Chapter Twenty Eight



Back in reception, Laura slammed her hand down on the desk, making poor Irena jump.
‘Your booking system, is all wrong’ Laura shouted.
‘Pardon Madame?’ Irena asked, blinking at her.
‘Your computer’ Laura waved a hand about in an irritating fashion, ‘everyone, is in the wrong room!’
‘Excuse me Madame’ said an official looking man, ‘but I am afraid, if you are going to continue with this tone of questioning that I will have to remove you from this hotel’
‘What?’ Laura screeched at him.
‘I said Madame…’
‘But I’m a paying guest!’
‘In which room may I ask?’ the official looking man asked, named Mamdouh. He was the hotel manager the badge he wore read.
‘Room…’ Laura stuttered, ‘….48. Floor….5’
Irena tapped her computer keys, ‘I am sorry, but room 48, floor 5 is Mr Marin’s room’
‘Are you Mrs Marin?’ Mamdouh asked her.
‘No’ huffed Laura, ‘I’m Laura Walker’
Irena tapped some more keys on her keyboard, ‘I am sorry…’ she said, ‘but we have no Ms Walker booked into this hotel’
‘I booked under Buhler. Laura Buhler’ replied Laura.
Mamdouh walked around the desk to stand next to Irena. He took over the computer and started pressing keys.
‘Your passport please?’ he asked Laura. She delved into her handbag which she carried around with her wherever she went and bought it out. She handed it over with a large smile on her face.
Mamdouh looked at it, ‘This’ he shook her passport, ‘says Ms Laura Marie Walker. And yet you claim to have booked into this hotel under a Mrs Laura Buhler, is that right?’
Laura nodded, ‘Yes’ she smiled.
‘I am afraid, Ms Walker….but we can no longer have you staying here, in this hotel’ said Mamdouh.
‘What?’ Laura screeched at him.
‘You booked under a false name. That is, under Egyptian law, fraud’ Mamdouh looked coolly at a now shocked Laura.
‘I…I…’ Laura muttered, the smile falling from her face.
‘I am sorry. But you will have to leave’ Mamdouh indicated to a police guard on duty at the entrance to the hotel.
‘I…I…’ Laura muttered again as the police guard moved towards her, ‘my things…clothes…’ she managed to get out.


‘Will be removed. You can collect them in an hour’ Mamdouh said as the police guard now ushered Laura out of the hotel and into the street, ‘Good afternoon’ Mamdouh smiled before closing the door in Laura’s face. He then walked back to the reception desk and picking up a phone pressed in a number.
The phone rang then was answered, ‘It is done Sir’ he spoke into the receiver.
With a smile, David replaced the phone at the other end.
----------------

After her shower and unpacking, Fara met a giggly Rowi and Seb in the hotel bar.
‘I heard a lot of shouting earlier…’ Fara told them after they had sat down at a table with some drinks.
‘Oh?’ Seb asked, trying to sound surprised.
‘Yes’ Fara nodded, ‘some one calling out your name, Seb’
‘Oh’ said Seb.
‘It was Laura’ Rowi said, ‘looking for Urs’
‘I thought…she would be in his room…’ Fara mumbled.
‘No. There was a slight…mix-up over booking’ Seb smiled.
‘Oh. Right’ Fara nodded.
‘Can I join you?’ came a voice then. Fara turned around. It was Urs.
She stared at him.
‘Sure, mate’ Seb told him.
Urs sat in the spare space next to Fara. ‘Hi’ he smiled at her. Resisting the temptation to reach out and touch her. He slightly groaned to himself and kept his hands to himself.
‘Hi’ Fara mumbled in reply.
‘How’s your room?’ Rowi asked Urs.



Perfect’ Urs winked at her.
‘Oh?’ Fara asked on seeing his wink.
‘Seb and I, have connecting rooms’ Rowi told Urs.
‘So do David and Dany. Carlos and Cydalia’ added Seb.
‘My connecting door…’ Fara then mumbled.
‘Is connected to my room. Yes’ Urs told her.
‘Why?’ Fara asked.
‘I love you’ came Urs’ reply.
‘I asked why?’ Fara asked again, looking at him.
‘I wanted to be…to be near you’ Urs said.
‘You have Laura’
‘She’s not here’
‘Only because your friends fixed it, so she wouldn’t be’ Fara told him.
‘And that upsets you?’ Urs asked.
‘Its deceiving. To you’
‘I don’t see how’ Urs shrugged.
‘She’s your girlfriend. It should be you who decides if you see her, or not’
‘She’s my ex’ Urs corrected.
‘You were never officially split up’ Fara bit back.
‘I thought we were’ Urs sighed.
‘I think, you should go and find her’ Fara then said.
‘And say what? Do what?’ Urs asked.
‘Talk to her. Sort it all out’
‘I don’t want to sort it all out though’
‘She loves you’ said Fara.
‘I don’t care. I don’t love her’ replied Urs, sighing.
‘You lived with her. That must mean something’ Fara probed.
‘We were…flat mates’
‘Who shared a bed’
‘Not always, no’ Urs said.
‘Touring….or whatever you do doesn’t count’
‘If I loved her, and we were a proper couple, she would have come with me. She didn’t’
‘What job does she have?’ Fara asked.
‘PA’ Urs sighed.
‘For?’
‘For us. Among other artists’
‘So she did come with you then…’
‘No’ said Seb, ‘Laura was our PA mainly for our website. She never came with us on tour’
‘Oh…’ that surprised Fara. She hadn’t been expecting that.
‘She hated travelling’ Urs laughed.
‘Sounds like me’ Fara sighed.
‘Honey, you just hated flying because it was your first time’ Rowi patted her friends hand.


Like me’ Urs confessed, ‘first time I hated it. Hated it. Vowed never to do it again. And yet’ he laughed, ‘with my job, I have to do it. Constantly’ he shrugged.
‘I never knew that…’ Seb said.
‘There are a lot of things about me that you don’t know’ Urs told him in reply.
‘And me too’ Seb winked.
Urs smirked at Seb, ‘You’ he told Seb, ‘talk, in your sleep’
‘I don’t…’ Seb mumbled, blushing.
‘Oh. You do’ Rowi confirmed.
‘About?’ Seb asked.
‘The sort of relationship you and Rowi have’ Urs replied.
Seb and Rowi blushed scarlet at this.
‘Sorry…’ Seb mumbled in apology.
‘Don’t’ Urs laughed, ‘I learnt a few things listening to you’
‘So’ Fara coughed, changing the subject, ‘what are you going to do? About Laura?’
‘Nothing’ Urs shrugged.
‘Nothing?’ Fara asked.
‘No’ Urs confirmed.
Fara looked at him.
‘What would you do, if you were me?’ Urs sighing, asked her.
‘Find her. Talk to her. Make her understand’
‘You’d do that?’ Urs asked.
‘Yes’ Fara nodded.
‘Ok. Then that’s what I’ll do’ Urs decided. He thought - if doing this would make Fara happy then he would. If walking to the ends of the earth barefoot made Fara happy he would do it. Anything to make her smile at him again.