Fire and Ice

Running

Lexi leaned against the bar taking a sip of her glass of wine and sighed staring off into space.

“What are you still doing here Chef?  Aren’t you getting married in the morning?” said John, her sous chef.

Lexi shook her head and smiled

“Just making sure you guys have every thing under control, did you call the butcher about the…” Lexi started but was interrupted

“Yes Chef, I called him yesterday and everything is set and will run as smooth as silk.  Quit worrying and go see about your future, you’ve earned it” John smiled.

Lexi returned his smile but it felt so wrong and so fake to her.  True she was supposed to get married tomorrow and at first she had been excited, marrying one of the most eligible bachelors in New York who’s family was well known not only for their name, but their money as well. 
Many times they had laughed when she had brought up the restaurant she managed, calling it her “hobby”.  It had been the cause of many fights between she and Trent with him telling her that after they were married he would not be having his wife slaving away in a hot kitchen, he had a reputation to uphold and image was everything.  Yes, at first she had been excited about her future but now all she could do was dread it. 

Looking up as John turned out the lights, Lexi sighed deeply and headed out the door hoping she was wrong to be absolutely dreading tomorrow.

Sitting in her wedding dress, listening to the soft sounds of people laughing and talking, being ushered into the church, Lexi could feel her heart pound almost right out of her chest.  She should be feeling a happy nervous, not an all consuming dread that she was making the biggest mistake of her life.  Looking at the French doors off of her private changing room that led to a garden, Lexi walked to the doors and threw them open, hoping a little air would help her mood. 

Walking out into the garden along the stone path, Lexi was suddenly running as hard as she could not quite sure where she would end up.  Hearing a busy street on the other side of the hedges, Lexi shoved her way through the shrubbery ignoring the scrapes and cuts from the twigs and rough foliage.  Watching cars whiz by with her heart still racing, she saw a cab and tried to flag him down.  Breathing a sigh of relief as the cab stopped, she got in the back with the driver looking curiously at her in her wedding dress.

“Listen, I don’t have my bag with me but if you’ll take me home I can run in and grab it and there will be a very generous tip for you.” Lexi pleaded.

The driver looked at her again and then her dress and finally nodded.  Giving him her address, Lexi sat back and let out a long slow breath, she sincerely hoped she was doing the right thing.  After paying the cabbie and flying back up to her apartment, Lexi began shoving clothes into her bags.  Packing like a hurricane in New Orleans Lexi stopped and looked around trying to see if there was anything she had forgotten.  Satisfied she had what she needed, she grabbed her luggage and threw it in the trunk of her Mercedes.  Pulling out of the parking deck Lexi headed to her bank as fast as she could.  Pulling out all of her savings, Lexi jumped back in her car and headed for the freeway, not sure and not caring where she was going, she hit the gas peddle hard getting as far away from the city as she could.

Pulling over and looking at the map, she stared at it confused.  She was somewhere in Ohio, only she didn’t have a clue where that was.  She couldn’t find a road sign and she was lucky to see a big farm every 10 or so miles.  Putting the map away and hitting the gas again, she flew on the old back road not really paying attention to where she was going.  Flying through a stop sign, she shrieked and swerved almost hitting an old blue pick up truck.  Glad she had missed them, she hit the gas harder hoping she hadn’t ticked them off enough to try and follow her.