First Class to Portland (4 page)

“I’m Matt.”

“Hello Matt. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she purred. “Oh,
good. I see you found the flyers. Would you like me to show you around?”

Matt tried to retrieve his hand but Amanda had a firm grip
on it. “No, I think I can do that alone, thank you.” He looked down at the
flyer and re-read the address at the top. It was the address Katy had texted to
him last night. He must be in the right house. But it didn’t seem right. The
house didn’t fit Janie at all. There was no personality in it, no photographs,
barely any furniture. He needed more information.

“The sellers? Why are they leaving?” he asked.

Amanda was only too willing to keep him in conversation. “Oh
it’s very sad really,” she began. “The husband died a while ago. It was all
very, very sad. And the children are grown and gone, so Ja…, I mean the seller,
has decided to start fresh, somewhere else.”

Matt yanked his hand free and looked around the house, still
finding it difficult to imagine Janie here. “And where are they going? Out of
state?”

“Oh no, I don’t think so,” Amanda smiled and tilted her
head. “So you’re looking for a new home for you and your wife?”

Matt inwardly grimaced. “No. I was actually looking for the
owner. Janie isn’t here?”

Caught off guard, Amanda openly frowned. “No, she’s out for
the day.”

“I need you to do a big favor for me. Could you please help
me out?” Matt smiled and hoped it would work. He didn’t like using his physical
appeal to manipulate women, but in this instance he would break his own rule.

“Oh definitely I could help you out,” she drawled. “What can
I do for you?”

“I would like for you to give this to Janie when she comes
home. Would that be okay?” he smiled again. Matt handed her a small blue gift
bag.

“Of course I will. Are you sure you don’t want to take a
look around? It’s a perfect house and I’m sure it won’t be on the market very
long.”

“No, but thank you,” said Matt as he turned and headed for
the front door.

“Bye, bye,” he could hear as he walked to his rental car.

*****

Shopping was actually much harder than Janie had
anticipated, especially with Katy not there to encourage and make suggestions.
She had managed to find a couple of things that she thought looked good on her,
but if she was going to make over her entire wardrobe, she was going to have to
spend a lot more time at the mall. She was feeling guiltily happy about her
visit to Victoria’s Secret though. The sales girl had been incredibly helpful
in making sure she had a great big bag full of pretty, lacey bras and panties
and pajamas, well nighties, really, when she left the store. They were flirty
and fun and very unlike anything Janie would wear, but she was starting over
and it couldn’t hurt, right?

She pulled into her driveway a little after five o’clock,
hoping that Amanda would be finished with the Open House and she could have her
house back, at least for a little while. Tomorrow, she was going to have to
start looking for a new home. As she pulled the bags from the trunk, she
wondered if maybe she should consider a townhouse, or an apartment. Maybe she
could move to downtown and buy a condo overlooking the river. So many choices
but the decision didn’t have to be made today, so she pushed it out of her
mind.

Janie found Amanda in the dining room gathering up the last
of her things.

“Hi, how’d it go?” she asked.

“Oh Janie, hello. It was great! We had lots of people come
through and several were really interested. There was this cute little couple,
the wife was pregnant, and I really think they could make an offer. He works
for Nike, so I’m sure they can afford it!” Amanda sounded pretty sure of
herself.

“Well, I guess we wait and see what happens,” Janie smiled.

“Oh, and I just have to tell you about the most dreamy-looking
guy that showed up. You would not believe how hot he was. Oh, well, maybe you
will, seeing as though he knows you. He came to see you and I don’t think he
knew about the Open House,” Amanda rambled.

Janie didn’t have the faintest idea what she was talking
about. “What guy?” she asked.

“And, he left you a present. It’s on the island in the
kitchen. His name was Matt and I tell you…”

Janie didn’t hear another word she said. Her heart was
beating so fast and so loud she couldn’t concentrate on anything else. Her legs
got weak and sweat formed on her forehead. She stretched for the chair so she
wouldn’t fall.

“Janie? Are you alright Janie?”

“Fine,” she whispered.

“Okay then. Well I’ll call you if I hear anything. Let’s
keep our fingers crossed, shall we?” Amanda chatted as she closed the front
door behind her.

