Choices Pt. 05: The Ultimatum

Author's Note: The disclaimer is as in earlier parts. I encourage you to read them first. Again, there's a little sex relevant to the romance, but it's not very graphic or hardcore. After all, this is first and foremost a romance, so if hardcore action with detailed descriptions is what you're seeking, please look elsewhere.

To those still reading, you've reached the end of this story. Thanks so much for reading and to all who have voted, liked, followed, favorited and commented on the earlier parts. Please continue to let me know your thoughts on the overall story with your votes and comments.

My Christmas romance will premier in a few days.

* * *

Part 5: The Ultimatum

Hurt and angry, Rob paid the ticket change fee at DFW and caught a flight back to Atlanta two days early. It was late when he got home but he sent Deana a note.

I need to talk with you. Erin and I aren't seeing each other anymore, and no, I don't want to talk about that. Please call.

She called minutes later. "Rob, fair warning, if you start talking about her, I swear I'll hang up. If you're teasing me and she's listening in on this call—BITCH!" she said loudly with a laugh, "I'll hang up and never speak with you again."

Rob couldn't help but laugh, too. "Deana, I won't talk about her other than to tell you that I broke up with her when she objected to me continuing to be your friend."

She was silent for a few seconds before responding. "Rob, are you serious?"

"Completely."

"That bitch! I knew I couldn't stand her, but I'm so sorry for you. And I'm sorry that I was a focus of your breakup, too."

"It's okay, Deana. It gets better, though. She thinks that we've always been secret lovers behind her back." He laughed. "Seriously, Deana...did you...did you ever have feelings for me?"

"Rob, I don't think—"

"Deana! I just dumped someone I care a great deal about because I'm your friend and hope to always be your friend. Please...be honest with me."

In the silence on her end of the connection, he thought he heard a sniffle before she finally said, "Yes."

"Deana. I thought we were always honest with each other. Why on God's green Earth didn't you tell me?"

"Rob, because you're fucking blind!" she said, the anger obvious in her voice. "I thought you'd see how I felt and would eventually respond and take the initiative, but the one time I tried to kiss you, you turned away and gave me a baby kiss, which made me feel even worse than I did when I took forever working up the courage to do it in the first place. That was so embarrassing that I never tried again. I'd talk to you and give you opportunities to kiss me or more, but you were always so taken with someone else and so damn polite that I'd get pissed off and go find a new guy. Wait! What are you laughing about?"

"Deana, I thought it was what you wanted! I always made it a point to be extra polite with you and to make sure that you knew I was chasing after someone else so you wouldn't be uncomfortable thinking I was coming on to you. I wasn't, mind you, and I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary since I'd have been interested in chasing after them even if you hadn't been around, but I made sure I told you about them. I didn't have a clue that you might have wanted something more. I'm so sorry."

She huffed. "No, don't be, Rob. No matter how much I wanted it at the time, we're still friends today, which we very well might not have been if we'd ever gotten together."

"True," he said thoughtfully. "You said you were interested in someone. Want to tell me about that?"

"Ahem, nothing to report yet. Maybe someday?"

"So are we still friends or did I just dump my girlfriend for nothing?"

"Rob, we'll always be friends as far as I'm concerned, but it's late. Let's talk tomorrow night, okay?"

"Sounds good," he said. "Sleep well, dear."

* * *

Rob didn't sleep well at all, either that night or the next few.

He and Deana spoke nightly, and, despite her insistence that he not talk about Erin, she eventually wormed most of the story out of him.

"Rob, if you really love her that much, I wouldn't blame you if you tell me to pound sand and then go back to her. I'll hate you forever and believe you're getting exactly what you deserve with her for doing that, but I'd never actually blame you for it."

"Deana, I've considered you like a sister for well over half my life, even when I didn't have a clue where you were and even now that you don't care for the title any more. I guess I was shocked at the way Erin felt about you and about our friendship. If we'd actually been lovers, it would have been one thing, but—"

"But how does she know that we weren't? Think about it. If something's that important to some people, they'll lie through their teeth to get it."

