Last-Minute Love (Year of the Chick series) (18 page)

I c
ouldn’t compute what she’d just said so I continued on. “Do you know he once told me New York is full of beautiful women?” I stared off into a distant corner. “I can just read the headline now: ‘Danish Village Boy Goes Wild in Manhattan.’”

“What kind of newspaper would report on a slutty villager?”

My eyes widened. “Only the ‘New York Times’!”

We both started laughing.

“I’m going crazy, aren’t I…”

Laura
’s expression became serious. “You just need to know what this ‘thing’ really is. And the sooner the better, ‘cause people stand to get hurt here.” She pointed at my chest. “Including you.”

I leaned on the cart and sighed. “You’re right.
I need to see him soon or this is all a waste of time.”

I returned my focus to the
current task, and at last found the fry pan of my mother’s dreams, hanging up high in the corner. I stood on my tippy-toes and reached out to grab it. “Twenty-percent discount mom, you’re welcome very much.” I took a quick look at our surroundings. “Now I just need to find a toaster oven.”

“Excuse me?!” Laura was about ready to throttle me.

“For my uncle!” I said innocently. Laura scowled as we turned into the next aisle, to the sound of another pot clanging as it hit the floor.

I only wished I had ten more re
latives to buy for, because shopping was the only distraction from an ugly fact. The fact that Erik and I were sharing a break from reality, and the fact that it would probably all go up in flames...

C
hapter Sixteen

I was a mummy.

A knitted-scarf-
wearing mummy, with only my eyes just the tiniest bit exposed, as a blizzard tore its way through Toronto. It was almost as big of a “New Year’s bitch slap” as realizing you had to eat healthy.

Our office had advised us to go home early, but to me that meant a very important pit-stop.

Some shaky steps later I had arrived, and my mittened-hand grabbed at the icy door handle. Inside was an absolute refuge: fresh coffee and lots of body heat.

I stood in the long queue, each minute feeling like hours, and when I finally had my steaming latte I dashed for the last empty table. This left a woman and her young son aimlessly looking for a seat, until they finally settled on a larger table they could share with a creepy-looking man. The creepiness factor spanne
d far beyond his pedophile-moustache, and straight to his leather vest.

B
ut I didn’t care.

I had business to take care of.

Two important pieces of business.

First I
switched on my laptop, and requested the Wi-Fi access as quickly as I could. Then I launched the website for my book sales. I’d promised myself that I would only check my book sales three times a week, and today was a scheduled viewing. It normally wouldn’t have been such an event, but after giving away ten thousand copies of my book for free, the halo effect of sales had been a rush. Today wasn’t any different.

A hun
dred copies sold in the last three days!

I sipped my latte with a genui
ne sense of accomplishment, but it was only a momentary pause from the constant stream of thoughts in my head.

Erik.

The man I had yet to figure out---the corporate big-wig, the nerd, the hot guy, the musician---was finally back in my time zone, and today he was my second piece of business.

After a holiday spent constantly imagining him with someone else, I needed to either take a chance or let it go. It had to be one or the other, because another few months of addictive phone calls with nothing else to hope for would ruin me.

It’s all business today.

I straightened out the collar of my crisp blouse,
psyching myself up like in one of those presentations that my boss was too incompetent to do.

A second later my phone buzz
ed to life, and all my toughness was replaced with an ache from somewhere deep inside, the one that screamed out “need” and “want.”

“Hello?” I said cautiously
.

“
God I missed your voice.”

I smiled
. “Just from one word?”

“W
hat a difference one word really makes over none.”

In a matter of seconds, my
big business proposal about how we needed to meet fell right off the side of the table. I was simply too giddy in a way I should’ve long grown out of. “So how were your holidays?” I scrunched my nose as soon as I said it. “Actually, if you could limit the details that would be best.”

“Of course,” he said.
“But you must know I missed you. Weeks passed and I didn’t have one conversation about ancient history or poisoned children or Bollywood singers who never get any of the spotlight...it was not the same.”

