Chapter 14
"Akeem, I need to go into town again today. I have some things I need to attend to at the bank. Have my driver ready, I'll be down in a few minutes."
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"I'm going to head out to Maggie's and pick up something to eat, Scott. Is there anything I can get you?...maybe they still have some of that vegetarian Chili I had yesterday." Scott answers, "That sounds tempting, but no thanks, Ty...I have leftovers from dinner last night. You might want to ask Jennifer though...she might want to go too." Ty replies, "Okay, I will. I shouldn't be long." Scott says, "Don't worry about it, but don't take all day. Cassandra should be back soon and then I'll be out for the rest of the day, so you two will have to hold down the fort while I'm gone. I'll see you tomorrow."
Before Scott walks away, Ty says, "There's something I need to talk to you about if you have another minute." Scott replies, "Sure, what is it?" Ty continues, "You know, I appreciate everything you've done for me, Scott...and we've been through a lot together, but I think the time might come to make some changes in my life." Scott isn't sure what Ty is talking about. "You will soon. You graduate after the next semester and you're going to continue working with me right?" Ty answers, "That was the plan, but plans sometimes change." Scott asks, "What does that mean?" Ty answers, "It just means I might need a change. I've checked with this clinic a classmate of mine works at in Calgary, they're planning to expand, and they're willing to take me on after I graduate." Scott asks, "So you're leaving?" Ty replies, "I'm not sure just yet, but I thought I should let you know that it's a possibility...something I might have to do. Scott says, "I'd hate to see you go, but should you decide to leave, I'll understand and wish you the best." Ty responds, "Thanks, Scott. Would you do me a favor though and not say anything about this to anyone." Scott replies, "Sure...no problem."
"Jennifer, I'm heading out to get something to eat. Can I get something for you or would you prefer to come along?" Jennifer answers, "I think I'd like to come along. Just give me a moment to get my purse." Ty laughs. Wondering what's so funny, Jennifer asks, "Why are you laughing?" Ty answers, "I'm sorry...it's just that I can't remember the last time I heard a woman say that." Jennifer says, "Well, I'm wearing a dress today. When I wear a dress I always carry a purse." Ty replies, "Okay...I'm sorry I laughed. You look nice by the way." Jennifer responds, "Thank you. A girl always likes to hear that. Here, I've got my purse, so com'on lets go."
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Ty pulls to the curb, parks, helps Jennifer out of the truck and says, "I was just going to get take-out, but if you want we can stay and have lunch at Maggie's." Jennifer answers, "Let's get a table and eat there. It'll be nice to be away from the office for a little while longer."
As they walk down the street, Ty sees Ahmed across the street. He stops for a moment. They make eye contact and momentarily exchange glares. Ty continues to watch as Ahmed walks into the bank. His thoughts are interrupted by Jennifer tugging at his arm and he hears, "Ty...I'm talking to you." He replies, "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about something." Jennifer asks, "Anything to do with that guy you were glaring at?" Ty answers, "No…nothing. I was just reminded of something. Come on let's get lunch."
After taking a seat and ordering, Ty is taken by surprise when Jennifer says, "I hope you don't think I'm prying, but Cassandra told me about you and Amy. I recently broke up with my boyfriend, so if you ever need a sympathetic ear, I'm willing to listen." Ty responds, "Thanks, I appreciate that, but there's really nothing to talk about." Jennifer continues, "I don't mean to push it, but it always helps to talk. I've noticed you sometimes dawdle like you're in another world and I guess you're thinking about her. I'm going to take a chance here and say that you still have feelings for her." Ty is reluctant at first to answer, but then says, "I know it might sounds cliché, but she was my first love, so I guess I'll always have feelings for her."
Jennifer asks, "So what was the problem between you two?" Ty pauses for a moment wondering how to get out of the conversation then realizes that it's something he might as well address and get out of the way. "Well, once the dust kinda settled, I gave it a lot of thought and I guess we got together at the wrong time. We were too young and we spent too much of our time together. Jennifer asks, "How could that be a problem? I mean, you asked her to marry you and she said yes, didn't she." Ty explains, "With us spending so much time together, she never had any real life experience. She didn't socialized very much and didn't have many friends or even boyfriends for that matter...Yeah, she said yes, but not the first time I asked her to marry me...she wanted to wait, so I should have seen the writing on the wall."
