The One That Got Away: A Short Story by Mike Gayle

Author:Mike Gayle [Gayle, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Published: 2025-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

11. Now

The pained expression on her face says it all. She’s hurt and she’s angry, livid that as always I just couldn’t keep my big mouth shut. Pushing me away, she walks closer to the water’s edge, and stands with her back to me.

‘Come on, Beth,’ I say. ‘Did you really think you were going to be able to get away without talking about this? The whole reason we split was because you said love isn’t real, and then I find out that six months later you’re promising to spend the rest of your life with someone else! You can’t blame me for having questions. It just makes no sense.’

She turns to face me, arms folded, eyes aflame. ‘First of all, you know as well as I do that’s not the reason we split up, and secondly, what makes you think I owe you an explanation about anything? You don’t own me, you don’t get to interrogate me. I’m my own person and I don’t owe you anything, Reuben Miller, not a damn thing, and don’t you forget it!’

She’s right, of course, on both counts. Strictly speaking, her not believing in everlasting love didn’t end our relationship; my actions alone took care of that. Guilt floods through me, but I push that feeling away for now. And she doesn’t owe me anything. It was my decision to take her call this morning, to come to her rescue and bring her here. But I can’t see where any of this is going, and I can’t begin to understand what either of us is doing here unless we at least try to talk things through – unless we at least try to make it all make sense.

‘I’m sorry,’ I say, ‘but not about the question. I’m not sorry about that at all, although I suppose I could’ve framed it better.’ I take a step closer to her, and place a hand gently on her arm. ‘I just want to understand, Beth. I just want to hear what happened, what changed.’

For a moment I’m afraid that she might storm off and never speak to me again, but then she lifts her head, and when I look into her eyes the fire of anger has all but gone.

‘Okay, I’ll try,’ she says eventually, and she turns and walks over to a bench behind us and sits down.

‘I was really sad when you and I split up,’ she begins as I sit down next to her. ‘Really sad, and really angry too. And more determined than ever that I was right, that love was a lie, that it was impossible for two people to be together forever. The last thing I wanted, the last thing I felt I needed, was another relationship. But then I went island-hopping with Amara, and no sooner had we landed on Sifnos than we got talking to Leo and his best friend and the two of us just sort of clicked. He’d just come out of a long-term relationship too,

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