Catching Caitlin (5 page)

We climbed the stairs,
and the plane was almost as exquisite as his penthouse suite. Caramel leather
with milky white accents dominated the interior, with only a handful of seats.
Most of them weren’t in a ‘standard’ airplane layout, but facing in different
directions. The pilot greeted us, and Hugh addressed him by first name.

Definitely a luxury I
wasn’t used to. While Hugh and the pilot talked, I walked about the cabin,
taking it all in.

It still smelled new,
like new car. Maybe new jet? I hadn’t been on a lot of airplanes, but it was
definitely high class. It was like comparing a hostel to a penthouse suite. You
could tell they were used for the same reasons, but only barely.

***

I
buckled my seat belt as
Hugh sat next to me, ignoring his own buckle.

“Nervous?” he asked,
putting his hand on my leg.

“I’m more surprised than
anything... I can’t believe I’m going to Reno in this thing.” I gestured to the
cabin.

He beamed. “Would you
like a drink? That always helps me when I fly.”

“Yeah, sure.”

He leaned over and opened
a compartment. Some bottles of whiskey and rum were shoved deep into the
glimmering ice.

He grasped a bottle by
the neck and yanked it out. “Could you hand me those glasses?”

As I grabbed the glasses,
I felt the airplane begin to move. That lazy movement where you can barely feel
the world scooting past the windows. There was a sense of tension to it,
knowing that it would end with your pinned to your seat as the plane launched
into the sky.

I gulped and handed Hugh
the glasses.

“You made me think we were
going to be late for nothing, didn’t you?” He poured about a shots worth of rum
into each.

He handed me my glass
with a smile, “Here.”

The drink swirled inside
it, as the airplane backed from the gate to prepare for take off.

“Shouldn’t we wait?”

“Why wait?” He downed his
drink, and cracked a smile. He set down the glass with a clink.

I looked down into the
liquid, watching it my reflection shimmer. “Should I really be coming with
you?”

He turned from looking
out the window and leaned over. He twisted his wedding band mindlessly, like it
was an old habit.

“I want you to be here,
Caitlin.” He touched my knee, and rubbed with his thumb, which almost tickled.
He swallowed hard. “But it’s weird being here with you though. Weird but
exciting.”

The engines on the
airplane howled as they spun up to speed. I finished my drink just in time. The
airplane lurched forward, pinning me back against me seat. Hugh was across from
me, so he shifted to the edge of his seat.  He grabbed my leg, I don’t know if
to steady himself or just to touch me. He retrieved the glass from my clenched
hand and set it down for me.

As the plane pulled into
the sky, I settled down and tried to relax. I always felt tense on airplanes,
and this was no exception. Hugh’s touch was comforting.

I answered him. “I know
what you mean. I’ve felt all wound up inside since I ran into you again.” I
brushed my hair back. “I still kind of do.”

“You seem different,” I
added. “I don’t know what it is. I didn’t tell Aaron I was coming here.”

“Really? How come? You
two used to be really good friends.”

“Because,” I looked away.
It was hard admitting this to him. “He would have told me it was a bad idea.
That ‘you shouldn’t get back together with exes, they were exes for a reason,’
or something like that.”

He frowned, as if he were
considering it.

“I don’t think that’s
always true,” he said. “Not every relationship is the same after all.”

I smiled at him.
“Everyone did say that we were going to burn each other out, we were too young,
maybe if we had met later.”

“I thought that too.
There were days when I wish I had just been a little older,” he said. “Days
where I wished I wasn’t so young when I first met you.”

The plane leveled off a
bit, and the roar of the engines quieted. The pilot came on the mini-intercom,
greeting us.

“Hello, you two. I just
thought I should let you know, we have a good tailwind and should reach Reno by
late afternoon. I’d estimate 4 hours.” He clicked off the intercom.

Hugh looked back out the
window, pursing his lips.

He was different. There
was something guarded about him, like he was carrying some kind of weight.
Before college, he felt less heavy.

But maybe I was carrying
weight too. A lot had happened in the last couple of years. It realized I was
encountering less and less nostalgic memories, and more and more of a new man.

A man I barely
recognized.

I leaned back in my
chair, and looked at my glass.

“Would you like another?”
Hugh asked.

“Sure, we’ve got time to
kill after all.”

He smiled in agreement.
He took my glass and poured another, before handing it back to me.

“Aren’t you going to have
another?”

“Nah, I’m not a heavy
drinker.” He looked out the window, seemingly oblivious to what it sounded like
he just implied.

I gripped my glass,
suddenly feeling self-conscious.

