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  “What’s wrong, Jen?” asked Kyle gently.

  Jenny didn’t answer him. Her eyes were darting back and forth in a pensive, calculating way.

  And then as if the starting pistol had gone off, Jenny burst from the starting line and blasted off to her bedroom. But, almost in a millisecond, she ran back out into the kitchen and directly towards Kyle. He smiled and held his arms open, ready for Jenny to dive into.

  Yet, she stopped a few feet in front of him. Then, in the clearest and the most cohesive voice Jenny had had all morning, she said, “I knew, I just knew the moment you walked into that studio to accompany my singing class and sat at that piano in that funny blue and yellow striped shirt and played ‘Here Comes The Sun’, I knew...I just knew I’d fall in love with you, Mr. Kyle Le,” and with that, she ran back into her room, leaving Kyle standing there with his arms opened wide.

  “Are you sure your father wants to be stopped from talking?” Kyle shouted through the closed bedroom door.

  But there was no answer to his question. He looked down and realised he was wearing the same shirt he had worn that first day he met Jenny, a few months ago in her classroom.

  Kyle turned to Jenny’s bedroom door and added, “Hey, and what’s so funny about this shirt?”

  16. PRESENT DAY – AT THE HOTEL

  “Six more?” Greg Wong almost shouted into his cell phone. “Who told you this?” He looked up to make sure no one saw his loud reaction and then lowered his voice. “They just quit? But that’s what today’s for: to show them...to show them they don’t have to worry. It’s a partnership...a partnership. Did you tell them? Okay...okay...I know...How many is that so far?”

  Greg shut his eyes as he listened. His body sagged against the wall. “All right. Don’t worry, just get here. We’re going to make this work, starting today—Okay. See you soon.”

  “Partnering” was the term Greg always used in discussing the transition of the three companies becoming one. But on paper it wasn’t a partnership or a merger; the simple fact was Elevation was buying Linkup and Metronome. And as much as Greg Wong tried to reassure all the employees that there would be no downsizing or jobs lost, there were still lots of grumbling and resentment brewing within the three companies.

  The acquisition had been in negotiations for over a year and had only been finalized two months ago. Today’s event brought all the employees of the three companies together for the first time. Greg had spent a small fortune arranging this day because he was aware that the main failure of most acquisitions was due to employee turnover. It was not uncommon for many employees to quit when their company was bought by a bigger one because people tended to lose their desire and drive to work for an organization that would willingly sell its own vision and direction to another.

  Since the news of the partnership had been released, some key personnel at Linkup and Metronome had already given their notices and now he just heard six more had quit. So Greg Wong was on a mission today: he was not going to lose one more employee. He wanted everyone to understand exactly what was happening and to view this big change not as an acquisition, or even a merger, but as a partnership, and stress that each company would maintain its own focus, direction and independence. That was why he loved Monique’s idea of redesigning Elevation’s logo from graph lines to three distinct mountains, all standing independently, but forming a beautiful landscape together.

  The plans for Robert to speak at Monique’s company’s event had been negotiated a few months before Robert’s last climb. Even after the news of Robert’s accident, Greg had never considered finding someone else to speak at the event. Monique agreed and had planned everything about this day meticulously. She had not left much to chance. As much as she believed doing this talk could be very therapeutic for Robert, she also wanted to make it as easy for him as possible. She designed Robert’s talk around the most stunning visuals of his climbs and his life’s work. She had put the presentation in such an order that all Robert really had to do was to go from photo to photo and talk a little about each one. She had inserted music to underscore certain dramatic and even comedic moments. She interspersed certain quotes that would hopefully inspire and move the audience throughout the presentation.

  Monique had left only one thing to chance and that was the hope that, by today, Robert would be excited to be here and maybe even feel a little passionate about talking and sharing his life and accomplishments. But that hope was becoming more and more remote as she looked across the stage and saw her husband sitting there with his head hung low, looking completely disinterested.

