Chapter Eight - The One That Got Away

She just stands there and cannot bring herself to walk away. What just happened? She couldn’t believe the reaction that came out of this woman. It was as if she were a criminal. Isabel saw the fire in the eyes of a woman who a few minutes ago looked like she couldn’t even hurt a fly. Why would a woman, possibly Rafael’s wife, be so angry with her? This only meant that Rafael was angry with her but she couldn’t figure what it is that she had done that was so bad. If anything, it should be her that is supposed to be angry at Rafael for going M.I.A on her.

Realising she hadn’t moved from her spot, she glances over to Sergio who looks like he saw all the action. He looks back at her, with confused eyes but nothing on his face shows Isabel what he is thinking of. Just as she is about to walk to the car again, a rush of anger encapsulates her body and she turns around and knocks on the door, this time a little louder.

As she predicted, Nina doesn’t answer and as Isabel stood there contemplating whether to turn around and just leave her and Rafael to enjoy their “sweet” lives together, Nina opens the door.

“Get in,” she snarls, not breaking contact from Isabel’s eyes.

Isabel holds her stare and this time, she looks equally angry. She is not going to be talked to like that. She folds her arms and says, “With pleasure,” as she walks into the house. The door closes behind her and she waits for Nina to direct her to wherever she wanted her. She follows Nina to her living room. The room was average sized, nothing special but it looked homely. Like happy people lived there. The black sofas matched the white walls beautifully and the flat screen TV stands on the black TV stand with the BBC news on. The windows were decorated with white curtains, brightening the room up. There were photo frames on the small table in the far right corner of room displaying photos of grandparents, parents, and small children. A photo catches Isabel’s attention. She sees Rafael standing proudly with his degree certificate in his hands. Another nervous wave flows through her body as she remembers that she was standing just next to the photographer when that photo was taken on their graduation day. Nina switches the TV off and tosses the remote control on the sofa.

“Sit down so we can talk before Rafael comes here,” Nina orders, sounding a little less aggressive but still maintained her unexplained “annoyance” at Isabel.

She sits down and looks over at Nina who also sits down on the other sofa.

“Why are you here?” she asks coldly, not afraid to start firing her questions.

“I told you, I am here to see Rafael,” she answers back, indifferently.

Nina snorts and then laughs.

“For this long, I thought I would never get to see the Marwa but God made sure I would see that face.”

“I am going to assume you know all the background information between Rafael and me so I’ll spare you the details. I will also assume you know how the end went.” Isabel could see herself getting angry at this Nina.

“Vividly,” she answers back sharply.

“Okay so as it is a thing between Rafael and me, I don’t see what there is to say between us.”

It is as if Isabel stood up and slapped Nina right across her face because she turned red. Her eyes went wide open and her legs began to shake. If she continues this behaviour, Isabel is afraid she might believe Nina had anger issues.

“No, no, don’t play that card. You weren’t there for him then. It was me who was there. You left and what happened to him next…oh my goodness. You and your psycho family think you have power and do as you please!” Nina hisses all her words directly at Isabel and does not shy away from anything.

“What are you talking about? You’re not making sense.” Isabel rests her head in her hands for a split second before looking into Nina’s angry eyes. She immediately wishes she hadn’t because Nina’s emotions for her weren’t getting any softer and the tension in the room is too thick, for her liking.

Nina sits up in disbelief. She starts fidgeting with her cardigan while she tries to sum up her rage in sentences.

“What is wrong with you? Are you that stupid! You really think you can just waltz your way into his life. You are bad luck. And you have some nerve showing up here. Imagine if he was here.”

Isabel is confused more than ever. She really didn’t understand what Nina was trying to get across. So she supposedly did something that upset her. She never met her before this day and already she has an influenced image of her. Is Nina reflecting the resentments that Rafael holds of her?

“I am not trying to waltz my way into anything. Rafael was a big part of my life and it feels unnatural to just leave what we had like this without knowing why he never came in contact with me. I suppose your husband told you that too.” She couldn’t help utter the word “husband” with disgust. It is quite clear he moved on.

Nina lets a laughter out and claps her hands together like Isabel just told the joke of the day. Isabel stares with a bemused expression.

“No, he’s not my husband. God no, far from that! He’s my brother.”

“Oh,” Isabel replies with a guilty relief filling her body. She really believed those two were an item but now that she looks at Nina more, she sees the familial resemblance. So she didn’t have the blonde hair and green eyes Rafael has but their noses and the way they smile was freakishly similar. “I’m sorry, I really thought you two…” she continues but trails off when she understands there is no point in finishing the sentence off.

“God no!” Nina responds, smiling slightly.

