My

Angel

By
J. Kina Phiri

As he walked down two blocks away from his apartment at a penguin speed,
trying desperately to stay on his feet which were sliding from side to side like
an ice skater. That gave you an idea of how cold this night was and it was
reported as the coldest night in New York in over 20 years but we all know
how much these weather forecasters exaggerated.

The gentleman racing against snow to get to his apartment was James Lay a
22 year old Information Technology student from Africa. He had been renting
a flat from one of the college resident blocks which were mainly rented by
students at a bargain rate. After passing the first of the two blocks, there was a
white girl standing by the tree ahead and James assumed she was a night
worker. When he passed her, she said ‘Hey can I come home with you?’ But
James just replied ‘Sorry am good for the night’, without turning towards her
while she followed behind. She continued to follow him, so James decided to
turn back and confront her because he feared she would discover where he
lived, and she might arrange for people to break in.

James asked her ‘Why are you following me?’ he noticed tears running
down her eyes before she could respond to his question. She was clenching her
fingers together and they had turned purple due to the extremely low
temperatures in this snow storm. Her face had turned pale with purple bruise
marks and James figured her legs were getting the worst of the weather
battering with fish net leggings over them. And she just kept repeating ‘Can I
please go with you?’

He nodded and said ‘Fine but just for a little while.’ She responded with a
Thank you. They entered the building which was surprisingly empty most of
the time and James always wondered if he stayed alone in this apartment
building. She was still shaking like a leaf when the reception door closed
behind them. As they walked towards the set of stairs, he lifted his arms and
said ‘Welcome to my palace, don’t worry I gave my butler and all the staff the
night off.’ She laughed out loud and the color on her face started coming back,
he was pleased but surprised by her beauty. He noticed she had an infectious
laugh because he felt his lungs burst out due to her laughter.

They reached the apartment door which had to be wrestled open. She took
one step inside the apartment and she was gob smacked by the cleanliness and
tidiness of the apartment. She asked him if he was OCD but he laughed it off
by asking her, ‘You mean Original Cool Dude? Yep guilty as charged.’ She
giggled and said ‘Very funny, you know what I mean.’ He said he was not
OCD but loved a clean environment and people always said ‘Cleanliness is
closer to God.’ He was exhausted from a day full of classes he loved the
computer era but nobody ever tells you how demanding the college work
really is. Sitting on the chair, he looked up and saw her emerge from the
bathroom with a black bra and underwear. He immediately stood up and
rushed to the bedroom where he brought back a huge bathing towel and
covered her with it. She surprisingly said ‘I thought you wanted to have sex’
and ‘I have condoms in my bag.’ He sat down and said ‘I did not bring you
here to sleep with you but I knew that you needed help so here we are’. He
continued ‘don’t worry about sleeping with me because you not here for that
tonight’.

After she dressed up, she came to the lounge where James was watching
the news on the television and sat down next to him, still feeling embarrassed.
He turned off the television and introduced himself as James Lay who was
born in Malawi, Africa but grew up in New York. His parents worked for the
UN organization and were based here in New York. They were killed in a car
accident in Malawi when they were visiting the country to attend a wedding of
a relative. His father’s work colleague and friend decided to adopt him when
he was 10 years old so that he could finish his education here in America. And
he said after, that is my life story and it is now your turn to tell me about
yourself. She looked away and then introduced herself as Diamond, and then
she heard James laughing loudly. He turned to her and sarcastically said ‘you
kidding right?’, ‘that sounds like a stripper name or an escort name’. She
asked him if he was into strippers or what. He insisted on having her tell him
what her real name was. But she just went quiet without saying a thing, and
James just turned on the television and continued watching the news. He knew
girls like this never revealed their real names not even to the police and they
always have issues of trust. Five minutes later, he ducked into the kitchen and
started warming up the food he cooked earlier on before stepping out to the
shop. He brought her a plate and she looked up at him like a stray with no idea
what to do or how to react to this form of kindness. He decided to put the plate
on the table in front of her and said do not worry it is not poisoned, if I wanted
you dead I would have left you outside. She eventually reached for the plate
which had rice, cabbage salad and stew. The food must have been delicious or
she was really hungry or she just was a fast eater because the plate was
cleaned out before James was half done. He offered her another plate of food
which she politely refused and kept looking at him while he ate his food. He
got the feeling that she wanted to sleep and she was waiting to have sex with
him before she slept as some sort of payment for his shelter and food, so he
called her to the room and showed her where she would sleep. While James
was eating, he could not help but feel sorry for someone who had to sleep with
filthy men for money just to survive. He was washing the dishes when he
heard the door open and saw his guest standing by the kitchen entrance with
her arms folded and wearing only a t-shirt while revealing her long sexy legs.
She woke up from bed to ask him if he was gay and that just ignited laughter
from James who in turn asked her if she likes being screwed by weird strange
men. She just turned around and slammed the bedroom door which no doubt
signaled a very angry hooker. James wanted to ignore her reaction but felt
guilty about making her feel like shit so he decided to apologize, and entered
the room and turned on the light. Before he could apologize she looked up at
him and said I know all men want only one thing but he cut her off and said I
just came to apologize, am very sorry about what I said and no am not gay. He
was leaving the room when she asked him, why are you so kind to me because
no one does anything for free in this world. James stuck his head in and
replied that when I have a daughter and she runs away from home, I would
like God to send someone like me to help and not take advantage of her. He
said goodnight and shut the door at which point she responded goodnight with
a broad smile across her face.

