Chapter 104

July 23rd, 2024

"Mesdames et messieurs, votre attention s'il vous plaît. Ceci est le tout dernier appel avant la fermeture des portes du vol Air France AF 6245," the intercom announced, continuing to repeat the same boarding announcement in English, as Colin stepped into the departure hall, his gaze looking for the familiar short figure.

This morning he wasn't alone, however, having promised to take Harriett to the park himself per her request, before they drove back to his estate in Italy later that evening. Hence there was little girl was in his lap, clinging onto his neck. He was still not entirely used to taking her to crowded places like this, having kept her out of the public for a long time. Harriett was truly a pandemic child, having not seen a playgroup or a public playground for most of her life.

"Colin!" came a call from across the hall, and Colin recognized it without hesitation, turning towards the voice, all other sounds fading into the distance.

"Hey, look who's here," Colin said, speaking also to Harriet. Of course the girl had met Stephanie at the party after the ceremony, even if not on such a personal level or one-on-one, but Colin had decided that he wasn't actually going to hide whatever he had with Stephanie from her. It was his way of saying how much he meant it. Besides, he doubted the girl would notice a lot of detail.

After a brief look over her casually dressed form, leggings and a simple cotton shirt that showed some clevage, Colin gave Stephanie a half hug, and didn't hesitate to give her a quick peck on the lips as well, surprising her a little for that same reason. But in this cultural context, that nearly felt as expected, cheek kisses being common even amongst men.

"I was worried I might have been late. It took us a while to figure out the parking here," Colin explained. He hadn't been to this airport before.

Harriet hid her face in Colin's neck once more, being a little shy after Stephanie gave her a wink in greeting, and tickled her slightly pudgy arm with the back of her finger.

"It's fine, I'm all checked in and the lines don't seem to be that bad, so I'm good on time," Stephanie said, gesturing towards the security check. Her flight was in an hour and the airport really wasn't that big. Frequent travellers as they all were, even if not as much during these past years, knowing the tricks to get through security, or better yet, the fastlane, quickly, wasn't an issue. That was why one knew how to pack hand luggage light, keep all important things separately packed and easily accessible.

They looked around, searching for a good place to take a seat and talk a little, but there didn't seem to be many good options around, most of the tiny cafes with bar booth style seating and benches being crowded by some sort of an orchestra, a pile of their instruments waiting around forming in a large pile.

"I think I saw some benches outside…," Colin began to say, but realized soon that there was no way he was going to keep Harriet entertained on his lap, and with taxis coming and going it wasn't exactly a safe place to let her run around. This was his life now, despite having nannies. There was always going to be a certain amount of distraction - but he was just going to have to make it work.

Stephanie could see the puzzled look on his face, wanting to find a good compromise. She loved seeing this side of him.

"Or if you want, you could probably use your Platinum card and we could go wait inside, I saw an indoor playground over there, when I flew in," Stephanie suggested. She was noticing all the pregnant bellies, fancy stroller models and baby carriers, and among other things also playgrounds. She was mesmerized by all things baby related, Harriett included.

Colin smiled at her. It was frankly enjoyable to be around someone who knew he had no issue spending a little money for his convenience, and frankly, she didn't know the half of it. In fact, it wasn't the first time they'd done something like that - recalling a particular time the Life and Death Brigade had taken over a VIP lounge in Zurich after a winter ski trip.

It really took him no more than 5 minutes to buy a couple of tickets to Frankfurt am Main. Thankfully, he had the travel documents with him.

They grabbed some snacks at a coffee shop, a couple of pastries and coffee, de-caf for her, and the minute Harriet saw the yellow plywood airplane inside the little fence, she already made a dash for its stairs. The girl was surprisingly brave once she'd warmed up a bit.

They looked for a convenient place to sit, where they'd have a view of the playground, allowing the 2-year old to wander freely. The area was gated and not too crowded.

"Mesdames et messieurs, votre attention s'il vous plaît. Avis aux passagers du AF6723 pour New York JFK. Le départ sera retardé de deux heures," the intercom announced. The mention of New York already drawing their attention while they didn't otherwise really hadn't been paying much attention. Thankfully the message was repeated in English, "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please. Passengers of flight AF6723 to New York JFK, your flight has been delayed by two hours," as they sat down, Colin having just taken a sip of his coffee and nearly burning his tongue.

Despite the hurting of his tongue Colin smiled, and while in any other scenario the announcement would've been followed by a whine of disappointment, the two were not really upset at all of this development. Harriett was also clearly enjoying herself, having already found the Lego Duplo table.