  The entrance doors to the hall crashed open with a huge spontaneous cheerful sound. All at once, the room was filled with a dozen of Monique’s laughing co-workers. Lou Zheng, a tall overweight Chinese man probably not older than thirty-three, was the only man in the group. Lou was Elevation’s top salesman and number one clown slash magician of the office. It seemed that everyday Lou had a new magic trick that he used to accentuate some hilarious story. What made Lou such a successful salesman was how he used his magic in sales pitches and how he was not beneath divulging some of his secrets in order to close a deal. Lou once made a three-million-dollar sale in a single afternoon and did it without even showing the client how Elevation’s software worked. He made those cool millions by showing ten managers in a small boardroom how the incredible illusion of making a coin pass through a glass table worked.

  And this morning, Lou had his captive audience in tears of laughter. Holding a huge pair of men’s briefs in his hand, Lou was making it look as if he had just pulled his own underwear off without removing his pants. What made it funnier was that the briefs could have fit an elephant. And now Lou was asking for a volunteer so he could magically pull their underwear out. All the women were pointing at each other laughing until someone looked up the stage and said, “Try it with Monique.”

  That made the happy group turn to Monique and Robert.

  “Well, Mrs. Sanchez,” Lou asked Monique, still holding the humongous underwear in his hand. “Shall we see what you’re wearing?”

  The explosive force of energy that came from her co-workers, who were so buoyantly full of that giddy out-of-the-office joy, instantly flung Monique out of her deep, desperate thoughts.

  Seeing the enormous underwear, she smiled and then completely surprised herself by replying to Lou’s comment, “Sorry, you might be disappointed. I don’t wear anything that small.”

  Monique’s response brought down the house. The women squealed and roared with laughter and some clapped at Monique’s witty comeback. Monique’s eye caught Robert, who still hadn’t moved. His back still faced the gang of workers at the front of the stage.

  “Hey, Mr. Sanchez,” Lou said, “is that really true?” as he held up the huge briefs. “Monique’s undies are bigger than these?” That stirred up a bit more laughter, but it quickly quieted down as Robert did not turn around or respond to Lou at all.

  Robert had met Lou and most of the women over the years at different company events: Christmas parties, company picnics and some work friends’ visits to their home. Yet no one, not one person from Monique’s office, had seen Robert since his accident. Today would be the first time they see him legless and in a wheelchair.

  The awkward quiet was quickly filled by the gang of merry workers, who said things like:

  “Oh, hi, Robert!”

  “Great to see you!”

  “You look wonderful!”

  “Looking forward to listening to you.”

  “Long time no see...”

  Robert still did not turn around.

  Monique tried to cover her husband’s non-responsiveness. “He’s focusing,” then whispered, “He’s pretty nervous.”

  “Oh, sure, of course...For sure...Okay...Good luck, Robert!” everyone said in low hushed tones and then the group started to quickly drift away into the hall and mingle with the other employees who were coming into the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

  “Knock �
�em dead, Robert. I know you will,” Lou said cheerfully.

  “Thanks, guys,” Monique said with a forced smile and watched the laughing group turn and dissolve into the stream of people now entering the room.

  Amir tapped Monique on the shoulder. “Is there anything else, because I need to put some ambiance music on now. People are coming in.”

  “No, that’s great, Amir. Thank you so much.”

  Amir disappeared behind his sound table and switched on some music. The volume was quite low, but still present enough that the lyrics of the song spoke to Monique.

  A soft, “One, two...” sounded and then came the words. They spoke of time and wanting to be let in. A fast paced guitar strummed as the tempo kept building.

  She walked back towards Robert, who just sat there in his now familiar, sad and pathetic pose.

  The song begged for someone to unlock a door because—because they are waiting. Chris Martin sang with a whispered ache. At that moment, Monique knelt in front of Robert. The room was filling with the sound of chatter and laughter, almost drowning out Coldplay’s lyrics, but Monique lifted her head and strained to listen. The words were so...so familiar to her.

