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I wish I were right there with her, in whatever room she’s in. I wish I could pull her in for a hug and hold her tight.
I can’t right now, but I will one day soon.
Airfare isn't that expensive these days. Deals pop up, especially for last-minute flights.
Maybe I’ll surprise her…
“Yeah,” she says finally, with a big exhale. “I think this whole thing is based on that one photograph, which is just us posing together. We could’ve just been hanging out. Being friendly, after we got together to discuss work. There is no evidence we did anything wrong.”
“So, is that our story?”
“I think it should be, but I hate the idea of lying…” She falls silent again.
I can imagine her furrowed brow and how she’s probably clutching her mug.
“I mean,” she adds, “fibbing to my mom was one thing… but this is bigger.”
I draw in a deep breath. How can I make this better for her?
“Okay, how’s this?” I say. “How about if I tell you everything I said in Hawaii meant nothing? Empty words. I never had the intention of following through.”
She sighs.
Is it due to relief?
I hope so.
“You’re breaking up with me,” she says, voice hushed.
I think she sounds happy. I can’t be sure because everything’s a little off, coming through the speakers like it is.
“So that you don’t have to lie,” I tell her. “This way, it’s like we never dated. All that happened was that I made some big promises. All fluff with no weight to it. Then the official story is that we never had a real relationship.”
“Did we kiss?” she asks.
“That’s up to you.”
“I think we have to say we did, but it won’t happen again.”
“Cool. Then that’s how we’ll play it. A few mistaken kisses, a few empty words, nothing serious going on. The policy’s about dating, right? Now they have nothing to hold against us.”
She sighs again. “Wow. Okay… Thank you. This is helping. I was considering hiring a lawyer; they could look closer at the policy's wording and help us protect ourselves.”
“I’ll split the bill with you.”
“No, no, I’ll get it.”
“You sure? We’re both in this hot water.”
“It’s no problem. I have the funds. I—thank you, Jack. I think this is the right path.”
“You got it.”
When we get off the line, I hop out of my truck. All this red tape stuff is annoying, but I can see why Fabian What’s his name has to consider it. He created the policy so his business would operate smoothly, and I get why he tries to enforce it.
But as far as I’m concerned, what Hazel and I do on our off time is none of his dang business.
How we feel about each other—that’s private.
