Flying Backwards

by Jennifer W Smith

  “Sounds like you’ve thought this through. We support you, kiddo.” Russ nodded across the table at his wife, who followed suit.

  Heidi added, “We love you, Eleanor. We only want what is best for you.”

  Nora was relieved at how well the conversation had gone. When had she learned to assert herself, especially with her parents?

  That next day, when Nora got back to Philadelphia, the girls applied for a transfer to London. Soon they were off on their first overseas adventure together in Paris.

  Nora had stepped out of her life “in a nut shell” and found freedom with her new career in a new state and soon a new country. She was seeing the world. This was what she’d set out to do. She felt more confident and comfortable with her jetsetter life. She was excited to continue her pursuit of happiness by moving to England.

  She talked to Ben frequently. He was cheerful when she told him she had decided to move to London. Everything was falling into place.

  * * *

  Nora and Bree’s trip to Paris was everything Nora imagined for a girls’ getaway. They were shopped out, exhausted from sightseeing, and aching from laughter–and they couldn’t wait to do it all over again in another city.

  They’d both received permission to transfer and were lining up a place to stay, thanks to Ashley. Nora’s thirtieth birthday was fast approaching, and Bree suggested their friends come across the pond for a celebration. It was especially nice that Ben was coming over, since she hadn’t been able to see him for several weeks.

  It was an amazing couple of days. Ben and Corrine came to the States with Evan and his sister Ashley for a long weekend in October. They got hotel rooms a few blocks from Bree and Nora’s townhouse. This was the gang’s last-ditch effort to visit Philadelphia before the girls made their overseas move. The nights were getting cooler. Because the visitors were flying home on Nora’s actual birthday, they were going to celebrate at her favorite Mexican restaurant the night before.

  Bree and Nora had only two weeks left to pack up their personal belongings. Bree’s parents were seeing to everything else, including having all their furniture, dishes, and whatever else they wanted to take to the new apartment boxed and shipped. They couldn’t have made Nora’s life easier. By the end of October, Nora would be a British resident.

  The first night, during their slow pub crawl, the gang had run into Alexei at one of the bars. Nora asked him privately where Sergei was. Alexei replied that Sergei was working and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. Nora felt some relief that her former love interest wasn’t going to be around to make things awkward for her when Ben was visiting. Nora wanted to talk to Sergei after the gang left in two days and say good-bye before she moved. A part of her was sad she might not see him again after she moved. Despite their short-lived romance, she did care for him.

  The next morning, after sleeping in, they met at eleven for an Historic Philadelphia city bus tour. After the tour they walked over to sample the famous warring cheesesteak stands of Philadelphia. Half the group ordered from one stand, and the other half went directly across the street to the competition. They shared the Philly cheesesteaks and voted. Laughing and joking, they attempted to figure out what type the gelatinous yellow cheese actually was. They agreed it would remain a mystery. They headed back to the townhouse to relax before they could even think about dinner. That was when everything went wrong.

  The friends walked side by side on the sidewalk under the tree shade. Nora and Corrine were followed by Ashley and Bree. The guys lagged behind, immersed in conversation. As the girls approached the front steps, Nora heard Ashley’s breathy voice: “Who is that?” She referred to a man sitting on the stoop, watching them approach, a dozen long-stemmed red roses in his lap. He stood as they neared.

  “Oh my God.” Bree exclaimed under her breath. She had seen his picture several times on Nora’s phone.

  It was Antonio.

  Nora stood in shock for a moment, staring at Antonio. How can he be here, in America…‌in Philadelphia? Why is he here?

  “Ahhh…” Nora nervously turned to her friends. “Will you excuse me for a minute?” She noticed that Ben and Evan had caught up to the three girls, who had stopped in their tracks. Their curious eyes observed that something was amiss.

  Nora forced herself to move forward toward the man she thought she would never see again. She’d made things clear to him. What is he doing here? Nora heart hammered against her chest.

  Antonio smiled as Nora approached. He flashed a smile and a wave to her group of friends, who lingered with wide-eyed stares. The girls couldn’t help eye him up and down; the guys stood a little taller and exchanged glances.

