‘I’m sure he’ll be happy to have you back.’ The bachelor pad will stay just that, and it’s probably what was meant to happen all along. ‘I appreciate you coming all this way to have the chat face to face.’
Miles says his goodbyes to the group, and I walk with him out to the platform, appreciating his efforts in flying to Stockholm now that he’s admitted he despises travelling.
‘Miles, I want to thank you for having the courage to leave that day. Having had this space, this distance, our differences are glaringly obvious, and they’re not the kind of differences that we can compromise on.’
Miles swallows hard, like he’s struggling to control his emotions. ‘Yeah, part of me always hoped you’d change, be the way I wanted you to be,’ he eventually says, his voice low, inflected with sadness. ‘Which is unfair.’
‘Yeah.’ I give his hand a squeeze. ‘You knew it wasn’t right, or you’d have stayed at the church.’
Miles gives me a sad smile, like he agrees. ‘And that guy?’ He jerks a thumb in Jasper’s direction.
‘We met on board. But Miles, when I first saw Jasper, I felt a spark. Like, a literal spark, as if he’d shocked me back to life. How can you feel that way about someone else unless it’s real? It emphasised to me that you and I were playacting at being soulmates. And I’m not saying that to hurt you. I’m saying it so you can be free too.’
Miles gives a slow nod of his head, as if in confirmation. ‘Yeah, I think that maybe – maybe you’re right? How did we not see it sooner?’ An awkward laugh escapes him. ‘I’d been so conflicted, because I didn’t want to hurt you. I couldn’t make sense of the confusion. The pressure was unreal. I tried to push myself into it, insisting on making the guest list bigger and all the plans grander. Like that would make it more valid. Prove to the world that what we had was real. But when I got to the church, I just knew I couldn’t go through with it. Do you feel me?’ His favourite catch phrase is lobbed into conversation once more.
It’s a relief, a weight off my mind that Miles has come to the same conclusion. ‘I’m glad you acted on that impulse, I really am. And what jilted bride can honestly say that?’ I let out a volley of laughter. Miles isn’t a bad guy, and I’m thankful now that it’s all ended this way.
‘Safe travels, Aubrey.’
I give Miles a goodbye hug and wish him all the best for the future. There’s a sparkle in his eyes, as if he too knows this is for the best.
Back inside, I rejoin my friends, feeling at once happy and a little sad. It’s bittersweet, the ending of things, but there’s no question I made the right choice. Jasper sends me a sultry smile and I just about melt onto the carpet.
‘I don’t suppose he likes K-Pop?’ Karen asks, watching Miles make his way slowly down the platform outside. CJ gasps, giving her friend a good-natured shove.
‘Umm – Karen, that goes against girl code.’ CJ shoves her back.
‘Sorry, I figured why not ask the question when love is blooming on this train and there’s still time to pull him back from the platform.’
‘No, thanks.’ CJ shakes her head, smiling. ‘Looks like it’s just us two singletons now, Karen. We’ve lost these two to Cupid’s arrow.’ She motions to Jasper and me sitting side by side, holding hands.
The apples of Karen’s cheeks pinken.
‘What’s that blush about?’ CJ twirls a finger at Karen’s complexion before inhaling sharply. ‘The no-spicy-food guy texted back, didn’t he?’
Karen bites down on her lip and averts her gaze. ‘Uh – yeah, he did. We’ve been messaging like a lot. We’re going to meet up for dinner in the new year. I told him that I catastrophised about never being able to eat spicy food for the rest of my natural born life, and he got a kick out of that.’
‘What do you mean?’ I ask.
‘On our first date, I told him I find sushi appalling, which is his favourite food, and he said that was almost a deal breaker for him too, so we got to talking about silly ick lists and how easy it is to discard a first date in these modern times when the next person is only a right swipe away and so maybe we need to be more open minded. Sushi isn’t that bad, as long as I don’t have to eat it.’
‘Ah. I love that. It’s so true. We’re so quick to dismiss people.’
‘And for me and him, well…’ Karen muses. ‘It’s such a basic fix. We both realised that perhaps our ick list isn’t really an ick list, more of a protective barrier. The Unlucky in Love Travel Club helped me see that.’
‘So I really am the only singleton left in the Unlucky in Love Travel Club?’ CJ makes a show of pouting.
‘Ah, but the holiday isn’t over yet,’ Princess says, lifting her brow. ‘Even if I have to send for a K-Pop fan, then send I will.’
We fall into easy laughter at Princess’s efforts to always find a solution, even if that means paying for it.
Sabrina wanders over. ‘Miles, eh? What a plot twist! The gap didn’t claim him after all. I’m glad, in a way. I’ve been very careful walking on and off the train ever since then, let me tell you.’
‘Me too!’ Jasper laughs. ‘I had my suspicions about your story, the way you told it so matter of fact, but your tears the day Igor proposed made me believe that you were grieving, and now I see you were grieving in a way – the loss of that day, what you thought your future should be if only you’d settle.’
‘And that’s the thing, settling isn’t for me.’
‘Thank God. So is the grieving period officially over?’
