Reunion Romance

by J. L. Ryan

  April and Nigel joined in this. Nigel showed April a few simple steps for ballroom dancing, and they moved together to the music. With his arm around her waist, leading her in steps, April felt her desire swell up through her body again. She wanted to kiss him and knew that would not be proper here. They spotted the couple from the trail and exchanged smiles. As they danced past, April caught a snippet of their conversation and realized they were enjoying their anniversary here together.

  “ This is a magical place,” April said as Nigel guided her off the dancefloor and over to a table where drinks were set out for guests.

  “ Oh?” Nigel handed her a glass of punch and looked at her curiously.

  “ The couple on the trail today, they’re enjoying their anniversary here.”

  Nigel glanced out to the floor. “Is that so?”

  “ Apparently. I wonder how many other people are here for special occasions.”

  Nigel paused as he brought his glass to his lips and considered the people out on the dance floor. “I’ve never thought about it. I always just come up here and enjoy the mountains and the lake. I don’t really think about what is going on with the rest of the guests unless I know them personally.”

  “ I wonder about people sometimes,” April said. “When I was a child, I would watch people on the street and wonder where they were going to and coming from. When we would be in a restaurant, I would imagine what conversations people were having at other tables. I always found my life to be easy and boring, so it was a fun way to make things interesting.”

  “ Oh for things to be easy and boring.”

  April looked and saw Nigel’s eyes turn dark with thought again. She supposed that for him, a boring life would have been ideal. She could not imagine what it would have been like for him. Did he have grandparents battle for custody of him, or did servants and lawyers raise him. He did not talk about that in the Playboy interview. April found herself curious again, and wondered if she would have the chance to explore that deep into him.

  They danced for a few more songs before walking out onto the veranda and back up to Nigel’s cabin. They held hands as they walked, taking in the view of the stars above them. April concentrated on trying to remember the names of any of the stars and constellations she saw and was ashamed that she could not. She should know them. She had learned about them in high school.

  She never applied herself, and that knowledge drove home her precarious situation. She always assumed that he father’s money would be there to take care of her. She would just move from that security to the security of a man. Now, that option was not open to her. She was not marriageable material. She was fine for a fling, but she did not want to live her life being the naughty fling of rich men.

  She was going to have to decide on a direction for herself. She realized that depending on her mother was not the answer either. She was an adult. It was time that she acted it, and took on the responsibilities that brought.

  Nigel let her into the cabin and followed her inside. He walked to the fireplace and turned on the gas starter. The logs, April realized, were only for show, to create a simulated fireplace. It was still beautiful, however, and she found herself pushing aside her thoughts and worries for another day.

  She walked over to the couch and sat down. Nigel joined her and when he leaned close to her, April welcomed his kiss and his arms around her waist. She thought of making love to him in front of the fireplace and her excitement grew.

  He broke the kiss and brought his hand up to April’s cheek. She looked into Nigel’s eyes and wondered at what thoughts were behind them. His eyes still looked contemplative and serious.

  “ I want you to stay with me,” Nigel said.

  April smiled. “I can sleep in your room if you’d like.” She knew that was not what he meant, even as she said the words. She did not want to have the conversation that was coming. She realized that she had been running from it since their shower today and she thought she understood why now.

  “ That will be nice, but that’s not what I mean,” Nigel said.

  April put her finger on his lips. He took her hand and kissed the back of it, bringing it back down to her lap.

  “ It is not fair,” he said. “You’re going through something you should not have to go through. Nothing that happened is your fault, but you’re suffering for it.”

  “ Lots of people suffer for things that aren’t there fault.” April suspected that Nigel suffered a lot. What was it actually like, growing up the son of a woman who killed herself and her husband? How many years did he spend wondering if that would happen to him? How many people treated him as if it would?

  Nigel let out a sigh. “They do. I would help every single one of them if I could. We can’t. We can only help those we can.” He paused and sat back. “Do you know about what happened when I was a child?”

  April nodded her head. “I read an interview where you talked some about it.”

  “ The woman who took me out of the fire, she was my nanny. She was a kind woman. She was stern, and I grew up thinking she was mean sometimes. She took care of me. She did not have to stay with me. She could have let my family’s lawyers find someone else. She was burned very badly in the fire. I lied when I told the interviewer I didn’t remember the night very well. I did, but I didn’t want to talk about it. She refused to let the paramedics treat her or take her to the hospital until she knew I was okay. She ended up being scarred very badly because of that, but it was the kind of woman she was. She stayed because I was the person she could help.”

  April took in a deep breath and squeezed Nigel’s hand tightly.

  “ I want to help you. You were not working here because you wanted to. You were here because you had to be. No one should have to work like that. I don’t want you to have to work like that.”

