like grandfather, like grandson

A classic restaurant, big candles on the tables, soft lights, and high ceiling with huge chandeliers. Many suits and dresses surrounding the circular tables. A lot of waiters moving here and there, no music, just the noise sound of people talking at the same time, when you look at the scene you realize that no one is listening, everyone just talk, literally everyone ... except these two, they are sitting on two nearby tables, staring at each other’s eyes without even a blink. It seems that they don’t hear anything around them. It’s like they’re sitting in an empty place, just looking towards each other in a mixed felling appeared on their faces, it seems like they are both blaming each other on something they know. Jenny is 60 years old, randy is 62. Classic black suit and an elegant tie matching with his shining black shoes and a soft grey hair. And on the other side a woman with long off-white dress and 3-cm heels sitting like a queen ..but without her king, the king is waiting beside her for his beloved queen to crown him again. A long moment of staring towards each other without noticing of anyone around them. They were busy talking and filling up their stomachs. In fact, they were all there celebrating the engagement of Randy’s grandson Rob and sandy. It was there first time they see each other after so many years. Randy’s wife died 5 years ago, and it was the last time he saw jenny in 30 years when she consoled him for his loss.                        

Rob decided to interrupt this moment, he whispered in Randy’s ears:

‘I think you should invite her to our table, but I think that the man beside her can prevent this’ rob laughed.

-       What? Who?! Randy asked nervously.

‘the woman you are looking at since we entered here’ rob replied.

-       ‘Ahh .. no, she is just like an old friend’. Randy answered him.

He got embarrassed and asked a cup of orange juice with a loud voice, he wanted her to listen, they used to drink it in the past. He knew that she would still order the same until now. He never liked orange but he never told her that.

Jenny smiled when she heard him, she remembered the old days, it doesn’t matter how many years it still feels like yesterday. 

Rob and his fiancée were happy that night, sandy was delighted as she was waiting for this although they didn’t know each other for a longtime, it’s been only 6 months, they were working together for a newspaper, when they started to like each other, she worked before him in the newspaper and he was a clever journalist, at first he seemed uncomfortable to the place but by time he got familiar with people there. They dealed with each other a lot, discussing some essays and ideas, she believed that he would be a great journalist one day. Day after day and month after month she got attracted to him, she started to have some feelings towards him, but he seemed normal, until one day she confessed her love to him, he looked a little bit hesitated, he liked her also but not as much as she felt for him. He told her that he loves her at that moment, she was funny, responsible, and beautiful so he had no reason to block her, he thought of his last hesitation, he remembered his decision not to think too much in things again.

Gazes turned into quick glimpses because some started to notice, especially her husband beside her, she loves him, or she started to love him after what randy did to her. She memorized all of things between them at that night and he also remember what made him do that.

-       You were such a coward randy.

-       I wasn’t sure of your love, but you were so rapid you betrayed me, you knew that I loved you.

-       I wanted to have a family and you didn’t I still remember our talks.

-       Wrong decisions can exist.

-       I wanted that safety, that stability in my life, life is not for that type of persons randy, I needed you to be braver and you weren’t.

A conversation that was in jenny’s mind, all of what she wanted to tell him about and there was no chance. Randy was that kind who fears from any commitment on him, he didn’t want any responsibility, he loved his job, so he was good at it and he loved jenny, but it wasn’t enough, he didn’t prove it and that was his fault.

Laughs and smiles were on the faces of the two families of rob and sandy except his grandfather who was like regretting all the things he had done in the past. He wanted to return back home, every single moment in that place was as painful as someone who is whipped for a crime he didn’t do. Rob noticed his reactions, so he excused and took him to talk privately outside the restaurant. He wanted to know if something upset him, but randy replied that everything is okay, but he needs to rest only. Rob asked him about the woman he was looking at inside the restaurant and if she was the reason of all of this. Randy denied that she has any relation with this, and he only said that he wants to rest. He said goodbye to his grandchild and ordered a taxi back home. Rob was confused but he went back in and told them that randy is just tired.

Rob continued his night out and it was great, they all had fun and they expected a perfect marriage soon as they seemed happy.

Everything was good until that day, the day that rob decided to go to book a reservation for his honeymoon with sandy, the day that he faced the consequences of the influence of his grandfather on him. He went to an office that he knew from a friend where he met Lisa!!

Lisa and rob is the parallel story of randy and jenny but in the present, rob loved her so much, he tried so hard to impress her in all ways, they were friends but he never told her anything and he never knew her feelings towards him, she got married and he knew nothing about her since then, and he meets her now, what should he say, should he tell her and take the chance or it’s too late, she is married and he is going to be soon.

All these ideas in his head were vanished when she saw him,

-       Ohh his rob it’s been a long time.

-       Hi Lisa, yes so long time, how are you?

He never wanted to ask about her health he wanted to ask her about her marriage, he wanted to know if there was a chance.

-       I am good, I am working here, I am the manager of this department after jack departure, and you?

-       I am still a journalist as you know, whose jack, do you mean your husband? Rob asked with hope.

-       yes, he left the office after we broke up, so I got his place.

there was a great joy inside him and a shock, what? Are you telling me this now! He was standing in confusion, it was the chance that he was looking for, that he wasted in the past, she was Infront of him again but, wait.. the weeding is within a week, what about sandy, she was nice to me, rob said in his mind. She loved him more than anything in her life.!

-       Do you wanna book a trip, don’t you? She asked.

-       No, I was just asking about some prices and costs, just a curiosity.

He didn’t tell her that he was planning to book a flight to travel with his future wife, he kept his chances alive that time.

-       What about you rob are you married?

Another bullet, he didn’t know what to say.

-       No, not yet…but maybe soon.

He is in a critical situation now, but a man like rob can handle himself well.

Rob decided to go to randy, he needed some advice from an expert.

-       Look son, you remind me of myself, and I regret all of this now, and I can’t help you in this, you should decide you had put yourself in the worst situation that even the best solution will be bad.

-       I invited her to dinner with her mother this night in my house.

-        I can’t encourage you to leave sandy for your old love and I can’t tell you to live with someone you don’t want to live with. I was wrong when I did that in the past, but I gave up my old love to live with your grandmother, I loved her but as I loved the first.

-       She was the one in the restaurant that night. wasn’t she? Rob asked.

-         Yes, but look I want you to choose the best for you and your family and to bear your decisions.

Rob left that day without a specific decision, but he called a friend to book a flight for two anyway, it could be for sandy as he planned or Lisa as he wished.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

It’s October 10^th, the day of the weeding, sandy was preparing herself with her family, she was delighted, she loved him, and he was nice to her.

She called him in the morning, but he didn’t answer. It was weird as he should be awake. She tried another time but still no answer, she was worried, she waited and tried third and fourth and tenth time, but he didn’t answer, what was happening?

In fact, he will not answer, because he is with me Maya, we are on the best place in the Maldives.

Maya was his first love, but they argued about many things in the past and they broke up then he saw Lisa, but five days ago he met Maya again and immediately proposed to her and she accepted.

-       Randy are you hungry. His wife asked.

Randy also met an old friend and he married her, he will never get old, he will never get bored of new adventures.

Rob is the same as randy, they both love to live freely, to do anything at any time.

Maybe maya is not the last one and may be randy can have a new adventure but you will never know what goes in their minds.

It’s me who writes this, Ashley, Rob’s wife.