TRIPPLE SEVEN BAR AND RESTAURANT
SJ exploded out of the chair. “You lied to her?”
Leo shrugged. “There was no other choice.”
“You fool.” SJ looked outside the window. In the garden outside the room they were in, a woman in her late thirties was sitting around a table with a boy of about twelve and a girl of about five.
“We can’t get the blueprint if we don’t reunite Matthias and his wife.”
“Everything will go well.” Leo said.
“You told her there was a job interview. She’s sitting there unwearyingly hoping to get interviewed. What do you think will happen when she sees her husband? That you lied to her?”
“Don’t talk loudly, she’ll hear.” Leo said, looking outside.
Patrice sighed. “We were wrong to trust a kid from the beginning.”
Leo slouched. “If you treat every situation as a life and death matter, you’ll die a lot of times.”
SJ drummed her fingers on the desk. “This is a life and death situation and by lying to that woman, you’ve eliminated our probability of surviving.”
“That the birds of worry and care fly over your head, this you cannot change, but that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent.” Leo said.
SJ shook her head. “Are you even concerned?”
“There is a great difference between worry and concern. A worried person sees a problem, and a concerned person solves a problem. The question is, Miss SJ, are you concerned?”
SJ sat, squirming in her chair.
Leo rose from the chair. At the entrance gate, Matthias paced in with a bag on his back. Leo’s heartbeat rate increased. He tried to stop his arms from trembling. Leo flew his hand into the air and Matthias waved his.
“Hello!” Matthias said, extending his hand to Leo.
“Would you like a drink?” Leo said, accepting the hand.
“I’ve brought what you asked. Where is Maha?” Matthias said.
Leo looked outside the window, to the garden. Maha was busy with her kids. Matthias started moving out, Leo blocked him.
“After me…” Leo walked out, Matthias trailing him. SJ and Patrice shook their drooping heads. They knew that whatever was going to happen outside was nothing good. Leo knew it too but his gut told him to stand straight, walk proud, have a little faith.
Leo walked to the table Maha was with her kids. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting.”
Maha smiled. “No problem. Is the interviewer already here?”
Leo indexed his finger. Maha looked at what Leo was indexing to. The smile on her face faded away. She was on the eye to eye contact with Matthias, her ex-husband.
Maha slapped Leo’s face. “Is this what you called me for?”