I downed it anyway.

Hugh fetched a couple of
snack packs that were hidden away in the alcohol drawer. He offered one to me,
which I took.

“How long are we going to
be in Reno?”

His eyes fixed on the
horizon out the window. “However long you want. You pretty much have unlimited
access to your own jet as long as you know me.”

He was twisting and
twisting his wedding band around his finger.

If he wasn’t married,
what could have happened? The question burned in me, but not as intensely as it
did before. He said he’d tell me, and I trusted him.

I sat back down in my
seat, feeling a bit tipsy.
What if my life could fall into place, and I
could be really happy?
I leaned back in the chair, surprised by how far
back it went. Closing my eyes, I dreamed of a life where I didn’t have to
stress about my parents, my money, or my happiness.

Maybe I’d find that
happiness with Hugh.

***

A
gentle shake woke me
up, someone’s fingers pressed against my shoulder. I blinked and forgot I was
on an airplane. No, a private jet. I squinted at Hugh.

He must’ve seen the shock
in my eyes, and he quickly comforted me. “Hey. I just wanted to wake you and
let you know that we’re almost there.” I dropped my shoulders, looking around,
still somewhat lethargic. He asked, “Are you hungry? Those little snacks weren’t
very filling.”

I stretched out with a
yawn. “Yeah, I could definitely use some food.”

Hugh stood up and went
into the back of the plane for a moment. I brought my seat back upright and
looked over at the fluffy clouds. They looked endless, like the ocean.

He came back up, and
handed me a plate of steaming food. Chicken and rice, with some vegetables
toppled over the side of it.

“I already ate, but I
prepared yours just in case.”

“Oh wow, this looks
great!” He handed me a fork. I chuckled. “I was afraid you’d give me
chopsticks.”

“You’re not nearly ready
enough to use chopsticks,” he teased. I grinned and dug into the food.

I wasn’t a little hungry,
I was ravenous. I forgot I hadn’t even eaten breakfast, so it was all built up
from last night. He laughed, sitting down and buckling himself in.

“How much longer do you
think we have?”

“The pilot said about 25
minutes, then we’ll get ready to descend.”

I swallowed some chicken,
feeling light headed from eating too fast. “Where will we stay?”

“My place. A nice condo
near downtown.”

“Is it big?” I blurted
out. I quickly bit my tongue. He didn’t seem offended. If anything, he was
pleased.

“It’s big enough.”

***

T
he airplane lowered
through the cloud cover, whiting out the windows for a few moments.

I finished my food, and
left the tray sitting next to me. I hated landings. The only way I had to cope
with them was just squeezing onto the arm rests until it was over, but it was
an exhausting ten minutes every time. I hated it.

Hugh asked, “You okay?
You look pale.”

I shook my head weakly.

Hugh unbuckled his
seatbelt without a second thought. He moved next to me, replacing the tray and
grabbing my hand.

I smiled, feeling better
already. “Thanks Hugh.”

“James is an excellent
pilot,” he said, touching my shoulder. I softened in his grip. “Just breathe
and talk to me.”

I tore my focus away from
the window, the clouds passing made me dizzy.

“Okay, umm... What do you
do at your company?”

“I work as a regional
district manager. It’s a fancy title that amounts to me making sure all the
power plants keep their output within guidelines.”

“It sure sounds classy.”
I squeezed his hand back. “I thought you wanted to be an musician?”

He leaned his head back,
closing his eyes. “I did, but that was high school you know? When I went to
college, my dad told me I had to do business, so I did. And you know what? It
wasn’t too bad, and I liked it.”

“How’d you start working
for...?”

“Silver Energy,” he
answered, finishing my sentence. “After a bit of college, I earned an
internship with them. Next thing I knew, they were hiring me on and I was
getting promotions left and right.”

“How’d you manage that?”
The airplane broke through the clouds. We were a lot closer to the ground than
I thought were, which was a curse and a blessing. I always watched to see when
the plane reached a survivable crash distance.

“I put a lot of time in,
80-90 hour weeks, which... I wouldn’t recommend. It got me noticed though.”

“Holy shit, did you even
sleep? Was it worth it?”

“I slept enough.” He
opened his eyes. “It was easier than dealing with my life at the time.”

The airplane coasted in,
the vibration of its landing gear lowering shaking my seat. Hugh pulled my hand
up and kissed it. It was sweet enough to make my cheeks burn.

“You know airplanes have
exploded on the runway from running over debris?” I said, my voice still shaky.

“I didn’t, but don’t
worry. I promise that won’t happen.”