“Seriously Nina, where is this anger coming from?” Isabel tries to ask, hoping Nina had cooled down.

Nina stares out the window for a moment, her face not giving anything away as to what she might be thinking of.

“You honestly don’t know?” she asks back.

“No, not really. I was supposed to be with Rafael again, after I left London. I had to leave London. My parents…they were being unreasonable. We figured it all out. In the airport, we said our promises again and I really believed I would see him again soon but then nothing. There was no way to get into contact again. I couldn’t get through his phone, no response to emails, nothing! I was confused and scared and I still am those two things and many others. I don’t know why you are angry with me but I swear, I loved Rafael and I still do and I would never intentionally hurt him. So please tell me, what is it you are so angry about?” Isabel takes a deep breath after her monologue and feels a huge weight being lifted off her shoulders. She silently prays Nina’s response isn’t the usual.

“Rafael loved you…a lot. I know because I saw his love.  I may never have met you before but he told me about you. He would phone me sometimes and tell me that he thought he met the girl he would marry. I saw him again after…everything and he still loved you.” Nina’s voice changed to a soft tone. The same voice that Isabel first heard when she answered the door ten minutes ago.

“Why did he never get into contact with me?” Isabel asks with the same soft voice to match the mood of the room. She realises she asked the question before she was ready for its answer. She braces herself.

“Marwa, I think you should talk to Rafael about this. It’s not my place to say anything. I think I spoke too much already.”

“No, tell me! I need to know.”

“I realised there is more that you don’t know than you do. I can’t anymore. He should be here in less than an hour. Just speak to him. It will be more satisfying.” Nina stands up to try ending the conversation.

“What do you mean with there is more that I don’t know. More to what? The situation? Rafael? Tell me!” 

Isabel looks up to Nina, who is now pacing around the room with her eyes on the floor.

“Don’t Marwa! It is enough you made an appearance. Don’t put me in this situation. It is uncomfortable as it is.”

Isabel shakes her head slowly, still not breaking eye contact from Nina who know is standing still. Isabel stands up and looks at her watch and remembers Sergio is still outside waiting for her.

“Do you know exactly when he will be here?” she asks.

“Yeah, I think around 3PM…” Nina replies, hesitantly.

“Right okay, I will be around.” Isabel pushes past Nina and charges towards the front door. She opens it and sees immediately Sergio who is leaning against his car, with his back towards her. Isabel turns around to Nina as she steps outside.

“I still don’t understand the welcome I got.”

Nina sighs.

“As I said, you need to talk to Rafael,” she replies casually.

Isabel shakes her head again and makes her way to the car. She knows Nina is watching her from the door’s peephole so she will know she is here with Sergio but her concerns lie elsewhere. Like when she has to speak to Rafael.

When Sergio realises Isabel coming over, he turns around, asking with his face how things went. Isabel rolls her eyes and walks towards the passenger’s seat. Sergio copies her and gets in the car.

“Should I ask you what happened.”

“Nothing much happened,” she replies.

“What do you mean? Was the trip useless then?”

“No, he’s not at home. I had the pleasure of speaking to his sister I’m just going to wait for him in the car.” 

She takes a coral lipstick out of her handbag and applies is carefully with the help of her pocket mirror.

“How long will he be then?” Sergio continues to ask.

“She said he should be here at 3pm.”

“Well that will be a wait then.” Sergio sits up and turns the radio on, only to be welcomed by a Katy Perry tune.

“Who sings this again?” Sergio asks while raising his chin to try to jog his memory.

“Katy Perry, The One That Got Away,” she answers, smiling.

“Oh yeah! Let’s relax with this tune.”

They both laugh at his comment and when the chuckles finally die down, she feels an uncomfortable feeling that the song reflects her own situation. Except Rafael isn’t dead but he was certainly the one that got away…definitely.

After few minutes of joking about the next songs the radio station decided to play, Isabel couldn’t help but ask Sergio why he was so eager to help her.

“Because you’re likeable,” he replies cheerily.

“You’re likeable too then, I guess.”

“You guess!”

“Yeah, I guess.” She bursts into laughter yet again, having to cover her mouth with her hand. Sergio joins in and they trigger each other into more laughter.

“Honestly, I cannot be serious around you,” he scolds her jokingly.

“No way, it’s you. You have this effect on me,” she argues back.

“But did you forget for that split second?”

“Forget what?” she asks, brushing a chunk of her hair out of her face to catch a better sight of him.

“Forget your worries about today and perhaps the future.”

Isabel smiles and blushes simultaneously. She did for that split second and she admires Sergio even more after that. It has been a while since someone got a good laugh out of her and she never thought Sergio would be the first. She continues to smile and gaze into his eyes, longer than she intended to when the unexpected happened.

