All of Me

“Sweetheart, let’s talk about this. I know we can come to some kind of compromise that’ll work for both of us.”

She shook her head and bit her lip to keep from crying. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, pulling the door shut. Karen started the engine, backed up and drove out of the parking lot without looking back. The tears she’d held at bay now came in full force, clouding her vision and echoing the tears in her heart.

* * *

What the hell just happened? Damian couldn’t believe how quickly things had spun out of control. One minute he was planning to spend the evening with Karen celebrating her promotion, and the next he was starring in the horror film of his life. He stood there confused and replaying the scene in his head. Had she just ended their relationship? He understood her being apprehensive; so was he. He had never been in a long-distance relationship, but he loved Karen, was proud of her and would never ask her to sacrifice her career. And no, he didn’t want to give up his career, either. But he figured they’d discuss the situation and come to an agreement. Still stunned and cursing under his breath, he stomped back to the office. In the small conference room, he braced his hands on the table and tried to stop the growing ache in his heart.

“You all right?” Kyle asked, entering.

“Karen just received a letter appointing her principal of this school.”

“Hey, that’s great! We should celebrate.”

“No.” He gave Kyle a rundown on what had happened.

Kyle shook his head. “Wow. She ended it just like that? I’m sorry, man.”

“So am I. Let’s go.”

They said goodbye to the secretary. Damian’s disappointment and anger hadn’t cooled during the ride back to the hotel, and probably wouldn’t until he talked to Karen. As soon as he reached his room, he called her, but she wouldn’t pick up. He paced back and forth. “Dammit!” How could she just toss their relationship aside? And why did she believe the worst? He stopped pacing. The answer came to him immediately—her ex. He knew the only thing on Karen’s mind when she mentioned being worried about him cheating was history repeating itself. It all boiled down to trust. She had trust issues—contrary to what she voiced—but they’d just spent an entire weekend together and he’d told her, as well as shown her, that he loved her. Or so he thought. How could she believe he would jump into another woman’s arms the first time her back was turned?

His cell rang, and he jabbed the button. “What!” he barked into the receiver.

“I certainly hope this isn’t the usual way you answer the phone,” came the soft reply.

He ran an agitated hand over his face. “Sorry, Mom,” he mumbled. “Bad day.”

“I’ll say.”

“Did you need something?”

“I haven’t talked to you since the holiday, and you seemed distracted when you were here. I wanted to see how you were. Obviously, there’s something going on. Well, it’s nothing having a good woman can’t cure.”

“Not today, Mama, okay?” he said quietly. He didn’t have the energy to fend off another of her matchmaking schemes.

“Mama? You only call me that when something’s wrong. What’s going on, Damian?” she asked, concern evident in her voice.

Damian stopped pacing and lowered himself wearily on a love seat. He tried to come up with a plausible excuse, but his mother knew him and could tell just by the sound of his voice if he was lying. He had never been able to fool her, and had stopped trying long ago. He also realized that regardless of the fact that he was a grown man, Gwendolyn Bradshaw would hop on the first plane leaving North Carolina if she thought Damian was in trouble. She had always been protective of him growing up, and even more so in the past five years. “I met a woman, Mom.”

“Honey, is this about you feeling guilty? You have nothing—”

“No, that’s not it. I’m fine.”

“Oh, Damian. Sweetheart, I’m so happy to hear that,” she said emotionally. “I’ve been so worried about you.” She paused. “Wait. Then what’s the problem?”

“Remember the woman I told you about from the cruise?”

“Yes.”

“She lives here in San Jose and happened to be part of the first training session we conducted.”

She laughed. “That had to be the shock of a lifetime.”

“You can say that again.” He gave her the details of what had occurred since then, ending with what had happened earlier.