A woman stood with puffy eyes and tears going down her face, bracing against the chilling winds on the curb. A mountain of luggage towered beside her. Her arm seemed heavy as she attempted hailing a cab. She felt his eyes on her while she stood there, the eyes of the man she loved. She began turning to look at the slender house that kept the man, but was interrupted by a cab pulling up beside her. The plain faced cab driver got out and loaded her luggage while she got in, still feeling his eyes. The inside of the cab was warm compared to the frozen outside. It felt cozy. The plain faced man climbed back into the cab.

“Where are we off to, miss?”
“Chicago Union Station, please.” The woman couldn’t help herself. She turned to the bland house and, inside the large front window, she saw the silhouette of the man. She quickly looked away a began blinking rapidly so clear away any tears that might appear. She pulled out her cellphone and dialed her mother’s number.
“Hey, mom.”
“Huh?” the cab driver said from the front seat.
“Oh-- sorry, I’m actually on the phone.”
“Ah! That makes more sense.”
“Hey mom” she said again, this time directed to the phone.
“Jane, honey! We haven’t heard from you in so long, how are you?”
“I’m good. I was actually just calling to tell you that I’m moving closer to you and dad.” She questioned me for a second, making sure she heard me correctly. “Yeah, I got a promotion at work and they moved me out to Washington.”
“Oh, honey! That’s amazing news! When are you moving?”
“Now, actually.” I sighed.
“Now? That’s pretty short notice, huh? Well I’m sure you and Felix won’t have a problem with that.”
“No, actually, Felix isn’t coming with me.”
“He isn’t? Well yes, I would expect you two would have to put the house on the market. How long is it going to take to sell, do you think?”
“He isn’t selling the house, Mom. He isn’t coming with me. He is staying here in Chicago.”
“Why isn’t he coming with you?”
“He just.. won’t. I don’t know.”
“Jane, what happened?”
“I found out about the promotion last night, so I went home and I told him everything. He said no, that I had to choose. It was either him or the job.”
“And you chose the job. Oh, Janie honey.”
“Well don’t sound so disappointed, mom. You are always saying how you wish I lived closer to you. Now that’s possible, right?”
“Well, yes, but I had always imagined that Felix would be coming with you. I mean, you know how much your father and I liked him. He was a keeper.”
“I know he was.”
“You know, you were lucky to have him. You shouldn’t have given him up. You’ll be lucky if you can find another man like him.”
“Mom I- I have to go. I’ll call you in a bit. Bye” Jane hung up before her mom could say something to stop her.
“He’s a douche.”
“What?”
“The guy you were talking about. He’s a douche.”
“He just doesn’t understand i guess.”
“No- what’s your name?””
“Jane”
“Well Jane, if there is one thing I have learned throughout my years of driving cabs it’s that sometimes you have to leave them behind, metaphorically and physically.”
“That sounds a lot easier said than done.”
“Jane, I’m going to be blunt with you. When one person loves another person, they will do anything for them. They would follow them to the ends of the earth if doing so makes them happy. And while I do not know the details of your situation, I do know what love is. The actions of this, Felix guy, are not the actions of a man in love.” The plain faced man continued to share his wisdom with naive Jane until they reached the station. He pulled up to the curb in front of the station and got out to unload her bags. Jane opened the door and reemerged into the chilling cold wind. After the man had unloaded her bags onto the curb he held his hand out for her to shake. She shook it, thanked him, paid the fair, and left.
She thought about her newfound knowledge as she walked through the station and realized that everything the plain faced man had said was right. Until that moment, the guilt of her decision had hung over her. She didn’t feel guilty anymore, but the relief of letting her guilt go had not helped her feel any better about her newly ended relationship.  Her phone began to ring in her pocket. “Felix” light up on the screen. Her thumb hovered over the decline button, but she swiped answer.
“Hello?”
“Jane, listen. I want us to talk about this.”
“Felix.. I don’t know. Are we right together?”
“We had a simple fight, this is nothing to break up over. Come on, Jane. Come back home.”
“No, Felix. I’m going. And if you loved me you would respect that.”
“I do respect it! I respect that you have the ambition to pick up your life and leave for a job. But you don’t need to leave when you have me here, when you have your life here.”
“Why don’t you come with me?”
“Jane you can’t ask something like that. I have my life set up here. With you. This is where you belong. So just come home.”
After a few moments of silence Jane said “You can stay here in Chicago, but I’m going to Washington. This opportunity doesn’t come along everyday, and I’m taking it. Goodbye, Felix.”
“Jane wait--”. She hung up and proceeded to the ticket booth, hauling her luggage behind her.
“One ticket to Washington, please.”
“That’s a lot of luggage,” the clerk stated. “Are you moving there?”
“Yeah, I am.” Jane smiled at the woman as she handed her her ticket, grabbed all of her luggage, and made her way over to the boarding platform. She no longer felt any pain from the thought of Felix; instead, she felt free to do what made her happy.