I turned.
"Err ... excuse me."
They both stopped and the lady turned towards me with a quizzical face.
"Err ... are you Maria Arroyo?"
She looked surprised but nodded and then her expression changed to one of growing realisation as she looked at me.
"I know you ... I saw your photo ... you are David ... Jess's ... err ... friend."
She looked down at the man in the scooter who had a lopsided vacant expression and said something to him in Tagalog
He nodded clumsily and made an unintelligible sound and I realised he had probably had a stroke.
I rushed out my next words anxious to find out where Jess was.
"Yes, I'm David. I came here to find Jess. Where is she? I need to see her ... talk to her."
Maria smiled briefly and then looked sad.
"She's not here; she went back to Hong Kong two weeks ago to work."
My heart sank and my face fell. She had gone back to her old life.
Maria saw my expression and a beautiful smile crossed her face.
"No ... no she has a new job ... as an ITU nurse at the hospital where you were treated. It's not as much money as ... err ... before but she ... wanted to get out of that ... in case ... in case you ever came back. And now you have ... how did you find me ... what are you doing here?"
I started to explain but she insisted that she had to get the professor home for his lunch and that I should tell her the whole story on the way. She started to reach for her phone as we started to walk.
"I must ring Jessica and tell her you are here. She has been so sad that she could not get in contact. The bank would not give your contact details or pass on a message but she goes or rings your office every day to enquire if you have returned. She will be so happy."
How dumb am I? I had never thought to ask at the bank whether anyone was looking for me!
I thought for a moment longer.
"Mrs. Arroyo ... Maria ... please don't ring her. I want to surprise her myself when I fly back tonight. Do you know where she lives or what shifts she works?"
Maria was disappointed that she would not be the one to pass on the good news but understood the romantic nature of what I was going to do. As we walked I explained to her how I'd been looking for her and how I had given up and was going to the airport when the police had stopped me.
I then realised how lucky that was.
If they hadn't stopped me I would have been in a taxi heading to the airport by the time the church service finished.
We left the streets that I had been searching and crossed two more cross streets before we arrived at a large villa. I'd definitely been looking in the wrong place!
Once the professor was settled in his living room Maria insisted that I come and talk to her whilst she prepared lunch. She kept looking at me and smiling as she told me that she had never known Jessica (she never referred to her as Jess) to be so happy as in the days after we had met and that she was equally devastated when I had been taken back to the UK.
I asked if Jess blamed me for that and Maria was surprised by the question.
"Why would she blame you? You were injured and unconscious a lot of the time. I think she knew it was likely to happen but she was very sad that she did not get to say goodbye, especially as she had no way of contacting you directly as she had lost your number."
I learned that Jess's phone had been taken apart by Lavrov after he sent the messages, presumably so that the location could not be tracked. Apparently it had been collected as evidence after the fracas with the police and never returned to Jess afterwards despite her asking for it many times. This explained why I couldn't ring her but who the Chinese person was who did answer I'll never know.
Maria continued to glance at me as though sizing me up and I started to feel a little self-conscious. I guess all prospective son-in-laws are treated that way; it had been a long while since it happened before. She then looked serious.
"I know you are as old as me but Jessica thinks you are a very special man and I am happy for her but I was worried that you would hurt her. She has never had a special man in her life and I thought that you might do what a lot of western men do, use her for your pleasure and then leave her ..."
I started to interrupt but she held her hand up to stop me and continued.
" ... I know she thinks it is love and thinks you love her but you did not know each other for very long before falling in love."
I did interrupt.
"Mrs. Arroyo ... Maria ...I heard the same thing in reverse from a Brit in HK. He said that Jess would leave me for a younger or richer man once she had got everything from me, especially if I married her and got her a passport. However, I'm going to ignore him and hopefully prove to you that I'm serious as I intend to marry Jess when my divorce is finalised in a few weeks and that is my response to anyone who says this is not a serious relationship. I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about your daughter, Maria, and I want her in my life from now on. Forever!"
Maria started to look tearful. I could see where Jess got the trait from! She came towards me and gave me a hug.
"I know. The fact that you came all this way to find her proves that you are serious and I can also see it in your eyes David. She is a lucky girl to have found you."