  She knew waiting all too well. Waiting for the months to pass as Robert summited his mountaintops. Waiting for Robert to come home. To come together. To have him pour his thoughts and feelings into her and her into him. To connect once more. And now, since the return from his fateful accident, she had been waiting once more. Waiting for her lover to come back to their bed. Waiting—just waiting for some part of her husband that she could just hold onto again. To touch...touch...touch anything again. Just a word, a sign, anything. She waited so patiently for him to come back—not just back to his life, but back to an ‘us’—a life together.

  Kneeling before him, Monique boldly took a chance and put her hand gently on Robert’s leg. Robert had given her so many excuses about why he didn’t want her to touch his legs: he wasn’t ready, his legs were in too much pain, they still needed more time to heal...but the plain fact was Monique had yet to see her husband’s naked legs since they had been amputated.

  The pleading romantic ache of Coldplay flowed into the room: A story of waiting for that someone—a tale about that someone they would wait for.

  “Roberto,” Monique called out as tenderly as she could. Seldom had she ever called him by that name. Robert told her he simply didn’t like being called Roberto, that it made him feel too ethnic and like he was still a kid because that was the only name his parents ever called him. But since the man wouldn’t answer, today Monique tried to reach the little boy and so she repeated, “Roberto, I need you today...I really need your help.”

  But Robert didn’t look up. He just said, “Can we please get off this stage now?” But then he looked at the staircase. He thought about the difficulty that it would present in the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which was almost half filled with employees of all three companies now. He couldn’t stand the sickening thought of having all those people watch him being carried down.

  “No, let’s go behind that curtain there,” he said.

  “But Bobby, you don’t speak for two hours,” Monique’s voice filled with the sound of pleading.

  “Well, I don’t see any ramp and I’m not—Look, you go and do what you want. I’m just going to stay up here!”

  Robert turned his chair and swiftly moved towards the side of the stage behind the red velvet curtains, leaving Monique alone, kneeling in the centre of the stage.

  As she watched him wheel away, Monique put her hands on the floor to help lift herself to her feet. Despite feeling the sting of Robert’s harsh reaction, she still smiled ever so slightly herself. Thank God! she thought. If he’s staying on the stage then it means he’s not leaving. At least, not yet. Maybe, just maybe, he did hear the words “I need you...I need your help.”

  A burst of laughter once again shot out from the middle of the room. It seemed as if Lou had now pulled Greg’s underwear out from behind him and handed it to Linkup’s president. “See, here at Elevation, we have nothing to hide!” Seeing Linkup’s president’s hearty laugh, Greg’s trepidation about the day left him momentarily. He walked behind Lou and slapped him on his back.

  “Thanks, Lou. You have no idea how much I needed to see that. Don’t know how you do it, but you have a way of always making it seem like everything will be all right. Don’t know what I’d do without you!”

  Monique pulled a chair and moved it beside her husband’s wheelchair. Robert didn’t look at her. From the other side of the stage, Amir watched her sit down and when they caught each other’s eyes, Amir gave her an is-there-anything-I-can-do-for-you look. Monique returned with a calm shake of the head and a hopeful wink.

  17. PRESENT DAY – AT THE AIRPORT

  Kyle paid the cab driver and ran after Jenny into the airport. It was a small building that served only two airlines that ran domestic commuter and cargo flights. One complaint many people had was that the airport had only two check-in counters to serve customers and this often meant long line-ups and waiting that sometimes resulted in missed flights. This morning was no exception. As Jenny and Kyle bounced up the flight of escalator stairs and turned the corner, they were met with two lines with about twenty to thirty people in each.

  Jenny was panting and a bit winded when she reached the line-ups. “Oh my God, Kyle! We’ll never get on that ten-thirty flight. It’s ten o’clock already! By the time we reach the counter there won’t be enough time to even board the plane!”

