Reyona's Revenge

Thomas Lanoth couldn't believe his ears as he stood in front of Kayooma International Airport. Nothing could have prepared him for what happened within an hour after they arrived at the airport.

He had believed that today would probably be the last day in a long time that he would see the shores of Kayooma.Of course, he intended to be back; this was after all the land of his birth, but that would have been in the not-so-soon future.

After everything had died down,. After everybody had moved on,. Well, after she had moved on,.The wrench thrown in his plan infuriated him as he stood there, looking at the waning light in the sky.

It would be dark soon, and he would still be on the soil of the land he had known for years instead of Luxembourg, the country that he and his partner had checkmarked on the map and had started making preparations for.

It had been painstaking, and it had taken more than he expected.They started their plans about a year ago, when he realised that he had been able to save money without her knowledge. Susan had been so happy when he informed her that they could start the preparation for the life of their dreams, and she had been active in the plans. Even though she did not work and had been unable to make any monetary contribution, she was immersed in getting things ready for all of them.Just that morning, when he went to her place to pick them up, they hugged and kissed each other, and they promised to make wild love the moment they touched down in Luxembourg.

"Who could have known?" he thought sadly as he stood there like a lost mongrel as his world crashed around his ears.Thomas had no idea what he should think about first. The money spent? Was it the years of preparation and secrecy? All the years of pretence? Everything is now down the drain, as if he did not try at all.

His situation was even worse than when he started all these plans.Now, he was next to penniless. Their passports were confiscated. His partner was arrested, and he might still be charged as an accessory himself as he was asked to check in periodically even while his partner's case was being investigated.

"Me, an accessory! To drug trafficking of all things," he thought bitterly just as he felt a hand tug at his tailored suit, a suit he had gotten especially for the doomed trip.

Allysyn, the eldest of his children, looked up at him with the doe-like eyes of her mother as she asked, "Daddy, when will Mummy be allowed to come home?"

Interesting question. Thomas thought as he laid his hand on his seven-year-old's head, "Soon, my dear. Soon,"

He had a bigger dilemma at hand. Where would he take the children? The payment of the house he rented for Susan elapsed the month before, and he had only paid the landlord a month extra with the promise that they would leave this month.

Before they departed that morning, he had personally gone to the landlord's place to drop off the key.

"No way on earth would that man give me the key again," he thought in exasperation as he looked at his children again.

Allysyn was now looking straight ahead, as if she had found something fascinating that she did not want to take her eyes off.Thomas Junior was turning his baseball cap over and over on his head.Baby Leah had her thumb stuck in her mouth as she looked back at the entrance to the terminal.

Thomas bent down to carry her. She was only three after all and did not ask for all these. He was sorry for her siblings too, of course. He just couldn't carry them.

Thomas thought of what to do, as the children had to be with someone who would be able to take good care of them, and that person couldn't be him. He removed his phone, as only one person came to mind.

"Hello, mum"

"Hello, son. What happened? This is not an international line; I thought you would be on the plane by now." His mother's voice could be heard over the phone.

Thomas sighed as he looked at his children, who were looking up at him when they heard their grandmother's voice: "Mum, something has happened. We are still at the airport as we speak, and Susan has been arrested."

"What? Why would she be arrested? What happened?" The older woman exclaimed over the phone.

"Something was found in her bag. Well, that was not the main reason I called; I would deal with that, but the children."

"I understand. I understand. You cannot possibly take them home with you, of course. Bring them here. I will take care of them till all this mess is solved. When you arrived, you had to explain what happened to me. This is so upsetting."

"I know, mom. Thank you, mom. You are the best. We are on our way now," he said, disconnecting the call and looking at the children. "Who wants to go stay with Grandma till Mummy gets back?"

The younger ones chorused, "Me! Me!" and Allysyn nodded her head.

"Good, let's go." He shepherded them towards the airport entrance, hailing a cab that just dropped someone off, and they entered.

"Time for a new plan," he thought as he thought of the person he was going home to meet.

The woman he thought he wouldn't see again. At least not anytime soon. He hoped she had not seen it yet. He checked his watch and knew that she would still be in one of her boring meetings by now. He should have ample time to drop the kids off with his mother, explain whatever he could, and quickly get home to get rid of it before she gets back.

Only then could he think of the next step to take. There would be many steps to be taken before things could get back on track again.

Close to the terminal door, a lady who had her head bent towards her phone, like she was browsing, looked up as Thomas entered the cab and left. Then she speed-dialled a number.

