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“Have you ever been on an airplane?”
Dune looked at her. “Nope. My family runs a tourist destination. We rarely left the island.”
“Huh, I guess I never thought to ask if you've traveled.”
“Does it make a difference?”
Caroline smiled and nodded. “Only in the sense there are a million places I want to show you.”
“Someday.” Dune reached for her hand and gripped it. He didn’t want to let her go. Not in any sense of the word. He immediately regretted not taking his boat. On the water was where he felt the most comfortable. Not in a stuffy box car, with houses and trees flying by him. He couldn’t smell the air or watch the clouds move overhead.
After a bit, Dune stood and stretched. He saw people ahead of them walking down the aisle. “Where are they going?” he asked Caroline, who careened over the seat to look.
“Probably to the food cart.”
Food.
“Wanna go?” Dune needed to move about before the anxiety of being boxed in did a number on his psyche. He didn’t want to go without Caroline though. He didn’t like the idea of leaving her there.
Caroline put her magazine in the seatback pocket in front of her and scooted to the aisle seat before standing. She walked in front of him, which he was thankful for because she knew how to navigate the train car.
As they made their way to the meal car, he told himself he needed to travel by something other than car or boat. He felt out of place, not knowing the basics. Dune tried not to compare himself to Caroline, but his efforts to curb those thoughts failed when the train swerved, and he fell into someone while everyone around him stayed upright.
“Shit, sorry,” Dune mumbled to the passenger. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“Are you okay?” Caroline asked. She placed her hand on his arm and helped Dune regain his footing. Utter embarrassment didn’t begin to describe how he felt. As much as he wanted to shake off Caroline’s hand, he didn’t.
“I’m fine,” he grumbled, trying to keep his tone civil. This wasn’t her fault, it was his, but he couldn’t help but feel angry at her.
Caroline held Dune’s hand, which made it awkward to walk down the narrow aisle way. He continued to bump into chairs, mumbling an apology each time it happened. When they finally reached the meal car, he sat down at the first available table.
“Are you okay?”
He shook his head.
Her soft caress on his bicep soothed him more than he thought it would. “We should’ve taken the boat.”
“We would’ve had to leave much earlier, and I wanted to give you more time in Seaport.”
“I appreciate that. Do you feel sick?” she asked. “Sometimes, watching the scenery will cause motion sickness.”
“No, it’s the fact that I can’t walk straight and keep bumping into people.”
“They understand. They can’t walk straight either. It’s not you,” she told him. “It’s the train, the size of the boxcar, the speed, and that whole centripetal force thing.”
Dune laughed at her cuteness in explaining the motion of the train. He leaned toward her and kissed her. “Thank you for making me feel better.”
“It’s my job.”
“Is it now?”
Caroline nodded. “Yes, as your girlfriend, it’s my job to make sure you’re comfortable.”
“And what’s my job as your boyfriend?”
“To always love me.” She smiled brightly and blushed.
He leaned toward her again and kissed her longer. “Loving you is the easiest thing I’ll ever do.”
epilogue
As much as Dune hated the long distance, it was better than the alternative of not being with Caroline. There was a laundry list of things he hated, including not being able to touch her whenever he wanted. Not being able to see her whenever he wanted outside of video chatting. Her work hours or his—they both had hours that sucked, except his were getting better.
Caroline had been gone for two months. They saw each other every other weekend with mostly Dune going to the city. He hated it, much like he thought he would. The congestion, the air stifled him, and overall, the city felt dirty to him. He only went because he loved Caroline so much and was determined to make their relationship work.
Although, he hadn't a clue what would happen come summer when his schedule went to seven days a week from sunrise to bedtime. He had a company to run, which during the busy season didn't really care that his girlfriend lived five hours away.
Dune had taken the boat over once and vowed to never do it again unless it was his parent's yacht and he and Caroline had plans to be on it the entirety of his visit. He hadn't planned well, and they cut their trip short due to time constraints.
Caroline's mode of transportation was the train. She didn't own a car and had no desire to buy one since living in the city was already expensive and she didn't want to pay an exorbitant parking fee. Flying wasn't really an option because of the high cost associated with the smaller aircraft. With that, Dune went to New York more than Caroline returned to Seaport.
