Finding Us

Robert, upset by the flight delay but thankful he’d forgotten his wallet at the hotel on the day of the accident, decided to look for a place to buy a cell phone at the airport. John, always the planner, told Robert that he always kept a card in his wallet with a list of important phone numbers whenever he travelled. He said that Robert should do the same, just in case something bad ever happened. Robert was thankful that he took John's advice when he arrived at Hong Kong airport. When he first found out about the delay, he tried using a payphone to call Maryanne. He tried several times, but the calls kept dropping before he could get through.

He figured that the payphones had a problem with overseas calls as he had called the hotel and left a message for John with no issues. He let John know where he was and that he was using a payphone and would try again later.

Robert discovered quickly that the Hong Kong airport was massive, as he walked around looking for a place that sold electronics. It was full of high-end shopping and restaurants. He could get a haircut or a massage or even get a shower and take a nap if he wanted.

After walking around for the better part of an hour and feeling tired and hungry, he decided to rest at a small coffee bar that sold sandwiches and drinks. He sat at a table close to the entrance eating a tuna sandwich and enjoying his coffee, as he watched the hundreds of travellers scurrying to and from their gates. Being an international hub and considered the entrance to Asia, Hong Kong airport was one of the busiest airports in the world. Robert smiled as he scanned the many different faces of the people rushing past and thought the world truly is a small place. They were the faces of just about every nationality on earth, and even though everybody moved with a purpose, the vast majority of them were pleasant and kind to each other.

He watched as a young Asian woman running past with two small children stopped suddenly as one of the children fell and started to cry. A large man, exiting a toy store, wearing what looked like African clothing and carrying two stuffed animals in his arms immediately stopped and helped the crying little boy up, before dusting him off and giving him one of the toys. The boy looked at his mother, who smiled at the man and nodded yes to her son. The boy took the stuffed toy and stopped crying as the woman and man smiled at each other before walking in different directions.

Robert, moved by what he witnessed, thought “This is who we are; even though we may come from different places and different backgrounds we’re much more alike than we are different.” He smiled at the man as he watched several other people, who had witnessed what he’d done, also smiling. He thought about how this simple act of kindness had brightened so many people’s day, and lightened the load for the woman he helped.

Across from the coffee bar, he could see an Asian couple come out of a jewelry shop, and the woman jump into the man's arms and start to cry as he placed a ring on her finger, while strangers with smiling faces took pictures of them.

Happy for the couple and finished his sandwich, Robert walked to the jewelry shop and went inside.

After deciding on his purchase and having it wrapped, he asked if there was somewhere he could buy a phone, and armed with directions; he walked around the corner to the electronics store.

After purchasing the phone and getting it set up, with the clerk's help, he walked back to the area of his gate and tried to call Maryanne's cell phone. He tried two times, but she didn't answer, and he couldn't leave a message. The clerk had told him that this might happen as he had to set it up with a China phone number, which Robert could get changed when he arrived in Canada. He said that depending on how the other person's phone was set up; he may not be able to leave a message to an overseas number.

He decided that he would wait a little while and try again later.

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Maryanne and Mai-Ling, happy and relieved that they had finally landed in Guangzhou after almost twenty hours, smiled and waved as they walked out of the baggage area and saw Aili in the crowd of people waiting. It wasn't until they got closer that they saw there were a man and woman waiting with her and that Aili's smile looked forced. Mai-Ling got to her first, and Maryanne could tell by her reaction that something was terribly wrong.

Maryanne was shocked when Mai-Ling said, "Robert has gone; he's already left to fly home." Aili walked to her and hugged her as she started to cry. She said, "It’s ok, honey, don't cry. There's still a chance you can get to him."

“What do you mean? Where is he?”

"He's in Hong Kong right now, but Lina found out that his flight to Canada has been delayed four hours."

She looked at Aili and asked, “Lina? Who is Lina?”

Aili stepped aside, and Maryanne saw Lina clearly for the first time and realized that this must be the girl that Robert had been seeing. As Aili had told her, she had the same hair colour and eyes as her. It was almost like looking at an Asian version of herself.

