Nicole’s shriek of horror made everyone at the gate stare at her. “I think he just did.” Rebecca grinned back at Haley, and they started to laugh.
Haley calmed down first. “Nicole brought half her closet,” she said wryly, referring to the pink luggage she had made Elliot carry into the airport. “I think she wants to be sure she’s ready for any situation that might come up; you know, like a romantic weekend for two. Only with the added inconvenience of four chaperones.”
Rebecca laughed. She hadn’t seen much of Haley since Ben came into town, and she had missed her. “How’s Ben doing?” she asked.
“Great. The Cubs are on the road for the next week and a half, so this was good timing for me. Otherwise you’d be dealing with Nicole by yourself.”
Glancing over at Nicole and Elliot, Rebecca shuddered. “Please, no,” she said. “Thank you for coming.”
Haley grinned at her. “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this for anything.” She was laughing when they boarded the plane and followed Rebecca to their seats. A few minutes before they took off, Cassie stood up and pulled on Haley’s arm.
“Change seats with me for a while, will you?”
The flight attendant had already checked to make sure everyone had a seatbelt on, but Haley shrugged and stood up anyway. “If I get in trouble for walking around when we’re supposed to be securely buckled in, I’ll blame it all on you.”
Cassie was silent for a while, but after they were safely in the air, she turned to Rebecca. “I’ve been thinking,” she started out.
“What?” Rebecca leaned closer to Cassie. The plane was loud.
“I said, I’ve been thinking.” Cassie turned to speak directly in Rebecca’s ear.
“Are you sure that’s safe?”
Cassie pulled a face. “Very funny. I was actually thinking about something we talked about in the laundry room a few days ago. You know, about how much you’ve done in the past few years.”
“I really appreciated that,” Rebecca said.
“Yeah, well, it’s all true.” Cassie stopped talking. Elliot and Nicole were sitting in the row in front of them, and even above the noise of the plane, Rebecca could hear Nicole coo about how strong he was. “I don’t think I could have lifted that suitcase all by myself,” she was saying in a sweet voice.
Cassie stuck her head around the seat in front of her. When her head reappeared she was trying not to laugh. “She’s got her hand on his bicep,” she said as quietly as she could. “Elliot looks like he might bolt any minute.” She started to laugh. “He may need to be rescued before he jumps into Lake Michigan.”
Rebecca snickered. She didn’t feel too guilty; after all, Elliot was the one that had started to flirt with Nicole. “What were you saying before you got distracted?” she said in an attempt to move the conversation away from Elliot and his clingy girlfriend.
“I don’t remember.”
“You told me you had been thinking about our conversation in the laundry room...”
“Oh, right.” Cassie became very serious. “I’ve decided to go to college.”
Rebecca could feel her mouth hanging open. “What? Why?”
“Well, if you could do all those cool things: go to school, get a job, meet hot men, then why can’t I? You did it on your own. I’m sure it’ll be easier with Michael around to help me study.”
“That’s great!” Rebecca tried not to look so shocked. “But why now? You never had any inclination to go to college before. What made you change your mind?”
Cassie’s eyes strayed to the seat in front of them. “There’s not a whole lot to do all day,” she confessed. “I didn’t realize what little I was doing until Nicole and Haley moved in downstairs. I started to see myself in the way Nicole, especially, acted, and I wasn’t too thrilled with what I saw. So I decided to do something about it.”
Leaning over, Rebecca hugged her tightly. “I’m so proud of you,” she said, feeling a little misty-eyed. “I can’t believe my little sister is growing up. If you ever need any help with your English homework, you know who to call.”
Cassie’s expression was sly when she pulled away. “You’re right. I guess I should put Elliot’s phone number on speed dial.” She laughed and stood up when Rebecca started sputtering a protest. “I know, I know, family first.” She bent closer, her breath tickling Rebecca’s ear. “I think I’d better create a diversion. Elliot looks like he’s going to be sick.”
