A Baby for the Billionaire

3

KEREM

Heck is it possible that I should find out first from the news and then from a phone call with the damn airline?!

"Sir, we apologize, we are trying to contact each and every one close to the passengers..."

"It's my wife! My wife is on that plane!"

"We kindly ask you to wait until we can have precise information. If you like, you can come to the airline's headquarters at the Houston Airport while we await more specific news that we will surely have shortly.

For god's sake.

I violently hang up on my cell phone, moving away from my laptop where I take advantage of the time to distract myself a bit and work before my online class is due to teach Ali language as we planned with Zara beforehand.

I don't feel in any shape at all to tally up what is two plus two, let alone driving and the last thing I want is to expose my son to this. I'll go right away, but I don't know who to leave him with.

During my stay in the United States, I usually stay in the penthouse where I live now, while my old friend Elijah, who lives a few floors below, also has his own apartment in the city of Houston, although I used to live in New York where I also have an apartment. Smaller for higher speed work issues, I use it mainly as an office.

I scramble to my feet and dial Elijah, hoping he's awake by now. Luckily he answers, although his voice shows that he was sleeping.

"H...hello?" What's the matter with you friend? Don't make me get up early."

"Elijah, it's urgent. I need you to come to my apartment immediately."

"Huh?"

"Already!"

"Why Kerem? Don't scare me, you sound upset or scared."

"It's just that I am, heavens, or worse: I'm desperate."

"What do you mean with that? Did something happen? Is Ali alright?"

"Yes, he's fine. It's Zara, she has just boarded a flight to Canada."

"Oh my, tell her to have a safe trip from me."

"That is the point. I just found out from none other than the news that her flight is missing or something and they can't locate it.

"No...fuck...Are you kidding me?"

"I wish it was a joke, but it's not. Zara should have landed a while ago, but they can't locate the plane."

"Wow, man!

"I'll go to the airline right now."

"Let me accompany you."

"I need you to stay with Ali, please."

"Man, if you want I'll take you to the airport, you know I'm not good with children, don't force me."

"Please, I need your help!"
"Yeah, yeah. I Understand. I'm putting on pajama pants and a T-shirt. I'll come up immediately.

"I'll wait for you."

And I hang up.

No. It can't be.

A part of me still hopes that it's not what I'm thinking may happen, the other part tries to stay cool and is aware from news like this and from documentaries and movies what the true fate of a plane that suddenly stops sending relevant signals is.

I'm not ready to be there in front of someone else. Much less my son. In these instances, every second, every minute is worth a lot. Maybe on the way I'll find out if it landed and they arrived safely and it was just a communication failure that left them out of the company's internal signal.

Yes, it has to be that.

I repeat it over and over again.

Once Elijah walks in, my mind begins to wander, giving him the same prompts Zara gave me earlier regarding the boy. How to change his diapers, how to watch his sleep, where are his clothes, how to prepare a bottle or baby food, how to give him a vitamin or iron supplement, but he holds me by the shoulders trying to get me out of that tunnel where I just entered.

"Check that his temperature is okay, Elijah. If he is very warm or breathing while resting in his crib.

"Kerem..."

"When he gets up and clings to the bars of the crib, be careful because sometimes he starts to climb."

"My friend, now..."

"And when you heat the bottle, try it first on the back of your hand without letting it touch it because of the bacteria..."

"My friend, now! You have to go!"

I blink, waking up.

He stands in pajama bottoms and slippers in front of me. His hair is disheveled, obviously he never gets up before ten.

"Go," he insists. "I got this. Trust me."

I nod, my head shaking.

My hands tremble.

My knees shake.

Tears fill my eyes.

My breath heaves in my chest.

My heart becomes a hammer that hits from the inside out as if it were trying to break each one of my bones.

"Go," Elijah repeats.

"yes..."

"And ask someone to accompany you."

"My... My parents..." No. They are in Turkey, they do not live in the United States. Since we settled with Zara in this country, we began to postpone again and again and again the return to Turkey without the best of successes since when it was not the citizenship of our son, it was the papers for medical check-ups or my work commitments . I knew that we should have returned much sooner. I knew she never should have boarded that plane to Canada. "No... They're not here... I'll ask my... company assistant to go with me... Just in case."

"It's a good idea."

Ali breaks down in tears from his cushioned play center she has set up in the living room. Elijah goes to him, reaches out his arms and takes him to his chest. Immediately the little boy seems to slow down his crying a bit, although one face remains incredulous because the womanizing uncle who knows nothing about children now took the liberty to hold him in his arms. He seems to sense that something is wrong, so he sympathizes with his desperate father and calms down his whining a bit.

"You see? I have everything under control. Try to calm down my friend."

I take my car keys, check that I have my mobile in my hand and rush out in search of the building's parking lot while I try again to contact the airport police in search of any news. The line is saturated so I connect to the news to find out the status of the current situation.

Zara.

Her smile and her honey eyes watching me before disappearing behind the gates invade my thoughts as I drive out in a hurry and let out a frustrated scream locked in my car.