As the morning sunrise caught James’s face, he woke up and heard rattling
coming from the kitchen which he lazily ignored. He was enjoying his sleep
when he heard brushing sounds from the corridors that all but ended his great
night of sleep. He was heading to the bathroom when he bumped into the
nameless girl from last night and that completely woke him up because she
jumped as high as the ceiling while holding her bum. It seems she felt more
than a bump which propelled him to apologize since he did not see her bent
over by the corridor with her underwear and t-shirt. She replied by saying
Good Morning, so now you want some but he laughed and said no, I was still
half asleep. After he showered, he made them both breakfast and enquired
about where she stays but she was still her quiet self. She had finished her
breakfast and looked like she was ready to start off for home or wherever she
came from. James decided to give her 20 dollars to help her on her way.
Instead of taking the money and saying thank you, she decides to reach down
for his zipper but James catches her hand and shouts ‘What the hell are you
doing?’ She looks up and says ‘I want to give you a blow job before I go.’ He
grabs her and kicks her out of the apartment.

Later in the afternoon, James decided to head to the local pub where most
students from his college hanged out. The moment he opened the apartment
building front door, he was shocked to see the nameless girl from last night
just sitting by the entrance stairs. He decided not to talk to her but just sneak
past her like he had not seen her. She called out at him and he was forced to
return to the stairs where she sat. James was frowning now and he asked her
what she wanted. She said she had never met a guy like him before and she
wanted to ask him one question before she left. And the question was why he
did not sleep with her last night but still gave her money this morning. A girl
from the apartment happened to be walking out when she asked her question
which seemed to embarrass James. He simply said my reasons do not matter
and walked off. He had walked for about one minute when he looked back and
she was following him. He raced back and grabbed her hand, and returned to
the apartment to try and sort this out.

They got to the apartment where James entered first and was holding the
door for the nameless girl to enter. She entered with her head facing down like
a student entering a principal’s office after causing some trouble. They both sat
down and he said ‘I will get the police involved if you continue to follow me,
‘have I not done enough to help you already?’ He looked towards her and she
was in tears with all her make-up washing down her face like she had been
walking in the rain. She said ‘I am sorry, please do not call the police.’ And
she introduced herself as Samantha Wellings from New Jersey and she ran
away from home. She started to explain to him about why she ran away.

Her folks Peter and Sandra Wellings were both Accountants who were born
and bred in New York. The Family was visiting a family friend named Bill
Adams who worked as a Financial Advisor in New York but lived in Jersey.
She said she had gone to the toilet when she noticed a room full of action
figures when Bill came in and said ‘You like action figures?’ She was startled
and she dropped the figurine she was carrying, he came across to pick up the
action figure. He sat down and started showing her some cool and very
expensive action figures, and asked her if she wanted to come and play with
them some other time. She was excited until he grabbed her hand and put it on
his genitals and told her to squeeze hard. That is when Samantha, ran out of
the room and went to her parents who were still having juice and cookies. She
went to whisper to her Mother about what happened and her Mother turned to
her Father. Her Mother was telling her Father that Bill had put Samantha’s
hand on his private parts. Mrs Wellings was using her head to motion towards
the private part area of her husband as an example. He was like from another
planet because he thought she meant his daughter was pick-pocketing their
friend. She got so irritated and she shouted that he tried to molest our daughter
and that is when he understood. At that moment, Bill walked into the living
room carrying an action figure and looked towards Samantha and said you
should not have opened the box of the figurine because it is now worthless. He
apologized to his guests and explained that the action figure was worth $1000
before it was removed from the box but it now costs a merely $300. Her father
looked at her and asked if that was true. Samantha said it was true that she
removed it from the box and also it was true about what Bill did to her. Bill
asked her father what she meant by that. He explained to Bill that she claimed
he touched her inappropriately when she was that side. Bill said to her parents
that kids always lie to get out of trouble. So her parents apologized about the
action figure and left the house. Her Mother wondered loudly what type of
man still played with toy dolls. But her husband just shook his head and said
they are not dolls but figurines and they are collectors’ items. They shouted at
Samantha about starting a bad habit of lying and Samantha had to promise
them that she would stop lying from now on. She was so upset that her parents
sided with a predator like Bill. When they left that pervert’s home, Samantha
hardly said a word and that lasted another two months before she started
speaking to her parents. She never saw Bill for almost two years until two
days ago when her parents invited him for a visit at their home. She told her
mother that she had to choose between Bill staying over and her leaving for
good. Her mother decided to ignore her ultimatum and also decided against
telling her husband about this discussion. The same day Samantha packed her
bag and ran off to New York City where she spent the first day on the cold
streets and met a hooker the next day that showed her the ropes of being a
prostitute. She must have been the worst prostitute ever because she failed
miserable on the first day of work.

James was speechless and spoke after sometime by saying ‘I am sorry

about what you went through but you cannot live on the streets. It is the most
dangerous place at night especially for a young girl like you’. His heart melted
when he watched her sob in front of him but he knew she could not stay here
with him because of the expenses. He was barely making it on his own, yet he
felt compelled to help her. After a while she calmed down and he asked her
how long she needed to get on her feet. Samantha just shook her head and
truthfully said I don’t know how long. He asked her what she was planning of
doing from now on because she happened to be the worst prostitute he had
ever seen, which left her giggling on the sofa. James quizzed her about her
parents and also about returning home because she would face serious
challenges on her own but she rebuked the notion of returning home.

