The day before I left the hospital, my aunt asked if I would move to Boston. I’d thought about it too. Since I’d realized she loved me as her own daughter, I wanted to know her more: her favorite food, favorite movie, favorite places. It had been years that I hadn’t cared about such details while she’d always understood what I liked and disliked. Boston is a charming city to live in, and I loved the architecture and the gardens there, especially the Boston Public Garden. The drawback of living in Boston was the cold winters and the muggy summers. But if I had a good job there, I could deal with the seasons.
After returning from the hospital, I started sorting my stuff to sell what I didn’t need and pack up what I would take with me. During the sorting process, I found the pair of mugs Peter and I’d bought together at the local street fair. He’d been living with me for a month then. The light blue mug had ROOM printed across it, and the light yellow one had MATE on it. How we’d laughed about finding such a set and snatched them up quickly for our morning coffee and tea routine.
Gazing down at them, I debated if I should throw the mugs away. But I put the mugs in the Keep pile. Although in the end, our friendship had ended, these mugs were part of a good memory, anyway. Then my gaze landed on the dog-shaped pillow. The pillow Peter had used to cover his boxers when he was half-naked, playing his video game in the living room. His shocked expression as I’d looked at him from the front door had been priceless. I kept the pillow.
After several hours of sorting, I was finally done. The Donation piles were higher than the Sold pile. The Keep pile was the smallest, but I still needed three large boxes to hold it all.
***
One and a half weeks later, it was time for us to say goodbye to Rick and Maggie. They drove us to John Wayne Airport and helped us get our baggage out of the trunk in front of the entrance.
Maggie’s eyes teared up as she hugged me. “Are you sure you won’t return to California?” she asked.
“Maybe. Depends on if I have a job or not,” I said. “But I’ll make sure to stop by whenever I do visit California.”
“Or we can visit you,” said Rick, slinging an arm around his wife’s shoulder. “Our daughter lives in New Jersey, so we could fly there and stop at Boston or vice versa.”
“Yes, please visit us,” said my aunt, giving them hugs.
Still looking back at them as we headed toward the automatic doors, we waved several times. The airport wasn’t that busy, maybe because it wasn’t the weekend. It took us only five minutes to check our bags and then get our tickets printed.
My phone had been buzzing inside my thin jacket ever since we stood in line at the security checkpoint. But I’d ignored it. It was probably just texts from Sylvia or Yoo-Shi to say goodbye. I could check the message later, once we passed through the checkpoint.
After I’d passed the security scanner and put my jacket on, the phone buzzed again. I pulled it out and lifted my eyebrows because the screen read “Tom calling.”
“I think I should get this,” I turned to my aunt.
“Sure. See you at the gate,” she said.
I nodded and pressed the green button.
“Rory?”
“Hi, Tom,” I greeted, keeping my voice cheerful. “How are you?”
“I’m good. How’s your wrist?”
“It’s better now. One more week, the cast can be removed,” I answered. “So what’s up? I haven’t heard from you for a long time.”
“Sorry, it has been busy,” said Tom. “Hey, Rory, there is something I need to tell you. Can I meet you today? Maybe for dinner?”
“I’m sorry I can’t,” I said, tucking a lock of hair behind my ears.
An announcement came over the speakers for Southwest Airlines to San Francisco.
“Wait,” Tom gasped. “Are you at the airport? Where are you going?” His voice rose as he spoke.
“I’m leaving California today for good, Tom,” I sighed, gazing up at the airport ceiling. “I resigned from Myriad, and after the car crash, I thought it would be better if I lived closer to my aunt for a time because she is the only family I have.”
Then I heard incoherent sounds, and he exhaled loudly. “What time is your boarding? From which airport?” His voice sounded urgent.
I glanced at my wristwatch. “John Wayne. Our boarding time is 1:30, so about an hour from now,” I answered. Something clicked in my mind, and my heart started pounding in my chest. “Wait, why did you ask?”
“I’m coming to the airport right now. I have to talk to you. Can you wait? I’ll get there as fast as I can,” Tom insisted.
“There is no way you can drive from LA to here before my flight,” I said. “Better you tell me now, so you don’t have to drive here.”
“No. I’m not in LA, I’m in Huntington Beach.” He was panting as if he was running. “Please don’t go past the last checkpoint, wait for me. It’s important! Be there in twenty minutes!”
“Tom…hey…” I shouted, but he had already hung up.
I stared at my phone, feeling bewildered. Shaking my head, I returned to the checkpoint and spoke to a TSA officer to see I could go out and come back in again later. The officer nodded and told me that I just had to go through the checkpoint again to reenter.
Outside the checkpoint, I called my aunt and explained but promised I would be at the gate in time for boarding.
“OK. Just don’t be late,” she reminded.
Twenty-two minutes passed. The automatic glass door slid open as Tom rushed in. His face was red, and he was panting heavily.
“Hey!” he said as he stopped in front of me. “Thank you for waiting for me.”
“Not a problem. Besides, I’m curious. Tell me what has happened.” I gestured toward a seat next to me.
He took a deep breath and sat down, then turned to me. “Rory, I owe you an apology.” Solemnly, he studied my face.
I raised an eyebrow. “If this is about my quarrel with Peter, it has nothing to do with you.”
Tom shook his head quickly. “No, it’s about Phil.” His eyes avoided mine as he sighed heavily.
“Um…you lost me,” I said perplexed.
Tom gazed at me. “About the pictures of you and Peter. Phil stole Peter’s phone and then exposed those pictures to the public,” he placed his elbows on his knees with his body leaning toward me. “Peter and I figured out that someone had to have stolen his phone and fabricated the pictures. He said when he was in the rehab facility, his phone was missing for some time, but he didn’t think anyone would steal it. We were sure it wasn’t Marcus because he is practically a dad to Peter. But at that time, we couldn’t figure out who would do such an evil thing.
