Dexter knew something was wrong by the look on her face.
“They gave the partnership position to Eric Jackson.”
Dexter came over to embrace her. “I’m sorry, baby,” he said. “I know how much this meant to you.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Carson said, coming up behind Dex. Though he was too young to understand what was going on, he knew something was wrong.
They both smiled down at him.
“Come here, Bud,” Dex said. “Let’s get you set up with your favorite movie.” He knew he and Cynthia needed a grownup minute -- for more reasons than she knew.
“Home Alone?” Carson asked.
“Yes, Home Alone.”
“Yes!”
“Be right back,” Dex said, taking Carson to the den where the oversized television sat.
When he came back in the living room, he leaned against the large wooden desk and pulled Cynthia into his arms.
“You okay?” he asked.
“No, but I will be,” she vowed, not exactly knowing what that mean yet. “Oh, I will be,” she sang.
“I know you don’t like the guy, Cynthia. “But is he more qualified?” Dex asked.
“No!” she said with force. “I mean, Eric is a good attorney and well qualified, but…” she started.
“But what?” he asked. “You did have extenuating circumstances that have kept you out of the office for a month and a half now. You have to give that some weight.”
Cynthia dropped her head a little knowing he had a point. Still, she didn’t want to give in to the frustration she was feeling at that moment. It just wasn’t fair, and Dex wouldn’t get it because he was a man.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said, knowing there was more to her being upset than she was letting on.
Cynthia sighed, not wanting to fully admit to herself what she already knew. It would just make her blood boil even more.
“You know what really pisses me off about the whole thing?” she finally said.
“I’m listening,” Dex said, loving the fire in her.
“I know Eric is a good attorney, but he got that promotion because he’s a he and I’m a she. He got it because he’s a man, and everybody knows that. That’s why I worked my butt off, three times as hard to prove myself, because I felt like if I skipped a beat, they would have a valid reason to overlook me. That’s why I’m so incensed. If the real reason is because of what happened and me having to be out for a while, I can accept that, but that’s not it.”
“Ah, I see,” Dexter said.
“Well why don’t you fight it?”
“No, it’s somebody else’s game, their business, so they get to set the rules.”
“But if it’s gender discrimination,” he said.
“Choose your battles, somebody once told me,” she said.
“Well, why don’t you hang a shingle?”
“What you mean, open my own practice?”
“Sure, why not?”
Cynthia looked at Dex with eyes full of love. She appreciated his confidence in her. It meant more than he knew; especially now.
“But it’s not like I don’t still have a job. I can go back, just not as a partner.”
“But what about the next opportunity they overlook you for? And the one after that?”
Cynthia was listening … and thinking.
“I mean, you’ve mentioned how you wish you could work with smaller business instead of these mega corporations in your practice, right?”
“Yes?”
“Well, Billings is less than forty miles away. With your credentials, I believe you’d be busier than ever in no time at all.”
Unbeknownst to Cynthia, Dex had other reasons for wanting her to stay in Cattlewood.
Cynthia let that marinate for a minute.
“I don’t know, I’d never really considered my own practice before.”
“Why not?”
“I was just always focused on making partner, you know.”
“Well you’d be partner, right off at Alexander and Associates,” Dex said, pulling a business name off the top of his head. “You’d be the founding partner.”
“Founding partner,” Cynthia said. “Nice title. I like the sound of that,” she smiled. “I like the sound of that a lot.” She kissed him on the lips. “You’re so good for me.”
“In that case, I’ve got another title for you to try on for size.”
And what’s that?” she asking, looking up into his eyes.
“Mrs. Dexter Callahan.” He pulled a little blue velvet box from his shirt pocket and handed it to her.
Cynthia looked up at him, open-mouthed with stretched eyes. She opened the box with trembling fingers and stared at the large marquise cut diamond inside. Tears started to spring from her eyes.
“Oh Dex,” she cried. “It’s beautiful.”
“Cynthia Alexander, I love you, with all of my heart,” he said. “You’ve breathed life into my world and I never want to be without you by my side.”
Tears were streaming down Cynthia’s face as she took in the emotion in his own eyes.
Dexter eased down on one knee. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
“Oh Dex,” she said, looking up at him blinking wildly.
She loved him so much.
“Is that a yes?” he asked, taking the ring from her trembling fingers, poised to slip it on.
“Yes, Dexter,” she cried. “I’ll marry you, yes!”
Dex slipped the engagement ring on her finger and pulled her into his arms.