Since the flat was a one bedroom flat, James decided to prepare the room
for his new flat mate even though she suggested they share the bed in which
he laughed it off. After changing the sheets he started moving his personal
belongings to the storage room in which he set up a temporary closet. He
called Samantha to discuss house rules in order to make this arrangement
comfortable for both of them. First thing James said was that he wants his flat
clean and tidy at all times in which she nodded with a giggle while saying
‘agreed Mr Monk’. He laughed and got serious again, and said ‘you need to
get something to do’. He said he preferred it if she returned to school and
asked her if she needed extra help in doing school work or was home
schooling a viable option. She preferred home-schooling but attending school
would be a cheaper option and she happened to be a straight A student, which
gave James a sigh of relief because there was hope of her staying off the street.
He repeated the next rule several times to make it clear that he did not want
any visitors in his apartment. And the final request was a deal breaker; he
wanted her to call her parents each and every week starting tomorrow. She
started sulking about calling her parents and this reminded James that she was
still a child but there was no compromise. Samantha later agreed to call her
parents but asked him why it was important to him. He just said ‘your parents
are living through the worst nightmare of their lives right now’ and ‘I do not
think they should continue living in that hell.’ He asked her to do two things
for him tomorrow, ‘first would be to call your mother to let her know you are
fine and well’ and ‘second would be to visit schools and examination centers
regarding your high school diploma.’ James assumed all along that she was 17
or 18 years old but was surprised to hear she was 15 years old which meant
another two years of schooling. But he was confident that mother and daughter
would spark that unbreakable bond, and she would return home in a couple of
days.

Six months on, Samantha was still living with James but he got used to
having her around. Guess the mother and daughter bond did not pull through
like James had hoped. She had adapted to his surroundings excellently, when
she first walked into his apartment she was a Prima Donna who knew nothing
about cleaning, cooking or even hard-work. But after a couple of months the
apartment was cleaner than James liked it, she was comparable to most chefs
in the kitchen mainly because of the fancy cooking shows she obsessed over.
James was proud of how much she had changed during the past months and
noticed how beautiful she actually was behind that thick layer of make-up she
used on the first days of their meet. He was watching a repeat of an NBA
game when she came to sit next him. Her dress code used to always bother
him but today it really pissed him off, mainly because he was having problems
with his girlfriend Melissa. He turned off the television and told her, he wants
to talk. He looked at her and said he was not happy about how she dressed in
the apartment and would appreciate it if she could cover up more. Samantha
replied with a smile on her face, ‘why you don’t like my hot pants?’ She asked
him if he was afraid something would happen between them but he just
responded no. She saw it really bothered him and jokingly added ‘I am turning
sixteen in two days time and you know it is the sexual consensual age in
Europe’. They both laughed really loud until James switched on the television
only to show a couple holding a picture of Samantha. He looked at Samantha
and knew she never bothered to call her parents six months ago. He just said I
want you out of my apartment by tomorrow morning. She looked at him and
started crying because she knew she had betrayed his trust. Samantha tried to
explain that she could not bring herself to forgive them. But she knew that was
not the problem but the fact that she was constantly lying to James. She kept
begging him for forgiveness but he was angry and only asked her, ‘why would
you do that’. ‘To tell you the truth’, she said, ‘I have not been this happy in my
life and did not want to leave’. She added, ‘I would like you to give me one
more chance and I will call my parents tomorrow’. He agreed and told her, she
would find life much simpler with her parents. But she refused to return home
and wanted to continue living with him, and also continue attending school
here. He asked why she would want to stay, and she replied she liked the
people at school and was much happy living here. But deep down she had
strong feelings for him and he was the reason she wanted to stay.

The next day, James was enjoying his breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast
when Samantha walked in. She said good morning and told him she was going
to call her mother but he seemed uninterested. She knew it would be difficult
to gain his trust again but she was determined to earn it. After two hours she
was back, and informed James she spoke to her mother and they had agreed
that she would continue studying here but they would still financially support
her. But James just laughed and said do you expect me to believe your parents
would let you live with a random person especially if it is a guy. She came
towards him and played a phone recording of the conversation. She actually
threatened her mother into dropping any investigation otherwise she would
disappear forever next time. And in turn she promised her mother weekly
updates of school progress, monthly visits with weekly pictures emailed to her
and Samantha gave her a bank account to deposit money for school
maintenance. After playing the recording, he looked at her and asked her to
tell him honestly why she still wants to stay instead of going home. She only
replied that she likes it here and she has no friends back home.

On her birthday, Samantha had one of those lazy days because she woke up
at 10 am. She rushed to the sitting room to try clean up the place before James
got back from college but was surprised he had cleaned the sitting room and
the whole apartment. Moments later he entered the apartment and walked in
with a cake, and her birthday gift which was surprisingly wrapped already. He
gave her the cake and gift, and said happy birthday girl before her phone rang.
She answered the cell phone and it was her mother wishing her a happy
birthday with her Dad making noise in the background. Samantha was teary
and kept saying, ‘I love you very much’ and they repeated the same thing but
added, ‘we proud of you grown young lady’. Her parents knew and accepted
that they had to let go of their teenage daughter earlier than expected due to
life’s roller coaster ride.

James and Samantha spent the whole day eating junk food and birthday
cake until they went to see a movie later on in the evening. When they got
back, they just spoke about life and Samantha begged James to tell her about
how he met Melissa. Samantha saw her one time when she was exiting the
apartment building after finding no one at the apartment. Melissa was instantly
recognized by Samantha because she saw a picture of her on James’ cell
phone. Melissa usually called first if she was coming over so that she never
found Samantha at the apartment. James knew it would be impossible to
explain why he was staying with a beautiful girl in his one bedroom
apartment.

