Free Taken by You by Carlie Sexton Page B

tried to resist him, but couldn’t. She loved his strong, commanding side.
    “I know what it is like to lose a boyfriend. My high school boyfriend died in a car accident when we were sophomores in college. I thought that we were going to get married.”
    “That must have been devastating for you. How have you gotten through it?” she asked with great despair in her eyes.
    “It has taken a few years of therapy and meeting someone new, who opened my heart to love again. I hadn’t dated anyone for almost three years. Then I met an amazing man who has completely swept me off my feet. Opening myself up to him has helped me to let go of my old boyfriend.”
    “I’m glad that you have been able to move on. I guess I just kept thinking that we would get back together. I know that was silly of me. We have been apart for t en years, leading our own lives. But when we reconnected and I found out that he had never married, I figured it was just a matter of time before we were together again,” she said, rubbing her arms.
    “It’s understandable. Letting go of love is the hardest thing to do. Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not like you knew he would be in an accident,” Kate said , trying to console the woman. She understood what she was going through. She had blamed herself for David’s death for years.
    “ It’s hard not to blame myself. I left him and then expected him to come chasing after me when he told me flat out that he wouldn’t. I didn’t realize how foolish I was being. I took love for granted and missed out on years of happiness with Tim. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be,” she said, gazing off into the distance for something that wasn’t there.
    “Oh, you can’t blame yourself. One of the reasons I needed to go to counseling was because I allowed the guilt of David dying stop me from living. It has been really helpful to work through that incorrect assumption. It gave me closure.”
    She grew quiet for a few moments, seemingly deep in thought. Kate didn’t say anything else. She turned to her brother, whom she had forgotten about. He was listening to his iPod, oblivious to the conversation that had taken place. Must be nice to be a guy sometimes.
    The flight attendants came around with drinks and peanuts. Kate got a Sprite. She didn’t want anything with caffeine as she already felt jittery enough. She sipped on it for a few minutes. Then she decided that she would take out her Kindle and read. When she opened her purse, she saw the album that she had taken out of Neil’s car. She had so much on her mind that she had forgotten all about it. She opened it up, expecting to see pictures of Neil. Her eyes widened, not believing what she was seeing. The first picture was of Neil and a woman she assumed was Elizabeth, in Italy. Normally, this would not be surprising, but the resemblance between herself and Elizabeth was uncanny. She was a ringer for Neil’s dead wife. She sat there staring at the picture, not sure what to do. Emotions were crashing over her like the waves in the sea.
    “When did you and your boyfriend go to Italy?” the woman asked, glancing at the album.
    Kate didn’t know what to say. She was speechless. Should she just make something up? She really didn’t want to disclose that she was the look-a-like for her boyfriend’s dead wife. But she couldn’t think of a good lie, so she told the truth. Telling a complete stranger seemed harmless somehow.
    “This isn’t me in the picture. I took the album out of my boyfriend’s car when he dropped me off at the airport. He doesn’t even know that I have it. I found it in the glove compartment when I was looking for a tissue,” she said , running her hand through her hair.
    “Oh, she just looks so much like you. Who is she then?”
    “I’m pretty sure it’s his wife. She died of cancer not long after they were married.”
    “Did you know that you two looked this much alike?”
    “No, this is the first time I’ve ever