She turned to gaze out the window, feeling too emotional to look at Savannah and see the sympathy in her face. She could sense Savannah studying her and braced herself for a well-deserved “I told you so” lecture.
After a few minutes, Savannah said, “For what it’s worth, I could tell something was different about you while you were with him. You seemed...lighter somehow. And Colin said Chase seemed different, too. He was convinced it was because of a woman, and he told me she must be pretty special because Chase was really excited about her. Bubbly even.” Savannah reached out and squeezed Rayne’s hand. “Obviously, he was right about the woman being special.”
Rayne looked at her with a sad smile. “Yep, I’m pretty special. So special that he turned tail and ran literally to the other side of the planet without a second thought.” She gave Savannah’s hand a squeeze in return. “Now I just have to get over it.”
“Give yourself some time,” Savannah said.
Rayne went back to gazing out the window. The trees were changing colors, though there was still lots of green. “My mom emailed me some photos from Vermont,” she said. “It’s absolutely gorgeous up there this time of year.”
“Maybe you should go for a visit,” Savannah said.
“I was thinking about it. I could really use a change of scenery, and I’m sure Jeremy would let me take some time off. Of course, it means dealing with my hippie parents, but that’s a small price to pay.”
“Your parents are awesome,” Savannah said, smiling and biting into a chocolate croissant.
“Easy for you to say. They didn’t drag you all over creation while you were growing up. You got to live in the same neighborhood and go through school with all the same friends.”
“Sure, but you got to see the world and have all those adventures. Lots of people would love to have that.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Rayne said, suddenly missing her parents. Then she smiled and felt some of the tension easing. “I’ll bring you back some real maple syrup.”
“Oh, and those little maple sugar candies pressed into the shape of leaves!”
“You got it!”
Colin walked over to their table, phone in hand, and Rayne said, “I’m taking orders for souvenirs from Vermont. Want a T-shirt or a baseball cap?”
Colin looked at her blankly. “You’re going to Vermont?”
“To visit her parents,” Savannah said. “Is something wrong?”
Colin shook his head. “I got a garbled text message from Chase a couple days ago.”
Rayne took a sip of her mimosa. “I’ve gotten a couple strange texts from him, too.”
“He just sent a message saying he’s got malaria.”
“That’s pretty serious, isn’t it?” Savannah said.
Colin nodded. “People die from it. He had it once before a couple years ago. This could be a relapse brought on by stress or fatigue.”
“But he’s not that sick, right?” Rayne said, feeling a flash of concern.
“I think he’s getting better.” Colin gazed out the window. “It figures he’d get deathly ill when he’s in Kathmandu.”
“It’s not like people get malaria in France,” Savannah said as she buttered a roll. “Heck, if he was in Paris, I’d go get him myself! With you, of course, sweetie,” she added, smiling up at Colin.
“Chase is a pretty resourceful guy,” Rayne said. “And they do have doctors in Kathmandu. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Still, she couldn’t resist a brief fantasy of flying to Nepal and showing up at his hotel room, like a romantic Florence Nightingale come to save the day. But then she reminded herself that he wasn’t hers to rescue.
She stood up. “I’m going to head home. I want to email Jeremy and check the Amtrak schedule and do some laundry.”
“I’ll go with you,” Savannah said.
“What do we owe you?” Rayne said to Colin, knowing his answer.
“You’re hilarious, Rayne,” he said as he always did when she offered to pay.
She tucked a ten under her glass by way of a tip. “I will never get used to that.”
Savannah wrapped her arms around Colin and stretched up to give him a noisy kiss. “This body and free food? How did I get so lucky?”
He smiled and kissed the top of her head before letting her go. “Have a good trip, Rayne. And I wouldn’t say no to a baseball cap.”
“You got it!” she said, and something in his smile reminded her of Chase. But she refused to hold that against him.
Chapter 19
A couple days later, Chase was finally well enough to walk down the hall for a much-needed shower. Afterward, as he sat on the bed in clean clothes, hair freshly washed, and face clean shaven, Maya set a tray with a bowl of curry, a plate of naan, and a cup of tea on his bedside table.
The meal smelled and tasted better than anything he’d ever eaten.
“Have you run out of family members to look after me?” he joked as he tore off a chunk of naan. “I haven’t met your grandparents yet.”
“They never leave their village,” she said with a smile. “Otherwise, they would have helped, too.”
She was turning to go, and he reached out and touched her arm. “I can’t thank you enough. You all really went out of your way to help me.”
She shrugged. “It’s what people do for each other. They would do the same in America, right?”
“I don’t know. I always seem to be somewhere other than home. But never long enough to get to know anyone.”
“You know me and my family,” she said.
“Yeah, I guess I do.”
“Who took care of you the last time you had malaria?”
“My brother Colin. I made it back to the States before I got sick that time.”