Any guy who could remember (and miss) my insane conversation earned a permanent spot in my heart. Which meant that I was even more screwed.

“It definitely wasn’t the same,” I said quietly.

“What about you?
” he asked. “Were you feeling better for the holidays? Is the sickness all gone?”

I smiled. “All gone.”

“That makes me so happy. I love it when you’re badass and full of energy.” He paused to clear his throat. “Oh you just reminded me, I finished your book on the plane ride back.”

I blushed. “Yeah?” When Erik
had resumed our contact after those few weeks of silence in October, I remembered how he’d never brought up my book again. Maybe he hated the character based on James and couldn’t tell me.

“
I’d taken a break from reading it so I could start making music again---thanks to you---but on the plane I got the chance to finally finish it.”

Why
aren’t you saying if you liked it or hated it?! Damn you!

I coughed awkwardly into the phone.

“Well I wanted to tell you that I loved it,” he said.

I covered the phone so he wouldn’t hear my sigh of relief. “Cool,” I said casually.

He laughed. “Better than cool. Was this guy for real though? I mean you really met a stranger from the Internet in New York?”

“Well
…it made sense at the time.”

“So where is he now?”

I sighed. “He’s right back where he started, I guess. And I’m…somewhere. Or nowhere. It’s hard to tell these days.”

“I know what you mean,” he said. “And that reminds me, I
need to tell you something else.”

My mouth went dry and I suddenly
wanted to hurl. All I could think was that he’d gotten engaged over Christmas, like so many people did in that dripping-with-romance season.
Kill me.

“Romi
, are you there?”

“Yes.” It
was barely a whisper.

“I need to tell you that...
my contract here in New York will be ending sooner than I thought. In six weeks, to be exact.”

Oh god.

The room suddenly felt as cold as the blizzard outside. I was frozen, because in all my horrific scenarios, none of them involved him going back home to her so soon.

I said nothing, so he went on. “It has been such an amazing experience
testing my skills in the financial capital of the world. And of course the chance to live and breathe everything ‘New York’...it was incredible. I’m sad to see it end early.” He paused. “I’m sad for several reasons.”

I finally spoke. “So this means you’re going back? To Denmark?”

“I’m afraid it does.”

My eyes welled up with tears, which was never my favourite thing when I was visible in a public place.
Was it even normal for me to cry in this situation? How well did I even know this guy? On the surface it seemed irrational, but the combination of our phone calls, his song, and that time spent together in New York made him tug at my heart so much more than I’d ever expected. And since when did it even matter how much time you’d actually spent with a person? Who even made these stupid rules? I wasn’t sure, but I knew this was a game I couldn’t play anymore.

“Well,
” I said, my voice a little shaky now. “Do what you gotta do.”

“Romi, we’l
l both do what we gotta do. But the world will never be the same.”

I choked back a sob as he shared some more details of his schedule, and with every added word my heart broke a little bit more.

***

I sat alone in
our usual hangout, but the warm yellow walls of the restaurant looked grey to me. A cloud hung over my head as I sipped my wine. It was nothing short of morose.

Laura and I were meeting for one
of our regular nights of catch-up, and boy was there a lot to catch up on. Normally I would’ve spilled the beans about an update as big as this, but I’d been so incredibly stunned by Erik’s announcement that I hadn’t said a word.

As I continued to sip slowly, Laura hurried into the restaurant with a beaming smile.

When she saw me up close her expression changed. “Have you been crying?” she said.

I massaged my forehead but
never met her eyes. “He’s leaving New York in six weeks. For good.”

She seemed
shocked as she settled into her seat. “Already? But how? Dave never told me any of this.”

“He must’ve asked him not to until he
told me himself. They’re making changes at the company and his contract expires early.” I slouched in my chair and sighed.

“You think he’s known for a while?” she asked. “And six weeks? What’s he gonna do, be unemployed? Or has he already started looking for a new job?”

