Lost And Found
“Excuse me...” a small voice so soft and so polite it was almost more alarming than the air-raged passengers they were used to dealing with caused both receptionists of the Gold Lounge to look up, their heads bobbing in perfect unison. Mark blinked slightly but smiled – as was his custom – and gave them a small wave. The pair exchanged a smile before fixing their eyes back to him.
“Good evening M...” one began but the other swiftly elbowed her in the side.
“Good evening Sir. I’m Carrie, this is Monika. How may we help you today?” she altered pointedly and Monika pulled a face, smoothing her blazer down before tugging slightly at the gold-trimmed sleeves and polishing the bright buttons. Both women were decked out in stylized pilot’s uniforms of turquoise and gold, complete with captain’s epaulettes and name-badges with air-crew wings atop them. Mark concluded, with a slight quirk of his eyebrows, that they could probably breeze straight into a cockpit without anyone thinking twice to stop them. How qualified they were to actually fly a plane away once they’d claimed it as their own he didn’t wish to speculate but he thought they looked like they’d take it somewhere nice at least, somewhere near the sea. Or maybe somewhere near the shops. Or both? Was both too much of a dream? So lost in this reverie he became that the women found themselves exchanging a look of confusion before Monika took action.
“Sir?” she tried, an almost mischievous look in her eyes that Mark identified with.
“Sorry...I’m Mark. I’ve lost my husband,” he informed her, his mouth suddenly forming a perfect line and his previously sparkling eyes losing a dash of their shine. He and Gary had become separated soon after discovering their flight was delayed and as an oh-so-slightly stressed out Gary had stalked off towards the Gold Lounge, Mark had gotten lost in the crowd. And, if he was honest, he had been distracted by the glittering lights of the duty free shops. As he chewed his lip, the two receptionists regarded him with kind smiles. Carrie tilted her head to one side, her dark hair swishing slightly as she did so, before folding her hands on the desk. Monika pushed her keyboard to one side and rested her chin on her hand.
“Lost you say...” Carrie began.
“Yes...do you think you could...put a call out for him or something?” Mark tried. He wasn’t good at airport lingo. He didn’t often travel by air; he only had one friend overseas and Emma was usually kind enough to travel to him rather than the other way around.
“A call out...hmm, I don’t know. Have you checked the lounge?” Monika was quick to jump in and Carrie had to smother a laugh. Mark glanced into the airport’s swanky First Class lounge. Almost everything was done up in gold and turquoise and, as with the receptionists’ uniforms, there was a flight theme running through everything. Mark decided that, once he’d found Gary, he would have to come back and appreciate the richness of the lounge’s theme. A bored looking barman was wiping his bar, dressed up to the nines as a pilot, hat and all. Mark decided he would also need to devise means of getting that hat. Wouldn’t that cause a stir on their flight if he breezed into First Class with a captain’s hat on. Maybe Gary would like it...Gary!!
“He’s not here...no one’s here...” he told the receptionists. Carried nodded sadly.
“Never is...” she sighed and Monika rolled her eyes.
“There’s Gilbert,” she protested, nodding towards the bored barman.
“The funny thing is he never talks to anyone. Not a word. We’ve been working here three years. Nothing. I think he’s Turkish...or...something...” Carrie shrugged.
“Have you got a picture?” Monika asked suddenly.
“Of Gilbert?” Carrie asked, still lost in debating Gilbert’s nationality. Monika shot her an odd look before turning to Mark. Mark smiled to himself. Oh he had plenty. His new camera (a wedding present from Gary’s brother, as it happened) could store seven hundred photos at any given time. But, as he fished for it in his hand-luggage bag, he couldn’t help but wonder how many of the six hundred (at least!) photos he had taken with it were suitable to show to strangers. As he finally found it he scanned backwards, watching as the photos became progressively more useable until he found one of himself, Gary, Howard and Jason, taken as a test-shot before leaving for the honeymoon. That would do, he thought, thrusting the camera hopefully across the counter.
Monika took the camera first, narrowing her eyes at the image before raising an eyebrow.
“Is there something in the water where you live or do you just have a strong stance on ugly friends?” she asked after a moment and Mark couldn’t help but laugh, despite his missing-husband plight.
“What?” he asked her, shaking his head slightly, his hat tipping a little over his face as he did so. Carrie, meanwhile, had leant across the desk and her eyes positively lit up at the photograph.
“And which one is your husband?” she asked. Monika shot her a funny look that Mark couldn’t read so he brushed it off and shrugged.
“The blonde. The guy at the back is Howard. The one far right is Jason. They’re our friends. They’re not lost. Or I hope they’re not. Jason was for a while but that’s a different story altogether,” Mark informed them.
“I’ll take Jason please,” the women said in unison and Mark grinned.
