Char spent the next few days going over all the things she should have said in her head. Why hadn’t she waited, why hadn’t she said, “Let’s talk it over in the morning,” when she could have dealt with it rationally instead of in a rage? Why hadn’t she made him look at the inconsistencies in his emotional reactions? Why hadn’t she been a bit more understanding?
But most of all, why hadn’t she told him that she loved him?
It might have made a difference. Now she would never know. Because he was gone.
She and the boys said goodbye to the old Victorian a few days later, moving back into their house. Their neighbors were so glad to have them back—and to have the construction noise gone—they threw them a little party. It was a lot of fun to see friends they’d been missing for the last couple of months.
But what wasn’t fun was every evening when the boys looked at her with puzzled eyes and asked, “Where is Mr. Gecko?”
Ronnie said, over and over, his eyes huge with worry, “Mama, he’s gotta come see our house.”
And Ricky, who had grown especially close to Michael in his quiet way, said, “I’m saving my jelly beans from Dizzylan’ for him.”
Ricky was especially worried when he didn’t show up, but Ronnie missed him, too. They didn’t seem to understand her explanation that he had gone to Florida. One evening when the name of that state was mentioned on television, they both raced to sit in front of the screen, hoping to see the man they both missed like crazy.
She’d been calling around, getting recommendations for therapists. She wanted Ricky evaluated, but what she contemplated was a family appointment, so that the therapist could watch all three of them interact and make judgments based on real-time observation. Then she could get advice on whether or not she was blowing this whole thing out of proportion.
She missed Michael terribly. And there was one thing she could still do for him. By hook or by crook, she was determined to do what he’d wanted weeks ago—go to her uncle and convince him to give up his fight and make way for the White Stones project.
Putting a little new steel in her spine, she girded her resolve and headed for the beach one blustery afternoon. For once, she found him at home. But, to her surprise, he was packing up all his things.
“What are you doing?” she demanded. “Are you giving up the fight?”
“The fight?” He looked at her as though she’d gone stark raving mad. “What fight?”
“Uncle Zach, you know very well what fight!”
“Oh, you must be talking about my little rebellion against the big bad corporation.”
“Yes, that fight.”
“Ach, that’s in the past. Here, hand me that oar. I think I’ll pack it in with the mast.”
“Uncle Zach, come on. Come clean.”
“There’s nothing much to tell. I worked things out with your Michael Greco.” He shook a finger at her. “That’s one smart cookie you’ve got there. You better hang on to that boy. He’s going places.”
“He’s going places, all right. In fact, he’s gone.”
“Gone? Gone where?”
“To Florida.”
“Sorry to hear that. Maybe you should take a little trip, huh?”
She threw out her hands, exasperated with him. “Uncle Zach, tell me what happened.”
“We made a deal, Michael and I. It was mostly my doing, of course. You know, people have always said I have a great gift for storytelling. And I think I proved it the other day. In fact, I convinced that fellow of yours that the history of this area is precious enough that we oughta not lose it.”
“Really?” She watched him talk, stunned but growing ever more pleased with what he was telling her.
“Michael decided, if I were to sign over my property, he would pledge to use this part of it as a museum, a place where we’ll keep a record of all the peoples and animals that have come through here over the years, from saber-toothed tigers to missionaries to high tech. It’ll be a centerpiece to the resort, give it a theme to decorate around and all that. And I’m going to be curator.”
“You’re kidding!”
“Well, we’ll have a professional curator, of course. But I’m going to be the consultant. That’s where I’ve been lately—meeting with people, getting plans in place. I even spent some time in L.A.” He made a face. “So, you think it’s a good idea?”
“I think it’s a wonderful idea.”
“Yeah, that Michael Greco. Like I say, you’d better hang on to that guy.”
If only she could.
But she got a commitment from Zach to join them for Thanksgiving. She wasn’t really looking forward to it, and at the same time, she was telling herself she was being silly. It wasn’t like Michael had ever been with them on the holiday before. So why was she feeling as though it wasn’t going to be a very thankful day without him?
“Pure self-indulgent self-pity,” she told herself contemptuously. But that didn’t stop her.
Michael was lonely. It was the first time since he was a boy that he’d felt this alone. When Grace had left him, there had been enough anger and resentment to keep him warm at night. But now he didn’t have much of anything.