  He met her at the bottom of the steps. “Nora.” Antonio, devastatingly handsome, caressed her face with his dark, dreamy eyes.

  All Nora could think about was getting rid of him. Ben is watching! What the hell is happening?

  “Antonio, what are you doing here?” Nora could feel five sets of eyes burning into her skin.

  “I have come for you, Nora.” He reached out to caress her cheek, but Nora snatched his hand away and pulled him down the street in the opposite direction from her friends. She didn’t want them to hear what Antonio was saying. She prayed they hadn’t heard that he’d come for her. Maybe they would go inside now that she’d moved him away from the door. He stopped only a few steps away, turning her to face him.

  “I have come all this way to tell you in person how much you mean to me, Nora. I needed to see you. You have not left my thoughts for weeks.” He glanced sideways at her friends, who were talking quietly and sending glances their way.

  Nora looked at Ben under her lashes and watched his fidgety posture. What must he be thinking?

  “Antonio, before you go any further…” She intended to tell him she was with someone else. And that he was standing right there! But she was interrupted.

  “These are for you, a symbol of my love and passion for you.” He thrust the roses into her hands and got down on one knee.

  Oh God, she thought, this can’t be happening. Nora felt a wave of heat wash over her. Her stomach was twisting, her hands ice cold.

  “I told you I am not going to marry an Italian girl to make my family happy.” He shook his head; his dark, glossy waves tussled over his forehead. “That doesn’t matter. What I realize is that I want to be with you. I love you, and I know my family will be happy with my decision. They will love you too.” His smile accentuated his sensuous lips. “Nora, will you marry me?”

  Nora tried to swallow, but there was a huge dry lump in her throat; she couldn’t even speak. After an extended moment of silence, Antonio stood up and continued. “You don’t have to answer right now. I can see that I have chosen the wrong time.” He glanced at her friends, who were talking loudly to one of the men, who looked quite upset.

  Nora sent a pleading look in Ben’s direction. But when their eyes met, Ben looked away, disgusted. That prompted her voice, raw with emotion. She tore her eyes away from Ben toward Antonio. “I think it would be best if you left right now. I’m sorry, but my answer is no. I just want you to go. I can’t talk to you right now.” She shoved the roses back at him and turned to leave.

  The roses fell to the ground. Antonio grabbed Nora’s arm.

  “Hey, let her go!” yelled a heavy Russian accent from across the street.

  “Oh shit!” Bree’s voice caught everyone’s attention. And the group once more watched with open mouths as a large man crossed the street and faced Antonio with fury.

  “Is there a problem here?” Sergei said in his thick accent to the Italian man, who swept Nora behind him, out of the way.

  “There is no problem here, friend. Why don’t you mind your own business and go back over there?” Antonio gestured in the direction from which his opponent came. The two large men were puffed up like peacocks, staring each other down. Nora, now released, held up her hands and stepped between them.

  “S
top!” she shouted. Her anger at the ridiculous situation was mounting. Nora looked down the sidewalk for Ben, but he was walking away. Corrine sent Nora an accusing look before following her brother. Evan left too. Bree and Ashley waited to see how this was going to play out.

  There were tears in Nora’s eyes when she looked at Antonio.

  “Nora, I am sorry.” Antonio’s voice was tender, and he reached for her.

  “No. No!” she repeated louder. “My answer is no. Antonio, please, just go home. I’m sorry you came all this way.”

  Sergei stepped back, dropping his eyes to the red roses strewn across the ground. Nora moved to stand next to him, once again her protector. She hadn’t seen him step out of his house across the street or heard his car door close after he’d placed his gym bag inside. She guessed he’d watched the scene unfold and figured there was trouble.

  Antonio looked like a wounded boy. His dark eyes were questioning her choice, and he said a quiet “Oh.” Sergei watched the guy’s gusto deflate. Nora clamped down on her upper lip, trying not to cry, but hot tears spilled from her eyes when she blinked. Antonio gave her a curt nod and turned to stride away. He didn’t look back, just crossed the street a block up and got into a rental car. He pulled out and sped away. Sergei was the last man standing. Ben was out of view now.

