Chance Encounters (2 page)

She felt a sick ache in the hollow of her stomach. She
missed him, she couldn’t deny that. This was the man she was about to say
I
do
to. “Why does this have to hurt so damn bad?” she muttered to herself as
she pulled the receipt out of the gas pump and got back into her car. She
closed her eyes to avoid the tears from falling as she took a deep, cleansing
breath to calm herself down. Pulling her car back onto the interstate, she
willed herself to have the strength to let go and move on with her life. She
reminded herself of exactly what it was that Matt had done to them, and how it
had torn her heart in two.

Emma had left early from her job at the L.A Times, and
the only thing on her mind was to share her good news about a job promotion
with Matt. She was on cloud nine. Along the way, she made a couple of stops.
First, she stopped and grabbed a bottle of expensive champagne. Then, she swung
by and picked up their favorite dinner from the Sushi House down the street
from their home. It was going to be the perfect night, and she had it all
planned out. The plan was to wine and dine him, and then make passionate love
in celebration of her climb up the ladder. Lately, she had been putting in
long, hard hours trying to prove that she was worthy of this promotion at work.

Emma had started off ten years earlier, straight out of
journalism school, writing obituaries for a local news company. Now, after
years of hard work and commitment, she was offered the promotion to be the
newest, youngest, senior editor of the New York Times.

She parked her car in the driveway of their dream home by
the sea, and soundlessly made her way into the kitchen. She smiled to herself
as she set up the plates of food, humming her favorite song.

When she was satisfied that everything was absolutely
perfect, she set out in search of her soon to be husband. She knew he had had
the day off, so she figured that he was probably spending the day, locked in
his study going over the newest medical journals. She quietly opened the door
to his home office only to find it empty. Surprised, she continued down the
long hallway to their bedroom.
Maybe he’s napping
, she thought to
herself.

The bedroom door was closed, so she softly slid it open
and tiptoed into the room. When she got closer, she noticed the blankets
moving, and that’s when she heard quiet moaning emanating from beneath it. Emma
reacted by swiftly tearing the comforter off of the bed to find her fiancé
wrapped in another woman’s arms.

Emma, feeling completely embarrassed and betrayed,
stormed out of their beach front property and drove around town until she could
figure out what her next move was going to be.

She pulled in front of the Malibu Beach Inn and checked
in. When the attendant asked her how long she’d be staying, Emma burst into
tears; she needed to say nothing else. She was shown to her beautifully
luxurious room, which she couldn’t allow herself to enjoy. She sat on the edge
of the bed with her phone in her hands and sobbed.

Matt called her half a dozen times, but she refused to
answer. There was absolutely nothing at this point that he could either say or
do to make up for what she’d witnessed. The image was now burned into her mind,
seeing her fiancé touching and petting someone who was not her. They were only
mere weeks away from their wedding. Her sobs suddenly turned into bursts of
tears as she thought about all the people she would have to call to cancel the
arrangements. All the money wasted, and the non-refundable deposits. Oh the
utter embarrassment. They had planned to have a large Malibu-type celebration
in her small hometown of Sacket’s Harbor, New York. They were going to be
married by her childhood pastor. She wanted to share that part of her with the
man she thought she’d spend the rest of her life with. It was going to be the
biggest celebration the small town had ever seen. She couldn’t deal with all
that right now. She didn’t want to think about it, but one thing was clear to
her: her decision to accept the promotion would be a lot easier to deal with
considering it would be on the opposite seaboard from Matt.

She dialed her closest girlfriend Renee and asked to her
to meet in the hotel bar. Emma needed a few very stiff drinks and a
girlfriend’s shoulder to cry on.

By the time Renee arrived, Emma had already downed two
gin and tonics, and was happily working her way through a third. Renee
approached the bar and could hear Emma re-counting the events of the betrayal
to the bartender. Sliding onto the barstool beside her friend, Renee put her
arm around her. “Don’t you think you should slow down? Maybe we should order
you up some food. You probably haven’t eaten anything.”

Emma looked over to her friend and smiled. Renee always
reminded Emma of a Malibu Barbie; tall, slim, and very busty. Her long, flowing
blonde hair reminded her of sunshine it was so shiny. “Ahhh geez, Renee … look
at you. You make me feel like poo.” She flipped a piece of Renee’s blonde
ringlets and sunk down onto the bar. Renee signaled for the bartender to put in
a food order, and then she half carried Emma to a corner booth so that they
could talk in private.

When the food arrived, Emma dug right in. “God, I didn’t
realize how hungry I was until now,” she said as she scarfed down a handful of
french fries. “These things taste freaking incredible. I don’t know why I
bothered to eat healthy for that ass.” She shoved another handful into her
mouth as her friend watched in total amusement.

“So, do you want to tell me what happened or are we going
to just eat and drink all night?” Renee barked.

She always had a way of cutting to the chase. Emma slowed
down and went back over the details that led up to them sitting in the bar.
Renee’s face dropped.

