One Way Ticket

by Melissa Baldwin

  He answered on the second ring. “Sabrina?”

  As soon as I heard his voice I wanted to cry.

  “Yes, it’s me,” I replied, my voice barely over a whisper. This was so weird. It was like I was on the phone with a stranger and not the man I was about to spend the rest of my life with only days ago.

  “I’m so sorry, Todd—for everything.”

  He didn’t say a word. For a second, I thought he had hung up.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were having doubts?” he asked a few seconds later.

  It was a good question. Why hadn’t I told him?

  “I don’t know.” I paused to clear my throat, feeling the weight of my actions. “Maybe I was hoping it was just nerves and my doubts would go away? The morning of our—of the day we were supposed to get married—I started panicking. I was dressed and ready to walk down that aisle and then I—”

  “You ran,” he offered. His voice was hard.

  And I couldn’t blame him one bit.

  I guess “ran” was a good description. Either that or “crawled out a window.” Neither of them made me feel good about myself.

  “I wish I could go back and do things differently, Todd. Really, I do. You deserved to know how I was feeling, not to be left alone to face our family and friends. I’m so sorry.”

  He didn’t reply. I was expecting him to yell or cry . . . or something.

  “I never meant to hurt you.” Tears welled in my eyes, my heart heavy.

  “Sabrina?” I heard him let out a puff of air. “You weren’t the only one who was having doubts,” he said softly.

  Well, I certainly didn’t expect that answer. My jaw dropped open.

  Todd had been having doubts, too?

  “I’m just as much to blame here. I stayed silent while our wedding was being planned around us. I couldn’t tell you how many nights I’d lie awake, worrying about how to tell you I wasn’t sure about us getting married.”

  I couldn’t believe Todd had been feeling the same way as me! Not that it was an excuse for the way I handled things, of course.

  “I had no idea,” I whispered into the phone. “At least you didn’t run out on me.” The guilt twisted in my stomach.

  “Yeah, that wasn’t one of my best days,” he replied, a hint of humor in his voice.

  He was taking this so well!

  “I’m pretty sure my mother is ready to take me out of her will. She called a few days ago and demanded I come home,” I added in a lighter tone.

  “Where are you anyway?” he asked.

  I cringed. I wasn’t ready to tell anyone I was in Orlando. Not yet.

  “I will tell you, just not yet. I’m okay, though. Please don’t be mad.”

  He didn’t respond, and suddenly, we were back to our uncomfortable silence.

  “I’m not mad,” he said eventually.

  I knew Todd well enough to know he was telling me the truth. After all, we had been together for years, practically grown up together.

  A tear escaped and rolled down my face. “Thank you,” I whispered, gripping onto my phone. I cleared my throat. “What happens now?”

  Now that I knew he had felt the same, I didn’t feel as guilty as I did before.

  “I’m not sure. We probably need to make a decision about us and where we stand.”

  This was the part I was dreading the most. I still loved Todd, but I knew I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life with him, and I didn’t want to hurt him more than I already had.

  “It’s obvious that neither of us wants to get married,” he said, as if he were reading my mind.

  I’d say my window escape was a very good indication of that.

  “You’re right about that . . .” I trailed off as I tried to come up with the right words. “Todd, I will always love you, I’m just not—”

  “You’re just not in love with me.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  It was beginning to feel like this whole conversation was me apologizing.

  “Sabrina, you were the first girl I loved, but I’m not in love with you anymore, either. I was hurt you left without talking to me, and there was a part of me that wanted to try and fix whatever it was that went wrong. But now? I guess I also needed this time to clear my head.”

  I felt a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders. Neither of us wanted to get married and neither of us really wanted to be together anymore.

  An intense wave of sadness washed over me. I knew what was coming—and so did he.

  “It’s over, isn’t it?” I said as a fresh tear slid down my cheek.

  “It is.”

