“Here’s the red wine you asked for,” the air stewardess announced pleasantly as she arrived between Rachel and Justin’s respective rows with two glasses of red wine in hand.
Rachel was a little taken aback by this, she had only asked for one, but just as she was about to say something, Justin reached past her and said to the air stewardess, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Call me if you need anything else,” the air stewardess replied with a smile. When she was out of earshot, Justin gave Rachel an amused look and pointed out, “I’m guessing the airline is used to situations like these.”
“Huh?” Rachel looked confused. “Most parents have a hard time relaxing after getting their kids to sleep during a long-haul. flight, so they’ll usually ask for a glass of wine to help them unwind,” he explained patiently.
This made sense, seeing how the air stewardess had handed them the wine in a manner that suggested she had done this for a better part of her career. It was only then that Rachel snapped out of her daze, and she smiled as she acknowledged his point. “I guess you’re right.”
The cabin was silent save for the whirring of the plane engines, and the lights had been dimmed as well. Everyone else on the flight seemed to have fallen asleep, leaving Justin and Rachel as the only ones awake. They did not want to wake everyone with their chatter, so Justin raised his glass and muttered quietly, “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” Rachel whispered. They each turned to look at the child next to them in their individual seats and slowly sipped their wine. When they had finished the last drop of wine, warm drowsiness washed over them. Just like that, they slept through the night.
After a whole day and night of flying, they finally touched down in Geneva, Switzerland. They decided that they would stay here for a night so that they could go over the details of the proposal before they had to leave for Zermatt, which was their final destination.
They had only just arrived in the hotel lobby when a tall figure approached them with his arms spread wide open, greeting them with at loud, “Surprise, my dear friends!”
Hernandez rushed up to pull Rachel into a hug. but Justin effectively blocked his advances. Seeing this, he turned to hug Jolly instead, but Leroy had already anticipated this and quickly pulled her behind him.
In the midst of this awkwardness, Hernandez decided to lift Samuel off the ground to twirl instead. “Merry Christmas, Samuel!” “Hernandez, you’re squishing me!” Samuel cried out in protest, kicking his little legs. “Let me go!”
“Aw, why aren’t you guys excited to see me?” Hernandez complained, looking wounded. “I haven’t seen you guys in ages, and this is the response I get?’
Jolly yawned, clearly feeling the effects of jet lag as she said, “It’s not much of a surprise when we already know you’d be here. Besides, you’ve been spamming us in the group chat for the last two days. Dude, don’t you ever sleep?”
Two days ago, she had created a ‘Team Proposal group chat and accidentally invited. Hernandez. It had been an honest mistake, but upon seeing that a proposal was in the works, he got excited and demanded to be in on it as well. To prove that he was dedicated to the operation, he even arrived in Geneva half a day earlier than the rest of them, though, in all fairness, he lived close to the city.
Presently, having heard Jolly’s remark, he feigned exaggerated sadness and sighed as he said, “Fine, I’ll hug myself.”
Rachel laughed at this. “Okay, Hernandez, stop being so dramatic. We’re all happy to see you, and we’re glad you’re part of the plan too. You’re like our mascot.”
“You’re a girl after my own heart, Chris,” he said, beaming. “Come on, I’ve already booked us a suite so we can all bunk in together. We should check in at reception.”
“Alright.” They made their way toward the counter with their baggage. Justin fell in step behind the rest of them, and when Hernandez spotted him, he clapped a hand on his shoulder and said, “Hey, man. I haven’t seen you in a while. You holding up okay?”
Justin was impassive as he bit out, “Better than you think.” “You’re not wrong there. I honestly thought you would fall out with Chris and the others after the lawsuit, but I guess you were more chivalrous than I gave you credit for.”
“This has nothing to do with chivalry. Plus, I think I’d be considered a calculative prick to others, especially to free-spirited souls like you and the rest of your people.” “Now you’re just being biased.” “I won’t deny that,” Justin said as he walked ahead in long strides.
Unbothered, Hernandez turned to grin at Victor, who was now the last of the group. He patted him on the shoulder consolingly and said, “Relax, buddy. I’m sure she’ll say yes.”
Victor nodded solemnly, but he was still undeniably anxious. Hernandez had booked the suite on his own accord so that everyone could bunk in together. The hotel was historical with European-gothic architecture which blended with the rest of the beautiful city. The suite even came with a built- in fireplace that kept the room warm from the wintry Genevan weather.
“Ria’s agent said that the band will be arriving tomorrow, and they’ll be staying in this hotel as well,” Rachel reported after getting off the phone with Gloria’s agent.
Jolly chimed in, “It’s a five-hour drive from here to Zermatt, and there won’t be a single car there. How will Gloria get there on time?”
“That’s going to be a problem,” Rachel agreed gravely, frowning. They had planned on using their tourist status as an excuse to lure Gloria over to the skiing resort at the foot of the Alps, where they would spring the surprise proposal on her. However, to get there would take half a day, and Gloria supposedly had a show in Geneva on Friday. All things considered, she might decline meeting them at the Alps altogether.
They were still fretting over this when Justin came out of his bedroom after putting Charlotte to sleep. Having overheard their conversation, he interjected, “Ria loves a good time, so she’ll show up for sure.”
“Are you sure?’ Rachel pressed. He nodded. “Tomorrow’s a Tuesday, which means they’ll be staying here for the night. If she were to leave for Zermatt on Wednesday morning, then she’ll get to the Alps by noon, and if our plan turns out well, we can come back to Geneva with her on Thursday. She’ll get her rest for the night and the following day without disrupting her show on Friday evening. I don’t see how things won’t work out if we stick to that schedule.”
“I guess that works,” Rachel said with a nod. “I’ll text her now and let her know I’m in Geneva.” “Okay,” everyone else said in unison. She texted Gloria at once, but much to her surprise, her phone started buzzing with a video call from the girl.
Rachel gave everyone a measured look. “Video. call, she announced. Jolly immediately put at finger to her lips to shush the rest of the team. It was only when the suite was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop that Rachel put the call through.
“Hi!” The phone screen lit up as Gloria appeared with a face mask and a pair of shades. She was in the airport, and she had her back to the glass wall beyond which was an idling plane. “I didn’t know you were in Geneva, Rachel! Are you there on business? Did you know I have a show there this week? Look, that’s my plane right there! I’m at the airport right now, in case you couldn’t tell, and I’ll be in Geneva this time tomorrow!”
There were barely any pauses in between Gloria’s words as she said all this to Rachel excitedly. It was her cue to act, Rachel realized, and she feigned surprise as she exclaimed, “What a coincidence! Yes, I’m here on business. Did you say you’ll be arriving tomorrow?”
“Yeah! How long will you be in Geneva? Can we grab a cup of coffee before you go back? I haven’t seen you for ages! Which hotel are you staying at?”
Hotel? Rachel’s eyes widened by a fraction, and her throat ran dry. She had not thought about that. She was just about to answer when suddenly, Jolly started coughing violently.
“Wait, is there somebody else with you?’ Glorial asked, bewildered when she heard the noise.