She walked back to her original seat, holding to the seat backs as she went to steady herself against the turbulence, and said something to Haley. Haley looked back at Nicole and then nodded her head. She was grumbling when she walked back. “I thought musical chairs was for elementary school,” Haley said under her breath.
“Move out, Elliot,” Rebecca heard Haley say in a defeated tone. “You’re back by Rebecca now.”
“Sure,” he said a little too quickly.
The flight attendant came on the intercom while Elliot was in the aisle. “Please remain in your seats for the remainder of the flight,” said her stern voice. Elliot fell into the seat next to Rebecca at a particularly large bump and buckled himself in as quickly as he could.
When he sat down next to Rebecca, he drew in a deep breath. Then he looked at her, leaned his head close to hers, and held out his hand.
“Hi, I’m Elliot Winters. Do you mind if I sit by you?”
Rebecca stared at him. She hadn’t been this close to Elliot in a long, long time, and the smell of him made her a little unfocused. “What are you doing?” she asked, keeping her hands in her lap.
“Starting over. It seems like all we’ve done since we were reacquainted is argue, and I hoped that now that things have calmed down some, we could pretend we had just met.”
Rebecca looked at him closely. He looked younger, almost as if some of the weight he had been carrying had been lifted somehow. She smiled and placed her hand in his. “I’m Rebecca Done,” she said, “but most people call me Rebecca. Pleased to meet you, Elliot.”
His sudden grin almost knocked her out of her seat. “What are you reading?” he asked, glancing at the book on her lap.
She turned it over so he could see the cover. “Romeo and Juliet,” she said, feeling like she needed to defend herself. How many people read Shakespeare for fun? “I didn’t think I had a handle on it when I took that Shakespeare course a few years ago and thought I’d give it another chance.”
“Interesting choice.” Elliot took the book and flipped idly through it. “I always thought Romeo was an idiot for not checking to see if Juliet was still breathing before he did himself in,” he mused. “He knew the plan, just not that it had changed. You would think he would have at least checked.”
“You might,” Rebecca commented, watching him scan the pages of the play, “but you’re not a hormonal teenager getting married behind your parents’ back, either.”
A strange expression flitted across Elliot’s face. “True,” he said. “At least I’m not anymore.”
Rebecca could feel her face getting hot, and she couldn’t think of anything to say. After a minute of uncomfortable silence, Elliot cleared his throat.
“So tell me what you’ve been doing for the past seven years,” he said. “Start the day after we last spoke.”
Rebecca leaned her head back against the seat. “That was so long ago,” she said. “It seems like I waited around for two years for William to change his mind about college. And I went on way too many blind dates.”
“Did any of them make it to second dates?” Elliot’s tone was carefully neutral.
“A few,” she admitted. “But never more than two.”
“Until Michael.”
Rebecca laughed. “Michael was different. He had such a calm personality, and at the time I needed someone who wouldn’t pressure me to do anything. He was amazingly easy to talk to, and he made me laugh.”
“But when he asked you to marry him, you said no.”
Rebecca turned her head
to look at him strangely. “You can’t get over that,” she said. “What’s the big deal? Michael didn’t really want to marry me; he told me so himself. He was under pressure from his parents to find a sweet girl and settle down, and he figured he could do worse than to marry me. I never told him I was in love with him, so he wasn’t going in under false pretenses.”
“I know; you’ve said that all before,” Elliot said. “Did you ever go out with Aaron Sharpe?”
Surprised that he remembered Aaron, Rebecca laughed softly. “No, thank goodness. He was the one person Faye wanted me to go out with the most, and I somehow managed to avoid him. I still haven’t met poor Aaron. For all I know, he’s a perfectly lovely person. Maybe he’s even my Nicole.” She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. If he had been any of her other friends she would have shuddered and then laughed. Nicole was not a person she would wish on anyone, but she was pretty sure Elliot didn’t see it that way.
“I somehow doubt that.” Elliot’s voice sounded sour.
