Gillian and Jake rode in silence back to the resort. The fact
that he had found her with Ryan seemed to be something that neither
one of them wanted to deal with. Yet, they knew they would
eventually have to. Jake decided to bring it up first.
“Gillian, I thought we had a future - you, me and Colby,” he
said.
“We do,” she replied.
“What about Ryan?” he asked, bluntly.
“Nothing happened between us. Nothing.”
“But, I found you -”
“You found us in a compromising situation, which I already
explained, but nothing happened - and nothing is ever going to
happen,” Gillian said. “Anything that ever existed between me and
Ryan is in the past. Okay?”
“Is that how he feels?” Jake asked.
“Ryan isn’t trying to win me back, if that’s what you think. It’s
just a coincidence that he’s here. He saved me because that’s what he
does. It had nothing to do with our past relationship,” she said.
“Your past marriage.”
The rest of the ride was spent in silence, with Jake immersed in
his own thoughts and Gillian glancing into the rear view mirror
watching the police car behind them that was bringing Ryan back to
the resort.
**********************
Gillian was brushing her hair in front of the mirror, freshly
dressed and showered. Jake lie behind her on the bed. Their eyes met
in the mirror.
“Come sit with me,” he said.
Gillian, smiling, walked over down on the bed.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said.
“Thank you, Jake,” she replied.
Then he was kissing her, and she was kissing him back. But,
there was something missing in his kisses that made her feel hollow
and empty inside. It had always been different with Jake, but it wasn’t
until now, after having been with Ryan, that she noticed how striking
the difference was.
Gillian broke the kiss and sat, silently, watching him.
She looked up at him, noting how quick he was to accuse her,
although she hadn’t been entirely honest with him.
“Nothing. Nothing happened,” she said, then paused. “Being
that close to death, it made me think,” she said.
“About what?”
“About time, and how precious it is. All the time we waste.
All the missed opportunities. Don’t you ever think about that, Jake?”
Gillian asked, tears starting to well up in her eyes. “I saw my life
flash
before me, with all the mistakes I’ve made. But I didn’t die. I was
given the chance to fix them....Don’t, don’t you ever wonder, if you
had made choices differently, how your life might’ve changed?”
“Of course I think about that. When Liza asked me to be
Colby’s father, what if I had turned her down? I mean, look what a
difference she’s made in my life” Jake asked.
“Yeah, things like that. But, sometimes, we always don’t make
the right choice.”
“Like, what if I had decided to go into town with you, instead
of staying here? What if I had been in that cabin with you? Would we
still be having this conversation?” Jake asked.
Gillian got up and walked over to the door.
“I just need some air, okay? I’ll be back...sometime.”