“Everyone says that,” he told them with a chuckle and Carrie – only Carrie, mind – had the decency to blush. Monika simply laughed and nodded.
“You’re all stunning,” she told him sincerely.
“It’s ok – he’s got a ‘twinkle’ me Mam says. I think that means he’s a charmer,” Mark nodded.
“But...” Carrie put in, her tone similar to that of someone who’d just remembered some important task and feared all may be lost if she didn’t focus. Her voice almost made Monika jump. Almost.
“But! Lost things are normally in the lost and found...” Monika put in and Carrie nodded solemnly.
“Oh...” Mark said softly, casting a nervous glance at the doors to the Gold Lounge.
“We could take you there, if you like?” Carrie offered and Mark’s whole face brightened up in a millisecond. Instantly the two women sprang from their wheelie chairs (Mark HAD to ask them if they could race those later...) and began grabbing things up. Carrie produced an official-looking visibility jacket and a set of keys from under her desk whilst Monika took up two ID lanyards and a walkie-talkie. Mark couldn’t help but feel he was in for an adventure as Monika hurried him through the door, Carrie breezily calling their goodbye to Gilbert as the doors swung shut behind them.
***
“Sorry about this...” Gary said after a while of silence, shifting slightly on the old suitcase he had been using as a seat for the past ten minutes.
“Don’t be,” Zeinab told him unblinkingly, casting him a smile.
“I don’t like leaving him alone...but when I do, I have to do something to make it up to him, you know? I just wish I could come up with a song,” Gary sighed. The room was tiny but Zeinab had been kind enough to clear him out his own little corner, furnish him with a pen and paper and various bits and pieces from the Lost and Found drawers. But still he couldn’t come up with anything. He’d been tetchy all day, and that never helped with his writing. He knew he should never have taken out his edginess on Mark, Mark had done nothing to deserve it. Yet still, he’d done it and now he had to right the wrong. He didn’t like flying at the best of times but when the flight was delayed and he was having a bad day? Urgh, he couldn’t be doing with it. At least the airport staff all seemed eager to help him. Zeinab assured him that they were happy to finally have something to do.
Gary began to chew the end of his pen in frustration and Zeinab cast him an affection smile before glancing at the clock. The others would probably be here soon and she knew she ought to try and help him. She was more than willing to. He’d already asked her if she’d be his muse. She wasn’t sure what the job entailed but she’d had to agree when he’d fixed those bright blue eyes on her. Could anyone say no to those eyes? Probably not. They were such a simmering blue as could never be ignored. Gary sighed again, running a hand through his blonde hair until it stuck up at awkward angles and as she watched him, a thought occurred to her.
“Don’t move!” she instructed him, jumping up from her chair and going over to the shelf at the side of the room. The entire right side of the room was taken up by a shelving unit that housed several items of baggage that had spent so long going round the carousel in Baggage Reclaim that all but Zeinab had given up on them, multiple folders of fancy-seeming luggage labels, various boxes of airport staff’s discarded accessories and multiple collections of unusual items that, Zeinab assured him, someone would have to start to miss as some point and she’d be ready and waiting when they did. It was one such collection that she turned to now and Gary’s face lit up when he saw what she had magically conjured up.
“You are a diamond my love!” he exclaimed as she turned around, handing him a small (but perfectly workable) electronic keyboard.
“You were at a loss, so I found you something to stop that. It’s kind of my job,” she explained to him with a smile, briefly waving her airport ID lanyard at him before sitting back down in her chair, returning to entertaining herself by wrapping strands of dark brown hair around her pen and watching Gary’s thoughts race across his face. In the short time they had known each other she had been forced to conclude he had a very expressive face, with eyebrows that could quirk in more ways than she’d ever known in anyone else. His eyebrows gave away more than his mouth; which, for the most part, remained thin-lipped and straight as his mind worked overtime.
***
“How far away is Lost and Found anyway?” Mark asked after several minutes of zooming through the airport in their beeping airport buggy. As he asked this, Carrie promptly went for a spin around one of the columns of departure boards. From what Mark could tell, there was little purpose to such a diversion – though they’d had at least three – but Monika saw his look and shot him a smile.
“It looks official when we do that,” she nodded conspiratorially, tapping her nose.
“We should stop for coffee...I still think they should get a drive-through put in there,” Carrie remarked and Mark chuckled softly at them.
“Know any good sweet shops?” he asked and Carrie beamed at him.
“What else do you think we do with our time?!” she asked with a shake of her hair. He returned the smile. Mark enjoyed smiling but he didn’t often find people who shared his passion. He liked to smile at strangers to try and brighten their day but he often found they just thought he was mad. Not these two though – for some reason they were more willing to humour him.
