Chapter 8 - Nick
“FUCK!”
I shout it as I spring up from my seat.
We were so close, a couple more seconds and I would have told her my address and she would have been able to find me.
Why does this always happen? If these places want us to be together, why do they keep tearing us apart?
I bang my fist on the wall in frustration, doing nothing except hurting my hand.
OK, I need to calm down, think things through.
How long do I have to wait? When is the next holiday?
Oh, is it an American holiday or British holiday? So far it’s been both, but maybe there’s some obscure one that I don’t know about that might get us together sooner.
I Google dates to see when the next major holiday is in the US Memorial Day? What would a fantasy land for that holiday be like? No, has to be something else. The one after that is the Fourth of July.
That’s so far away. All that time without Noelle, not knowing whether she believes this is real, not knowing if she will even go through the portal. She said that she nearly didn’t do it this time and I still haven’t told her what happens if only one of us does.
But then it hits me. This time is different because this time she knows it’s real. And all because of the egg.
When she wakes up, it’s going to be inside her. No amount of “It’s only a dream” talk is going to explain that away. She will have proof and my name.
I sit back down, slightly less panicked.
Checking again, I see that there are no holidays in the UK coming up, so it must be the Fourth of July that is our next time to meet.
If we don’t find each other online first. I haven’t given up on that. And now maybe she will search for me too.
I click back to my emails and sit in silence for a while, reading and re-reading the job offer.
If I were in America, would it improve my chance of finding her? It’s not as if being in the UK is helping me any.
I think of the kiss with Noelle, the scent of her filling my senses as I taste her lips. Wait, do I have her panties this time? I touch my pocket and a soft lump makes me smile.
I reach into my pocket and rub my fingers along the silky fabric and the confidence I felt with her returns, filling me up and making a decision for me.
I need to start making choices in life instead of waiting for them to happen. Be assertive, take charge.
I lean forward, type a sentence and hit send.
I have just accepted the job.