  I couldn’t help but cry. Even though I knew with all my heart this was the right thing, it still hurt like hell. Todd and I had been together for a long time. Our lives were so intertwined, and we shared so many wonderful memories.

  “Don’t cry,” he said, his voice heavy with emotion.

  “I wish you all the happiness in the world,” I managed in between my tears.

  We both grew silent once again. How were we supposed to end this call? Not only had we officially ended our engagement, we had ended our relationship, too.

  “This is going to put our mothers over the edge,” I said, lightening the tone. “Especially Priscilla.”

  “They should want us to be happy,” he replied with such surety in his voice.

  He was right; they should.

  “I want you to be happy, too, Sabrina. Wherever that may be.”

  He made it sound like I wasn’t coming back to San Francisco. I wondered if he knew something I didn’t?

  “Thank you. You, too.”

  We paused once again.

  “I guess this is it.”

  “I guess it is. Have a good night, Sabrina.”

  “You too, Todd.”

  As soon as we hung up, the tears really began to fall. It was officially over between us, and this was just as hard as I had expected.

  Still sitting on the sofa, I replayed our conversation in my mind. I couldn’t help but think about the comment he’d made. I definitely wasn’t ready to think about returning to San Francisco or any more life-altering decisions right now.

  I looked at my left hand, playing with my engagement ring, still on my ring finger. I slipped it off and held it up, the light catching the diamond. It was a beautiful ring. I remember when Todd had asked me to marry him, opening the little blue box to reveal this stunning ring nestled inside.

  I pressed my lips together and closed my eyes, tears streaming down my face.

  I stood up and walked into Addi’s spare room. I pulled open the nightstand drawer and carefully placed the ring inside. I closed the drawer.

  I would give it back to Todd, someday.

  I let out a heavy breath. I had to take it one step at a time.

  Now, all I had to do was figure out how to break the news about the end of our relationship to my mother.

  Chapter 9

  Addison

  Have you been on the cable car yet? Walked across the Golden Gate Bridge? You need to do everything! Enjoy being a tourist!

  I had to get out of here if it was the last thing I did.

  After the emotional rollercoaster of seeing my knight, feeling that incredible spark, and then finding out he was Sabrina’s Todd, I needed to put as much space between me and The Flower Girl as was humanly possible.

  I switched everything off, locked up, and beat a hasty retreat out of the Ferry Building, across the tramlines and plaza, and out onto Market Street. I walked at a brisk pace, my heart beating hard, praying not to bump into Naomi or Todd.

  There must be millions of men in San Francisco. And, out of all of them, I had to fall for Todd. Todd! The one guy that absolutely had to be a no-fly zone for me.

  I clenched my fists at my sides as I walked past the high-rise buildings, the business people, the street performers, the storefronts, not really seeing any of them. Todd’s face flashed into my mind and my tummy did a flip-flop. That smile, those
eyes . . .

  No. I couldn’t think about him.

  I quickened my pace.

  What was I going to say to Sabrina? “Hey, Sabrina. Your fiancé dragged me out of a hedge when I crashed your scooter and now I have feelings for him. All okay with you?”

  No, no, no. That could not happen, would not happen. I needed to forget about him, think about other things. Move on dot com.

  No matter what he’d sparked in me.

  Without even realizing it, I found myself standing on the sidewalk, facing one of those classic cable cars, slowly revolving around on a turning plate. I blinked.

  I was in one of the world’s most famous cities, and I was paying zero attention to it.

  I pulled my phone out of my purse and took a series of photos of the cable car and its surroundings. I chose the best and uploaded it to Instagram before I returned it to my purse. I was going to be a tourist, damn it!

  I crossed the street and waited with a group of people, their cameras slung around their necks, their caps and T-shirts screaming “I’m from somewhere else!” They stood out like a group of very sore thumbs in a sea of hip and stylish San Franciscans.

  A few moments later, the cap-wearing gang boarded the cable car, all of us scrambling to get one of the external seats they were famous for.

