My Day - Unknown Melody

“Excuse me, do I know you?” CHRISTINE “Chris ... tine?” This voice, this intonation, this man—tall with slightly wavy hair and a face with timeless charm—can only be the fruit of my imagination. I’ve imagined this meeting several times over the last few years, but I never thought I’d meet him as I’m getting off the elevator and heading to my hotel room in Middleton. I currently live in Springville, a city located a little more than a hundred miles away, but I’m here for a hospitality conference. Yet this muscular body and these amber eyes staring at me are well and truly here. The hesitation before saying my name only reminds me how he used to do the same thing just before kissing me. “Excuse me, do I know you?” His eyes darken and his smile fades for a brief moment, but he quickly recomposes himself. “I probably deserve that reaction, but know that I’ve been wanting to call you for a while, and that I’m glad I’ve run into you.” “I’m sorry, but you must be mistaken. I don’t know you.” Who is this woman taking over me and saying things that even I, who isn’t known for being wise and rational, find absurd? “I see you haven’t lost your sense of humor.” “Thank you for the compliment, but again, I think you’ve got the wrong person. I’ve no idea who you are,” I insist and begin to walk down the hallway toward my room, hoping he won’t follow. As I speak, I curse myself for having so little courage. Instead of acting like an idiot and pretending not to know him, I should just tell him how much I despise him. But no, I stammered out the first thing that came to mind and, unsurprisingly, it was completely absurd. Who pretends not to recognize someone? Your Majesty, that’s who. I’ve played out many times in my head the way things would unfold if I ever crossed paths with Logan Kent again, and my scenarios were rather imaginative. But, pretending not to remember him wasn’t one of them. “Let’s play your game then,” he says with a gleam of amusement in his eyes as he catches up and stops in front of me, blocking my retreat. “I don’t play any games, but I’m starting to think that you do. If your tactic to get a date with a woman is to learn her name and then pretend to know her, I’m surprised no one has hit you on the head.” “Okay,” he says with a mischievous air that makes my heart beat as fast as the first time I saw him three years ago. “So, beautiful stranger, I’m Logan Kent, and I’d like to know you better. Will you have dinner with me tonight?” His proposal leaves me speechless for a few seconds. Is it reasonable to have dinner with him? He’ll know right away that I’m lying. How long can I pretend I don’t know who he is? Can I resist him and seize this opportunity to make him pay for the way he acted in the past? Would it be better to back off and shout, “Surprise! I was playing you. I remember you very well, and ...” But, that is actually the problem: I remember him too well, which pushes me to continue pretending. I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that he troubled me to the point of panicking and reacting ridiculously. Too bad if he thinks I’m crazy when he finds out I lied to him. In the meantime, I’ll have the opportunity to get close to him and prepare my revenge. Let’s see how he’ll handle the situation. It will be poetic justice. Logan Kent, the man who gets every woman’s attention as he enters a room, is in front of a woman who’s immune to his charm, and even better, who doesn’t remember him. For a first try, it’s a master stroke, even though it wasn’t planned. While I’m congratulating myself, he’s waiting patiently for my answer. “All right,” I say, unable to resist. I’d love nothing more than to make him lose his smug smile, but I keep my cool. “I admit that you piqued my curiosity. After all, it’s not every day that such an odd encounter takes place. I’d like to know why you think you know me.” We agree to meet this evening, and I watch him stride away, still in disbelief over what has just happened. When I finally enter my room, I take a deep breath and fall onto the bed with a sigh. What are the odds of Logan Kent coming back into my life? I don’t believe in chance; I think the universe has its way of telling us things, and what it says to me now is that I must seize this opportunity to get payback. He made me believe that we had the potential for a wonderful love story before disappearing ten days later without giving any sign of life from then on. Well, without giving me a sign of life, because, and this is where things get complicated, Logan knows and sometimes collaborates with my brother, Alex. Speaking of Alex, I should talk to him as soon as possible and ask him not to betray me. I can already imagine Logan rushing to the phone to inquire about my memory problems. I can hear him ask, “Has your sister lost her mind? Because I ran into her and she pretended not to remember me.” “Have you lost your mind?” Ten minutes later, my vision comes