“Talk to Gilbert?” he suggested after a moment, a glint in his eye. Both women picked up his tease instantly and laughed brightly.
“The day he learns English, I’m getting myself transferred to Terminal 3...such a miserable old devil,” Monika retorted with a pitying shake of her head.
“Can I come?” Carrie asked, a frown creasing her brow.
“Nope, you have to stay and talk to Gilbert,” Monika dead-panned, sharing a secret wink with Mark.
“If you get a new terminal then I might just have to one up you, get a new country. Somewhere by the sea this time...” Carrie mused and Monika frowned.
“Hey! No one said airport transfers were on offer!” Monika protested and Mark laughed.
“Come to Manchester with me – I’ll introduce you to Jason,” he offered.
“I’m in!” Carrie pounced before Monika had time to process the information and she pouted, briefly.
“I thought you said he hated flying...” she pointed out after a pause.
“So? He’s got nothing against airports that I know of. Though he is a funny one is Jay. Not like Gary. Gary’s pretty straight forward. Most of the time. When he’s not stressed...” Mark began.
“I love Gary,” Monika and Carrie interrupted in unison, mimicking the speech they’d heard several dozen times now. Mark blushed slightly.
“Have I said that?” he asked sweetly and Carrie glanced at him briefly before quickly turning her attention back to driving just in time to swerve away from a collision with a small child.
“Maybe one or...two or...several hundred times,” she nodded.
“Fine. But you never answered my question; how far is Lost and Found?” Mark demanded.
“Oh, it’s at the other end of the terminal. But don’t worry, it’s well worth the trip, trust us,” Monika insisted and Mark chewed his lip thoughtfully.
“Are you sure I’ll find him there?” he mumbled, coming over all doubtful once more.
“Zeinab finds everything that’s lost. And she’s very good about giving the unclaimed stuff to good homes,” Monika assured him with a wave of her hand.
“Precisely; where else do you think we got this stuff from?!” Carrie asked, tugging on her florescent jacket whilst Monika waved the walkie-talkie cheerfully.
“It’s not yours?! What if someone else claims Gary?! He is very handsome...and sweet...and kind...and I...” Mark wittered softly.
“Love Gary. We know!” Monika laughed before he could finish.
“We get first dibs on found stuff, trust me, your husband is safe,” Carrie promised.
“If Jason went missing though...” Monika began.
“Do you mention him once for every time I say I love Gary?” Mark wondered aloud.
“Yes,” Monika nodded gravely.
“Did that count as another one?” Carrie stage-whispered and Monika nodded again, turning to look at Mark with as serious an expression as she could hold.
“Jason,” she said simply with a quick nod before turning back. All three attempted to keep a straight face until suddenly the blur of a sweet shop caught their eyes.
“Sweets!” all three occupants of the airport buggy cried out at once and Carrie promptly stamped on the breaks. Before Mark had time to think, Carrie was ushering him around the shop as if he were a VIP whilst Monika stood by the buggy, muttering into her walkie-talkie in a manner which she hoped looked both dramatic and official. Although he was pretty sure Monika was either talking to white noise or a perplexed local taxi firm, he still had to admit that he could get used to this.
***
The faint sound of beeping in the distance was what alerted Zeinab to the fact that she could no longer simply sit watching Gary play the tiny plastic keyboard like it was the most expensive grand piano ever made. It was a fascinating process, she thought. If only such entertainment was on offer on a more regular basis in the lost property department. This quietly charming man, with a regional accent of dulcet tones, his gleaming eyes and his genuine interest in every she had to say was by far the most excited thing that had ever happened at this airport. It wasn’t the busiest in the country but she supposed the sense of community amongst the staff was something she shouldn’t take for granted. Still, though. Gary Barlow was a different matter entirely. He was almost what could be classified as ‘exotic’ for someone who was so rarely allowed to leave the Lost and Found.
The faint beeping sound was getting stronger and with a small sigh, Zeinab decided to warn him.
“You might want to wrap this up Gary – I think that’s the Gold Lounge buggy arriving. There’s only about three of those things in this airport and they rarely come down here unless they’re lost or looking for something,” she smiled and Gary looked up from the keyboard, blinking with mild bewilderment, like someone who’d been in a very dark room walking out into the midday sun. He glanced at the loose song words he had managed to conjure up in the time he had and bit his lip.
“Ok...where do you need me?” he asked, glancing around the tiny room. Zeinab shrugged.
“Your best bet? Under the desk,” she said with a soft laugh. Gary too found he was laughing through his instinctive grimace as Zeinab moved aside to usher him into the cramped space.
“My back will never be the same again!” was his muffled complaint as Zeinab pushed her chair back into place just in time for the Gold Lounge buggy to pull up in front of the tiny window of Lost and Found. Carrie waved cheerfully whilst Monika helped a very small gentleman from the back seat.
