Page 52 of Charming
“It won’t make up for it. But, I will take your help because I’m out of options.” He nods and removes a messenger bag from his body. He pulls a computer out of the bag and pulls up the airline once he connects to the internet. His phone begins ringing and with a look at me, I know without him saying who’s on the other end. “Hello? Hey man. Yeah, I’m sorry, I’m running late. No! No, it’s not cancelled, I’ll be there in a few minutes. I know, but you promised because we need to deal with this whether you like it or not. Okay. Good. I’ll be there soon.” He hangs up and his fingers fly over the keyboard once more. “There’s a flight in a couple hours.”
“Okay, that works.”
He turns the computer to me and I book my ticket. While I grab the rest of my things, he calls the concierge and gets me a taxi ride to the airport. All packed up, I look around the room and my heart aches at the thought of leaving, but I have to. This was never going to be something other than a week. I love him, and that’s why I need to do this. Besides, maybe on some level this will make things easier. I’m not sure I could stomach a goodbye.
“For whatever it’s worth, I’m sorry that this is hurting you,” Hunter says and I scoff in response.
“Just promise me that you’ll explain to him. I’m going to leave him a note, but take care of him okay? I don’t mean now, he’ll get over this, I just mean always. And stall as long as you can at breakfast. I don’t think he’d come after me, but just in case, alright?”
He nods, and with one more glance at me, he’s gone. Forcing myself to keep it together a little bit longer, I take out a piece of paper from a notebook in my carry on bag and a pen.
Dear Asher,
I’m sorry that I won’t get to make dinner for you tonight after all. It would have been amazing just so you know – I really am a good cook. I’m sure you’ve noticed by how clean our room is that I’m gone. Maybe you’re thinking, ‘she’s talking about cooking?’ or ‘thank god her clothes aren’t all over the place now’, I don’t know, but I’m only talking about cooking first because what I want to say isn’t easy. You see, the impossible happened this week. I came to Cabo not even knowing I was looking for something other than just needing to get away. It wasn’t until I met you that I realized what’s been missing. I never expected to meet you, let alone fall in love with you, but I guess fate had other plans. I’m sure some would think that love this fast is impossible; I think I would have thought that too, but it’s true. I’m in love with you. And because I’m in love with you, I can’t allow my life to come down on your head due to someone wanting revenge against me. I’m so incredibly sorry that my broken family life has bled onto you and your career. I can only hope that it didn’t leave a stain. I promise I will handle it. Just know that with you I found out what it’s like to feel love, to be happy, to have fun, to be carefree. I found a magic I didn’t even think existed for me in you, and my life will forever be better for it. I will treasure this week and the memories we made. I’ll look for you in that chick flick you promised me. I hope that somehow in some way, I also left you with a gift – anything of importance - like you’ve given me.
My address is on the back of this paper, so when you have the divorce papers you can send them to me for a signature.
Keep being you, Asher, because you’re amazing.
Love,
Your Princess
Placing the note on his pillow, I grab my bags and walk out the door. A golf cart is waiting to bring me to the lobby so I can catch a cab and I’m sure it’s Hunter’s doing. He may be sorry, but he’s anxious to smuggle me out of here as soon as possible. Guess I can’t blame him. I’m all business until I get into the cab to ride to the airport. When the door shuts behind me, and we make our way out of the resort, I turn around and give it one last look. Down far below, I can see the cabana on the sand that was occupied by Asher and I just hours ago. My heart hitches at the sight, and I close my eyes and turn around, finally letting the tears flow uninhibited down my face, feeling as if my heart is breaking inside of my body.
When Faye hands me another tissue, I smile gratefully. Just as my story ended, our plane landed. We sit patiently waiting for the door to open and for people to start filing out. It’s been a long flight and I’m eager to get home. To see Katie. To get back to my normal routine so I can put this pain behind me. To settle this with my stepmother and others.
“Oh, sweet girl. No wonder your heart is breaking.” Nodding, I’m unable to form words. “And so you left without a single word to Asher?”
“Only the note.”
“He hasn’t blown up your phone with calls?”
Shaking my head, I smile sadly, “We never exchanged numbers. We were together all the time and it never came up. I don’t even have his email. Other than my address that I gave him in the note I left, we don’t have any contact information for each other.”
“Oh, dear,” Faye says with a shake of her head.
“It’s better this way. If I had his number I would probably call him or think about calling him, or call and hang up over and over like some teenager.” I laugh a little bit, but it’s forced.
When it’s our turn to exit the plane, it takes me a few tries to budge my suitcase from the overhead bin and I laugh a little remembering shoving it in there to begin with. Following Faye off the plane, we wait for our luggage together and then hug each other goodbye.
“Thank you for sharing your story with me,” Faye says, her sweet hand holding mine.
“Thank you for listening. It helped to talk about it. I think I would have gone a little nuts all those hours on the plane just holding it all in.”
“Keep your chin up, sweet girl. These things have a way of working themselves out. Believe in magic.”
Shaking my head sadly, I try to smile for her, but I’m sure it looks more like a grimace. “Love is the closest thing to magic I think. The way it makes one feel, how it makes you feel things you’ve never expected, has the power to make sad things disappear and makes you believe in the impossible. I’m afraid that I’ve lost my belief in magic. At least for now.”
Faye pushes the hair that escaped my ear, back behind it, “Then I’ll believe enough for both of us for now.”
Smiling at her, we exchange email addresses and phone numbers and hug each other again tightly. As I watch her walk away I admit that I’m thankful for whatever magic placed her in the seat next to mine.
“I’ve got it,” Katie exclaims loudly looking up at me excitedly. “I know exactly what we should do!”
Eyeing her from across the room I almost dread whatever she’s about to say. I know that look on her face and it’s orneriness. Really, the girl’s got two expressions, ornery and not ornery.
It’s been almost two very long weeks since I came home from Mexico. Each day has passed excruciatingly slow. However, I have finally stopped crying every day which is a tremendous victory. I don’t even want to think about the amount of tissues I’ve gone through.
