Maggie smiled outwardly, while inwardly grimacing.Note to self, burn this dress ASAP.
“Well, we’re here. I hope you’re hungry. I asked Chef Lorenzo to have your favorite Tomato Panzanella Salad ready for you.” Elliot kissed her on the cheek before walking around the car to open her door.
Maggie closed her eyes as she leaned her head back.The salad was decent, but who would choose vegetables over marinara drenched Ziti at an authentic Italian place?Me, that’s who. Not because it’s what I truly like. No, it’s because my mom gave me dire warnings from a young age about the dangers of carbs, dairy, and gluten. Now, I’m stuck in health food purgatory.
“Thanks. That’s so sweet of you.” Maggie managed as he chivalrously escorted her to the restaurant entrance.
“Hello Mr. Lawrence, we’re ready for you.” A friendly, well-dressed waiter greeted them. They were immediately taken to a booth in the back corner of the restaurant.
Elliot leaned in. “I also requested this specific table. Remember how we came here on our first date and sat in this exact booth?”
“Oh…that’s right,” Maggie replied as realization dawned.
“I was just thinking about when we first met… My father told me to be on the lookout for a pretty new girl in the building.” Elliot reached across the table for Maggie’s hand. Then he looked longingly in her eyes. “Meeting you that day was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Maggie thought back to how their relationship began. It was her first week working as an accounting clerk on the fifth floor of a Minneapolis high-rise. As she waited for the elevator, Elliot introduced himself and made small talk. Maggie learned he worked for a law firm on the twentieth floor. For the next few weeks, he stopped by her office almost everyday before finally asking her out to dinner. At Bella Italia. It was all coming full circle.
A waiter interrupted Elliot’s reminiscing and Maggie’s flashback.
“Can I bring you any wine?”
Elliot inquired about a few options while Maggie watched the ice slosh around in her water.It’s happening. My mom was right. He’s gonna propose.
Panic rose in her chest—cutting off all air to her lungs and sending her brain into survival mode. She quickly opened the Uber app on her phone and was relieved to see a ride nearby.
Rising from the table, she let her cloth napkin fall to the floor. “Elliot, I can’t do this…”
Before he could respond, she grabbed her coat and shuffled to the door.Dang this freaking dress.The hostess looked at her, concerned.
Maggie frantically demanded, “I need scissors.”
The teen produced a pair from under the hostess stand.
“I’ll bring these back later,” she promised. Then, she shoved them in her coat pocket.
“You can…uh… just keep them ma’am,” he assured her as she pushed open the door.
A yellow hummer waited outside. She didn’t realize she ordered a deluxe Uber.
“Are you Maggie?”The driver asked.
Maggie confirmed her identity by showing him her phone screen.
As she peered out the window, she spotted Elliot. A mixture of guilt and relief washed over her. Elliot was a great guy. Just not the one for her. And for once, she had to say no. It was her life. She was the only one who had to live it. She wasn’t sure what she wanted, but being an accounting clerk and attending lawyer luncheons wasn’t it.
Whipping out the scissors, she cut along the side seam of her dress and then ripped the fabric as high as she could. As she listened to the threads breaking, something simultaneously snapped in Maggie’s soul.
As the Uber pulled up to her mom’s house, Maggie told the driver, “I’ll be right back.” Thankfully, a knee length peacoat hid her exposed thighs.
Making her way to her room, she staggered to her bed. With her head in her hands, she suddenly realized there was no turning back. Her mom was making her weekly trip to the grocery store and could be home any minute. If she wanted to change her life, now was the time. This was her moment.
Spotting a backpack tucked away in the corner of her closet, Maggie grabbed it and began shoving in jeans, shirts, and a handful of underwear.I’ll figure out the rest later.
Although Maggie didn’t expect her date with Elliot to spur a jailbreak, she had been plotting her escape for a while—not that she thought she’d actually ever act on it. For the past few months, she had been compiling a Pinterest board full of inspiration for what she’d do and where she’d live if she pulled an Elyse Caldwell by moving to LA. It was a fun, harmless pastime. She didn’t expect to use it as a life plan, but desperate times and all that.
Looking in the mirror, Maggie declared, “Elyse Caldwell, you aren’t the only one who can uproot their life and follow their dreams. Los Angeles, I’m coming for you.”
Chapter 1