He’d been angry with Char over the things she’d said to him at first. But the more he thought her accusations over, the more he thought she’d seen right through him into some kind of truth that he’d never faced before. Funny. Had he used his sterility as a shield? In some ways, he imagined he had. It had almost become a sort of secret excuse to use when things didn’t go well. She was right. It was time to ditch it. He would have to think about that when he had more time.
He was working hard. The project was going well, though he was working every hour of his waking day to get things back in shape. The sooner he finished up, the sooner he might be assigned back to the West Coast. So far there hadn’t been a word on when he might be allowed to return.
And that brought up another question. Did he really want to go back? There was an easy answer. He was dying to.
He did take one break when a co-worker, Barney Higgs, invited him along to SeaPark one Sunday. By this time he’d realized he could probably use some kind of break to freshen his attitude. It was interesting seeing all the different fish and the killer whales and the dolphin shows.
The dolphins were the most intriguing, in his opinion. The pretty young girl in a skimpy outfit giving them a running commentary on what was going on in the larger tank told them something that made him think.
“Here is Freddy, our new little baby dolphin,” she said into her microphone. “Freddy’s mother died shortly after giving birth to him, which was very sad, but Freddy was immediately adopted by Gigi, who had just given birth about a month before. Their little family is so tight, we don’t think either of them remembers it was ever any other way.”
“That often happens with animals in the wild,” Barney said to Michael as they strolled on to the next exhibit. “The mother gets killed and the baby animal gets adopted by another one of the herd or whatever. Sometimes even by an animal of another species. Just like humans.” He laughed. “We’re all basically animals, I guess.”
He didn’t think much about it at the time, but that image of the baby dolphin stayed with him over the next few days, and he kept thinking about how easily the other dolphin had taken over the mothering.
It was finally dawning on him. He was the one who was out of step. He was the one who just didn’t get it. He couldn’t love Char’s boys any more if they were his flesh and blood. The whole animal kingdom was wiser than he was.
“What the hell’s the matter with me?” he muttered, staring at his reflection in the hotel room mirror. “What…have I been crazy all these years?”
“Yes,” the mirror said back. “Crazy and self-destructive and risking ruining your own life.”
“You’re right,” he said into it. “I’ve got paradise waiting for me out on the West Coast and here I am in Florida talking to a mirror.”
Still, what was he going to do about it? Work hard, he supposed, and see what happened.
The next day, he took a phone call from the Rio de Oro branch, as he often did, but this time, Char was on the line.
“Michael, is that you?”
“Yes,” he said. “Hi.” The sound of her voice was curling his hair.
“Hi,” she said back. “I’m sending you a report that needs some signatures. Is that okay?”
“Oh, sure.” He just wanted her to keep on talking. If he closed his eyes, he could see her pretty mouth as he heard her sexy voice.
“How are things?” she was saying.
“Oh, fine. Everything’s coming along pretty well.”
“I saw Uncle Zach. I know all about the deal you made with him.”
“Oh, that’s come through, has it?”
“Looks like.”
“Good.” The voice was so wonderful. He almost felt as though he could reach out and touch her. “And the boys?”
She hesitated. “Oh, they’re fine.”
Suddenly he saw them as well. “Do they miss me?” he asked, his voice just a little husky.
When she didn’t talk for a moment, his fingers tightened on the receiver.
“Char? Are you still there?”
“Yes.” She was obviously trying very hard to make her voice sound normal. “Yes, of course the boys miss you.”
Her voice was trembling and he began to worry. “Char, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Char. Something’s wrong. What happened?”
“Nothing.” She started to laugh softly. Or was that crying? He couldn’t be sure. “Nothing at all. Except that we all miss you.” Her voice broke and she said quickly, “I have to go now. Bye.”
“Char!”
But she was gone.
Just hearing that voice again tied his stomach in knots. This was insane. He had to get out of here. He had to get back to where it had seemed his life was worth living.
Char hung up and groaned, wiping her eyes. She couldn’t stand the thought of being one of those women who wept on the phone and begged men to come back to them. The phone rang, and for a moment, she considered ignoring it. But finally, she picked up the receiver.
“Chareen Wolf here.”
“Char? I’m coming back.”
It was Michael. Her heart leaped and she gasped.
“You’re coming back. For sure?”
“Yes. Right away.” There was a pause, then he added, “Do you want me to?”
“Yes. Oh, yes.” Tears were pouring from her eyes. She was just too emotional to keep things under control as she usually did.
“Are you crying?” he demanded.
“No,” she lied shakily.
“You’re crying,” he said accusingly.
