Possibilities: A Contemporary Retelling of Persuasion

by Debra White Smith

  “Okay,” Frederick said and studied Jim some more.

  “Are you okay?” Jim asked.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “You keep looking at me weird.”

  “Maybe because you’re acting weird.”

  “Am I?” Jim gazed back out the window and laughed.

  Suddenly Frederick no longer felt like hanging out, nibbling cookies and strawberries, and watching Buffy protect her territory until Louise woke up. He needed some space. He needed to think about what he hadn’t allowed himself to think about in weeks—like how in the world he’d been talked into an engagement with a woman he didn’t love who was nearly young enough to be his daughter, how he was going to get out of it, and what his chances were of ever getting Allie back.

  “Hey, Jim, will you please tell Mrs. G. I’m going for a walk?” Frederick asked. “I’ll be back in time for dinner.”

  “What? Did you say something?” Jim queried, turning his nonplussed gaze toward Frederick.

  “A walk,” Frederick replied. “I’m going for a walk. Be back in an hour. Tell Mrs. Grove. Okay?”

  “Gotcha covered.” Jim gave Frederick a thumbs-up along with a grin that was way too goofy.

  Frederick narrowed his eyes, looked toward the game room, and strode outside. He retrieved his icy Coke from the mini cooler in the backseat and marched down the lane that led to the guesthouse where Allie had stayed. When the lane crossed the stream, he hung a left and followed the stream until the bridge came into view.

  After unscrewing the Coke lid, Frederick slowed, took a long swallow, closed his eyes, and relished the burn. He moved closer to the bridge, squatted beside it, and picked up a pebble. Pitching the stone into the gurgling water, he watched it sink to the bottom. Standing, he walked onto the bridge, placed his elbows on the handrail, and stared into the water. The Coke chilled his hand as his new decision chilled his heart.

  “I can’t marry her,” he whispered and shook his head. “I just can’t.” It doesn’t matter that I was partly responsible for what happened. But I can’t accept full blame. I didn’t force Louise to get on top of that plane. And even if it is the most honorable thing to marry her . . . I don’t love her, and I never will.

  “I can’t do this to myself,” Frederick whispered. He straightened and turned toward the guesthouse, allowing memories of Allie to flow unchecked. His hands shaking, he downed a fourth of the Coke and wondered what the possibilities were of Allie Elton giving him another chance and God granting him a graceful way out of this engagement.

  Thoughts of Jim’s goofy grin teased Frederick’s mind. He closed his eyes and considered the implications. From the first, Frederick thought Jim and Louise would be good for each other. Louise would liven Jim up and help him heal, while he would hopefully bring some maturity and balance to her life. Frederick still held to that conviction.

  Fleetingly he recalled the day Louise broke her neck. He’d prayed that very day that Jim might become attracted to Louise. Given Jim’s cheerful flirting now, Frederick wondered what the chances were that God was answering his prayer.

  Maybe I’m being two-timed, he thought and never imagined he’d be so thrilled at such a prospect. If he wasn’t being two-timed, Frederick wondered how much the chances would improve if he got out of the way and let nature take its course.

  He smiled and decided an immediate change in schedule was in order. Darren had originally wanted to fly to Dallas this evening for a meeting with their adoption agency tomorrow afternoon. After years of trying to have a baby, he and Sophia had finally decided to go ahead and adopt some children—as in three of them from South Korea. They’d wanted to fly to Dallas tonight, spend the night, and get rested up for the meeting tomorrow, but Darren had agreed to wait and fly out in the morning so Frederick could pay a quick visit to Louise.

  If Darren still wanted to go to Dallas tonight, Frederick was going to make himself available for the flight. That would put Jim and Louise together all evening. Then, if Frederick was conveniently busy the next couple of weeks, he could call Jim and ask him to please visit Louise more often—as a favor for a friend, of course.

  With a sly smile, Frederick pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He’d recently read that sometimes God answers our prayers through us, if we’ll just take the time to listen. Frederick believed he had listened. And he now had a plan. Never had he felt so God-inspired as he tapped the screen for Darren’s number.

