Laelia had gone through her mental list and ticked each item off as she completed it, she had arranged with her staff that she would be on an almost permanent vacation till she decided she was ready to come back, she also Promoted one of her senior surgeons to the practice primary surgeon and arranged for all her clients and staff to go through him, she was now just the figurehead and the financier of the whole shebang.

The staff all told her to enjoy her vacation and to not worry that they would hold her practice to high standards, and care for each patient as if they were their own family and this at least reassured her that her firm and practice was in good hands.

She had found an Ob-Gyn in Cape Town that agreed to be her doctor for the duration of her stay; she actually came as a reference from one of her own staff and was assured that he was a phenomenal doctor which made her decision all the easier.

When she had called Ryan her estate agent to find out about her beach house he had told her that she could move in anytime and that shifting the bookings wouldn’t be a problem as he had another beach house the bookings could be swapped to for the foreseeable future everything was working in her favour it was sublime not a single thing had gone awry even the airline assured her that her short notice first class booking was made and that she would have full service and the flight would be approximately two hours and fifteen minutes from departure. Her booking was for this Wednesday just a day away, the perfect midweek getaway time.

She decided on the spur of the moment that some clothing shopping was due as she needed some soft flowing dresses for the beach and to accommodate the mommy body that she would soon start to have. Taking a quick drive to the Rosebank mall she visited a few clothing stores and even found a couple with loose flowing type dresses in stock she also purchased a gorgeous white bikini that would definitely come into use in the swimming pool on her property as well as on the beach not that she intended to swim in the freezing Cape Town sea but her pool was temperature regulated and would be bliss.

Every outfit she tried on she would automatically think while looking at herself in the full-length dressing room mirror, what would Andreas think of this one, would he like it? And every time she thought this she would shake the thoughts away and reaffirm that she was buying clothing for herself to be comfortable not for him to look at, I won’t even be in the same province as him I’ll be a thousand four hundred kilometres away and he won’t see any of the dresses I’ve chosen so why do I keep wondering what that blasted man will think.

After paying for her selections she made her way to the coffee shop, for a light lunch and a cup of tea. I am starving she thought, I really must buy a full selection of groceries for the Cape Town house and make myself a balanced meal each time I’m no longer eating for just me what I ingest is going straight to the little one too, so it’s time to step up my game.

When the server came to take her order she asked for a bagel with grilled chicken and mustard with a side of cream spinach and butternut and a pot of rooibos tea. As she waited for her food she enjoyed her tea until she felt tense goosebumps forming all over her arms and a tingle in her stomach like a whole kaleidoscope of butterflies swirling around.

She turned her face up and right next to her stood Andreas with his piercing blue eyes but they weren’t angry or lustful today they were sad and soulful, he stood there looking down at the table not meeting her eyes.

 I saw you sitting here when I walked by, I’m sorry he mumbled I’m a total idiot and I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said what I did I hope you can forgive me, I’ve spoken to Joan and she says you will be leaving for an extended period of time. I hope it’s not because of what I said or did because I couldn’t live with myself if it was, please forgive me and if or when you do come back I will not bother you again. I just can’t seem to help myself every time I’m around you I act like an oaf and my mouth just seems to have a life of its own as does the rest of me for that matter.

Have a good day and enjoy your meal Mrs Hart I wish you all the best, he turned around and walked away looking for the entire world like he hadn’t slept in days with his shoulders slumped, ruffled hair and a 2-day fuzz.

Andreas! She called after him but he didn’t turn around and he didn’t look back, he just carried on walking and disappeared into the crowd.

Laelia sat there thinking about what he had said, was she leaving because of Andreas or was she leaving because of herself? This was something she couldn’t answer right at this moment maybe in a few months she would be able to sort out her own state of mind and again maybe not only time would tell.

She waited for the server to bring her meal, then ate her food without actually tasting anything as she was lost in thought, when she was done she paid her bill and left, browsing a few more shops on the way out of the mall. When she got to her apartment she went straight to the bathroom ran a deep warm luxurious bath with rose-fragranced bath oil and just lay there relaxing in the warm water till it started getting cool. Getting out she quickly dried herself and pulled on her fluffy gown she tied her hair in a knot on top of her head then headed for the kitchen all the time the apartment was filled with soft instrumental music that moved from room to room with her.

She poured herself a glass of milk grabbed the previously discarded romance novel from her bedroom bookrack and headed for her favourite couch in the lounge. Grabbing her fleece blanket from her bed along the way.

Ensconced on the couch she started reading and hours later she realised that it had started getting dark because the lights in the apartment had automatically gone on and adjusted to her preference, she had been reading for nearly 5 hours without realising it.

I can’t believe this book has grabbed my attention like this I’m not usually one to read novels but I got given this particular one last year for my birthday by a female colleague and just put it down in the bookrack forgetting that it existed, but I find this to be a good read I am thoroughly enjoying the ups and downs and the story that binds the characters together I might even get myself a few for the coming vacation just to relax, she thought to herself.

Well, I’m sure I’ll finish it on my flight, now however it’s time to go get some much-needed sleep.