Nostalgia
Emma accepted the receipt and pen from the receptionist. The receptionist was a stern-looking older woman who seemed to always frown. Emma had been anticipating this vacation for months. Her busy schedule made it difficult for her to take time off.
She scribbled her name down on the receipt and handed it back to the receptionist. She offered a friendly smile though the frown seemed to be plastered to the woman’s face. “Hmm,” The receptionist was reading something on her computer. “Doctor Derek Garrison,” she mumbled.
“Yes, that’s my fiancé,” Emma explained. Emma turned to him but found he had disappeared. Emma looked back at the receptionist and the woman cocked an eyebrow. “Uhm, he was just here,” Emma tried to explain. She looked around the busy hotel lobby.
She finally spotted him over by a small water fountain in the center of the room. He was staring down into the pool of water. “Derek!” Emma called. He looked up quickly and then walked over to where she stood at the front desk. “What are you doing?” She asked him once he reached her.
“Oh, I was trying to count the pennies in the wishing well.” He explained good-naturedly. Emma rolled her eyes but grinned. She turned back to the receptionist. “We booked a suite for five days,” Emma explained. “We sure did,” Derek exclaimed grinning at Emma.
He wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her next to him. Derek Garrison was tall with perfectly defined features. He had beautiful crystal blue eyes that Emma had immediately noticed the first time she had seen him.
His blonde hair was perfect not a hair out of place. And a dazzling smile to top it off. He seemed perfect. All the women at the hospital tried to get his attention. Emma still couldn’t believe he wanted her over all of them.
The receptionist looked unimpressed and looked back at the computer. “Yes, you’ve booked the royal suite I see,” The woman observed. “Do you need help carrying your belongings up to your room?” She asked.
“No thank you, we can manage,” Derek responded before Emma got a chance. The sour woman nodded. “I have one more thing for you to sign,” And she handed a few papers to Emma. “I’ll go get our stuff honey,” Derek announced, and off he went.
Emma read over the papers in her hands, and then picked up the pen. A group of people busily chatting and laughing passed by behind her. “I wanna lay on the beach and turn crispy.” She heard a woman say. “Crispy or extra crispy?” A man asked, and they chuckled.
Emma smiled. “I wanna find a surf shop before we go down to the beach,” A man’s voice exclaimed. “Okay let’s go. Wait, where’s Riley?” A woman asked. Emma’s hand halted in the middle of writing her name. “There she is, Riley c’mon!” The male responded.
After a few seconds, Emma heard a new voice. “Coming!” Emma felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.“No way,” She thought to herself. She hesitated a moment and then turned around. She looked over at the revolving doors just as the group exited the hotel and went around a corner.
She stared out the door even though the group had disappeared. She was whisked away to a time in her life that she had kept safely locked away in her heart. Riley’s face entered her mind. The receptionist cleared her throat and brought Emma back to the present.
“Oh!” Emma turned around fast. “I-I’m sorry,” She exclaimed as she finished signing the papers. She handed the papers back to the woman with a half-smile. The stern woman took the papers without so much as a thank you.
“Are we ready honey?” Derek asked coming up beside Emma. “Uhm, I-I think so,” Emma stammered. She looked at the woman, and the woman nodded once still frowning. Emma picked up a small bag the only one that Derek would let her carry.
He insisted on carrying everything. The receptionist gave Emma two keys for their room. They stepped into the elevator and the door closed. Derek set the two suitcases down and pushed a button on the wall.
Emma was lost in her thoughts as the memories swirled around in her mind. She studied Riley’s face in her mind. Her beautiful chestnut brown eyes, her crooked smile. A small smile spread across her face.
As she flipped through the memories, she came to the more intimate ones. Her cheeks turned a bright crimson and she stole a glance at Derek. The man beside her was preoccupied with a paper in his hands.
It was a list of the attractions in the city that they were staying in. They finally arrived at their floor and they stepped off the elevator. They found their room easily and Emma scanned the key, and the door clicked.
She opened the door and let Derek in first since he was carrying most of their belongings. Emma followed Derek down a short hallway. The hallway led to a spacious living room. Emma gasped when she saw the living room.
The room held a couch and two chairs. The leather couch and chairs were a teal color that Emma fell in love with right away. A teal-colored rug rested over a dark brown hardwood floor. The end tables were of gold color with glass tops.
Emma stood in the center of the room and took it all in. Even the walls were teal and on one wall two large bay windows took up most of the wall. It had a great view of the ocean. A few leafy plants rested in front of the windows.