  “Wait here, Jen, I’ll see if I can find my uncle. I hope he got my message—”

  Kyle ran to the front of the two lines. His uncle Daniel was nowhere in sight. Then he looked through the small glass windows on the doors that led to the security and boarding area. Still no luck! He tried to get the attention of one of the check-in servers, but she looked harried and was dealing with a difficult customer. Kyle pulled out his cell phone, pushed some keys and waited for an answer. Nothing!

  “Get to the back of the line, buddy!” said a man in an impeccably tailored suit.

  “I’m not—”

  Another passenger anxiously waiting in line cut off Kyle. “—Yeah, we all have to wait!”

  “I’ve been here for forty minutes,” said a businessman who was about sixth in the line-up.

  Kyle walked to the back of the unfriendly line-up and was greeted with Jenny’s sad and worried face.

  “Jen,” he said, “if we can’t get on the one at ten thirty, do you still want to go?”

  “Of course, Kyle. I have to—”

  “—Sorry...Shhh...Jen,” Kyle gently interrupted Jenny. “Listen...” They both looked up as if they could listen better that way to the announcement system.

  “Kyle Le and party, please report to check-in counter one. Kyle Le and party, please report to check-in counter one.”

  Smiles sprang onto Jenny and Kyle’s faces.

  “That must be my uncle. Quick!” Kyle took Jenny’s hand and they ran to the front of the line.

  Standing next to the woman serving at the check-in counter was Daniel Le, Kyle’s uncle. He was dressed in a suit that was the same colours as the airline’s bluish grey. Daniel was not smiling and he was looking very stern as Kyle and Jenny approached the side of the line. Daniel took a step towards the wall, as far from the line up as he could and motioned for Jenny and Kyle to meet him there.

  Just as Kyle was about to say, “Uncle,” Daniel cut him off with a very matter-of-fact question. “You are Kyle Le?”

  Jenny looked at Kyle with a concerned oh-no-what’s-wrong look.

  “Yes,” Kyle said, looking at his uncle with the most incredulous what-the-hell’s-wrong-with-you look.

  “Good,” Daniel said in a very official voice. “You will find everything here.” He handed Kyle an envelope. Then, in a louder, more projected voice than Kyle thought necessary, Daniel said, “We are so sorry for your delay. We hope this can make up for everything.”

 
Kyle was perplexed. His uncle was acting like he was a stranger. He was just about to ask his uncle what was wrong when Jenny looked back to see the worn, tired faces of the waiting travellers, and caught on.

  “Yes, thank you. It has been a very difficult twenty-four hours.”

  Kyle was now totally flummoxed but Jenny put her hand on Kyle’s arm and said, “It’s okay, honey. It’s okay.”

  Daniel walked Jenny and Kyle to the counter. A mother and her young daughter were just about to be served at the counter, but after overhearing the conversation between Daniel, Jenny and Kyle, the mother turned to her child and said, “Come here, Claire. These two have waited longer than us.” They both took a step back and the mother waved to Kyle and Jenny, indicating they should go before them.

  “That is most kind, madam. And you too, little princess,” said Kyle.

  “My name’s Claire,” the little girl said proudly.

  “Well, Claire, we will always remember your kindness. Oh, and your mom’s too!” Jenny said, bowing her head slightly to the young girl and her mother.

  Daniel went behind the counter and said to the woman, “These are the two I was telling you about.”

  “Of course, Mr. Le. Sir, your tickets please?” the woman asked Kyle.

  Kyle looked at his uncle with a questioning smile and his uncle gestured at the envelope in Kyle’s hand. Kyle opened it up and there he pulled out four vouchers for Fastjet Airline. Kyle took them out and handed them to the woman.

  “Just two, sir. The other two are for the return flight.”

  As the woman was processing the check-in information for Jenny and Kyle, the man with the impeccably tailored suit was at the other counter. He turned to Kyle and said, “Sorry, buddy...about what I said. I didn’t know...you looked like you were trying to...uh...cut in.”

  “No problem, sir. We are all on a bit of an edge when travelling,” Kyle said.

  “Anyway, have a good flight, buddy.”