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She kept up her vigil at Gate Nine, her eyes glued to the arrivals board, waiting. And waiting.
She wasn’t even sure she was waiting in the right place and if she wasn’t—if she wasn’t, she’d just about run out of options.
It had seemed such a wonderful idea, to go to Boston and meet Chase as he arrived. She’d pictured his face, when he saw her waiting for him; she’d imagined running to him and having his arms close around her.
Halfway to Logan Airport, it had occurred to her that she had no idea what airline Chase was flaying.
Her foot had eased off the accelerator. Maybe she should go back.
Back? To pace from one room to another? To go crazy as she waited? No. She couldn’t do that. That was why she’d thrown on jeans, sneakers and a T-shirt in the first place, and dashed to her car. She needed to be doing something, or she’d go crazy.
She had to see Chase the minute he stepped off the plane, had to fly into his arms and tell him she had never stopped loving him.
So she’d stepped down, hard, on the pedal again.
By the time she’d reached the airport, she’d had a plan. Well, a plan of sorts.
She’d gone to the first information desk she saw.
“Excuse me,” she’d said politely, “but could you tell me what flights are coming in this evening from Puerto Rico?”
“What airline?” the clerk had asked, and Annie had smiled and said, unfortunately, she really didn’t know what airline. Was that a problem?
It was, but not an insurmountable one. Annie knew the time Chase’s New York-bound flight had boarded. If he’d managed to get himself ticketed on a flight to Boston instead, it would have to have gone out sometime after that.
That narrowed things down a bit. the clerk said.
There were only three possible flights Chase could have taken. They were on three different airlines, and they came in minutes apart. Annie’s plan, therefore was simple. She’d wait for the first flight and if Chase wasn’t one of the deplaning passengers, she’d rush to the next gate and wait again. If necessary, she’d do the same thing a third time.
“Good luck,” the clerk had called, as Annie had hurried away.
The plan had seemed logical.
Now, she was beginning to wonder.
Flight one had arrived and disgorged what had looked like a full load of passengers.
Chase had not been among them.
Annie had hurried to the next gate. She’d gotten there out of breath, but with two minutes to spare before the door had opened and the arriving passengers had started streaming into the terminal.
She’d watched faces, standing on tiptoe, keeping her fingers crossed and silently chanting Chase’s name like a mantra, but it hadn’t helped. The last travelers walked into the terminal but he wasn’t among them, either. Now she was at the final gate, waiting for the third and last plane.
What if Chase wasn’t on it?
Annie’s hands began to tremble. She thrust them deep into the pockets of her jacket.
Maybe he hadn’t been able to change his flight plans. Planes could be sold out. You couldn’t just change your plans at the last minute and assume you could get a ticket.
For all she knew, Chase might be landing in New York at this very minute. He might be phoning her, and reaching her answering machine again. It was late; he’d know she’d be home at this hour of the night.
When she didn’t take the call, would he assume she’d gotten his message and wasn’t interested?
Annie chewed on her lip.
There was another possibility she hadn’t even considered until now. Chase could have hung up the phone and suddenly realized that it would be easier if he flew to Bradley Airport, in Hartford. He might be on his way to her house right now. What if he got there and banged on the door? What if she wasn’t there to answer?
Would he think she was out, with Milton Hoffman? Would he think she’d gotten his message and didn’t want to see him?
“Oh God,” she whispered, “please, please, please...”
God didn’t seem to be listening. The last few stragglers had emerged from the ramp that led to the plane.
Chase wasn’t one of them.
Tears spilled down Annie’s cheeks.
Maybe the simple truth was that he’d changed his mind.
A sob burst from her throat. A couple standing nearby looked at her curiously. She knew how she must look, in her ratty outfit, with her hair all curly and wild from the rain and now with tears coursing down her face, but she didn’t care.
Nothing mattered, now that she’d lost Chase a second time.
She turned, jammed her hands into her pockets and started walking.
“Annie?”
What fools they’d been, the two of them. So in love, and so unable to connect about the things that really mattered.