  I won.

  Planting my butt firmly on the wooden-slatted seat, I let out a heavy sigh. I would forget about Todd and instead lap up the city around me.

  With a clang of bells, the cable car lurched forward and we were off, making our slow progress through the city streets. I sat, wedged between the super-sized passengers excitedly chatting among themselves as they snapped their cameras in some sort of tourist-induced photographing frenzy.

  I soaked the city up: the sights, the sounds. We made a steady climb up the street, the island of Alcatraz sitting in the sparkling blue harbor below, the beautiful bay area beyond.

  This. This was what I was here for. A new life in a new city.

  Not other people’s fiancés abandoned at the altar.

  Careful not to bump the tourists on either side of me, I pulled my phone out of my purse to check where I was—and where this cable car was taking me. As I glanced at my screen, I was shocked to see three missed calls from Tonya, my bestie from back home in New Zealand.

  Three missed calls in the last thirty or so minutes meant only one thing: a problem.

  I dialed her number. She picked up after only one ring.

  “I can’t believe you’re in San Francisco!”

  “How did . . . ?” I stopped myself.

  I’d uploaded a photo to Instagram. Of course! That was dumb with a capital D. The game was up, I had to own up to her. “Yup, I’m here all right.”

  “I am so jealous! I’m looking out the window at the pouring rain right now,” Tonya replied.

  I pictured her in our old apartment in Wellington, curled up on the sofa in her favorite pj’s, her curly hair tucked behind her ears.

  “It’s pretty nice here, that’s for sure.”

  I watched as we slid past a row of ornate buildings, a pretty florist in an old Victorian building on the corner, reminding me of Blooms on Valencia back in Orlando.

  “Nice? I’ve heard it’s spectacular! What are you doing there? I thought you were in Orlando.”

  I bit my lip. What should I say? Tonya had been my best friend since I met her on our very first day of school. She almost knew me better than I knew myself. I couldn’t lie to her.

  “I’m here for a while. I kind of . . . switched lives with someone.” I held my breath, waiting for her response.

  “You did what?!”

  I had to remove the phone from my ear, her screech was so loud and high-pitched. I swear dolphins in the nearby bay pricked up their ears.

  Returning the phone to my own ear, I launched into the whole story about how I’d met Sabrina, the runaway bride, how our flights had been canceled, and how we’d talked and eventually agreed to switch lives.

  “You knew the runaway bride? The one dashing through the airport on YouTube?”

  “She’s on YouTube?” My voice cracked a little.

  “Yeah, it’s a really popular clip. I can’t believe you were there!”

  I thought of Sabrina and my heart broke. As if it wasn’t a difficult enough time for her, somebody went and put a video clip of her on the net. Jerk.

  “Yup, I was there.”

  “So, you’re telling me you met this bride at the airport and decided to change lives with her?” Tonya questioned.

  I squirmed in my seat, glad she couldn’t see me. I knew Tonya had a point. I’d only known Sabrina for a matter of hours before we went to the ticket desk and purchased new tickets.

  Our one-way tickets to a new life.

  “It wasn’t like that, Tons. We talked for ages first. And she’s really nice. She’s a florist, too! She’s running Blooms, and I’m at her shop here in San Francisco. We both felt like it was . . . fate, I guess.”

  “Fate?” I could hear the disbelief in her voice.

  “Yes, fate.”

  Because that was how it had felt. Until I’d learned my knight’s identity, that was.

  “I don’t know, Addi.”

  I bit my lip. “Can you please trust me on this one?”

  “Are you happy?”

  I didn’t have to think about my response. “I am.”

  Other than falling for the wrong guy, that is. But I didn’t mention that.

  She let out a puff of air. “Well, as long as you are happy, then I guess I’m all for it.”

  I beamed. “Thank you. I knew you’d have my back. You’re the best, Tons.”