  April felt her heart filling and breaking at the same time. She cared about Nigel, more deeply and more quickly than she thought she would ever care about anyone. She could see herself easily falling in love with him, if she were not there already. She appreciated what he wanted to do, and she thought she understood what it meant to him.

  That did not mean she could just accept it.

  “ Did you know I couldn’t name a single constellation in the sky tonight?” April asked.

  Nigel gave a small laugh. “I think I know the Big Dipper and Little Dipper. Not everyone knows the constellations.”

  “ No, but people can point to the things they do know,” April said. “I can’t. My whole life I have depending on other people. I depended on my father to put me through school. I knew I just had to wait to get married and have another man to depend on for my livelihood. If it didn’t work out, I would be able to get a nice alimony settlement and probably more money from Daddy again.

  “ I can’t do that anymore. It doesn’t matter that it’s not fair. It matters that it life now. If I go back to school, I can get a real degree. I can figure out what I want to do with my life and do it, and not have to depend on anyone else.”

  Nigel brought his hand up to her cheek again. “It’s a hard place, I know. The most important person in your life let you down, and depending on another person after that is scary. What happens if I let you down?”

  April felt her heart break. She did not want to look at Nigel that way, but he was right. That was exactly what she was scared of. It was more than that, though. She could not expect him to pick up where others left off in taking care of her. It was not just a matter of what he might do anymore. It was what she had to do.

  “ You’re such a wonderful person,” April said. She leaned against the back cushion of the couch and let herself gaze into Nigel’s eyes. “From most of the stories I’ve read about you, you’re this carefree playboy who does philanthropy and just enjoys his money. You really are so much more than that. It’s not that I think you would hurt me. I’m scared of it, but I know better. It’s also what I have to do for me.”

  Nigel leaned his head against th
e back cushion and looked at her, silent in whatever contemplation he was in.

  “ I have no idea how I’m going to do this. A lot of people work their way through college. Some of them take student loans. I can do that too if I have to. If I talk to the financial counselors, they’ll help me find a job and work out a schedule that I can pay for. I can always change schools if I need to. People do it every day. I’m no one special; I just thought I was for a long time.”

  Nigel let out a deep breath. She could see understanding and acceptance in his eyes.

  “ I could see you with a career. I think if you find something that you’re passionate about, you could really put yourself into it and do something amazing,” he said. “I would like to see that.”

  April smiled. “Thank you.”

  “ Can I pay for school?” Nigel sat up again.

  April was stunned and unsure how to answer his question. He had turned this around somehow and she felt as though she had been flipped on her head. “Pay for school?”

  Nigel nodded. “I see the people who work their way through college. Sometimes they can pursue what they want. Sometimes they have to compromise. I want you to find and pursue whatever you want. I can pay for your school. You can stay on campus or with me, which ever you want. I won’t pressure you there, though I would like to keep seeing you after this week.”

  April’s mind was still trying to catch up to this strange change in their conversation. She tried to find words, and could not get anything to make sense from her mind to her mouth.

  “ You can say yes,” Nigel said. “I would really like that.”

  April let out a laugh and sat up. She shook her head and looked down, trying to let her mind finish playing catch up. Nigel was serious about helping her. She did not think it was just some passing fancy of his. His understanding and his persistence told her how intent he was on this. She looked up and smiled at him. “Okay. But I get to pay you back for my school, even if I’m just donating it to your foundation. I appreciate it, but I want to be able to give something back to you.”

  Nigel returned her smile and broadened it. “I can accept that. You will have to apply yourself, though. I fully expect you to find a career that you can follow through on.”

  April moved closer to him on the couch. “I promise. I’ll think about it this summer and decide.” She paused before kissing him and pulled back. “What do I do during the summers?”

  Nigel put his arms around her waist and pulled her down to him. “I’m sure we can negotiate something.”

  He kissed her. April welcomed his tongue through her lips. She thought again of making love to him in front of the fireplace and moved her hands up to unbutton his shirt.

  It was a good place to start.

  *****

  Billionaire Obsession

  Marisa stared down at the eviction notice, reading it a second time as her eyes skimmed over the letter. “You are hereby ordered to leave the premises in one week,” she read out loud. She could feel the tears stinging the back of her eyes. She knew that it was only a matter of time, being two months behind rent and no sign of when she could catch up. It was just one thing after another, which of course, caused her weight to spiral out of control even more. She hated it.

  She put the letter in her purse and got out of the car. She could only hope that the hours at her waitress job would begin to pick up. She entered the restaurant, passing through the dining area to get to the time clock.

  She nodded to the occasional regular customer, giving them her best smile. She didn’t want to show the outside world just how much she was struggling. When she got in the break room, she headed to the table that always held the new schedule. She looked around and saw that her friend, Chad, was there. “Hey, Marisa, the schedule isn’t out yet.”

