Marriage logo

The Diplomat's Book

The Wedding planner finds love

By Madame PinkPublished 3 years ago 9 min read
Like

The diplomat’s book

‘Hey, are you ready to go into this meeting? You have this one that should last an hour or so, and then we have to rush downtown so you can see how the hall looks for the Battlefield Wedding.’

‘Yes, I am ready. I am going to need a snack before we head out. Ah, lets leave a few minutes to stop at Starbucks. I’m sure the bride will not be ready for us anyway.’

Nina was a wedding planner in the heart of the new Manhattan! She is discussing her day with Liz, her assistant and they are extremely busy because it’s spring! Spring is the best time of year for a New York City wedding and Nina is the best wedding planner in the entire tri-state area. The best part about Nina and her exquisite wedding planning is she is also a horticulturalist, so she designs the flower arrangements herself. She has a twin sister; she is a seamstress, so she hand designs table linens for Nina. Nina’s best friend from birth is a 5 star chef and designs menus and sends out his award winning staff to every wedding. Nina is the best there is and her life is about to get even sweeter.

The meeting was just under an hour, which gave her plenty of time to walk into Starbucks and pick up her mobile order. The line was long, so she had to squeeze her way into the tight coffee shop on the corner of 9th Avenue. She spotted the area at the bar for mobile orders and head that way. She stopped and picked up a couple of straws, napkins and a handful of Splenda; just because. She noticed there was a line for mobile orders, so she stood nicely among the anxious coffee heads. A gentlemen walked in and stood next to her. He was impeccably dressed in a navy blue suit, crisp white button up shirt, and a stripped tie. He was tall, dark in complexion and smelled divine in what Nina assumed was Chanel. He was carrying one black book and he stood with his arms crossed. He seemed to be protecting this book. They made eye contact; Nina smiled and looked away. Moments later, his black coffee appeared on the bar. He stepped forward, grabbed it and walked away. But he made sure to smile again before he departed. Shortly after, Nina’s order finally appeared and she kicked herself for not having a more simple order. ‘I could’ve been gone like handsome man!’

She trotted out of the coffee shop and treaded nicely down the sidewalk. She reached the end of the block and noticed a black book on the curb. She heard it would rain today, so she scooped it up in hopes it belonged to the handsome man and it would eventually lead her back to him. She hopped into the back of the car that would take her to the hall she was arranging for the wedding. She slid in with her latte, sandwich and the black book, and settled into the plush, leather seat. There was a bit of traffic today, so it gave her a moment to read the pages of the mystery man’s mystery book. This wasn’t an ordinary black book. It was small; 6.5in maybe and bound in leather. The pages were ivory colored and thick in texture. The pages were dipped in gold and the book was bound together by a leather strap. This book was serious and Nina was somewhat jealous she didn’t own one in pink. She sat her cup in the cup holder beside her and carefully opened this gem of a book. Carefully, she unwound the strap and opened the front cover. His name was embroidered on the back cover. Malik Hassem Abdullah-Ma. And that was it, no number, no email, no return to sender address. Nina shrugged her shoulders and turned the page. The words were written in beautiful, tiny script; but it wasn’t English. ‘Ah, maybe that’s why all he did was smile.’ She continued to read to see if she could decipher the language, but she failed. She was curious to how she was going to reconnect with this man. She needed to get this book back to him as she felt it held importance to him. ‘Maybe he goes to that Starbucks everyday? We’ll have to go there tomorrow and see.’ She was speaking out loud, kind of to herself, but it grabbed her Liz’s attention.

‘What’s wrong, Nina?’

‘This handsome man inside Starbucks, dropped this book when he left Starbucks. I want to try and return it to him.’

‘Ah, ok. We’ll come back to 9th tomorrow and you do your thing.’

The car arrived at the hall a lot sooner than Nina anticipated. She took a deep breath before she hopped out of the car. The hall was inside of a beautiful, old stone church that overlooked the Hudson river. The space that was designated for the wedding was a quaint indoor/outdoor, South East corner of the lower level of the church. The space was converted in the late 80’s and restored a number of times over the last few decades. Nina filled the space with white lilies, white roses and white orchids; as per the brides request. ‘This entire room must be white!’

‘She wants to feel as if she is getting married in the heavens with Jesus.’ Was the explanation Nina received when she first met the bride to be. As per her clients request, Nina made the heavens on earth and it was spectacular! The room was trimmed in gold, but every linen, every chair, every inch of fabric was crisp, beautiful, clean white silk and Nina was impressed.

‘Excellent job!’ She clapped her hands for the staff who worked so diligently and hard with putting the room together. On the patio, the white table and chairs were arranged nicely; 4 chairs to a table and gold drink carts along the perimeter for easy access. Nina stood still and smiled as she waited for the bride to be to enter the room. A few moments passed and she heard the commotion of the bride, her sisters, her mother, and her mother in law.

