Chance Encounters (16 page)

She threw a pillow at him. “That’s not the problem, Matthew.
We’ve never had a problem in that department. Or at least I didn’t think we
did, until I caught you with another woman.”

He fell back on the pillow. “That was a low blow even for
you.”

“I’m sorry, but two days on the road with you doesn’t
exactly make everything all right.”

“I know that, I do. But how can we ever get past any of it
if you keep shooting me down? I am trying here, and I just want you to do the
same.”

“I don’t want to lead you on, Matt. I’ve made you no
promises. You are the one who insisted on driving with me, not the other way
around. You can’t put me in this position, it’s just not fair.”

Tossing the covers back, he stood up. He walked right to her
until he was only inches from her face. “What’s not fair, Emma, is you throwing
away eight years together. I’m hurting, too, and now we have this chance to fix
it. I just want us back.”

He ran his thumb over her bare shoulder, and she could see
the hurt in his eyes. He didn’t say anything else; he kissed her on her head
and then walked past her to the bathroom, where he closed the door.

As soon as the door closed she fell on the bed. She wanted
to cry, but she was too angry at herself to let the tears out. She heard Matt’s
cellphone ring and curiously looked at it. She noticed Renee’s number and picked
it up. “Hey, Renee, why are you calling Matt’s phone?”

There was a slight pause. “Um, hello, you were mugged. I
didn’t think you’d have your phone back yet.”

“I picked one up yesterday while we were out.”

Renee said, “Oh good, the two of you were out?”

“Don’t start with me, too. I can’t handle the both of you.”

“Have I ever steered you wrong before, Emma? I have always
had your best interest at heart. You are my best friend.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“All righty then. Listen to me, and listen to me good.
Matthew made a mistake. People do make mistakes you know. God knows I have,
too. I had spent two days driving with Matthew, and all that he talked about
the entire time was how worried he was about you.”

Emma closed her eyes, wishing she was somewhere else. Wishing
she was off somewhere exotic and free, like she had read in Jacob’s journal.
Perhaps riding along in a gondola in Venice, or making love in a vineyard.

Renee called out to her, “Are you listening to me?”

“Yes, Renee. Matt was worried.”

“He blames himself for what happened to you. He’s wracked
with guilt. I would never in a million years be trying to push the two of you
together if I didn’t feel so strongly that it was right. He loves you. He
didn’t sleep with that other woman.”

“Stop right there, he would have if I didn’t interrupt him.”

“The point is … he didn’t. So, that should count for
something,” Renee tried to plead.

“Oh God, you sound just like him. Did the two of you go over
this script while in the car?”

“No, no, Emma. You are insulting me. You have built yourself
a very nice life. Do you forget the little waitress girl who showed up with
three cardboard boxes to her name? Do you want to go back to that? You are a
goddess who can have anything she wants.”

“Not everything,” Emma muttered. The line went silent. Renee
did know Emma well, and judging by her silence, Emma knew that Renee knew what
she was referring to.

“Are you talking about that scummy looking man that you were
hanging around with?”

“Don’t judge him, Renee, you don’t even know him.”

“Sweetie, you are so inexperienced in this sort of thing.
That man only sees you as a meal ticket. He’s a sponge. He sees a beautiful,
successful, wealthy woman, so of course he’s going to leech on to you.”

“That’s not what he’s about. He doesn’t care about money.”

Renee burst out laughing. “Oh, sweetie, everyone cares about
money. Jacob is no exception.”

“No, you are wrong. I was left with nothing after I was
mugged. He’s the one who took care of me. He showed me life, real life, without
all the money. If you would have had a chance to know him you’d have seen what
a great guy he is.”

“Oh okay sure, he’s so great that he just walked away
without saying good-bye. Well, I’m just glad he left before you really got
hurt. Because, sweetie pie, you would have by someone like him.”

“Wow! Are you really going to say that to me? Matt is the
one who hurt me, not Jacob.”

“Jacob walked away from you, Matt didn’t,” Renee said with a
hint of sarcasm.

