She walked on to the train, her pink and purple flowered dress swayed in the sunlight. Her blue eyes glowed as she took her seat next to me. She gave me a quick smile and then settled into her seat. The sweet smell of honey filled up around me as the train left the station.
After the train had been moving for a while the girl turned her head every so slightly and said, “My names Charlotte.” She spoke, now it was my turn.
“I’m,” I paused, I couldn’t think of my own name. “Danny, my name is Danny,” out of the corner of my eye I saw her smile. She had one of those smiles that could light up a room.
“That’s a nice name,” she said and started to read a magazine. The trip went on in silence, I listened to music while she read magazine after magazine.
“So, you really like magazines I see.”
“Yeah there pretty much my life,” she said
“Oh, that’s interesting.”
“I don’t mean that all I do is read magazines, it’s my job. I work for a magazine.”
“That’s a nice job, what magazine?”
“Everyday Living, not super exciting I know,” she was blushing like she was embarrassed by what she did for a living.
“Well I know my mom reads it,” the second it left my lips I wanted to take it back. That was probably the last thing she wanted to hear. “I’m sorry, I bet you want someone a little cooler then my mom reading your magazine.”
“No its fine, I’m sure your mom is very cool.”
It was silent again after that, neither of us really knowing what to say, so I just went on listening to my music and enjoying the ride. “So why are you going to New York?” She asked a few minutes later.
“Well it’s a very complicated and long story, I don’t know if we have the time.”
“All I have is time; it’s like a five hour trip.”
“Ok, well it all started with my girlfriend Sarah.”
“It always starts with a girl,” she said in a depressed tone.
“I know, I know but it really does start with her,”
“Ok then go on.”
“Ok well we had been going out for about two years when she got a job in Chicago; she used to live in New York where I live. But she’s a weather girl and she got a better job offer,” I was about to go on when Charlotte interrupted me.
“Ok wait, your returning to New York from Chicago without this Sarah girl. So either this story ends with a break up or you’re just visiting family. But since you already said it’s a complicated story I highly doubt you’re just visiting family.”
“I can’t tell you that it would take the fun out of it.”
“Ok fine.”
“So anyways I was so in love with Sarah that I couldn’t bear to live away from her so I decided to move to Chicago with her.”
“That was stupid, didn’t you realize that once you moved there everything would fall apart.”
“No, why would I realize that?”
“Because nine out of ten times when someone moves to another city or state to be with someone, everything because way to serious. Talks about buying a house and getting married, that starts to freak the couple out and they break- up. Making it so that the person who moved to be with the person, has to pack up their life again and move back home.” I was baffled, how could she know all that?
“That’s not true, it can work out.”
“Yeah in the movies it can,” She was right but I didn’t want to admit it.
“Can I just get back to my story?”
“Sure go right ahead.”
“Ok so anyways I moved to Chicago with her, and it was great. We moved in to a great apartment, Sarah had a great job, everything was perfect.”
“And then everything went terribly wrong, right?” She asked
“No it didn’t.”
“Yes it did, nothing ever stays perfect.”
“I’m just going to go on, so everything was perfect and I was happy. I had been living there about six months when Sarah asked if we were ever going to get married.”
“Ha, I told you they always want to get married,” A look of accomplishment washed over her face.
“Ok yes you were right about that, but let me finish. The marriage thing caught me off guard and I didn’t know how to answer. I loved her and everything, but I didn’t feel like I could marry her yet. So I told her that one day maybe we would, but not right now.”
“Oh boy, the “maybe” killed you.”
“How do you know that?”
“She wanted a commitment and all you could give her was a maybe.”
“That’s ridiculous, I wasn’t ready I couldn’t marry her if I didn’t feel ready.”
“She didn’t need you to propose right there on the spot, what she needed was to know that it was going somewhere and you didn’t give that to her.” She was right Sarah didn’t need the proposal right there she didn’t say that, she just wanted to know that one day I would propose.
“I can be pretty dumb sometimes; I really blew it with her didn’t I?”
“Maybe not, maybe you could get her back,” I could hear a glimmer of hope in her voice.
“You haven’t heard the end of the story,” I paused trying to figure out how to word what I was about to say. “Well after the whole “maybe” thing Sarah became very distant and I could feel her slipping away. It was about a month after when I came home one day, and found Sarah kissing the head news anchor, Tom Franklin, in the kitchen.”
“Oh man, the head news anchor those guys are always jerks, and who has the name Tom Franklin, that’s a dumb name.”
“I was crushed I had uprooted my whole life and what was I supposed to do? So I packed up all my stuff and hopped on the next train to New York.”
“I’m so sorry, where are you going to stay?” She asked me.
“My parents are taking me in until I can find a new place.” I suddenly felt my phone start to vibrate. “No."

“Who is it?” Charlotte asked.
“Its Sarah, do I answer?”
“Yes, you have to answer.”
“Why?”
“To show her that you can get along fine without her, and that you can stand to hear her voice, that you are better then her.” She was right, I was better than Sarah and I had to face her.
“Hello, Sarah,” for the next ten minutes I listened to her whine about how she missed me and wanted me to come back. How the news anchor had turned out to be a jerk and that she was wrong to ever stray away from me. I felt sadness for her but I knew that I could never look at her in the same way. We pulled in to the train station and Sarah was still going on and on about how sorry she was.
“Sarah, Sarah, I would come back to Chicago but I just, I can’t. I don’t love you anymore and we just need to go are separate ways. I couldn’t find the courage to marry you when we were together so I sure as heck I can’t find it now. I’m sorry but this is the way it has to be. I will never forget the six perfect months we had in Chicago. It will always be are place, will always have Chicago,” and with that I hung up the phone. I turned to tell Charlotte, but she was gone.