We chatted some more and I asked if I could meet Melissa but she was away with a friend for the weekend and would not be back before I left for the airport. Apparently she knew all about me as Jess had not stopped showing her the pictures on her phone and talking about me. It had got to the point that Melissa had done the stroppy teenager thing and told her mother that she was getting boring. Maria had smiled at this story and said that Melissa had confided to her that she was pleased that her mum had met someone special but was sad for her that we were out of contact.
I learnt that Jess was working the night shift to earn extra money so would be starting work at 10.00 that evening and finishing at 7.00 in the morning. I did a quick calculation that I would be in time to catch her before she started work.
Chapter 19.
Maria was both joyful and tearful as I left for the airport and insisted that I instruct Jess to phone her as soon as possible after we had met.
Unfortunately the plane was delayed and I arrived at the hospital reception area only minutes before 10.00pm but it was well past the hour when I found my way to the ITU facility.
What to do? Was she already busy looking after patients? I didn't want to drag her away from her work as she was new and perhaps her bosses would not look favourably on personal matters interfering with her job.
I was about to approach the reception area when I heard a voice behind me.
"It's Mr. King isn't it?"
I turned and saw Dr. Ling looking tired and haggard after a long day. I nodded and smiled and we shook hands and he asked me how I was and why I was there. Was somebody I knew in ITU?
"No, I came looking for your new nurse, Jess. I hear she works here now."
He smiled knowingly.
"Ah! Your beautiful house-keeper! Have you lost her?"
I explained that I had only just got back to HK and had lost contact with her whilst in the UK.
"Yes, I know, she came back here after you had been taken away and asked if we had any contact details as she only had your phone number on her phone which had been taken away. Unfortunately we were unable to help because of patient confidentiality. However, we were so impressed with how she helped with your treatment that we asked her if she would like to apply when a vacancy came up. She's been here a few weeks now but won't be on until midnight tonight as she did a long stint last night. You can wait here for her if you like."
The minutes dragged by as I waited for midnight to come slumped on an uncomfortable chair in the waiting room. It can't have been that uncomfortable as the sound of running footsteps woke me from the light doze into which I had slipped but, before I could fully turn around and stand up, the footsteps stopped at the door and I heard a loud gasp.
I looked over and there she was.
She was just as beautiful as ever although she was close to tears.
Some things never change!
But then I hoped she would never change, that she would always be the beautiful, sexy, wonderful person that she was. The person who loved me and I loved in return.
Her eyes were big with shock and her hands were up over her mouth like she was praying.
I opened my arms and she launched herself at me and then we were hugging and kissing and touching and stroking in a frenzy of relief at finding each other again. Slowly the frenzy died and we just stood there holding each other tightly with her head against my chest and my face gently nuzzling her hair smelling that wonderful aroma of Jess.
She pulled back and looked up at me with a broad grin.
"When they told me someone was waiting for me I knew it was you. I knew you would come looking for me because you are my special man."
Then her eyes narrowed and she looked serious and concerned and she pulled back further.
"Are you ok now? Is everything healed?"
I grinned back at her.
"Yes, everything is healed although I haven't tried to use the one remaining testicle just yet."
She giggled. Have I said I love her giggle? I so do!
"I hope so too otherwise I'd cut your cock off and your last nadger!"
I grinned at her use of the word I'd taught her but she went back to 'concerned face' again and started to touch the areas of my body that had been damaged.
"Seriously, you were broken and bruised in so many places that I wasn't sure whether everything would heal properly."
She then looked sad for a moment as she remembered the past events and started to get tearful again before burying her face back into my chest as I cuddled her tightly and kissed the top of her head.
"I thought you would die at first ... and then when you were taken away ... I'd lost you ... I thought you would get back with your wife and never come back again ... I couldn't contact you ... they wouldn't pass on my message or give me your phone number. I felt lost without you."
She pulled back and looked up at me with eyes full of tears and resolve and then stood on tiptoes and gently kissed me.
"I love you and I'm never going to let you get away again."
I kissed her back.
"Well I'm not planning on going anywhere without you so it looks like we're stuck with each other."
She suddenly looked puzzled as a thought passed through her mind.
"How did you know I was here?"
"Your mum told me, she ..."
"Momma told you? How did you meet her? Were you in Quezon? Why?"
I spent the next few minutes explaining my search for her and the lucky delay by the police at which she smiled in delight at the serendipitous nature.
"See, I knew we were fated to be together. Can I borrow your phone? I need to ring Momma and tell her off for not warning me."
I grinned guiltily at her.
