Thomas Lanoth couldn't believe his ears as he stood in front of Kayooma International Airport. Nothing could have prepared him for what happened within an hour after they arrived at the airport.
He had believed that today would probably be the last day in a long time that he would see the shores of Kayooma. Of course, he intended to be back; this was after all the land of his birth, but that would have been in the not-so-soon future.
After everything had died down,. After everybody had moved on,. Well, after she had moved on,. The wrench thrown in his plan infuriated him as he stood there, looking at the waning light in the sky.
It would be dark soon, and he would still be on the soil of the land he had known for years instead of Luxembourg, the country that he and his partner had checkmarked on the map and had started making preparations for.
It had been painstaking, and it had taken more than he expected. They started their plans about a year ago when he realised that he had been able to save money without her knowledge. Susan had been so happy when he informed her that they could start the preparation for the life of their dreams, and she had been active in the plans. Even though she did not work and had been unable to make any monetary contribution, she was immersed in getting things ready for all of them. Just that morning, when he went to her place to pick them up, they hugged and kissed each other, and they promised to make wild love the moment they touched down in Luxembourg.
"Who could have known?" he thought sadly as he stood there like a lost mongrel as his world crashed around his ears. Thomas had no idea what he should think about first. The money spent? Was it the years of preparation and secrecy? All the years of pretence? Everything is now down the drain, as if he did not try at all.
His situation was even worse than when he started all these plans. Now, he was next to penniless. Their passports were confiscated. His partner was arrested, and he might still be charged as an accessory himself as he was asked to check in periodically even while his partner's case was being investigated.
"Me, an accessory! To drug trafficking of all things," he thought bitterly just as he felt a hand tug at his tailored suit, a suit he had gotten especially for the doomed trip.
Allysyn, the eldest of his children, looked up at him with the doe-like eyes of her mother as she asked, "Daddy, when will Mummy be allowed to come home?"
Interesting question. Thomas thought as he laid his hand on his seven-year-old's head, "Soon, my dear. Soon,"
He had a bigger dilemma at hand. Where would he take the children? The payment of the house he rented for Susan elapsed the month before, and he had only paid the landlord a month extra with the promise that they would leave this month.
Before they departed that morning, he had personally gone to the landlord's place to drop off the key.
"No way on earth would that man give me the key again," he thought in exasperation as he looked at his children again.
Allysyn was now looking straight ahead, as if she had found something fascinating that she did not want to take her eyes off. Thomas Junior was turning his baseball cap over and over on his head. Baby Leah had her thumb stuck in her mouth as she looked back at the entrance to the terminal.
Thomas bent down to carry her. She was only three after all and did not ask for all these. He was sorry for her siblings too, of course. He just couldn't carry them.
Thomas thought of what to do, as the children had to be with someone who would be able to take good care of them, and that person couldn't be him. He removed his phone, as only one person came to mind.
"Hello, mum"
"Hello, son. What happened? This is not an international line; I thought you would be on the plane by now." His mother's voice could be heard over the phone.
Thomas sighed as he looked at his children, who were looking up at him when they heard their grandmother's voice: "Mum, something has happened. We are still at the airport as we speak, and Susan has been arrested."
"What? Why would she be arrested? What happened?" The older woman exclaimed over the phone.
"Something was found in her bag. Well, that was not the main reason I called; I would deal with that, but the children..."
"I understand. I understand. You cannot possibly take them home with you, of course. Bring them here. I will take care of them till all this mess is solved. When you arrived, you had to explain what happened to me. This is so upsetting."
"I know, mom. Thank you, mom. You are the best. We are on our way now," he said, disconnecting the call and looking at the children. "Who wants to go stay with Grandma till Mummy gets back?"
The younger ones chorused, "Me! Me!" and Allysyn nodded her head.
"Good, let's go." He shepherded them towards the airport entrance, hailing a cab that just dropped someone off, and they entered.
"Time for a new plan," he thought as he thought of the person he was going home to meet.
The woman he thought he wouldn't see again. At least not anytime soon. He hoped she had not seen it yet. He checked his watch and knew that she would still be in one of her boring meetings by now. He should have ample time to drop the kids off with his mother, explain whatever he could, and quickly get home to get rid of it before she gets back.
Only then could he think of the next step to take. There would be many steps to be taken before things could get back on track again.
Close to the terminal door, a lady who had her head bent towards her phone, like she was browsing, looked up as Thomas entered the cab and left. Then she speed-dialled a number.
The man on the other end said, "Hello, is it done?"
"Don, you should trust your girl. Smooth as butter. I was there when she was taken away, and he just left the airport now as well. With his brood," she reported.
"Motherfucker," the man replied, "You are all done there."
He disconnected the call. She had not expected anything else.