After hovering over the
runway for what felt like ages, the wheels touched the ground. The flaps roared
against the wind, slowing us down with the howl of the engines pulling against
the weight of the craft.

Slowing to taxiing speed,
the airplane started making its way toward a gate.

James popped on the
intercom again, “Hugh, I’m happy to conclude another speedy flight. It’s 5pm local
time, and I hope to see you again soon.” He clicked off the intercom.

“Isn’t it weird having
him address you directly?” I asked. “Especially since everything he says sounds
like what any other pilot would say?”

“It was weird at first.”

The airplane stopped at a
gate. I guess James was the only crew member on board, because he came out of
the cockpit and opened the stairway latch.

Before we got up, Hugh
turned to me. “We have to go right to my work, I have a meeting I have to
catch. I’ll get to show you off a little too.” When he saw the look on my face,
he smiled. “I’m kidding.”

When we exited the plane,
our luggage was already waiting for us. Reno smelled a lot different than
Maine. That salty and piney smell was absent, replaced with dry and somewhat
muggy air.

“It’s so hot!” I gasped,
feeling choked as the wave of heat hit me.

“I forgot you’re used to
the east coast. This is way better.” I reached for my luggage, but Hugh
insisted he take it. I followed him off the airstrip, through the thankfully air-conditioned
airport, into the parking garage.

No rental this time, his
car was parked at the airport. A flashy black Porsche.

As he came around the
front to pop the trunk, I teased him a little. “You would have a Porsche
wouldn’t you?”

“A lot of things might
have changed, but my dream car never did.” He loaded our luggage in the
surprisingly spacious front-trunk.

The smell of clean, warm
leather greeted me when I climbed in. As we left, he didn’t even pay for
parking. The mention of his name changed the parking attendants expression from
boredom to excitement.

Reno.

It wasn’t Vegas, but it
would do.

W
e blasted down the
highway, the scenery whizzing past us. No time to soak in the sights, I was too
busy clenching the seat as we curved through the turns.

Hugh driving was more
conservative when he was in the rental car, but now that he was back in
his
car, he didn’t have a care in the world.

The sports-like passenger
seat kept me from sliding all over the place, but it couldn’t do much to stop me
from fighting his turning power.

A determined look glazed
his eyes, and his rock-steady hands controlled the machine like he had always
known it. Personally, privately. That kind of intimacy was alluring.

We sped up the highway,
heading into downtown Reno. I didn’t protest his driving, if anything, I
relished it.

It wasn’t the frantic and
terrifying driving of a teenager, it was the controlled speed of a race car
driver. I swallowed my spit and tried to rest my head against the seat,
restraining myself from taking advantage of his focus.

“I thought you were going
to granny-drive it like in Maine.”

He laughed,
“Granny-drive? Never, I only did that because I was nervous you’d run away.”

“You? Nervous? I don’t
believe that.”

“Really.” He slipped the
car into fifth gear, and we coasted along at a breezy 70 miles per hour.

“Are you going to get
into trouble for bringing me to your office?”

“No. And you don’t have
to hang out in the conference room anyway. It’ll be about boring budget
concerns and planning mostly.”

He switched to the left
lane, passing all the slower traffic. I got the distinct sensation that even if
we passed a cop, Hugh wouldn’t get pulled over. Did rich people have immunity?
Maybe they did.

“There it is, Silver
Energy.” He pointed out at one of the taller buildings in the Reno skyline.
They were all impressive compared to Bangor, so I wasn’t shocked to see that
our destination was one of the bigger ones.

Metal and glass were the
dominating materials of the building, with a large blue and silver logo
emblazoned on the side of the skyscraper.

“Why the name?”

“Nevada is the silver
state.”

We pulled into a parking
garage, one that was below ground. Hugh swiped his security badge, which let us
in.

He pulled into a parking
stall and shut the car off. After climbing out, he came over to my side to let
open my door.

“Always a gentleman,
huh?” I took his hand.

“It would be a bit more
romantic if we were going out to dinner. A business meeting doesn’t really cut
it you know.”

I nodded. “What about
tomorrow?”

He scratched his cheek
and looked at his hand, maybe surprised that he hadn’t shaved. “That could
work. Let me look into it. Follow me.”

We went through a door
and into the main lobby of the building. They must’ve leased the building out,
because there was a directory of other companies and businesses at the
entrance. He swiped his badge to call the elevator.

The extra-wide steel
doors opened, and we slipped into the mirrored elevator.

“I looked it up,” he
continued, “and I guess Nevada was the center of the silver rush in the 19 century. We pioneered that whole concept.”