  Thirty-One

  Two weeks later Allie twirled around the empty townhouse’s living room until her long skirt fanned away from her legs. She couldn’t believe she’d finally done it. Allie had leased her own place. No one knew. No one. Not Aunt Landon or even Sarah Hamilton. At least, Sarah didn’t know yet. Allie was awaiting her return call. She’d spent last weekend at Sarah’s place and received the support and encouragement she needed to finally fulfill her dream. Sarah even told her about the new apartments several streets over.

  Now all Allie needed was the courage to tell her family she was moving out on her own. Once she established her freedom, Allie planned to apply for a job. If her family found out, fine. If they didn’t, fine. Allie would be her own woman by then, and she could do what she liked with her life.

  After collapsing to the floor, she flopped back onto the cottony carpet and moved her arms and legs in broad arcs as if she were a child in the snow making an angel. The smells of new carpet and wood and paint blended together for a heady rush of delight. Allie laughed out loud and hopped up. Construction had just been completed on this block of upscale townhouses, and Allie was one of the first tenants to lease a place. She’d chosen the one on the corner because it was closest to the flower garden.

  Allie skipped to the window, opened the wooden blinds, and peered onto the garden, bright with the blooms of early June. Petunias and periwinkles, geraniums and roses offered their beauty to the world in a showcase of color that heightened her spirits.

  A trio of bumblebees, zipping from one bloom to the next, reminded Allie of Brent’s episode with her bee and his subsequent intrusion into her life. As she’d predicted, the guy just would not go away, and Aunt Landon was fully on his side. Once she forwarded him the information on the duck email program, he then possessed her email address. Seldom a day went by that she didn’t get a message from him. Most of the time Allie deleted his notes without answering.

  Meanwhile, Aunt Landon had all but proposed to him for Allie, and Allie was convinced that if Brent had been ten years older, Landon would have proposed for herself. Allie frowned and wondered what it would take to once and for all remove Brent from her life. She certainly didn’t want him coming to her new place—especially not when Macy and the twins were visiting.

  Since she’d left the guesthouse, Allie and Macy had kept in closer touch than ever. Macy and the twins had even come for a visit to Aunt Landon’s several weeks ago. During the visit, Allie had discreetly probed for news of Frederick and learned what she feared most. He was a regular visitor at Grove Acres and was fully devoted to Louise. Macy had delivered the news with her heart in her eyes and hadn’t elaborated. Allie had been thankful that her sister had pretended not to notice Allie’s red-rimmed eyes the next morning. In the last few days, Allie had resigned herself to the fact that Frederick was just not coming back. Despite all her hoping and praying, Allie understood that she’d lost him forever.

  She swallowed against the lump in her throat and decided not to allow the Frederick issues to cloud her moment. Sometime during the last few weeks, Allie had decided she should take her own advice to Jim. It was time for her to move on with her life. She’d pined for Frederick enough. And even though she would never stop loving him and would probably never get married because of that love, Allie knew the time had come for some closure on the ten-year yearning. And part of being her own woman involved knowing she could carve out a life without Frederick. She’d have much preferred to live in matrimonial bliss from now on, but since that was denied her, she would em
brace her independence and make the best of it.

  She gazed around the room again and envisioned Macy visiting with the twins. Macy hadn’t been convinced Allie would actually go through with her plan.

  “Boy, will she be surprised,” Allie said through a broad grin.

  Everything was perfect. Everything. Now all Allie needed was furniture.

  Her cell burst into a round of short dings, and Allie ran to her purse near the front door to retrieve the phone. A quick glance at the screen proved the caller to be Sarah.

  Allie answered the call with a high-pitched squeak before she burst out, “I did it! I leased one of the townhouses!”

  “You did!” Sarah exclaimed.

  “Yes, I did it! I’m here in Atlanta now, and I am so excited! Now all I need is furniture! Want to go shopping with me?”

  “You’re not going to believe this,” Sarah interjected, “but I just got off the phone with Mom. You know she stayed on at Elton Mansion as cook after you guys left.”