Melissa Ingle was a 21 year old red head that worked at club Life with
James. She was studying to be an Interior Designer at one of the many
colleges in New York. Her parents were very well off, people said, her mother
inherited millions from her wealthy family. That definitely explained the car
and apartment but she always was down to earth because she worked even
though she did not have to. The funny thing was Melissa really hated James
when he first started working at the club about eight months ago. She was his
bar supervisor and she always gave James the shitty jobs around the bar and
club like cleaning up vomit, always glass collecting and sweeping the dance
floor instead of bartending. That all changed one night, when he went to the
staff room for his break and found two girls from the other bar in the club also
having their break. James got along with one of the girls but were not really
friends. He sat down and started enjoying his blackcurrant drink while the two
girls were gossiping and giggling about probably guys. Melissa entered the
staff room where she greeted the two girls and left her drink on the table
before heading to the staff toilets. The dark haired girl named Lisa stood up
and made sure no one was entering the staff room before she spat into
Melissa’s drink. The two girls started laughing in anticipation of what was to
come. James got up before Melissa came out of the toilet, and he took her
drink and poured it down the drain. The dark haired girl asked him what he
was doing and called him an asshole. He turned to Lisa and asked her angrily
what she called him but her blonde friend named Roxanne intervened, and
said sorry on behalf of her dark-haired friend. When Melissa appeared she saw
her glass of juice was empty and she asked the other two girls about it. The
dark-haired girl pointed at James and said, ‘that idiot poured your drink down
the sink’. Melissa just gave James a death stare, and walked out of the staff
room and headed for the manager’s office. A few minutes later, a glass
collector named Paul came to the staff room and summoned James to the
manager’s office.

When James entered the office, he found Melissa sitting on the chair to the
left and the right one was rightfully reserved for him. The manager was Dave
Haley and was always jumping to Melissa’s command. Most people usually
said Melissa ran the joint and not this idiotic manager who always said yes to
her every demand. James sat down and greeted the manager. Dave asked him
if he liked working here and by which James replied yes I do. Then the
manager added, ‘you have to apologize for pouring her drink’. James turned
towards Melissa and apologized but she wanted him to explain why he did
something like that. He responded by saying ‘you do not want to hear why I
did that’. Out of no way, Melissa threatened to quit if James continued
working here. Dave the manager was shell shocked by her demand over just a
drink incident and insisted they work it out. She stood up and said ‘I will come
for my last payment next week Monday’, and was walking towards the door
when James blocked her. James told them he would quit and tonight was his
last night, and walked off.

The following morning after James quit, he got a phone call from Dave his
former manager asking him to come to the club that evening for his normal
work shift. He thought Melissa had quit even though he had. When he got to
the club that evening he was surprised to see Melissa on the bar preparing for
the club to open that night. Instead of facing her, he headed straight to the
manager’s office. When he got to the office, Dave explained to him that the
blonde girl from the spitting incident came forward and explained to them
what happened with the drink issue. James was just glad that he still had a job
and Roxanne had come forward with the truth. James assumed Lisa the dark-
haired girl was missing tonight because she was fired.

During the shift at the club, James and Melissa kept on running into each
other but they only exchanged awkward glances at each other. At the end of
the shift, Melissa was the first to leave the club for home. James was really
disappointed that she did not bother to thank him for letting her not drink her
spitted drink. Before leaving he made his way to the front bar to thank
Roxanne for snitching on her friend in order to help him. On his way out, he
grabbed his jacket from the staff room and then headed out. He was walking
towards a take-away joint where he usually bought French fries and hot wings
before heading home, when a yellow mini-cooper stopped in front of him and
then Melissa jumped out. Melissa offered him a lift which he politely declined
but she instead came around and stood in front of him, and said ‘thank you
very much for what you did yesterday’. After she convinced him to allow her
to drop him off at home, they started chatting in the car. He was surprised she
had a cool personality that no one ever saw at the club. And out of the blue,
she stopped at a 24 hour shop where she bought wine and beer, and asked him
‘my place or yours’. James replied ‘your place’ with a smile and was
impressed with her taking the initiative but not surprised by it. They drank
until Sunday morning and played a strip tease game which led to something
more physical and sweaty. This was the beginning of their relationship which
meant them being sneaky and secretive at the night club but everyone knew
they were dating because they always left together.

***

Two years on, James and Samantha had become the best of friends which
was inevitable since they were flat-mates for over two years. Samantha had
just completed her high school diploma and had applied to couple of
universities all over the country but had secretly made her choice and decision
about the university she planned to attend. She had selected one of the New
York City Colleges closer to the area where they lived and assumed James
would be glad to hear that but he had a secret of his own. She was planning
what to do tomorrow for her birthday and was anticipating what gift James
would give her. Like any other girl she loved presents but never understood
why James never really celebrated his birthday but just obsessed over a
chocolate cake every birthday instead of a gift.

