Chapter 7

“No, Mom, thank you, but…” Caroline sighed as she held the phone to her ear. “No,” she said more firmly, “I am not going to move back home, even if it is into the carriage house…I’ll be fine…New York’s not that far, only a two hour flight…Of course I’ll be home for Christmas or you could come up…I’ll call as soon as I get there…I know; I love you too.” She sighed as she hung up the phone. I think she’s more nervous than I am about my moving away. As if New York is a foreign country where they speak another language and eat strange food. Of course, she’s never had a bagel and thinks cream of wheat is an abomination so…

“Caroline! The U-haul’s here!” Amy called from the living room. “There’s still time to change your mind; maybe think about what you’re doing for a minute.” She pulled out her phone.
“Xander? This is Amy,” she whispered.
“Amy? Why are you calling me? Is Caroline ok?”
“Yes. No. Listen, Xander, I don’t know how you could do what you did, and I don’t care right now. What I do know is that you need to get over here right away.”
“Wh..” he started to interrupt.
“She’s leaving, Xander, moving away. She made us promised not to tell you, which wasn’t hard. Why would I want to talk to you anyway after you broke her heart?”
“Why are you telling me now?”
“Because her heart is broken and it’s your fault. Because I’m not sure anyone else can fix it.”
He was quiet.
“Do you love her? Really love her?”
He didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Yes, I do. Amy, I didn’t know I was still married. It’s a long story, one I’ve been trying to tell Caroline, but she won’t listen. I never wanted to hurt her.”
“You’ve got one last chance to fix this. I’ll stall her as long as I can, but you’ve got to hurry.”

Caroline sighed again. This would be easier with more support, but I know it’s because they’re worried about me. These last couple of weeks I’ve been a little… She paused. A little crazy? Maybe. But this is the right thing to do. I can’t stay here after everything’s that happened. She could still see Xander’s face when she left that night. It was the last time she’d seen him. Oh, he’d tried to see her, calling and emailing repeatedly for the last two weeks, but she’d refused to talk to him. What could he possibly say? ‘I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you I’m married?’ Shades of Nick all over again. I won’t be the other woman.
Before she could start crying again, she heard the clatter of the mail falling through the slot in the front door. Amy got to it first. “Here. One last letter before you shake the dust of this small town from your city shoes.” She smiled. “Come on, read it in here and I’ll get you a glass of tea. There’s no sweet tea where you’re going, remember?”
“Thanks, sweetie,” Caroline replied, “but I need to get back to the truck. I really want to get everything packed up and on the road before lunch.”
“Don’t worry. We have plenty of time. Drink some tea before you get heat stroke lifting all those boxes and I’ll go down and check on Jimmy and the truck.”
Amy checked her watch in the kitchen, biting her lip, Come on Xander, I can only hold her so long.
“Here’s your tea. Remember that time we went up to New York for the Monet exhibit and had lunch at that little diner around the corner from the museum. You tried to order sweet tea and the waitress said it was out of season. It was October!”
“Damn it,” Caroline said abruptly, “it’s only New York. It’s not that far and right now I’m wishing it were farther. I won’t be sorry that I’m moving away; I’m not betraying anyone.”
“Um. Ok. I’ll keep my amusing stories and memories of us until you’re feeling less martyred,” Amy answered tightly. “Getting mad at me or your mom or anyone else here who loves you isn’t going to make you miss us any less or make you feel better about running away.”
“Amy,” Caroline said, but Amy turned away, saying, “I’ve got to get back to the truck.”
Caroline watched her disappear out the front door. Well, that went well. I’m not running away. I just can’t be here or face him. Ok, so maybe I am running away but at least I’m running to something at the same time. She put her tea glass down on the coffee table and fingered the letter still in her hand. Huh. Everyone knows I’m leaving; I wonder who wrote me an actual letter instead of an email? “Oh,” she said out loud. “Of course.” Xander. For a second she thought about opening it, but then she remembered how she felt when she saw him with Kiki, Kiki, for god’s sake, and how she felt when she saw Nick... No second chances. She addressed another envelope to Xander, tore up his letter and stuffed it inside. There; maybe he’ll finally get the message. At least he’ll have his wife to comfort him.
She grabbed her backpack and went down to face the music.
“Amy, I’m sorry. I know I’ve been impossible since this all happened but I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”
“I know,” Amy said, “and I know you’re hurting, but you just seem so eager to move out of here that it hurts me in return. Can’t you just wait a bit so we can all get used to the idea?”
“Oh, honey, I never meant to make you feel that way. I’m going to miss you terribly,” Caroline said, “I wish you would come with me. But I have to go. Being here is making me crazy.”
“Why don’t you talk to him, just to hear him out? Don’t you think you’d feel better?”
“No. I don’t. What’s going to make me feel better is forgetting he ever existed.” And with that she hugged Amy and Jimmy and hauled herself up behind the wheel of the U-Haul. “I’ll call you when I get there.”
“We’ll miss you,” they called. “Drive safe.”
As the truck pulled out of the driveway, Amy sighed. “Damn it. Where is he?” she muttered.
A tan Accord screeched to a halt at the curb and Xander shot out of the driver’s seat almost before the car had stopped moving. “There was a wreck on the bridge, but I’m here. Where is she?” His face fell as the noticed the empty driveway.
“I missed her, didn’t I?”
Amy looked up the street, but the U-Haul was gone and Caroline with it.
“I’m sorry. I think that was your last shot,” she said softly.
“I know. It’s over.” And before Amy could tell if he was crying, Xander climbed back in his car and drove away in the opposite direction.