  “Yes, I remember,” Allie said. “You were exasperated because she wouldn’t take early retirement and let you lease her an apartment near your place.”

  “Right, right, right,” Sarah hurried, then paused and said, “I can’t get her to take a dime! She’s as hardheaded as—”

  “As you are?” Allie teased. Sarah’s mom was every bit as spunky as Sarah and then some. Once she set her mind, there was no turning back.

  Sarah cleared her throat. “I owe you one,” she growled and continued her spiel. “Anyway, I just got off the phone with Mom. She said Sophia Cosby wants to totally redo the third floor because she and her husband are adopting three siblings from South Korea, and they want the top floor to be all for them—a game room and the whole nine yards.”

  “You’re kidding!” Allie breathed. “What are they going to do with all my furniture, then?”

  “Mom says Sophia’s going to call your dad to find out what he wants to do—put it in storage or what.”

  Allie began to run in place. “They can just bring it over here!” she exclaimed and imagined the whole place decorated in rich, classic pieces.

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking. I didn’t know if you’d already leased the place, but I thought you might want to know before she actually calls your father.”

  “By all means yes!” Allie shouted. “Most everything on the third floor belongs to me. What I didn’t buy, Aunt Landon gave me. I can’t believe this!”

  “I think it’s a God thing,” Sarah said. “He knows you’ve been wanting to move out on your own. Now that you’re finally taking the steps, He’s right there with you to make it all work out. Go claim your stuff!”

  “Okay, I will. I’ll go right away. If she calls Dad and then I say I have a place for the stuff, he’ll want to know all the details. And, well . . .” Allie huffed and worriedly rubbed her forehead. “I’m not ready to tell him yet. I don’t have my speech planned or anything!”

  Sarah chuckled. “Okay, look, I’ll call my mom back right now. She’s at the mansion. I’ll tell her to tell Sophia you’re on your way, okay?”

  “Yes! By all means yes!” Allie hollered again and disconnected the call without bidding adieu. “Oh!” she said and looked at the screen to read the words “Call Ended.” Sarah will understand, she decided.

  Allie snatched up her purse, grabbed her keys, and darted for the front door. And with every step she prayed Sophia Cosby hadn’t already called her dad.

  Thirty-Two

  Frederick paced the hospital office suite like an expectant father. Jim had texted yesterday, asking if Frederick would meet him at his new office at the hospital. As things turned out, Jim had just been invited to work as an understudy to the head of ER. The older gentleman planned to retire in a couple years. He’d taken an immediate liking to Jim, and the administrator and hospital board loved the idea of the physician grooming Jim for his position. When Jim agreed, he’d been given an in-hospital office and a secretary.

  The secretary was long gone today, and Jim’s office was locked. Frederick wondered if he’d misunderstood the time. He sat on the edge of a leather chair and checked his watch. He’d been gone for two weeks; the least Jim could do was meet him on time for this impromptu meeting. Frederick leaned back, crossed his legs, and began shaking his foot. The laces on his running shoe flopped with the movement, and Frederick picked a piece of lint off his athletic shorts. The early June temperature was promising that July was going to be blazing hot, and Frederick hadn’t felt like dressing in anything but shorts and a light shirt this morning.

  His back immediately notified him that it didn’t appreciate the shaking or the way he’d slouched into the chair. Frederick carefully stood and tried to straighten. When his back caught, he winced and gradually stood erect. He’d allowed his prescription-strength ibuprofen to wear off and had just swallowed a couple over-the-counters at the water fountain in the hallway. The medication couldn’t begin to work fast enough.

  He decided it was time to call Jim. When Jim had texted Frederick to request the meeting, his words had seemed somewhat formal and a little uncertain. Frederick had instantly responded and assured Jim he didn’t mind flying down for the meeting. He was scheduled to shuttle Darren and Sophia back to Dallas tomorrow anyway.