A sound at the doorway of the living room startled them both. It was Carson staring up at them.
“Are you going to marry my Uncle Dex?” he asked in that same tone he used before.
“Yes, I’m going to marry your Uncle Dex and we’re going to be a family, forever and ever,” Cynthia said, cradling Carson in their embrace.
“Until mommy and daddy get back home?” he stared at them with big innocent yes.”
“Yes, Bud,” Dex said, fully aware of the power of God’s miracles.
“Until mommy and daddy get back home.”
Chapter 23
Several weeks later …
Cynthia’s cell phone rang. She was in the middle of reviewing business planning for her new law firm. FIJI AIR flashed across the LCD. She knew the number well. It was Fiji Airways Family Notification hotline.
“Hello,” Cynthia answered nervously into the phone. It had been weeks since they’d hear anything at all directly from the airline. The automated updates she received via phone always said the same thing; there was no new news to report. The plane had been missing for more than three months now.
“Yes, this is Cynthia Alexander,” she answered. “Yes, guardian of Carson Hagen.”
Cynthia listened wide-eyed to the woman on the other end of the phone recount the news and instructions for the family.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “They’re alive?”
The woman on the other end gave more details.
“Yes, I have a pen.”
Cynthia wrote down the number for the international medical center where the rescued passengers were being treated. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said before hanging up.
Dex hurried from kitchen at the sound of her voice.
“They’ve found them!” she said.
He looked at her in disbelief.
“Thelma and Martin?”
She shook her headed anxiously up and down. “Yes, they are alive, Dex! They were stranded with several other passengers on a bank of one of the remote Fijian Islands. It’s amazing they found them.”
She answered the question in his eyes.
“Few bumps and bruises; Thelma has a broken leg, but other than that, they are okay.”
“Thank God,” Dexter said, his heart full of joy, especially for the little boy he loved like a son.
Tears filled both of their eyes as they embraced.
Carson ran out of
the den and looked up at them.
“Come her, Bud,” Dex said, not wanting to keep the good news from him one second longer than was necessary.
Dex squatted so he could be almost eye level with him.
“Your mom and dad are coming home.”
The boy looked at him with happiness, though not surprise.
“I know,” he said.
Cynthia and Dexter glanced at each other.
“When? When are they coming back home?” Carson asked.
“Very soon. They’ll be here before your pup goes for his haircut,” Dex said, putting it in a time frame the child could grasp.
Carson hugged Dex as big tears rolled down his cheeks.
Cynthia looked on at them warmly before walking over and embracing them both.
Chapter 24
Two weeks later, Thelma and Martin were back at home in Cattlewood with Carson. Just the evening before, they had visited with Cynthia and Dex briefly before getting resettled back at their ranch.
Cynthia vowed to stay on in Cattlewood to help Thelma out until she was back on her feet. Thelma had to wear her leg cast for at least six weeks. After that, Cynthia knew she had to return to San Francisco to tie up things.
“I heard something about a wedding to plan?” Thelma said to Dexter as he climbed the steps to embrace her.
“Welcome home again, Thelma,” he teased, kissing her on the cheek. He knew she wanted all the details of how their romance had flourished, and he’d prefer to leave the women talk to the women.
“Yea, yea, thank you, but we did that yesterday evening,” she chuckled. “You’re not getting off that easy. We leave you for a minute to keep an eye on Carson and we come back and you’ve wooed my friend,” Thelma said smiling, motioning for Martin to help her angle her casted leg up on the tufted porch chaise.
“You old slickster!” Martin said, winking at Thelma. He knew his wife had hoped for this all along.
“Thank you,” Dex beamed. “I’m a lucky man.”
“Yes, you are,” Thelma said. “And she’s a lucky woman, too. “Speaking of the future Mrs. Callahan, what time is she due back today?” Thelma asking, trying to readjust her leg on the footstool.
Since he was sitting closest, Dexter stood up and motioned to Martin he’d help Thelma with her leg. He glanced down at his watch.
“She should be pulling up in just a little while”
Cynthia had driven to Billings to keep her prescheduled appointments. She was doing some precursory scoping of office space, meeting with employment agencies to evaluate temporary help, and visiting the little satellite office for the Bar Association.
“I’m sorry to hear Cynthia lost her job.”
“She didn’t actually lose it remember. She can go back, just not as a partner, which is what she really wanted.”
