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Where might Ira have gone to?

What was really the reason why she had to run away from everything , all of it was going exactly per  "THE PLAN" ,  and " THE PLAN" was after all the only thing that she had relied on to keep her life going just as she wanted it to. Mr. Holloway had no clue whatsoever , none ... nothing came to his mind at all ...... he just stood there , blank faced and blank of mind ...... staring at the room of his littler girl who was all grown up now .... the doors and windows wide open , looking over their big green backyard where she had grown up playing all year through.

The cupboards were open too , not much was out of place in that room even now ..... her clothes were neatly stacked almost grouped by color or shade ..... shirts,weaters and tops on one side , the dresses ,coats and trousers on the other. All her things from when she was 17, and had moved out were still in place  ...... ,He looked into the cupboard and thought " Ohh she kept that sweater !! And she brought it back with her! I know she didn't like it one bit but how sweet my Ira is ....."  , soon as Mr. Holloway felt this thought going through his head , he felt his heart fill up with love. But he thought of his wife next , as he looked at the big garment bag hanging on the Cupboard door...... there was a hint of worry on his face now .

" Nora is going to faint right on the phone if I call her and tell her that Ira is gone . No , I mustn't share this over the phone . Ohh , Nora why are you so high on drama , Ira takes after you and look , look what has come of it !!!" Mr. Holloway didn't even realise that he was now talking out loud , till he noticed Jay looking at him half concerned and half about to ask him a question .

" Ohh I am sorry Jay , this is a tab bit much for even me and all too sudden, you must excuse my nerves. I may claim to be young at heart but these two women , the loves of my life ... my daughter and my wife are  not easy to be around , my nerves are not what they used to be. Thank you so much for not spilling the beans on my daughter's , well whatever this is , whatever she has gotten into this time .... back at the Hotel, in front of my wife! "

Jay was thin, slightly above average in height, had greasy yet well kept hair , his square spectacles made his square jaw stand out even more ..... but his kind eyes gave his face a very appealing quality . Appealing not like a good looking movie actor is, but appealing like the stranger you might bump into on the subway , and would feel absolutely comfortable sharing all your troubles with . For a young man of 28 , Jay looked much younger , may be that is why Mr. Holloway couldn't take him as seriously as Jay wanted him to . The fact that Jay was always dressed in khaki's , a suspender and bright shirts , with sneakers on , probably also didn't help.

Jay was a sharp contrast to Mr. Holloway , he called him Mr. T , short for Theodore . Mr Theodore Holloway , looked exactly like Jay had imagined he would , before he first met him 11 years ago . Mr. Holloway was a smart looking man of 60 now. He had a thick head of peppered hair , more salt than pepper if one were to be precise . He had small deep set , sympathetic eyes , the lines or the lack of them, on his face told you that he came from affluence. The perpetual natural tan gave him an air of someone who was well travelled. There were quite a few soft lines around his mouth , wrinkles around his eyes were still not quite there but you could make them out when he would laugh or smile big. Mr. Holloway liked to dress up crisp, at all times of the day. Even after his retirement , which was more self imposed than necessary, he always was well dressed no matter what time of day one were to drop in on the Holloway household. His face looked wise and he always spoke of the world like he knew it just so well and the world knew him ,like an old friend . Nothing was too much , or a surprise for Mr Holloway usually . He was a man of many words, a man of wisdom and of immense patience .

If Mr. Theodore looked like the frazzled man he did right now , it usually meant that either his wild, excitable daughter Ira or his beautiful and overzealous wife Nora had gotten some idea in their heads that they were for all intents and purposes hell bent on pursuing , much to the chagrin of Mr. Holloway.  Jay remembered how for the 16th Birthday of Ira , both Nora and Ira had decided to have homeless people invited to the restaurant where the celebration was planned to take place. Which of course meant Mr. Holloway had to make it happen by talking the restaurant into allowing homeless people to dine at their establishment and by rounding up enough homeless people from the shelter next to the church. Jay almost felt sorry for Mr. Holloway back then , and he felt just as bad for himself now.

Jay though to himself , " How life comes full circle sometimes, like Ira says."
"Oh , I understand Mr. T , it's absolutely normal to feel .... ahhh a little overwhelmed, given what has happened. I knew Mrs. Holloway would take it too hard , so I got you out of the house and brought you straight here to see if you could perhaps make any sense of this. I am not sure if we should be worried , I mean its Ira and she sometimes likes to push our buttons by pulling these disappearances doesn't she ?" And then he answered his question with just as much strain in his voice ....." Ohh , I dunno what shall we do now Mr. T ? I have been trying Ira's phone since last evening , and its switched off . " Jay said , as he looked around the room again to see if he could somehow figure out where Ira might be from what was in her bedroom.

Mr Holloway pursed his lips together and closed his eyes as though about to laugh , he was tired and with a deep breath he said sharply  , " Jay, well I warned you when you walked into our house holding her hand more than a decade ago . I told you , she is like a bright , beautiful flame ..... you can't hold her , you will want to , but you can't . That's how Nora was , I don't know how I have managed to keep that woman from running away for good , because there have been times when she came this close to leaving me and little Ira behind wanting to save the poor in Africa , or research and write her book on the Pyramids in Egypt , or to go protest against the government when Wall street ate all our collective money. I don't have half the passion that these two have in their little toes , but I love them to bits . My fate was sealed the moment I kissed Nora under the tropical sun of Saint Martin 3 decades ago.... you fool you had a chance to save yourself , but no , teenage and all those hormones screwed you over my boy. And here we are ...... the wedding party is paid for , the caterers , the flowers, the wedding planner , the outfits , the hotel all done , 1 Groom all set but short of a bride." Soon as he said these words, Mr. Holloway smirked and shrugged his shoulders and also realised this was not the time to make Jay feel small , this boy had for the better part of more than a decade loved and cared for her daughter , through all of her propensity for drama and he was practically family already. Mr. Holloway couldn't always tell if Jay was really upset or just bracing himself for what was to come.

Jay looked more pale than he usually did , he was almost about to turn and walk away and then he changed his mind.He paused for a moment and then as gaily as he could he said , " Mr T. , I have loved Ira for who she is , her spirit , her mind or sometimes the absence of it , her raging fits of temper , even higher peaks of joy. I know you think I am not mature enough to handle a woman like her , but you have your way and I have mine . I mean for the love of all things sane , I don't understand how can you laugh right now. I never asked her to marry me because I knew she would ask herself if she wanted to and thats exactly what happened , she asked me to marry her....... how could I have said NO!!. Would you have , to Mrs. Holloway back in your day? We are lucky the two of us Mr T. ...... I just need to figure this one out , more than ever . I am sure this is supposed to be something she planned with the wedding in her mind ..... there have to have been hints she dropped or clues she hid . I am worried as heck but I still feel butterflies in my stomach. Am I going crazy Mr. T ??? " ...... Jay looked down right worried again .
Mr. Holloway though to himself , " His goose is cooked. I better help this poor chap." 

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