  Nora turned to Sergei and allowed him to fold her into his arms. She cried for a few minutes before Bree and Ashley approached. Nora felt safe and cared for in Sergei’s arms, her protector and friend. The thought flickered briefly across her mind: Why didn’t it work out with us? But Ben’s hurt expression resurfaced in her mind.

  “We’ve got it from here,” Bree said to Sergei. Sergei let Nora go reluctantly. He crossed to his car and watched Bree usher Nora inside. Ashley looked back curiously at Sergei before disappearing inside.

  Ashley closed the door and stood in front of the sofa, looking down at Bree and Nora. Nora sat with her face buried in her hands.

  “What the bloody hell was that all about?” There was anguish in Ashley’s voice.

  Nora knew all too well how deeply her friends cared about Ben and that they would protect him at all cost. They’d been so happy when he took a liking to her. Nora felt terrible. This farce was not her fault. But it didn’t matter. She worried that Ben must hate her now. They must all hate me! she thought.

  Bree knew the whole background story and defended Nora. She cautioned Ashley to calm down, holding up her hand. “Ash, that guy with the roses was an ex-boyfriend. Ex. Nora broke up with him a while ago.”

  Nora peeked over the top of her fingers at Ashley and rested her elbows on her knees. She felt sick and was grateful that Bree was explaining things.

  “She broke up with him?” Ashley accused doubtfully.

  “It’s complicated,” Bree stated flatly. “He’s been pursuing Nora since she broke up with him. Ash, that guy was engaged and basically asked Nora to be his mistress.” Bree let out a frustrated breath. “I’m telling you, he’s messed up!”

  “What?” Ashley plopped down next to Nora and nudged her for more information.

  Nora had stopped crying. She dropped her hands from her face and sat back against the cushions, folding her arms over her chest and hugging her broken heart. She gave a sarcastic chuckle. She explained the saga of Antonio to Ashley.

  Ashley whistled. “Sweet Fanny Adams.” Nora had never heard that phrase but got the gist. Ashley cocked her head to the side so her auburn curls bounced on her shoulder. “And the other guy? The Russian?”

  “That’s Sergei, our neighbor and good friend,” Bree answered. “Do you remember meeting Alexei the other night? He and Sergei are roomies. They’ve been our friends since we moved to Philly. They are both great guys,” Bree said emphatically.

  Nora exchanged glances with Bree; they would not soon forget how Sergei had stood up for Bree with Tyron. They left the subject of the Russian at that.

  “I need to talk to Ben.” Nora pulled her phone out of her back pocket and dialed his number. It went to voice mail. She hung up and headed for the door. “I need to find him. We need to talk.”

  “Hold on,” Ashley said, digging in her purse for her phone. “I’ll call Corrine and see where they are.”

  Corrine said they were back at the hotel and reported that Ben was upset and didn’t want to talk to Nora. Nora decided she would walk over to the hotel anyway and the three of them walked the few blocks in silence. Evan and Corrine were in the lobby, having a heated conversation.

  Corrine saw them come in and marched over to Nora. “My brother doesn’t want to see you.” There was a mixture of anger and hurt in her voice. Nora and Corrine had become good friends, but Ben was Corrine’s brother. Nora did not blame her for her raw, mixed emotions.

  “Corrine, I’m sorry that happened. That guy is my ex. We broke up ages ago. I don’t know why he came all this way. I told him it was over before your brother and I ever got involved. I swear. I would never deceive him–or any of you,” Nora pleaded. Bree nodded emphatically, backing up Nora in her dilemma.

  Corrine’s shoulders visibly dropped as she exhaled. She was clearly relieved to hear her friend say so, but Nora understood she was still hurting on her brother’s behalf. “I’m sorry, but he doesn’t want to see you,” she said with more sympathy.

  Nora looked at Bree, Evan’s arm around her shoulder.

  Evan confessed, “He left.”

  “What do you mean? Where did he go?” Surely if he is out walking, clearing his head, I can catch up to him, thought Nora.

