4
Days Before Jack’s 25th Birthday
“You’re leaving me four days before my birthday. I can’t believe you,” Jack sarcastically said as she, Dan, and Darren walked into the airport, well disguised this time.
“I won’t be gone that long, I promise,” Dan replied as he kissed her cheek.
“You’d better be back with Nadia,” she warned.
“You can count on it,” he told her as he began walking away towards the gate. She and Darren waved as he disappeared inside the plane. Dan took his comfortable seat in first class and instantly began to feel tense. He hated flying. It had been a fear instilled in him since he was a little boy. He didn’t know why he hated being in a plane so much considering how many flights he took on tour. The moment Dan felt the plane move away from the gate, his fingers dug into the armrest, his nerves finally getting to him.
‘I’ve got another 24 hours of this left,’ he though it disgust.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Sir,” called a voice from above Dan’s head, waking him abruptly. “Sir, we’ve arrived in Chicago,” the stewardess said.
Dan quickly opened his eyes and shot out of his seat. “We’re actually in Chicago?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she replied in an irritated tone.
‘That was quick,’ Dan thought as he shook his head. He left the plane with only the small carry on bag that he had brought for the trip. He looked down at his watch and realized that he had been asleep for the last twelve hours of the flight from Japan to the US. Dan walked through customs quickly and headed for one of the rental car companies. After getting the keys, he left the airport in a brand new sapphire blue Chrysler Sebring Convertible. The spring weather was perfect for letting the top down.
O’Hare International was one of the hardest airports to figure out, but Dan managed to get through it with a little luck on his side. He took the highway and went straight for the northwest suburbs to Oak Brook Terrace. Dan pulled out the little scrap of paper Jack had written Nadia’s address on. With the navigation system up and running, he plugged it into the little computer and found the quickest and easiest rout there.
‘Thank God I decided to pay extra for this,’ he thought to himself as he pulled off of Rt. 83 onto 31st St. Taking it all the way to Midwest Road, he turned left and went down about a mile before the computer told him that he had reached Nadia’s home. Dan looked to his right to see a beautiful Victorian style mansion with great white columns surrounding the cherry oak door. A black Jaguar XK8, a silver Mercedes Benz ML55, and a gold Lexus ES300 were all parked out in front.
“Holy shit,” Dan said as he took off his sunglasses and pulled into the long winding driveway. He stopped right behind the Lexus and got out hoping that this meeting would go just like he had hoped. After knocking on the door, he took off his hat and ruffled his fingers through his hair to try and straighten it out and make it look better just in case her parents were around.
“May I help you?” the butler asked in his heavy English accent when he opened the door.
“Uh… I’m looking for Nadia,” Dan shyly replied.
“One moment,” the butler said as he let Dan into the house. He walked up the tall spiral staircase and disappeared on the top floor. Dan nervously played with his hat as he glanced around at his new surroundings. The walls were a deep red with a white border just above the floor and below the ceiling. The room was furnished in authentic period furniture that looked to be nearly 200 years old. An oriental pot stood just at the base of the staircase to give the already vibrant room more of a flair.
Hearing heavy footsteps approaching from behind him, Dan turned around to see the butler followed by Nadia. The moment she saw him, she stopped dead in her tracks as her mouth hung open. Dan shyly smiled at her as she began walking towards him again.
“Charles, could you please excuse us?” she asked the butler. He quickly left the room. Nadia turned to Dan and slowly said, “What the fuck are you doing here? How did you get my address?”
“None of that is important. I need to talk to you,” Dan replied, stepping closer.
Nadia quickly stepped back. “Yes, it is because I can have you arrested for trespassing. Now tell me, how did you find me?” she asked in a louder voice.
“I copied down the address Jack had written down beside her bed,” he quietly answered.
“You son of a bitch! Are you always this fucking nosey? Can’t you just stay out of a person’s life after they tell you to?” she shouted. “Get out of my house! I never want to see you again! I can take care of this baby by myself! I don’t need you!”
Dan wouldn’t budge. He stayed with his feet firmly planted on the floor. “Just listen to me,” he begged.
“Get out of my home before I call the cops!” she yelled, shoving out the door and slamming it shut behind him.
Dan couldn’t believe that he had been shut out again, but he also knew that he wasn’t about to give up on her until they were together again. As he walked to his car and pulled out of the driveway, Nadia peeked through one of the front windows to watch him as he left.
She was more surprised than angry to see him. She couldn’t believe that he had come all the way from Australia to see her. It was a miracle that he even came at all. Nadia began to wish that she hadn’t shut him out the way she did. Her gaze stayed on the road long after Dan was gone. She hoped that he would come back, but that wasn’t possible.
“Miss Nadia?” Charles asked when he saw her standing at the window with a tear rolling down her cheek.
“Please tell me that you didn’t hear any of that,” she replied as she wiped the tear away with her hand.
“I’m afraid the entire staff heard it,” he said.
“Don’t tell my parents,” Nadia begged. “If they knew he was here, they’d file a lawsuit.”
“Don’t worry, Miss Nadia. Our lips are sealed,” Charles answered as he walked out of the room leaving her to wonder what to do next.
~~~~~~~~~~
Dan restlessly lay in his bed at the hotel he had checked into hours earlier. He stared at the ceiling thinking of a new way to get back into Nadia’s life. Plan A had been a total failure, and now Plan B was nowhere to be found. Instead of laying there for the rest of the night without any good thoughts, Dan sat up and called Darren to see what he could thing of. He called his cell phone but ended up getting the voicemail. “Hey, Daz. It’s me. I’ve got a big problem on my hands. Call me back as soon as possible. I’m staying at the Embassy Suites. The number is 630-555-1846 and I’m in room 375. Talk to you soon, hopefully,” Dan left his message.
He lay back down on the bed only to fall asleep. He didn’t know how long he had been knocked out, but then phone managed to wake him. He reached over and said, “Hello?”
“What’s the problem?” Darren immediately asked from the other end.
“Nadia kicked me out before I hat time to say anything important,” Dan replied. “What do I do now?”
“Follow her around for the day and catch her at the end,” Darren suggested.
“Thanks, I’ll try that, goodbye,” Dan said as he began to drift off again.
“Hold it,” Darren sternly replied. “I helped you, now it’s your turn to help me.”
“What do you want?”
“You know it’s two days before Jack’s birthday, right?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“What are we getting her?”
“We? Excuse me, but when did ‘we’ decide to get her something together?”
“Well, I just got the perfect idea for a gift.”
“What is it and how much will it cost me?”
“BMW Z3 Roadster, and $50,000.”
“That’s 25 grand from each of us!” Dan shouted.
“No, that’s 50 grand your share. The car is 100 grand by itself,” Darren corrected.
“Are you in sane?” Dan angrily yelled.
“No, not after all she’s done for us. Come on, Dan. You wouldn’t be out there if she hadn’t let you listen in on her conversation with Nadia,” Darren tried to convince him.
Dan rubbed his eyes and calmed down after realizing that he was right. “Fine, we’ll get her the car,” he said. “You pay for it now and I’ll pay you back later.”
“Okay, it’s a deal. Good luck with Nadia,” Darren replied just before he hung up.
“Bye,” Dan answered as he put the phone back on the receiver.