'I'm sorry,' I said, with my head held low. Then as I looked up, the golden light from the late afternoon sun cast a glow that dawned upon her. She truly looked like an apparition to me.
As she had always been. A saving grace.
'For what?' she asked, voice stern. But however it may sound, at least I got to hear it once more.
'For being here,' I replied, although I was already too sure what I should be sorry for. I wanted to explain everything, but I guess it was not yet the right time.
From the looks of it, we may be working together for this one. If she accepts it.
She turned her head to the side, and an even better scene came in front of me. The light cast a silhouette of her perfect face, high bridged nose, wonderful lips. I knew I was left in awe at that moment, but I had to snap out of it, lest I want her to dump this project laid down before us.
She stormed right past me, and a citrusy scent of her perfume caught me and left me standing there, as if something had nailed me right to the spot. My heart beat frantically at the moment, and I felt like I was in high school once more. I went back to the time when we didn't have any problems.
So it seemed.
Gathering up all the strength left in me, I turned around to follow her back to the house. A few more steps, and I could still hear the wild beating of my heart.
'God, Geoffrey! Are you eighteen? For goodness sake, you are thirty-eight!'
As I went back in, Father Christian was already smiling. If only he wasn't a priest and a very important person, I would have snapped the hell out of him.
'Okay, let's get back to business,' he said as he returned to his seat in front of where we were. This time, I stayed near the door, while Hannah was on the seat which I occupied earlier.
My heart felt giddy seeing her there. She may look exasperated, but my mind tells me that she is accepting this. My heart felt that she had done so.
I could only hope she can find it there to forgive me too.
'Hannah, Geoff. As I mentioned earlier, I sought the two of you because I know you are professionals and you will do everything you can to make something successful. Am I right? Of course, I am,' he began to speak. I dipped my head low and smiled, hoping that she would say yes.
A few minutes passed, and when I was supposed to say something, Hannah spoke up. Jinx! I thought, then looked at her. We stared at each other before I offered a small smile, then I nodded, letting her speak first before me.
'Well, I'm not quite sure how this would go, but we can give it a try,' she said.
I must admit, my heart leapt that I actually wanted to leap physically likewise.
'Geoff?' Christian asked. I looked up at him and smiled.
'I'm accepting it. I don't see anything wrong, and I will try to do my best for this one,' I replied. The priest smiled, and although I could sense there was a bit of naughtiness in that, I actually wanted to thank him too.
'Good! We'll have a meeting with the client tomorrow, at 3pm. At my office. Are you both clear for tomorrow?' he asked. That was fast, but I won't say no to anything.
Hannah replied that her schedule was vacant after I said my piece. We then stood up and got out, then went our way to where our vehicles were parked. She said goodbye to Christian, and as she got in the car, I went near her.
'Hannah, thank you for accepting this one,' I said.
She nodded then replied. 'It's a project. Please don't think otherwise.'
I nodded then smiled.
'Wait,' I said as she fastened her seatbelt. 'Can I follow you home?'
She looked at me, puzzled. I was actually expecting something else, a blow or a spat of words, but I was met with an answer I never thought she'd say.
'Whatever suits you,' she replied as she started the car. I gave her a smile in reply. After waving goodbye to Christian, I wore my helmet and got on my bike, eager to follow the woman whom I truly wanted to see for the longest time but never had the courage to do so.
The ride went smoothly as I tailed her Range Rover. While we were on the road, a wave of nostalgia hit me, as what we were traversing now was the same route that we took for those afternoons in the past. The past came hurling back at me for the last hour and I wondered.
What if I chose a different path? What if I didn't do what I did? Would it make a difference?
Pulling up in front of her parent's house, I stopped my bike likewise. I took off my helmet and went to where she was. She opened the window and as I reached down to meet her eye-level, I smiled at her.
'Thank you, for allowing me to do this,' I said. She nodded, but I noticed her hands were on the wheel, gripping it tightly.
'Not a problem,' she replied.
'I'll get going, but I need to ask you something,' I said. She looked at me.
'Can I bring you to school tomorrow? I mean for the meeting? You know how bad the traffic is at that time,' I said, justifying why I should do so.
I wasn't sure if those were tears in her eyes before she replied.
'Geoff, I can go there alone. I'll see you tomorrow,' then she closed the window.
I stepped back and went to my bike then went my way.