Hayden's face split into a wide grin. "I'm heading to Provincetown." Hayden showed Abbey her red plastic boarding pa.s.s with a big number six in the middle. "Calli and Jo are getting married this weekend. They've asked me to be in their wedding."

"They're getting married? Really?"

"Yes, they've been together almost two years. They moved to Provincetown last summer. Jo got a job at an art gallery on Commercial Street, and Calli is taking art cla.s.ses at Cape Cod Community College and waitressing at Bayside Betsy's. They seem very happy."

Abbey plopped down into one of the beat-up chrome and black leather seats. "Wow."

Hayden sat next to her. "So how have you been?" Hayden asked, her voice soft and caring.

Abbey looked at Hayden, and her heart turned over. She was surprised at the tenderness she saw in Hayden's eyes. An unexpected warmth surged through her.

"I'm doing okay." Abbey smiled. "I'm on my way to Provincetown, too. I have a job interview at Provincetown High School for a teaching position."

Hayden grabbed Abbey's arm. "Abbey, that's great!" Hayden's face flushed. She let go of Abbey's arm, afraid she may have done something inappropriate.

Abbey reached out and touched Hayden's hand. Hayden looked up and Abbey smiled. "Yes, it is great. I finally feel like I'm getting my life back in order. So how are you doing? How's school going?"

"I really like it. Made the dean's list three semesters in a row."

"Atta girl. See, I knew nursing would be your niche."

Hayden looked down. "I don't think I would have gotten there without you. Thank you...for everything."

"Hey, you're the one doing the work. You got yourself there. I had little to do with it."

The two women returned to the waiting area with two huge cups of Starbucks coffee and the biggest cinnamon rolls Abbey had ever seen.

"h.e.l.lo." Both women smiled at Hayden and Abbey. "You headed to P-town?" one of the women asked.

"Yes," Abbey said. "Is that where you're going?"

"Yes, we live there. I'm Connie, and this is my wife, Kathy."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Abbey, and this is Hayden."

"So how long have you been together?" Connie asked.

Hayden and Abbey looked at each other. "Oh, we're not together," Abbey said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well, for what it's worth, you look like you'd make a cute couple." Abbey and Hayden blushed. "So...what brings you to P-town?"

"I'm applying for a job there. At the high school."

"Oh, cool," Connie said. "Are you a teacher, too?" She directed the question toward Hayden.

"Oh, no. I'm a student at Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania. I'm in my second year of nursing."

"P-town is a great place. We love it there."

"Now boarding Flight 1474" came over the loudspeaker.

Betty came around from behind the desk. "Looks like everyone is here for the flight. If it's all right with everyone, the pilot would like to depart early."

"That would be great," Abbey said.

She and Hayden picked up their carry-ons and followed Connie and Kathy down the stairs to the tarmac where they would board the plane.

The plane looked awfully small to Abbey. She was starting to have second thoughts again about the flight.

Hayden looked over at Abbey. "You doin' okay?"

"I've never been on a small plane. I never told anyone, but I'm a little claustrophobic."

"I was nervous my first time, too. It'll be okay. You can sit with me."

The inside of the plane was no bigger than a station wagon. Abbey broke out in a cold sweat and felt her heart start to race. She felt the coffee she drank earlier slosh around in her stomach. She made a mental note not to drink or eat anything until after the flight. She didn't have to worry about that because there was no aisle to push a beverage cart down.

The c.o.c.kpit was so close, Abbey could see the dials and gauges from where she and Hayden were sitting. Although that should have made her feel better-that there would be no surprise announcements from the pilot that they were going to lose cabin pressure or that they had the unlucky fortune of flying into a flock of geese and would have to make an emergency landing-it didn't. The only good thing was that the weight thing worked out where Abbey could sit with Hayden.

"There's no restroom on this thing." Abbey looked in the front, then into the back of the aircraft.

"The flight is only twenty minutes," Hayden said.

"I know, but what if I gotta go?"

"Do you have to go now?"

"No, I'm good."

Hayden smiled. It appeared she found Abbey's nervousness amusing. "Then I wouldn't worry about having to go during the flight. Anyhow, the airport in Provincetown is small. You can get off the plane and be in the restroom in under sixty seconds."

Connie and Kathy took their seats and fastened their seat belts. Hayden helped Abbey adjust hers since the last pa.s.senger must have had a size forty-eight waist.

The pilot boarded the plane and folded himself into the pilot seat. Good thing he wasn't a big guy, he never would have fit in the cramped quarters. Abbey watched as he adjusted a few dials. The plane rumbled to life, and Abbey's nervousness accelerated. She looked over at Hayden.

"Here, hold my hand." Abbey felt a surge of excitement shoot through her heart when Hayden slipped her hand into hers.

As the plane taxied down the runway, Abbey looked at Hayden and was overcome with emotion. Feelings she had bottled up for years came gushing out. She felt tears sliding down her cheeks.

