A/N: Merry Christmas to all of you. I wish you all happiness and prosperity in life. Although I'm tired like hell to clean the chapter, I uploaded this anyways on the eve of Christmas…
"And I can't help but stare,
cause I see truth somewhere in your eyes"
"Thank God that you are not asleep…" I say happily once Arizona picks up the phone. "Hello? Arizona, are you there?" I ask not getting a reply. I can hear her breathing.
"Call me on Skype." She says breathlessly.
"We can talk here too. Sometimes, Skype does not work properly and I would hate any interruption while talking with you." I had a busy day and I just want to talk to her without any disruption.
"Just come to Skype." Arizona again says, but this time it sounds like a plea.
"Everything alright, Zona?"
"I… I need to see you. Will you please stop your big mouth and come to Skype?" She is clearly annoyed now. Okay, I don't mind if she is missing me.
"Now Happy?" I ask her once the line is connected.
She huffs a little and stares at me. "Why has everything changed suddenly?" Her eyes are glistened now.
"What has changed?" I start fearing if this crazy girl has again changed her mind. This time, I will not survive, if she leaves me halfway.
"I mean, even when I knew that you were going to leave, I was okay. But, now I just can't breathe thinking that you are not here."
It takes me aback at her blunt confession of feelings. After I have come to Canada, I'm so occupied with everything, to be honest, I don't have that much of time to think about her. Being the eldest child, I need to take care of everything both in family and office. I feel guilty for not able to talk to her frequently.
"I'm so…sorry for everything, zona."
"Why are you sorry? Is there anything you would like to tell me?" Arizona asks in such a low voice that I feel that she has barely spoken.
"Is there anything that I need to know? Because you seem to be different." She looks down from the screen and instantly I know that something is bothering her.
"You tell me." She says as if I'm hiding something.
"Zona, please again you have started playing those cat and mouse game. Just tell me what's that?"
"I saw the pictures." Arizona states plain.
"Which pictures?"
"Yours with George and he said that you guys are going to get married soon."
Oh, now I see. Yesterday also she was about to ask this question to me. In this age of internet, things spread before we know about them.
"That he imagines only. You know about the rumour already. Will you please trust me, if I say that I'm only going to marry…" Then I halt my big mouth with a tight break. I just was about scare away her saying that I only want to marry her. I wish, I could hide somewhere now. I look at the skype video to understand if she has caught me and I see her eyes are suddenly twinkling. Yeah, she got what I was about to blurt out. "Just keep faith on me," I finish my sentence.
"I do."
"Thanks. Hey, go to sleep. It's already too late there."
"It's okay. I'm done with school- so no hurry, but I really need to sleep now."
"Bye…" I wish, I could say I love you to her now. When I was in France, in front of her, it was so easy to say, but now it has become so awkward. We haven't discussed our airport interaction yet.
"Bye…" Arizona beams a little and adds, "I liked when you called me that."
"What did I call you?" I call her with so many names that I forget what I have called minutes back.
"That feels like home…" Now I see her dimples too. Those dimples, for what I can give away the world. "bye Callie…" she disconnects the line looking sharp at my eyes. I know this woman is going to be my death one day.
As soon as she drops the call, I remember that I called her Zona. She liked it! It was not like that I was planning to call her that, but it just came out. Arizona, Zona… she feels like home. What did she mean when she said that?
"Why is there a foolish grin on your face?" Adi knocks at my head catching me smiling like this.
"because, I'm happy. Do you have a problem with that?" I reply rubbing my head, where she has just knocked me. "And why aren't you going home?"
"Okay, you mean, I'm going. By the way, why aren't you inviting your kiddo here?"
"In Canada?"
"No, in Alaska."
"Adi, come on. Stop being too smart."
"I'm serious. How is this going to work? She has nothing in France and she has finished her last term also."
"But, she has nothing in Canada too."
"She has you… stupid."
"But, isn't it too early to ask that to her?"
"Then just invite her for few days and you may sort it out eventually. Callie, I have seen you how much you have suffered without her. Don't give destiny a chance to separate you from her. Just ask her to come."
"I don't think that she would come."
"Then find a job in France, where you can be with her." Addison snorts.
I know that Adi is right. I really need to ask her. Now that mom is okay too, I can do my own stuff. Moreover, my classes are going to begin after this break. Maybe, this would be a good idea to call her here, so that my family can meet her.
Since mom is home and dad seems to be in a good moo, I decide to talk to him about Arizona. Sooner or later, I have to do it. As I enter dad's study, I find him writing something on his laptop.
"Hey, dad! Are you busy?" I ask carefully.
"I'm never busy for my family," he replies cheerfully. "Do you need something?"
"you are really in a good mood… what are you doing?" I state happily seeing him so happy.
"I'm just finalizing the guest list for your mom's home coming party."
"Party? Do you think, this is a good idea?"
"It is. You know how much Lucia loves meeting family and friends. So, I have decided to throw a home coming party with all our family and friends at our place. Let me know, if you want to invite someone too." He says looking at the screen.
This could be a good opportunity to inform him about Arizona. "I have a friend though! From France…"
Instantly, I see my dad giving full attention to me. "From France? A new friend?"
"Umm…yes!" I push myself to say that she is more than a friend.
"Who is he?" I notice how he has assumed that this must be a he.
"It's a she!" I feel a lump in my throat. I start kicking myself internally so that I could say what I want to say. "I'll ask her to visit me."
"is she a Professor too?" Dad seems to be suspicious now.
"She was my TA and we became very good friend." I don't think that I have enough mental strength to say it right now.
"Okay…no problem. Ask Addison to arrange the flight tickets." He again starts working with the invitee list.
"Are you offering flight tickets?" I even have not thought to ask him about this. I was thinking to buy it by myself.
"I want to meet her too…" then he smiles, "this is maybe the first time I remember in a long time that you want to invite a friend… she must be special."
"Thanks dad."
"How is your mom?" This is the first question she asks.
"Mom is doing well…" I start thinking how to ask her to come here in Canada.
"Callie, I have arranged shipment of your stuffs. I still don't have the shipping details, but once I have, I'll let you know."
"Thanks! What are your plans for next few days?"
"NO plan… maybe, I will start looking for jobs."
"Aren't you planning to go to grad school though!"
"I want to."
"Come to Canada." I simply suggest. I don't see a point of playing this hide and seek anymore.
"Canada?" She looks at me with a shocking face.
"Why are you looking so surprised?"
She pauses a little and then replies inhaling a longer breath, "I don't see a point of coming to Canada. I can go to grad school here too."
"And me?" I feel like stabbed down. She doesn't see a point of coming here.
"Of course, you are in Canada, but just for you, I don't see a point living my place and going to you." Arizona makes a plain face. This is that self of her, which always hurts me.
"Then why did you say those things at the airport? Are those lies?"
"If you believe so!"
"I don't know Arizona, which part of you I should believe and which one I should not." I say in a hoarse voice. I was so right about her that she would go back to her cocoon breaking me into thousand pieces, before I know, before I realize.
A/N: I never thought that I would go beyond 20 chapters, especially, when I wanted to stop writing after chapter 6. But, here I'm writing this…thanks to your reviews and PMs. Shoot them to stimulate my dead heart.