The man on the other end said, "Hello, is it done?"

"Don, you should trust your girl. Smooth as butter. I was there when she was taken away, and he just left the airport now as well. With his brood," she reported.

"Motherfucker," the man replied, "you are all done there."

He disconnected the call. She had not expected anything else.

Reyona disconnected the call and looked out of the window of her office.

The picturesque view outside the building didn't penetrate her consciousness at all. No, she was unable to enjoy the view as always, nor could the faraway sound of the traffic mingled with the voices of her employees thrill her the way it normally did.

Not when her heart was filled with so much betrayal that she had no idea how she could stand it.

Not when her mind's eye was focused on the laughing picture of the man who had promised to love her for better or worse.

Not when she could still see herself as the blushing bride who had been so happy to marry the love of her life, the man she intended to make a life with. The man she vowed to raise a beautiful family with.

The man who promised to always be there for her.

She could see the girl she had been then-one who thought she was mature. One who thought that all would be well with her world now that she was married to the man who cherishes her above all others. One who was proud to call her his own.

"How naive," Reyona muttered to herself as a lone tear trailed down her face, marring her lightly made-up face.

"How stupid. How utterly foolish that girl had been."

She looked at herself through the glass wall of her office.

She was a beautiful woman with a heart-shaped face, a full mouth, and clear skin. Her face had matured from what it used to be, but she was one of those kinds of women whose maturity made their beauty bloom.

Reyona flicked off the lone tear that left a track on her face and trailed her index finger over her facial features.

"You will never be that stupid again, Rey. Nobody will play you for a fool again. And those who did, every single one of them would pay," she chillingly smiled to herself as she thought of the call she just received.

The man had come through. She saw his number online and picked it up to give him a call. She had doubted her sanity.Even when she explained what she wanted done for him and he told her he would get it done without stress, she hadn't believed that it would work.

Just that morning, she had called him again and again until she was sure that his patience had been tried. She was so scared that everything she planned would be in vain, all because of a flop.

She had not been relaxed throughout her meeting with her team; her mind had been on the phone, and when it would ring, she could hear the news of the success of their plan. Or the failure of it.

She knew it could only be either of the two, but she would rather learn that they succeeded than fail. She had already failed once when she tried to stop them from getting the visa, but that had not worked as she couldn't provide valid evidence why the couple should not be allowed to leave the country.

She shuddered as she thought of what the result would have been if she had failed. Those two would have been making fun of how foolish she was when they got to their destination while they patted themselves on the back for how clever they were.

"I have truly been foolish," she muttered to herself as she wondered how today would have been for her if she had not known about these days beforehand. Suppose she had not made sure that she did not end up as a laughing stock for someone who thought that he was wiser than any other person. For the one to whom she gave all her whole life.

"How ironic," she thought as she remembered how she had vowed to herself as she walked down the aisle that she wouldn't have a broken home like her parents did. "Divorce was not an option" was the promise she had made to herself that day.

"Whatever happens between us, please let us talk about it. Let us air it out and make amends. Let us seek help if we have to, but please let us never forget this love of ours that brought us together."

She cringed as she remembered how full of love she had been for him when she said that. He had smiled at her, closed the distance by drawing her tighter against himself, and told her that he understood.

"The bastard. He understood, he said. Yet this was what I would have gone back home to meet today. Naive, little me," she thought in anger as she squeezed the slip of paper in her hand tightly.

She did not need to read it again before she could recite it. The letters jumped behind her eyelids even though she closed her eyes.

"I am sorry, Reyona. I know I don't deserve you. Please forgive me. I wish you all the best in life."

That was it.

All her ten years with the man, and that was all she got from him; she did not even deserve an epistle that explained the reason for his action. All she got was a one-line, hastily scribbled note.

She gave a curt laugh as she turned away from the perusal of her reflection in the glass. She unclenched her fist and straightened out the paper in her hand. She kept it in her drawer for safekeeping.

She picked up her bag and looked around to check if there was something she forgot to take. She had a question for the man who thought this was what she deserved after all they shared.

"But as for today, I have my dear husband to go home to. He would need all the comfort he could get today. What kind of wife would I be if I couldn't be there for him to provide it?"

Thomas was going crazy.

He was sure that he would be carted to the loony house soon, as he turned over the house in his search for it. He thought he kept it on the coffee table, but he couldn't find it yet.

She was not back yet. So, where could it be?

Had he merely thought of it but forgotten in his haste to join his partner? He searched some more. The couch? Nope, could he have placed it on the TV? Not there. Did he stick it on the stick-it board in the kitchen? That was ridiculous, he thought after running back to the living room when he couldn't find it.

