Thanks to those who have reviewed. I had several "Guest" reviews and we can't reply to them, but I wanted to say thanks. Also, some noticed that Stephanie was the exact opposite of Linka. Good eye. That's what I was going for!
Wheeler stands on the balcony of his hotel room, getting some fresh air. He drank more than he should have at dinner, switching from beer to bourbon once his meal came, so he thought the fresh air would help...the shower hadn't. Stephanie was already fast asleep, but when he tried laying down, the room started to spin and his stomach started to churn. That is when he decided to step outside. Movement in the courtyard catches his attention. Someone is standing on the walking bridge that spans the small Coy Pond and is looking down into it. Linka.
He moves back away from the railing, not wanting her to turn around and see that she's being watched. He sits in one of the chairs as he continues to observe. She still looks the same. Her hair is down, that is rare. Or at least it used to be. Maybe it is common now. He likes it, but he misses the pony tail. He misses his time as a Planeteer. He misses his friends. He misses Linka. Arguing with her. Getting her all wound up and frustrated. Flirting with her. He thought things would be different when they were no longer Planeteers. He was right...unfortunately, it wasn't a good thing. He didn't imagine that they'd end up on opposite sides of the world. He thought they'd have some great revelation on their last day on Hope Island and they'd declare their love for each other and vow to be together; to go wherever the other one was going. He had no idea what he wanted to do back then anyway. She probably did. He was prepared to follow her anywhere. None of that happened though. No grand declaration of love. No promises to stay together. Hell, she couldn't even be bothered to give him a hug goodbye. She and Kwame got into the Geo Cruiser and simply waved farewell. She didn't even hug Gi or Ma-Ti. He figured they'd already had a private moment. He had shaken Kwame's hand, but when he moved to approach Linka, she had already turned her back and was headed towards the Geo Cruiser. It was as if she couldn't get away fast enough.
Their last reunion had been a bit more encouraging. She seemed genuinely interested in what he had been doing and happy to hear that he was doing so well. She even said she was proud of him. He had never been so happy to hear that...not even when his dad had said it. Hearing it from Linka was validation. It made him think that maybe he was finally good enough for her. He held out hope that things would be different. The scenario that he'd imagined when they left the Planeteers was starting to play out in his head again. THIS would be the moment that things would change for them, now that he had made something of himself, proven that he could provide for her and be a responsible adult. She was even more receptive to his flirting. Things came to a screeching halt though when he had to go back to L.A. because one of his deals was about to fall through when a seller decided at the last minute that they wanted to hang onto their property. They would not speak to anyone but Wheeler and he could not convince them otherwise over the phone. He needed to cut his vacation short and fly back to L.A. in the early morning hours.
He was considering a trip to Greece to surprise Linka and called Kwame to help him coordinate. That is when he got the news that she was dating someone. Part of him said to plan the trip anyway. Fight for her. But part of him said to let her go. They had known each other for 10 years and nothing ever happened between them. If she was at all interested in pursuing something with him, it would have happened by now. When he learned more about her new "friend" and discovered that he was Russian also, Wheeler officially gave up. A few weeks ago when Kwame had texted Wheeler to give him a "heads up" that Ivan was going to propose to Linka, Wheeler did what any irrational, scorned man would do...he'd gotten engaged as well. He didn't want his friends feeling sorry for him. He didn't want Linka to think that he'd never move on. He'd been seeing Stephanie casually for a while. She liked him a lot. He liked her enough. Lately, he liked when she'd read those silly "romance" novels and want to try things.
But back to the present; Linka wasn't engaged. She said no. She wasn't ready. What was holding her back? Could it possibly be him?
He pinches the bridge of his nose and rubs his eyes.
"That's the bourbon talking," he mumbles.
He stands up, goes inside, and heads down to the courtyard. He may have known that the bourbon was talking, but he was still listening.
To Be Continued...