“Then we suspected Kim Johnson, who is on one of the WW teams. She has a crush on Peter. But then we realized Kim would genuinely do anything to make Peter happy, so we crossed her off the suspect list. Then our IT director found suspicious activity in Phil’s office notebook and reported it to Peter.” Tom sighed, scrubbing his face with his hands.
I touched the base of my neck, glancing at him. “Why? Why would he do that? Why would he want to hurt Peter?” I asked.
Tom gnawed his lower lip. “Phil wants me to surpass Peter to inherit the Sandridge’s business. The board has always seen Peter as a wild, irresponsible person, so Phil thought if he could fabricate some current pictures, he could manipulate the board to revoke Peter’s appointment as CEO, and I could replace him. But I’m not crazy about being in that position or being involved in the family business.” He ran his hand over his hair.
“Um, I’m baffled now. Why did Phil want you to surpass Peter for the CEO position? And…if he is also the one who fabricated the pictures, why did you owe me an apology?”
Shifting in his seat, Tom studied my confused expression. “Rory, I’m Peter’s half-brother. Phil was my boyfriend. Your false assumption about my relationship with Peter and the difficulty over living with a male roommate gave Peter the crazy idea to continue the false assumption so he could stay in your place for the time being, until the project was done. He put me in the charade to convince you.”
My jaw dropped. I was speechless.
Tom nodded his head. “Remember about the fight in the rehab facility?” he asked, nudging my hand.
“Yes.”
“I felt guilty for deceiving you.” His cheeks turned pinkish. “Then I tried to convince him that lying to you would lead him to a difficult position. But Peter was stubborn. He refused, and I told him that I didn’t want to be part of his charade anymore.”
I swallowed hard. “So, Peter isn’t…?”
Tom nodded.
“He isn’t. But I am,” Tom said. “On the evening when you assumed Peter was confessing his love”—he made air quotes—“my dad was upset about my relationship with Phil, and Peter was trying to calm me and support me. My mom doesn’t accept me, either. In that family, only Peter and Jane accepted me as I am.”
I blinked, trying to digest Tom’s bizarre story. When I was about to open my mouth, the boarding call for Delta Airlines to Boston came over the public announcement system.
“I…I have to go,” I said, rising from my seat.
Tom rose too and placed his hand on my elbow. “Rory, Peter never meant to hurt you because he likes—no, he is in love with you.” His eyes fixed on me. “From the way you looked at him, I believe you felt the same thing. But he was too arrogant to stop his charade, and in the end, it hurt you both badly.”
My body stiffened. “What did you say?”
“He is in love with you, Rory.”
Looking at him, I shook my head slowly. “No, I don’t think so.” I narrowed my eyes, feeling the tension in my neck. “He lies and uses me for selfish reasons. He cares about himself, Tom. Sorry to say that, but that’s what I feel. He didn’t tell the truth about many things. About you, about RTC being involved with my work. He needs a girl who is…” I paused to take a breath and control my emotions. “Easy to toy with. And I’m not that girl. I won’t be fooled for a second time. Goodbye, Tom, and thanks for your explanation!” I jerked my elbow free and stepped away.
Tom let me go but followed me.
Then a familiar figure rushed through the glass doors as I passed. My eyes widened. It was Peter! He was sprinting over to us, red faced and glistening with sweat. Peter exchanged glances with Tom, who shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
“Are you leaving?” Peter asked, panting, his eyes fixed on me.
I nodded.
Peter opened his mouth and then closed it again. His shoulders drooped. “Well…have a safe flight,” he said, clearing his throat.
I nodded again while Tom nudged his arm, jerking his head toward me.
“I have to go now,” I said, glancing at Peter and Tom. “Bye, guys!”
I turned and increased my pace to head toward the security line that was now empty. As I got closer, I heard footsteps catching up behind me, and then a hand held my elbow to stop me. My head whipped around to see Peter looking at me. He pulled me into his arms and hugged me. I was stunned and tried to wiggle free, but he tightened his arms around my shoulders.
“I…I love you, Rory. I love you. And I’m sorry for everything,” he whispered in my ear. His voice trembled. “I’ve many regrets in my life that I wish I could turn the clock back on, and this is the biggest one.” After a few seconds, he pushed me away gently and gave me a weak smile. “Goodbye, Rory. Take care of yourself.” His lips trembled as he released me.
Speechless, I studied his eyes for the truth. But then the announcement for the final boarding call broke our silence. This time, my name was called to the gate. I stole a glance at Peter as I scurried to the line and gave my boarding pass and ID to be checked again. Holding the pass and the ID, the TSA officer looked up and asked, “Aurorette Arrington? Your flight is ready to close the door. Proceed to your gate immediately!”
I nodded and put my backpack and jacket into the screening conveyor. I could feel Peter’s eyes on me the whole time but didn’t have time to look at him. Once I was done, I took my belongings and ran to the assigned gate. I almost bumped into a big chubby guy coming out from a store.
“Damn you, girl!”
“Sorry, sorry!” I waved my hand and kept running.
I felt my lungs burn from running so fast and then literally skidded to a stop in front of the flight attendant, who shook her head slightly as she marked my ticket.
When I entered the cabin, I heard murmuring, and a few people craned their necks to see the late person who’d made the flight almost delayed.
“What happened?” my aunt hissed as I sat next to her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect it would take this long, but I’ll tell you later,” I said, catching my breath as I turned my phone to airplane mode.
My knees and legs were shaking from the sprint. What I needed now was some quiet time to think. And the almost eight-hour flight would be enough. But for sure, I noticed a hollow feeling in my heart as the plane slowly ascended into the sky.