By the time they got to the Denton Arms, it was around 4:45. Frank escorted Janet to a table with a clear view of the door, contriving to seat her facing toward the interior of the bar. "What can I get you?"
"A gin and tonic, please."
Hmmm…Brad's drink of choice as well. Should he take that as a positive omen? Well…probably not.
He returned to the table, bringing Janet's drink and a bottle of beer. "Here's to the conclusion of a successful semester."
Janet smiled. "I'll drink to that."
As they chatted, Frank surreptitiously kept an eye on the door. First to arrive was Andrea. She caught Frank's eye and smiled, then took a seat at a table at the back of the bar. Within two minutes of Andrea's arrival, Brad walked in the door. As soon as he ascertained that Brad had seen him, Frank got up.
"Janet, would you excuse me for a minute? I just remembered a phone call I forgot to make this afternoon."
Brad watched Frank walk quickly to the back of the bar, where he joined a lovely young woman already seated at a secluded table out of Janet's line of sight. He took a deep breath. It was now or never.
He walked over and stood by Frank's vacated seat. "Hi, Janet."
Janet looked at him, wide-eyed. "Brad! What are you doing here?"
"Well, it was kind of a tough day at work, so I thought I'd just pop in here and have a drink…you know, to unwind a little."
Janet looked at him narrowly. Brad always was a lousy liar. She suddenly realized Frank had set her up. She wasn't sure whether to be angry or amused. For the moment, she decided on "angry."
"You and Frank cooked up this little scheme, didn't you? If you wanted to talk to me so badly, why didn't you just call me? I don't appreciate being tricked."
Brad did his best to look confused by the accusation. "What are you talking about?"
It was obviously the wrong tactic, as Janet was looking more annoyed by the minute. "Don't lie to me. You never did do it well."
Brad sat down in Frank's seat and looked at her pleadingly. "Please don't be mad. We weren't trying to trick you. I just didn't know if you'd talk to me if I tried to call you. This seemed like, well, a more low-pressure way of getting to talk to you."
She rolled her eyes. "Brad, sometimes you can be really pathetic. Why should I bother talking to you if you don't even have the nerve to approach me honestly?"
Brad developed enough backbone to look insulted. "Well, after you left and I did call to try to talk to you, you wouldn't talk to me. Why should I think you'd talk to me now?"
Janet snapped impatiently, "That was different."
"Why was it different?"
"Because you were trying to bully me into coming back to you, just like you bullied me during our whole marriage. Or is it really not different now? Were you planning on trying to bully me again today? If so, don't bother. You couldn't do it then, and you certainly can't do it now."
Brad glared at her. "I wasn't planning on 'bullying' you now. Hell, it wasn't my intention to bully you then. I just wanted you to give me another chance, that's all."
"There was no sense in giving you another chance, because you didn't realize you'd done anything wrong. Nothing would have changed. I wasted enough time trying to make things work, while you refused to change your behavior at all. I guess I was supposed to be the one to do all the changing, and accommodating, and compromising. No way."
Brad sighed, and tried to get Janet to look him in the eye. She refused, focusing her stare on a water mark on the table.
"Janet, look, you don't understand. A big reason we ran into so much trouble was because I did try to change. I didn't think the real me was good enough for you anymore, so I tried to become assertive and powerful. I didn't realize I was really being unreasonable and childish, the total opposite of what I'd intended. I never meant to drive you away. All I wanted was for you to respect me."
She raised her eyes to look at him. "You didn't think I respected you?"
"I still don't think you respected me. After that night in the castle, I got the distinct impression you thought I was a complete wimp." He paused for a moment, staring down at the table himself. "And maybe you were right. Not only did I fail to protect you from Frank, I actually let him seduce me, too. I just took it, like some kind of chump, when I found out you'd seduced Rocky." He looked up again, with tears in his eyes. "Let's face it, how could you respect me? After that night, I couldn't even respect myself anymore. And then when I realized you were comparing me with Frank in bed, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. I just couldn't take it. I felt like the world's biggest loser. I guess I still do."
Janet stared at him, frozen into appalled silence. How could she have been so blind? Of course she'd realized he was having trouble coping with the memories of that night in the castle, but she'd seen that as his problem. She'd utterly failed to consider how her own attitude had contributed to his insecurity. He was absolutely right – she hadn't respected him. For all her professions of love for the "old" Brad, she realized that she'd been comparing his perceived weaknesses with her own newfound strength, and found him lacking. And of course he was right that she'd been comparing his sexual performance with Frank's…and, in that case, saying she found him "lacking" would be the understatement of the century. But what if the tables had been turned? What if it had been Brad who'd found an extraordinary female lover in the castle who'd totally bewitched him, whose performance Janet could never hope to live up to? How would she have reacted?