Beach related pictures hung on the walls. Derek grinned at his fiancé as he set the suitcases down on the couch. “Do you like it?” He asked as he approached her. Her eyes were shining when she turned to face him.
“I love it!” Emma gushed her hands clasped in front of her chest. “I love teal,” Emma murmured. “I know,” Derek said simply. He wrapped his arms around her waist. Emma snaked her arms around his neck.
He was a good two inches taller than her. He leaned down and their lips came together. “Mmm,” Emma pulled back and touched her lip with her fingers. “What is it?” Derek asked, his eyebrows knitted together.
“Stubble,” Emma responded. “You missed some hairs this morning, Doctor Garrison,” Emma exclaimed as she rested her hand on the man’s broad chest. “I’m sorry Nurse Davis,” Derek replied smiling down at his fiancé.
“Do you realize we’ve been together for two years now?” Derek asked her after a few moments. “Mmmhmm, the time has gone by fast,” Emma replied with a nod. “Yup, it was what three years ago you came to the hospital?” The man asked her.
“Uh-huh,” They started swaying as if they were dancing to music, even though there was no music being played. “I remember the first time I saw you, you were so cute in your little teal-colored scrubs,” Derek explained, gazing down at her.
“And you were so handsome in your dark blue ones,” Emma replied with a grin. They kissed again but only for a few seconds. Emma really did hate stubble. Emma looked down at the man’s buttoned-up shirt.
“I still don’t know why you insisted on wearing your dress clothes. We’re on vacation,” Emma remarked shaking her head. “I’ll change before we go check out the museums,” Derek explained simply.
“I don’t want to spend our whole vacation in museums,” Emma reminded the man. “I know, but you did promise me you’d go with me,” Derek responded. “And you promised me that you’d actually relax and enjoy our vacation,” Emma exclaimed.
“Oh, I will. The hotel has a pool, I’m going to lay next to the pool and get a tan.” Derek replied with a nod. Emma rolled her eyes. “We’re right next to the ocean and you want to sit by the pool?” Emma asked with a chuckle.
“Do you know how dirty ocean water is?” Derek asked her. “You’ve told me I don’t know how many times,” Emma replied with a sigh. They had stopped swaying and Emma’s arms slid from around the man’s neck.
“And don’t forget, you promised me that you would go with me to the Taylor Swift concert." Emma reminded the man tapping his chest with her pointer finger. “Yeah, I know.” Derek responded with a groan.
Six months ago Emma had found out that Taylor Swift was going to have a concert and it was only about a day and half drive away at the most. She and Derek had already discussed possibly taking a small vacation.
She had to do a little persuading to get Derek to agree to go. Derek was not a fan of Taylor Swift. Emma was beyond excited, the singer was her favorite artist. He finally agreed to go when Emma agreed to go to the museums in the city that they were going to.
“I think I’ll go check out the bedroom,” Emma exclaimed changing the subject. “Okay, I’m going to check the bathroom,” Derek replied starting to turn around. Emma frowned. “Why?” She asked confused.
“I want to make sure everything is clean, and we’re stocked up on towels and everything,” Derek explained as he headed for the bathroom. “Oh, why don’t you check the kitchen, make sure everything is clean.”
“And don’t sit down on the bed, we have to inspect it. Make sure it’s clean, we don’t know for sure if the maids actually did their jobs,” Derek instructed as he entered the bathroom. Emma sighed as she dragged her feet to the kitchen.
He was perfect, was how all the nurses had described him. When she came to the hospital he worked at for her residency, she quickly noticed how incredibly handsome he was. All the women who worked at the hospital would swoon over him.
Strong jawline, perfect pearly white teeth. He did seem truly perfect. Sometimes Emma would wonder if he was perfect for her. She would quickly put the thought out of her mind. Insisted that she was just feeling insecure.
She worried that she wasn’t good enough for someone like him. She did love him, she knew that. But was she in love with him? She knew what it felt like to be in love. The memories of Riley had left her unsettled.
What are the chances that both would be at the same hotel? “Besides, there must be a ton of people named Riley in the world.” Emma reasoned to herself. The kitchen was spacious and beautiful, but she couldn’t fully enjoy it.
Not when she had to inspect the kitchen. Out on the water on a boat, another group of people was enjoying their first day on vacation as well. “Eww!” The short brown-haired woman who was sitting on the back of the boat with her legs in the water made a face.
The others looked over. “It’s just seaweed,” Riley exclaimed raising an eyebrow. She tried to swallow the chuckle in her throat. “Well, I don’t want it on me,” She made another disgusted face as she swished her foot around in the water to get the seaweed off.
