It felt good. I couldn’t imagine an interview going any better than that. But when I shook his hand and started the walk back to the hotel, I realized I’d been there for almost two hours.
And I had to be at the airport in twenty minutes.
Fuck! Lauren.
I ran back to the hotel faster than I’d run from it. Every scenario clustered my mind. What if I get there and she’s already left? What if I don’t have time to stop back at my hotel room? Fuck that, I’ll make time. The plane can wait. But what if her plane is leaving soon?
There was a line for the elevator, so I rounded the corner and flew up the stairwell, taking two—or three—steps at a time. By the time I’d reached the sixth floor, I breathed heavily and my throat was dry.
The door to Monica and Lauren’s room was open, and a janitor’s cart blocked the entry. I pulled it out of my way with a sharp tug, and it bounced off the ice machine in the hallway.
“Lauren?” I yelled, running into the room and scaring the shit out of a maid in the bathroom, causing her to jerk back.
With a hand over her chest, she said, “I’m sorry, sir. Everyone has checked out.”
“Dammit!” I put my hands up. “Sorry. Thank you,” I said over my shoulder on the way back down to the lobby.
I scanned the room quickly, looking for any sign of Monica and Lauren. When I didn’t see either of them, I jogged past each of the conference room doors, hoping I’d find them there.
But my search was fruitless.
“This can’t be happening,” I whispered.
I found Professor Robinson, Duncan, and Marty in the lobby, toting their luggage behind them.
“Guys, where is she?”
Duncan and Robinson looked at me blankly, while Marty kept his head down.
I took Marty’s shoulders in a firm grip and shook him. “Where are they, Marty?”
He lifted his head, and a small furrow of defeat wrinkled his brow. “They’re gone, man.”
“No! What time was their plane leaving?” I shook him again. “Answer me! I can’t let her leave. I don’t even know her last name!”
“They got in a cab about an hour ago.”
My head bobbed back, my shoulders slouched, and I took a minute to stare at the ceiling and collect my thoughts.
“I got your suitcase. I packed your laptop and chargers, too,” Marty added.
I swallowed and looked around the room.
“What did you do to Jack?” Duncan asked.
“What do you mean? I didn’t do anything to him. Why?”
“He bugged out and caught an early flight. But I was wondering what happened to make you break his nose,” he snickered.
“I didn’t break his nose—Lauren did.”
The guys tried to hide their laughter.
“And I need to find her before she goes back to Canada.”
“Take it easy, man. It’s not like you were going to marry the girl. Leave last night what it was—a one-night stand,” Marty said.
“It wasn’t.” I scratched my forehead. “That’s not what it was.”
Duncan laughed. “What was it then?”
“It was… it was…” I raked my hand through my hair, exhausted.
“Special?” Robinson asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. It was.”
Robinson set his keycard down on the reception desk, and after telling them his room number, he turned to me. “Sit down, Mike.”
I recognized the look on his face: the same look he’d given Jack a thousand times in class. It was that “I’m about to school you on life, young man” look.
“I don’t have time for this, Robinson. I have to find her!” I said urgently.
“Listen to me for five minutes, and if you’re still convinced that this woman is worth the chase, we’ll go find her. Deal?”
I took a deep breath, the minutes ticking down. With a quick glance at Martin and his curt nod, I reluctantly sat down on the cushioned chair in the lobby. “Go.”
He sat on the chair next to me and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. While he was relaxed without a care in the world, I was on pins and needles, fearing I was yet again missing some great opportunity. Maybe I’d get to the airport and she’d already be gone. Maybe I’d get there and catch her just in time before her departure, even if I only had enough time to get her last name. But no matter what, I knew I had to do something.
“Women are complicated creatures, Mike,” Robinson began. “At my age, and with the few experiences I’ve had, I’ve come to realize something.”
Duncan and Marty took a step closer, all wanting in on the secret. I admit, I was curious too.
“They’re calculated. Cunning. And above all else, cryptic. Looking back, I can recall all the times I remembered their touch,” he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, “their scent. And only a handful of words we ever spoke. But I can tell you that for all the women I’ve been with, and for all the things I experienced with them, they all ended for the best.”
Leaning back in his seat, he rubbed his jaw. “Those are the things we take with us, Mike. It’s the small, tender moments that propel us to find the next. It’s the lessons we learn along the way, preparing us for the one. The one we want to find, not just for a few hours. Or a day. Or even a weekend. Those are the ones we keep for life.”
I went to speak, but he interrupted me.
“Take what you can from this weekend. Remember the important things. Like how she made you feel, the name of her perfume, and how it felt to wake up in her arms. Because those are the things worth remembering.”
“I don’t want to believe that Lauren was only a one-night stand. I don’t want to believe that’s how she felt about me, either. I want to believe that we have something unfinished. And I want to find her,” I said.
Robinson nodded and looked down. “Have you wondered why she never gave you her last name?”
I considered his words. And maybe he was right. It could’ve been that she purposely withheld that information from me so that we wouldn’t have a way to find each other once the weekend ended. And perhaps she had no intention of trying to make some kind of long-distance relationship work. And maybe she was relieved when she woke this morning and didn’t find me in the bed beside her.
But dammit. I wasn’t going to leave that weekend without knowing for sure—not if I could find her to ask her.
“I’m sorry, Professor. I refuse to believe she intended any of this. I’m the one who her left her this morning. I owe her an explanation and an apology.”
Marty sighed and rolled his eyes, and Duncan stood with a silly grin on his face.
“Well,” Robinson said. With a sideways smirk, he pushed his glasses farther up so they sat high on his cheeks. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go find her.”