Lina introduced herself, "Hello Maryanne; it's very nice to meet you. Robert has told me all about you."

Feeling a little jealous and fearful of how far this beautiful woman and Robert's relationship had developed, she said, "It's very nice to meet you also, Lina."

For the next several minutes Lina and Aili explained that they'd booked her a ticket on a flight to Hong Kong and that flight would be leaving in about an hour. They told her that if everything was on time, Maryanne should get there before Robert had to board his flight.

Maryanne felt excited and worried at the same time and asked, "What do I do if I'm too late, and he’s already boarded?"

Aili said, "Don't worry, honey, we have a plan," and then introduced her cousin.

"This is my cousin, Ming. We couldn't get another seat on your flight, but Ming will drive Mai-Ling and me to Hong Kong. It's about a two-hour drive, so if anything goes wrong, you just wait, and we’ll be there. Ok?"

Maryanne, overwhelmed by everything that everybody was doing to help her, began to cry and thank them as Aili led her to a seat and told her, "Everything will be ok dear, don't worry, we’re your family and will do whatever it takes."

They sat and discussed everything that had happened in the last two weeks for a short time before Lina stood and said that she had to leave. Maryanne watched as Lina hugged and said goodbye to the others before coming to Maryanne and saying, "Good luck Maryanne. I truly hope you find him in Hong Kong. I know how much Robert loves you. You’re a very lucky woman." Maryanne looking into her eyes as she spoke, could see how easy it would be for any man to fall under her spell and, for her own well-being, needed to know the answer to one question.

She had known and loved Robert most of her life, but it seemed like something had always gotten in the way of their love. She thought about what Robert said to her before she travelled to England, "Sometimes Life has a way of getting in the way." She was sure that Robert had been in intimate relationships before, just as she had, and that didn't bother her, but somehow this felt different. Robert and Maryanne had never crossed that threshold, and as she looked at Lina, she feared that if Robert and Lina had, her not trusting Robert was the reason why.

She said, "Thank you, Lina, for saying that and thank you for everything you have done to help. Can I walk to the door with you; there is something I need to ask you."

When they got to the door, Lina could see fear on Maryanne's face and felt she knew what she wanted to ask. Lina smiled at her and said, "I can see how stressed you are. Let's go outside so you can get some fresh air." When they got outside, Lina waved at a taxi across the street, and as she waited for the car to turn around, she could see that Maryanne was trembling. She reached out and took her hand before saying, "It’s ok, Maryanne. You have nothing to fear. I think I know what you want to ask; because it would be the same question I would ask. You can ask me whatever you want, and I will answer truthfully."

Maryanne squeezed her hand and said, "I know it's none of my business, given where our relationship was when you met Robert, but in my heart, I need to know how far your and Robert’s relationship has gone.”

"I’ll tell you the truth, Maryanne. I have feelings for Robert. He’s a wonderful person with a loving heart. We’ve kissed a few times and spent some enjoyable time together. But if you’re asking what I know you are, we’ve never slept together. I know now that you’re the reason he never even tried to be that intimate with me. You probably don't know, but I’m the one that took him to the airport this morning and helped him buy his tickets so he could get back to you. He told me stories of your teenage years and how he’s loved you since childhood. I know he feels lost without you Maryanne, and could never move on without you in his life.”

Maryanne hugged her tight and thanked her, as memories of the pain she had caused a teenage Robert filled her mind. She stood and watched her get in the cab and drive away before going back inside, determined to get to the man she loved.

Shortly after Lina left, Maryanne hugged Mai-Ling and Aili and thanked Ming before walking to the screening area and on to her gate. When she got to the gate, she could see that people were already boarding and pulled her cell phone out to make sure it was still set to airplane mode. She saw that it was still set, but the light was flashing, indicating she had missed a call. She checked the call history and saw that she had missed two calls from a Chinese number and figured they were misdirected calls, so she disregarded them and put the phone back in her pocket.

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Robert checked his watch and, seeing he had about ninety minutes before his flight, decided to try Maryanne's cell phone again. He called three times without an answer, and frustrated that he still couldn't leave a message, pushed the phone back into his pocket. He decided he would wait and try one more time just before he had to board the flight.

