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Chapter Seven: You Can't Change It

Drake left early the next morning as Christine expected him to and managed to make his flight on time. Christine sat alone upstairs painting. She really didn't have much else to do at the moment. Drake was on his way to Denver, and Angela was with her mother. In fact, Angela would be there all weekend. She was supposed to stay until Monday morning when Ruby promised to take her to school. Tim was out of town. Christine really didn't mind that. They hadn't spoken since Christmas, but Christine knew she wasn't going to be able to keep her cool if Tim said so much as two words to her. There was always someone ready to take Angela for a day or two, and while Christine was at first very welcoming to the alone time, she soon felt too lonely.

Christine frowned as she moved the brush over the canvas. She stopped and set it down. She was still thinking about the previous day. It wasn't that she didn't trust Drake, she had just suddenly had a thought. What if it were to happen to one of them? Her dad had done it, and she thought he'd been perfectly happy. At least he had acted like it. Then she'd discovered what he'd done. It wasn't just Drake it could happen to...but that was silly. She would never do that to him, and he wouldn't do that to her. She glanced out the window. She just didn't know how she was supposed to make him or herself stay. The relationships she'd seen hadn't worked out very well. How did they keep that from happening?

She stood up quickly and picked up her brushes to wash them. It was pointless to worry about. It would never happen. And yet, even if there was the fact that they would never cheat on each other, there was that stupid statistic of the number of first marriages ending in divorce hanging over their heads.

Christine suddenly felt something she hadn't felt in years. What was she supposed to do? What were they supposed to do? This hadn't come up in a long time. She sighed. She didn't like questioning this at all. She had to talk to someone, and Drake wasn't an option at the moment, he was gone. She couldn't talk to her mother. She might get into an argument with her. And how could she talk to Drake's parents about this?

She put her brushes and paints away and got an idea. She called her father and booked herself a flight to San Francisco. If anyone could put her mind at ease right now, he could. She was upset with herself. She wouldn't even be doing this if Debra hadn't said anything yesterday. She didn't want to doubt that she and Drake would be together for the rest of their lives. She'd had no time to tell Drake what Debra had said. Last night had been so rushed because Drake was packing, and they hadn't been able to say much. She decided the best thing to do would be to talk to her father, and then talk to Drake after she had gotten all her thoughts in order. Then she was going to ignore Debra. Christine knew Debra was the one who had been flirting with Drake now, and she knew that Drake was ignoring it. Just let that woman try and break up their marriage. She wasn't going to succeed. Christine did want to see her dad, though, and maybe she'd feel a little better about things if she talked to him first.

John Baylor was always glad to see his daughter, but her call to ask if she could visit that day was sudden and unexpected. She didn't normally do things like that. He wondered if something was wrong.

He sat on his sofa and picked up the novel he'd been reading. Hopefully things were all right and Christine just felt that she needed to visit for a little while. Maybe clear up something from Christmas?

He heard the lock click and set down his book. Christine had a key to the house since she did visit as often as she could, and her father wasn't always home when she got there. He glanced up to see her walk into his living room.

"Hi," said her father. "How are you?"

"Fine. Drake just had a conference this weekend and Angela is with Mom. I thought I'd come see you."

"Well, I'm glad you did. Anything on your mind?"

"Not really. I just..."

"I know something's on your mind. Let's face it, I'm your father. And you normally don't just randomly show up at my door. That's not like you."

"I know. Okay," she said, sitting down. "I wanted to ask you something. I know this was a long time ago, and you probably don't remember or you really don't want to talk about it, but I have to know."

"What is it?"

"Why did you cheat on Mom?"

"Christine..."

"Dad, I need to know. Why?"

He sighed. He'd never really told anyone that before.

"I felt like there was nothing there. We weren't exactly in love anymore. I had no one I felt I could open up to. Your mom wouldn't open up to me. I found that in someone I just met. I felt terrible after I'd done it, but I couldn't help the way I really did feel."

"So, you and Mom divorced because the lines of communication shut down?"

"Basically. The lines of communication were there, but we failed to use them. I'm glad you see there was more to it than just me being a jackass."

"Thanks, Dad," Christine smiled. "I just needed to know."

"Why?"

"I'm still learning how to be a wife, even though I've done it for the past ten years."

"I don't think Drake would do that to you, Christine," her dad said. "There were times when I was a bit worried. Especially since you were like your mother, not as willing to share your feelings, but I can see that's changed. And Drake knows he can open up to you."

"You're right, and I just..."

"It's all right. Who was this woman, then?" How did he know the problem?

"The receptionist at his office. She's a bit younger than he is, and she's a very pretty blonde. She dropped the hints toward me that something was going on between them. I can't believe them. I tried to push them away. But it's hard to push something like that out of your head. It only made me worry that maybe our marriage might not survive. How many first marriages do survive anymore?"

"Oh. I see. Not a lot of them survive, but you've got something that others avoid, and that's communication. If you talk to each other and let each other know how you feel, things will be fine."

"I do know I have to talk to Drake, about what she said. I don't want to tell him. What if he thinks I doubted the way he felt about me? But if I don't tell him, then what do we have?"

