The Choice

Gabby reflected on this as she watched Travis dive for the Frisbee. He bungled the catch, allowing the Frisbee to hit him in the chest, and landed in the surf with a dramatic cascade of water. The toddlers squealed with delight, as if it were the funniest thing they’d ever seen. When they shouted, “Do it again, Uncle Travis!” he jumped to his feet with equal flamboyance. He took three long, slow-motion strides and sent the Frisbee flying back to Joe. Putting on his game face, he assumed the exaggerated crouch of a baseball player, readying for the next catch in the infield. With a wink toward the kids, he promised, “The next time, I won’t even get wet!” and followed his comment with a splashing, seizurelike miss that elicited even more squeals of delight. He seemed genuinely to enjoy performing for the kids, which only increased her feelings of warmth toward him. She was still trying to make sense of her reaction to Travis when he finally emerged from the ocean and started toward her, shaking the water from his hair. A moment later, he plopped down on the sand beside her, and when they accidentally touched, Gabby had the briefest flash of them sitting together just like this on a hundred different weekends in the future.

Eleven

The rest of the afternoon seemed to replay the events of the morning in reverse. They spent another hour at the beach before reloading the boat; on their way back, each couple rode once more in the parasail, though on her second trip Gabby rode with Stephanie. By late afternoon, the boat was cruising through the inlet, and Travis stopped to buy some shrimp from a local fisherman he obviously knew well. By the time they finally docked back at the house, all three toddlers were sound asleep. The adults were windblown and content, their faces darkened by the hours in the sun.

Once the boat was unloaded, the couples departed one by one, until only Gabby, Stephanie, and Travis remained. Travis was on the dock with Moby; he’d already spread the parachute on the dock so it could dry and was currently rinsing off the boat with a garden hose.

Stephanie stretched her arms overhead. “I guess I should be on my way, too. Dinner with the folks tonight. They get hurt feelings if I come down here and don’t spend enough time with them. You know how it goes. Let me say good-bye to Travis.”

Gabby nodded, watching lethargically as Stephanie leaned over the deck railing.

“Hey, Trav!” Stephanie shouted. “I’m outta here. Thanks for today!”

“Glad you could come,” he shouted with a wave.

“You might want to toss something on the grill. Gabby just said she’s starving!”

Gabby’s lethargy vanished immediately, but before she could say anything, she saw Travis give a thumbs-up.

“I’ll be up in a minute to start the grill!” he shouted. “Just let me finish up here.”

Stephanie sauntered by Gabby, obviously pleased with her social engineering.

“Why’d you say that?” Gabby hissed.

“Because I’m going to be with my parents. I don’t want my poor brother to have to spend the rest of the evening alone. He likes to have people around.”

“Well, what if I wanted to go home?”

“Then tell him when he gets up here that you’ve changed your mind. He won’t care. All I did was buy you a couple of minutes to think about it, since I guarantee that he would have asked you anyway, and then—if you’d said no—would have asked a second time.” She slung her bag over her shoulder. “Hey, it was great getting to know you. I’m glad we had the chance to meet. Do you ever get up to the Raleigh area?”

“Sometimes,” Gabby said, still thrown by what had just happened and unsure whether to be pleased or angry with Stephanie.

“Good. We can do lunch. I’d say we could do brunch tomorrow, but I really have to get back.” She removed her sunglasses and wiped them with her shirt. “See you again?”

“Sure,” Gabby said.

Stephanie went to the patio door, slid it open, then vanished inside, cutting through the house on the way to the door. By that point, Travis was already strolling up the dock, Moby trotting happily by his side. For the first time today, he’d put on a short-sleeved shirt, though he left it unbuttoned.

“Just give me a second to get the coals going. Shrimp kabobs okay?”

She debated only an instant before realizing that it was either this or head home to a microwave dinner and some awful show on television, and she couldn’t help but remember the feeling she’d had when watching Travis frolic in the surf with the toddlers.

“Just give me a few minutes to change?”

