Chapter 67 Sorry, I’m Not
Elise smiled as she answered with another question, “What do you think?”
Julius immediately jumped from his chair and ran toward her. However, when he was half a step away from her, she stopped him. “Hey, calm down. There’s no need to get too worked up.”
His eyes reddened. “It’s been so many years and you’re finally back! We’ve looked everywhere for you…”
As he spoke, his voice started choking up.
Then, Elise patted him on the shoulder. “Look, I’m back in one piece. I see that you’re learning to enjoy life more now, eh? You seem to be getting by quite nicely on your own.”
It took a while for Julius to finally calm down, albeit slightly. Then, he asked, “Do Noel and the others know that you’re back?”
“For now, I don’t think so.”
He hurriedly wiped the tears from his eyes as he added, “Noel has been waiting all these years for your return and he’s the only one who insisted on waiting for you in the same place. I heard that he’s the exclusive lyricist for an artist since he still has his way with words. However, without your voice and songs, the best effect cannot be achieved no matter how good the lyrics are.”
Elise didn’t say a word as she looked around at the courtyard houses. After a while, she suggested, “Let’s go out for dinner tonight.”
An elated Julius replied, “Then, I’ll ask them to come along.”
She quickly responded, “No, don’t tell them that I’m back. Let’s just have dinner together.”
There was hesitation on his end. “I promised Noel to inform him of any news relating to you the moment I receive them.” After saying that, he seemed to arrive at a conclusion. “Never mind, I’ll just keep quiet. Maybe I can show you around instead?”
After voicing her agreement, Elise walked to the backyard where some limited edition motorbikes were parked neatly in a row. She reached out and touched one of them. “It’s been so long since I last patted them.”
While Julius grinned, he fished out a set of keys and tossed it to her. “Let’s go for a drive.”
She caught the keys before she quickly sat on the bike. Wearing the helmet had made her absolutely stunning. With a smile, she stepped on the ignition and brought the bike out of its parking spot.
They both rode a bike each and cruised the road side by side. It was obvious that Julius was overjoyed because it felt like he had returned to the good old times with Elise and their friends.
He brought her to a bar, where the two of them ordered a few classics to sample.
Then, she held the wineglass and clinked it with his. “How have you been, Julius?”
Julius replied, “It’s been a long while, H.”
The two downed the wine before Elise finally asked, “Really, how have you been these few years?”
“Ever since you left, everyone went their separate ways too.” He smiled. “Noel is the only one who’s still active in the field whereas everyone else retired. As for me, I run this bar, so I come here at night to keep an eye on things. During the day, I sunbath in the courtyard houses. Noel is quite lucky, seeing how he gradually brought that particular artist to fame. That artist is quite the star these days, I believe. What’s the name again? Right, Jack Griffith! You can look up his songs; Noel is the lyricist for some of the most notable ones.”
The moment she heard Jack Griffith’s name, Elise was dumbfounded. It’s a small world. Way too small.
“I’ll give it a listen when I feel like it. Your bar is rather presentable.”
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