The Last Option
Chapter Sixty-Six: Some Fun

Bernard barely had time to get to the hotel and save the gift for Phil, immediately going back downstairs and finding Rebecca and Bernadette in the hotel lobby, waiting for him. "Wow!" he exclaimed in surprise. "You guys are punctual."

"We don't want to miss out on the fun," Rebecca said. "Come on, they are coming to look for us."

"Look for us?" asked Bernard, puzzled.

"Yes, I already reserved our positions with the people who do. They already had the quotas for the day covered, but I convinced them to do a special activity for us." "And how did you do that?"

"How do you think?" Rebecca winked, something mischievous.

"Enough, Rebecca," Bernadette intervened. "She just gave them more than it cost, Bernard. Don't listen to her, sometimes she brags about her money."

"Well, if you don't take advantage of it when you have it, why do you have it?" "What? Are you some kind of millionaire or something?" asked Bernard suspiciously. "Something like that, but let's no talk about that now. The transport has arrived."

The skydiving company vehicle arrived and was boarded. Bernard was glad to have used his real name, since when they arrived at the hangar where the team and the plane were waiting for them, they verified their names with their passports and gave them the green light. Half an hour later they were taking off. Despite it being his first time, Bernard was relatively calm.

But his tranquility did not last long, because when they were in the heights and it was time to make the jump, he got a little restless. They were flying at thirteen thousand feet, and before jumping, the leader of the team of instructors invited them to enjoy the view. They flew first over the sand dunes and then over the so-called "Palm Jumeirah", an impressive artificial island built on the coast of Dubai in the shape of a date palm tree and which was simply incredible to look at. "After this we'll go there," Rebecca said aloud, seeing the impression the island had made on Bernard.

"I'd like to," Bernard agreed. "It's truly amazing."

"And the food is the best," Bernadette said. "You'll love it."

The team leader and his two assistants began to prepare everything and then attached their safety harnesses to theirs and the moment to launch had arrived. Bernadette was a little nervous but she was finally the first to jump together with her instructor, then Rebecca followed her and finally Bernard, who had managed to calm down a bit, enjoying the experience to the fullest. The feeling of falling into the void was indescribable, finally liking the adrenaline rush he felt while doing so. It was really exciting.

Once on the ground, the three looked happy and pleased to have done it. Rebecca and Bernadette looked in a very good mood and were talking to each other excitedly. Bernard thought that he should start his sick act now, remembering the detailed description of the illness that Phil had sent him. A shot of adrenaline like that could generate some symptoms in his affected organs. Would it be the right time? He thought so. So he would start. He feigned sudden dizziness and sought support from his jump instructor, who was methodically picking up the parachute. Sensing it, the instructor immediately grabbed it.

"Are you alright, friend?" asked the instructor.

"What's wrong, Bernard?" Bernadette asked, who was the first to go to see what was wrong with him. "You feel good?"

Rebecca also went to his side but didn't say anything; she knew the reason for that symptom in Bernard.

"It's nothing," Bernard said, pretending to compose and thanking the man who caught him.

"It must have been a lot of emotion," Rebecca said, trying to give Bernard an excuse to hide his illness from Bernadette.

"Yes, that must have been it," Bernard agreed. "I'm fine."

Bernard thought that Rebecca's idea of hiding his illness from Bernadette was a good one and therefore supported her comment. It was clear to him that she would take advantage of the secret and possibly use it to her advantage for whatever she was planning.

"I feel very excited too," Bernadette said without suspecting anything.

"But not enough to make you dizzy, right?" Bernard said. "Sometimes I let myself be affected by everything."

"Don't worry, it's normal," Rebecca said, finishing taking off her safety harness. "I am also a little affected by emotion."

"Are you sure you're okay, man?" the instructor asked again. "In my years doing this very few people have been affected. You should go to a doctor to check that everything is ok."

"I'm fine. Thank you very much for worrying."

Upon hearing that, Bernadette's intuition began to tell her that something was probably not right with her friend. She would wait for the right moment to discreetly ask him if he had no health problems. On the surface he looked good, but you never know. Besides, it would be the perfect opportunity to get closer to him and win over him little by little. She had to be quick and determined, since it was already clear that Rebecca was starting to work to stay with him.

At that precise moment, Bernard's cell phone issued a message alert and he took it out of his pants pocket, checked the message and suddenly his face became somewhat gloomy, but he immediately recovered again. Rebecca and Bernadette caught his sudden change in attitude and both glanced at each other briefly.

"Bad news?" Rebecca asked, being the first to react.

"No, it's nothing. They only notify me of an unimportant incident in the company", Bernard put his cell phone back in his pocket.

"If it doesn't matter, then why are they notifying you?" asked Bernadette. "Are you sure everything is ok?"

"Yes, everything is fine. Come on, I want to go to that palm tree. What is it called? Jumeini?"

"Jumeirah," Rebecca said with a smile and trying to play the whole thing down. "I'm starving. Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm dying to eat something," Bernard said. "I thought you had already had lunch. I didn't have time."

"I haven't eaten anything either", Bernadette said.

"Well, let's go, I'll take care of everything," Bernard invited them. "I also wanted to pay for this, but since Rebecca paid for it."

"It was nothing," Rebecca took him by the hand and they began to walk towards the transport that was waiting for them. Bernadette gritted her teeth at the sight and followed them in silence.

On the way they convinced the driver, with a small tip, of course, to take them to the Palm Jumeirah instead of Bernard's hotel, and in less than half an hour they were there. Bernard could not help but be impressed with each new thing he saw and this place was not going to be the exception. It was really spectacular, he still hadn't gotten used to the idea that everything was artificial.

"I'm going to drop you off at the Palm Jumeirah Boardwalk," the driver told them. "There you can eat everything and very tasty, unless you want to go to one of the fancy restaurants."

"It will be fine there, thanks," Rebecca said with a wave of her hand. "I'm tired of restaurants for rich people, I don't know if you think the same."

"Yes, of course, as if you weren't," Bernadette said amidst laughter. "You don't want to pretend you're not snooty now."

"Well, sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone", said Rebecca.

"Please don't come with that! It would be the first time you do it! And besides, getting out of your comfort zone refers to something else, not pretending to be poor for a few hours." "The only thing I know is that I'm starving," Bernard said, cutting off the girls' discussion. How much longer to get there?"

"We have already arrived," said the driver. "I'll leave you near the best trucks."

They all agreed and the driver dropped them off in the middle of the suggested boardwalk. There were plenty of food trucks and it didn't take long for them to pick one. Bernard thought as he ate a sawarra that it was the first time he had made it directly in the place where they were created. He smiled slightly as he continued eating.

Rebecca turned to look at him from time to time, trying to make their eyes meet, but Bernard tried not to when he realized it. On the other hand, Bernadette continued immersed in her food, despite the fact that she had already been working in Dubai for a few years, she did not cease to be surprised by each new experience that she lived there, and for the first time since she had arrived she was seriously thinking about having a love relationship with someone, and that someone would be Bernard, she had already decided. For her, he was the man she was looking for: hardworking, with personality, well planted and apparently with good feelings. She wanted deep inside herself not to be wrong about him and, if she was right in her appreciation, it wouldn't be fair to leave him to Rebecca, who would surely try to win him over for his money and not for him, hurting him in the future.

Apparently, a real war was coming for him.