“He’s sweet,” Zeinab whispered and she could see Gary’s face fill with quiet pride.
“That and more,” he whispered back, just as Carrie appeared at the window.
“Ready for some play-acting my friend?” she asked softly just before Mark and Monika joined her. Zeinab gave a silent nod before turning to Mark and putting on her most official voice.
“Good evening sir, how may I help you?” she asked with a kind smile that Mark appreciated. He had to stand on tiptoe to reach the little window properly and Monika and Carrie exchanged a silent ‘Aw’ as he pulled himself up slightly by pushing his elbows against the partition.
“I’ve lost my husband,” Mark told her, his eyes plaintive. The hat had been removed now, and sat on its own on the back seat of the buggy, so Mark’s hair had begun to fall into his round, hopeful eyes.
“Husband...husband...one second,” Zeinab nodded. Carrie was struggling to hold the act whilst Monika was looking around the tiny room trying to work out where on earth Gary had been stashed.
“I love Gary,” Mark told Zeinab as she studied the shelves thoughtfully, pulling out a box and producing several left shoes which she studied then dismissed.
“That counts,” Monika informed him swiftly and Carrie smiled mischievously.
“Jason!” she exclaimed delightedly. From his place under the desk Gary had to stifle a laugh. He would have to ask Mark what that was all about later, for now he’d just feel quietly content at Mark’s insistence of his love.
Eventually, Zeinab turned from the shelves and, with a great show realisation dawning, looked back at Mark with a thoughtful smile.
“About so high?” she asked, waving a hand to indicate Gary’s height.
“Yes!” Mark nodded eagerly.
“Blonde hair sticking up at some very strange angles?” Zeinab clarified and Mark let out an affectionate chuckle before nodding once more.
“Probably,” he agreed and Zeinab narrowed her eyes.
“Very crisp very blue...” she began.
“Eyes! Yes!” Mark interrupted and Zeinab smiled broadly.
“Then we might just have something,” she nodded, going over to her desk and bending down.
“Gary?!” Mark called hopefully and, sure enough, a familiar face popped up from under the desk.
“Evening!” Gary replied cheerfully and Carrie nodded very seriously.
“Everything turns up in Lost and Found,” she intoned and Monika laughed before pulling them back just enough so they could pretend they weren’t listening.
“I thought I’d lost you,” Mark said dolefully, sad that Gary hadn’t reached across to hug him through the tiny window of the Lost and Found office. Gary smiled at him, tilting his head to one side.
“Ah, but you see Markie, there’s not much in life that is ever really lost,” he replied.
“That’s not true...lost money?” Mark offered but Gary shook his head.
“Someone spent it on something. It’s not lost, it’s just been given to someone else,” Gary said.
“Ok, pets?” Mark offered, his heart lifting at the sight of a challenge.
“Pets are living things Markie, they could wander any which way they like without letting their owners know,” Gary told him and Mark frowned slightly.
“Husbands?” he asked slowly and Gary gave him a lopsided smile.
“Get stressed sometimes,” he admitted guiltily.
“Love?” Mark asked quietly, perhaps a little nervously.
“Lost love...well that’s just an oxymoron,” Gary shrugged. Mark raised an eyebrow.
“Are you calling me funny names Barlow?” he pouted, but the shine in his eyes suggested to Gary that he knew full well what Gary had really meant. Gary rolled his eyes playfully.
“What I mean Markie, is that I don’t think there’s any such thing. You can always love someone, wherever they are and whatever they’re doing. You don’t lose love, ever. Not even when you think you have. After all, you found me didn’t you?” he asked, leaning across the small gap between them. Mark mirrored the action, narrowing his eyes with thought.
“Well yes...but I had to lose you first,” he countered. Gary shook his head, their noses almost brushing as he did so.
“But did you? I think you just...misplaced me slightly. And isn’t that all that really ever happens to love?” Gary offered and Mark’s smile grew a little.
“Oh?” he asked, tilting his head playfully. Their lips were almost meeting now.
“We're a thousand miles apart but you know I love you,
Everything changes but you,
You know that every single day I'll be thinking about you...” Gary sang quietly, watching with delight as Mark’s whole face came to life.
“That’s new...” he began but Gary shook his head.
“Nah, not really. It’s been true for quite some time. Just never had a melody for it before,” he shrugged and Mark laughed before pressing a lingering kiss to Gary’s lips.
“I love you,” he whispered. Gary’s lips almost moved to reply but a sound from behind distracted them both.
“JASON!” Carrie and Monika cried in unison, almost jumping with childish glee.