"I think he'll understand. With a girl like that, who wouldn't? Maybe he'll be a bit upset at first, but he won't get angry. If he gets angry or upset with anyone it will be that secretary. He loves you. It's going to be fine. Besides, he's too good for the clichéd affair with the secretary."

"Thanks, Dad," Christine said.

"No problem, sweetie." She was quiet for a moment, so he spoke up again. "There's more to this."

"I'm so scared. I don't know what I'm supposed to do to make him stay. To make me stay. I don't want to hurt him like that, ever, but Dad, I hurt him before a long time ago. I told him we might not make it. What's there to stop me from doing that again?"

"You love him. He loves you. Honey, I know why you're scared. You've never seen a successful relationship. The one you thought was happy fell apart at the seams. Your mother didn't get married again until after you moved out."

"But Drake's parents divorced. He's always believed in us. I hate being scared. I love him. Why am I the one who's worried and he isn't?"

"Because. Walter and Audrey were together for a while before you two were married. He sees the difference between a failed marriage and a successful one. You haven't seen a successful one. And I think he's more worried about some things than you think. But you focus too much on the negatives. The risk of getting hurt is there. But what's the point in being scared of it? Especially when you know that if you woke up every morning without that one person beside you, you couldn't go on. You love him, and he loves you. You've always been there for him. He knows he can count on you. He's there for you, and you can count on him. But, honey, if you don't tell him, then that's where it ends. Don't make the mistake I did. Don't drop the communication. You've been married for ten years already. It's because you care about each other. You've talked to each other. The only reason you've been thinking about it more lately is because of that secretary. Just keep doing what you've been doing. Don't let that woman keep you from sharing your life with him. She can't turn him away from you no matter how hard she tries."

"You talk like you really believe that," said Christine.

"Don't you? I'm sure he wouldn't do that to you, but you know him better than I do."

Christine stopped for a moment. It was only because that secretary had said something. If she hadn't said anything, Christine would be at home right now, not worrying about a thing except for Drake and Angela being okay and home ontime and her calculus students and whether or not they'd remembered everything over the holiday break. Christine felt the heat rise in her cheeks. She despised that woman. How dare anyone lie about Drake, especially to her. If that woman knew anything about their relationship and their past, she would know that there was nothing that came between them, except Christine's worry. She'd vowed years ago to never put Drake through that again. She'd hurt them both and had nothing to show for it. She'd never thought for a moment that he didn't love her. It was always clear when they were in a room together, and it was still clear.

"Of course I believe it," she finally said. "She can't change what we have with a flip of her hair. Thank you, Daddy."

"I think you had this one figured out yourself. You just needed to let it all sink in and organize itself."

Christine smiled. Her father got up from the couch and headed toward the kitchen.

"By the way," he said turning around. "I'd like a grandson."

"Oh, Dad."

"Hey, all a guy can do is ask."

Drake lie on the bed in his hotel room in Denver. His meeting had been earlier that day, and he was going home tomorrow morning. If only he was at home now. Right about now he and Christine would be going to bed, and well, it wasn't hard to figure out the rest. He was about to call her when his phone rang. It was Josh.

"Hello?" Drake said, picking up the phone.

"I did it."

"Did what?"

"I asked her."

"You asked who what?"

Drake was either very tired, or he was just being Drake Parker. Josh figured it was a bit of both.

"I asked Lana to marry me, and she said yes!"

"Wow," said Drake. "That's great, Josh."

"I know, I'm so excited. I have to call Mom and Dad and Megan and Grammy and oh! I'm so happy!"

Drake smiled. Years ago, he was sure Josh was going to propose to Mindy. He hadn't. Drake was confused at that point. However, Josh found someone else. He was happy.

"Well, congratulations, man," said Drake. "Wait a second...how come you didn't say anything to me?"

"Because I knew you'd be on my back about it because I was on your's when we were younger, and you wanted to propose to Christine."

"Gee, thanks."

"I was actually kind of surprised Christine didn't say anything to you."

"What?"

"She knew. I'd asked her for a bit of help with a few things."

"Oh. Uh, no. She didn't say anything."

"Well, I asked her not to."

"Then she kept her promise."

"Yep," said Josh. "So how's Denver?"

"I wanna go home."

"Is it really that bad?"

"Yes, no, well, I miss Christine and Angela."

"Oh, I see. I'm sure they miss you too."

"Well, if Ruby isn't spoiling Angela too much, she probably misses me a little."

"At least you know Christine misses you."

"Yeah." Drake sighed. She'd been acting a bit strange since they were both home last night. He had no idea what was on her mind. To tell the truth, that scared him a little. That was what Ford did. He stopped talking to Audrey. Drake wished he knew what was bothering her.

"Something wrong?" Josh asked.

"Oh, no," said Drake. This was the truth, there was nothing wrong. It just worried him a little, but maybe she just had something on her mind. It was January. Her students had their final soon. Maybe she was just concerned about how some of them would do. She always was.

"Well," said Josh. "I better get off the phone. People to call, you know. I wanted to let you know first, though."

"Thanks," said Drake.

"I'll see you soon."

"Bye, Josh."

