FAITH'S REGRET

       Faith fell to her knees and wept in the car park. Ethan stood some inches away, hands in his pocket looking at her. He watched her cry for a while and he went over to her and grabbed her hand. 

       "Hey, get up," he said and grabbed her hand. She tried to restrict him, but he was persistent.   "You don't want to cause people to stir, do you?" He dragged her up and away from the parking lot and she followed, her eyes puffy. 

      A few minutes later, he was standing in a small park at the hospital, his hands stuck inside his pockets, looking at her as she sat down on a wooden park chair sobbing and hiccuping from so much crying. When he noticed that she has subsided a little he asked. 

       "What is wrong? What happened?" 

        "Is should be none of your business," she replied in a tear strained voice. 

       "This is what I don't like with you!" he yelled and she glanced up at him.  "When will I be worthy enough to get involved in your business even though I'm only rendering help?" 

      She didn't answer, she sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her palm, still hiccuping. He stared at her for a while. 

        "Tell me," he said.  "Why do you see me as a joker? Am I not man enough to know you?" 

       Faith wept silently and wiped the tears. He was the reason for their fallout. What was she going to say to him?

       "Can I have a drink, please?" 

         "I'm letting you have only coffee." He took out his phone and dialled Mrs Hernandez. She answered almost immediately.  "Mrs Hernandez, I will be stepping out for a while. Is Charlotte alright? Take care of her while I'm gone... Alright then, bye." He hung up and looked at her.  "Let's go." 

       He dragged her away from the seat and along with him as he moved towards his car. He opened the door for her and she went in without any fight. He circled and entered the driver's seat, strapped on his seat belt and waited for her to strap hers. When she was done, he ignited the car and drove away from the hospital. 

     "I'm taking you somewhere a bit farther from the hospital so that you can breathe in the fresh air and organise your thoughts and also feel better," he said as they hit the road. 

        "Are you kidnapping me then?" She didn't intend to be humorous.

  He glanced at her and looked back on the road.  "Tsk, do I look like I have a single thread of mischief in me?" 

    She looked at him. He always knows how to make her feel better. She looked at him. No matter how sad or sullen she felt, she was always better when he comes into the picture. She wanted to smile but she kept remembering Nora's face and the things she said to her she started blaming herself again, beating herself inside for being so harsh to Nora. Nora was the only friend she had. Although Charlotte has come into the picture, she wasn't guaranteed. 

       She looked down at her fingers, since she couldn't smile at his joke, for now, she would focus on getting better before they get to their destination, because she need to be stable to answer too many questions that he was going to throw at her. He glanced over at her and she removed her eyes from him. 

       They drove in silence, through the shade-dappled suburbs and pecan groves until he pulled up in front of a building that looked like a monastery. She looked around. 

           "Where is this place?" 

      He killed the car engine.  "Where you will get your best coffee." 

       "Why does it look like a monastery though?" 

  He smiled.  "Because it was built for solitary. You can come here, have the best coffee in the world and still find peace." He unstrapped his seat belt.  "I will get the door for you!" he said and got out of the car. 

     She watched him circle around to open up the door for her. He had a smile on his face and he stretched out his hand for her to take it. She wondered why he was treating her with kindness. She took his hand and got down of the car. He locked the car and held her hand as they moved towards the building. 

       "Is it a rule here? I mean being a gentleman?" she asked. 

     He glanced at her.  "You never give me credits. I am always a perfect gentleman." 

      "Mmh." She nodded. "Not completely a lie. How did you find this place?" 

        "Axel. He brought me here one of the days I was in turmoil and I found inner peace here." 

       "You think I am in turmoil?" 

         "Ever since I met you, you have been in turmoil." 

  She tried to withdraw her hand from his but he held her tight. She looked at him and scowled. He ignored her and pushed the door open and they went in. Few people were seated around the place having coffee or discussing, but it was particularly quiet and cosy. He led her to an empty table and drew out a seat for her. She sat and acknowledged him with a smile. He went over and sat opposite her, facing her. 

        "They also have lodges here." 

         "Why are you giving me that information?" 

        "Relax, don't be too prim and proper." 

         "Who is prim and proper?" she asked in her defence eyeing him. 

           "You," he answered with a smile.  "That is just one of the attributes of this place I was about to tell you. They also have a body spa and karaoke." 

         "Why didn't you start with those first?" she muttered. 

         "Because rest is a basic need and should be put first in our hierarchy of needs." 

       She sighed.  "Are we ordering coffee or not?" 

        "That is why we are here," he said smiling and looking at her. 

          "Then, stop looking at me and order already," she said avoiding his gaze. 

        "Yes ma'am!" He beckoned to a waiter. The waiter took their orders and left. He faced her again, she looked down at her hands on the table. "So, back to what brought us here. Why were you crying so hard at the park?" 

       "How long did you stand there?" She looked into his eyes. 

        "Did you fight with Nora?" 

        "You should answer my question." 

        "I asked first, you should answer me." 

        "I fought with Nora. So how long were you there?" 

        "From the beginning." 

         "Why? Are you stalking me?" 

         "I was just being concerned. I noticed the coldness between you and Nora in Charlotte's room, so I thought you went down to fight each other. But, why do I always get concerned about you, no matter how many times you have asked me not to? What did you do to me?"

      Faith felt her heart skip. Dumbfounded, she just stared at him. Luckily, for her, the waiter arrived with their orders and placed them on the table. She grabbed her mug and started drinking from it. He didn't give up, he peered into her face. 

        "Can you tell me?" 

       She dropped her mug on the table allowing it to hit the table hard.  "Hey, didn't you come here to cheer me up? What's with the absurd question?" 

         "I see," Ethan sipped his coffee, the mischievous smile still plastered on his face.  "You prefer to talk about your problems now rather than tell me what you did to me?" Faith ignored him and sipped her drink.  "How will I even cheer you up when you are too secretive about everything? You won't even tell me, so I brought you here to drink coffee and stop thinking about whatever it is." 

        "I said mean things to Nora at the Hollywood sign today, I didn't...I feel so bad. I didn't know how she was struggling with it and I said it to her face." Faith looked into her coffee mug like she was talking to the mug. 

      "You were angry." 

       "I kind of took things too far, I didn't mean to." 

        "Was that what happened with Charlotte?" 

         Faith nodded and sipped her drink.  "She must hate me so much now."  She dropped the mug on the table again and kept looking at it. 

        "Who? Charlotte?" 

        "Nora. She is the only friend I have in this whole wide world. I mean the last person I have now and I still pushed her out of my life." 

        "Did she say that you pushed her out of your life?" 

        "She said if I do, she would never come back and I think I just pushed her so far." Faith's voice was unsteady now and tears welled up in her eyes. 

       Ethan looked at her, at how she wrapped her hands around the mug and her hands seems to be quivering. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know if he was to crack a  joke or something else. He was never sure with Faith, she might flare up and get mad at him.