true, in a way, since it’s my brother who poses the question. “Alex, please. You have to help me or at least not get in the way.” I just told him in as little detail as possible about my meeting with Logan, and as I expected, he didn’t find my story amusing. We’re speaking via Skype since he’s in his office, thousands of miles away from Middleton, and persuading him is more complicated than I would have thought. If he was here, I would be more likely to convince him to follow my idea. I’m his favorite sister ... okay, his only sister, but still, he can’t tell me ‘no’ when I have him in front of me. “If you don’t help me, I’ll talk to Katie,” I say, hoping his fiancée’s name will weaken his determination to say no. “Sorry, but I won’t go along with your crazy idea.” “It may be a crazy idea, but I’m not doing anything wrong, and if you were a little more open-minded and had a more adventurous spirit, you would support me.” “Christine, please, be reasonable. You know as well as I do that you acted inconsiderately, and I don’t think Katie will be of much help to you in that case.” “Can you at least not answer his phone calls if he tries to reach you?” “You want me to avoid a friend and collaborator without any explanation?” “Just for two weeks. I’m not asking you to never talk to him again.” “I have projects with him that will start soon. Explain to me what excuse I could invent to avoid him.” Okay, I understand his reaction. Alex has a great sense of humor and we get along perfectly in normal times, especially since he’s with Katie, a lovely girl with whom he’s madly in love—to say the least—but apparently he’s reached his limit. Granted, lying to someone to make him believe that I lost my memory is worthy of an airport novel or a telenovela, but don’t hasten to judge me before you know the whole story. Let me tell you how it all started. Currently, I work as a client relations’ manager for Matt Winter’s company, a friend of my brother who owns a chain of romantic hotels, but three years ago I was working in a hotel in the Caribbean. I had done extensive studies in the field of hotel management and hospitality, and I was in my third post in the islands. I was happy to take my first career steps in such an idyllic environment. I was planning to stay there a few years before returning to the mainland. I wanted nothing more than to learn my job and enjoy the sublime beaches of the island. A love affair wasn’t in my plans, especially since my last dating attempt had ended rather catastrophically. My bliss ended the day Logan Kent entered my life. Or, more accurately, the day he exited my life—because for the ten days we were together, it was more like a dream. I won’t lie to you. As soon as I saw him, I realized he would be dangerous; he had the power to turn my life upside down. Maybe it was his hair, a little longer than average, or his amused expression when he watched me deal deftly with a client who wanted me to help him get rid of his wife for the day. Whatever it was, my heart missed a beat. He stayed at the hotel for ten days, but I fell for his charm on day one, during our first kiss. For the duration of his stay, I woke up in the morning and went to bed at night with a single thought in mind: when I would see him again. Yes, we can say that it was love at first sight, the one you don’t believe exists until your heart decides that it’s time to prove you wrong and make you understand that you’re far from controlling everything. He seemed as in love with me as I was with him, and I never imagined that a few days later he was going to break my heart. As soon as I had a free minute during the day, we spent it together. In the evenings, we enjoyed romantic dinners, went for long walks on the beach and, of course, kissed at every opportunity. In short, a perfect romance in an idyllic setting. I could already see us as the romantic couple on posters praising the beauty of the island. It seems naïve, because nothing can be so perfect, and the outcome would prove you right. But at that moment, for me, everything was perfect. I even decided to make love with him, and I would have done it on the first night if he hadn’t decided it was better to wait. He said that he wanted us to take our time and get to know each other, and I thought I was so lucky to have met such a patient, attentive, romantic man. Yes, I was completely under his spell, and I’d lost the ability to think. For a bit, I would have started dancing on the beach. What do I say! We danced on the beach. What would you have done in my place? Wouldn’t you have thought the same thing? I figured as much. During those ten days, the only thing that interrupted our romance was a brief visit from my brother on the third day. It wasn’t a coincidence because Logan had originally come to the hotel to meet Alex. Matt, my current employer, a friend of both, had put them in touch, but they couldn’t find the time to see each other since they lived on two