We. He already was
attached to the state, not that I could blame him. It definitely had some
charm.

Silver Energy’s floor was
impressive. We were greeted by a huge wall with the Silver Energy logo hung
against it.

On the other side of the
wall was a row of cubicles, facing a wall of offices. Those were obviously the
real deal. The conference room was in the back. A number of people were already
milling around the large table at the room’s center.

“They always start early.
Have you ever heard of a company that has meetings early?” He sighed. “They
might be annoyed that I’m late already, so maybe you should hang out outside
for now. There are magazines and drinks in my office. It’s the one in the
corner.” His office was easy to spot, it had his name etched on the glass door.
“Here.” He handed me his key, and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I blushed, watching him
disappear into the conference room. I held the key gingerly, as if it might
break. I suddenly felt out of place without him next to me.

Here I was, standing in a
wealthy office, wearing yesterday’s wrinkled clothes. No make-up, nothing.

A couple of other
employees were still in their cubicles, either not invited to the meeting or
not going. I made my way to Hugh’s office and quickly jammed the key into the
lock.

It was clean and
minimalistic inside. I wondered if his house would have the same kind of
sterility.

His office kind of
reminded me of his hotel room. That sparse, barely welcoming feeling.

I sat down at his desk,
and pretended like I was working for his company.

“Yes, come sit down, I
have to talk to you,” I mimed what I imagined an executive would say. I
gestured to an invisible person to sit down across from me.

I looked down at a stack
of blank paper, and shuffled them. “Going by your reports, I’m gonna have to
let you go,” I said, making my voice sound cold. “Now now, there is a severance
package...”

I grew bored of ruining
imaginary lives. I riffled through his drawers: pens, some issues of Forbes,
nothing super exciting in the top three.

But the last drawer had
something more for me. Underneath a stack of folders, I pulled out a downturned
picture.

A blonde woman was in it,
smiling. The corner was dog eared, and it looked like it was a couple years
old.

I stared at it, not being
able to put my finger on her. She looked familiar, somehow.

His wife?

Why was she in the bottom
of his desk?

I took the picture, and
set it on his desk. She was pretty, powdered freckles on her cheeks and nose,
with blue eyes. Eyes that could eat you alive. A cold shiver shocked me.

His office had a large
window facing into the building, which meant I could watch the conference from
afar. Hugh was standing at the front of the long table and gesturing wildly, as
if he were making some point. I could see his wedding band glint, and I felt
sick.

Why was the picture
tucked away in his desk? Shouldn’t it be in a picture frame if it was his wife?

***

A
bout an hour passed, and
things looked like they were finally wrapping up. People in the conference room
were standing to shake each others’ hands. Some people laughed and Hugh smacked
someone on the back. He left the conference room and snuck into his office.

I leaned back in his
chair and propped my feet up on his desk. I didn’t know if I wanted to bring up
the picture immediately or not.
Maybe I should let him bring it up
.
After
all, if it has anything to do with his wedding band, he said he’d tell me.

“Mmm, you look
delicious,” he said, under his breath. His eyes danced over me. “Feet up on my
desk and everything? Getting it all dirty.”

“How’d it go?” I asked, a
smile crossing my face.

“Good, pretty quick if
you could believe it. You weren’t too bored were you?

I shook my head, my hair
tickling me. “Maybe a little.”

“You want to meet the
guys and gals that run Silver Energy?”

“Sure, let’s do a little
meet and greet.” He turned on his heel and left his office. I took the picture
and slid it in my pocket. I don’t know why, but I felt like I had to.

***

T
o some relief, he
introduced me as an old friend. Which wasn’t inaccurate. We hadn’t even really
fooled around yet. It would have been weirder to tell everyone I was his high
school sweetheart.

Most of his coworkers
were pretty bland and boring. Nothing too memorable about any of them, except
for their strong handshakes. The only one that stuck out to me was Scott,
Hugh’s boss.

“Pleasure to meet you,
Caitlin. So, how did you two meet?” His voice was deep. The kind of voice that
could fill a room, and a body to suit it.

“We actually dated in
high school.”

“Oh? So the truth comes
out eh?” Scott smiled, giving a side glance to Hugh. “You didn’t go to college
together?”

College, I didn’t want to
be reminded of that disaster just yet. While I clammed up, Hugh interjected.

“No. We split up after
high school. She went to the University of Maine, and I already had plans to go
to the University of Chicago.”

“Well you know what they
say about high school love...” Scott trailed off. He cleared his throat and
extended his hand to me again. “Well it was nice to meet you Ms...?”

