Page 84 of Harper's Holiday Romance
Bob carried the conversation for the next twenty minutes, as he told us all about his most complicated surgeries, the judicial system in the United States, and almost missing his own wedding.
“How did that happen?” I asked. Julia rolled her eyes; she’d obviously heard the story a thousand times.
“I was a medical resident; we only got two weeks’ vacation, and I had to utilise my days as best I could. To make sure we got enough time for a honeymoon, I worked right up until the day of the wedding. I had to catch a flight that morning after a forty-eight-hour shift to be back in Long Island for the ceremony.” Bob’s voice was the most soothing thing I’d ever heard, even when he was describing a frantic situation.
“He is making it sound all heroic. In reality, he fell asleep on the train to the airport and missed his stop,” Jill added.
“I did do that, yes.” Bob laughed. “It was technically my own fault, but I was sleep deprived. Anyway, I had to catch a different flight, and I made it to the courthouse three minutes before we were due to get married, still dressed in my scrubs.”
“And she still married you?” Sarah joked.
“I know. He was already on thin ice for missing our anniversary two weeks before, so he’s lucky,” Jill said it with love in her eyes. She looked at Bob like she would’ve scaled every mountain in the US to marry him.
Bob took a sip of his whiskey on ice. “Don’t worry, Harper, my daughter is much better at timekeeping.”
I almost spat the contents of my margarita across the table. The ice cube I’d been toying with underneath my tongue lodged in my throat for a second until it melted.
“Seriously, Dad?” Julia’s eyes widened.
“I didn’t mean . . . erm . . . marriage or anything . . . I just meant . . . erm,” Bob fumbled his words.
“Quit whilst your ahead. Honey.” Jill patted him on the arm.
I burst out laughing once I managed to regain full control of my breathing.
“I’m sorry,” Bob apologised.
“Oh God, don’t worry.” I think Bob was forgetting I lived in the UK, and the chances of me and Julia continuing our holiday romance were nonexistent.
Julia reached over discreetly and squeezed my thigh. It felt strange knowing I only had a few days left with her. The bond we’d created in such a short period of time felt unique. I would miss her, and that gut-wrenching feeling when I thought about never seeing her again trulyhurt my heart. I didn’t know what any of it meant. I didn’t foresee a way we could remain in each other’s lives. It was never meant to be something more. Billie and Sarah had encouraged me to “get back in the saddle”, to enjoy another woman with no strings attached without the fear of a turbulent future; that’s what I’d done.
Except, I hadn’t managed to remain emotionally disconnected. It took three hours of being in Julia’s presence on that first trip to the turtles to realise she was different, and if I wasn’t careful the capability to walk away unscathed was going to diminish.
I needed a sign. I needed someone to tell me what to do or a crystal ball to predict my future, and to see if someway somehow Julia was in it.
You’re an idiot.
It was a pipe dream. A slither of my favourite human emotion—hope—trying to worm its way in and sell me a dream. There was no world where me and Julia became anything more than what we were in the four walls of her hotel room, right?
Bob reached for his glass. “I’d like to propose a toast.” He held his arm in the centre of the table. “I speak on behalf of my family when I say we enjoyed getting to know each of you. You’re a wonderful group of young women with so much to offer this world. This might be our last night on this trip, but it won’t be our last trip. Cheers.”
A collective cheer broke from the group.
It won’t be our last trip.
It was a beautiful sentiment.
Maybe, there was a world where we would meet again in the future. Another resort. Another time. Another wonderful experience to be had.
Billie flicked her shoes off underneath the console table that now doubled as an unofficial shoe rack. I liked to keep my things as organised as possible. Billie liked to spread small parts of herself across every surface of the room.
“Will you be sneaking over to Julia’s tonight?” She unbuttoned her trousers, left them in the middle of the bathroom floor, and proceeded to splash her face with water in small sharp spurts, like she was conscious she might be allergic.
“No.”
“Why not?” she muffled through the hand towel.
“I think it might be a good idea to take a step back now.” I flopped back on the bed. I didn’t feel like getting undressed. It seemed like too much effort, but I unhooked the top button of my jeans because my stomach was threatening to burst through after five courses of Japanese goodness.