Janie sat, frozen, hand over her mouth, willing herself to
breathe.
Matt? Here? Today? Why?
She couldn’t wrap her head around Matt
being here in Portland, in her house, looking for her!

A gift?
She stood, steadied herself and walked to the
kitchen. Staring at the small blue gift bag, she chewed the inside of her cheek
and couldn’t bring herself to touch it, let alone open and see what was inside.

She sat on the stool and gazed at the bag, not really seeing
it because her mind was filled with Matt. She had snapshots of him committed to
memory and they engulfed her now. She could picture him in his Yankee ball cap
at the game, laying on a deck chair cruising New York harbor with his friends
Ryan and Courtney, arm around her in the carriage ride, dozens and dozens more
flashing through her head like a PowerPoint presentation, all reminding her how
much she loved him. But she had left and he hadn’t made any effort to stop her.
He had still been seeing his ex-wife and that had turned her stomach and she
needed to remember that he was not available. She had to put him in the past,
but how could she do that if out of the blue he showed up at her house with a
gift? How did he know where she lived? Why was he in Portland?

Janie stood and poured herself a glass of water, still
staring at the bag. Too many questions outweighed her curiosity so she turned
and left the kitchen, did a quick once over of the house, making sure doors and
windows were locked, and went and took a long hot shower.

*****

Matt sat in his room in the Hotel Monaco. The few times he
had traveled to Portland he had been comfortable in the 5-star downtown hotel,
but today he paced, checked his phone every five minutes and tried to work, but
nothing could keep his mind from Janie. He had been all prepared for a lengthy
speech when he’d arrived at her house. He had rehearsed what he was going to
say over and over and he had been incredibly frustrated that she hadn’t been
there. Why hadn’t Katy told him that on the phone? He had wanted to go straight
over after he’d hung up the phone with her last night but thought that eight
o’clock on a Friday night might not be the best option. Maybe he was really
just stalling; afraid that Janie would not be as receptive to his declaration
of love as he hoped she would be.

Now, he just had to wait, hoping she realized the gift was
from him, as he didn’t attach a card and wasn’t confidant in the ditzy realtor
that he had left it with. He pulled a bottle of water from the mini-bar and
checked his phone again.

*****

Janie sat at the island in her kitchen, her wet hair swathed
in a towel, wrapped in her new pink satin robe from Victoria’s Secret, staring
at the small blue gift bag. In the shower she had decided that she may as well
open the present from Matt. Letting it sit there wasn’t going to be an option. Taking
a deep breath, she picked up the bag and opened it, revealing a small blue box
wrapped with a white ribbon. She gasped and gently removed the box from the bag,
holding it carefully in her hand.

“Tiffany’s,” she whispered, not quite sure how she was
feeling. Her stomach was tied in knots and her heart was pounding but she was
also wary, scared, annoyed maybe. She had been heartbroken when she left New
York and all she had needed was one word from him and the last two weeks could
have been very different. But he’d told her there was no future for them after
she left and he had held true to his word and she had been devastated. And
every moment of every day since she had been home she had tried not to think
about him, tried not to cry, tried not to miss him, and she had failed
miserably. And now he shows up and leaves a Tiffany box? Yes, perhaps a little
annoyed and incredibly confused.

She pulled on the ribbon and untied the bow and removed it
from the box. Slowly she lifted the lid to reveal a silver bracelet with the
little Tiffany’s heart hanging from it. It was beautiful! She softly touched
the links and lifted it from the box’s velvet lining. There was something else
hanging from one of the links. She turned the bracelet over in her hand and
found a small silver apple dangling with the heart.

“The big apple,” she said as she caressed the charm. What an
extremely beautiful gift.
So thoughtful
.
Something Matt would do!
Janie
closed her fingers around the bracelet, feeling the weight in her hand. She had
told him that every girl wanted to open a blue Tiffany’s box and here he had
given her exactly what she had asked for; an exquisitely lovely piece of
jewelry, one that had probably cost a bundle.
He can afford it
, she
mused.

The gift was thoughtful and sweet and Janie was touched that
he had remembered her comment in the middle of a phone conversation. He had
paid attention and had tried to do something nice. However, she was more
confused now than before.