“Winters.”

“Ms. Winters. Sounds like
I’ll be seeing you around, if we keep this guy working for us!” He laughed.

“We should get home,
unpack our things. We just landed this morning,” Hugh said.

“You don’t need to tell
me, get out of here then!” Scott walked away, disappearing into his office.

***

D
ownstairs, in the
parking lot, I asked about Hugh’s boss.

“Scott seems nice.”

“Scott huh? He’s a funny
guy,” Hugh said, “I would never had gotten this job if it wasn’t for his sense
of humor. I mean you gotta have one to hire a fresh-faced kid out of an
internship.”

We climbed back into his
Porsche. “I wish I had more time to prepare, I didn’t know I’d be meeting all
your coworkers.”

“I think you look great,”
he said. “I love that no-makeup look.”

“Ha-ha, nice try.
Everyone says they don’t like girls with tons of makeup, until they see one
without any.”

“But I’m serious.” He
caught my attention, and put his hand on my leg.

I grinned, taking his
hand off my leg. I didn’t want him to get too frisky in the car. “Where’s your
condo?”

He didn’t seem phased by
my rejection. “Just across town, a bit more secluded than downtown. Some of the
employees work and live in this building.”

“Why don’t you do that?”
I touched the dash. “I mean, besides not getting to use your toy?”

He shook his head, “I’d
never get any work done. The commute makes it real, you know.”

“Makes going home real,
makes going to work real. It sounds dumb, but I need it,” he finished.

I could see that, needing
that kind of routine. He pulled out of the garage, the attendant waving to him
cheerfully.

***

H
is condo was beautiful.

“Wow...” my jaw dropped
open as he closed the front door. I took my shoes off. Hugh walked past me,
grinning, and disappeared into a room.

I really expected it to
be more bare like his office, but it was lavishly decorated. It was filled with
paintings and flowers. Rugs covered the hardwood floors,
real
hardwood
floors. I felt like sliding around in my socks it looks so shiny.

A crystal chandelier
adorned the dining room, and almost every wall in the house was painted some
color. The kitchen had polished white countertops with red walls. The dining
room had a deep purple hue, which made it feel kind of dreamy.

I padded down the
hallway, finding him in his bedroom. A comfortable looking queen bed dominated
the room, four wooden posts jutting up from each corner. It seemed like
hundreds of throw pillows were dumped all over it. He had put the bags on the
bed, and was out on the balcony.

I got a peek into the
bathroom: flashes of gold with mirror finishes. I wondered if it had a claw
foot tub.

I walked up beside him on
the balcony.

“I’m really impressed.
After seeing your office, that you have throw pillows.”

“It’s the little things
that matter, Cay,” he teased. He stared off over the city. This side was a lot
quieter. His view was mostly desert and sagebrush, which had its own kind of
beauty. Like a desert ocean. The sun almost seemed to glow against the
landscape.

I bit my lip. I could
feel the picture of the blonde woman burning a hole in my pocket, and the
question was aching to be let free.

It wasn’t until then that
I realized I was terrified of the answer.

“Are you hungry?” he
asked. “I could make us something.”

Some relief from my mind.
“You cook too? Do you have any other super powers?”

“You might think I have
super powers after I make you some mean burgers.”

“A wealthy man who cooks
burgers,” I said with a smile.

He laughed, his eyes
sparkling. “Come on, you can help me.”

He walked into the
kitchen and flipped the light on. While I had noticed the white counters, I
didn’t see that the backsplash was made up of thousands of glittering
seashells.

“Seashells huh? I didn’t
peg you as a sentimental type,” I said. He pulled out a slab of hamburger from
the fridge and set it on the counter.

“What makes you think
that?” He washed his hands, and pulled an apron off a hook inside the pantry.
“I can be
very
sentimental. If I want to be. Especially about my
home-state.”

I prodded his ribs,
making him flinch.  He stepped away from the sink, giving me room to wash my
hands, but not quite enough. I giggled as I tried to squeeze past him, noticing
his attention shift when our arms touched.

“Hmm,” he murmured. He
tied his apron. I had never seen a man in an apron before. There was something
alluring about a man who could cook.

He smacked the ball of
beef, then started unwrapping it from its white paper. I stood near him,
hovering and feeling in the way.

“What do you need me to
do?”

“You could hand me a cutting
board.” He pointed across the kitchen, toward the island. “Should be under
there.”

I leaned over, peering in
the cavity under the island. The sound of him smacking the meat stopped, and I
could tell he wasn’t paying attention to that anymore.