Rebecca looked out of the window and then, deciding it was time to change the subject, went on. “After I figured out that William wasn’t going to change his opinion about higher education, I decided to go to school anyway. I applied to several out-of-state colleges, got into the University of Michigan, and off I went.”
“What did you major in?”
“English lit. I loved every minute of it, even though it took me five years to graduate.”
“Why did it take so long?” Elliot sounded genuinely curious.
“Well, I didn’t want to get out of school to face a mountain of debt, so I started a few jobs and that took time away from studying. And then Jen got me interested in volunteering at the hospital, and that took even more time.”
“Volunteering?”
Damn it, Rebecca thought. It shouldn’t still be this easy to talk to Elliot. I open my mouth and all sorts of things I want to keep to myself come tumbling out before I can stop them. “Yes,” she said. “I spent a few hours every week at the children’s hospital in Ann Arbor.”
A loud sound, like someone clearing her throat in disgust, came from the row in front of them.
“All right, all right.” Rebecca sighed in resignation. “I spent a little more than a few hours there every week. And it’s really good that I did, or I might not have landed this job at the library.”
“How does Haley know how much time you spent volunteering at a children’s hospital in another state?” Elliot whispered, glancing at Haley’s seat.
“We met when I was dating Michael, and we emailed sporadically throughout my college years. She used to tease me that I’d never find anyone interesting over the age of twelve.” Rebecca paused. It was time to turn the conversation around again. “What about you? What did you do after you left?”
Elliot looked away. “I went out to find my fortune,” he said at last, and then laughed. “I was determined to make something of myself. But that’s hard to do when you’re eighteen and ignorant, so it took me a while before I figured out that I should go to college and then try to make my mark on the world. Northwestern was an easy choice, and I ended up majoring in journalism. Locke, who you’ll meet later, was my first roommate.”
“He’s been through a tough time, hasn’t he?”
Rubbing his eyes, Elliot nodded. “What he really needs is a friend,” he said quietly. “I wish I could be the person he needs, but for whatever reason he won’t talk to me. I’m hoping he finds a connection with someone on this trip.”
Rebecca was silent for a long time. She wondered if Elliot wanted her to meet Locke to get her out of his hair. When she looked at him again, she was almost tempted to ask him. But his head had fallen back against the cushion of the chair. He was fast asleep.
***
When the plane landed in Traverse City, an older couple that looked happy to see them met them. They hugged Elliot before he introduced them. “These are Locke’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Shaw,” he said, and then proceeded to give everyone’s name.
“We’re so happy you could come,” Mrs. Shaw said in a pleased voice. “I know Locke will be happy to see you as well.”
Rebecca followed the group out of the airport. She slowed down, closed her eyes, and breathed in the fresh air, holding it in her lungs as long as she could.
“Does it smell different than the air in Chicago?” Elliot’s voice sounded amused.
“It does, actually,” she said. “It smells less like a city. Greener, I would call it.”
Grinning, Elliot inhaled. “Nope. Smells the same to me.”
“That’s because you’re city folk,” she retorted.
“And proud of it.”
“Are you two coming?” Rebecca could hear Cassie’s voice across the parking lot.
She smiled ruefully at Elliot. “It looks like we’ve fallen behind.”
Elliot grabbed her suitcase from her hand and started walking toward the Shaw’s car. “Come on,” he said over his shoulder. “Locke’s anxious to meet you.”
Rebecca thought about this statement on the way to the house. Why would Locke want to see her? As far as she knew she had never met him. Had Elliot been talking about her? The idea seemed ludicrous. Why would Elliot waste his time speaking of a girl who had dumped him years before?
Ah, her subconscious cut in, but he’s been friends with Locke for a long time. Maybe he spilled his guts at some party when he’d been drinking too much. Her mind adopted a sly edge to it. Or perhaps he never got over you…
Rebecca squirmed in her seat and tried to erase the voice from her head. Of course Elliot had moved on, she told herself sternly. Otherwise he wouldn’t be seeing Nicole.
