Henry wants us to go to my parents' house. You know how he is, from a traditional family, wanting to do everything right. What's the schedule like this week? We agreed to get ahead on all the work and maybe travel for a couple of days. Can you handle everything with the team's help? We also need to see if we can change our schedule, leave the office together, which is quite a hassle. It would actually be nice to get away from here for a bit, and since it's been a while since I visited my family, it would be a good time. But for now, let's focus on work. That's the best thing to do.
Liz was looking at the schedule here; we have that dinner with our partners on Friday, and it's very important that we attend. I mentioned it to Nick; he and the partners will be there too. So invite Henry to join us. Nick will come here to go together. So, this week doesn't work for you to travel. That's okay! I'll talk to Henry tonight when he comes to pick me up.
It's time to leave. Penne asked if I wanted to go with her and Nick. I said I'll wait for Henry, who was supposed to pick me up. So we're going; we'll stop by our bar nearby for some wine, we'll wait for you there. Half an hour passed, and Henry still hadn't arrived. I sent a message, but he didn't read it. I'll call a taxi and meet the group there. I wonder if something happened; he never gets late. From there, I'll try calling him. Suddenly, his phone rings.
As I was leaving the door, I saw Peter passing by in his car. He spotted me and stopped ahead, offering me a ride. I said I had called a taxi. He said I could just cancel it. "Alright then," Liz replied a bit upset. "Do you want me to take you home?" "No. I'm going to meet Penne and Nick at the bar where we always gather. Are you okay? You seem sad." Peter insisted, wanting to hear her answer. Liz told him she was just worried about Henry, who was supposed to pick her up but didn't arrive or send any message; since he never gets late, she wanted to know what had happened.
I called Zoe to hang out a bit; she said she would be late because her boss, who is also her boyfriend, was in a meeting and seemed like it would take a while. We planned to meet at the bar too. So we waited together there. "Okay," Liz thought because Henry hadn't said anything to her. She gave a somewhat awkward smile to Peter.
They arrived at the bar and went straight to the table where Nick was sitting with Penne, who looked at Liz puzzled. Peter pulled out a chair for Liz to sit down, called a waiter, asked what Liz would have, she ordered a glass of wine, and he ordered a beer. While Liz was telling Penne what had happened, she couldn't believe it either. "It must have been a misunderstanding. It surely was a misunderstanding. Did you call him?" "I did, I sent messages too, and I told him where I was if he wanted to meet me. I spoke with a very upset and sad voice."
An hour later, Liz was telling Penne that she was going to call a taxi to go home. She said that Nick could take them home; she didn't want to interfere with their evening. Peter said he would take her, but she declined. She would call a taxi. Liz got up from the table, said goodbye to her friends, and left. She walked away without looking back.
Outside, the taxi was already waiting for her. She got in and left. She couldn't stop thinking about what could have happened. "We've arrived!!!" said the driver. "Ah yes. Thank you very much. Good night!" Liz went in, went straight to the shower, and put on her pajamas... she was very distressed. She went downstairs, made herself a tea because she had a headache. She put on some nice music very softly, sat on the couch to have her tea. Then the doorbell rang. Since Penne has her own key, Liz didn't worry about opening the door. She continued sitting, having her tea. She wanted to calm down; she was very tense.
When Penne arrived, Liz had fallen asleep on the couch; she noticed her friend had been crying. "Liz... Liz... wake up. Are you okay?" "Yes," she replied, "I had a headache, made myself a tea, drank it, and fell asleep here. What time is it now?" "It's almost one in the morning. You came home late. Was Henry here?" "No. I don't know. I looked at my phone; it was full of missed calls and messages from him. Good for him, he'll never leave me waiting again."
Liz told her that he arrived at the bar with two partners, and Zoe was with them. She asked about you, I told him what happened. He said he didn't have time to call you, had some issues, but he asked his assistant, who we know very well, and she said she forgot because of the rush at the company. He brushed it off, apologized to Henry, who surely believed what she said.
Then, right away, he said goodnight, apologized, and said he was coming to see her. But he was very sad about what happened. He must not even have been able to sleep yet. I'm very upset with him, I can't let him do this to me. See, that's why I didn't want to get involved with anyone. I was fine just thinking about work. Don't say that; I believe this will never happen again. He loves you very much. And this music you're listening to? Are you in love too? "I won't cry over anyone. It was the first and last time. I don't want to fight with him, so tomorrow I'm going to visit the construction site with our partner. I'll leave early, so we won't meet yet. I don't like to resolve things when I'm nervous. If he shows up, say I need some time to think, we'll talk later. Let's sleep; dawn will come soon."
It wasn't eight o'clock when the doorbell rang. I was just finishing getting ready to go to work. I opened the door, came face to face with Henry. "Good morning, Penne. Is Liz ready? I came to take her to work and talk about yesterday; I see she hasn't opened my messages... When I got home yesterday, she had taken a headache pill and slept, she was very sad. I explained to her what happened. So she said she needed to take a short trip to see a construction site and needed to calm down first before talking to you. So give her some time. Then you can talk calmly. It's better this way."
"Okay then, I'll wait for her. You're not going to tell me where she is, right?" "That's right. I want my friend to be okay. Everything will be fine."