  “He grabbed his things, checked out, and took a cab to the airport. He said he got the last seat on the five o’clock flight.” He glanced at his watch.

  Nora didn’t hear Evan telling them that he and Corrine had just been arguing about whether to leave on a later flight tonight or wait for their original flight tomorrow afternoon. The pounding in her chest had elevated to her ears. She trembled with panic. He’s so upset that he just left! He left without any explanation!

  Nora’s head snapped up. “Right!” she declared, interrupting Corrine, who was talking about leaving on the eight o’clock flight. “I’ll come with you, Corrine. I can make the eight o’clock flight.”

  “No. I don’t think that would be a good idea. If Ben chose to leave, then he’s choosing to be alone, probably for a while.” The rest of them nodded and murmured in agreement.

  “I have to explain this to him. He’s going to end our relationship without even knowing what happened. He won’t even hear me out? You are saying he will refuse to talk to me? To see me?” Evan and Corrine looked at her sheepishly.

  “He’s like one of his animals. He’ll need time to lick his wounds,” Corrine reasoned. “Knowing Ben, he’ll brood and throw himself into his work. If and when he is ready, he’ll contact you,” Corrine said softly. “He will reach out to you in time.”

  “Ben really likes you, Nora. Probably this was a wakeup call as to how much,” Ashley added. The girls nodded in unison.

  “Yeah. He watched another man profess his love and propose to you. That was a blow to his ego,” Evan added matter-of-factly.

  Nora felt tears of frustration well up, but she swallowed them back down. “Fine. Please tell Ben that I am truly sorry that my ex-boyfriend showed up out of the blue and proposed to me in front of him–and that I obviously said no.” She paused, taking in a shaky breath before she went on. “And I would very much like for him to call me so we can fix this.”

  “Of course.” Ashley rushed over and hugged Nora. “I’ll explain everything you told me to Ben when I see him.”

  Nora nodded mutely into the fall of hair that tickled her face.

  Ashley’s hug was replaced by Bree’s. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.” Bree squeezed her roommate around the shoulders. Nora apologized to Ashley, Corrine, and Evan for ruining their visit and said her good-byes.

  At home, Nora went to her room and traded her jeans for pajama pants.
She dropped her cropped knit sweater on the bedroom floor and pulled a hoodie sweatshirt over her tank top. She tossed the bracelets that tangled in the sleeve of her sweater on her small nightstand.

  When Bree knocked briefly before pushing the door open, Nora was lying in bed. “Hey, I made you some chamomile tea.” She held a steaming mug with a geometric pattern on it, the tell-tail string and tea bag label hanging over its side.

  “Thanks,” Nora murmured, but she didn’t move to sit up. Bree set the mug on the windowsill and sat on the bed. “Bree, what am I going to do?” Nora had rehearsed in her mind what she would say to Ben. Surely he would realize that none of this was her fault! “He’s being childish,” Nora accused. Defensively she added, “Maybe it’s for the best. If he’s acting like this now, then maybe our relationship wasn’t going to go any further anyway.”

  “Nora, remember how long it took Ben to get to know you and show interest? He is a deep thinker. He has to mull everything over before he decides on anything. He’s always been like that.” Bree mused, “He probably left so he could give you space to make your choice.”

  “What choice? I wanted him to stay.”

  “I mean about Antonio. Maybe Ben thought you might still have feelings for the guy and might want to say yes to his marriage proposal. Ben’s like that! If Ben thought you’d be happier with someone else, then he’d back down. I’ve seen it happen before,” Bree warned.

  Oh Ben, so sweet and sensitive. Nora hated the woman before her who’d broken his heart. But now she’d probably done the same thing! Her anger slipped away, and she curled into a ball on the bed.

  Bree’s phone rang. She pulled it free from her back pocket glanced at it. “It’s Evan,” she said without answering it.

  “Oh, it’s their last night here!” Nora remembered, lifting her head slightly off the pillow.

  “Yeah, they were looking to go to dinner, but I’m staying with you. I’ll call him back in a few.” Bree rested her hand on Nora’s arm. Nora felt the prick of tears again. She was very grateful to have a friend like Bree.