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Maryanne landed in Hong Kong on time and with the stewardess's help during the flight, was able to find out what gate Robert was leaving from and the fastest way to get to it. When she got off the plane and realized how far it was to Robert’s gate and knowing he was scheduled to take off in less than forty minutes, her heart sank. She looked at the flight board on the wall feeling lost and beaten, before stopping herself and saying, "No, don't give up," as she turned and ran as fast as she could towards his gate.

People were pulling children out of her way as she zigged and zagged through the crowd, jumping over suitcases like an Olympic athlete, determined to get to him before it was too late.

Maryanne cursed the size of this airport as even at a full run; it took her almost fifteen minutes to get to Roberts gate. She gasped in despair and said, “Oh, God, No.” when she arrived at the gate to see maybe ten people standing in line and slowly boarding. She rushed to the check-in desk and asked if Robert was on the plane, but the lady said that it was against regulations for her to answer that question. Maryanne begged to no avail and even lied, saying, "I’m his wife. He doesn't know I'm here, and it's imperative that I speak to him." Nothing she said could change the lady's mind, and she walked to the windows sobbing as she looked out at his plane, saying, "I'm so sorry, Robert."

She took out her phone to call Mai-Ling and Aili and saw that she had three more missed calls from the same Chinese number. She was trying to delete and block the number when the phone rang with the same number again, and she pressed end, without answering. She stared out the window at the plane for a few seconds, trying to send her thoughts to Robert when the phone rang again with the same number.

She looked at the number and, with all the frustration that she felt building inside her, decided to answer the call and release her anger on whoever was calling her.

She pressed answer and said, “Hello, who the hell is this?”

Robert was thankful when he checked in at the gate, and the lady at the check-in counter, seeing the condition he was in, asked if he was ok and said she would try to get him a better seat. She said that with his arm in a full cast, he would be very uncomfortable in the seat booked for him. She moved him to a seat in the first row behind business class that would afford him much more legroom. And best of all, he could be one of the last people to board and one of the first to disembark when they landed.

He couldn't explain the feeling he had when the flight started boarding, but it was like something was telling him to wait until the last possible minute and try to call Maryanne just before he walked on the plane. He decided to quickly use the washroom before boarding when the last group of people stood in line waiting to walk down the ramp. When he got back, the last three or four people were scanning their boarding passes and walking through the gate.

Understanding that he didn't have much time, he pulled the cell phone from his pocket and tried Maryanne's number one more time, hoping that even if she didn't answer that maybe this time he could leave a message. He pulled up her number and hit dial as he put the phone to his ear. He could hear the ring tone in his ear, but he could also hear another phone ringing at almost exactly the same time somewhere close to him. He lowered the phone from his ear to see where the sound was coming from, but as he did, the call ended. He looked around and could only see a few people in his area. There were two people at the check-in desk and a woman and man sitting in a chair feeding a baby, while five or six people were standing at the window watching the planes take off and land. With hope rising in his heart, he tried her number again and watched the people around him as the phone started to ring. He could hear the same thing again and knew it was coming from one of the people standing at the window. He began to walk towards the window when the phone was answered with a woman's voice that he had known his whole life,

“Hello, who the hell is this?”

It took him a couple of seconds to answer, “Maryanne?”

"Robert? Oh my God. Where are you? Are you on the plane? You have to get off; I'm here. I'm looking at your plane; I love you, Robert, please get off.”

He smiled as he walked towards her and said, "Maryanne, I can't get off the plane."

"Robert, please. I'm so sorry for not trusting you. Please don't do this, Robert; you are my life. I need you to get off, please."

"I love you too Maryanne, I’ve always loved you, and I always will, but I can't get off the plane."

Maryanne, sobbing, and not understanding asked, "Why?"

“Because I’m not on the plane honey.”

Understanding came quickly, and she turned around to see Robert walking towards her with his arm in a cast and tears in his eyes. She dropped the phone on the floor and fell to her knees, with her hands to her face shaking as Robert came to her and, getting to his knees, pulled her close to his body and held her as they both wept, without speaking.