Marshall took no action but just watched expressionlessly.
It’s not until when the man asked her for her number that Katherine realized his purpose. She felt
embarrassed and did not know how to refuse him. She never wanted a thing like this, especially on
such occasion.
Peter had been making grimace at her.
She stuttered, and then looked up to find Marshall standing a few steps away. From the expression on
his face, Katherine supposed that he had been here watching for a while. But she saw no signs of
jealousy on his face.
Seeing another man flirting with her could hardly concern him.
Then in a blink of an eye, Katherine gave the stranger her number along with a smile.
Truth to be told, she did not plan to continue using this number anyway, so it doesn’t matter to give
them out. The stranger put in her number and called right away. “This is my number, my name’s Smith.”
Katherine smiled and nodded, “I’ll call.”
The man got what he came for so he did not linger any longer but resume to his seat which was in the
row behind her, quite near to hers. It was not until then did Marshall walk slowly back to his seat.
Katherine paid him no heed but just looked at her phone.
Marshall did not ask anything, either. He immersed himself in work again.
The stranger started send messages to Katherine the moment he sat down. He told her about his
purpose of the trip, how long he is going to stay in Asela Island, and where he’s going and who he will
visit. None of those interested Katherine, but she pretended to be patient in reading the messages.
The stranger asked her schedule too.
Katherine told him that she was just traveling and had no specific plan, and that she could leave at any
moment if the place did not meet her expectation.
To reply, the man told Katherine that Asela Island was a good place and tried to persuade her to stay
for a few more days.
Katherine did not reply to that.
A few minutes later, the man texted her again and asked her which hotel she’s going to stay. She had
hardly paid attention to, so she flipped through the message Peter sent her. The hotel Peter booked for
her resided near the shore, from where she stayed could enjoy a good view of the ocean.
She did not feel like telling the man about the hotel.
To spare further harassment, she told him she had a friend in Asela Island who would later come to
pick her up. She put her phone down after sending that message. Uncontrollably, she peeked at
Marshall again.
He never even moved his eyes away from his laptop, it seemed to Katherine that he did not care about
her at all.
Suddenly, she felt down. She recalled how indifferent Marshall was whenever someone made a pass at
her back when they were still married.
His reaction now could only be normal. He did not love her, so he did not care. The thought of that
made Katherine feel miserably uncomfortable inside. She had tried to make Marshall love her in the
year before, but to no avail. If only she had seen even the slightest hope, she would’ve put the divorce
off when Marshall signified his intention.
She turned her head and stared out the window. She took a deep breath, and then closed her eyes.
Until the plane landed, Katherine and Marshall didn’t say a single word to each other.
Katherine stayed still while the other passengers were rushing their way off. She did not feel like
pushing and shoving with the crowd.
But that Mr. Smith came up to her again. He carried only a computer bag, and ignored the two sitting
next to Katherine.
He spoke in a rather loud voice, “I’ll call you soon as I’m free. Maybe we could have a drink or
something if our places are close enough.
Katherine made herself smile. “Sure.”
Beside her, Marshall smiled unnoticeably.
He beckoned Peter as he stood up. “Let’s go.”
Peter gave Katherine a disappointed look before he moved on to make way for Marshall.
Katherine was the last to get off the plane.
She found the hotel receptionist waiting for her as soon as she stepped out the exit. Her head ached
after she got in the car. She closed her eyes and reclined against the backseat thinking that she and
Marshall could not even have a proper farewell. The beginning of their story was not good, the process
neither, and the ending worse. The beginning of their story was not good, the process neither, and the
ending worse. At least regrets would not be the only thing in her mind when she reminisced about their
past. Even that seemed to be an empty fantasy now.
ending worse. At least regrets would not be the only thing in her mind when she reminisced about their
past. Even that seemed to be an empty fantasy now.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda