The Arrangement

The Surrender

Dan appeared at noon and asked if I was okay. I assured him I was. I had some sore muscles, but no real injuries.

He took a deep breath. "I decided if I want to make my father proud, then expanding our product line will accomplish it. My dreams can come later."

He looked defeated and I asked if he was sure.

He nodded and deep down, I felt like I had lost. Lost what? Dan?

"My secretary is finishing our proposal. She'll send you a draft before the end of the day. That gives us a few days to fine tune it. Did you see we're having brunch guests on Sunday?"

"Yeah, I saw the email. I guess we did it. We're both still breathing." My effort to lighten the mood fell flat.

I had a desire to reach out and comfort him, but he turned and walked away. I sat with a tight chest as my eyes ached and began to tear up.

Dan stayed out late every night. We worked on the draft, but mostly through email. I wouldn't admit even to myself, just how much I missed him.

Left with nothing else to do, I spent Saturday moving my belongings back to my condo. I would be home for good by Monday. The thought of living alone made me sad. I had grown used to the company.

Over the course of the summer, I moved on in my mourning process. Being at the house my mother loved helped me to remember her without feeling so sad. Having Patricia to talk to worked like therapy.

My only regret was the friendship I thought Dan and I had built had vanished. This fact confused me, because at the accident site I thought he cared. Somehow I managed to fall in love with him again.

On Sunday night, I couldn't sleep. I felt restless and had a dull headache that wouldn't go away. I got up with the intent to sit on the porch. When I saw his door open, I was drawn to it. Standing in his doorway, I watched him sleep. He was on his back and most of his covers had fallen off him. He looked like he had been restless too. I could just make out his chest and waist. It was the vision that had haunted me all summer.

I stood for a long time and wasn't nervous he might wake. I felt more vulnerable in the middle of the night than in the light of day. Deep down I knew I wanted to walk over to him and apologize and hope that he would pull me onto his bed. I had so many fantasies involving him on a bed.

When I finally turned, I went back to bed and Hershey followed me. I cuddled with her and finally found sleep on my wet pillow.

Our fathers arrived while Dan was out walking Hershey. When he returned Hershey ran right to me. I would really miss her. Who was I kidding? I was going to miss him more.

Dan walked up to his father. "I know you bet against me, but you lost. We followed your rules and we have a proposal to present to you."

Jim laughed. "There was no bet. When Ray motivated Paige with the idea of the bet, I realized the surest way to motivate you was to make you think you had to prove something to me. I had more confidence in you than Ray had in Paige."

"Dad!" I exclaimed.

"I was convinced your boyfriend would cause trouble." My father defended himself.

"He almost did." I looked at Dan, who looked away.

"What's your proposal?" Jim asked. "To save the planet?"

"No, we're proposing a new product line." Dan handed out our glossy packets.

They each took some time to look them over. My father looked serious, while Jim had a grin on his face. He looked pleased and I couldn't hold my tongue. "We knew we couldn't support both our ideas. We never got to rock, paper, scissors, because Dan decided increasing our product line was in the best interest of O&C."

"I'm proud of you son." Jim slapped him on the back and pulled him into a hug.

Dan earned what he wanted from his father and didn't even smile. With a sigh, he asked, "What's next?"

My father said, "We need to look at this closer, but you're both free to go home. I'd like my housekeeper back."

I looked around. "Where is Patricia?"

Jim said, "She left. You two are free to stay and enjoy the day. Paige, this is your home. You may stay on The Point whenever you want. I have missed it."

Dan looked at the floor "Then I'm going."

He must have moved his things out as well, because he left with one bag and his dog.

"See you Tuesday," he said, as his only goodbye.

When I arrived home, I could think of nothing, but Dan. I remembered him helping me climb the rocks and catching me when I fell. I remembered how much he loved his dog. The way he was with her, told me he had a gentle and loving heart. I remembered he had to stop looking at me on the boat, just as I couldn't stop remembering him without his shirt. How could I not love a man who had a tattoo on his arm showing off he loved his mother?

I knew I needed to find out what went wrong between us, before we let another ten years slip away.