He vaguely remembered trying to text Colin that he was sick. But it wasn’t as though Colin would have been worried. Chase had told him he’d be gone for weeks, and he rarely checked in anyway. He picked up his phone, but the battery was dead. He looked around on the floor, found the charger, and plugged the phone in.
“I should send him a message to let him know I’m OK,” Chase said.
It sounded a little strange to his ears, but Maya nodded as though it was the most natural thing in the world. She picked up the tray of dishes and headed for the door.
“Hey, did Roy Fellows call by any chance?” Chase asked.
She shook her head and left. He had a sinking feeling that he’d blown the assignment.
A little while later, when his phone was partially charged, he got confirmation that he had indeed blown it. There were multiple, increasingly irritable texts from Roy, who finally left a voice message saying that since he couldn’t get hold of Chase, he was going to find another photographer. Chase looked at the date on his watch. Roy had left Kathmandu days ago.
“Shit!”
He couldn’t believe he’d come all this way and then lost out on the assignment. He’d gotten malaria for nothing, he’d broken things off with Rayne for nothing. Even though he was physically feeling better, the thought of traveling around Asia on his own was exhausting. He was restless and unhappy and something else, but it took him a moment to identify it.
Then it came to him. He wanted to go home.
“That’s a new one,” he said out loud.
In all his years of traveling, he had never had the urge to go home before the assignment was over or he’d satisfied his curiosity about a side trip. But now he wanted to walk into Zipped so Colin could serve him a cold beer and Diana could bring him a plate of wings. And Rayne could sit down beside him. He longed to look into her smoldering gray eyes and watch her shyly tuck her hair behind her ear the way she did when he looked at her a certain way or laughed at one of her jokes.
They had
only made love that one spectacular night because he’d agreed to keep their relationship a secret and they’d never had a chance to be alone again. What an idiot. This might be easier to bear if they’d slept together at least once more. Maybe twice. Or however long it took for him to get that itch to move on. Though part of him wondered if he might never have gotten that itch with her.
Maybe it was the wine but that one night with him, Rayne had been so free, so uninhibited, so open. Chase suspected that was the real Rayne, the one she kept hidden away. He’d caught another glimpse of that fire the day he told her he was going to Nepal, and he still felt singed by it. He suspected that not many people saw that side of her, and maybe that meant something.
But now he’d never know.
His phone was still charging, so he decided to go to an Internet cafe down the street and catch up on some email. He glanced through his text messages and saw that he had texted Rayne twice, but the messages were garbled, and even he had to think about what he’d meant to say. She hadn’t responded to either one, and he couldn’t really blame her. But he did have a series of texts from Colin asking what was up in response to some truly incomprehensible messages from Chase.
He sent a quick note back saying he was recovering from malaria and would email him momentarily. Then he grabbed his laptop bag and headed for the door. But he didn’t even open it before dizziness overwhelmed him and he had to sit down. He closed his eyes and waited for the queasiness and frustration to pass. They didn’t. So after a few minutes he laid down on the bed fully clothed. The Internet cafe and emailing Colin and finding a flight back home would have to wait.
He slept straight through the night and the next morning felt strong enough to try again. He made it down the stairs and stopped at the front desk to catch his breath and say hello to Maya.
“I’m going to the Internet cafe up the street,” he said. “If I’m not back by noon, come and get me.” He was only half joking.
“You sure you’re up for this?” she asked.
He’d gotten a good look at himself in the bathroom mirror that morning. He was pale, and he’d lost enough weight that his clothes were a little baggy.
“Nope,” he said. “That’s why I’m telling you where I’m going, so you’ll know to look for me between here and there.”
She smiled. “The new and improved Chase Allison.”
“I might need mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, so don’t send your brother.” He paused. “Or your parents.”
“I’m still seventeen,” she said, and he was disappointed that she’d stopped the game instead of him. “Besides, I’m not sure Rayne would approve.”
“Rayne?” His heart skipped a beat, but it wasn’t the malaria.
“You called for her. You called me by that name more than once when you were feverish,” Maya said. “I didn’t know you had a girl back in America.”
“I don’t,” he said. “Not anymore anyway.”
“Then why was her name the only coherent word you said, and why are you now so anxious to get to the Internet?”
Chase could actually feel himself blushing. That had to be another first. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re too clever for your own good?”
“I am a dangerous woman,” she said sweetly.
At the cafe, Chase fired up his laptop and sent Colin an email explaining in more detail what had happened—that he’d gotten malaria and missed the assignment and that he was going to book a flight home as soon as possible. And he asked how the gala had gone.
While he was going through his flight options, Colin emailed back. Chase had to smile at his response: “You should have told me, bro. I would have hopped on a plane and brought you home.” Like Colin would ever leave his restaurants long enough to take a flight anywhere.
