"No, my sister's getting married," I said. "I'll only be here for a few days, and I'll go back home for Christmas."
"Maybe I'll be giving you a ride back to the airport in a couple of days," he said.
"Oh, my parents have a rental, and we're all on the same flight out. Separate flights here, same flight out."
"Did you say it was your sister getting married?"
"Yes. She's only been with the guy for a little while, so it seems sudden, but she's in love, and honestly, when I was on the flight on the way here, I sort of got a new perspective on the whole thing. I'm going to miss her, but I'm also happy for her."
"So, by missing her… do you mean… did you used to live in the same city, and that's changing?"
"Yes. In the same house. I've never lived apart from my sister for my entire life. Today is day one."
"She's moving and getting married?"
"Yes. Exactly."
I didn't explain that it was a surprise wedding because I felt I would have to go into a whole long story. I felt introspective, and for the next twenty minutes, we were quiet for most of the time. He asked me a few questions here and there, but there were breaks in the conversation, and I was lost in thought the whole time. I couldn't help but feel changed.
"Are you married?" he asked after a long pause.
"No, I'm not. No boyfriend, even."
"A pretty lady like yourself must have plenty of gentleman suitors."
"Thank you. I stay busy. I did have a boyfriend, but…" I trailed off because I had started out thinking about Jacob, but my mind quickly went to Sam Allison. My mind always went to him.
"But you broke up?" the man finished.
"Yes. W-we did."
"The one who got away…" he said, wistfully.
"No, actually, the one who got away is a different guy," I said.
"Oh, is that right?"
"The one I broke up with tried to have me back. About four times. He finally got the picture, and now he's been through a few different girlfriends since then. He's a mess."
"Do you see all that stuff on your social media?"
"Not really, but we know the same people and run in the same circles. Not for long, though. I've just got a few more months on that campus, and I'll be changing directions."
"Oh, congratulations. You'll be graduating in a few months?"
"No, I'm just quitting after one more semester. I’m taking time off to focus on my job."
"Why do another semester? Why not just quit now?"
I laughed when he said that. "I'm starting to think about that more and more. I was planning on finishing the school year because a couple of my classes are continuations of classes I've already started. But, I know. I might just quit. It took me a while to tell my parents, but now that they know, it seems like… if I'm going to quit anyway, I might as well do it now. But at the same time, I'm sort of glad to have the routine of school in my life. Having Amelia move out is already going to be new for me."
"It sounds like exciting times," he said.
"Yes, it is," I agreed with a smile.
The sun set as we drove, and it was dark as we approached the little town where we would find the ranch. All the familiar feelings came flooding back to me. I was thinking about Sam again. I was picturing him in my mind when the man said, "Who's the one who got away?" I was so shocked that his question matched my thoughts that I just giggled and came out with his name.
"Sam Allison," I said. "And it's so funny that you call him the one who got away, because he said that."