"So here we are," Stephanie said, with a light chuckle, commenting on the situation they were in. It felt a little funny, frankly, hanging out like this inside the airport terminal. In their former lives surely, they would've rather chosen the bar. They sat a couple of bean bags, Stephanie already knowing that she was probably not going to be able to get up by herself that easily.

"We are..," Colin replied. There was still some awkwardness - the physical part had been easy, the rest… it just needed to fall into place. They just needed to relax.

"This dating thing is probably going to be pretty weird..," Stephanie said, admitting a hint of the insecurity she felt for doing this while she was pregnant. She was going to gain weight, not look her best, not to mention all the damage actually having the baby would do, and she couldn't even drink to sooth her nerves.

"What do you mean?" Colin asked. Of course he got it, dating a friend was weird - none of the typical date subjects were really relevant. He didn't need to ask her about where she was from or where she went to school. Even asking about friends was irrelevant. But he worried she might think there was a weirdness to it above that.

"Well, I've never dated someone while I was pregnant before for one. And me being in Atlanta for now, I feel like the next time you'll probably see me I'll be this giganting whale," Stephanie replied, chuckling nervously. She could make her move a few weeks early, but if she wanted to maintain her credibility in her field she couldn't just go burning bridges with her employer over Colin.

"I think that's utterly impossible, you look very cute, pregnant or not," Colin replied, having wanted to say 'beautiful' instead but had somehow hesitated. Close enough - he thought.

"Are you bothered by the fact..?" she asked.

"I guess I was a bit upset when I found out, but on my defence I did think you were having it with someone… and I guess that was the part that upset me," Colin explained, blowing on his coffee.

"Well I was, you know, before… We were going to do this together. But I just… he wasn't the right fit. He couldn't really commit to this idea, he had this image that our lives would be the same, but clearly they would've not been," Stephanie felt she needed to add. Her fiance, until a year ago, had been with her for several years. It had been a serious relationship, but it had taken her a while that in part she kept trying to change the man, almost as if subconsciously looking for certain properties she knew Colin had. But Colin had seemed just as stuck in his ways, and unattainable. The fact that he had a kid though, had come as a complete surprise, making him a lot more of a possibility.

"I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have..," Stephanie hesitated, not knowing if it was okay to mention exes this early. It was Colin's quietness at that statement that made her worry. But the reason she was telling him this was that he would know what was important to her. There needed to be no doubt in that, if she was going to put her heart on the line again.

"Well it's not like I'm a clean slate," Colin replied with a light shrug. He too had had his share of crushes, flames that burnt fiercely. He'd even had people try to trick him for his money before, those times felt particularly nasty to recoup after. "And I never really got a say in this choice, but here we are," he added, nodding towards Harriet. He didn't need to tell her that there were no regrets of his life having ended up richer for having Harriet even if it had not been in his plans.

Stephanie also felt kind of bad that he hadn't had a choice in the life that was inside of her, though she had no regrets either. She'd done what had been right for her. She just felt like Colin was so underappreciated, people just didn't see under his strong, defensive exterior.

"And here we are," her sing-song voice noted, and intertwined her fingers with his.

"Thank you," Colin replied suddenly, truly surprising her.

"What for?" Stephanie chuckled.

"For giving me the time of day," Colin confessed, letting another fragment of his defensive wall break down for her. He felt so lucky he wanted to scream, and he really no longer cared what kind of string that came with. That she would even consider him, even if things didn't work out, having this opportunity was so important to him.

Stephanie held his jaw and kissed him, letting it linger a moment. Colin wanted to get lost in that, but he knew that he couldn't zone off for long, having to keep an eye on Harriet. And while this was something Stephanie was still getting used to, she was forgiving, keeping her hand in his, making her feel like a teenager.

"So, I guess it's a little like our second, or third, date, right?" Stephanie asked, thinking of spending the time well. What did one ask the other while being on a date with a friend anyways? "So tell me, why did you end up moving back to Boston?" she began, trying to fill in the gaps their time apart had left them with, deciding to use the time while she waited well.

AN: Writing is not coming easily atm. I have a another plot running around in my head but I am trying not to start writing it before I finish this, work has been crazy and I've gotten myself hooked on The Handmaid's Tale (feel like I'm cheating on Gilmore Girls a bit) - not a good combo for focusing on this. But there are a few more importnant steps this story needs to live through.