Should I call him? What do I do? What does this mean?

*****

Matt was wearing out the carpet in his hotel suite in a
circular pattern around the sofa; back and forth and around and around, unable
to sit still. He couldn’t take much more waiting. He was not a patient man and
this waiting was driving him crazy.
Why hasn’t she called?

Matt looked at his watch again. It was after seven. Janie
should’ve been home hours ago. She should’ve gotten the gift he left; the gift
he had wanted to give her in New York but after her announcement of not wanting
any attachment after she went home, he had changed his mind. It’s only because
Katy had told him she was just trying to protect herself with that speech that
he was here now. She said she really didn’t feel that way and he knew that he
didn’t either. He needed to win her heart. He needed her to be with him.

Did that realtor even give her the bag?
he wondered.
Maybe Janie didn’t even know about it. Maybe the realtor had forgotten his name
and didn’t tell Janie it was from him? He hadn’t thought through the possibility
of her not being at the house when he arrived. It certainly had not played out
the way he had hoped it would.

What the hell
, he thought, as he grabbed his keys.

*****

Katy pulled into Janie’s driveway and turned off the car.
She was here at Janie’s request, not sure what was going on. She had received a
text from her best friend asking her to come over to ‘see’ something. Katy had
figured she wouldn’t hear from Janie now that Matt was in town. She had hoped
that he could apologize and make Janie the happiest girl in the world. But here
she was in Janie’s driveway. She grabbed her purse and opened the door,
climbing out and all but smashing into Danny.

“Hi,” he smiled.

“Shit, Danny! Back up a little will ya!” Katy hissed. “Give
me some room!”

“I saw you pull up and wanted to say hello.”

“Well you did, so you can leave now,” she said.

“Katy, I think you should get to know me a little better. We
should grab a drink sometime.”

It was starting to get dark but Katy could see the creepy
smirk he had on his face and knew that if he was the last man on earth, she
would still never even consider going out with him.

“Nope! Never gonna happen, Danny. Now move so I can go see
my friend.” Katy slammed the door shut and hit the lock button on her key fob,
and pushed her way past him.

“Aw, come on, Katy. It’d be fun. Just you and me, having a
good time.”

“Go home Danny!” Katy arrived at the front door and opened
it, leaving him standing on the driveway. She closed it behind her not giving
him a second look.

“I
will
go out with you,” he whispered, teeth
gritted. “And we
will
have a good time.”

*****

Janie watched Katy as she picked up the bracelet and admired
the beautiful apple charm.

“That’s so thoughtful,” she said to Janie. “The big apple!
That’s really sweet. What did you say?”

“I haven’t seen him or talked to him.”

“What?” Katy’s head jerked towards her friend. “How…?”

“He apparently came by today and left it with Amanda.” Janie
shrugged her shoulders.

“So you haven’t talked to him?” Katy asked.

“No. I had no idea he was here in Portland. I’m kind of
free-falling here, Katy. He just drops this off? A super expensive bracelet
from Tiffany’s and it means what? Am I supposed to respond? There’s no note, I
have no idea!”

“What do you want to do?”

“Truth?”

Katy nodded.

“I want to slug him!”

Katy’s eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped. “Why?”

“Because! He gives me the ‘let’s have a good time while
you’re in New York and it’s all over when you leave’ speech, he fucks his
ex-wife the morning after we have spent an incredible weekend together, I leave
New York and he doesn’t say a word when I say goodbye, and then, what…two,
three weeks later I arrive home to find a Tiffany bracelet waiting for me? Hell
yes I want to punch the shit out of him!”

Katy was speechless. When she had talked to Matt on the
phone the night before, she had envisioned a romantic reunion for her friend,
as he declared his love for her and admitted to being a fool in New York. And then
Janie would melt in his arms and the pain of the past couple of weeks would be
washed away and they would live happily ever after. She truly wanted her friend
to be happy and she desperately hoped this was what she wanted. She put the
bracelet back in the box and studied her friend. Janie was angry, that was
true, but she was more heartbroken than mad. She was head over heels in love
with Matt and she was using anger to protect herself. Katy recognized the signs
because she had felt this way a dozen times since her divorce.