“I think starting her own practice is a good idea. She’s always been headstrong, ever since I can remember. Besides, she needs to be near. You all have a wedding to plan!”
“Yes we do, don’t we?” Dexter smiled, still not believing God had blessed him with a beautiful woman that would soon be his wife.
Chapter 25
Cynthia was on the way back from Billings. After looking at office spaces, she was quite pleased at the rate per square foot for the downtown commercial lofts she’d snooped around. It was premature, but looking at spaces did make it seem all the more real, and it gave her some hard and fast figures for her business plan.
She knew it wouldn’t be easy, but after meeting with a few employment agencies, she also felt confident she’d be able to pull together a savvy temp staff to help her get her doors open. Having saved aggressively, she figured she’d be able to finance her small start-up by cashing out one of her investments. Just thinking about selling her condo gave her hives; she loved the unit, the location, and the steal of deal she’d gotten on it. Nope; she’d hold onto it and consider selling only if she had to.
Dex had offered to finance the new company for her, but she needed to do this on her own.
“But I’m going to be your husband,” he reminded her.
“And I will spend plenty of your money,” she teased. “I promise, but this I have to do on my own.”
Cynthia believed, ironically, the least difficult part would be getting the business. With an undergraduate degree in Marketing, she felt pretty good about things.
She smiled and glanced down at the boulder on her finger. She could hardly believe how her life had turned around. She’d met the man of her dreams, and in a little over a year, they would be husband and wife.
Maybe children, in time, would not be a bad idea, after all, she smiled. Three, maybe four years. She knew Dex wanted children, and after spending time with Carson, she did, too.
Glancing at the gas light, Cynthia knew she had to pull over for gas. She’d driven Dexter’s Patriot, and he’d told her she might need to put gas in on the way back, but she’d plumb forgotten. Thank God they had those little warning lights. Being from New York and living in a walking enclave of San Francisco, she hadn’t had to drive in a long time. It was usually just on close, city-to-city business trips in Cali, and just every once in a while. Thankfully, the highway signs pointed to a gas station just a few miles down the road.
Cynthia pulled off the main road into the service station.
Her older sister’s face came to mind.
She and Gail didn’t keep in touch nearly as much as they should have.
Instinctively, Cynthia dialed her number.
“Hello?”
“Hi Gail,” Cynthia said. “How are you doing?”
“Cynthia!” Gail said. “It’s good to hear from you.”
Her sister sounded really good. There was a strength in her voice she had not heard in a long time.
“It’s good to hear your voice,” Cynthia said. “How have you been? And my nephews?”
“We’re good. You know I’m back in school. Even though most of my classes are online, I’m loving it. I feel like my old self again.”
“That’s good, Gail. I’m proud of you.” Cynthia wrangled with the gas pump, her brows furrowing. Lord, had she forgotten how to put gas in a car?
“Thank you. That means a lot. But I couldn’t have done this without you.” She was referring to the money Cynthia had been sending her monthly over the past few years.
“That’s what sisters are for,” Cynthia said, finally easing the nozzle into the tank.
“Yeah, but you went over and beyond, Lil’ sis. I mean, I’m the older one. I should be--“
“Stop; it,” Cynthia said. “We’re sisters and we help each other. Period. Besides, though my intentions were good, I have to admit some of it was for my own selfish reasons, Gail.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know now that I gave to you to make my own self feel good about what I had not done for you. We are sisters. I should been there for you emotionally; not just then, but throughout the years of me trying to quote-unquote make it.”
“I won’t let you pull that guilt trip on yourself Cynthia. We both had…“ Gail corrected herself. “We both have- equal opportunity. I made choices to take my life in one direction and you did another. We are equally responsible for our own place in life.”
“I know that, but this is a thing I guess between me and God. Part of my giving was for me to help myself feel better.
She thought about some of Dexter’s comments during their argument. “I know that now.”
“Well, I appreciate what you’ve done, no matter why you did it. More than you know,” Gail said. “It feels good to be off the system and it feels even better to know I’ll have my degree soon. I’m on track to graduate sooner than I thought.”
“Well of course you are. You’re the smartest person I know. That’s great, Gail!”
“Yep. I put the pedal to the metal and decided to just burn the midnight oil, you know. Remember what mama used to say?”
“If you want something diffe
rent, you have to do something different,” the women said at the same time.
“I remember,” Cynthia smiled replacing the gas nozzle in the pump.
“What are you going to do after you graduate?” Cynthia asked, an idea in mind.
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