Caitlin didn’t know what to say. She was speechless. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she felt her mouth go dry. She didn’t have the strength to say no. She felt as if she were standing outside of herself, watching it all happen, that she was just a helpless passenger in the ride.
Blake suddenly leaned forward, and she knew that he was coming in to kiss her. Her world became dizzy, and she froze. She closed her eyes.
And then, a second later, she felt his soft lips touching hers.
And that was when she heard the noise.
They both suddenly broke the kiss and turned at the same time.
There, walking along the pier, was a young couple, swinging a child between them. The child practically bounded with joy against the breaking sky, and both parents’ seemed radiant. They were heading towards a boat, just a few feet away from Caitlin and Blake, and as they got there, the father turned and looked their way.
Caitlin’s heart stopped.
The man must have been struck by the sight of Caitlin, too, because his huge grin suddenly dropped, and he let go of the child’s hand slowly, as he turned and stared right at her.
The woman standing beside him, a tall redhead, turned and stared at Caitlin, too.
Blake, surprised and not understanding, looked back and forth between the two of them.
Caitlin’s world had just turned upside down.
There, standing just a few feet away, was Caleb.
Caitlin leaned back in the small boat, looking out at the breaking sky of dawn, and wished the world would end. As they headed further out into the Grand Canal, no land in sight, all she could see was water—and a part of her wished that she could just keep going, never stop, into the horizon, and off the face of the earth. She was so sad, so confused…she just wanted to curl up and die.
She had never felt so alone. The person rowing the boat was not Blake, or Caleb, but a complete stranger, a gondola driver that she had found at the pier, who she’d hired to bring her back to Polly’s island. Luckily, Polly had given her money earlier in the night, in case anything happened.
Blake had insisted on at least taking her home, but she had refused. Her feelings for him were too strong, and after seeing Caleb, she couldn’t bear to be in a boat with him for one more second.
She needed a chance to sort out her feelings, to try to process it all.
The irony was that, if they hadn’t run into Caleb at precisely that moment, Caitlin felt sure that she would still be in a gondola with Blake, maybe on the way, right now, back to his palace. They would probably have had a beautiful night, one which she would have never forgotten, no matter how long she lived. If she hadn’t had run into Caleb at that moment, she may have even spent the rest of her life with Blake.
But clearly that was not meant to be. It just wasn’t destined.
No. At that exact moment, at the exact second that Blake’s lips touched hers, at the moment she had finally given up on finding Caleb, destiny had to have Caleb cross her path. He had been out for an early morning boat ride, with his wife, and their son. They had been up early, the eager boy, anxious to get out on the boat, to take a morning ride.
Why had she had to notice him? And why had he had to notice her? And why did it all have to happen at the exact moment when Blake’s lips touched hers? Not only did she now feel more confused than ever about Blake, but she now also felt like a traitor to Caleb, like she had done something terrible. Did life have to be so cruel?
When she first spotted Caleb, after overcoming her shock, her guilt at kissing Blake, her first feeling had been joy, overjoyed to see the Caleb was alive, and in this place and time. She had jumped out of Blake’s boat without thinking, nearly tipping it over, and had run across the pier, right towards him, and had stopped herself just a foot away.
She had stared up at him, and he had stared back down at her. At first, she could have sworn she saw something like recognition flicker across his face.
But a second later, his face contorted to something like bewilderment. He continued to stare at her, but it wasn’t the stare of a lover, or even of a friend. It was the stare of someone who might have met you once, but who couldn’t figure out who you were.
“Who’s that, Daddy?” the boy, maybe ten, had asked, tugging at Caleb’s sleeve.
Caleb had ignored him, staring at Caitlin. Finally, Caleb, still looking at Caitlin, had said, “I don’t know, Jade.”
Caitlin could tell from his voice, from his demeanor, that he really, truly, didn’t know. And that was what had hurt her more than anything, hurt her worse than if she had been killed a million times. Here she was, she had come all the way back in time just for him, had put her life on the line, had lost their child together—and all for what?
On the one hand, it had worked—he was alive and well in another time. For that, she felt a huge sense of relief.
And yet, he no longer knew her. Aiden had warned her of this. He had said that time travel was unpredictable. Blake, who she barely knew, had remembered her. Yet Caleb, who she loved more anything, had not. It was too cruel.
At first she’d hoped that Caleb just needed some time to remember—but as she stood there, staring, recognition never crossed his face, and she felt more and more like a fool.
“I’m sorry, but do I know you?” he’d finally asked.
Sera had walked over, stood beside Caleb, ever protective. She looked happier, softer, than Caitlin had ever seen her. Of course she was. She was a woman in her prime, with her husband, and with their living child. She was not the embittered Sera of the future.
“Caleb?” Caitlin had said slowly, still hoping, even while her heart was breaking. “It’s me.
Caitlin.”
Caleb squinted for a second, then finally, slowly shook his head.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, “but I’m afraid I don’t know you.”
Caitlin saw Sera’s grip on Caleb’s arm, as she impatiently tried to steer Caleb back to the boat.
Sera clearly didn’t remember her either; yet she still looked very uncomfortable. Possessive, jealous.
As if she sensed something. Some things, Caitlin realized, never changed.
“Caleb,” Sera had said. “We need to go.”
And with those few words, Caitlin, his wife and child piled into the boat, and with a few strong rows, were heading out into the water. As they headed further and further into the canal, Caleb turned around once, and looked at her.
Then he turned back around.
Blake had come up beside Caitlin, standing there. Caitlin, feeling more embarrassed than ever, didn’t know what to say.
“Who was that?” Blake asked.
She didn’t know how to respond. She was upset that Blake had no memory of him either. Was memory was so selective?
And how could she answer that? Who was he?
Now, as she sat there, being rowed into the breaking sky, heading for Polly’s island, she ran it all through her mind, again and again. Her time with Blake; their dance; their gondola ride; their kiss; spotting Caleb…. It all seemed to blend together, and she had a hard time separating it. Why had it all had to happen at once?
She felt at odds, at loose ends. Was her entire journey now purposeless? Now that she’d found him, now that she saw that he was with Sera, that they had a child, what was the point of it all? She felt hopeless, utterly depressed. And she felt so stupid. Of course, she remembered now, that Caleb had once been happily married and had a child back in time. She just hadn’t thought it would have been
