Page 41 of The Island in Bramble Bay
She called a taxi, thankful that in America it seemed that you could have anything you wanted at any time of the day or night, packed her things, her cheeks wet with silent tears and wrote a brief note to Charlie which she tucked carefully into the pocket of the jeans he’d been wearing so she could be sure he’d see it. She took one last look at him, sleeping soundly under the beautiful night sky and hoped it wouldn’t be the end.
38
CHARLIE COULDN’T BELIEVE that Maggie had left, especially after the night they had spent together. He’d thought that she’d forgiven him, yet there was no note, no explanation but all of her things had gone.
He’d tried calling her, thinking that she couldn’t have got a flight out that quickly, but there was no answer. It even occurred to him that she might still be at the airport if he followed her there. The only thing stopping him was that she obviously had thought about what she was doing.
He knew she’d been upset since she’d found out about his talk with Ed, maybe more about the way she’d found out. More than anything, he wished he’d just talked it over with Maggie right from the start, included her in his decision. That was probably why she’d left.
It had never been his intention to send her back on her own. He wanted to go back together, sort everything out and then come back to the States but now maybe it was just as easy to stay. All his stuff was here, at least. His plan to ship it all over to the UK could wait and he could always use the lake house as a bolt hole while he was in the Valley.
But the thought of Maggie travelling back to the UK without him was awful. They’d had such a great time on the way out and he hated to think of her sitting alone without having had the chance to say a proper goodbye. It was going to drive him crazy. There was absolutely no reason why he couldn’t go too. Christ, if he’d learned anything from the past three years — hell from the past twenty-four hours, it was to make sure to know what was actually important rather than getting caught up in the day-to-day shit that tended to blur things.
He called the airline and established that Maggie had changed her ticket and was booked onto a flight that left in three hours. Luckily he was able to get himself booked onto the same flight and because they were flying first class, the airline was very happy to arrange for him to sit next to Maggie and to organise expedited VIP access for him to bypass check-in and security. It wasn’t often that Charlie took advantage of these things which were on offer to the wealthiest people but if there was ever a time, it was today.
The next thing he did was call for a helicopter to take him to the airport, the absolute only way he would have any chance of making it in time.
When he landed at San Francisco International Airport a guy was waiting for him.
‘Good Morning, Mr Mackenzie, I hope you had a good flight.’ He held out his hand to shake Charlie’s. ‘My name’s Ryan, I’ll be escorting you to your connection flight today. Unfortunately, sir, the flight you were booked on has already boarded so we’ve taken the liberty of changing your ticket to the next flight later this afternoon. Would you like me to take your bag?’
Charlie stopped in his tracks. ‘Already boarded? There has to be a way to get me on that plane,’ he said desperately. ‘I just pulled a clip from a James Bond movie to get here. Please, Ryan, tell me there’s something I can do.’
‘Follow me, sir.’ They walked into the terminal building, along a classy looking corridor to the VIP lounge where Charlie was hoping against hope that Maggie would be waiting for him.
‘Sir, would you like to give me your passport and I’ll see what I can do,’ said Ryan.
‘Sure, thanks,’ said Charlie, and he dug into his pocket for it. As he pulled it out, a piece of paper fell to the floor. It was folded, with his name written on it. He handed his passport to Ryan, then picked up the note and sat on a nearby chair to read it.
Charlie,
I think it’s best if I leave. Waiting another week will just make it harder to say goodbye. I’m fine about last night, it’s not because I’m angry or anything like that. I just think you’re not ready for the High 5 stuff to be over and that’s okay. Take the time you need and know that I will be waiting for you. Let yourself enjoy it and have all the fun you should have had before. I love you so much and I want you to come back to me with no regrets so that we can start our life together. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be waiting for you.
All my love, your Maggie
‘Your passport, sir.’
Charlie wiped his eyes with the back of his hand before turning to Ryan. ‘Thanks. My plans have changed. Any chance you could call that helicopter back for me?’
‘Certainly, sir.’
Charlie pushed his passport back into his pocket along with the note from Maggie, wondering what to do. He hated that she’d left without him, that she was travelling back to the UK alone. And whatever she said in her note, he worried that she hadn’t forgiven him for not looking out for her and he was angry with himself for letting that happen. The best thing he could do was throw himself into the project for Ed and get back to Dorset as soon as he could.
39
THE PLANE JOURNEY home was the longest ten hours of Maggie’s life. Being in first class at least meant she could cry without the whole plane watching her. She would cry, then be hit by a sudden panic that she’d made the wrong decision by leaving, then break her heart by realising that Charlie had got caught up in his old life and she wasn’t part of that. And the cycle went on and on.
At Heathrow, she came through customs into the arrivals hall and immediately noticed a chauffeur standing there with her name on a placard. That meant that Charlie knew she’d left. Of course he did. And given that he’d been thoughtful enough to arrange a car for her, perhaps he understood why she’d left. She hoped he did. He had to understand that although she loved him, more than she’d ever loved anyone before, she couldn’t risk her new future on someone she hadn’t known for more than a handful of weeks. And even then, did she really know him? Before they went to America she never would have thought that they would end up here. She would have staked almost everything on the fact that Charlie would never be interested in that kind of life again. How could it compete with what he had here? She had thought he was in love with the woods. And in love with her. But now, she felt like she hadn’t known anything about him at all.
Thankfully the Bramble Bay Ferry was waiting, yet to embark on its first journey of the day when she arrived at the Sandbanks quay early in the morning. Though she was glad to be home she was exhausted and hoped that William was not in his usual exuberant mood.
‘Morning, Maggie,’ he said, grabbing her suitcase and hauling on board before she had chance to say anything.
‘Morning, William. Thanks. I think I might sit upstairs today. Can I leave that with you?’
‘’Course,’ he said as she disappeared up to the top deck before he could ask her why Charlie wasn’t with her.
The weather promised a glorious early summer’s day and although there was a breeze, it wasn’t cold. Maggie thought back to the last time she’d sat on the top deck of the ferry, on her first day on Bramble Island. This felt much the same. Now that she was back, without Charlie, it felt like it was a new start of sorts. Not the new start she had wanted but it felt as if treating it like that was the only way she was going to be able to carry on. Carrying the heartache of how things had turned out with Charlie was natural but she wasn’t going to let it define her. Otherwise she was back at the same point she’d been when she had first arrived here, carrying the heartache, albeit not as badly, of how things had turned out with Ben.
