Kayla stepped into the cab and checked her watch. She was surprised to see that it was only 2:30 p.m. The entire hearing had taken less than a half an hour. Well, she thought to herself, that made sense given that she had made her opening statement, answered two or three questions, and then given her closing statement.
She had been surprised by the lack of questions and frustrated by the absence of any hint of what the board was thinking. She had no more idea of what her professional future held than she had when she walked into the hearing. The only bit of good news was that the board had promised a decision "soon." Whatever that meant.
Traffic was light in the middle of the afternoon and Kayla soon reached her hotel. She took the elevator to her room, wondering what she was going to do with the rest of the afternoon and evening. She had booked her flight home for the following morning, because she had thought the hearing would take place later in the afternoon.
She contemplated calling the airline and seeing if she could change her flight. But she knew that changing the ticket this late would be expensive, and she would probably have to pay for the second night of the hotel anyway. But it was not just the cost that kept her from making the change. She knew that going home meant confronting the issues between she and Steve head-on, and she did not know if she was ready for that.
When she entered her hotel room, she saw the flashing message light. Picking up the phone, she retrieved the message and heard Steve's voice.
"Hey baby, it's just me. It's about three o'clock, and I just thought I might catch you before your hearing, but I guess not. Little Sweetness and I are just getting ready to go to the park. I'll call you later this evening. I love you, Sweetness."
Sighing, Kayla hung up the phone and wondered if someone was trying to tell her something with all the missed connections between Steve and her on this trip.
Kayla looked around the room. She did not want to sit there all afternoon; she needed a distraction. Suddenly, she remembered the advertisement for the State Fair she had seen during the cab ride back to the hotel. It was going on this week and was at the fairgrounds just outside of town.
That's the perfect afternoon distraction. After a quick change of clothes and a call home to leave another message for Steve, telling him to call around 6 p.m., she headed back out of the hotel.
It was not long before Kayla found herself at the entry of the State Fair. She purchased her ticket and quickly immersed herself in the sounds and smells of the fair. Walking past the gates, her mind drifted back to the last time she had been at the State Fair.
She had been about eight or nine, and her folks had taken the whole family on a weekend trip to the fair. It was one of the few times that she could remember her father closing the market on a Saturday. She later learned her parents had paid for the trip with money they had been saving for new bedroom furniture. It was one of the many sacrifices her parents had made for their kids, but never mentioned.
As she walked the grounds, smiling at the children enjoying the rides, she remembered other things from that trip. Roman and Bo fighting about something or another. Kayla had stepped into settle things between them as she always had.
Then she remembered Kim begging her father for a scarf from one of the craft booths and her Pop being unable to resist a plea from his "best and brightest." Kayla remembered watching as her father purchased the scarf, placed it around Kim's neck, and commented about how beautiful she looked, while Kayla had stood just a few feet away. Her father had never noticed Kayla standing there. After Kim and Shawn had walked to another booth, Kayla had looked at the scarves, imagining her father buying one for her and looking at her the way he had looked at Kim. Somehow, even then, she had known it would not have been the same.
A voice calling her name brought Kayla from her memories. She looked around and saw a dark-haired man walking in her direction.
"Kayla . . . Kayla Brady?" he called.
She looked closely at the man, then smiled and called, "Charlie Rogers? Is that you?"
Charlie stopped before Kayla and smiled down at her. "Kayla Brady. What on earth are you doing here?"
"Just taking in the sights," Kayla said. "What about you? The last I heard you were a fancy attorney in Chicago."
"I'm working in the governor's office now," Charlie replied. "Are you living in the capitol now?"
"No. I'm still living in Salem. . . . And it's Kayla Johnson now." Kayla smiled as she flashed her ring at Charlie.
"So I guess some guy was smarter than me, and snapped you up when he had the chance, huh?"
Kayla chuckled at the twinkle in Charlie's eye. Charlie had been one of Kayla's major crushes in high school. But Charlie had only had eyes for her older sister.
"You could say that," Kayla said, thinking of how long it had taken for her to get Steve to "smarten up."
"Is your husband here somewhere?" Charlie asked. "I'd love to meet the man who just broke my heart."
Kayla laughed at Charlie's comment. He had always been such a flirt. "Just broke your heart, huh? I bet you haven't even thought of me since high school graduation. But to answer your question, no. Steve's back in Salem with our daughter. I'm heading home tomorrow."
"Well then, I guess I have you all to myself tonight." Charlie wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"You're impossible, Charlie," Kayla said, laughing. "You always were a shameless flirt. Although, as I recall, you spent more time flirting with my sister than you ever did with me."
"Ouch." Charlie clutched his heart. "You wound me." Offering Kayla his arm, he said, "Allow me to attempt to make up for the errors of my childhood and accompany you on your sightseeing."
Kayla rolled her eyes, but took Charlie's offered arm. "It's going to be a quick tour. I have to leave in about an hour."
"Why, Ms. Kayla, do you have another date tonight?" Charlie asked with a raised brow.
"Something better," Kayla replied, raising her own brow. "A phone call with my husband."
Laughing, Charlie began walking down the streets of the fair. "Don't worry. I promise to deliver you back to the entrance in an hour - unless I can persuade you to run away with me before then."
Kayla joined Charlie's laugh as they walked along. It felt like forever since she had shared such a carefree moment with a friend, and she decided to enjoy it. She could forget about her hearing and the craziness at home in Salem for at least an hour.