Thomas sat on the couch and decided to calm down. What good will it be for Reyona to come back home and meet him in a frenzy like this?

"I probably took it with me when I was rushing out, or I didn't write it after all; yes, that must be it," Thomas thought as he stood up and went to the bar to get a drink.

A scotch. Yes, that would be just the thing.He heard the sound of her car as he was on his way to the bar, though, and he rushed back to where he was seated. Then he thought of how weird it would look if he was just sitting down there doing nothing.

"Would she find it suspicious that I am at home by this time of the day?" he thought as he stood up, moved to the other couch, and sat back down.

He stood up again and rushed to the window. He couldn't see her yet; she must be parking in the garage.Thomas tried to remember all the training he gave people and how he always emphasized control over their emotions. He wondered why he couldn't seem to remember any of those right now.

"That slip of paper is somewhere," his mind whispered sinisterly to him.

"Damn it. Now was not the time to lose control, man. You have been handling her fine; don't blow it now. You just need to get Susan out, and all this shit would be over," he thought to himself as he finally decided to go meet her out on the porch."No better time to act like a lover than now," he thought as he opened the screen door.

"Hey, babe. You are home early," he heard from behind him.He thought of how chirpy his wife's voice sounded as he pasted a smile on her. He had not heard her like that in a while, not until she had become insistent about the baby business.

"Yeah, honey. Business was slow today so I decided to close early...Euf, what has got you in such a mood?" he asked as she hugged him suddenly and tightly.

He patted her back and held her at arm's length. She really was a beauty, if only he hadn't met Susan first.

Reyona rolled her eyes as she thought, "It is you, bastard. The fact that I could best you if only just for this once"

Then she said, "What do you mean? I am happy because I am coming home to my love, of course, and to see you waiting out here for me. Even better!" She said it brightly as she moved in to kiss him.

He turned his cheek to her, but she leaned around and kissed him fully on the mouth with a humming sound in her throat."Rey, Rey, hold on, Rey," he said against her lips as he tried to move back from her, but she merely encircled his neck with her arm and kissed him deeply.

She finally let go, and he pulled at his ears as he looked at her with a sheepish smile on his face. "I don't know what this is all about, but..."

Reyona grinned "Yeah, yeah, I know. You don't like public display. I know; forgive me. I was just so happy to see you. Moreover," she said as she looked around and waved her hands at the quiet neighbourhood

"Nobody will see us, you know. They are too busy taking actions of their own to care about a loving couple smooching on their porch. We could even do it right here and they wouldn't bat an eye."

Reyona was shocked at herself that she could talk like this, and by the look on her husband's face, she saw that he was amazed as well. She had never been so direct with him before-well, maybe once upon a time when they first started dating-but not in a long while in the past eight years.

Things had cooled considerably between them, especially since she started talking about starting a family more frequently.

Reyona knew that it was either this or. Either she became this chatty, chirpy creature that confused him, or she would be screaming right now. The turmoil in her heart only increased as she saw the way he was talking to her as if all was well.

He was pretending like he was not about to leave her for another woman or another family. A family he had denied her. She wanted to pull at her hair, scream, shout, and punch the bastard in his face for his deceit as she looked at the face he had always shown her while he was cheating on her.

How had he done it when she had no clue? Had she fancied herself so much in love that she had been so blind to everything? She trusted the bastard with her life, and this crippling betrayal was all she got? Well, two could play at that game.

Her bright countenance slipped, but she firmly put it back on as she smiled more brightly when he said, "Rey, what has come over you? Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Or is there something you want to tell me?" Reyona thought bitterly as she pulled on his arms and opened the door. "Okay, okay, okay, I know," she said as they entered, and she dropped her bag before she twirled.

She had to do something with the adrenaline in her system. Something that had nothing to do with wrapping her hands around his neck and throttling him.

"I know, no public display. I got you, buddy," she said with a salute.

Thomas gave her a sceptical look as he asked, "Are you sure you are fine, Rey?" She sure was acting strange.

"Yeah, honey. I am Dandy!" she twirled again before she clapped her hand "Stereo, play "I am in love by Starqueen.".

A tinny voice sounded from the sound system: "I am in love with Starqueen coming up," right before a breezy note filled the room."Do you remember this, Tommy? This was what you played for me the day you proposed to me, and I said yes," she said as she danced back to him.

"Eight years; it's been eight years of light and love, darling. Dance with me."