“Are you going next Tegan?” Noah called from the front of the boat. He was sitting in the driver’s seat. Bella sat in the seat next to him. Tegan looked unsure as she nibbled her bottom lip. “I don’t know,”
Riley squatted down next to her. “You’ll be just fine baby,” Riley reassured resting a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “I’ve never skied before though,” Tegan admitted. “None of us have,” Riley reminded with a lopsided grin.
Tegan smiled in return. Riley helped Tegan get the skis on. “Are the skis on tight?” Tegan asked looking down at her feet. “Yup, I triple checked them,” Riley said with a nod.
“You’re gonna have fun, I promise,” Riley replied and leaned over to kiss the woman on her lips. “Alright, love birds,” Noah exclaimed gazing into the rear view mirror.
“Hardly,” Tegan murmured after the quick kiss came to an end. Riley studied her girlfriend. She knew Tegan was right. Riley thought of something and stood to her feet. “Hey, it’s my turn to drive,” Riley exclaimed moving to the front of the boat.
“I was hoping you would forget,” Noah exclaimed repositioning his sunglasses on his face. “Let her drive!” Bella exclaimed with a chuckle. Noah found he really enjoyed driving the boat. He reluctantly stood up and moved to one of the seats on the boat.
“It’s Liam’s turn after Tegan,” Noah exclaimed with a big grin eyeing the man next to him on the seat. “Oh no it’s not!” Liam said shaking his head. Liam had been friends with Riley and Noah since high school.
He was a scientist and basically a genius. Though, he had many phobias and suffered from many allergies. Liam was also autistic. He spent most of his time in his lab conducting experiments. It took a long time for the gang to persuade him to go on the trip with them.
They were his only friends besides his mom, and he had never had a girlfriend. They always included him when they all got together, which truly meant a lot to him. The gang chuckled. “I am sitting right here,” Liam announced stubbornly.
He had coated his body in hypo-allergenic sunblock before stepping out of their hotel rooms. Even though he wouldn’t take his shirt off and kept his big sun hat on his head. “Don’t pressure him guys,” Bella exclaimed and leaned back into her seat, enjoying the sun on her body.
Tegan had slid off the boat into the warm water nervously. “I’m ready!” She called to Riley. “Okay,” Riley exclaimed. Riley slowly started moving forward watching Tegan in the rear view mirror.
The boat pulled the rope as Tegan slowly started moving forwards. “That’s it!” Noah called to the woman out on the skies. Tegan bit her lower lip as she slowly stood upon the skies. She was a bit wobbly but was able to stay up.
Riley slowly sped up a bit. It was a gorgeous day not a cloud in sight. The beach was littered with people. There were a few other boats far out in the ocean as well. Up ahead on their left was a long pier.
The pier was covered in people as well. They were a good way away from the pier but still able to make out the faces on the pier. Riley scanned the crowd as she approached the pier. There were a few fishing on one side.
At the end of the pier, people were gazing out at the water talking and laughing. A light brownish almost blonde appeared in the crowd making her way to the end of the pier. Riley’s eyes halted and stared at the woman.
The woman was enjoying the view and the breeze in the air. Riley felt her heart in her throat.“Is that?” Riley started to ask herself but stopped. She shook her head in bewilderment. “No way,”
Riley mumbled. She turned her attention back to the water in front of her. After a few seconds, her eyes darted back to the pier. Their boat was just about to cross in front of the long pier.
Riley studied the woman closely. It looked like it could be her.“No way, it can’t be,” Riley said to herself. Though she studied the woman hard. The woman turned slightly looking behind her. Then a man appeared beside her.
He said something which made the woman laugh. As they passed by the pier Riley kept staring at the pier. She had to get a closer look. Forgetting everything else she made a sharp turn to the left.
“Whoa,” Liam exclaimed, as he and Noah gripped the edge of the boat. Bella peered over at Riley her eyebrows knitted. Out on the skies, Tegan wasn’t expecting the sudden turn and she started wobbling on the skies.
Riley stood up in her seat trying to get a better look at the woman on the pier. She was a bit closer now. It looked like her, but how could it be? Tegan started to tumble forward as her feet came out from under her.
“Aaahh!” Tegan let out a little scream as she fell into the water face first. Riley was totally oblivious to what was going on behind her. Her focus was on the woman on the pier. She stood frozen, her heart pounding loudly.
She was overwhelmed with memories that carried her back in time to a time in her life that she had always kept protectively in her heart. “Riley,” Bella called from her seat. But the woman didn’t hear her.