Drake hung up his phone. He called Christine then. She answered quickly, so her phone must have been nearby.

"Hello," she said.

"Hi," said Drake. "How are you tonight?"

"I'm good," she replied. This was true. Especially since the talk she'd had with her dad. She'd finally gotten her thoughts in order, and she had only been able to reaffirm what she believed. Ten years had passed already. He had ten years to leave her, twelve if you counted their engagement, fourteen if you counted their relationship before their engagement. Although her parents' relationship had died after nearly twenty years, there was nothing that gave her reason to believe Drake would have an affair except Debra. And why would Christine take the word of a woman she didn't even know?

"What are you up to?" he asked.

"I actually went to San Francisco to see my dad," she responded.

"Oh, really?" said Drake. It was quite a long way, and it wasn't exactly something she would do without telling him.

"I know it seems spontaneous, but I just needed to see him," said Christine. "Um, Drake."

"What?"

"When the both of us get home, can we talk? It's important."

"Of course," Drake replied. "You don't have to ask, you know."

Christine smiled. That was just the way he would respond.

"Drake?" Christine said, walking into their bedroom. She'd arrived home after he did. It was late on a Sunday night now, but she'd wanted to spend time with her father. Angela was still at Christine's mother's house. Drake glanced up. He was reading a study done on anxiety disorders.

"What?" he asked.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Right. What is it?"

Christine sat on the bed without getting under the covers since she hadn't undressed yet.

"Is something wrong?" Drake asked.

"Well, no, but I wanted to talk to you."

"And I said there's no need to ask."

"Before we all went in different directions this weekend, Debra decided to drop some hints toward me."

"Hints? What kind of hints?"

Christine sighed. At that moment it seemed more ridiculous than it had seemed before when she thought about it.

"She was trying to convince me the two of you were sleeping together," she finally said.

"Oh." Drake wasn't sure how to respond to that. He did feel slightly guilty. Maybe he should have mentioned to her who exactly had tried to seduce him in his office.

"She told me..."

"Christine," said Drake. "I should have told you before...I didn't think it was that important, though. I thought she'd given up. She was the one who tried to seduce me in my office, and besides that, what she said isn't true."

"Drake..."

"I love you. I would never betray you."

"That's what my mom thought about my dad," Christine responded before she realized how that would sound.

"I would never..." Drake began, pain evident in his voice. He continued on desperately, "I've spent the last ten years married to you. I've never once wanted to go to any other woman. You've given me everything. You're the one I can tell my hopes and fears to. You made me realize I wanted something more from love. You're the one who made me realize I needed to visit Ford. You're the one who was there the night Ford died. You're the one who believed in everything I wanted to do. You're the one who talked Bobby's mother into letting me adopt him. You're the one who gave me a beautiful daughter. You're the one I fell in love with. You are the only woman I want to be with. You are the one I plan on spending the rest of my life with. To give all that up would be the dumbest thing I'd ever do..."

"Drake, I didn't mean it that way, but thanks for the ego boost."

"Wait, what?"

"Look, I didn't think she was telling the truth. When she told me, it shook me, but I didn't want to believe it. I didn't say anything because things were a bit chaotic this weekend. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I was going back on when you assured me that we'd be okay. When I talked to my dad, he told me the reason he cheated on my mom. It was because they weren't communicating anymore."

"I see," said Drake.

"That's sort of when I felt better about it. I didn't believe her, but it made me think about us."

"Hey, you figured it out. Thanks for not jumping to the worst conclusion either."

"Are you even upset?"

"No. Mainly because I should have told you about her. When she came on to me before. To make matters worse, it was in my office. I wondered if she didn't know I was married or what. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I guess she didn't care."

"I guess I can't get upset if I didn't tell you either, but that's...why didn't you tell me it was her?"

"I don't know. I didn't want to worry you about where I was working. And it was a stupid thing to do, but I do a lot of stupid things. I thought she didn't know I was married before. It didn't matter to her. I'm sorry she said those things to you. I should probably talk to Dr. Reynolds about this."

"Drake, she might lose her job."

"But she tried to seduce me in my office. I went to leave, and she began to press. That's sexual harrassment."

"I guess it was..."

"I don't want you to think you can't walk into that office either."

"Drake, don't do it for me. If it really and truly made you uncomfortable that day, then talk to Dr. Reynolds."

"I don't know what will happen. It did make me uncomfortable, but I didn't want her to lose her job if she really didn't know that I'm married. But after she's said those things to you..."

"Drake, this shouldn't be about me."

"I can't help it. You mean too much to me to just let it go."

"Drake...maybe you should just..."

"What?"

"I don't know. What will happen if you tell Dr. Reynolds?"

"She'll probably keep a sharp eye on Debra, and if it happens again, she'll probably get fired." He paused for a moment. "Tell you what, I'll talk to Debra. I'll tell her to get the idea out of her head and to leave you alone. If it doesn't work, then I'll go to Dr. Reynolds. Does that seem fair?"

"Yes. If you think that's best."

"All right, then. I'll talk to Debra tomorrow."

Drake hoped things would be cleared up the next day. All he could do was try. He was really irritated that anyone would try to tell his wife that he was cheating on her.