Finally, she spoke. Her voice was quiet. "Brad, I owe you an apology. All I could think about was how obnoxious your behavior was, and wonder why you'd changed from the gentle, sweet, considerate person you'd been before. I never realized I'd driven you to that behavior by giving you the impression I no longer valued the qualities that had always made you special to me." She looked up at the ceiling, trying to fight back tears. "What's worse is you were absolutely right. I was so overwhelmed by my sexual attraction to Frank that I started to see him as the 'perfect lover'- which may have been true enough if you never planned on getting out of bed. It took me a ridiculously long time to realize that as sexually exciting as Frank was, he would have been an absolute disaster to have a relationship with." She grimaced. "You would think that would have been pretty obvious, based on everything that happened that night."
Brad looked at her intently. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I was wrong to have treated you the way I did. I'm saying you were wrong to have continued acting like a jerk even after it became obvious it was making me unhappy. And I'm saying we were both wrong to have not tried to have this conversation before our relationship was damaged beyond repair."
"Do you really think it's 'beyond repair'? Couldn't we try to recapture what we had?"
Janet shook her head slowly. "Things could never be the way they were. I can't speak for you, but I know I'm a very different person now. I want different things out of life. Before, I just assumed I'd be a housewife and stay-at-home mother, and that was fine with me. Now that wouldn't be enough. I'm excited about going to college, and I want to prepare for a career. I need a man who would be willing to support me in that. You didn't even want me to keep that little secretarial job."
"Janet, I know I was wrong to make you quit working. It was just my insecurity talking again. I didn't want you to be independent…I figured if you had a job, you'd need me even less than you already did. I promise I won't stand in your way if you want a career."
Janet sighed. Brad was making this so very difficult. "It isn't just the career. I get the impression that you're really still the same person you were before that night in the castle. I know I'm not. I just don't know that we're still compatible. People change, and when they don't change at the same rate, or in complementary ways, the relationship just doesn't work anymore."
Brad looked wounded. "But how can we know whether or not we're compatible, if you aren't willing to give the relationship another try? Are you saying it isn't even worth an attempt?" He looked at her intently. "The sex thing is still a problem, isn't it? You want someone who's better in bed."
Janet closed her eyes. He had to bring that up. "Well…to be honest, yes, I guess I do. I need someone I have chemistry with…someone who can satisfy me. Sex isn't everything in a relationship, but it is important. Even before that night, there was no real sexual chemistry between us. We were more like best friends than lovers. I was naïve enough to believe it would be different once we got married, but now I realize that wouldn't have been the case even without what happened in the castle. It's just that, if it weren't for Frank, I might not have known what I was missing. The problem is, now I would know, and I don't think I can accept the prospect of a life without passion."
Brad tried to fight the sense of desperation he was feeling. "Janet, when you say I'm the same person now I was before that night in the castle, you're wrong. The person I was then wouldn't have had the strength to even have this conversation with you. But it wasn't what happened in the castle that changed me, it was our breakup. Losing you was the most devastating thing that ever happened to me. I'm willing to do whatever I need to do to make things right. Try to remember that I was saving myself for marriage, just like you were. If things had worked out the way they were supposed to, we could have learned about sex together. But when you were seduced by a man with so much more experience and skill, suddenly you were way ahead on the learning curve. I wasn't ready to learn from you then, but I am now. I can't promise that I'll ever be as good as Frank, but I know I can get better. I want to do everything in my power to make you happy."
He reached out and held one of her hands in both of his. "You know, considering the way things are nowadays, sex isn't so hard to find. But love…true love...is. Please don't be so quick to just throw it away. I love you so much, Janet. I've loved you for years, and I always will love you. Doesn't that count for anything?"
Janet felt tears spring to her eyes. How many people search their whole lives in hopes of hearing someone say what Brad just said to her? "Of course it does. But what happens if we try again, and it doesn't work? I don't want to hurt you more than you've already been hurt."
Brad looked at her with the most determined expression she'd ever seen on his face. "Let me worry about that. Being with you is important enough to me that I'm willing to take that risk. Don't walk away just to 'protect' me from my own emotions."
Janet looked into his eyes, and saw the love shining there. It was impossible for her own heart to remain untouched. She felt her anger and bitterness melt away, replaced by a warm, tender glow. She'd almost forgotten what it felt like to be with someone who truly loved her.
Brad decided to seize the moment. He leaned across the table, cupped Janet's face in his hands, and kissed her. At first the kiss was soft and tentative, then became more passionate as he realized she wasn't pulling away. Janet felt Brad's lips force her own apart, and his tongue enter and explore her mouth. As she responded to his kiss, she became aware of a warm, tingling sensation coursing through her body. To her shock, she recognized the feeling as desire. There was hope for him yet!
At last, they broke the kiss. Brad saw the stunned expression on Janet's face, and couldn't help but laugh…a laugh of both amusement and triumph. "Maybe I learned a thing or two from Frank myself."