“It counts,” Monika promised as an afterthought and with that, the entire group burst out laughing, adding a touch of warmth to Lost and Found that Zeinab thought was much needed. It was only as Gary and Mark were whisked off into the distance by the Gold Lounge buggy that she even thought to wonder if she could get the sign above her office changed simply to ‘Misplaced’.
“Good evening M...” one began but the other swiftly elbowed her in the side.
“Good evening Sir. I’m Carrie, this is Monika. How may we help you today?” she altered pointedly and Monika pulled a face, smoothing her blazer down before tugging slightly at the gold-trimmed sleeves and polishing the bright buttons. Both women were decked out in stylized pilot’s uniforms of turquoise and gold, complete with captain’s epaulettes and name-badges with air-crew wings atop them. Mark concluded, with a slight quirk of his eyebrows, that they could probably breeze straight into a cockpit without anyone thinking twice to stop them. How qualified they were to actually fly a plane away once they’d claimed it as their own he didn’t wish to speculate but he thought they looked like they’d take it somewhere nice at least, somewhere near the sea. Or maybe somewhere near the shops. Or both? Was both too much of a dream? So lost in this reverie he became that the women found themselves exchanging a look of confusion before Monika took action.
“Sir?” she tried, an almost mischievous look in her eyes that Mark identified with.
“Sorry...I’m Mark. I’ve lost my husband,” he informed her, his mouth suddenly forming a perfect line and his previously sparkling eyes losing a dash of their shine. He and Gary had become separated soon after discovering their flight was delayed and as an oh-so-slightly stressed out Gary had stalked off towards the Gold Lounge, Mark had gotten lost in the crowd. And, if he was honest, he had been distracted by the glittering lights of the duty free shops. As he chewed his lip, the two receptionists regarded him with kind smiles. Carrie tilted her head to one side, her dark hair swishing slightly as she did so, before folding her hands on the desk. Monika pushed her keyboard to one side and rested her chin on her hand.
“Lost you say...” Carrie began.
“Yes...do you think you could...put a call out for him or something?” Mark tried. He wasn’t good at airport lingo. He didn’t often travel by air; he only had one friend overseas and Emma was usually kind enough to travel to him rather than the other way around.
“A call out...hmm, I don’t know. Have you checked the lounge?” Monika was quick to jump in and Carrie had to smother a laugh. Mark glanced into the airport’s swanky First Class lounge. Almost everything was done up in gold and turquoise and, as with the receptionists’ uniforms, there was a flight theme running through everything. Mark decided that, once he’d found Gary, he would have to come back and appreciate the richness of the lounge’s theme. A bored looking barman was wiping his bar, dressed up to the nines as a pilot, hat and all. Mark decided he would also need to devise means of getting that hat. Wouldn’t that cause a stir on their flight if he breezed into First Class with a captain’s hat on. Maybe Gary would like it...Gary!!
“He’s not here...no one’s here...” he told the receptionists. Carried nodded sadly.
“Never is...” she sighed and Monika rolled her eyes.
“There’s Gilbert,” she protested, nodding towards the bored barman.
“The funny thing is he never talks to anyone. Not a word. We’ve been working here three years. Nothing. I think he’s Turkish...or...something...” Carrie shrugged.
“Have you got a picture?” Monika asked suddenly.
“Of Gilbert?” Carrie asked, still lost in debating Gilbert’s nationality. Monika shot her an odd look before turning to Mark. Mark smiled to himself. Oh he had plenty. His new camera (a wedding present from Gary’s brother, as it happened) could store seven hundred photos at any given time. But, as he fished for it in his hand-luggage bag, he couldn’t help but wonder how many of the six hundred (at least!) photos he had taken with it were suitable to show to strangers. As he finally found it he scanned backwards, watching as the photos became progressively more useable until he found one of himself, Gary, Howard and Jason, taken as a test-shot before leaving for the honeymoon. That would do, he thought, thrusting the camera hopefully across the counter.
Monika took the camera first, narrowing her eyes at the image before raising an eyebrow.
“Is there something in the water where you live or do you just have a strong stance on ugly friends?” she asked after a moment and Mark couldn’t help but laugh, despite his missing-husband plight.
“What?” he asked her, shaking his head slightly, his hat tipping a little over his face as he did so. Carrie, meanwhile, had leant across the desk and her eyes positively lit up at the photograph.
“And which one is your husband?” she asked. Monika shot her a funny look that Mark couldn’t read so he brushed it off and shrugged.
“The blonde. The guy at the back is Howard. The one far right is Jason. They’re our friends. They’re not lost. Or I hope they’re not. Jason was for a while but that’s a different story altogether,” Mark informed them.
“I’ll take Jason please,” the women said in unison and Mark grinned.
“Everyone says that,” he told them with a chuckle and Carrie – only Carrie, mind – had the decency to blush. Monika simply laughed and nodded.
