Reunited (2 page)

          The
letter seemed harmless enough but it threw me into a tailspin of emotions.  My
10 year college reunion was finally happening.  My best friend, Amy Collins, had
been bugging me about going to this for the past five years.  She’d made me
promise I would go with her.  It normally wouldn’t be a big deal except I knew
that I would probably run into Jake Hunter. 

          Jake
and I met each other our freshman year of college in Massachusetts and we were
inseparable until graduation.  He was, without a doubt, my first and only love
and I still think about him nearly every day.  We had a special kind of love
that comes around once in a lifetime.  Everyone, I mean
everyone
, just
knew that we were going to get married.

          I
met Jake the first day of class when the professor called on him and he was
stalling because he didn’t know the answer.  He was sitting in front of me and
I felt bad that the tension in the air was so palpable while everyone waited
for Jake’s answer, so I whispered it to him.  After class Jake turned around to
thank me and his gorgeous face caught me off guard.  I became instantly nervous
as my palms began to sweat.  I don’t know that I would have had the courage to
give him the answer had I seen his face first.  He was breathtakingly
handsome.  His dark hair and dark eyes were not typically what I went for but I
had never met a more gorgeous man.  We started flirting innocently with each
other and by the end of the week, Jake asked me out.  We dated exclusively
right away and I just knew in my heart that he was the man I was going to
marry. 

          I
got a full ride to college and Jake, I would learn after three months of dating
him, had a building on campus named after his family.  After I found out that
he was Jake Hunter, billionaire heir to Hunter International, I felt a little
bit insecure because he came from old money but I never let my insecurity
show.  His family was not just rich, they were wealthy.  But Jake was very down
to earth and he never made me feel like I wasn't good enough. 

We were
pulling an all-nighter studying for finals at the end of our first semester
freshman year, when Jake told me he loved me for the first time.  I remember we
were at an all night diner and I was on my second pot of coffee slurping the
last sip when I looked over to see him smiling at me:

         
“Do
I have something on my face?”  I made a silly face at him.

          “No,
you look perfect.”  His eyes were dancing as he looked at me, and he kept
staring at me.

          “What?” 
I let out a nervous laugh as his gaze became more intense. 

          Jake
suddenly looked very serious as our eyes locked.

          “I
love you Lauren.”

          My
stomach did flips as I heard the words I had been dying to say myself.  I
smiled at him.  “I love you too.”

His
family had always been very kind to me and very welcoming when I would go to
their mansion for Christmas dinner or go with them on family vacations.  His
mother adored me and the feeling was mutual.  

          I
grew up in Wisconsin and my family did not have a lot of money by any means,
but we were a tightknit group.  We didn’t have any secrets and we were very
open about everything.  I knew I was lucky and that most families were not like
mine.  I talked to my mom and dad almost every day and my siblings at least
once a week.  Both of my parents were public schoolteachers and they raised
four kids on their small salaries.  I had two brothers and one sister and our
parents gave us a lot of love and did their best to give us everything that we
needed.  We all wore hand-me-downs and rarely had anything new.  The Goodwill
was my mother's favorite store because she was able to buy clothes and shoes
for all of us without going broke.  Luckily, we were all smart, focused and
ambitious and we were all able to get full scholarships to college.  Our
parents instilled a lot of confidence in us and constantly told us that we
could grow up to be anything that we wanted to be.  My older brother and my
sister were doctors, my younger brother was a brilliant and talented artist and
I was a lawyer.  I had wanted to be a lawyer for as long as I could remember
and my ultimate goal was to own my own law firm.  This is where Jake and I
started to have trouble and eventually parted ways.

          Upon
graduation, Jake was expected to join his family’s company back in New York
City.  I was accepted into law school in New York and Chicago.  I decided to go
to school in Chicago because it was the better of the two schools.  Jake was
really upset with me because he wanted me to go to school in New York so that
we could be together.  I told Jake that I had to go to the better school to
give myself the best chance of getting a great job when I graduated.  He didn't
want to hear any of that.  He told me that his family would be able to find a
job for me anywhere I wanted.  That statement annoyed me because Jake knew that
I was a hard worker and that I worked for everything that I had.  I was not one
to take any kind of hand out.  We had a pretty big argument that day and I
didn't talk to him for a couple of days. 

          As
I thought about things between us I knew Jake only wanted the best for me.  He
would never do anything to hurt me and I could see that he was afraid he would
lose me.  As we got closer to graduation, Jake was becoming more and more tense
that I was moving to Chicago.  He didn’t want to work for his family’s company;
he just wanted to be with me.  But his family had big plans for him.  Jake was
being groomed, along with his older brother Joshua, to run the company.  They
were going to be responsible for a billion dollar company one day.  I couldn’t
let him throw everything away.  He had to at least give it a try to see if he
liked working for his family.  And if I was around, I was afraid he was going
to let it all go down the drain.  So the night before we graduated, I broke up
with him.  I told him that he needed to move on with his life.  We both cried a
lot and he told me that I was breaking his heart.  It killed me to see him like
that but I didn’t want him to throw his future away because of me. 

          After
graduation Jake emailed and called me constantly, but I didn’t respond.  I knew
that if I talked to him, I would give in and tell him that I wanted him to wait
for me.  But that wasn’t fair to him.  He had a huge family obligation to
uphold and in that kind of wealth, it is expected that you fulfill your
obligations.  I knew that he would probably leave his family’s company and move
to Chicago to be with me.  It was really important to me that I was not the
reason for any of Jake’s professional decisions.  I was afraid he would resent
me if he left his family’s company and things didn’t work out between us and I
didn’t want him burning any bridges with his family.