To my surprise I started feeling a little angry. “That’s the best part! He knew all of this before he went back home! I remember when we talked before the holidays, how he acted all weird and promised he would write.” I rolled my eyes. “Meanwhile he was sooo busy, finding a new job, a new place to live, and even a new car!” I looked at her fiercely and gripped the table. “He’s already got it all figured out, so I guess he’s good to go! Bye!” I started waving at no one, and some restaurant patrons in the dining room started giving me weird looks.

Laura sighed. “I gues
s he couldn’t stand to crush you before Christmas.” The waiter arrived with her drink, and she took a long sip as I rubbed my temples. “Romes,” she said. “You know what you have to do now, right?”

“Send someone to New York to kick his ass?” I
looked hopeful, but my expression quickly changed to something bordering on empathy. “Or maybe it’s not his fault…”

Laura was c
learly confused by my sudden shifts in behaviour. “Huh?”

“I mean think about it. There’s like seven billion people on earth, at least three billion females, and maybe half a billion who aren’t super-old or super-young.” I looked up at Laura with conviction. “So how is he sup
posed to know he’s met his soul-mate in his current girlfriend, when all those other women are out there?”

Laura narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about me, and how I’ve made him reconsider his whole life! It’s just the circumstances that stand in the way! I wish I could move to Denmark…maybe then he would dump her ass.” I frowned.

“I thought Indian girls would be
‘scandalized’ if they left the house before marriage.”

I thought about it for a second. “You’re right
, that is a problem. But that doesn’t mean I won’t do it!”

Laura
grabbed me by the shoulders like she was trying to rein me in. “Romes, did you fall and hit your head?”

I momentarily escaped from my delusional trance. “Huh?”

“He’s leaving in six weeks. He’s already made all his plans. Do the words ‘settling down’ mean anything to you?”

I suddenly felt annoyed. “So he’s just gonna cut me loose?”

“Well…”

I gasped. “Laura, I am not
some random chick. We made a song together!”

She
rolled her eyes.

“Hey!” I said. “What do YOU
even know?”

She crossed her arms. “Here’s what I know:
you’re messing with a guy who already has a life, and pretty soon…you’re not going to be a part of it.” I glared at her as she went on. “I also know that watching you chase a guy who has a girlfriend when I’M somebody’s girlfriend? It’s been torture. Like half the reason I’ve been so worried about Dave not proposing is because of girls like you! I mean what if there’s some other ‘you’ out there who tries to take him away?”

My face went blank. “Wow…”

Her expression softened. “Look, I love you, but I can barely remember when you dated just like everybody else. For almost a year I watched you get obsessed with a guy you never met, then after only meeting him once you wanted him to be your boyfriend, which wasted another half a year.” I gasped as she went on. “And now you fall for a guy who was never even yours to fall for! Why can’t you just live the life that’s actually in front of you?”

My
brown eyes burned with fire. “I’m sorry I’m not as normal as you, or as sensible as you.” My voice was shaking now, but there was no way to stop the impending volcano.

I
finished my drink in one swig and continued. “Do you think this was my plan? Remember the ‘no-man’ trip? This is NOT what I wanted, but accidents happen, you know? I guess you wouldn’t understand that though, with your perfect little ‘workback schedule’ of life.” I sneered.

“Romes---”

“No!” I rose from the table and glared at her. “Maybe some of us aren’t lucky enough to fall for the ‘right’ people at the ‘right’ time. Maybe for the rest of us it’s hard to find somebody we can even talk to…and laugh with. It’s harder than you think, but hey, I’M SORRY I’M SUCH A SCREW-UP!” I tossed a twenty-dollar bill on the table and stormed off, as several conversations around us went eerily silent.

A few seconds later with
curious whispers all around, I quickly stormed back to grab my coat and my bag which I’d forgotten.
Dammit.
I stormed off again and this time for good.

Laura sat still the whole time,
with a look of pure shock on her face.

***

I looked above to see a grey sky ceiling hovering over listless skyscrapers. I lowered my head but the light still hadn’t turned green, so I took a quick glance around me. All I saw were sidewalks covered in blobs of cruddy brown snow.