"If that's what she thinks about me, it means she doesn't trust me," as realization struck him. "And that just means that I did the same damn thing as last time, letting us rush into the situation too soon and letting things go too far before we really knew each other and got to that level of trust we needed to get through this kind of crap. Fuck! After everything I said and all I tried to prevent it from happening, I fell into the same stupid trap. Shit."

"Essentially so, Rob, but it wasn't just one of you. You messed it up together and it can't be fixed unless you do that together, too. I'm sorry, my friend, but I really appreciate your friendship."

* * *

Later that week, Laurie Reeves stopped by his office with a Fed Ex package. "Hi, Rob. I was downstairs when it came in and it was marked 'Personal' so I volunteered to bring it up to you."

He glanced at the name as he took it in hand before putting it down on his desk. "Thanks, Laurie."

"Rob, are you okay? You usually have a smile for everyone, but not now. Does it have something to do with this Erin who sent this?"

"Yes, it does," he said, a bit irritated that she was snooping into his business. He whispered, "We get together and everything seems perfect until it all goes to hell even faster than it did the first time back in college. Satisfied?"

"I'm...I'm sorry," she said, taken aback by his apparent anger. "I didn't know, but I hope it works out well for you."

"Laurie, wait! I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I appreciate you bringing this up." He gave her a weak smile, which she returned before leaving.

He pulled the strip on the heavy shipping envelope and saw a folded paper and the box of pearls slide out. He opened the letter and read:

Dearest Rob,

I loved your gift, but I couldn't keep it without your love. Perhaps Deana will be able to enjoy it longer than I did.

Love always,

Erin

He crumpled the letter and threw it in the trash before shoving the box in his desk.

* * *

Rob was still upset that evening, but refused to talk to Abby about it. He finally dialed Deana and told her about receiving the present back and the note, but didn't mention the last line.

"At least she was honest enough to return it," said Deana. "Personally, I'm surprised she didn't keep it."

"Deana, she isn't evil and you don't have to hate her."

Deana laughed. "Rob, I don't hate anybody I know, though I come closer with her than just about anyone I can think of right off hand. What was it they used in the musical 'Wicked'? Loathing, I think."

"Yeah. Unadulterated loathing," he replied, recalling the song and CD that Lisa and Abby had so enjoyed listening to in the car on trips. "Lisa practically had to drag me to that show the first time. It surprised me when I enjoyed it, so we went to see it again a few months before she died. That was a fun evening."

"You need more of those, my friend. How about a new rule: no more talking about witches, either with or without a 'b', okay? We need to start bringing a list of cheerful topics to our talks. Speaking of which..."

As the discussion continued that evening, Rob's spirits began to improve, though it had as much to do with imagining Erin and Deana as the two feuding witches from that part of the musical as it did from Deana's efforts to cheer him up. As he went to sleep later that evening, he wondered if there was a way to eventually get them to be friends like those in the play.

"Short of magic, that'll never happen," he mused as he climbed into bed, but it still left him in a better mood the next morning. He even stopped at a local coffee shop on the way to work and bought a cup for all the members of his team plus an extra that he took down to Laurie with an apology.

After that, Rob and Deana spoke almost nightly and his attitude continued to improve as she helped raise his spirits. Still, he heard nothing from Erin, despite leaving a couple of messages, sending a few texts, and mailing a hand-written letter.

"I want to give her a chance in case she wants to respond, but don't want to appear stalkerish or obsessed," he told Abby.

She nodded. "I'd take a break for now and wait a few weeks. Go see Deana and see how that goes—I heard you two laughing on the phone the other night. Go out with Laurie in Accounting, if you'd like. Maybe go on a few dates with someone else. Then, reevaluate and let her know one way or the other. Of course, if you decide she's a lost cause, you could always ride off into the sunset like in those western movies you like. You know, like Clint Eastwood, without saying another word to her, leaving her wondering, which would serve her right for the way she's treated you."