On her 18th birthday like the past two, were similar in that James always
brought her a cake and a present before she did anything else. And he always
asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday and this time she wanted to
go dancing this evening until morning hours. He never refused any request on
her birthday and she knew that. The advantage of working in a nightclub
meant that he knew most of the great drinking spots and the bartenders. So he
arranged to take her to a jazz night spot which was near to his college and a
very popular high-end club called Blue Set. They made a deal that she would
drink two glasses of wine and have soft drinks at the club to prevent the jazz
club from being penalized for allowing an 18 year old to drink alcohol in their
establishment. James never saw anyone get so excited about going to a jazz
club but this was Samantha’s night and he was looking forward to unwinding
after searching endlessly for IT work. He was glad to be doing an IT
Internship at Cyberize for the next two months. He was planning to get
seriously hammered on brandy and whiskey.
 They got to the club and got a corner table which had a great view of the
band and also the dance floor. This joint got crazy sometimes with the jazz
dance moves from the 60s which were both sexy and excruciating but
everybody still loved it and hungered for more. James was surprised to see her
waving at someone across the room and wondered if she had a secret life he
did not know about. Two girls walked over and then some weird guy with
hippy clothes came over shouting make love and not war. It seems that was
just a theme costume for the night especially a jazzy one. The three girls and
hippy guy left for the bar but James just hoped Samantha remembered their
deal earlier on since her friends were already tipsy from whatever they were
drinking before landing here. Samantha’s two friends were very beautiful but
James decided against making any moves on her friends because girls always
brought feelings to the table even though they acted like it never bothered
them. They came back with two rounds of drinks each but he still assumed
Samantha was drinking club soda and not vodka lemonade. After having a few
more drinks, James noticed everyone was getting silly drunk except him and
that included Samantha who he looked at with disappointment but she never
noticed that since her senses were influenced by alcohol. Things were going
great with everyone dancing except James who opted to look out for their
purses at the table which could not be left unattended. One of her friends, a
Latina looking girl called Rosy, walked over to James and just kissed him but
that did not go down well with Samantha who saw what happened and came
over to slap her friend. The commotion attracted the attention of the bouncers
and James knew that it was club time over while trying to separate the two so-
called friends. Rosy kept shouting ‘he is not into you’ while being dragged out
of the club and James walked Samantha out with tears in her eyes.

All the way home, there was so much silent in and out of the cab which
showed a beautiful dark unappreciated side to the city. They got home and
James rushed straight to the fridge for the full bottle of wine left earlier on and
she had the same idea but was hoping to drink alone. She was thankful that
they each had their own rooms since moving from a one bedroom to a two
bedroom flat which meant they could avoid each other without any
awkwardness. But James did not go to his room instead put some music on
and said ‘let’s continue your party honey’, with his cheeky smile that she
could not resist. They talked and laughed about everything until they shared a
kiss which scattered them both to their separate rooms for a sleepless night of
deep thought. Mornings like this were really more weird than awkward, they
said their good morning and she left for the market which was a great excuse
for avoiding him.

Samantha had found a job in a restaurant which was part-time until she
started college in six months time and James was still job hunting but working
as an IT Intern until recently.

James jumped into one of the popular New York yellow cabs and slammed
the door shut which propelled the driver to turn round and yell, ‘You break
you buy pal’. The driver was visibly concerned about the state of his ailing cab
which was his money making source.

As the cab cruised through traffic, James was distracted and not once did he
recognize the landmarks of New York on his way to the airport. He had the
feeling of having his heart ripped out from his chest as the thought of
Samantha haunted him. What he was doing was undoubtedly inexcusable and
he knew Samantha would never forgive him but he had his reasons for bailing
out on her.

As the taxi raced through traffic James murmured, “Am sorry Samantha”,
as he blankly stared out of the car window.

Eventually the cab reached the airport terminal which was not as busy as
the north terminal which usually had European flights. James jumped out of
the cab and dragged his two suitcases towards the check-in desk of Canadian
Airways. He was so dazed that he literary bumped into two attractive model
looking girls. The two girls were more concerned about James not reacting to
their beauty rather than being run over by a tall dark suitcase wheeling
stranger.

James was like a zombie since he wrote the letter, packed his bags and left
his apartment for the last time. He was startled with a poke on the shoulder by
a fellow passenger behind him as he was directed to the check-in booth.

James said with a fake smile, “I am booked for the 2 pm flight to

Vancouver” as he handed the red-headed airline desk attendant his passport
and air ticket.

Desk attendant responded as she processed the papers, “Are you travelling
for business or pleasure?”

“I have been offered a job which starts next week” and James added “My
visa has been attached on my passport.”

“Ok. Everything is in order” as she stamped the passport and handed it

back to James.

I hate economic class. As James searched irritatively for his seat, he prayed
he was not put with annoying passengers. But his prayer went unanswered
because an elderly couple came to seat next to him and it was worse when the
old lady insisted on seating next to James.

The old lady introduced herself and her husband, “My name is Betty Milder
and this is my husband Albert.”

The elderly couple were cute together (not just the matching outfits but the
eternal love) and it was so sweet how the old gentleman always looked
embarrassed with all the marshy love affection his wife poured over him. If
that wasn’t love then what was?

James replied, “My name is James” and “Are you the singer/actress?”

Old lady laughed and said, “No. Am not famous” and “Just have similar
names.”

James grabbed himself a pillow as an indication that he wanted to sleep

during the flight hours but that did not stop Betty from interrupting him. He
was about to doze off when he heard the couple bickering about things he had
no interest in.

Betty was poking James by the shoulder while asking, “Young man, is there
anyone who doesn’t like visiting their mother?”

James knew sleep would never come as he answered her question,

“Everyone loves their mother” and “unless you are adopted.”

Albert pointedly said, “But mother-in laws are different.”

James laughs and asks, “Your mother in law is still alive?”

Albert sadly nods his head in agreement. His wife responds, “But his
mother is dead”, holding her reluctant husband in her arms.

With James still grinning, he raised a hand to hail the flight attendant. He
knew he needed a stiff drink to calm him down through this flight which had a
Canadian version of the Jeffersons.

James had not noticed how beautiful the flight attendant was until Albert
over stared and received a tongue full from his wife.

The flight attendant in economic class looked Asian but had a light brown
complexion similar to the Fuji locals.

The attendant asked, “How can I help you sir?”