“No, ignore that,” she told him. “I want to know why…how you’re coming back. Is the project finished back there?”
“I’ve got it on track. They can handle it. But I’m getting out of here. I’ve got to come see you and the boys.”
“You mean, you’re just coming on your own? Without the company’s blessing?”
“That’s right. If they don’t like it, they can fire me.”
She didn’t know what to say. This was so unexpected. “But Michael, what if they do?”
“Then I’ll get another job. Hell, I’ll go fishing with Zach every day if it comes to that.” His voice was warm, loving, just the way she liked to remember him best. “You just get ready, because I’m going to be there within the week.”
“I’ll be ready.”
“Good.”
She hung up and stood in the middle of the office, quivering. What did it mean? She couldn’t be sure. But she would be ready. Oh, boy, would she be ready!
She heard he was back at three in the afternoon on Friday, and she started running. She ran down the third-floor hallway, glanced at the open elevator and ignored it for the stairs, which she took two steps at a time, to the fourth floor, then ran down that hallway straight into his office. She didn’t stop to say anything to Lena. She didn’t ask if he was free. She just burst right into his office and flew right into his arms.
“Michael!” she cried, showering his beloved face with kisses. “Oh, Michael! Do you love me?”
“Yes,” he said readily, holding her tightly in his arms and looking a bit bemused. “I love you.”
“Great.” Her face was shining with relief. “Then, will you please marry me? Because I want to make love with you as soon as possible.”
“Miss Wolf, please” came a voice from right behind her. “This is a place where business is transacted, not a singles bar.”
She dropped from Michael’s arms and whirled to find Mrs. Leghorn frowning at her over her glasses.
“Oh,” she said, flushing. “I didn’t… I mean…”
“You are interrupting a very important meeting,” Mrs. Leghorn continued as though she hadn’t spoken at all. “Mr. Greco was attempting to explain this extraordinary behavior. He is supposed to be in Florida. He is not supposed to be here.”
“And I am trying to explain to Mrs. Leghorn,” Michael said, “that I am no longer interested in answering to the board as to what I am ‘supposed’ to be doing.”
Mrs. Leghorn rolled her eyes. “Cut the melodramatics,” she said crisply. “We know very well why you came back. Everyone knows everything in this company. Don’t try to pull the wool over our eyes.”
Michael glanced at Char and grinned. “They know it all,” he told her, shrugging.
“Everything?” She looked at Mrs. Leghorn and smiled, feeling impossibly happy and not sure if she deserved to just yet.
Mrs. Leghorn made a disapproving moue and went on. “You do know that plans are afoot to have you installed as the new vice president next week.”
Michael shrugged again, looking unconcerned. “Plans can change,” he said carelessly.
Her gaze sharpened. “Are you telling me you aren’t interested?”
“Well, that depends. Does the job mean I’ll be out here in California?”
Mrs. Leghorn sighed as though she were being indulgent to an unruly teenager. “That’s part of the bargain, of course. We’ve taken your preferences into account.” As an aside to Char, she said, “This new breed of executive. So pushy and spoiled.” Turning back to Michael, she added, “We think we can live with it.” She looked at him expectantly. “What say you?”
Michael grinned at Char. “I say, sounds pretty good. But the whole thing is conditional on whether or not Ms. Wolf will marry me.”
Char beamed at him. “Ms. Wolf ecstatically accepts the proposal, Mr. Greco,” she said.
His smile caressed her as surely as his hands might, and then he looked up at the older woman. “Then I guess, Mrs. Leghorn, we’ve got a deal.”
Mrs. Leghorn sighed with seeming relief. “Good.” She smiled at them both. “Well then. Let the merger begin.”
Michael’s face registered shock. “Mrs. Leghorn!”
She waved at him indulgently. “Oh, kiss the darn bride, would you? I’ll retreat to ready the paperwork.” And she made her way imperiously out of the office, closing the door behind her.
Michael turned to Char and drew her back into his arms. “Let me hold you,” he said softly, pulling her tightly against his long body. “Oh, my love, I’ve missed you so much.”
“Me, too. I love you so much, Michael,” she murmured, closing her eyes and savoring the joy she felt. It was really going to happen. She was going to marry the man of her dreams. But one last thing nagged at her.
“Michael?” she said, drawing back. “The boys…”
“How long do you think we should wait before telling them to call me Dad?” he asked her.
“About two seconds,” she said with pure contentment, and finally her world was complete.