The road was more crowded than usual, packed so tightly it felt like the entire city had decided to squeeze itself onto one highway just to spite me. My fingers drummed against the steering wheel, each tap a tiny plea for the universe to move one meter faster.
I was on my way to the airport to pick up Marcus. He'd been in Luxembourg all week, meeting investors, probably charming them while simultaneously intimidating them with a glare that could melt steel. The guy ran an empireโhigh-tech manufacturing, real estate, even a chocolate brand he insisted on naming Marcus Wonka's, a name he stole from one of my jokes and never let me forget.
We had a massive project in the works, one that could spike our stock by at least seventy-five percent. But before any of that, I had to survive Marcus's wrath โ and traffic.
My phone rang. His name lit up, and right beside it, the humiliating reminder of my poor life choices โ the stupid eggplant emoji he forced me to leave there.
I answered, bracing for impact.
"๐จ๐ธ๐พ ๐ช๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ธ๐ต๐ฎ, ๐ฒ๐ฝ'๐ผ 38 ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ท๐พ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ผ. ๐๐ป๐ฎ ๐๐ธ๐พ ๐ฏ๐พ๐ฌ๐ด๐ฒ๐ท๐ฐ ๐ช ๐๐ฑ๐ธ๐ป๐ฎ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฝ ๐ท๐ธ๐?"
I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"๐๐ช๐ต๐ถ ๐ญ๐ธ๐๐ท, ๐๐ช๐ป๐ด. ๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ป๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐ผ ๐ฌ๐ป๐ธ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ญ. ๐ ๐ช๐ถ ๐ธ๐ท๐ฎ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ต๐ธ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ช๐๐ช๐."
A long, dramatic pause followed.
"๐๐ท๐ฎ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ต๐ธ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป?" he spat. "Are you crawling at a funeral pace or trying to give me a heart attack?"
"๐ฃ๐ป๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฌ," I typed back. "And yes, apparently the universe decided today was the day to test my patience."
He hung up after a final, furious sigh. I stared at the phone, wondering how one man could create so much heat from so far away.
By the time I reached the airport, I could see Marcus standing outside the Arrivals entrance, pulling a suitcase and looking exactly like someone had dared him to glare at the world. I walked up to him.
We did a dap, firm and precise, a ritual of sorts. No words were needed yet; the handshake said everything โ the week apart, the stress, the looming projects, the ridiculousness of being best friends in chaos.
We moved to the sitting area near the luggage carousel and dropped our bags beside us. Marcus checked his phone, I checked mine, and the waiting began.
"This suitcase for one hour was not enough to prepare me," Marcus said.
."It's plotting against both of us.",I replied.
He smirked, shaking his head, and nudged my shoulder lightly with his own.
We continued joking quietly as the carousel rotated. Small things, teasing remarks, shared looks. The energy was light, natural, exactly how it was when the world shrank down to just the two of us.
Finally, I spotted the second suitcase inching along the belt. Marcus's eyes lit up like a kid's, and I couldn't help but grin.
We sat back in our chairs, still dapping lightly now and then, waiting. Nothing needed to be said. Just sitting there together, watching the suitcase approach, the chaos of the airport swirling around us, yet somehow, for this moment, everything feltโฆ calm.