“I have to go, Renee. I’m done talking to you. Maybe you and
Matt should get together. I really do believe you’d make an incredible match.”
She hung up on Renee and grumbled in frustration as she threw the phone on the
bed. She suddenly became aware that Matt had been standing at the bathroom door
towel drying his hair. She noticed the look of hurt on his face. She knew then
that he heard everything that she said.

They packed up their things and checked out of the hotel. He
said very little to her as they got back on the interstate. Emma could sense
that he was upset by what he had heard her talking about on the phone. They
made their way over to I-95 and got on. It was a long ride with the silence
that stood between them. Emma didn’t know how to broach the topic, so she chose
to sit quietly. She looked over in his direction but his eyes were trained on
the road, so she leaned her head back on the head rest and closed her eyes.

She was roused from her slumber by the sound of children
giggling. She opened her eyelids to see that they were stopped at a gas
station. There was a Jeep parked next to her with the two giggling children.
They had their faces glued to the window, and when they noticed Emma wake up
and wave to them, they giggled even more.

She pulled herself up in her seat and opened the door.
Stepping out, she stretched her legs. She didn’t know how long they were
driving for, but judging by the cramping in her leg, it had to be a few hours.
She noticed Matt inside the store. He was at the register paying for a few
items he had on the counter. He did look so handsome with his blond hair and
tanned skin. He was impeccably dressed, and well-groomed. She couldn’t help but
notice that the girl behind the register kept twirling her hair flirtatiously
in front of him. Then, of course, he was flirting right back with her.

Emma shook her head and walked over to the driver’s side of
the car and got in. Matt opened the passenger side and got in. He handed her a
soda and she smiled back at him. She started the car and followed the signs
that led back to the interstate. She noticed that they were in Wilson, North
Carolina. She had been asleep for about two and a half hours. She had hoped to
make it to New York today, but that would be pushing it. She turned the radio
on softly so that Matt could take a nap while she drove. She couldn’t help but
notice that he only stared out the window, he didn’t close his eyes.

They drove through North Carolina and entered Virginia. She
drove to the Richmond area before Matt finally spoke up. “How about if we stop
and get something to eat here? Then we can get back on the road for a couple
hours and take a break in Washington DC for the night. Then tomorrow we will
have no problem getting into Manhattan.”

She looked over at him and saw how sullen he seemed. “All
right. Why don’t you Google someplace for us to eat, and tell me where to go.”

He went onto Yelp and searched the area. “Well I found a
little café not too far off of the interstate. We could grab just a couple
sandwiches and hit the road again. We can be in Washington in two hours.”

“Sounds good,” Emma answered quietly.

She followed his directions and they found the Corner Café
on Park Avenue. They walked in and the place was packed. They decided to order
sandwiches to-go and eat by the car. Matt ordered the MLT: meatloaf, lettuce,
and tomato on a toasted Ciabatta bread with gorgonzola cheese. Emma ordered a
turkey and gouda cheese on Boston brown bread.

The hostess smiled pleasantly at them as she walked off to
place their order. Matt still seemed upset about earlier in the day. She could
feel him distancing himself from her, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about
it. Within ten minutes the girl handed them a brown bag with their sandwiches.
Matt handed her a fifty dollar bill and told her to keep the change. Emma shook
her head at the thirty six dollar tip he had just given her. The girl looked at
them both in surprise and smiled from ear to ear. “Thank you! Have a great day,
folks.”

Matt smiled knowing that he just made the girl’s day. Emma
smiled politely and walked through the door that Matt held open for her. They
got back into the car and found an empty parking lot. Pulling over, they got
out of the car and sat on the trunk.

“This reminds me of when we were just starting out and we
would sneak lunch together while I was in my residency. Do you remember that,
Em? We used to sneak off and have lunch on your car and then sneak into the
resident’s nap area for a quick—”

Emma cut him off as she almost choked on her turkey. “Yeah,
I remember. Those were some fun days. You used to be at the hospital for four
days straight. I hated being alone all that time.”

