by Nancy Warren
Before dawn had even considered breaking, Kate was on the road. Destination? Wherever the hell she felt like stopping where no one would think to look for her.
She hit I-5 and soon decided it was too straight and determined a freeway for her mood. She hit the turn signal to head right and began to move, forgetting that she wasn’t in her own car. The old VW Rabbit had a turn signal that ticked like a time bomb and when she pressed on the gas the car didn’t exactly spring into action, more hovered as though undecided about whether going faster was a good idea or not.
The seat had no lumbar support, one of the side mirrors was missing and there was a half eaten donut and spilled nail polish on the seat beside her. A pair of tiny purple flip-flops hung from the rear view mirror and danced whenever she hit a bump.
She got off I-5 and headed for the Pacific Coast Highway. Much better. Quieter. As she rounded bays she felt as through she were tracing a series of question marks.
Which was exactly how she felt.
How had she ended up in this mess?
What was she going to do?
And the biggest questions of all. Who was she really? And what did she want?
She pulled into San Clemente for breakfast and headed down the winding roads to the beach. She parked and walked down to push her feet into the sand. Three dolphins were playing out there, tumbling and rolling, making her smile. The surfers were also out. She sat in the sand and wondered what her life was going to be like from now on. She and Ted had been planning their future for so long it was strange to think of life without him. They’d talked about the kind of house they’d buy, the kids they’d have, dumb things like when they’d let their daughter start dating and whether they’d really buy each other paper products for their paper anniversary. Now she imagined they’d be returning the wedding gifts that had already begun accumulating.
She made patterns in the sand with her toes. She had a manicure and pedicure booked for today, she realized, as she caught sight of her toes. She should cancel.
She pulled out her phone and turned it on. There were 17 missed calls and her mailbox was full. She called up the number of the nail salon. As she waited to get through, she noted a group of surfers starting to pack up. They had the unhappy look of people at the end of their vacation.
“Esther Salon and Spa, how can I help you?”
“This is Kate Winton-Jones. I need to cancel my booking for today. It’s with Katrina.” She’d been coming to Katrina for years for her treatments, she was glad she’d remembered to cancel. Hopefully Katrina could fit somebody else in.
“Could you hold one moment?”
“Um, sure, I guess.”
She heard a click and then a second later Katrina was on the line. “Kate?”
“Yes. Hi. I’m so sorry, but something came up. I won’t make my two o’clock appointment today.”
“Oh, my God, are you all right?” Before she could answer Katrina said, “Your mother was here when we opened, half hysterical, said to call her the second I heard from you. She thinks something’s happened to you. She was going to file a missing person report but the cops said you haven’t been missing long enough yet.”
“What?” She took a breath. “A missing person report?” Trust her mother to go for the drama instead of inspecting her own behavior and conscience.
“Yes. So, are you? Okay?”
“I’m fine. I cancelled my wedding is all and I’m taking a vacation. If you hear from my mother again, please tell her I’m fine.”
“You cancelled the wedding?” Katrina sounded as though she could not believe it.
“Yes. Didn’t mother tell you?”
“No. She made it sound like you’d been kidnapped or something. She’s determined to find you.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake. Ted and I had a fight and the wedding’s off. No one kidnapped me.”
“You need to call her.”
“No. I really don’t.” Even the thought of her mother’s betrayal filled her with rage. Her own mother had gone along with the crazy plan to hire someone to try and seduce her before her wedding. Her own mother!
“At least tell me where you are. She’s going to kill me if I don't have something for her.”
A string of dolphin fins emerged at once, looking like bunting. “I’m really sorry you got dragged into this. But at least it will be over when the wedding’s officially cancelled.”
“Um, I think the wedding’s still on.”
“What?” She must have shrieked for one of the surfer kids turned to stare at her. “But I returned his ring. I was pretty damn clear that I was breaking the engagement.”
“Your mother was kind of doing this hysterical rambling thing. She said something about telling people you have strep throat. Kate, she confirmed your booking for the day before your wedding.”
“Okay.” She blew out a breath. A family with small children arrived. The kids all carried brightly colored plastic buckets. “Tell her I’m heading to Phoenix.”
“Phoenix? Nobody goes to Phoenix.”
She smiled. “Exactly.”
Chapter Five