          Eventually,
Jake stopped calling and emailing me.  For three years I immersed myself in my
law studies, graduated at the top of my class and passed the Illinois bar
exam.  I accepted a position with a top law firm in Chicago and started to
build a life there.  I thought of Jake quite a bit and I wondered how he was
doing and if he was OK.  I wanted to call him but I was afraid of what he would
say to me.  He was really hurt and angry when I broke up with him.  And since I
never answered his calls or emails after we broke up, I figured I was probably
the last person that he wanted to speak with.

          Over
the years I made a name for myself in the legal world and I had many articles
published in legal magazines.  I was quickly promoted to partner after three
years and I felt really good about where I was professionally.  Personally I
was doing okay also.  I had made a few really good friends and I was casually
dating a nice guy named Mike.  There weren’t a lot of sparks, and I kept
telling myself that was okay because we made a lot of sense together.  We had
similar backgrounds; we were both from the Midwest, we both liked the same kind
of food and we were both lawyers.  We had agreed to keep things casual but I
longed for a more fulfilling relationship with someone.  I longed for more
because I knew that more existed.  I’d had that with Jake.  There were many
nights that I caught myself thinking about where we would be right now if we
had stayed together. 

***

          The
invitation caught me off guard and I started to think of ways to get out of
going, but I had promised Amy I would go and I didn’t want to let her down. 
The reunion was going to be held on a week-long cruise to the Western Caribbean
and we were leaving from Miami.  She was convinced that Jake and I were meant
to be together and she thought that if we saw each other again we would pick up
right where we left off.  I was afraid to let myself get excited at the thought
of seeing him again.  What if he had a girlfriend or fiancé, or worse yet…what
if he was married?  I pushed those thoughts out of my mind as I sat down to
RSVP.  I decided not to bring Mike because I didn’t want him to get the wrong
idea.  I didn’t want him to think things were more serious between us than they
actually were.  I could feel the butterflies in my stomach as I thought about
what I was going to wear and what it would be like to see Jake after all this
time.

          The
ringing of the phone jolted me out of my mini-fantasy.

          “Did
you get yours in the mail today?!”  Amy was breathless with excitement.

          “Yes
I did,” I laughed, “and I already filled out the RSVP.”

          “You’re
not bringing Mike, are you?”

          “Of
course not Amy.”

          “That
would kill any chance of you and Jake getting back together.  Oh Lauren, I just
know that you guys are meant to be!  I can’t wait for this reunion!  I think
it’s so cool that it’s going to be a week long cruise.  We’re going to have the
best time!”

          “Paul
will probably be there, you know.”  The lilt in my voice lightly teased her. 
Amy and Paul dated briefly in college.

          “I’ve
been trying not to think about that.  I don’t think it’s in the cards for me to
meet anyone Lauren.  I’ll just live vicariously through you and Jake!”

          “First
of all, it absolutely
is
in the cards for you to meet someone.  You are
a fabulous woman and any man would be lucky to have you even
look
their
way.  Second, me and Jake?  He probably hates me so I wouldn’t hold your breath
on that one.  I think if Paul shows up and he is single, you should definitely
see where things go.  You guys really liked each other in college but you were
so focused on your business that things kind of just fizzled.  Who knows? 
Maybe you’ll pick up right where you left off.  If you are going to be so
optimistic about Jake for me, then I am going to be optimistic about Paul for
you.”

          “OK,
you’re right.  I’ll keep an open mind.  Happy?”  Her pouty words didn’t faze
me.

          I
smiled through the phone.  “Ecstatic.”

CHAPTER
2

          I
rushed around my apartment looking for my keys so I could head to the airport. 
Amy lived 15 minutes from me, but she had some last minute work to finish up so
I was meeting her there and we were flying to the reunion together.  I finally
found them tucked in a sofa cushion and grabbed my purse and suitcase and
headed out.  I did a quick mental check as I hurried down my hallway to the
elevator to make sure that I’d brought everything.  I started packing for this
trip the night I received the invitation.  I wanted everything to be perfect
and I didn’t want to forget a thing, so I had quadruple checked my luggage to
make sure I had everything.  The closer I got to the airport, the more nervous
I became.  The flight to Miami was only a little under three hours, so it
wouldn’t be long before I saw Jake. 

          Amy
had a huge smile on her face and gave me a big hug when she saw me.  “This is
going to be so amazing Lauren!  We are going to have the best time!”  She
started to ask me all kinds of questions like who I thought will have changed
the most, who would still be living at home, who would be married with kids and
on and on.  I swear I must have blanked out at some point because I saw her
lips moving but I didn’t hear any words coming out of her mouth.  All I could
think of was that this was really happening and I would be seeing Jake really
soon.  Then it hit me.  What if he didn’t show up?

          I
grabbed her arm.  “Amy!  What if he doesn’t show up?”  I had a panicked look on
my face which I tried to play off.

          “Lauren,
there is no way that he will not be there.”

          I
wondered how she could be so sure, but I let it go.  If he wasn’t there then it
wasn’t meant to be.  We cleared security and walked to our gate.  As we were
boarding the plane my palms became really sweaty and my throat felt very dry. 
I wanted to have a drink to calm me down but I knew that just one wouldn’t do
the trick, so I decided against it because I didn’t want to show up to the
reunion sloshed out of my mind. 

          I
must have dozed off on the plane because the next thing I knew we were touching
down in beautiful Miami.  I was a bit groggy and the second I realized where we
were, panic set in.

          “Amy,
I can’t do this.  I really can’t.”  I was terrified and I didn’t want to leave
the plane.