With a smile James said, “I really need a JD and coke” while he pointedly
used his eyes towards the annoying couple next to him.

The flight attendant flirtatiously giggled at James’ implication.

Betty tried to whisper to James, “I think she really likes you, young man”
and “you going to take her home with you?” with a little wink.

James awkwardly pointed out, “Betty I think she can hear you.”

James added to the attendant, “Sorry about that. Thank you.” as the
attendant handed him the drink with an inviting smile.

The attendant replied, “You welcome.” She wheeled her food cart back to
the food station and turned at the right moment as she caught James’ gaze.

The thought of Samantha kept clouding his state of thought which was
great if they had been in a relationship in the first place but James had a set of
principles that would not allow him to make that first move. It always felt
wrong having those sexual thoughts towards Samantha because of what she
went through when they had first met. But James knew that she had deep
feelings for him and he hoped that she would one day move on because he was
planning to do just that with this beautiful flight attendant.

The beautiful flight attendant came through again but with a late lunch
instead of refreshments.

The attendant asked James, “What can I get you sir, chicken or fish meal?”

James replied with a smile, “Don’t call me sir but James” and “Please give
me your fresh fish meal thank you.”

As she blushed she said, “Ok, here you go” handing him the meal and
added “My name is Jessica.” But her name tag was written Jess for short.

This was the best airplane meal James ever ate and wondered if it was
because he really liked the attendant.

Betty kept giving James weird looks accompanied by grins as she saw the
chemistry between him and the flight attendant.

Meanwhile a vibrant Samantha is having a great day at work oblivious to

the big changes taking place in her life.

The plane is two hours away when it starts hitting turbulence which shakes
the plane violently.

James turns to a visibly frightened Betty and says with a smile, “That
means we have crossed into Canada.” As Betty grabs on to his arm instead of
her husband’s arm.

A shockingly calm Albert finds the funny side to the joke as he laughs until
he says, “James that was a great one” and “I have never heard that one
before.”

A sound of running wheels can be heard coming from the food station and
the attendant named Jess is rushing after it before the food cart hits the seat
edge in the front row seats of James’ row. The food cart makes a loud
shattering sound which scatters the food trays and food drawers to the floor.

James ignores the buzzing and flashing seat belt light above him and
crosses past the elder couple, and kneels down opposite a visibly upset Jessica.
He starts helping her clean up the aisle and replaces all the fallen trays and
drawers.

A protestant Jessica finally spokes, “You don’t have to help me. It is not
your job.”

James flashes a smile and responds, “It’s my pleasure” as the plane starts
experiencing a reduction in turbulence.

As James focuses on tidying up the aisle, Jessica could not help focusing on
her knight in shining armor for that moment. After a while of cleaning they
started talking.

Jessica asked, “What are you going to do in Vancouver?”

James looked up at her and said, “I could not find a job in New York but
instead found one in Canada” and “so here I am.”

Jessica with a teasing smile replied, “Ahh don’t look so gloomy. Vancouver
is not that bad.”

“OK. You live in Vancouver?” asked James feeling much more encouraged.

Jessica replies, “NO. I live in New York”

An inquisitive passenger says, “Vancouver is a great city. It is my second

favorite city.”

James laughingly responds, “Yeh, I guess after New York.”

The passenger nodded in agreement, “New York is definitely awesome.”

The two new friends push the cart to its rightful place. The time had passed
so much after the plane had hit the turbulence and the plane was less than an
hour away from the airport. James thought the turbulence was God sent and he
had a precious phone number from arguably the most beautiful girl on the
plane.

Back at his seat James reflected on his time with Samantha. He kept asking
himself if he would ever meet someone like Samantha because she was
beautiful both outside and inside. He always admired how Samantha put other
people first without thinking about the implication on herself.

At last the plane had landed and James decided to wait for the whole plane
to clear out before stepping out. He was approaching the exit when Jessica saw
him and she smiled at him, and ignored the remaining passengers as they
exited the plane.

James walked up to her and asked her, “Can you show me the back streets
of Vancouver”

Jessica replied, “I can do better than that.” As she escorted him out of the
airplane terminal entrance.

The coffee place James had decided to wait for Jessica had a great view of
the busy terminal and he enjoyed seeing the number of beauties this city
attracted or gave birth to. He saw a model looking Jessica walking towards his
direction and he just stared with appreciation at one of God’s gifts to men.

Jessica walked up to him and said, “Can we first pass my hotel room before
we hit town?”

James got up and grabbed his bags before saying, “Yes no problem. Let’s
get out of here” and “Am tired of seeing planes.”

The hotels the flight attendants were accommodated at were great and
James better understood why a lot of people wanted to be flight attendants. He
raced past Jessica like a fire was following him as he dove into the mini bar
and started to down the small bottle of Jack Daniels. He was on the bed
watching the news on the television as sexy lingerie wearing Jessica ran to
towards him and jumped on him. James knew that he would have to check out
the city another time because they were locked in the room the whole night
with food and champagne being ordered and delivered to the room.


After her shift she came home very exhausted and just dove on the sofa
when she saw an envelope addressed to her with James’ handwriting. She tore
it open and it was a letter from James which read:

Dear Samantha,

I am sorry to be writing this letter instead of talking to you personally but I

thought it best. I am proud of your college admission this year. You have
become my best friend this past two and half years and I Love you to bits. I
have been offered a job far away but I decided against telling you because I
knew you would want to come with me. You have a great opportunity to
accomplish great things after you complete your college course. Please
promise me you will complete your course and focus on building a good life
for yourself. I hope you can forgive me one day for leaving like this. Do not
want you to think you owe me something for helping you during your time of
need. Building a great life will be payment enough.

