“You and I . . . ,” he began, then looked across the bay as though searching for his words in the distance.
“Yes?”
His eyes returned to hers. “It’s been real intense.”
She nodded. It had been intense. But wonderful, too, she thought.
“We were thrown into a situation where it was just the two of us . . .”
When he paused again, she thought he was waiting for her to agree. “Yes, we were thrown together, and I was constantly throwing myself at you.” She smiled as she added, “You really didn’t stand a chance.”
“But now that we’re back in Boston . . . I what?”
“You didn’t stand a chance.”
After making that statement she turned and tried to walk away. She didn’t want to continue the conversation because she knew where he was heading. Same old, same old. He was breaking up with
her again, but this time with more finesse.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her back. “Isabel, what I’m trying to say is that I have my future all mapped out, but I don’t think you do. You’re just starting. You need time to figure out what you want, to know what’s real and what isn’t.”
“I need time away from you?”
“Yes,” he said with a firm nod.
“You need time away from me, too, don’t you, Michael?”
“Yes.”
As much as she wanted to argue, she knew he was right. They did need time apart. She knew her feelings for Michael weren’t going to change, but he definitely needed time to realize he was in love with her.
She took a deep breath and said, “When are you leaving?”
“Soon. I’ve got to finish up a couple of things with the Navy, and one of my SEAL brothers needs some legal advice.”
They walked side by side to the house, “I’ll be staying here for a week or so and then on to Silver Springs.”
Michael opened the door, turned to her, and kissed her. She thought maybe that was his good-bye.
Dinner was a quiet affair. Mrs. Buchanan had gone to a book club meeting, and Michael was also absent, so Isabel dined alone with the judge. Since Lucy wouldn’t let her help with dishes, Isabel headed to her room, but first she wanted to find Michael and ask him how long she was supposed to take to figure out her future. Would he call her, or did he expect her to call him? Hell would freeze before she did.
She checked his room and there was no sign of him. Even his travel bag was gone.
He really had left, hadn’t he?
Later that night she stood at the window in her bedroom. The moon was bright and she could see the waves dancing against the rocks. She was going to miss Nathan’s Bay. She was going to miss all the Buchanans, too. Most of all she was going to miss Michael.
Parting is such sweet sorrow. The line from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet came to mind. In the play, Juliet tells Romeo good night and says their parting is sorrowful, but it is also sweet because the two lovers can look forward to the next time they will be together. Shakespeare’s words made parting seem so romantic.
Shakespeare was a schmuck.
THIRTY-NINE
WHAT WAS THE PROTOCOL AFTER A BREAKUP? IF, IN FACT, IT WAS A BREAKUP.
Isabel’s chaotic thoughts were bouncing back and forth like a tennis ball. Did he break up with her or didn’t he? She had loved only one man and had possibly been dumped by him, but Isabel wasn’t experiencing the heartache, outrage, melancholy, or depression—to name a few of the emotions her friends had gone through. She supposed everyone’s reaction was different. Some were extreme. One of Lexi’s sorority sisters had stalked her ex-boyfriend for months before she moved on, and there was another woman who recently made the news when she tried to run over her ex with her SUV. She was going to spend the next ten to twenty getting over him.
Isabel wasn’t feeling any of those emotions. She wasn’t weepy like Lexi when Jason broke up with her, or melancholy like JoAnn when Ryan, the man she thought she loved, dumped her.
Isabel was irritated with Michael, but that was it. She didn’t want to run over him with her car.
Not yet, anyway. Maybe it was because a part of her believed he really was giving her time to think about her future and her feelings.
He was going to think about his feelings, too. Yeah right. Michael thinking or talking about feelings. Not possible.
? ? ?
WHILE SHE WAS AT NATHAN’S BAY, THE TWO ENTERTAINMENT ATTORNEYS SHE’D CONTACTED
came out to talk to her. The men couldn’t have been more different. One of them was full of ideas on how to make her a huge star. He talked a mile a minute and had the energy and enthusiasm needed to get her to the top. She wouldn’t soon forget the look on his face when she explained she didn’t want to become a star. He appeared flabbergasted.