The sun peered through the window as I opened the curtains and greeted the warm beautiful day. Staring at the full ocean view from my window, I smiled at the peace and serenity I felt at that moment. Sitting down on the bed, I opened up my laptop; there was someone I needed to check in on and talk to.
“Hey, you. I’ve been waiting for you to skype.” Kristen smiled.
“I’m sorry. By time I got to the hotel last night, it was late, and you’re six hours ahead, so I didn’t want to wake you.”
“I can’t believe you did it.”
“Me either. How are you feeling?”
“Same. I have chemo tomorrow and then another scan next week. But don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. You need to focus on you and you only.”
“You know I’m always worried about you.” I pouted.
“Well, don’t be. I want you to have fun in Hawaii and focus on you. I’ll be here when you come to New York.”
“Is Noah taking good care of you?”
“He always does.” She smiled.
“Okay. I’m going to go so you can get some rest. I wish you could be here with me.”
“Me too. But no worries. We’ll take a trip one of these days.”
After saying goodbye, I rubbed my hand down my face. The guilt I felt about not flying straight to New York was eating at me. Kristen wouldn’t hear of it and told me to go somewhere for a while to collect my thoughts before settling in to my new life. She was one of the strongest women I knew and I couldn’t wait to see her.
After I took a shower, I curled the ends of my long brown hair, slipped into my floral spaghetti-strapped sundress, and headed downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast. When I walked in, I saw Drew and Jess sitting at a table. He was reading the newspaper and she was looking at her phone. Sighing, I asked the hostess to seat me on the other side of the restaurant.
As I sipped on my coffee, my phone rang, and it was Kellan.
“Hi there,” I answered.
“Hey. Sorry to bother you on your vacay, but I have to ask. You haven’t used any of your old credit cards, right?”
“No. I haven’t. I’ve been paying cash or using my new card.”
“Good. Your mom paid me a little visit earlier and demanded to know where you were. I really had to talk my way out of that one. I even had to cry. She and your father are checking all your credit cards, rental car places, airports, hotels, and your bank account.”
“They can check all they want. They won’t find anything.”
“Apparently, the limo driver spilled the beans and told them he dropped you off at Pier 59.”
“That asshole. I paid him good money to keep his mouth shut.”
“Well, your parents paid more to get the truth. But he didn’t tell them you got into a cab. He just said that when he dropped you off, he saw you walking down the street on foot.”
“Did you get rid of the dress?” I asked.
“Yeah. I went to the hotel last night, boxed it up, and sent it off to that girl in Wisconsin this morning.”
“Thank you.”
As I looked up, I saw Drew looking over at me. I gave a small smile and nod.
“Hello? Jill? Are you there?”
“Sorry.”
“Are you okay? Are you having second thoughts about everything?”
“God no! But I’m fine. It’s just I met this guy on the plane yesterday and then, when we landed in Los Angeles, we grabbed a bite to eat. We sat together again on the plane to Hawaii. Now he’s staying at the same hotel and I just saw him looking at me from across the restaurant.”
“Oh. Meow. Is he hot?”
I smiled. “Yeah. He is incredibly hot and he’s here with his girlfriend.”
“Damn.”
“No damn, Kellan. A guy is the last thing I need. Remember, I’m starting my life over. It’s a guy-free zone, at least for the next ten years or so.”
“I think ten years is a little ridiculous, Jilly Bean.”
“Nah. Ten should give me enough time to figure out who I am. There will be no exceptions.”
“If you say so. Go enjoy Hawaii. I just wanted to update you on the evil queen.”