different continents and both were constantly on the move. Alex had planned to stop at my hotel on his way back from a trip to the Antipodes, and Logan had just finished hotel plans on a nearby island, so meeting there was convenient for both of them. I didn’t tell Alex about Logan; I didn’t want him to lecture me as usual. After my brother’s departure, Logan decided to extend his stay, declaring that he couldn’t bring himself to leave me, so I started to believe in fairy tales. I never would have expected anything that followed. While my only concern was how to tell Alex that I was in love with a man I’d only known a few days, I learned that my Prince Charming had failed to tell me that he had a girlfriend. I found out about it the morning he disappeared leaving only a rose and a message as his goodbye. Thank you for these wonderful ten days. I was dumbfounded, to say the least. The man who had spent ten days flirting with me, kissing me, promising me a perfect relationship with his hands, his lips, his words, had vanished. I wanted an explanation, and I expected to get it. I was going to call him and ask him what kind of game he was playing. I would have understood if he had tried to sleep with me; he wouldn’t have been the first to make false promises to achieve that particular goal. But, there I was in complete darkness; I couldn’t imagine a single reason to explain why he’d behaved this way. However, my state of confusion didn’t last long. A phone call clarified everything—a phone call from Molly, his girlfriend. I spent the day, the evening, and the following weeks crying. This time, I couldn’t even confide in Katie. I didn’t want Alex to hear about it. He tended to lecture me constantly about my love life, claiming I wasn’t being careful enough, that I trusted anyone. For once, he was right. There was another reason why I chose to shut up. I hadn’t wanted to cause Alex any problems in his professional life. I knew that if he learned that Logan had played me, he would never work with him. He loves his job, but as he often tells us, nothing is more important to him than Katie and me. That’s what happened three years ago, and it is the reason why seeing Logan awakened my desire to take revenge on him. I now have a unique opportunity to make him pay for his abandonment and for hiding his girlfriend from me, and I won’t deprive myself of it. In recent years, the idea of trying to confront him has crossed my mind several times, especially since I moved to his hometown of Springville and learned about the My Day concept a few friends tried successfully. The idea behind it is to confront a person who has wronged you in the past. What better candidate for this kind of adventure than Logan? Since it was chance that finally put him in my path, I’m even more convinced that I must act. So, it’s imperative that Alex support me. “I can’t believe you would pretend such a thing,” he repeats. Seeing his expression soften, I understand that Katie has just entered. “Am I interrupting?” I hear her ask. “No, I’m talking to my sister, and you’ll never guess what she’s up to now.” “Please, honey, you know that Christine is my friend. You should be careful when you talk about her.” She leans over to kiss him, and then looks up at the screen. “Hi, Chris. How is it going in Middleton?” “Katie, I’m glad to see you. Everything’s going well, but I need your help.” Alex pulls her toward him and makes her sit on his lap. “You could be a little more careful and avoid making me jealous. You live together, you sleep together—you can last a few minutes without touching each other.” “Sorry,” Katie says. “The truth is we haven’t seen each other much these past few days. I only came home last night and was so tired from the book tour that I fell asleep while Alex was telling me how much he missed me.” “Yes, this is what it’s like to have a fiancée who’s successful,” he mocks nicely, and Katie lightly taps his arm. “Chris, tell us your latest news.” “Actually, she just told me about her latest crazy plan,” Alex says, clearly upset. Katie laughs. “So it’s probably a girls’ conversation. Go ahead, Christine, I’m listening.” “Thanks, Katie; I know I can count on you. I even think that I have a story for you, well ... the beginning of a story.” “I’m all ears.” I recount to her briefly what I did while Alex rolls his eyes. “You’re right. You have my full attention,” she says, ignoring him. “It is indeed crazy, but so exciting!” “Exciting?” mocks my brother. “Since when do you find such stories exciting? Need I remind you that it took you ten years to admit that you loved me?” “Since I discovered many wonderful stories that took place when some women had the courage to take their lives in hand, take the initiative, and face their fears.” “I think the only reason you want to help her is because you’re incredibly romantic. You think they will fall in love, and that their life will be a fairy tale.” I see Katie biting her lip, and I