Janet grinned. "Maybe you did. However, I'm afraid I'll need additional empirical evidence before I can confirm that hypothesis."
Brad stood up, smiling suggestively. "I propose we continue this experiment at your apartment."
Janet stood up as well. "First I need to say goodbye to Frank. Is he still here?"
Brad nodded. "Yes. He's at a back table with some woman."
Janet's eyes brightened. "A woman? Does she have auburn hair?"
Brad frowned. "Yes. Why?"
"Oh, it's just that I'm dying to meet her. She's been his girlfriend all semester, and he told me he's really in love with her."
Brad looked amazed. "Frank? In love with someone other than himself? That's hard to believe."
"C'mon, you must have noticed he's changed. If he hadn't, he certainly wouldn't have gone out of his way to arrange this little meeting for us."
Brad had to admit she had a point. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Okay, let's go over."
Approaching the back of the bar, they spotted Frank and his ravishing companion seated next to each other, obviously deep in conversation. As they watched, Frank tenderly ran his fingers through the young woman's hair, pulled her close, and kissed her. The kiss looked likely to last quite a while.
Brad stopped. "Uh, maybe this isn't the best time to interrupt them. Maybe we should just leave." To be honest, while he appreciated Frank's help, he was far less interested in meeting Frank's lover than he was in being alone with Janet.
Janet, however, wasn't about to budge. "No way. This may be my only chance to meet her. We won't stay long, I promise."
Brad was puzzled. "Why might this be your only chance?"
Janet paused. "I'll tell you later, if Frank says it's okay."
Before Brad had a chance to ask Janet what she meant, she'd approached Frank and Andrea, who had by then ended their kiss and resumed their conversation.
"Hi, Frank."
Frank looked up, his gaze moving from Janet's face to Brad's. He smiled. "Hello. So how did it go?"
Janet did her best to feign annoyance. "You had absolutely no right to trick me that way. I should be really angry at you."
Frank's smile widened, and his eyes sparkled. "But you're not."
Janet sighed in mock exasperation, then smiled back at him. "No, I'm not. Thank you for what you did. Brad and I had a wonderful conversation, and we're going to give our relationship another try. Hopefully we won't mess it up quite so badly this time around."
Frank laughed. "I'm sure you'll be fine. If nothing else, the past couple of years have taught you what not to do."
He looked over at Andrea. "Pardon my rudeness. Janet Weiss, Brad Majors, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Andrea Spencer. Andrea is aware of how we all…became acquainted."
Janet smiled and shook Andrea's hand. "I'm so happy to meet you. Frank has told me all about you."
Andrea, smiling, looked at Frank. "Oh, he has, has he?"
Frank shrugged. "I knew I could trust her. She won't tell anyone else."
Janet asked, "What about Brad?"
He thought a moment, then nodded. "Yes, you can tell Brad, but that's it."
Brad was looking totally bewildered. "What are you talking about?"
Janet shook her head. "I'll tell you when we get to my place." She then looked at Frank. "When will you be leaving?"
He, in turn, looked at Andrea. "Saturday morning?"
She nodded. "Yes, very early Saturday morning."
Janet pulled up a chair and sat down next to Frank. "I'll really miss you. Thank you so much for everything you did for me this semester…and also for what you didn't do."
Frank understood what she meant. He smiled, and took her hand. "You're welcome. Thank you for being so forgiving. I caused you and Brad considerable heartache; it was very generous of both of you to look beyond that. I hope everything works out well for you. You both deserve to be happy."
Janet felt her eyes fill with tears. She stood up quickly, attempting to smile. "I'm sure we will be. I hope you and Andrea will be happy, too." She looked down at him. "Why is it so hard to say goodbye?"
Frank, too, stood up. "Saying goodbye to friends is never easy. And I do consider you a friend." He stepped over to her and hugged her warmly. "Best of everything to you both."
He then looked over at Brad and grinned. "Congratulations, Brad. It appears you managed to redeem yourself nicely in Janet's eyes. Keep up the good work."
Brad smiled back, somewhat awkwardly. "Uh, thanks. I'll do my best."
Frank raised an eyebrow suggestively. "I'm sure you will." He hesitated, then held out his hand. "Goodbye, Brad."
Brad reached out to shake Frank's hand, then stopped. "Oh, what the hell." He reached out and hugged Frank. "Goodbye, Frank."
After Brad released him, Frank stepped back and looked at Brad and Janet. "I'm sure you both have somewhere else you'd rather be. I suggest you get going."
They laughed. "Right." They turned to leave. Janet took one last look back. "Take care of yourselves, okay?"
Frank and Andrea instinctively turned to each other. Frank said, "Don't worry. We'll be fine."
He looked deeply into Andrea's eyes. "I'll make sure of it."