“Riley!” Noah shouted as he stood up. Tegan was left bobbing up and down in the water. The woman on the pier finally turned around and disappeared in the crowd with the man. “Riley!” Noah yelled again as he grabbed the steering wheel.
Startled, Riley turned to face him. “What the fuck are you doing?” Noah shouted at her. “What are you talking about?” Riley asked trying to take the steering wheel back. “What the fuck do you think?”
“You fucking left Tegan! Move out of the way!” Noah ordered firmly. Bewildered, Riley turned quickly gazing behind her. When she didn’t see Tegan, she quickly made her way across the boat. She finally spotted the woman’s head bobbing in the water.
“Fuck!” Riley mumbled with a groan. She felt the boat turned sharply and she lost her balance as she fell on Liam. Noah whipped the boat around quickly and sped off toward Tegan. Riley climbed off Liam and held on to the side of the boat.
Noah slowed down near Tegan and the woman started to swim towards the boat. Riley could see the angry look on the woman’s face and knew she was in for an argument. She knew she deserved it though.
Riley felt horrible for what she had done. Riley was frozen in her spot, still stunned about what she had done. Noah pushed past Riley and quickly moved to the end of the boat. He bent over and reached his hands out to Tegan.
Tegan grabbed a hold of the man’s hands, and Noah hoisted her up onto the boat. “Are you okay?” Noah asked her once her feet were planted on the boat. Riley didn’t hear the reply. Tegan came around Noah and made a beeline for Riley.
“What the fuck were you doing?” Tegan snapped at Riley. “I-I.” Riley stammered. “I was already fucking nervous as hell!” Tegan continued to yell at Riley. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know what happened,”
Riley tried to explain as she reached out for Tegan. The woman moved away from her and went and sat down in a seat. Bella came over and sat down next to her. “Are you okay?” She asked gently.
Noah passed Riley glaring at her. Riley sighed and sat down next to Liam. “That was messed up Riley,” Liam exclaimed glancing over at her. “Shut up,” Riley muttered. They agreed to end the boat trip for the day.
Riley still wasn’t for sure it was Emma on the pier. But it left her unsettled. She never did forget about Emma, and she still often thought about the woman who changed her world. The five friends had two adjoining hotel rooms.
There was one queen size bed in each room along with a couch in each. Noah and Bella got one bed and Riley and Tegan got the other bed. Liam took the couch in the room with Riley and Tegan.
It was a few hours after the gang had gone to bed and the two women were having trouble sleeping. Tegan missed her and Riley’s bed back home. The hotel bed just wasn’t the same. She tossed and turned next to Riley.
For the passed hour Riley spent trying to keep the blanket over her. Finally, Tegan lifted her head and looked over at Riley in the darkness of the quiet room. “Would you please share some of the blanket?”
She whispered loudly. “Me?” Riley exclaimed looking over at her. “The blanket isn’t even fully covering me!” Riley snapped. “Then where the fuck did it go, Riley?” Tegan asked her voice rising a little.
“How the fuck should I know?” Riley shot back. “And I don’t even fucking know where the sheet went!” Riley added. “You probably kicked it to the end of the bed like you do our sheets!” Tegan exclaimed.
“C’mon you two, I’m trying to sleep!” Liam replied sleepily. “Sorry, Liam.” The two women said in unison. “Why don’t you get your own blanket like you always do.” Tegan hissed coldly and turned around quickly facing the wall.
Riley sighed loudly. “Fine!” She exclaimed exasperatedly. She got out of bed and carefully made her way around the bed in the dark trying not to run into anything. She found the little closet that held extra blankets and towels.
She got a blanket out and made her way back to the bed. She climbed back in the bed and settled down with the cold blanket over her. Tegan sighed softly, she hated arguing with Riley. That seemed to be all they did lately.
She knew it was her that usually hogged the blanket. She felt guilty and wished she could turn over to apologize to the woman behind her. But Tegan stayed put. Riley sighed to herself as well.“We could have just stayed home if we were gonna spend the trip arguing.”
Riley mumbled to herself. Her mind went back to the woman on the pier. She still wasn’t a hundred percent sure it was her. Neither woman got much sleep that night as they mulled in their turmoil.
In the same hotel a few floors up, Emma lay awake as well while Derek lay next to her snoring. The memories of Riley were still swirling in her mind. Was it her? Or just a woman who sounded like Riley. Emma wasn’t for sure.
She never did forget Riley. The woman had changed her life, she had taught her how to live life to the fullest. She sighed softly and closed her eyes tightly as she felt the tears push against her eyelids. After all these years it was still painful that she had hurt Riley.
