In the morning, she woke up and went back to her apartment. The apartment that contained far too many of Michael’s things. Him moving in had been a gradual process, and Amelia had liked that he didn’t rush. Now it was clear that it wasn’t deliberation, it was him dragging his feet. Their whole relationship had been both families dragging Michael to the altar. They hadn’t gone on many dates, no trips, and she didn’t even want to think about the lack of intimacy.

She was so, so stupid. She bought his story of being religious and saving themselves for marriage, since the wedding was so soon. Like an idiot, she thought he was shy, or that he was sincere.

His taste in food was disgusting, his obsession with sports jerseys as wall decor was revolting, and he had less conversational skills than the average house cat. She thought it was all normal, that all couples were incompatible to some extent. After all, it would be boring to live with a person’s own replica. Michael had been polite, respectful of her career, and her family loved him.

She showered, put on a pair of comfy jeans and t-shirt, and headed to the hospital. Her parents were already there, and Pam was being wheeled out of her hospital room.

“I can walk. It’s procedure, apparently,” she said apologetically. She handed Amelia her file. “Picture of your nibling in there.”

Amelia opened the file and looked at the ultrasonograph, the tiny head and stubby arms.

“Really resembles Adam, with the big head,” she commented.

Her brother-in-law lightly punched her in the shoulder. “I grew into my big head, okay?”

“We’ll agree to disagree. Pam’s good looks will have to make up for yours.”

It was nice to pretend that nothing else was wrong. This isolated happiness, with just her family, felt nice. It was Pam and Adam’s relationship that had made her so idealistic and naive. They met and married within six months, a simple wedding in a state park. They were nothing alike, but fit together like puzzle pieces. They worked to be good to each other, and their marriage worked. It convinced her that it was all people needed. Effort, understanding, and sincerity. Love would follow as a natural consequence.

She had a flight to catch in the evening. It would be a fun time in Santorini, albeit a lonely one. All of her friends couldn’t get time off work on such short notice, and she didn’t have anyone else to ask along.

Positive thoughts, she thought, forcing a smile on her face. It didn’t take as much effort as she thought. Her happiness for Pam and Adam was genuine, as was her excitement at becoming an aunt.

“Alright, I’ll see you all in two weeks,” she said. “Don’t have too much fun without me.”

“You’re still going?” Pam asked.

“You know I’ve always wanted to see Santorini. I’m not gonna let a little thing like this get in my way,” Amelia said.

“Okay, stay in touch while you’re there,” Pam said. “And just fly back the second you feel like coming back.”

“Of course,” Amelia said.

She thought the opposite was true. A place where she was just another person, a stranger on the street, sounded tantalizing. If anything, she would want to set down her bags and settle in Santorini if she could. She could become a tour guide or sell jewelry or whatever else it was people did in touristy places.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Come back with a handsome Greek boyfriend?” Pam suggested.

“I’ll come back with a tan. And maybe souvenirs.”

“You need a ride to the airport, hon?” her dad asked.

“No, dad. I have a friend driving me.”

There was no friend, but she couldn’t deal with an uninterrupted hour of time with her dad in the car. It was clear her dad was itching to talk about Holloways and the wedding. More importantly, he probably wanted to talk about their work together. She knew those discussions could wait a few weeks, but her father didn’t want to. The sooner he could repay them for Michael’s desertion, the happier he would be.

Her suitcase was already packed at home, but there were changes to be made. She replaced the flimsy honeymoon lingerie her friend had given her with simpler, more practical underwear. She packed some more t-shirts and shorts instead of sun dresses. By the time her cab arrived, she was waiting at the curb in a comfy pair of sweats. Ten hours of flying meant she had to be comfortable, and premium economy was still economy.

The airport was crowded, but she made her way to her gate quickly. At the gate, she could do nothing but wait. She’d refrained from using her phone since the day before. Social media was full of messages she didn’t want to read and curious people who cared more about the details of what had happened than how she was feeling. As an alternative, she took out her laptop and looked at her emails.

She had always planned on working during the honeymoon. Now she would just have to work more to occupy the time. There were unanswered emails and deadlines to be met. She started reviewing a proposal written by one of the employees, when someone tapped her on the arm.

“It’s time for us to board.”

She looked ahead. It was the first class and business class passengers who were boarding. She looked at the fellow passenger next to her.

“Julian?”

He was dressed for comfort like her. She’d never seen him dressed casually. Usually he was in a dress shirt and slacks at least. The pale green polo shirt and shorts made him look younger. His dark hair was also cut shorter, and he had a pair of sunglasses folded into the collar of his shirt.

“I’ve bought us both tickets in business class,” he said.

“What?”

“I talked to Pam yesterday. She was pretty sure you’d end up going to Santorini alone, and asked that I come with you.”

Pam didn’t know Julian well enough to ask such a favor. None of their family did. He was the one most detached from his family. He wasn’t even a groomsman in the wedding. He was just a few years older than Michael, but they weren’t close. Amelia thought she’d covered up her misery fairly well, but she must have looked bad for Pam to ask a relative stranger for help.

“If you’re okay with it?” Julian continued. “I understand if you want to travel alone.”

The whole reason she was going on the trip was to not flush the thousands of dollars they spent on the honeymoon down the drain. To not lose perhaps her opportunity to finally see Santorini. However, she didn’t want to be alone for two weeks, no matter how beautiful the surroundings were. She had traveled solo before, enough to know that it wasn’t her thing. Julian wasn’t the companion she envisioned, but he wasn’t unpleasant. He was taciturn, but he wasn’t insensitive. And it was a nice gesture, what he wanted to do.

“Let’s go,” she said. “I want the window seat, if we got one.”

He nodded and handed her the flight ticket. He let her go first and

When they settled into their seats and buckled in, she turned to him. “You didn’t have to upgrade my ticket. I would have said yes anyway. I don’t like traveling alone, and you’re not responsible for what Michael did. You don’t have to make up for anything.”

Julian nodded his head.

“That’s good to know. I do feel responsible though. I know my brother, I should’ve expected that he would do this. I wanted to come along, just to make up a little bit for what Michael did.”

“Just because you feel responsible doesn’t mean you are,” Amelia said. “Thank you for doing this. Pam shouldn’t have asked you such a big favor.”

Julian turned towards her, his fingers laced together.

“You’re making me feel bad, being so nice. Pam didn’t ask me to come with you. She said you might go alone, but it was more her worrying aloud than anything. Coming here was entirely my choice. Pam doesn’t know I’m here.”

“Why are you telling me this now?” Amelia asked.

Julian smiled. “I wanted to start off on the right foot, to be honest. Also, they just closed the cabin doors.”

His smile widened. “So there’s no going back now.”