Jennifer asks, "What do you mean?" Ty explains, "She once said, before I asked her to marry me, that there was so much out there that we shouldn't limit ourselves or tie ourselves down. I should never have asked her again when I did. It was selfish and wasn't fair of me to force my fantasy on her."
Jennifer is surprised by how much Ty revealed. It was like she opened the flood gates and it sounded like he needed to spill more, so she says, "But she did eventually say yes didn't she." Ty sighs, he didn't want to talk about this, but he feels he needs to explain how he feels to someone...to put it into words. He replies, "I think she did without knowing what she really wanted. She had so many opportunities in front of her and when the time came to take advantage of those opportunities, holding her back didn't seem right. When she decided to explore those opportunities and she was exposed to what was out there for her, that's when everything fell apart...she changed. She was no longer the girl I fell in love with. Her father even warned me about people changing when he gave me his permission to ask her to marry me, but I didn't want to believe him."
Jennifer asks, "So, what changed about her?" Ty sighs again and replies, "Everything..." He pauses before continuing, "You know...it's kinda funny how things sometimes seem to go in circles. Before she left for Europe, we had...well, I guess you can say it was an argument and she said that she wondered if this was the way things were going to be after we were married. I found myself wondering the same thing right after she got back." Jennifer asks, "I suppose what you're saying then is that there's no possibility of continuing on with her?" Ty replies, "I can't see how."
Jennifer then asks, "I don't mean to be too personal and if you don't want to answer I'd understand, but why did your engagement end in the first place...I mean, what exactly happened?" Ty takes a moment again before answering. "I guess you already heard something about that." Jennifer replies, "No, not really, but if you want to talk about it..." Ty interrupts saying, "Another time maybe. Right now, its just difficult to talk about. Jennifer replies, "Sure, I can understand that...just to let you know, I really don't have any relationship advice to offer since all my relationships have sucked so far, but I am a really good listener...so, anytime you want to talk, I'd be glad to listen. Jennifer pauses a moment and then says, "You know...actually, I do have one piece of advice you might find helpful. If you do want to talk some more, maybe you should avoid that shoulda, coulda, woulda stuff...believe me, I've been there and it doesn't help."
Ty appreciates Jennifer's willingness to listen. It's why he said as much as he did. The opportunity to air his thoughts was a relief from keeping them bottled up. His thoughts and emotions had been all over the map and the chance to form them into words helped make sense of them. He imagines that Jennifer's offer to listen might be something he needs, so he can put the past behind him and move forward.
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"Akeem, I'm still in town and won't be back for about an hour. I need you to speak to Mr. Ford about what we discussed. See that it's done before I return. I don't want to delay this much longer. Meet me in my office when I return and we'll talk further. It's time to finally settle this and be done with them."
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After a brief conversation with Ford, Akeem changes the subject, asking, "How's Prince Ahmed's new horse coming along?" Ford replies, "Very well, he's responding to my training better than I had hoped he would." Akeem asks, "I was wondering...Have you spoken to Miss Fleming again? You haven't said anything about her lately." Ford replies, "Not since the last time we spoke. I don't seem to be getting very far with her lately. She's stubborn, but not as much as me. I'm sure she'll eventually come around though." Akeem suggests, "You know, the problem might be that her ex fiancée is still in the picture." Ford asks, "What do you mean?" Akeem replies, "I thought you knew...Ty Borden, the vet assistant to Scott Cardinal, use to be her Fiancé." Ford replies, "No, I didn't know that. It explains it...why he interfered the last time I saw her." Akeem adds, "Yes, ex fiancés can be a problem and, from what I've heard about him, Mr. Borden has quite a temper. Too bad he doesn't understand it's over between them." Ford replies, "Maybe I should explain it to him then."...