‘NINAAAAAA!!!! ITS FABULOUS!!!! I love it! I love it! Thank you so much!’

Nina exhaled a sigh of relief as the bride to be threw herself into Nina’s arms and embraced her with adoration. Nina walked the bride to be around the room so she could see the details up close. She held back tears of joy because she didn’t want to spread her mascara. The wedding was set to happen on the weekend and the weather was threatening to be fantastic! It was truly a dream come true for a bride who started out as a bit of a disaster to work with.

Nina felt complete and reassured by the end of the visit. She made her way back to the car that dropped her off and she exhaled as she slid back into the plush, leather seat. She opened her cell phone and noticed breaking news. ‘Israeli diplomat lost important book.’ She touched the link, which took her to a news article describing the man she saw and the book she held in her possession. She grew anxious and excited as she continued to read, hoping the article would connect her to him. ‘If anyone has any information regarding this situation, please contact the United Nations.’ Nina looked at the time; it was just after 3pm.

‘Can we make it to the UN before end of day? I have a connect there. I’ll just walk in and look for Mister Diplomat.’

‘Sure, I guess.’

The driver took off and sprinted across town. When they arrived, the crowd in front of the building was insane and Nina knew she couldn’t make it in without help. She made a phone call and dialed a friend of hers who is a diplomat from her home land of Ghana. Her friend answered on the first ring and laughed hysterically while Nina rambled her story. Her gracious friend gave her instructions to meet her along side the building and she will make sure she makes it safely to the diplomat. While they were walking, Nina grew more excited and was still rambling to her friend.

‘Do you know him? Does he speak English? He is so fine! Have you seen him?’

Her friend laughed as she nodded her head. ‘Yes, I do know him and yes, he does speak English.’ They made it into the building and through a collection of security checks before finally arriving to the main floor.

‘Wait here. I’ll go get him.’

Nina stood in amazement as her eyes gazed around the room. She couldn’t believe she was here and was going to finally meet the owner of the beautiful book. She clutched it tight in her hand while she waited. She could hear the click clack of heeled shoes and her excitement grew. Her friend turned the corner with the diplomat and two armed guards. He smiled at Nina as he walked closer to her. Nina smiled back and her smile grew larger as he got closer.

‘Nina, Malik, Malik, Nina.’

‘It is a pleasure to meet you Nina. Thank you for keeping my book safe.’

Nina smiled as Malik extended his hand to her. His hands were large, strong and smooth. He shook hers firmly, but gently and she melted.

‘The pleasure is all mine, Malik. You are very welcome. I must say. This is a beautiful book. You must hold onto it tighter.’

‘I agree with you. I guess I was still taken aback by your beauty, I lost control.’

Nina grinned.

‘Please, take this reward for finding and maintaining my book.’

He extended his hand to his guard who handed him an envelope. A large envelope. He exchanged his book for the envelope in Nina’s hands and kissed her softly on her cheek.

‘My direct number is in there. Please call me this evening. I must go now. I have a meeting. Thanks again.’

Nina was left standing alone in the main entrance of the United Nations building. She was escorted out by a guard who walked her directly to her car that was parked out front. Her head was in the clouds and her assistant was dying to know what happened.

‘Nina. You OK?’

‘He was…wow! I am stunned.’

‘What’s that?’

Liz pointed to the envelope that Nina grasped tightly in her palm. She looked down when her attention was drawn to it.

‘Not sure.’

Nina wanted to open the contents of the envelope in privacy.

‘I’ll open it later.’

The ladies rode in silence for the duration of the trip. Due to the late hour of the day, the car service drove Nina home instead of back to her office. She smiled and thanked her driver and Liz for a job well done. Pleased with her day, she gathered her items and walked up the front steps of her brownstone. She stuck her key in the door and trekked inside. Immediately, she opened and poured the contents of the envelope on her kitchen counter. She counted the multiple 100 bills and smiled with delight when she was done counting. She was pleased to be the recipient of 20,000 dollars, all for returning a book. She found the piece of paper with Malik’s telephone number. She smiled as she dialed his number. She sat down on her sofa and indulged in a lengthy conversation with him. She thanked him numerous times for the reward and equally insisted it was unnecessary.

‘I cannot live without this book. In fact, I believe the reward was not in plenty. May I thank you everyday for the rest of your life? Marry me and allow me to keep that beautiful smile on your face forever.’

‘I accept.’

proposal
Like

About the Creator

Madame Pink

I am a vibrant, creative, freelance writer and I am ready to show my work to the world!!! Welcome to a subdivision of my mind! Enjoy what you read and please do not be afraid to provide feedback; I love to chat!

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.