"Have you been talking to Deana? That sounds suspiciously like what she said, only the names were changed."

Smirking, Abby shook her head. "Not a word to her, though my recent strategy sessions with Robbie are becoming nearly epic."

"Well, when you speak with him again, tell your brother I said hello and that my phone number hasn't changed since the last few messages I've left him. Goodnight, sweetie."

* * *

A couple weeks later, Abby and Paul, her boyfriend of recent months, were in Durham searching for an apartment for her so Rob was enjoying an evening at home alone with Lexx. It was after dark when he called Deana from out on the deck under the stars rather than the usual seclusion of his office or bedroom. They were laughing and cutting up like kids when Rob paused. "Deana, would you like to get together sometime?"

"Very much so. Wanna' come up over the 4th? You can stay several days that way and I can show you the town."

"I'll get a hotel near your—"

"No, Rob. Don't argue with me but you're staying here. In fact, for the price, some of the best accommodations in Charlotte for you are right down the hall. Of course, there's no valet parking and the person in charge of housekeeping absolutely refuses to wear one of those little maid costumes..."

Rob laughed. They worked out the details and he put it on his calendar.

When Independence Day weekend arrived, he drove the route with his butterflies getting worse by the mile. After weeks of debating it, he'd had four more hours to think about what he wanted, but when he parked on the street next to Deana's driveway, he still didn't know what that was. He'd grown increasingly fond of her as they'd talked in recent weeks, but it didn't feel like the love he still harbored for Erin, despite Erin's refusal to respond. His heart was telling him that he would love Erin forever, but his mind seemed to think that was a lost cause and that he should forget her and move on. Whether that might include Deana, one of his very best friends, he did not know.

He walked up on the porch and was about to ring the bell when the door opened and Deana stepped into his arms.

* * *

Rob had had a wonderful weekend with Deana and was still smiling when he got home. After giving his daughter a hug and ignoring her all-too-pointed questions about his love life, he walked into his home office and sat down with pen and paper to write. Within minutes, he'd completed a letter, made a copy, and sealed the original in an envelope. After putting it in his briefcase so he could send it out by priority mail the next morning with delivery verification, he went in to talk to Abby and play with Lexx.

It was a few nights later when his cellphone rang and Erin's picture and name popped up on the screen.

Smiling, he was relieved that she'd received it and responded. Now, he knew, he had to stand firm so he answered the call. "Hi, Erin."

She was all business, with no chit-chat and no time spent catching up. "Rob, is this really the last message you'd have sent me if I hadn't responded."

"I love you, Erin, but I can't continue on forever if there's no hope. As much as I hoped it wouldn't come to it, this would have been the last one and I would have had to admit defeat."

"Hmmm. Okay. I guess I can see that. Next you said you went to see Deana but that you were just friends. So nothing...nothing sexual...happened between you. Do really expect me to believe that?"

"Absolutely. I've told you I love you. If we're to have any chance as a couple, we have to tell each other the truth and we have to trust each other."

"Rob, I trust you, but I don't trust that, that witch...errrr, Deana...as far as I can throw her."

"Erin, as much as I wish you two could go the Elphaba and Galinda route, I'm pretty sure that's unlikely. However, I'll tell you this: you don't have to trust her. You just have to trust me. I have not cheated on you—"

"You can probably truthfully claim that since we weren't technically together," she interjected.

"—and I promise that I never will cheat on you. Ever. That doesn't just apply to Deana; it applies to anyone and everyone," he said. Catching her comment, he added, "And yes, while I guess we were technically broken up, I still love you, I wasn't considering that, and I'm not using it to cover up anything." He paused for a moment before saying, "If you can't believe all of that and trust me to live up to my word, then we'll never have a future together and that'll probably be for the best."

