Second Chances

thirty

a l e x

I stepped off the plane after sitting very uncomfortably in a cramped economy seat for five and a half hours.

Mom wouldn't let me take the private plane, so I had to pay a little extra for booking a flight so suddenly. It didn't really matter much because I put it on the company card anyway, but I didn't get why she didn't allow me to use the plane when she would've anyway.

It took a lot, but I was able to convince my mother to let me check out what was going on with the store we were building in New York in her place.

I flew to New York on Luke's birthday to surprise him. It took a lot of planning, but I managed to wish him a happy birthday right at midnight, pack really quickly for a three day trip, get a tiny bit of sleep in, then get on a plane and land in New York right in time for lunch.

"Miss, where are we going first?" the driver asked. My mom hired him because she was in New York so often, and she decided it would be easier if she just got a driver than taking a cab everywhere.

"I need to go to the Alcott first to put my things in my room, then a quick lunch, then I'll check out the site," I listed out my plans for the day.

It was quite odd traveling alone. Usually, I was with Janet on the rare occasion that my mother made me travel for work, but because it was very spontaneous for me to go to New York, I didn't really have any other choice but to go alone.

The car started to move, and I pulled my coat tighter, shivering. The cool air from the outside snuck its way into the car when I went in, and I wasn't the best with handling the cold.

I checked into the hotel right away and texted my mom to tell her that I landed and checked in already. I also changed into a thicker coat because I didn't expect it to be so cold, and I didn't exactly want to freeze.

"Hey, so I'm just going to have lunch here. I'll text you when I'm ready to leave," I spoke into the phone with my mom's driver.

"Sure," was his curt response, and right after that, the call immediately ended.

Well, I guess he wasn't much of a talker.

I had a sandwich for lunch at the cafe in the hotel and sent a text to my mom's driver when I finished to let him know I was ready to leave.

"Before we go to the store, can we pass by somewhere first? I just have to buy something really quick," I requested, sliding into the back seat of the car.

He nodded and didn't say a word, starting to drive. I told him where I wanted to go, and the rest of the drive was silent. It wasn't my favorite, but I guess I just had to deal with the silence. I did end up finding out that his name was Jeffrey though because I got a peek at his driver's license.

"I'll take five minutes," I promised, getting out of the car and shutting it behind me.

I hurried into the store and bought what I needed, rushing back to the car once I finished. Jeffrey didn't seem like the type to be okay with waiting very long, and the fact that he had to sit in a car, waiting for me to buy something, probably thinking I was some sort of spoiled brat, didn't exactly help.

"Okay, I'm done, let's go," I let out a breath, throwing the bag into the backseat of the car beside me.

That was Jeffrey's cue for his favorite thing to do. The nod. Just one, quick nod, nothing more, nothing less. I'd only known him for a while, but it was already starting to kind of grow on me.

This middle-aged man was doing some magic. Should I be scared?

"We're here, miss," he announced, around ten minutes later. "Shall I wait for you?"