Grunting in discomfort, I rolled out of bed the next morning still fully dressed in my clothes from the previous day. I stretched my hand out, searching for my phone when it chimed with an incoming call.
"Kit, what happened to you yesterday?" Ming spoke before I could say hello.
"Nothing happened. We didn't close until midnight."
"Is that why you didn't reply to my messages?"
"Huh! I did. It's the last thing I remember doing after getting back. Hold on, I'm going to put you on speaker, so I can check." I rustled around for a bit before pulling up my messages. "I'm sorry. It seems I didn't reply but I thought I did. I must have fallen asleep before I could press send." I explained to him.
"It's fine now that I know you're alright. What time are you supposed to start today?" I checked the time on my phone and panicked.
"I only have thirty minutes. I'll talk to you later, bye." I raced into the bathroom and took a shower. I made it to the hall with less than five minutes to spare. Thank goodness the conference was being held at the hotel I was staying at. Once again, we went through a lot of materials during the day but it was interesting enough that I didn't get sleepy. It was close to ten pm by the time I made it back to my room.
I fell on the bed with a thud, ready to shut my eyes but my phone chimed with an incoming message before I could. Shanghai being one hour ahead of Bangkok meant it was probably about nine pm over there. Instead of replying to Ming's message, I called him.
"Have you closed?" The first thing Ming said to me after picking up the call.
"Yes." My answer came out mumbled.
"You sound tired. Let's talk tomorrow. Take a shower first, it'll help you sleep better."
"Okay." I couldn't get out of bed after I cut the call though. I was too tired.
My flight wasn't leaving until six pm the next day, so I went out for some sight seeing but I only had enough time to go to one place since I slept in late. I chose to visit the Yu Garden, one of the places Ming had recommended I visit. I felt a little out of place because most of the guests were in groups. I seemed to be the only one exploring by myself. I wished Ming was there. When I saw a couple sharing an audio guide, I thought of Ming, that is something he'll definitely want to do. At another point I saw a couple holding hands and I thought of Ming. It's like every couple I saw doing something intimate reminded me of Ming. I had hardly had time to think of him these last two days except when we communicated over the phone but right now he was all I could think about.
Walking into the hotel room after my tour, I checked my phone again, nothing from stupid Ming. He had not sent me any more messages since morning. I picked up my already packed carry on bag and made my way to the airport. Before boarding the plane, I called Ming when I still had not heard from him but he didn't pick up. I got my grumpy self on the plane, acting aloof and being sleepless the whole trip back.
Without paying any attention to the very few people waiting with names written on cards raised above their heads at the checkout, I made my way to the exit while looking around to see if my ride was here. It was a little after nine pm but the airport was still somewhat busy. After a fruitless search for my husband's familiar face, I gave up and sat on a bench, waiting like I didn't know my way home. I could take a taxi or call someone to come pick me up, but I didn't want to. Ming said he'd come pick me up and he hasn't called or sent any message telling me otherwise.
I looked on with disinterest as people walked by while I patiently waited for my phone to ring or something.
"Kit, sorry I'm late." The something I was waiting for finally showed up.
"What took you so long?" He sat next to me and pulled me into a half hug.
"I was in a meeting. Did you miss me?" I looked down at my lap, trying to hide the blush on my face before answering.
"Yes, I missed you." Ming held my face up and kissed me, only serving to deepen my blush.
"I missed you too my love. Shall we go home?" Rendered speechless by the fact that I really did miss him more than I knew, I nodded in acceptance. Ming entwined his fingers with mine as he carried my bag. We made our way to the car and he drove us home.
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I hope you liked it.
See you in the next one.