Sergio reaches over to her, his arm resting on her headrest and leans over her then presses his lips on hers. Before she could think clearly, she is kissing him back. It is as if all the sense in her mind had flown away. She knew what she is doing was wrong but it is as if her arms weren’t responding to what her brain is asking them to do. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she manages to work those arms and quickly pushes him off her, and turns her face away. She shakes her head and closes her eyes, with her head facing down. There was no answer from Sergio, who sits there silently in his seat as if he is also coming to terms with what happened.

“No, that shouldn’t have happened,” she whispers, her eyes still closed.

“Sorry, I don’t know why that just happened.” Sergio sighs and rubs his eyes with his fingers as if he is trying to wake himself up from a dream.

“Why did you do that?” she asks, finally facing him.

“It’s just…I don’t know. I like you. In fact, I like you a lot. I don’t know what it is with you but you are a great girl and suddenly I started to really like you.” Sergio turns red and breaks his eye contact from Isabel as he finishes his sentence, looking out the window.

She shouldn’t be surprised but she sure is. Sergio showed her more attention than anyone else in London and had a tendency to flirt his way in and out of anything but she never expected him to declare he is interested in her more than she is interested in him.

“Oh,” she says, feeling suddenly heavy with guilt. “I err…I don’t know what to say,” she says sheepishly.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he replies quickly.

“No, I do. Sorry, I didn’t expect this and the kiss.”

“Sorry about that.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” she reassures him.

“But Isabel, I do really like you,” he says again.

“I know…I know,” she says quietly wishing the conversation would end soon.

“Should we drive around until 3 o’clock?” Sergio suggests.

Isabel sighs and looks at her watch. She had a while until Rafael is supposedly to make his appearance but the situation in the car was a bit too awkward for her. It is not like she had anywhere else to go especially since she has no clue how to get around in Essex.

“Alright,” she replies as she realises she’s stuck with Sergio. Part of her felt mad at Sergio for choosing right now to declare some hidden feelings for her, knowing she is in her own mess but then again, he didn’t know the full details of everything. She has held so many things back from him, omitting details here and there, creating a less messy version of this story. Still he offered her help. She is thankful for that but she was annoyed this had to happen.

Sergio drives around for a while, with no specific destination. He parked near a small Japanese restaurant and offers Isabel to grab some food for the both of them, complaining he was hungry. She agreed, mainly just so Sergio could leave the car and leave her to her thoughts. He leaves and she sloughs back into her seat. She rummages around her bag, in search of a hair bubble which she finds and ties her dark hair back into a ponytail. Sergio was taking his time which she found a blessing as she could just sit in silence and not worrying about the awkward moments with Sergio next to her. She tells herself she isn’t afraid anymore and tells herself that it is actually exciting to see Rafael again. She knows she is nowhere near excited but it doesn’t hurt to convince herself.

Sergio comes back sooner than she would have liked and they sit in the car, eating their sushi and sipping on their drinks. Both Isabel and Sergio tried their bests to avoid making any conversations related to his recent confession.

“I’m such an idiot.” Sergio says as he comes back from throwing away their rubbish.

“What?”

“I know, it is too soon. We don’t even know each other that well and I have put you in an uncomfortable position. I am an idiot.”

“No, it’s not that – ” Isabel begins but is interrupted by Sergio.

“Well, what is it then?”

“Okay, you are right, it is too soon,” she says, wishing and praying that what she said is enough.

“Or is someone else involved?” he asks again.

“What!” Isabel exclaims.

“Is it this Rafael bloke? Has he got something to do with it? You say you were friends but were you more or are you still more?”

Sergio looks deep into her eyes as if he were trying to search for any answers through her eyes. Isabel felt more uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by, avoiding looking into his eyes. However, she realises she is trapped. He is confronting her and she needs to answer back.

“Sergio…”

“No, just tell me.”

“I was engaged to him a few years ago. He was the love of my life but I left him and never saw him again. I still don’t know till this day why. He was supposed to come to Dubai but he never did. That lady who answered the door is his sister. She is angry and upset with me and I don’t know why. I don’t know why anything happens anymore. Everything just confuses me now.” She feels tears trickling down her cheeks which she wipes away quickly, forcing herself to not go down that road. She didn’t want to trigger the tears.

“And you are about to meet him. No wonder you look so…nervous.”

Isabel snorts. He was definitely right when he said she was nervous.

“Alright.” Sergio turns the car around and joins the rest of the traffic.

“What are you doing!” Isabel asks confused.

“We are going back. He’s probably at home now.”