I kiss her on the cheek. “I love you, mom.”
She pats me gently on the cheek and smiles at me. “Don’t waste another second.”
As soon as the cab drives away, I head back into the building. I reach Michael’s office and knock swiftly before entering. He finishes up a phone call and when he's through, he turns around to greet me with a smile.
Before he has a chance to speak, I stop him. “Michael, I’m going to France.”
He stares at me stunned for a moment before he is able to reply. “Megan, the trial is next week. I can’t have you gallivanting off across the world—“
“It wasn’t a question,” I tell him flatly. “You should give the case to Marcus. He’s new, but he’ll do a good job. I know it.”
“You’re really serious?” Michael says, crossing his arms over his chest.
“As serious as a heart attack,” I reply and then laugh. “That really is a terrible joke.”
Michael leans back in his chair, staring me over.
“Well then go,” he says, looking towards the door. “We’ll have it covered.” I expect a “but” to follow, yet nothing does. He just smiles at me and nods towards the door.
.........................
I have the world’s worst layover at JFK International I’ve ever had in my life. Even in the middle of the night, the crowds are thick. I don’t know how people do red-eyes. My mind feels like jelly by the time I get off the plane. I want to call Olivia and tell her that I am on my way, but when I go to grab my phone, I find it dead. I decide I’ll charge it before I get on my next flight. All my brain can think about is caffeine.
I stop at the first coffee shop I see and the moment I get to the counter, I impulsively decide on a hot chocolate instead.
There’s a bookstore opening in the wee hours of the morning and I wander inside. My hands slide across the covers, most of which I don’t recognize. I make a silent promise to myself that I’ll start reading again. I check the time and decide I’d better head back to board the plane.
A crowd has gathered around the large screens that show arrivals and departures. For whatever reason, I feel compelled to check my gate one last time before I venture back. As I make my way through the people, I stand off to the side, my eyes shifting through the long list of flights. Someone bumps into my side as I’m looking.
“I’m so sorry,” I turn towards them. A pretty young blonde woman smiles back and me.
“No worries,” she says, giving me a small wave.
When I arrive back, I stretch across some empty seats and plug my phone in to charge. People pass by me in all directions. I can’t believe how busy the airport is for so early in the morning.
Just as I’m about to close my eyes to catch a few minutes sleep, I notice that the gate across from me is headed back to San Francisco. I feel myself panic for a moment, wondering if I’m doing the right thing or if I should wait to talk to Olivia first.
I reach down and grab my phone from the seat beside me and dial her. I’d already forgotten what time it was in Europe but maybe she’d still answer. It rings twice and then I hear her sweet voice on the other end of the line.
“I was just about to call you,” she says to me. Her voice echoes weirdly into the phone. I try to adjust it. “You were? Olivia, I’m so sorry about the message earlier. I should have never bailed on you.”
“It’s okay Megan,” I hear her say into my ear. Again, I can’t get the phone to pick up signal.
“One second, I can’t hear you.” I stand up, moving into the crowd to try and find a window to get better reception.
“Where are you, even?” I hear her ask. I can hear a bunch of commotion on her end of the line too. “Hold on, I need to move too.”
“Where are you?” I ask, as I walk.
“In NYC at the airport. I’m coming to California.”
I stop in my tracks. “What?”
“I know I didn’t tell you beforehand, but I wanted it to be a surprise. Please don’t be mad at me. I couldn’t stand another minute being apart from you.”
“Where are you?” I feel my heart beating furiously in my chest. I move towards the San Francisco gate, looking in every direction.
“I told you—I’m at the airport,” Olivia repeats herself.
There is a break in the crowd near the window I am approaching. I can see her from a distance, her dark brown curly hair falling around her shoulders. She’s looking outside at the airplanes with her cellphone to her ear.
“Megan?”
“I was coming to see you too,” I call out to her. When she turns, her face lights up brighter than I’ve ever seen it. She runs to me and the two of us collide together. Our mouths don’t break until we both can’t breathe.
I'm laughing so hard I'm crying. Olivia wipes away my tears, spinning me around in her arms.
"See," Olivia says, kissing me again softly. "It's destiny!"
"It's destiny, " I whisper back to her.
Epilogue
Olivia
I read a quote once. I’ll try to paraphrase. Good love is the kind of love that casts you into the wind, sets your soul on fire, let’s you burn through the night skies and ignite them. It’s the kind of love I felt when I looked into her eyes. The kind of love I wanted for the rest of my life.
.........................
"I loved your book, Olivia," the woman waits patiently as I scribble my name across the front of her book.
I shake her hand softly when she offers it to me. "Thanks so much."
Redford Books couldn’t fit another soul into the place. There was a line out the door waiting for autographs. I must have spent two hours signing my name and shaking hands. All the while, Megan and Lauren sat beside me beaming.
We’d come into town the week before Christmas to visit Claire and her mother. Megan had requested off the whole week from the firm. Lauren had flown in to surprise me. Everything had felt surreal and perfect.
It also happened to be a good time and stop on my book tour, so we’d decided to have it at Redford’s. David couldn’t keep up with the amount of sales he’d gotten.
As the last customer left for the night, Megan and I wander outside. The snow was picking up quite a bit. I can feel my stomach doing knots when I look at her.
“I can’t believe it’s been a whole year,” she says, looking to me.
“Best year of my life,” I tell her, smiling.
“Mine too.” I watch as she tries to catch snowflakes in her mouth. “You know, I kind of miss the snow.”
“There’s only one reason I miss it,” I say, pulling her close to me.
She leans up and plants a kiss softly on my lips. “And what’s that?”
“It involves you and me naked in a hotel room,” I whisper to her.
“We can go now if you want,” she motions her head in the general direction.
“In a minute,” I smile at her and she looks to me curiously.
David finally comes to the door and looks between us. “Megan, can you help me right quick?”
Megan looks towards him and smiles. “Sure, what is it?” David motions for her to come inside and as soon as she passes him, he gives me a wink. I follow in behind and let him lead the way.
The two wander back into the far end of the bookstore. It was a place I knew and loved fondly. “There’s a book up there. I think you should take it home with you.”
Megan looks at him confused before she reaches up. I watch her fumble around for a minute before she finds it. When she takes the little black box down off of the shelf, she looks towards me.
David steps away so I can approach her. I wrap my hands around hers after we meet. When the lid opens, I watch her beautiful smile fill her entire face.
“Megan Riley,” I smile at her, my hands shaking slightly as I hold her and the box together.
“Olivia Ellis?” She says, laughing and crying at the same time.
“I have a question for you.”
Thanks for reading my debut book Written Stars!
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Written Stars Page 9