The One That Got Away.

The moving truck was to arrive in two hours and he still had his bedroom left to pack into the last of three boxes. He paused for a minute, closed his eyes, and thought of where to start. Two seconds later he opened them and they fell on a picture on his left bedside table, of him and Alice on the day they first met.

On that day, it was gray and foggy with leaves littered everywhere and sticking to the floors and walls in front of the Newcastle upon Tyne city library. After spending most of the morning trying to conclude an essay he needed to turn in to The Guardian newspaper where he worked, Michael took a midday break to smoke a cigarette before going back in for a powerful finish. Only four sticks were left of his twenty-pack carton of Marlboro and he made a mental note to buy some more on his way to lunch in the next couple of hours.

The wind was ruthless and its strokes freezing- it was a miracle he could get his lighter to work in the first place. Lost in thought as he inhaled the smoke, out of nowhere the corner of his eyes caught the color red and he turned to his right.

Hurriedly charging up the stairs was a little dark girl in square-shaped eyeglasses, wearing a red skirt beneath a grey coat and polka dot scarf with matching black boots; she had long braids and stood about five foot and one inch tall. Just as he caught sight of her she was gone in a flash.

A part of him wanted to rush after her but then his voice of reason caught him and pulled him back saying, “Think my boy! Think! You’ve got a job to turn in within the hour. Besides, what are you going to say to her?”.

He spent another six minutes or so outside before going back in to conclude his work and to his pleasant surprise there she was, on the desk right beside his buried in her work and typing with furious speed as though she was being chased with a whip from behind. Without much thought, he quipped, “ Short deadline?”

She muttered back in a distracted manner,

“ Should have sent this in an hour ago…..and there we are! Sent!”

Beaming with a smile she looked up at him and sweetly said “Hi.”

“Hi,” He whispered.

Where was his voice?! He was completely smitten by her. Quickly pulling himself together he sat in his chair and pretending to not care, he immediately started typing on his keyboard but still engaging with her said, “Well, unlike you I still have a deadline to meet…” but, before he could complete his line of thought she had stood up to gather her things saying, “I’ve got another appointment to catch up with. I just needed to find a computer and send this report since my iPad ran out of juice.”

He got up and without thinking blurted “I like you! No No No! That came out wrong.." He tried to retract,

She cut him short, “I like you too. But I have to run. My name is Alice. What’s yours?”

“Michael,” he replied.

“Well, Michael, it was a pleasure meeting you.” Upon reaching out, she handed him her business card. “Call me,” she said as she turned to leave, and just like that she was gone.

The rest of his day dragged on very slowly until he headed home on the train to Jesmond with hopes of an early bedtime for an early rise the next day. The train was fairly empty so he leisurely found himself a window seat at the midsection. After two stops, he saw Alice come in and as soon as her eyes caught him, she greeted him with her sweet smile. He thought how he had never had a day as lucky as this. And, just as he was thinking of what to do and say that was not as miscalculated as earlier in the day, she dropped heavily on the seat beside him with a tired sigh but within a couple of seconds chirped up, turned to him and said, “If I didn’t know better I would think you were following me” and they both laughed. He was already loving her sense of humor.

“Where’s your stop?” He asked and she replied, “Next one”.

“Mine too!” He excitedly replied and she seemed pleasantly surprised. Then he took the opportunity and asked,

“I know you may have had a long day as I have and just want to get an early night in but would you like to stop to have a drink with me first?”

About twelve seconds passed and then she said, “Sure” just in time for them both to step out of the train at their stop.

The station was as empty as the train so it didn’t take long for them to walk out into the small street leading to The Wellington for a pint. While they walked they talked about their jobs and Michael listened more to her tell him about her role as a fashion magazine editor with Vogue, She had the luxury of working from home but traveled a lot to make contacts for the content that went into publications. They made themselves cozy at a corner and she took a selfie of them both which she sent to his phone later that night after they had said goodnight and gone their separate ways. It was this photograph he printed and framed which now stood on his bedside table.

That night they spent texting each other until the wee hours of the morning the next day being a Thursday. Consequently, both woke up too late and skipped work for the day ringing both their workplaces to lie about having the flu.

That Thursday afternoon at about 2 pm, they met up again for a walk at the Tyne Bridge as it was a fairly dry and sunny day for October. At about 5 pm after lunch and a few drinks, they ended up back at his place where one thing leading to another led them to his bed where they spent most of the rest of the weekend.

Three months later, on Christmas Eve, they had gone out to her sister's to join Alice's family for an early Christmas dinner since they planned to spend Christmas together for a change. From all accounts her family loved Michael and that being the last confirmation he needed, he proposed to her that night. They went back to his and settled into his master plan of lighting the fire and putting on some music to set the mood. And as they slow danced to her favorite song, Donny Hathaway's "A song for you"

He kissed her as it ended, and got down on one knee asking her to marry him. The few seconds of her silence before she spoke felt like a year to wait and she asked,

"Why?"

Still, on one knee he replied, "Because, you are home for me. And I don't want to waste any more time."

Another pause for about a minute with both of them looking intently into each other's eyes and then she whispered, "Yes"

They both exploded into a whirlwind of excitement that sent them quite early to bed.

The next morning, while she was still sleeping he stole out of bed to make them breakfast and serve her in bed. He put his heart and soul into making those pancakes and froze the strawberries and yogurt while he fried them. It was probably the best cooking he had ever done. Stealing back into their bedroom with the painstakingly but beautifully adorned tray, he wondered why she had not changed sleeping position since he left an hour ago.

Setting the tray aside, he semi got back into bed and kissed her on the cheek to wake up but felt a cold sting that suddenly sent him into a shock of fright.

"Alice! Alice!" He started to shake her awake but there was no response.

He didn't know what else to do but to call 911 and twenty minutes later they were wheeling her out the door and into the ambulance.

She had died in her sleep.

The two months following went like a flash with each day seeming like a dream that he wished he would wake up from and find her lying next to him smiling that big smile she liked to do from the first day they met.

A knock on the door jolted him awake, and he let the movers in to start carrying out the boxes.

He didn't think it was possible to survive another day but if he was going to at least try he would have to move to someplace far away, where he could start all over again.