A heavy, dark cloud approached. Louis tried to get his mind off the flight he was to board in two hours. He gazed around his room to see if there was anything he was forgetting. Grabbing his box of cigars on the dresser, he buried it below his socks and underwear in his rust colored leather suitcase.
Julia could not understand why Louis would not invest in better luggage. It was because Louis hated to fly. Even though he had flown countless times, it never got easier. He was never amused at the thought of being thirty thousand feet in the air. Louis wanted nothing to do with booking flights, planning vacations or traveling to other countries. He was content with his old luggage because, superstitiously, he thought it kept him safe.
"Sweetheart, take this," Julia said as she handed him a bottle of pain medicine. "There are six pills in there. Take three before you board the plane and three on your way back."
Louis stared at the pills in the palm of his hand.
"Where did you get these pills?"
"My therapist prescribed them for me. By the look of things, you need them more than I do. " She laughed.
Louis shoved the pills in his pocket and continued packing. "None of that crap works for me. I've tried everything. The only thing that will work is not boarding that metal flying casket."
"You'll be ok dear," Julia whispered as she gently rubbed his back. "You've done this a million times. Plus, who else will run Paraguay? God needs you here."
"God? The same God that is making it storm when he knows my fear of flying? That God?" he chuckled.
Julia had just come in from gardening and was wearing a beautiful red dress with yellow sunflowers. The sun had slightly colored her skin, which Louis had not noticed when she first entered the room. He closed his suitcase and grabbed Julia by both arms pulling her close to him.
"Thank you, my dear, for being a wonderful wife. I know it's not easy, but you do a damn good job of making it look that way."
He kissed her softly on the forehead, the lips, then down her neck to her shoulders. She closed her eyes and enjoyed this rare pleasure. Grabbing his face, she kissed him passionately. Louis shoved Julia onto the bed with him toppling on her. It had been almost a year since they made love and the anticipation for Julia couldn't have been any greater. She had come to terms that their love life had ended. Louis kissed her intensely, removing one breast from underneath her bra as he grasped the other tightly. Julia unzipped his pants, grabbed his erect penis and rapidly stroked it.
Without warning, Louis arose from the bed. He said nothing. Julia said nothing. He wiped the perspiration from his forehead and zipped his pants. She watched in disbelief. The awkwardness of the moment left her with the realization that he was not physically attracted to her.
"I have to go," Louis said. "This storm is coming soon, and I don't want to get caught in it. I'm sorry."
Julia blinked back tears. "Ok dear!"
She fixed her sundress and climbed from the bed. She glanced in the mirror to see if her makeup was still suitable then walked over to Louis. She unraveled the collar to his shirt and kissed him on the cheek.
"Sweetheart, you have a safe trip. Solono, Maria and I will be here waiting for you when you return."
"Solono is coming with me." Louis said. "I thought it would be a good idea for him to accompany me."
Julia's eyes widened.
"That's great. Give the minister and his family my love."
She felt like a little girl wanting to cry out for her father to comfort her but kept her face blank.
"I will most certainly express your kindness when I see them, dear." Louis said. "Please let Solono know that I'll be ready shortly." He nodded towards the door.
"Yes, my love." Julia said before briefly closing her eyes, inhaling the aroma of his cigar smoke and his 1916 Myrurgia cologne that had fogged the room. She exited as Louis busied himself with gathering and organizing paperwork that was scattered across the dresser.