“Well, we certainly made up for it though, didn’t we?” he
said with a playful tone.

“That was when we were still trying to figure out who we
were.”

Matt put his sandwich down and looked directly at her. “No.
Not for me anyway. I knew from that very first party that you were it for me. I
just always felt that you could do better, so I was too scared to commit.”

“What?” she asked, completely surprised by his comment.

“I’m totally serious. You were this beautiful, untouchable
woman. You had the attention of every man in that room. Why do you think you
were able to land yourself a job there? I didn’t think you’d be interested in a
resident nobody. I had nothing to offer you, and you deserve the very best.”

“I can’t believe you are saying this, Matt. I was nobody.”

“But I didn’t know it at the time. You looked like a
celebrity, a movie star. It came later when I knew who you really were, and
that’s when I fell hopelessly for you. You were always so motivated and strong.
You always knew what you wanted in life and you scared the crap out of me.”

“I hope you are joking.” She nearly spit out her soda. “I
was only motivated because I wanted more than my small town life.”

“I know that, but again we are talking about the beginning
here. Then there was Renee. She scared everyone in the room. She has always
been a ball buster, so naturally I assumed since you were with her that you
were the same.”

Emma did burst out laughing then. “I am nothing like Renee.”

“I know, thank God.” They both laughed at that one.

They got back on the road, and Matt drove for a while. The
mood of the ride was lighter now that the ice had been broken. The conversation
remained light and cheery as they passed through Virginia. By the time they got
into Washington, they were both laughing about how they used to eat Ramen
noodles by candle light in her first apartment. “I actually liked the noodles,”
Matt confessed.

Emma chuckled even more. “Who knew right? We had a simple
life then, and we were happy.”

The car fell silent. “It’s true. Things just got more
complicated as we went along,” Matt admitted.

Emma sat silently pondering over their conversation in her
mind. She was so busy back then trying to secure her future that she didn’t
realize that she never really needed all of those things to be happy. Matt had
just admitted himself that they were happier.
So what had happened?
she
wondered.

Matt pulled up to the Willard InterContinental Washington on
Pennsylvania Avenue. Emma looked around and shook her head. They had been
talking about the simpler way of life and Matt pulls them up to one of the
fanciest hotels in Washington. A valet opened the car door and helped her out
of the car. It was seven in the evening and the sun was beginning to set. She could
see the White House down the road and decided since she was here, that she
wanted to go and take a look. Matt tipped the valet and smiled at Emma, knowing
how much she’d enjoy the area. They walked into the lobby of the hotel and Emma
was certain that she had seen a few movies that had been filmed there. It was
grand. They walked up to the desk and a very bland man looked at them blankly.
“How may I help you?” he asked them.

“We’d like a room for the night.” Matt responded.

“Do you have a reservation?” the man asked with a slightly
snotty tone.

“No, we are passing through town and decided to stop for the
evening.” He pulled out a wad of cash that he had in his pocket and the man
instantly eyed it. He began typing away on his computer. “Well, it looks like
we are totally booked solid.”

Matt placed a hundred dollar bill on the counter and left it
there. The man looked from the hundred dollar bill, back to Matt. Then he began
typing into his computer again. “Well, it seems here that I have a cancellation
coming through right now as we speak.”

Matt shot Emma a smile and winked at her. “Umm … yes, right
here, a king-sized City View just became available. You are very lucky, folks,
it is the last room available.”

Matt gave the man his credit card and slipped him the
hundred dollar bill. The man quickly stuffed the money into his pocket and
handed Matt a room key. “If you should be in need of anything while you are
here, please feel free to call down and I’ll see that you are taken care of. My
name is Max.” Matt thanked Max as a concierge arrived and took their bags to
lead them up to their room.

The room was beautiful. It was very elegant in an old
fashioned way. The room had tall ceilings and overstuffed chairs. Emma walked
to the window and looked out. She could see the lights from the White House
glowing in the distance. Matt tipped the concierge and placed their bags on the
chairs. “There is only one bed again. I will sleep in one of these puffy
chairs.”