“You’re all stunning,” she told him sincerely.
“It’s ok – he’s got a ‘twinkle’ me Mam says. I think that means he’s a charmer,” Mark nodded.
“But...” Carrie put in, her tone similar to that of someone who’d just remembered some important task and feared all may be lost if she didn’t focus. Her voice almost made Monika jump. Almost.
“But! Lost things are normally in the lost and found...” Monika put in and Carrie nodded solemnly.
“Oh...” Mark said softly, casting a nervous glance at the doors to the Gold Lounge.
“We could take you there, if you like?” Carrie offered and Mark’s whole face brightened up in a millisecond. Instantly the two women sprang from their wheelie chairs (Mark HAD to ask them if they could race those later...) and began grabbing things up. Carrie produced an official-looking visibility jacket and a set of keys from under her desk whilst Monika took up two ID lanyards and a walkie-talkie. Mark couldn’t help but feel he was in for an adventure as Monika hurried him through the door, Carrie breezily calling their goodbye to Gilbert as the doors swung shut behind them.
***
“Sorry about this...” Gary said after a while of silence, shifting slightly on the old suitcase he had been using as a seat for the past ten minutes.
“Don’t be,” Zeinab told him unblinkingly, casting him a smile.
“I don’t like leaving him alone...but when I do, I have to do something to make it up to him, you know? I just wish I could come up with a song,” Gary sighed. The room was tiny but Zeinab had been kind enough to clear him out his own little corner, furnish him with a pen and paper and various bits and pieces from the Lost and Found drawers. But still he couldn’t come up with anything. He’d been tetchy all day, and that never helped with his writing. He knew he should never have taken out his edginess on Mark, Mark had done nothing to deserve it. Yet still, he’d done it and now he had to right the wrong. He didn’t like flying at the best of times but when the flight was delayed and he was having a bad day? Urgh, he couldn’t be doing with it. At least the airport staff all seemed eager to help him. Zeinab assured him that they were happy to finally have something to do.
Gary began to chew the end of his pen in frustration and Zeinab cast him an affection smile before glancing at the clock. The others would probably be here soon and she knew she ought to try and help him. She was more than willing to. He’d already asked her if she’d be his muse. She wasn’t sure what the job entailed but she’d had to agree when he’d fixed those bright blue eyes on her. Could anyone say no to those eyes? Probably not. They were such a simmering blue as could never be ignored. Gary sighed again, running a hand through his blonde hair until it stuck up at awkward angles and as she watched him, a thought occurred to her.
“Don’t move!” she instructed him, jumping up from her chair and going over to the shelf at the side of the room. The entire right side of the room was taken up by a shelving unit that housed several items of baggage that had spent so long going round the carousel in Baggage Reclaim that all but Zeinab had given up on them, multiple folders of fancy-seeming luggage labels, various boxes of airport staff’s discarded accessories and multiple collections of unusual items that, Zeinab assured him, someone would have to start to miss as some point and she’d be ready and waiting when they did. It was one such collection that she turned to now and Gary’s face lit up when he saw what she had magically conjured up.
“You are a diamond my love!” he exclaimed as she turned around, handing him a small (but perfectly workable) electronic keyboard.
“You were at a loss, so I found you something to stop that. It’s kind of my job,” she explained to him with a smile, briefly waving her airport ID lanyard at him before sitting back down in her chair, returning to entertaining herself by wrapping strands of dark brown hair around her pen and watching Gary’s thoughts race across his face. In the short time they had known each other she had been forced to conclude he had a very expressive face, with eyebrows that could quirk in more ways than she’d ever known in anyone else. His eyebrows gave away more than his mouth; which, for the most part, remained thin-lipped and straight as his mind worked overtime.
***
“How far away is Lost and Found anyway?” Mark asked after several minutes of zooming through the airport in their beeping airport buggy. As he asked this, Carrie promptly went for a spin around one of the columns of departure boards. From what Mark could tell, there was little purpose to such a diversion – though they’d had at least three – but Monika saw his look and shot him a smile.
“It looks official when we do that,” she nodded conspiratorially, tapping her nose.
“We should stop for coffee...I still think they should get a drive-through put in there,” Carrie remarked and Mark chuckled softly at them.
“Know any good sweet shops?” he asked and Carrie beamed at him.
“What else do you think we do with our time?!” she asked with a shake of her hair. He returned the smile. Mark enjoyed smiling but he didn’t often find people who shared his passion. He liked to smile at strangers to try and brighten their day but he often found they just thought he was mad. Not these two though – for some reason they were more willing to humour him.
“Talk to Gilbert?” he suggested after a moment, a glint in his eye. Both women picked up his tease instantly and laughed brightly.
“The day he learns English, I’m getting myself transferred to Terminal 3...such a miserable old devil,” Monika retorted with a pitying shake of her head.
