One Wish Left

CHAPTER 6: DECISIONS

Jesse was on security duty for Concourse B and had just confiscated his third can of pepper spray that day when he heard his radio go off.

"Taylor, you're needed at the ticket counter. Some kind of family emergency."

Family emergency? Was it his mother again? He hadn't been back to visit since he moved here just over three years ago, but he did try to call every couple of weeks. Last he knew, she'd been fairly steady emotionally, enough to get a new apartment in Geelong and start working as a receptionist at a local hotel.

Jesse shot back a "10-4" and made his way to the ticket area, scanning the counters and employees for who needed him and where.

And there, standing with a small purse clutched in her hands, was Laura. He stopped in his tracks when he saw her and stood stock-still as she started walking toward him.

Shit shit shit shit shit. He had no idea what he was going to tell her. Also, he was having trouble not picturing what she had looked like wearing black lingerie. Get a grip, you idiot!

"Hi," she said.

"What are you... How..." he ran his hand through his hair. Let's try that again. "Hi," he said, releasing his breath. He hadn't realized he'd been holding it.

"Hi," she said again and smiled.

They both stood mute for a moment, unsure of how to proceed. Jesse noted that the top portion of her hair was pinned away from her face, accenting her cheekbones and a pair of small pearl drop earrings. He decided then that hers was the most stunning face he'd laid eyes on.

"So, you're probably wondering why I'm back here," Laura began.

"A bit," he conceded.

Her hands fidgeted with the zipper on her purse. "I'm so sorry. I'm being rude," she cringed. "My name is Laura Gibson. You're Taylor, right? It's just that, I thought I heard your coworker call you that when she was... patting me down."

He chewed the inside of his cheek and nodded for her to go on. He thought he should probably give her a chance to explain why she'd come back before he launched into an embarrassing speech about knowing who she was.

"I'm just asking because... well, because of how you reacted to my tattoo. You see, Brodie was the name of my boyfriend in high school, and he had a cousin name Jesse. It seems silly, but I never knew his cousin's last name until now. It was Taylor, and I just came to see if maybe that was you," she said quickly, her voice going up in a question.

She had figured it out. He felt relieved and nervous at the same time.

"Yeah. That was me," he almost whispered.

Her eyebrows shot up. "Really? Are you sure you're not just some other Jesse Taylor from Australia who's cousin Brodie died the same year mine did? How can I know it's really you?" she asked, her green eyes flicking back and forth between his blue ones, searching for recognition.

His heart had skipped a bit when she'd called Brodie "mine." He took a step closer to her.

"It's me, Laura Bean. It's Jesse."

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she slumped to the floor.

+++

Jesse's heart flipped as he heard his cellphone ringing. He was starting to get a thrill every time he saw Brodie's name flash across the tiny screen because, sometimes, he got to talk to her.

He'd been in anguish the last few weeks about his developing crush on Laura. It seemed crazy, considering he'd never laid eyes on her before. Nevertheless, hearing her sweet voice croon "Jesseeeee" whenever she decided to hijack his conversations with Brodie drove him wild.