Rebecca caught her first glimpse of Locke when they were taking the suitcases from the car. He opened the front door of his parent’s house and walked slowly down the sidewalk toward them. He wasn’t smiling, but she could see a glimmer of happiness in his expression when he spotted Elliot.
Elliot put the suitcase he was carrying on the ground and walked forward to embrace his friend. When they parted, the emotion on Locke’s face was almost more than Rebecca could stand to watch. She looked away to hide her reaction, but Elliot called her over.
“This is Rebecca Done,” he said simply.
Locke looked at Rebecca with some interest and clasped her hand. “You’re the famous Rebecca,” he said before Elliot stepped on his foot.
Rebecca looked up into Locke’s face. Why did tall people all have tall friends? she wondered. It would be good to be introduced to someone who didn’t tower over her for a change. She saw a combination of feelings cross his features. The most prominent was pain, and it was so acute that she caught her breath, put her arms around him, and held on. Locke went rigid with surprise and then his hand found their way to her back. Over his shoulder, Rebecca could see Elliot watching them. He looked strange, as though he had obtained what he wanted only to find that he didn’t really want it after all.
When they separated Locke said, “I see what you mean, Elliot. Hopeless to the core.”
Rebecca couldn’t figure out what they were talking about, but Elliot cleared his throat, looking very uncomfortable. “What time are we leaving for the island?” he asked.
“Not until tomorrow. By the time we drove to the harbor, it would be too dark to see anything, so we’ll have to sail first thing in the morning.”
Hearing this, Nicole walked over and took Elliot’s arm. “We have to stay here overnight?” she whined. “I was looking forward to our boat cruise, Elliot.”
“It’s not exactly a boat cruise.” Rebecca tried to sound patient. “It’s a ride on a big boat with lots of other people.”
“Actually,” Locke said in his quiet tone, “I have my own boat.” Seeing Rebecca’s embarrassment, he went on quickly, “but it’s not very romantic, if that was what you were looking for.”
Rebecca shot him a grateful look. “Thanks,” she said in a low voice.
The corners of Locke
’s mouth lifted almost imperceptibly. “I think I’m going to like you, Rebecca Done. Maybe you’re what I’ve been searching for.”
Rebecca smiled back at him. “Maybe so,” she agreed. And for the first time since she had seen Elliot Winters again, she allowed herself to feel a small measure of hope.
The next morning, Rebecca was eating a bagel on the back porch when Cassie found her. She was carrying a piece of paper and a mug. “I just found this on the kitchen table,” she said, waving the paper. “I thought you might be interested in reading it.”
She handed Rebecca a printout of Elliot’s column. It was dated that morning.
“What’s this?” Rebecca asked, suspicious.
Cassie shrugged. “It looks like this is a working vacation for Elliot after all.” She put her free arm around Rebecca’s shoulder. “I believe he’s starting to come around,” she said, and then disappeared inside the house.
Lost Dreams
by Elliot Winters
I was on a plane headed for Michigan yesterday when I got into a conversation with my seat-mate about Romeo and Juliet, of all things. I read it in high school, like most of you were probably forced to do, and on this particular trip the ending of the story hit me as being tremendously ironic. For more than one reason.
To recap for those of you who read the Cliff’s Notes version the night before your English test and then tried your darndest to forget you ever heard about the Capulets and the Montagues, the ending goes something like this: Romeo and Juliet got married in secret and then hatched an absurd plan to fake Juliet’s death so they could move away and live happily ever after. Of course, like all such plots, it didn’t go exactly as planned, and while Juliet took the potion that would make her appear dead, she did it a day early. When Romeo discovered this, he automatically assumed she really was dead. He then proceeded to kill his best friend and then poisoned himself. Juliet woke up just after all this happened of course and stabbed herself in the heart.
The Ex's Confession Page 12