“Can I come?” Carrie asked, a frown creasing her brow.
“Nope, you have to stay and talk to Gilbert,” Monika dead-panned, sharing a secret wink with Mark.
“If you get a new terminal then I might just have to one up you, get a new country. Somewhere by the sea this time...” Carrie mused and Monika frowned.
“Hey! No one said airport transfers were on offer!” Monika protested and Mark laughed.
“Come to Manchester with me – I’ll introduce you to Jason,” he offered.
“I’m in!” Carrie pounced before Monika had time to process the information and she pouted, briefly.
“I thought you said he hated flying...” she pointed out after a pause.
“So? He’s got nothing against airports that I know of. Though he is a funny one is Jay. Not like Gary. Gary’s pretty straight forward. Most of the time. When he’s not stressed...” Mark began.
“I love Gary,” Monika and Carrie interrupted in unison, mimicking the speech they’d heard several dozen times now. Mark blushed slightly.
“Have I said that?” he asked sweetly and Carrie glanced at him briefly before quickly turning her attention back to driving just in time to swerve away from a collision with a small child.
“Maybe one or...two or...several hundred times,” she nodded.
“Fine. But you never answered my question; how far is Lost and Found?” Mark demanded.
“Oh, it’s at the other end of the terminal. But don’t worry, it’s well worth the trip, trust us,” Monika insisted and Mark chewed his lip thoughtfully.
“Are you sure I’ll find him there?” he mumbled, coming over all doubtful once more.
“Zeinab finds everything that’s lost. And she’s very good about giving the unclaimed stuff to good homes,” Monika assured him with a wave of her hand.
“Precisely; where else do you think we got this stuff from?!” Carrie asked, tugging on her florescent jacket whilst Monika waved the walkie-talkie cheerfully.
“It’s not yours?! What if someone else claims Gary?! He is very handsome...and sweet...and kind...and I...” Mark wittered softly.
“Love Gary. We know!” Monika laughed before he could finish.
“We get first dibs on found stuff, trust me, your husband is safe,” Carrie promised.
“If Jason went missing though...” Monika began.
“Do you mention him once for every time I say I love Gary?” Mark wondered aloud.
“Yes,” Monika nodded gravely.
“Did that count as another one?” Carrie stage-whispered and Monika nodded again, turning to look at Mark with as serious an expression as she could hold.
“Jason,” she said simply with a quick nod before turning back. All three attempted to keep a straight face until suddenly the blur of a sweet shop caught their eyes.
“Sweets!” all three occupants of the airport buggy cried out at once and Carrie promptly stamped on the breaks. Before Mark had time to think, Carrie was ushering him around the shop as if he were a VIP whilst Monika stood by the buggy, muttering into her walkie-talkie in a manner which she hoped looked both dramatic and official. Although he was pretty sure Monika was either talking to white noise or a perplexed local taxi firm, he still had to admit that he could get used to this.
***
The faint sound of beeping in the distance was what alerted Zeinab to the fact that she could no longer simply sit watching Gary play the tiny plastic keyboard like it was the most expensive grand piano ever made. It was a fascinating process, she thought. If only such entertainment was on offer on a more regular basis in the lost property department. This quietly charming man, with a regional accent of dulcet tones, his gleaming eyes and his genuine interest in every she had to say was by far the most excited thing that had ever happened at this airport. It wasn’t the busiest in the country but she supposed the sense of community amongst the staff was something she shouldn’t take for granted. Still, though. Gary Barlow was a different matter entirely. He was almost what could be classified as ‘exotic’ for someone who was so rarely allowed to leave the Lost and Found.
The faint beeping sound was getting stronger and with a small sigh, Zeinab decided to warn him.
“You might want to wrap this up Gary – I think that’s the Gold Lounge buggy arriving. There’s only about three of those things in this airport and they rarely come down here unless they’re lost or looking for something,” she smiled and Gary looked up from the keyboard, blinking with mild bewilderment, like someone who’d been in a very dark room walking out into the midday sun. He glanced at the loose song words he had managed to conjure up in the time he had and bit his lip.
“Ok...where do you need me?” he asked, glancing around the tiny room. Zeinab shrugged.
“Your best bet? Under the desk,” she said with a soft laugh. Gary too found he was laughing through his instinctive grimace as Zeinab moved aside to usher him into the cramped space.
“My back will never be the same again!” was his muffled complaint as Zeinab pushed her chair back into place just in time for the Gold Lounge buggy to pull up in front of the tiny window of Lost and Found. Carrie waved cheerfully whilst Monika helped a very small gentleman from the back seat.
“He’s sweet,” Zeinab whispered and she could see Gary’s face fill with quiet pride.
