Daliana didn't respond.
"I can't…" Hanita said. "I just saw her and she didn't talk to me. She'll come around, you guys. Don't worry your heads about that… not right now, okay?"
Deveron nodded and stood up to meet Hanita. He enveloped her in a tight hug and said some prayers of safety for her.
Daliana motioned for Hanita to come to her and kissed her on the forehead and both sides of her cheek when she did.
"I love you… always remember that, Hanita."
Hanita's brows furrowed as she didn't like how her mother sounded. "I'll be back and you better have some good news for me!"
Her phone chimed in her pocket and she already knew who that was. She kissed her mother again about five more times before she left the room with tears in her eyes.
"Hey, you…" Hanita said as she sniffed.
"What's the problem? Are you okay?" Talik asked.
"What? Yeah yeah, I am…" she replied as she shook her head. "Can't you greet first?"
"It seemed like you were crying…"
"Meaning I'm always crying, right?" Hanita asked as she walked to the window that was at the top of the stairs. She could see the outside of their house from there, so, she could see Talik leaning on the bonnet of the car with his arms folded and one of them holding his phone to his ear. He backed the house and his shoulders looked good from Hanita's point of view.
"That's so not what I meant…" Talik said in his defense.
"Then what did you mean?"
"Hanita…" he called and trailed off. "We're behind schedule."
She removed the phone from her ear and looked at the time. It was 9:15.
'How time flies,' she thought as she placed the phone back on her ear.
"I'll be right down." Then she hung up.
* * *
The drive to the airport was smooth and full of laughter. Talik was a good conversationalist and so was Hanita. They talked about everything including people that were funnily dressed on the street. The one that made both of them laugh the most was an Angry Karen that they'd encountered during a traffic stop. The woman's show of anger and frustration and the tantrums that she'd thrown had made Talik and Hanita laugh their asses off.
"The plane is at the airport?" Hanita asked when they were quite close to their destination.
"Uh huh…"
"I kind of thought that it would be at your residence…" Hanita said with a chuckle under her breath.
"What? No… maybe if we were talking about a helicopter, that could work, but even this jet would require so much land… not to talk of a runway…"
"Yeah yeah…": Hanita agreed as she nodded. "A runway is what I should have considered in the first place."
"Yeah."
They arrived and Talik handed the keys of the car to the driver who had been waiting for him beside the plane. The pilot stood near the entrance and wore a pleasant smile and his uniform was shiny white – it looked so clean that Hanita had noticed immediately she'd set her eyes on him.
The man stretched out his hand and shook Hanita with such professionalism that she had no choice but to be impressed.
Then, she took the hand that Talik was offering and allowed herself to be led up the stairs of the plane.
When they were seated and strapped in, Hanita's gaze was caught by a pretty attendant who walked up to them and said; "We'll take off in ten. Please do make sure that you're strapped properly and that your cell phones are switched off for now."
Hanita nodded and Talik said his 'thank yous.'
Then the plane moved and it was off to North Carolina.
They were quiet for a while as Hanita looked out the window and Talik did the same. It was not going to be a long flight but Hanita found herself yawning already.
Talik unstrapped himself and reached up to one f the cabinets that were above and took out a blanket.
"Care for this?" he asked.
"Oh, thank you," Hanita said as she collected the blanket from Talik.
The blanket had been customized and had the name, 'The Blakes,' written on it.
That name struck a nerve and Hanita froze. She read it over and over again, straightening the cloth in her hands to see if she was reading correctly or not.
"What's the matter?" Talik asked while he strapped himself back into his chair that was directly opposite Hanita.
"The Blakes…" she said, this time reading it out loud.
"Yes…" Talik said with a shake of his head. "My father has most things in this plane customized… even down to the floormats." Talik raised his brows and rolled his eyes a little – the way a man would.
"I don't see the need for it though as-"
"Your father…" Hanita said. Her heart raced wildly in her chest. It had only been once that she had heard that name, 'Blake', now her brain was making matches. Hanita hoped – she secretly prayed that it was not the same Blake that they were thinking about. Only one person can't be named Blake in the whole of Georgia, she thought. Perhaps, she was getting worked up for nothing – absolutely nothing. But she was scared to ask the question that was almost coming out of her mouth. She didn't want to hear the answer to that question – not yet anyway. But when would be the right time? She swallowed as her mouth had suddenly gone dry. If she asked Talik who his father was and he said it was the Blake that she had heard about, Hanita didn't know what her reaction would be.
"Hanita?" Talik called.
She blinked severally, coming out of her intense pondering. She stared at Talik for a while which was longer than normal, not caring if he was looking back at her as well. He had a confused and worried look on his face but Hanita didn't mind that.
"Your father…" she began. "What's his name?"