He said the gala was a smashing success and all of Chase’s photos sold for a lot of money, more than the price he’d set. Chase thought about asking Colin to Skype with him—he had an urge to see his brother—but he knew he looked like hell and he didn’t want to alarm him. So he sent an email back asking how Rayne was doing and whether she’d been hanging around Brian Walrus at the gala.
By the time Colin responded, Chase had booked a flight for the day after tomorrow, which meant he’d be home Wednesday night.
“The guy’s name is Brandon,” Colin wrote. “I didn’t see them interact during the gala, but they had dinner at Dad’s new restaurant. Jess saw them. When are you coming home?”
Chase sat back in his chair. He didn’t put much stock in dreams, but he couldn’t shake the hallucinations he’d had when he was sick. Chase ran away, but I’m glad you’re here.
Chase sent Colin his flight information. “I’ll be home on Wednesday. If you see Rayne, would you tell her I was asking about her?”
He waited another half hour, caught up on his other email, and read the front-page stories on the BBC site, but Colin didn’t email back. Reluctantly, he packed up his laptop and headed back to the guest house.
Two days later, he was at the front desk with his bags packed. It was tougher than he’d expected to say goodbye to Maya and her family, and he got a lump in his throat when they all came out from behind the counter to give him a hug.
Maya hugged him last. She felt light and supple and so very young in his arms, and she had to stand on tiptoe to put her hands on his shoulders.
“I think you saved my life,” he said in a low voice, close to her ear.
“You’re welcome,” she said with a smile.
He took a taxi to the airport, and after he checked in for his flight, he paced around for a long time with his phone in his hand until he finally broke down and texted Rayne: Flying home today. I’ve been thinking about you. Can I stop by and see you tomorrow?
He kept the phone in his hand, willing it to beep with a response, but then it was time to board the plane and he turned it off and put it away.
Chapter 20
On Wednesday morning, Rayne showered, dressed, ate a quick bowl of cereal, and headed out the front door. She had a backpack full of magazines and snacks on her shoulder for the long train ride, and she was wheeling her suitcase behind her.
The sun was just starting to come up when she walked along 2nd Street toward Union Station. There were few people on the sidewalks at this hour, but the streets were filling up with traffic. It was a cool morning, and she was glad she’d put on her oversized wool sweater. Plus, she knew it would be even colder when she got to Vermont that evening.
Jeremy had readily approved her request to take a few days off and told her she was welcome to log in remotely and work from Vermont as long as she wanted, which made her think she might stay a couple of weeks.
When she got to the station, she bought a chai latte, found the gate for her train, and sat down to wait. Commuters were bustling by from the subway, and shopkeepers were opening up their kiosks for the day. She was glad not to be part of that activity. She was looking forward to catching up with her parents, and she was looking forward to a long train ride when she didn’t have to do anything. She could read, sleep, or stare out the window. It sounded so therapeutic that she might just be cured of Chase by the time she got to Brattleboro.
When the train was ready, she walked down the platform past where everyone else was getting on and found a window seat in a less populated car near the front. She was all settled in with a copy of Time magazine on her lap and drinking the last of her chai as the train pulled out of the station. She watched the city glide by, the sun shining brightly now, and felt oddly centered. She was calm but excited, and for a split second, she thought she understood Chase’s wanderlust.
Baltimore, Philly, New York City passed by. She dozed and munched on pita bread and hummus and read three magazines. She and Savannah texted back and forth, and then Rayne noticed a message that ha
d come in earlier from someone else. She tapped on her screen and felt a flutter in her stomach when she saw that it was from Chase.
Flying home today. I’ve been thinking about you. Can I stop by and see you tomorrow?
She gazed out the window. They were somewhere in Connecticut, passing a marsh ringed by trees whose leaves had turned bronze and orange. He didn’t need to know she was on a train to Vermont. And she didn’t need to know that he’d been thinking about her. Maybe they could be friends at some point, and for Savannah and Colin’s sake, she’d have to learn to be civil around him. But she didn’t have to play his games. What did he possibly hope to gain by telling her he’d been thinking about her?
Finally she typed back: Sorry, I’m busy.
Rayne arrived in Brattleboro just after 5 p.m. When she got off the train, her parents were waiting right beside the tracks. No security checkpoint, no armed guards, not even any platform to speak of. The station was the ground floor of an art museum, facing the Connecticut River and New Hampshire.
She hugged her parents tight, then her dad took her suitcase and led the way to their beat-up pickup truck in the parking lot.
“I can’t believe you still have this thing!” Rayne said.
“Your father has replaced so many of the parts over the years that everything’s new except the outer shell,” her mother said.
Her wavy brown hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and held in place with a red bandana. Her hair looked darker than usual, and there wasn’t any gray.
“Did you color your hair?” Rayne asked, incredulous.
Her mom was one of the least vain women she knew, but it helped that she had a natural, simple style and skin that seemed to resist wrinkling. But Rayne had never known her to go to the trouble of dyeing her hair.
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