“That rat bastard! I don’t get it, Em. You guys were
always the perfect couple. You two would walk into a room and everyone took
notice. I cannot believe he would throw it all away over some fling right
before tying the knot.”

Emma was suddenly not feeling very well. As she listened
to her friend reiterate what happened, it only made it sound worse. “What if it
hadn’t been just a fling? What if it was something that had been going on for a
while?” She wondered how long he had been deceiving her. Emma slowly sipped her
gin and tonic. Could he have been cheating for a while? No way, their sex life
was totally fine, better than fine. They had always had great chemistry. That
was never an issue. So, then what were they lacking? She suddenly burst out
loud, “Do I look old? I mean … have I lost it, Renee? The girl must have been
in her early twenties, and come on … I’m thirty now.”

Renee nearly spit out her food. “I seriously hope you are
kidding me, Em. You’re totally hot. Thirty is just a number, it means nothing.”

A gentleman sitting at the next table overheard them
talking and interrupted, “Please don’t take this the wrong way, ladies, but I
couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.” He looked directly at Emma. “The
man, whoever he is, is an absolute fool. You are stunningly beautiful, almost
too beautiful to be approached by an ordinary guy like me.”

The man’s wife cut in next, “Oh that’s absolutely true.
You make average women like me cringe when we see someone like you walk in the
room.”

Emma wasn’t expecting to hear that so she did spit out
her drink, and they all gave a good laugh. “Well thank you! That was … umm …
very sweet of you. I know he’s a jerk, and I need to just move on, but it still
hurts just the same.”

The couple stood up and paid their bill. Before they left
they approached Emma and squeezed her hands. The woman spoke up, “It will get
better, sweetie. When you least expect it, you will find the one you were truly
meant for, and when you meet him you’ll know. He’ll never make you feel like
you do right now. Remember that. There really is always a silver lining.” With
that they walked out the door, leaving Emma and Renee lost in their thoughts.

Emma spent the next week making arrangements for her new
life in New York and settling the old one in Malibu. She hired a lawyer to send
papers to Matt telling him to buy out her half of their home or she would sue
him. She hired a moving company to collect her things from the house and ship
them to a storage unit that she had arranged in New York, until she found a
place of her own in Manhattan.

Matt consistently made attempts to contact her. He sent
flowers to her office; he showed up at all her favorite hot spots professing
his undying love to her. Nonetheless, Emma didn’t want to face him, not now,
maybe not ever.

Renee helped Emma carry out the last of her things from
the house and place them into her car. Emma tearfully hugged her best friend
good-bye. Renee hugged her extra hard, not wanting to let her go. Emma had
grown used to having Renee around for the last decade, now she’d be leaving the
only family she had left.

“Promise me when you get settled you’ll let me come and
visit?” Renee said in a commanding tone.

Emma smiled and kissed Renee’s cheek. “My door will
always be open to you. Maybe you’ll decide to relocate, too. They have great TV
opportunities there.”

Renee now had her own morning show in Malibu. “Maybe I’ll
look into it, but only if you’re happy there. It would take a lot to get this
girl to live through a New England winter.”

Emma watched Renee get into her car and pull up alongside
her. She rolled down her window and smiled at her best friend. “I’ll wrap up
any last minute things you have around here, so don’t even worry about it,
sugar. I’ll cancel all the arrangements for the wedding. You only concentrate
on your drive.”

“Are you sure, Renee? That’s an awfully big task to
undertake.”

Renee snorted. “Hey! Isn’t that what the Maid of Honor is
for? I’ve got your back, sweetie. I will always do what is best for you.”

Emma blew her a kiss and turned back to look at the place
she had called home, for one last time.

Emma followed along I-40. She had driven for seven and a
half hours, only stopping for quick fill-ups before hitting the road again. She
felt the need to put as much time and space between her, Malibu, and Matt as
possible.

She pulled into a little gas station just inside the city
limits of Santa Rosa, New Mexico. She was tired and decided that this was where
she would stop for the night. After she filled up her gas tank, she found a La
Vista Inn. Luckily it was located just off the interstate, so she knew she
wouldn’t have a hard time picking up I-40 again the next morning. She checked
into the Inn and was given the key to her room. She quietly made her way to
room one nineteen and set her things onto the bed. After she freshened up, she
took a look around her room. She felt empty. Never had she thought she’d be
making this journey alone. Never had she thought that after all of her hard
work, she would once again be starting all over.

Locking up her room, she walked back out to the parking lot.
She had spotted a quaint little restaurant next to the Inn and decided to go
for something to eat before getting some much needed rest.

Emma walked into the restaurant and instantly felt like an
out-of-towner. As soon as the door closed behind her, everyone seemed to stop
what they were doing to look at the stranger amidst them. An older woman, whose
name tag read Helen, approached her with a warm smile. “Well hello there,
dumpling. Don’t you mind these old fogies here, they just ain’t used to seeing
such a pretty girl is all. Come on and let’s get you a table.”

Helen led Emma to a booth by the window that overlooked the
parking lot. She scooted in and took the menu that Helen handed her. “So, are
you just passing through?” Helen asked.