Duncan slapped my plane ticket in my palm, and Robinson and I fled the hotel.
***
The cab Robinson hailed was the craziest cab driver I’d ever seen. Not only did he blow through red lights and fail to allow a group of pedestrians cross the street, but I’m pretty sure he took out two squirrels and a duck on our way to the airport.
“I already got a text from Knox, Michael.” Robinson smirked just as the cab pulled up at the airport. “You’re in.”
A wave of euphoria rushed through me. At first I thought it was because I knew I’d gotten the job, but it was also because if I could find Lauren, we might just be able to make a long-distance relationship work. Seattle is a hell of a lot closer to Vancouver than Florida.
“I gotta go. I’ll see you inside. I’ll find you at our gate.”
Robinson nodded. “Good luck.”
I flew through the doors after checking in, and raced to the metal detectors. After a short delay, I ran to the first screen I could find, trying to figure out which flight Lauren would be on. I found the Vancouver destination and quickly scanned the line for her gate.
Finding the Vancouver flight abbreviation an
d time, I glanced at the clock on the wall.
Fifteen minutes to get across the airport. And she’s probably already boarded.
Fucking fantastic.
And so I ran.
I ran as fast as I could for as long as I could, gasping for air, sweating profusely, and dodging the masses by jumping over suitcases, only taking out one potted plant.
People gawked and stared—some of them frightened—and I just kept running.
I ran like the wind! I laughed, thinking of the cliché.
Dammit. I had to get to her.
I turned the corner, breezing past the gate attendant.
But it was too late.
When I saw that the door had closed, I ran over to the window. I pounded on the glass, screaming Lauren’s name, but the only response I got was the attendant telling me to calm down or she’d have to call security.
That was it.
I’d lost her.
And I had no way of knowing who she was or where I could find her. I had no last name, no phone number, and no address.
All I had were the memories of a woman who I never thought could’ve existed.
I had time to think about the weekend, mulling over the what-ifs as I walked to the gate where a plane would take me away from that city. I knew Lauren was thinking about me at that moment, too, and the thought made me smile.
Vancouver was much closer to Seattle, and now that I knew I’d gotten the job, maybe the idea of seeing Lauren again someday wasn’t so impossible.
But perhaps it wasn’t meant to be. Only time would tell. The industry was small enough where there’d be a chance I might run into her again, in a city other than Seattle. A flutter of hope sparked in my chest at the thought.
The boys sat at our gate, but we wouldn’t be boarding for another hour. And with three anxious expressions staring back at me, I joined my friends at the chairs. But when they saw my head down and heard my exaggerated huff, they knew I hadn’t found her.
“It’s for the best, Mike,” Marty said.
“Maybe,” I said with a sigh. I watched the planes outside the window, some coming, some going, and wondered if anyone else was as remorseful about leaving as I was.
“Are you excited?” Robinson asked, changing the subject for my benefit.
“What is he talking about?” Duncan asked.
I shrugged. “I got the Bolten and Knox job.”
Duncan elbowed my arm. “Congratulations!”
“See?” Martin interjected. “You have things you need to do. A move to plan! Get that woman out of your head and focus on what’s important: your career.”
Martin was right. I’d already sacrificed the girl that weekend. Something good needed to come from it. And if I couldn’t have the woman of my dreams, maybe the position would lead me to the job of my dreams: a full-time novelist.
“You’ll remember the big things, Mike,” Robinson said, setting his hand on my shoulder. “But in six months’ time, you probably won’t remember the little ones. And if you never see her again, in two years you’ll probably even forget her name. It’s too fresh right now. The sting is too new. Just give it some time, and remember what I alluded to earlier: chalk this up to a lesson that prepares you for the one you keep for life.”
I slouched in my seat. “I don’t know if I could forget her. And yet I don’t know if I want to remember,” I whispered.
Epilogue
A year had passed. My job with Bolten and Knox continued, but unfortunately for Jack, they’d fired him six months earlier.
His novel tanked, as I’d secretly hoped it would, and last I’d heard from Marty was that he was back to square one with ideas of a new novel.
I‘d chosen to tighten up one of my mystery novels, and queried a few agencies. To my surprise, an agency called Glen & Glen responded, and they said they wanted to work with me on marketing my novel. I was ecstatic and living on cloud nine.
All except for one simple thing.
Lauren.
Regardless of what Robinson told me, I’d still remembered her name. I returned to the National Convention the next year, but I never did see her again. My memory of that weekend had already begun to fade, since I’d only known her for two short days. I could remember the color of her hair and the fact that we smiled constantly, but past that everything was hazy. And I thought of her every time I heard a cliché.
Maybe I hoped that it meant something to her, that I meant something to her. Maybe I hoped that she hadn’t found her Prince Charming and wasn’t on her way to bestselling glory. And maybe, just maybe, I hoped she’d return to me again.
But she didn’t.
It was for the best, I was certain. We weren’t meant to be, and so we weren’t. It was best I put that weekend in the back of my mind so it would lose its way forever. Because to be honest, I didn’t need the reminder that a woman like Lauren existed—and that I couldn’t have her.
So that’s what I’d have to do.
Simply forget.
If I was lucky enough, I might find her again someday and we could start our love affair all over again. From scratch. We could relive all the same things we had in our weekend in Seattle.
Isn’t that what happens in all those romance novels? The hero gets the girl in the end?
The End
To read Word Play, the continuation of Michael and Lauren’s story published in 2014, go here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LRZLLIC
Four Play: A Collection of Novellas Page 32