“That and more,” he whispered back, just as Carrie appeared at the window.
“Ready for some play-acting my friend?” she asked softly just before Mark and Monika joined her. Zeinab gave a silent nod before turning to Mark and putting on her most official voice.
“Good evening sir, how may I help you?” she asked with a kind smile that Mark appreciated. He had to stand on tiptoe to reach the little window properly and Monika and Carrie exchanged a silent ‘Aw’ as he pulled himself up slightly by pushing his elbows against the partition.
“I’ve lost my husband,” Mark told her, his eyes plaintive. The hat had been removed now, and sat on its own on the back seat of the buggy, so Mark’s hair had begun to fall into his round, hopeful eyes.
“Husband...husband...one second,” Zeinab nodded. Carrie was struggling to hold the act whilst Monika was looking around the tiny room trying to work out where on earth Gary had been stashed.
“I love Gary,” Mark told Zeinab as she studied the shelves thoughtfully, pulling out a box and producing several left shoes which she studied then dismissed.
“That counts,” Monika informed him swiftly and Carrie smiled mischievously.
“Jason!” she exclaimed delightedly. From his place under the desk Gary had to stifle a laugh. He would have to ask Mark what that was all about later, for now he’d just feel quietly content at Mark’s insistence of his love.
Eventually, Zeinab turned from the shelves and, with a great show realisation dawning, looked back at Mark with a thoughtful smile.
“About so high?” she asked, waving a hand to indicate Gary’s height.
“Yes!” Mark nodded eagerly.
“Blonde hair sticking up at some very strange angles?” Zeinab clarified and Mark let out an affectionate chuckle before nodding once more.
“Probably,” he agreed and Zeinab narrowed her eyes.
“Very crisp very blue...” she began.
“Eyes! Yes!” Mark interrupted and Zeinab smiled broadly.
“Then we might just have something,” she nodded, going over to her desk and bending down.
“Gary?!” Mark called hopefully and, sure enough, a familiar face popped up from under the desk.
“Evening!” Gary replied cheerfully and Carrie nodded very seriously.
“Everything turns up in Lost and Found,” she intoned and Monika laughed before pulling them back just enough so they could pretend they weren’t listening.
“I thought I’d lost you,” Mark said dolefully, sad that Gary hadn’t reached across to hug him through the tiny window of the Lost and Found office. Gary smiled at him, tilting his head to one side.
“Ah, but you see Markie, there’s not much in life that is ever really lost,” he replied.
“That’s not true...lost money?” Mark offered but Gary shook his head.
“Someone spent it on something. It’s not lost, it’s just been given to someone else,” Gary said.
“Ok, pets?” Mark offered, his heart lifting at the sight of a challenge.
“Pets are living things Markie, they could wander any which way they like without letting their owners know,” Gary told him and Mark frowned slightly.
“Husbands?” he asked slowly and Gary gave him a lopsided smile.
“Get stressed sometimes,” he admitted guiltily.
“Love?” Mark asked quietly, perhaps a little nervously.
“Lost love...well that’s just an oxymoron,” Gary shrugged. Mark raised an eyebrow.
“Are you calling me funny names Barlow?” he pouted, but the shine in his eyes suggested to Gary that he knew full well what Gary had really meant. Gary rolled his eyes playfully.
“What I mean Markie, is that I don’t think there’s any such thing. You can always love someone, wherever they are and whatever they’re doing. You don’t lose love, ever. Not even when you think you have. After all, you found me didn’t you?” he asked, leaning across the small gap between them. Mark mirrored the action, narrowing his eyes with thought.
“Well yes...but I had to lose you first,” he countered. Gary shook his head, their noses almost brushing as he did so.
“But did you? I think you just...misplaced me slightly. And isn’t that all that really ever happens to love?” Gary offered and Mark’s smile grew a little.
“Oh?” he asked, tilting his head playfully. Their lips were almost meeting now.
“We're a thousand miles apart but you know I love you,
Everything changes but you,
You know that every single day I'll be thinking about you...” Gary sang quietly, watching with delight as Mark’s whole face came to life.
“That’s new...” he began but Gary shook his head.
“Nah, not really. It’s been true for quite some time. Just never had a melody for it before,” he shrugged and Mark laughed before pressing a lingering kiss to Gary’s lips.
“I love you,” he whispered. Gary’s lips almost moved to reply but a sound from behind distracted them both.
“JASON!” Carrie and Monika cried in unison, almost jumping with childish glee.
“It counts,” Monika promised as an afterthought and with that, the entire group burst out laughing, adding a touch of warmth to Lost and Found that Zeinab thought was much needed. It was only as Gary and Mark were whisked off into the distance by the Gold Lounge buggy that she even thought to wonder if she could get the sign above her office changed simply to ‘Misplaced’.