast at 7 o'clock, just take care if I have something to prepare so I won't be late. So you after morning exercise, right?"

James : " I just finished and wanted to call you." James replied, smiling looking at the beautiful face on the screen of his cell phone.

They talked about many things, including Papi James's plans to go to Jogja to meet Laura and her parents. Laura was actually a bit uncomfortable when she had to introduce James to her Papa Mama. After all, James was still in college and they were far apart in age.

But in the end, after James convinced Laura that he would take the initiative to introduce his own identity to Laura's parents, Laura agreed.

They set the agenda for the meeting on Saturday afternoon. The symposium schedule is only until Thursday and Laura can go home by night flight from Bangkok to Jogja. That's their plan.