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Twenty Hours After I Didn’t
‘I’m sorry, I’m afraid this ticket has been reallocated,’ said the woman at the airline desk.
‘What do you mean reallocated?’ Audrey asked.
‘I mean the cardholder who purchased the tickets has paid to reallocate the seat to a different passenger name.’
Josh was taking someone else on their honeymoon?
‘Who’s he taking? Who’s it been reallocated to?’ she asked, tapping her finger against the desk.
‘I can’t give you that information, I’m afraid, since you are not the cardholder.’ The woman gave Audrey a sympathetic look. ‘I do have space on the flight if you’d like to purchase a new ticket?’
Audrey bought a new ticket on a credit card and tried not to think about the expense.
Walking towards security, she kept her eyes peeled for Josh. Who would he be taking? Paul? Paul would surely have given her a heads-up first. Miranda had to be the most likely candidate. Miranda was probably not her biggest fan right now, what with Audrey kissing her date and breaking her brother’s heart, all in the same evening. If there was anyone who was going to help broker a reconciliation, she didn’t think it was going to be Miranda. What if it was Harriet? What if she’d somehow muscled her way in and offered herself up as a shoulder to cry on?
Hillary and Clara had both volunteered to come with her and lend moral support, but as much as Audrey had been grateful for all their help yesterday, this was something she needed to do on her own.
She didn’t see Josh at the gate, and it was only when she was sitting on the plane that her confidence in her plan began to wobble. Mainly because the plan had only been thought through as far as ‘get on the plane to Ibiza’. She literally hadn’t thought beyond that. Not having a plan was usually her raison d’être, but in this situation, she felt a plan was probably required.
Firstly, she needed to check that Josh was actually on this plane, that he hadn’t changed his mind about going. So, as soon as the flight attendant said ‘boarding complete’, she jumped out of her seat to go and peep through the curtain into business class. Audrey only got halfway up the aisle before she was ushered back with a firm smile by a female flight attendant.
‘If you could take your seat please now, miss.’
Audrey shuffled back to her seat feeling foolish. The red-headed man next to her, turned to her with a panicked expression.
‘Were you trying to get off the plane? Are you scared of flying? Do you think there’s something wrong with this plane?’
‘No, not at all. I’m so sorry,’ she said, and then realised she’d grabbed his arm rather than the seat rest. ‘I’m fine with flying; I doubt there’s anything wrong with the plane. I’m just a little on edge – long story.’
‘I’m Clive,’ said the man, offering her his hand. He had bright red hair, freckly skin, and a warm, paunchy face. ‘I am afraid of flying, so sorry if I get a little jittery when we take off.’ Looking again at Clive, she saw his brow was beading with sweat. ‘I get worried about the engine noises.’
The aeroplane made a noise and Clive flinched.
‘I’m sorry. You’ll be fine, I think statistically you’re more likely to die at a waterpark or something.’
‘Really?’ Clive looked hopeful.
‘Maybe it was a boating accident or a car crash? I’m not helping, am I? Is there anything I can do?’ Audrey asked.
‘Your long story might be a welcome distraction.’
That’s how Audrey ended up telling a man she’d just met about the events of the last forty-eight hours. She told him all about Fred, about the bad omen bat and the reverend having a heart attack. She told him about the bride jumping off the cake and the band playing ‘Singing in the Rain’ and Fred kissing her in the photo booth in front of Josh. She explained that her almost-husband was sitting up in business class with someone else, she didn’t know who, and she’d bought a new ticket to try and win him back.
As Clive became more and more absorbed by her story, he’d started to look more relaxed about the engine noises, and by the end he appeared perfectly serene.
‘Well, Audrey, as I’m hearing it, you know what you want now,’ said Clive, patting her hand gently on the armrest. ‘I think the key to seeking forgiveness is giving up on the hope that the past could have been any different. You have to accept what has been in order to become.’
Audrey did a double take. Was she was sitting next to the male Oprah?
‘Excuse me. I couldn’t help but overhear all that,’ said the middle-aged women on Clive’s left. ‘But this is the most outlandish story I’ve ever heard.’
Clive and Audrey both turned to the woman. ‘No one has that much bad luck on one wedding day.’
‘Well it all happened.’ Audrey shrugged. ‘I guess it does sound kind of crazy now that I’m saying it out loud.’
‘Go and see if he’s up there. We need to know how this ends,’ said the woman. ‘I’m Elena, by the way.’