know she’s debating how she’s going to answer. Alex isn’t fooled, though. He knows he’s right. “Admit it, that’s the only reason you want to support this nonsense.” She looks at him with a shy smile, and he sighs. “Sometimes I don’t even know how to express how much I love you.” I feel tears well up in my eyes. It’s silly to feel so moved, but it’s been three years since they admitted their feelings for each other and they seem to be more in love every day. I would give anything to have that kind of relationship, to find a man who could make my heart beat madly, who could make me dream. “I know a way to do it,” Katie says, kissing his cheek. “Oh no. Don’t even think about it. I won’t lie on such matters.” But Katie knows him well, and seeing her whisper something in his ear, I know I’ve won. “Christine, you have two weeks. I will avoid Logan’s calls during that time, but then I’ll tell him everything.” “Which means you have two weeks to make him understand that you’re made for each other,” Katie says. Alex sighs. “That’s not what I said.” “No, but I know you. You want your sister to be happy.” “And how will she be happy with someone she’s lying to?” “She must have her reasons.” “In that case, I’d love to know them.” “I’m not ready to talk about it,” I say, “but I promise to tell you everything someday.” “Someday?” Apparently he doesn’t intend to make things easy for me. “Stop,” Katie scolds him. “I trust her; I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.” “Well, I don’t. The only thing I’m sure of is that she’s good at getting herself into impossible situations.” “With Logan, she’s not risking anything. I told you just the other day that I liked him. I may have only met him three times, but he was charming. He had good manners, a sense of humor; I even thought he and Chris should meet when she moved to Springville. But you told me he was always traveling and that his latest project would require him to be abroad for months, so I dropped the idea. But you see, as luck would have it ...” “I don’t think luck always makes things right, it’s rather the opposite, and I prefer that you don’t play Cupid with my sister. In my experience, you don’t want to be part of her schemes.” “Oh ... I love you, too,” I say, and he can’t hide a smile. “Alex?” Katie insists and he gives her a frustrated look. “Yes, Katie. I understand. You think I should leave her alone and I promised to do it. What more do you want?” “You could wish her good luck,” she answers teasingly. “Good luck to do what? I have no idea what she’s trying to accomplish.” “I want him to fall in love with me, if you must know,” I say, immediately regretting my spontaneity. “You want him to fall in love with you? Why would you want that? Don’t tell me you fell in love with him.” “Perhaps.” “Christine, don’t play coy with me. If you were in love with him, you would do what any sensible person would do: go out with him to learn more about him and find out if he’s interested in you, too. You wouldn’t lie to him and compromise your chances of having a solid relationship later on. No, I know you’re hiding something important.” “Okay, you’re right, but I’m not ready to tell you all my secrets yet. Can you trust me for once?” “The best I can do is pretend to trust you. Do you really believe that Logan will fall in love with you in just a couple of weeks?” “Yes, we don’t all need ten years to fall in love.” Katie laughs, but Alex doesn’t seem amused. “So let’s recap. You want Logan to fall in love with you in just two weeks, and then you’ll ride off into the sunset together to live out your epic love story?” Sarcasm is evident in his voice and Katie looks at him sternly. “Believe me, I know her,” he defends himself. “Not only is she heading for trouble, but I guarantee you that she’s not just looking for Logan to fall in love with her.” “And yet that’s my main goal,” I say. He sighs, frustrated. “Which means I’m right. You have something else in mind. You know you’re putting me in a complicated position; I will never win with you. Can you at least promise to be careful?” “Stop worrying,” Katie says. “Christine is smart, and you like Logan.” “I didn’t say anything about him.” “I know you. If you thought Logan wasn’t worthy of your sister, you’d have never agreed to help her. Not to mention, you’ve collaborated with him more than once, and there’s never been a problem. Knowing how demanding you are, I can only conclude that Logan is a good person.” “Just because he’s a good work partner doesn’t necessarily mean he’s good for my sister.” “But it’s a good start,” Katie insists. “May I, at least, know what Katie said to persuade you to help me?” I ask, trying to change the subject. The last thing I want is for them to argue over me. “Certainly not,” he says. “Okay, then I’m going to go before you change your mind,” I say. The last thing I hear before cutting the connection is Katie’s laugh when Alex says, “You can’t deny that she’s smart, my sister.”