AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ava
I can’t remember the last time I’ve driven home this late. I’m supposed to be at work in five hours. Yet, here I still am behind the wheel, slowly making my way through every green light from the freeway down the back roads to my apartment building. After parking on the street and getting out of the car, I stand on the curb and just breathe. I look up at the sky between the leaves on the trees and go over again in my mind the events that got me here. That’s when I notice the light from our living room still on in the window.
My key doesn’t hardly have time to enter the lock and the door opens from the other side. “Did you forget you have a cell phone? Dios mio.”
I sigh and drop my arms. “I’m sorry. We talked for a long time. I sort of got lost.”
”Is that all that got lost?”
“Fucking hell, Sylvia!” I brush past her, ignoring the question.
“I’m serious. You better have got some if you’re rolling in here at two in the morning on a school night.”
“No. We did not have sex. That’s not to say I wouldn’t have said yes if the subject would have come up.”
“And the truth shall set you free,” Sylvia exclaims.
“Truth. You want truth? Okay.” I toss my purse to the floor beneath the breakfast bar and kick my sandals off one by one about the same time. “He asked me to go away with him.”
All three small thuds could not cover up Sylvia’s reaction.
“Stop it. Stop. It. He did not. You’re lying.”
“I’m not. We finished dinner, went into the backyard of where he’s staying, and he told me he was going on vacation. Rafael asked me to go. I think he was afraid to say it and I was equally afraid of giving him an answer.”
“Oh shit.” My best friend backs up against the wall, seemingly for moral support. “What did you say?”
“I did the responsible thing.”
She hides her face with her hand. “Noooo,” she whines. “Tell me you didn’t.”
I hold up one finger. “I told him I’d need to join him in a couple days, because I couldn’t just walk away from my commitments.”
“There’s my girl,” Sylvia hollers as she fist pumps the air like she just scored a hat trick. “Do you know where you’re going? Do you know what you’re doing? I mean…I hope I know what you’re doing.”
I shove her shoulder while I nervously giggle. “I’m not going to try to lay too many expectations on it. He said he’d send an airline ticket for me. I said I didn’t need him to, and then he’d pick me up at the airport.”
“Why not? Make me jealous. Where are you going?”
“Turks and Caicos.”
Sylvia takes a step back with her mouth open. “The irony of that…”
“I know. Trust me.” I push up onto the stool above my abandoned shoes, resting my head in my hand. It hits me again. The beauty of the island I was supposed to spend my honeymoon with, I will now spend with a fantasy of a man who might fill my heart…or break it. Either way, I need to find out
Forty-eight hours.
I’m trying to remember a time where I did as much as I did in the last forty-eight for just myself. I messaged Aaron late at night to gauge when or if I could leave. I told him that I needed a week and I could be available when needed. I was afraid he would say no because I’d just taken a long weekend.
I’m so grateful he didn’t ask any questions. He told me he knew if I was asking, then it must be important. Not only that, but I had the week saved for my honeymoon that I was no longer using. He might think that’s part of it. I have no problem with letting him. It’s much better than trying to explain something to him I can’t even understand myself.
After resetting my calendar, I made a hair and nail appointment after work the next day. I know Rafael just saw me, but I want to be the best, most confident me I can be for me. Allowing that pampering was a real gift. I sat in the chair and felt my hair being washed, brushed, color touched up, and blown out. Then transferring to the nail chair where I focused on my hands. I imagined what they would look like holding his. That guided my natural color choice.
My packing was done the night before so I could go right from the office to the airport and walk onto my flight. I arrive at the airport with little time to spare. I’m so thankful for the precheck so I can fly through security at one of the busiest airports in the country. They must have thought I was mad running from security to the gate in my socks. I had five minutes to spare to get my water bottle filled and get the shoes back on to walk down the jetway.
The other treat I allowed myself was to sit just behind first class with a bit of extra room to sleep. I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I didn’t care if we had a two-hour layover in Miami. I message Rafael as I walk over the threshold of the plane and quickly swap my service to airplane mode. I promised him I’d check in so he’d know I was okay, likely also to know I was still coming.
As I slide my phone into the pocket of my jacket, I look for my seat in the seventh row. I can see the head of someone in the middle seat and an empty aisle. I always like the window and I don’t know why, but I always feel guilty when I need to ask someone to move so I can have a prayer of not feeling claustrophobic midair.