  Two weeks ago, Frederick had gone through with his plan, right down to asking Jim to check on Louise in his absence. Playing the part of the clueless fiancé, Frederick called Louise regularly, all the while praying that sparks were flying between her and Jim. So it was with great anticipation that Frederick agreed to this meeting with Jim. He hoped Jim’s unnatural tone in the text could be attributed to a true friend who was as nervous as a long-tailed cat at a rocking chair convention. If Jim and Louise were falling in love and Jim believed Frederick loved Louise, then his nervousness would be a given.

  Frederick prepared to press Jim’s number on his cell when the door flew open and Jim breezed into the room.

  “Oh man, I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting,” Jim said. He shifted a manila folder to his left hand and extended his right hand to Frederick as if he were a new acquaintance.

  Frederick shook his hand.

  “Great to see you,” Jim continued and fidgeted with the manila folder.

  “You too,” Frederick said and tried to smile into Jim’s eyes, but Jim averted his gaze to the corner snack shelf.

  “Want some coffee?” He dropped the folder on the secretary’s desk and hurried toward the pot.

  “No, that’s fine. You know me—I never touch that stuff. I’ve heard it’s not good for you.”

  Jim’s laugh held an anxious edge. He removed the stethoscope from beneath his lab coat’s collar and dropped it on top of the folder. “Yeah, neither is Coke,” Jim shot back and moved to the edge of the desk. He sat on the edge with one foot still on the floor for support. Jim crossed his arms and swung his other leg. Still he refused to look Frederick in the eyes.

  Frederick’s hopes soared to such a level of certainty that he had to stop himself from bursting into cheers. He rubbed his hands together. While he was able to suppress the cheering, he couldn’t stop the broad grin.

  “So what’s up? Why the meeting?” he asked, his words thick with the smile.

  Jim jumped up, walked around the secretary’s desk, and then back again. He placed one hand on his hip, started to say something, then whipped around and landed in the rolling chair behind the desk. “We need to talk,” he finally said, and for the first time leveled a direct gaze at Frederick. Whatever had happened, the poor guy was eaten up with guilt.

  “Okay,” Frederick said and nearly laughed.

  Slumping back in the chair, Jim gripped the arms and stared at the ceiling. “Man, oh man, oh man,” he groaned.

  “What’s the deal?” Frederick prompted and hoped he sounded encouraging. If Jim would just come out with it, and if “it” was what Frederick hoped, the poor guy could be put out of his misery. But on the one percent chance that
Jim wasn’t trying to say “it,” then Frederick didn’t want to assume something that would insult his friend.

  Carefully Frederick settled back onto the edge of the chair, squared his feet, supported his spine, and hoped he looked as nonthreatening as a lamb. “Look, Jim,” he encouraged, “we’ve been friends since we were kids. . . .”

  “Do you have to remind me of that?” Jim challenged and stood. His face reddening, he clenched and unclenched his fists. “I . . . I . . .” Jim garbled out and sounded like he was drowning in his own remorse. His face blanched as swiftly as it had reddened, and horror came over his features.

  “I’ve got to go,” he said and hustled around the desk.

  Frederick jumped up, stood in front of his friend, and placed his hands on Jim’s shoulders. This was not a good back day, and his spine wasn’t happy about much of anything. It certainly hadn’t agreed with his jumping up so fast. Frederick gritted his teeth to keep from hollering against the pain.

  “Does this have anything to do with Louise?” he asked in an attempt to relieve Jim’s fears. Unfortunately he sounded more angry than anything else.

  Jim’s eyes grew wider by the second. “How did you know?” he wheezed and didn’t give Frederick time to answer. “You’re furious, and I don’t—I don’t blame you! I’m nothing but a cad! A low-life worm! You’re one of my best friends and I—I—”

  Frederick’s spine kicked him, and he couldn’t hold the verbal release. “Aaaahhhh!” he groaned and leaned against the desk.

  “Oh man, please don’t start crying!” Jim begged, and Frederick was sure the guy was about to wet his pants. “This is worse than I ever thought it could be.”

  Even in the middle of the pain, Frederick couldn’t ignore the hilarity. “I’m not crying,” he said through a pain-ridden chuckle. “It’s my back. It’s giving me all sorts of grief today.”