Love,

James.

Samantha read the letter with a flood of tears running down her face. She
felt like she lost her best friend forever and nothing would make her feel better
apart from James. She started regretting not telling him that she loved him
very much. The only person she could think of to call for comfort was her
mother. Her mother answered her cell phone to sounds of sobbing which made
her heart beat twice as fast because she feared the worst. She asked her
daughter what the matter was but she could not get a response from her
sobbing daughter. After a while Samantha composed herself to answer her
mother’s plead by saying his gone forever mom. Her mother thought James
had dead or something but Samantha explained that he had vanished and left a
letter saying goodbye. That just broke her mother’s heart and tears also rolled
down her eyes because she knew that if Samantha had not met James that
night, she might have lost her daughter forever. And she always thanked God
everyday for having James in Samantha’s life because she had more purpose
in life now then she ever had in the past. Samantha threatened to quit college
and look for him but her mother convinced her that it would break James’
heart. Her mother’s last words before she hung up were that Samantha has to
show James that she can build a life for herself after completing college.

Samantha was a sophisticated author now after spending three years in

college doing Creative writing and Fashion design. She was seated on a chair
across from the TV Talk Show presenter called Taylor O’Brien who hosted the
Taylor show in Toronto, Canada. Samantha was promoting her book called My
Angel which was already a best-seller in America. The book was about a guy
who helps a run-away girl from the dangerous streets of New York. After
spending most of the afternoon getting briefed about the rules and regulations
of the show, and also getting camera make-up, she still was a nervous wreck.
They always say fame is not for everyone which definitely applied to
Samantha at this point in time.

The show started with a studio audience applause which was thunderous
then usual and undoubtedly signified a numerous amount of Samantha
Wellings’ fans. After the audience had calm down, Taylor started with a
welcome greeting and added, ‘it is great to have you on the show and how did
you like it in Vancouver’. Samantha thought for a moment about her trip to
Vancouver a week ago where she also appeared on a similar show called The
People’s View, and said it was great but colder than New York which made her
miss home even more. Taylor commented about how much she loved the book
and it had a very interesting end to it, and she stressed that each viewer must
buy a copy and not to borrow from a friend. After the audience laughed, the
presenter got serious and asked Samantha to explain what the book means to
her.

Samantha reflected about the time she lost James five years ago and was
totally broken inside. She was sitting in the lounge watching television and
still coping with living without James when a breaking news story about a
pedophile arrested in New Jersey was headlining that evening but it never
really caught the attention of Samantha until they showed his picture on the
screen. The screen was filled with her parent’s friend Bill who was the reason
she left home years ago. She was so emotional, these past weeks that she felt a
sigh of relief about justice being served after all this years. At last they had
caught the bustard that almost destroyed her life and this made her miss James
even more because she quivered by the thought of having to survive by
prostituting herself to survive on the streets. The reporter was stating that he
had been molesting children for over ten years with the promise of money and
gifts. Samantha was in tears while murmuring ‘where are you James’, when
the phone rang. It was her mother on the other line who was crying and saying
sorry repeatedly, which Samantha thought was long over-due. Her mother had
apologized when Samantha was forced by James to confront her about this
issue but she never believed she was sincere until now. Having watched justice
prevail on TV, she knew that James had been more than her best friend but
also her angel because she knew he sacrificed more than she had imagined by
allowing her to enter into his home for more than two years. And she
wondered if anyone even herself would be able to do what James did for her.
Most people used to say she was sleeping with him but he never once
disrespected her in anywhere until he left.

The talk show host then asked Samantha how college was and if she had
any advice to give aspiring writers who are currently students of the art. She
responded by saying that college was a great experience which made her a
good writer but her life and bring out the emotions onto paper made her a
great writer. She initially wanted to drop out of college because it was not the
same without James around but one day a lecturer gave them an assignment
about writing down the worst and best moments in their lives and turn it into a
great story. That is when she started writing My Angel and later refined it into
a great book which brought her to this live show. Samantha fell in love with
writing after that assignment and she knew that it was something she wanted
to do as a career. She explained that college was very difficult in terms of
letting people get close to her and socializing. After James left, he left with a
very huge part of her heart which has never healed up to now. As a very
beautiful young lady, she used to get asked out a lot by all the numerous guys
of different status at the college but she never was interested in relationships.
Rumors always circulated that she was a lesbian at the college because she
kept shooting down advances from college guys. Apart from turning down
guys, she also had to contend with rejecting girls as well until they got tired of
asking her out. Deep down she knew that she had to one day conclude her
relationship with James or lack of it, in other words she desperately needed
closure one way or another.

The audience applauded but with no enthusiastic, it showed that they had
seen the sadness in her eyes after she spoke of closure. The host Taylor
decided to address the issue by asking ‘so have you heard from James since he
disappeared?’ and ‘have you tried looking for him?’

Samantha tried to forge a smile but her sadness always came back. She said
she tried everything to find him but it seems he does not want to be found. She
explained that she once hired a private investigator to try finding him but the
investigator said James was a ghost which meant he covered his tracks very
well. And the investigator later asked Samantha whether her friend James was
a criminal because nobody disappears unless they have something to hide.

