Page 2 of One Sweet Day I Found You

Last week, while checking the airline’s schedule, Courtney had tried to remember—would she gain back one day upon returning to the States? Or two? Or would she lose two? And was that Sydney time or Milwaukee time listed in the arrival column? The time difference always scrambled her brain when it came to planning a trip like this. And now, it seemed, it had done her in.

Courtney faked a smile “Uh, maybe. I’m trying to figure that out. Hopefully, it’s nothing.” She swallowed hard.

Courtney’s hands were suddenly shaking as she opened the calendar app. She’d basically thrown her hands in the air last week and booked the only doable flight she found before it sold out. It had said it would arrive in time for her first day, though, hadn’t it?

There’d still been three hundred thousand other things to finalize before she could leave, after all. Did she make a mistake?

She found the entry in her phone’s calendar. She had punched it in last week, just after doing her happy dance, having been offered the job.

Monday, May 30: Beecham 9 a.m. First Day.

Today was Tuesday. Oh. My. Gosh.

She had booked a flight that arrived on the wrong date.

Courtney’s cheeks felt warm. “Oh, this is not good.” She flopped her head back against the seat and let out a quiet groan.

To be fair, she’d received the offer exactly one week ago. The decision to accept had taken her about three seconds flat. She’d been ready to come home. Not surprisingly, it had been a whirlwind of a week.

With flight plans made, she’d moved on to all the arrangements necessary to close out her life, as it were, in Sydney. Quitting her job at the coffee shop, a pack-up at the international hostel, tidying up three stories on her laptop, arranging for payment and letting them know she’d no longer be local, informing her family of her plans, meeting up with friends at the pub for a last hurrah, and then, of course, nursing the unavoidable hangover.

G’ day, mates. I’m off.

She’d also had to secure a place to live in Wisconsin and now, she was close to being broke until her next paycheck. Australia had been expensive. She could not afford to lose this job, and she was not going back to Chicago, at least not anytime soon. Courtney sighed heavily.

Samantha eyed Courtney with concern.

“So what happened?”

Courtney sat back, defeated, and stared out the window.

“I, uh…well—I’m gonna be a little later than I thought.”

* * *

Another twenty-five minutespassed and the driver slowed in front of a row of quaint, well-kept, two-story buildings lining Heritage Bay’s Main Street. On the opposite side of the street, a shimmering Lake Michigan peeked out from behind a row of similar shops and businesses, manicured trees and shrubs, and flowers in bloom.

Courtney shook off the last of the queasiness, searched the addresses marked on the buildings, and pointed to a blue office with white trim, marked with a sign over the door. “There it is.”

Samantha pulled into a parking spot and helped Courtney unload her luggage.

A storefront two doors down caught her eye—the West End Coffee Shop. “Oh, thank goodness,” she muttered, her shoulders relaxing.

Courtney grabbed the last of her belongings from inside the car then handed over fifty of her last three-hundred dollars in cash. “Thanks so much for the ride.”

“It was a nice change of scenery. Take care, and good luck with the new job!”

She would need the luck. Courtney attempted a warm smile. “Thanks.”

With a hasty goodbye, Courtney slung her purse, her carry-on bag, and her laptop case over her shoulder then pulled her rolling suitcase behind her.

It was time for coffee. Luscious, glorious coffee with cream. Something to clear the brain fog. Finally.

She’d grab a cup and hurry over to her new office, and then beg and plead to keep the job she had just flown halfway around the world to take.

* * *

The aromatic flavorsof fresh brew permeated the colorful shop. A jazzy instrumental playlist hummed softly in the background and quirky artwork dressed the walls. Courtney stepped up to the counter.

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