While Travis got the coals going, Gabby checked on Molly, finding her sleeping soundly along with the puppies.

She took a quick shower before changing into a light cotton skirt and blouse. After drying her hair, she debated whether to put on makeup, then decided on just a bit of mascara. The sun had given her face some color, and when she stepped back from the mirror, it occurred to her that it had been years since she’d last had dinner with a man other than Kevin.

A case could be made that it was simply a continuation of the day, or that she’d been tricked into dinner by Stephanie, but she knew that neither was completely true.

Still, was her decision to have dinner with Travis something she should feel guilty about, perhaps even conceal from Kevin? Her first impulse was to insist that she’d have no reason not to tell Kevin. The day had been harmless—technically, she’d spent more time with Stephanie than she had with Travis. So what was the big deal?

You’re dining alone tonight, of course, a little voice whispered.

But was that really a problem? Stephanie had been right: She was hungry again, and her neighbor had food. Human Necessity 101. It wasn’t as though she were going to sleep with him. She had no intention of even kissing him. They were friends, that’s all. And if Kevin were here, she was sure that Travis would have invited him along, too.

But he’s not here, the voice insisted. Will you tell Kevin about your little dinner for two?

“Definitely. I’ll definitely tell him,” she muttered, trying to quiet the little voice. There were times when she absolutely hated the little voice. The little voice sounded like her mother.

Thus decided, she looked at herself one last time in the mirror and, pleased with what she saw, slipped out the patio door and started across the lawn.

As Gabby weaved her way between the hedges and appeared at the edge of the lawn, Travis caught the movement from the corner of his eye and found himself staring unabashedly as she approached. When she stepped onto the deck, he felt a strange shift in the atmosphere, catching him off guard.

“Hey,” she said simply. “How long until dinner?”

“A couple of minutes,” he answered. “Your timing is perfect.”

She peeked at the skewered shrimp and brightly colored peppers and onions. As if on cue, her stomach grumbled. “Wow,” she murmured, hoping he didn’t hear it. “They look great.”

“Do you want anything to drink?” He gestured toward the opposite end of the deck. “I think there’s some beer and soda left over in the cooler.”

As she crossed the deck, Travis tried to ignore the gentle sway of her hips, wondering what had gotten into him. He watched as she flipped open the lid, rummaged throug

h the cooler, and pulled out two beers. When she returned to hand him one, he felt her fingers graze his. He twisted open the cap and took a long pull, looking down the line of the bottle at her. In the silence, she stared at the water. The sun, hovering over the tree line, was still bright, but its heat had diminished and shadows were gradually stretching across the lawn.

“This is why I bought my place,” she finally said. “For views like this.”

“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” He realized that he was watching her as he said it and forced away the subconscious implications. He cleared his throat. “How’s Molly?”

“She seems fine. She was sleeping when I checked on her.” She looked around. “Where’s Moby?”

“I think he wandered around the front. He got bored with my cooking once he realized I wasn’t about to offer him any scraps.”

“He eats shrimp?”

“He eats anything.”

“Discriminating,” she said with a wink. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not really. Unless you want to grab some plates from the kitchen.”

“Be happy to.” She nodded. “Where are they, exactly?”

“In the cupboard to the left of the sink. Oh, and the pineapple, too. It’s on the counter. And the knife. It should be right there.”

“Be back in a minute.”

“And would you mind bringing some silverware, too? It’s in the drawer near the dishwasher.”

As soon as she turned to enter the house, Travis found himself studying her. There was definitely something about Gabby that interested him. It wasn’t simply that she was attractive; there were pretty women everywhere. There was something about her straightforward intelligence and unforced humor that suggested a grounded sense of right and wrong. Beauty and earthy common sense were a rare combination, yet he doubted she was even aware she possessed it.

By the time she emerged, the kabobs were ready. He loaded a couple on each plate along with some slices of pineapple, and they took their seats at the table. Beyond them, the slow-moving creek reflected the sky like a mirror, the stillness broken only by a flock of starlings passing overhead.