It was a good idea. It was a very good idea. It was something he needed to do. Something he needed to do for both of them. Why did he not relish the idea of telling her?

"I need to talk to you about something," Jim said as he settled himself on the stool at the diner's counter. "When will you be off?" Maggie glanced at her watch and then at the nearly empty diner.

"In another hour," she said as she leaned down on the counter with her elbows. "It's slow. We can talk now." Jim grimaced and looked around.

"Naw," he said. "I'd rather do it in private." She grinned broadly.

"Ooooohhhh….." she drawled and winked at him.

"No," he chuckled. "It's nothing like that." He reached over and took one of her hands in his caressed it gently. She waited.

"It's just that, well…." He took a deep breath. "Ronnie and I have this lead on a job for the summer that would give us a nice pay check. A real nice pay check." She laced her fingers through his possessively and waited again for him to continue.

"The thing is that it's in Oklahoma," he said quickly. Maggie straightened behind the counter.

"Oklahoma?"

"Yeah…." Jim said quickly. "They need roustabouts to work in the oil fields. For wild cat drilling operations. It's temporary and it's a nice amount of money." Maggie's hand slipped from his and she took a step back to look at him.

"A lot of money, Maggie," he said. "Enough that we could probably put a down payment on a house of our own….maybe have you take three classes instead of two next fall….have a real wedding…." His voice trailed off as he gazed at her. Her face had gone ashen.

"So you're going to go…" she said softly.

"I want to," he said. "I want to do it for us." Her eyes widened.

"For us?" she scoffed. Jim's face fell. Maggie folded her arms across her chest and stared angrily down at the floor.

"I am twenty three years old, Maggie," he said softly. "I was pitched out of the foster care system when I was eighteen. I don't have any college like you do. I barely made it through high school. This is my chance to do something big. I need to do it. I'll be back when it's over. I promise."

"You promised that you would never leave me," she said quietly. Jim stood up and circled the counter. He put his hands on her shoulders and tipped her chin up with his thumbs.

"I am not leaving you," he insisted. "I am just taking a temporary job to help us get started."

"A job in another state," her voice broke and he winced when he saw the tears welling in her eyes. She took a deep breath and twisted away from his grasp.

"Okay…." she said with feigned brightness. "When are you leaving?" Jim watched her back as she straightened the counter in front of her.

"Thursday," he said flatly. Maggie's shoulders sagged slightly. That was just two days away. Two days.

"I'll come back to see you whenever I can," he said. "I promi….." His voice trailed off as she spun around.

"Do not make any more promises to me!" she spit angrily.

"Maggie…" he said softly. She folded her arms defensively across her chest and glared at him.

"Honey….." Maggie shook her head and held up her hand to stop him.

"If you want to go," she said firmly. "Then go. I have to get back to work." The bell above the door rang and Jim glanced toward the couple that came in and eased themselves into a booth. Maggie took a deep breath and picked up the menus from the end of the counter. He watched her for a moment as she sashayed up to their table and took their drink order. Wordlessly he rounded the counter and left the diner.

Two days later he leaned on his bike in the parking space in front of the diner. Maggie stood in front of him with her arms tangled in a sweater she had wrapped over her uniform. She had a fiery glint in her eyes as she watched him check the engine on his bike.

"You don't have to go, you know," she said. "I don't want you to go."

"It's not forever," he said firmly. "It's just the summer." She nodded. He drew her into his arms and rested his chin on the top of his her head.

"I might not be here when you decide to come back," she said quietly.

"Yes you will," he said. "I'll call you….every chance I get." He tipped her face up to his and kissed her. She nodded curtly as Ronnie roared up into the parking space next to Jim.

"Ready to go?" he asked as he raised the goggles on his helmet. Jim's arms tightened around Maggie and he lifted her face to kiss her one last time. She stepped back and he swung his leg over his bike. He grinned and turned the bike with Ron's and kick started his engine. He raised his hand in a wave as the two of them pulled the bikes out onto the highway in front of the diner and were gone down the road.

She stood in front of the diner's window for a long time as tears coursed their way down her cheeks. She would wait. No matter how long he took.