Makatea's island

A few moments later…

The flight went well, paced by the incessant chatting of the « stewardess.» Sybil had eventually stopped listening what the girl was saying, leaving to Larry the duty to chat back. Tom had stayed mute too and Sybil had then turned her attention on the paradisiacal landscape and the blue water that were showing endlessly under them, succeeding finally succeeding in relaxing despite the vibrations and sounds made by the old plane.

At last, Tom began the descent towards the little runway that Sybil could see in the midst of leafy vegetation and she closed her eyes from fear. She finally felt the wheels of the little plane touch the ground and, after one last turn, the plane's speed decreased.

"Welcome to Makatea," said Tom turning to them.

In one last jolt, the plane stopped and Sybil let out a breath she didn't know she was holding back. After a few manipulations on the dashboard, Tom left the cockpit and showed up to the door near Larry. He opened it after having to kick it a few times.

"Here we go. Thank you for choosing Air Branson. Know that regular customers are winning vouchers for articles of great value," joked Tom all smile, his sunglasses on his nose.

As Edna was openly chuckling to her « Tommy boy »'s joke, Sybil followed Larry out of the plane, happy to feel her feet hit the ground again.

"Hey, do you want to steal my life jacket?" called Tom after Larry who was walking away from the plane.

Larry laughed and took off the offensive piece of yellow plastic, followed by Sybil.

"Thank you," said Tom, gathering his belongings. I wish you a great stay."

He turned to throw the jackets in the plane as Larry's arm curled around Sybil's shoulders.

"I'm going to find us a car," he breathed in her ear before kissing her cheek.

"Ok," sighed Sybil, uneasy to stay alone with Tom and his…doll.

As soon as she had got rid of her jacket, Edna clutched to Tom, letting her hand slid languorously on his chest.

"You'll see, Sybil, this island is a true paradise for lovers," said the young woman, throwing a look full of lust at Tom.

Tom only smiled before looking at Sybil.

"She's right, Syb. I'm sure you'll have a great time here with your…fiancé."

Edna didn't even note that Tom called his client by a nickname, all busy she was to rub herself shamelessly against him.

"I…hem. I'm sure," said Sybil, looking at her feet.

"You can wait for Larry over there," said Tom, pointing to a little shelter that looked like a bus stop. "We…we are going to…take a nap, isn't it My Pumpkin?" he said to Edna with a look full of meanings.

"Ah because you call THAT « taking a nap »? You're a little minx, you know," Edna chuckled almost purring while thinking about what was to come.

Sybil was feeling awkward in front of this display of…of she didn't know what at the end but she was fuming inwardly against Larry who seemed to take an eternity to find them a car that could drive them away from this disgusting picture.

"Well…have a nice stay, Sybil. Be fine," Tom finally said, turning away with his precious prize squeezed against him.

Sybil couldn't reply anything, the couple was already walking away. She didn't know why but, at this exact moment, she realized she couldn't let him leave that way. She wanted to know why. Why he had gone the way he had two years ago, without any explanation. Even if she had a little bit of idea why: she had broken his heart. She had been waiting for that for two years now. Maybe it was too late but, she considered that the memory of their friendship deserved an explanation at last.

"Tom!" she heard herself call after him.

She saw the couple stop and Tom breathed a few words in Edna's ear. She nodded and, after one last look to Sybil, she walked away to what she supposed was the main street of Makatea. Tom watched her a few moments and, when she was far away enough, he went back to Sybil. He stopped at a reasonable distance from her.

"Yeah?"

"I…hem. I wanted to know…Do you think we could see each other again before I leave?"

"You and me?" asked Tom crossing his arms on his chest while eyeing her from head to toe.

"Euh…hem, yes." Said Sybil finding her feet suddenly very interesting.

"What for?"

The coldness in Tom's voice cut her like a knife.

"To…to talk," she breathed.

"About what?"

He knew very well about what she wanted to talk about but he wasn't ready to surrender or make things easy for her. He had waited for her for years and, after finally teeling him she loved him, she had suddenly changed her mind, sacrificing their love on the altar of family loyalty. And she had destroyed him along the road.

"About you…me…us," said Sybil in a breath before daring to look up at him.

She couldn't really read the emotions playing on his face and in his eyes right now: pain, hope, resentment…love?

"And don't you think it's a little bit too late for that?" laughed Tom, decided to keep his walls up in front of her pleading eyes.

"Tom…please, I need to know…"

"Listen, Sybil. If you didn't already understand why, telling you everything now would be useless. You have your own life now, and I have mine. I moved on for a long time now and I absolutely have no desire to revisit my past. What's done is done. All that is far away and I want it to stay that way. Now, if you want to excuse me, someone is waiting for me. I wish you a nice stay to Makatea, Sybil."

With these cold words, Tom glanced one last time at her then turned away. Sybil watched him go away with a knot in her throat. Of course she knew why he had disappeared without a word or, at last, she supposed so: she had said « never » when he was expecting a yes to his proposal after she had confessed her love. She also knew that for the past two years, she had invested herself in a relationship with another man, decided to make it work despite her other feelings. And until now, she had succeeded…more or less. But since Tom had come back in her life in such an unexpected way, one eternal question came back to haunt her: Was Larry the man of her life? Was Larry her soul mate?

To be continued