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When she walked through the doors at the train station, she breathed a sigh relief. Instead of checking the board for the next train, she went to the bathroom to freshen up. She couldn’t imagine what she looked like after every mishap she encountered trying to get there.
At the mirror, she cleaned her face and reapplied her tinted moisturizer before running a brush through her hair. With her head held high, she went into the lobby and looked at the board, scanning each time for the next train into the city.
Someone bumped into her, almost knocking her off her feet. She looked at the offender, who at the same time, apologized to her. Caroline’s chest tightened and her mouth dropped open as recognition washed over her. It was Speed. Once she regained her composure, she shook her head.
“You can all stop laughing at me now. I’m leaving, and I don’t want to see Dune again. Ever.”
“What are you talking about? Who’s laughing at you?” Speed asked.
Caroline rolled her eyes and while simultaneously holding back tears. “I know I’m the tourist of the week. Well, I guess month because I’m still here. Or was. But I’m gone now so he can go back to his ways.”
“Look, Caroline, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Seriously? You’re like his best friend. Are you going to stand there and act like he isn’t the town playboy?”
Speed opened his mouth to say something, but then thought better of it. Caroline smirked knowingly. Bryant had been right, and as much as she didn’t want to believe it, Speed’s facial expression spoke volumes.
“Anyway, if he sent you here to stop me, you can forget it. I’m leaving. My vacation’s over.”
She turned back to the reader board and checked when the next train to New York would be, and then made her way over to the ticket counter.
Speed followed her.
Caroline turned to face him. “Does he send you down here to scope out unsuspecting women as they get off the train? Where’s Wilson? Does he stand on the street corner or is that reserved for Dune?”
“I think you have things all wrong,” Speed said as he held his hands up. “You need to speak to Dune. Let him tell you everything. I’ll go get him.”
“No, I don’t think I do. Everything is crystal clear. Dune is a player and I’ve been played. You can tell him I’m ending the game. He won. Now he’s free to move on to his next flavor of the week. Maybe the next one won’t stay around for a month, and he’ll have a bit more fun than he had with me.”
She stepped forward in line and ignored Speed. By the time it was her turn, she was ready to get the hell out of Seaport. Dune had ruined her vacation.
“One way to Grand Central,” she told the clerk. Caroline handed her credit card over and waited for her ticket to be printed. Once it was in her hand, she turned, and half expected to find Speed there, but he was gone. It was for the best. The fight was out of her, and she didn’t have it in her to keep going.
Caroline went to the café, ordered a sandwich and a drink, and then sat down to wait. And wait. By the time her number was called for her food, she felt like she had a pit in her stomach. After the first bite, she wanted to throw up. Had she made the right decision for her? Was she thinking logically?
Of course, she was. There wasn’t anything in Seaport for her. Her time there had run its course. Her life was in the city, where she would live and work, and probably marry some corporate lawyer whose father knows her father. All of this would happen in three years, and then in five, she’d be a mother. One who would probably give up her career to raise a family. She didn’t agree with that, but in her circle of friends and family, it’s what would happen. She wanted to work, earn her own money, and be something in the corporate world. Or wherever she ended up. Maybe she would open her own company, be an entrepreneur, or use some of her savings to invest in a start-up.
The PA system announced the arrival of her train. She stood, threw her garbage away, and made her way to the platform, with the rest of the people heading toward the city. By nightfall, she’d be in her new place, listening to honking horns, loud people, and sirens. Gone would be the peaceful nights, the sound of the ocean echoing through the darkness, and the stars. Those didn’t exist in the city. Neither did nights by the fireplace or the smell of salt water, a scent she didn’t know she loved until now.