"What is it?" Hayden asked.

It took a minute for Abbey to find her voice. "You are such a wonderful person...Even after everything I put you through, you still...you're still nice to me."

"Abbey, I care about you. I told you I always would."

"I'm just not used to it, I guess."

"Well, you should get used to it. You deserve to be cared for."

Suddenly, the plane jilted forward and raced down the runway. Abbey closed her eyes tight and clutched Hayden's hand for all it was worth. Seconds later, they were airborne, climbing in the beautiful blue late summer sky.

"Wow, look at that," Hayden said.

Abbey forced her eyes open and turned toward the tiny window. She still had a death grip on Hayden's hand.

"That's the bay, and over there is the coastline of the cape."

Abbey leaned over. Her heart was still pounding "Wow, it's beautiful."

As the plane continued its journey along the coast, Hayden kept pointing out landmarks, lighthouses, and beautiful bayside homes, and Abbey's anxiety began to fade away.

"Boy, wouldn't it be cool to live in one of those places?" Hayden asked.

"Yes, it sure would."

Hayden looked over at Abbey. "Doin' better?"

Abbey nodded. "And to think I was scared to do this. It's really pretty up here."

Hayden sighed. "Sometimes we have to do things that scare us. It's what makes life worth living, don't you think?"

Abbey looked at Hayden, and the tears threatened again. "When I met up with you in Erie, I was really scared. I had so many mixed feelings, and the better part of me had no business feeling about you the way I did. But part of me is so glad I got to know you, not only as my student, but as the smart, beautiful woman I knew you would become."

Hayden sat motionless in her seat. No one, other than her mother, said those things to her. "I was afraid, too. Before I got to know you, I had feelings I didn't understand. Everything I read or was told about being gay was that it was wrong, but being with you made it feel right."

Abbey looked at Hayden, who had tears in her eyes, too. Her heart swelled with emotion. The sudden contact of the landing gear with the runway brought her out of her reverie.

"Oh, my G.o.d. We're here?" Abbey held her hand over her heart.

"Yep, welcome to Provincetown," Connie said from the seat behind the pilot.

The plane cruised down the runway, which was no longer than a driveway. Hayden was right about the Provincetown airport being small. The terminal was no bigger than a two-car garage. The pilot taxied up to the terminal, turned the plane around, and cut the engine in front of a large garage door, which apparently was baggage claim.

Connie and Kathy were the first off the plane. Before leaving, they turned to Hayden and Abbey. "Hope you enjoy your visit to P-town. Maybe we'll run into you on Commercial Street."

"It was nice meeting you," Abbey and Hayden said.

Abbey's legs felt like rubber as she got out of the plane. She and Hayden walked to the baggage claim area and found their suitcases.

"Hayden! Over here."

Standing in the waiting area was Calli and Jo. Both girls looked dumbfounded when they saw Hayden and Abbey together.

"h.e.l.lo, Miss Spencer..."

"Abbey, please call me Abbey. I'm not your teacher anymore, Calli."

"Abbey...so..." Calli looked at Hayden for an explanation.

"We ran into each other at Logan. Abbey is here for a job interview at Provincetown High School."

"Oh." Calli said.

Abbey looked at her watch. "Oh, my gosh, I better get going. If I hurry, I'll just make the interview on time."

"We can take you there," Calli said.

"That would be great. Thank you."

The four women headed toward the parking lot and piled into Jo's Subaru Outback: Jo and Calli in the front, Hayden and Abbey in the back.

"Hey, congratulations on your wedding," Abbey said. "That's really cool."

"Thank you," Jo said. "Even though it's only valid in Ma.s.sachusetts, it still means a lot to us to be able to do it."

Abbey glanced over at Hayden. She was feeling so many things and wanted to say so much but didn't know how. In a few minutes, they would be pulling up to Provincetown High, and maybe this would be the last time she would see Hayden. The thought of never seeing her again scared her enough to give her the courage to slide her hand over and hold Hayden's hand.

Hayden looked up, her feelings clearly visible in her smile.

"So where do we go from here?"

"We could start with dinner after your interview. Maybe we'll have something to celebrate," Hayden said.

"That would be great."

Jo pulled up in front of the school entrance.

Hayden scribbled down her cell phone number on a gum wrapper she picked up off the floor of Jo's car. Abbey took the wrapper and clutched it like a good luck souvenir. Later she would program the number into her iPhone.

"I'll call you when I'm finished. Wish me luck."

"Good luck, Abbey," Hayden said.

"Good luck, Abbey," Jo and Calli chimed in.

Everyone in the car burst out in laughter. "Thanks, I'll see you soon." Abbey opened the car door. Before she got out, she leaned over and kissed Hayden gently on the lips. "Is that okay?"

"It's more than okay." Hayden said. "It's a dream come true."

About the author.

Maria V. Ciletti is a registered nurse working as a medical administrator.