Taylor asked where she had found a picture of James since he had erased
every picture of himself before disappearing in thin air. Samantha said she had
to seek help from James’ ex-girlfriend Melissa who was also fuming that he
dumped her and left town. He also erased every picture she had of him except
one which she had emailed to her cousin in Miami when they started dating.
When Samantha first pleaded with Melissa about giving her a picture of James
so that she could track him down, she angrily refused and was resentful of
Samantha because she thought they were screwing each other behind her back.
But Samantha begged Melissa to help because James was not her friend but
was her best friend. Three days after their confrontation she called and
forwarded the picture using the number Samantha gave her, and also wished
her luck in finding him because he was a good soul she sorely missed as well.

In closing Taylor thanked her guest Samantha and also thanked the studio
audience before finally closing the show. Samantha was walking to the exit
door when Taylor came running behind her calling ‘Samantha’. She gave her a
bottle of rose wine which she stressed might come in handy at the hotel room.
Samantha gladly received the bottle and walked towards the car before driving
off to the City Hotel where she was staying until tomorrow. This hotel had a
very beautiful interior and it surprised Samantha why it always looked empty
and usually un-homely, she assumed it was mainly a one night stop over hotel.
She jumped into the elevator and was about to force close the doors when a
businessman looking gentleman forced his way between the closing elevator
doors. Samantha felt embarrassed that she did not see him coming and just
said ‘sorry did not see you’. The businessman just smiled and replied ‘I get
that a lot’ and added, ‘a drink with you at the bar will make me feel better’.
She thought that he probably says that to every woman he meets in hotels, and
politely declined his invitation for drinks with a simple ‘can I take a rain
check, had a busy day and am really tired’. Samantha reached her floor and,
jumped out of the elevator and turned with a little wave which the
businessman responded with a ‘goodnight’.

It was one of those lonely usual nights for Samantha and, she was looking
forward to drinking her rose wine and read through her fan email messages
which really amused her especially in times like this. After a nice steamy bath
she rushed to her laptop with her glass of wine on the side of the night lamp.
Only to discover that the hotel’s Wi-Fi internet connection was down and, that
just infuriated Samantha into calling and shouting at the reception desk
downstairs. They promised to send their tech expert to troubleshoot the
internet problem she was experiencing. She waited for 15 minutes and was
about to call the reception desk again to find out about what was causing the
delay when she heard a knock on the door. She rushed to the door and opened
it without confirming who it was and walked off to the bathroom where she
heard the tech shouting ‘am here to check your internet problem’ and she
shouted back ‘ok, the laptop is on the desk, please fix it’. Samantha came out
of the bathroom and found the IT technician slumped over the desk and
working tirelessly on her laptop. She walked over to him and stood behind him
watching attentively to learn or just to make sure he did not mess up her laptop
while she sipped on a glass of wine. The technician had a massive afro and a
full beard and moustache, Samantha just shook her head with disbelief that
someone would walk around without cutting or trimming their facial hair. The
IT technician guy slumped over the desk shouted ‘done’ which startled her
and, then she dropped the glass on a tiled surface. Samantha had turned as
white as a ghost when the technician turned towards her after fixing her
internet connection. She had tears running down her face when she shouted
‘James’ and he had a huge smile with tears running down his cheeks. They
only thing they could think of doing was tightly huge each other without a
word between them but only longing which had come to an end this moment
in time. Samantha at last shoved him away and slapped him, and asked him
why he would disappear like that. James sat down and said he was really sorry,
and explained that he had been travelling to New York the past two years and
tried looking for her in the old neighborhood and also at her college. He said
he had to leave like that because he knew she would want to come to Canada
with him and could not allow her to throw away her future. James stood up
and looked her in the eyes, and asked her ‘would you have stayed and finished
your college if I told you I was leaving to work in Canada?’ She just stepped
towards him and kissed him, she felt like she was on cloud nine because she
longed for this since they first kissed after celebrating her last birthday
together in New York. They eventually sat down holding hands in silence
which engulfed the room like there was no life being in the room. He said to
her ‘I need to go clock out otherwise they will not pay me’ but she ran across
to wear her shoes and jacket, and smiled saying ‘don’t think I will ever let you
out of my sight’. They walked out of the elevator hand in hand which
surprised people at the reception desk. James decked into a staff only room to
clock out for the day and came out to a waiting Samantha who was visibly
happy.

James took Samantha to one of his favorite restaurants which started

attracting a lot of people who undoubtedly watched the show this early
evening. He looked at her getting compliments for her book which she wrote
about them but he could not help feel proud and happy for her. They left after
he noticed she felt uneasy by all the attention which he understood since he
knew she was very humble in that way. They went to a trendy bar in the centre
city where they spoke, laughed and enjoyed themselves. It showed in their
faces that they had missed each other very much, they left the bar after a few
drinks and Samantha refused to go back to the hotel. James showed her where
he lived and she laughed because he had not changed after all this years. His
place was as spotless as his apartment in New York thought Samantha, with a
grin on her mouth. He offered her red wine which she grabbed and gobbled
down quick, and asked him where the bathroom was and he pointed two doors
to the right. She popped up eventually with a bra and g-string, and said to him
‘no excuses this time Mr James’. He just lifted her up and headed to the room
where clothes were ripped and noises were heard until early morning. At least
no neighbors were banging on the door complaining about noise.

Three months after Canada, Samantha had another talk show appearance in
England to promote her book. She was predictably asked about James and she
smiled with a glow in her face. Instead of answering the question, she simply
just pointed towards where James was standing. And the whole audience went
crazy with screams and applauds which showed how people felt and how they
were touched by the true story she wrote in college during her time of sadness
and loneliness. And she proudly showed off her engagement ring that she had
waited over 5 years for. The presenter asked her how she feels about this
moment she is living in now, Samantha responded by saying that she thanks
God with all her heart because she never gave up on praying that James would
make his way to her one day.

THE END

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