“No. It's a nice idea, but I'm busy running the inn. I'm not married. I have my contracting business…”
“You do realize that parents sometimes work, right? I don't think that precludes you from adopting a child.”
Dawson stared off into space. “You know, I always thought I'd be a father one day. Even after I lost my son, I figured it would happen. I’d meet somebody, get married again, have that whole white picket fence lifestyle. I used to imagine those fun Christmas mornings with all of us in matching pajamas, hair all messed up, while we opened presents.”
“That sounds nice. What's holding you back from having all of that?”
“I don't know. My life isn't quite what I thought it would be at this stage. Why did I have to meet Julie so late in life? Can you imagine the amazing family we could've built together?”
Janine reached over and squeezed his hand. “It's not too late. Y'all aren’t eighty year old people at the nursing home, Dawson. You're both in your forties. And they say forty is the new twenty.”
Dawson laughed. “Trust me, forty is not the new twenty. When I get up in the morning, everything has started to crack and now I make this grunting noise when I stand up.”
Janine laughed. “You know, if you want to marry my sister, you have my blessing.”
He smiled. “Oh, I want to marry your sister. I just don't think she wants to marry me.”
“You'll never know if you never ask.”
“Do you know something that I don’t?” he asked, squinting his eyes at her.
“No, actually I don't. My sister talks in circles just like you do every time I bring up marriage. But the rest of us see that you two are perfect for each other.”
“I just think Julie would be happy dating for the rest of our lives, but I'm not sure that's enough for me. The longer we're together, the more I want her there. I hate going to our separate houses at the end of the day. I hate calling her my girlfriend instead of my wife.”
“Michael really did a number on her head. And you're nothing like him. She knows that. But I think that's what scares her the most.”
“It scares her that I'm not like Michael?”
Janine nodded. “Losing Michael was hard. That was a twenty-one year marriage that fell apart. But, she loves you way more than she ever loved Michael, so losing you might just do her in. I think that's what she's really afraid of. Rocking the boat and messing everything up and never finding that kind of love again.”
Dawson nodded his head. “I have the same fear. Do I want to take the chance of getting rejected or do I just want to leave things like they are and be thankful for them?”
Janine chuckled. “Relationships aren't easy, are they?”
Meg sat, nervously fidgeting with her hands. Why had the dean called her in to see him? She’d only met him once in passing, and even though it was just a community college, nobody wanted to get called into the dean’s office.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting, Miss Pike.”
She looked up to see Dean Clayton standing there, his large belly protruding out of his sport jacket. He was the epitome of a college professor complete with elbow patches. He shook her hand and sat down.
“No problem.”
“I’m sure you must wonder why I’ve called you here today?”
“Yes, sir, I was wondering about that.” Her hands were now sweating, which they never did. Just great.
“Professor Calvert has recommended you for the teaching assistant program. She said you’ve done remarkably well in advertising class, so she’d like for you to become her assistant for the fall semester coming up.”
“Really?” Meg was shocked. Although she had done well in her advertising class, she never expected that Professor Calvert would want to work with her.
“Would you be interested?”
“Absolutely!” For a moment, she thought about Vivi and how this would affect her schedule, but then she decided that she had to be responsible. Creating a brighter future for herself would only help her daughter, and she’d work out the babysitting issues when and if they came up.
“Excellent. I just have some paperwork here for you to fill out, and then we will be in touch about some training you’ll need to do.” He slid the paperwork toward her. “I hope you realize what an honor this is. Many students want to be teaching assistants, but don’t get the chance. Seize the opportunity, okay?”
Meg smiled. “Oh, trust me. I won’t waste this second chance, Dean Clayton.”
Chapter Eight
“Go, go, go!” Dawson yelled as he watched the kids race in potato sacks across his lawn. A couple fell down as soon as he blew the whistle, but Tucker had helped them back up again. Dylan, ever the little competitor, was ahead at first but then one of the older boys took the lead and won the race.
Dawson walked over and squeezed Dylan’s shoulder. “Good try, buddy!”
“I hate being short!”
“You won’t be short for long. One day, you’ll just start growing like a weed, and before you know it you’ll probably be taller than me.”
Dylan looked up at him. “And then I’ll beat everybody in a race,” he said, giggling.
“Probably so. I used to win all the races because my legs are so long.”
“Kids, time for lunch!” Colleen called. Dylan licked his lips and ran off, eager to have pizza and cupcakes.
“I love those long legs of yours,” Julie said, pinching him in the side.
“Oh, hey. When did you get here?”
“A few minutes ago. I got to watch the potato sack race. You see this little bump on my nose?”
Dawson looked closer. “Oh, yeah. I’ve never noticed that before. It’s pretty grotesque.”
She smacked him on the arm. “Stop it. Anyway, I got this when I broke my nose doing the three-legged race with Kathy Schulman. She had the worst coordination of any kid I knew. She would literally trip over her own feet. Miss Dial, my fourth grade teacher, made us be partners, and down I went, busting my nose on the hard Georgia clay. Blood everywhere.”
Dawson stared at her. “Well, that was a very dark story.”
She laughed. “Sorry. I thought it was relevant. How’s everything going?”
“Good. Only two more days after today. I’ll miss these kids.”
Julie wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’ve been missing you.”
“I know. Everything seems so busy these days. How’s Vivi?”
“Good. I kept her this morning while Meg met with the dean.”
“She met with the dean? Everything okay?”
“Yes. She actually got offered a teaching assistant position for next semester. I’m so proud of her!”
“That’s awesome. Please tell her I said congratulations.”
Julie looked up at him. “I’ve been thinking about what you said the other day. You know, about going to our separate homes every night?”
“Yeah?”
“I wish things were different too. I hate being apart so much.”