  “Why did you want to switch lives with someone in the first place?”

  I thought about it before I responded. “I guess I wasn’t feeling it. After Jon, I felt like I was treading water. Do you know what I mean?”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “I don’t know. I think I needed a change, to mix things up a bit.”

  “I get that, but, why didn’t you decide to come home instead? I miss you, and Geoff keeps asking after you.”

  I bit my lip. Geoff was my ex, the one I left to follow Jon to Orlando. Much like Sabrina and Todd, we’d been together since high school, and at one point, I’d thought I would spend my life with him.

  “He does, huh?” I asked, a smile twitching at the corners of my mouth.

  In my darker moments, I had wondered whether leaving Geoff was a mistake.

  “Are you kidding? He’s still totally in love with you.”

  I smiled. “He is? It’s been two years, Tons.”

  “Look, why don’t you have some fun in San Francisco and then think about moving back?”

  “Okay,” I replied, not sure if I meant it.

  Moving back to New Zealand and seeing Tonya every day would be so great. And Geoff? Geoff I would need to think about some more.

  After bidding farewell to Tonya—and promising to keep her abreast of any further life-altering decisions I made in airports—the cable car stopped near a laundry called “Sandra’s Soapies.” I smiled at the name.

  An oversized woman slowly disembarked. I glanced up at the blue sky, enjoying the feeling of the warm sun on my face. I missed the heat of Orlando, but certainly not the stifling humidity. San Francisco in summer didn’t have much of either, and I felt a pang at the thought of Wellington, my hometown back in New Zealand, a place I hadn’t been since I’d left.

  Was it time to go home?

  A laptop bag came out of nowhere and hit me in the arm, interrupting my contemplation. “Ow!” I shot its owner a dirty look as I rubbed where it had got me.

  “I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” the laptop-weapon wielder replied.

  “Sure, yeah,” I replied, shooting him a quick smile.

  Accidents happened, and I’d finally got myself into a better headspace. I wasn’t going to hold a grudge.

  “I think I need to go on some sort of lapto
p management course,” my new neighbor added with a smile. “I almost took down an old lady with this thing earlier today.”

  I turned to look at him. He was probably a handful of years older than me, with sandy blond hair, dressed in a pair of chinos and an untucked checked shirt that matched his blue sneakers. His earphones hung out where his shirt buttoned up. He looked San Francisco cool.

  I smiled. “That might be a good idea. You don’t want to go around maiming the population.”

  His green eyes sparkled at me as he returned my smile. “Are you here visiting? You don’t look much like a tourist.” He nodded at the couple to my right, their Astros caps and T-shirts with “Everything’s Bigger in Texas” emblazoned across their chests.

  “Yes . . . err, actually, no.”

  He raised his eyebrows at me in question.

  “Actually, what I mean is I’m here for a while, just not sure how long, yet.”

  “Ah,” he replied, as though my response made perfect sense. “One of those, huh?”

  “What do you mean, ‘one of those’?”

  “Something to do with a guy, right?”

  I thought of Todd. No, definitely not. At least, not for me.

  “No, actually,” I replied with an air of indignation.

  “You say ‘actually’ a lot.”

  “Do I?”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, actually, you do.”

  I bit back a smile. This guy was flirting with me! I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. He was definitely cute, a sort of ‘guy next door’ type, but in a stylish, Northern Californian kind of way.

  “Maybe I should go to ‘actually’ management school?”

  “Good idea.” He laughed, extending his free hand. “I’m Asher.”

  I shook it. “Hey, Asher. I’m Addison.”

  “Great to meet you, Addison. That’s a cute accent you’ve got there.” He held my hand a little longer than was necessary, and I could feel a blush blooming in my cheeks.

  I shrugged. “New Zealand.”

  “I’ve been there. I went skiing in Queenstown a couple of years back. It was awesome.” He released my hand as the cable car lurched forward. “Where are you headed?”