  “ Oh…” her face fell, then went to the hallway where her boss’ door was wide open. “Is Frank in a good mood?” she asked, with a lighthearted laugh.

  Chad shrugged, “Haven’t really had to talk to him.” He stood up from the table and smiled her way. “See ya around.” She nodded, “Bye, Chad.”

  She headed down the hallway and peeked inside to find that he was looking down at some papers and she wondered if it was the schedule. She knocked and he looked up briefly, then his head went back down. “Hello,” he mumbled.

  “ Hello,” she nervously looked around the office. “May I talk to you for just a minute?”

  He seemed to groan, as he looked back up. “Sure.”

  “ Well…I don’t exactly know how to approach the subject.”

  He rolled his eyes, “Just say it.” She sat down in the chair that was facing him. His expectant stare was nerve wracking. “See, I was hoping that maybe next week I could have some extra hours, anything that you can give me.” She was pleading, but she was desperate. She didn’t want to tell him about the eviction notice, so she hoped that it wouldn’t come to that.”

  He looked away from her. She saw a pained expression in his eyes. “Marisa, we need to talk.” She didn’t like the sound of that, but she just nodded. “I was going to tell everyone this in a couple of days, but there really is no reason dragging it on. You have been a valuable employee for the last five years and I owe you that much.”

  Her jaw dropped, it didn’t sound like happy news that he was about to share. “What are you trying to say, Frank?” His eyes fell to the stack of papers on his desk. He leaned forward, ruffling through the stack. When his hand landed on a paper, he removed it and handed it to her. She looked down at the pink slip. She skimmed through the notice stating that she was being fired. She looked up at him, but couldn’t find the words. “I’m sorry, Marisa. If I had any other way…I would take it.”

  “ You’re firing me?”

  “ I’m closing the restaurant,” he slowly spoke. “It hasn’t been good for us. You know the lack of hours and I don’t foresee it getting better.”

  “ When?” she asked, hoping that the tears wouldn’t start falling.

  “ The buyer wants us out in two weeks.”

  She covered her face. She was at a loss for words. “So, you have already sold it?”

  He nodded, “I didn’t want to spring it on you guys.”

  She stood up from the chair, angry that her world was spinning out of control. She couldn’t fight back the tears much longer. “Spring it on us? Frank, we all have to look for jobs. Did you think of that?”

  “ I know, but…” She brushed away a tear that had fallen down her cheek. “I’m sorry, but you don’t know.” She looked away, “I have to clock in.” She turned from him.

  “ Marisa, wait…” he began.

  She just shook her head and glanced back toward him. “I need time to think.”

  “ Please don’t tell anyone.”

  She turned around and sighed heavily. “Really? You want the rest of the staff to be shocked by the news more than they already will be?”

  “ I need to tell them and I will tell them.”

  She nodded, “Fine. I’ll give you twenty four hours,” she headed out of the office and slid her badge through the time clock. She let out a slow breath, to calm down her nerves, before pushing through the break room door. She needed to figure out what she was going to do and she had no time to waste.

  ***

  Marisa walked in her apartment and headed for the kitchen as she usually did when she was stressed, sad, upset, or depressed. She grabbed a pint of chocolate chip ice cream out of the freezer, but quickly put it back. Instead, she reached for the bottle of wine to pour herself a glass.

  She needed something to unwind with. When she poured the glass and lifted it to her lips, she found herself thinking about what she was going to do. She put the glass down and reconsidered the ice cream. She went to her room and grabbed her laptop and then took it back to the kitchen. She took a drink and then turned the computer on.

  She punched in a website to search for a job. As she narrowed it down to places that were based on location, she
gradually looked down the list. She sipped her wine, taking in the positions. Many of the places she wasn’t qualified for, but then her eyes fell on a few positions that were in search of secretaries, assistants, or receptionists. She jotted down their information, then closed her laptop.

  She figured it was too late to do anything about the eviction, but she needed to find a job. She downed the rest of the wine and put the dish in the sink. She headed upstairs and turned on the water in the bath, pouring in his some bubbles. She pulled her clothes off and got into the bath, sinking down so that the bubbles were covering her completely. She could feel the tears falling down her face and she sniffled.

  She hated feeling this way. She was alone and losing everything that was important to her. While she always loved her curves, she was trying to get back into shape, and joined a gym. After losing her job though, she'd have to cancel her membership.

  As she wiped a tear from her eye, she heard her cellphone ringing. She grabbed a towel, wiping her arms off and then reached across to her pants, where she removed the phone. She saw on the caller ID that it was her mother. She groaned, but quickly answered the call.

  “ Hey, Mom.”

  “ How’s it going?” She asked. Her voice was cheerful, causing Marisa to try to push away her worries.