"Oh, I do trust you, Rob, but—"

"No buts, Erin. You gave me an ultimatum: dump Deana as a friend or lose you. I struggled with that not only because Deana's a friend but also because I would never cheat on you with her or anyone else. It was only later that I realized the true problem. Just like I have to trust you, you have to trust my word and trust me with Deana or you can't truthfully trust me with anyone. The choice isn't mine to make. It's actually yours."

Erin was silent for a number of seconds before saying, "I have to go," and ending the call.

* * *

Rob's phone rang minutes after he was already in bed several nights later. He glanced at the caller ID, let it ring twice more, and then picked up before it went to voicemail. "Hi, Erin. How are you?"

He smiled at the audible sigh from the phone. "Rob, you haven't called."

"No. I said my piece the other night. The decision's in your court, so I was giving you time to make it. Making any progress?"

He smiled when he thought he heard a little growl. "I'm not sure. See, a long time ago, you wanted Donnie out of my life like I want Deana out of yours. See the similarity?"

"On the surface, yes, but it's apples and oranges. You and Donnie were a couple; you'd been together and part of you still wanted to be with him even as we were starting out. Then, you two got back together while the two of us were still together. That last part was forgiven, but it severely damaged the trust factor that was needed for us to move forward together.

"Part of rebuilding that trust and our relationship was getting him and the temptation he represented out of our lives. If Deana and I had been lovers, I'd expect the same thing, for her to be out of my life if the two of us were trying to save our relationship, but Deana and I aren't lovers—never have been and never will be. That's where the trust comes in."

Silence followed as she apparently pondered his words. Finally, she said, "Thanks, Rob. Good night."

Her abrupt end to the call almost led him to call her back, but he gritted his teeth and held off. Still, he couldn't get back to sleep so he and Lexx went for a long walk through the neighborhood. He'd just gotten back home and was looking forward to bed when his phone rang again. This time it was Deana.

"Deana, it's one-something in the morning."

"I know that but tell it to your girlfriend. She was the one who kept me up."

"What?" he said, surprised.

"Yeah, she called me at midnight and wanted to have a heart-to-heart with me. She wanted to ask some questions but said she wanted me to be truthful."

"What did you say to that?"

"I told her I'd answer any question truthfully, but only questions that had to do with this situation and she had to be willing to listen to the whole answer. I also told her before we started her little inquisition that you were one of my best friends in the world and that if she did anything to hurt you, I'd take it out of her hide, even if I had to go all the way to Dallas to do it."

Rob laughed. "How'd that go over?"

"She said 'Ditto to Charlotte,' and I really think she meant it. Once we reached that Cold War level of mutual understanding, we actually got along fairly well."

"Well? Did anything jump out at you as being important?"

"Rob! Erin and I just had a reasonable conversation, probably for the first time ever, so I can't ruin it by telling you that. I just wanted to let you know she called."

"I swear I think you're enjoying this," he groused.

Deana giggled. "Have a good night, my friend. I'm praying for you."

A few minutes later, a very frustrated Rob was leading Lexx on another circuit around the neighborhood.

* * *

The anticipation got worse as the week progressed.

An old ketchup commercial and Carly Simon kept running through Rob's mind as he anxiously awaited word from Erin. He pulled the phone out of his pocket to call her on Saturday afternoon as he and Lexx walked through the nearby park but he ended up calling his son instead. Robbie was off duty so he picked up and they talked for a while for the first time in several weeks. Rob ended the call with his headset just as he pulled back into the driveway.

He walked into the kitchen a minute later to see Abby sitting on the countertop chatting with someone on the phone. He gave her a disapproving look so she laughed as she slid down to the floor. "Yeah, he just got back," she said into the phone. "Talk to you later. Bye."

"What's going on?" asked Rob.

"Oh, that was Robbie. He said sorry he hadn't called in so long but he promised to call you soon."

"Really?" Rob's eyes narrowed as he looked at his daughter, but she didn't notice.

She was looking away as she nodded. Looking back she added, "Dad, I'm heading over to Paul's. Enjoy your evening. And don't wait up."

He sighed. "You two be good, but if you can't do that, at least be careful."

She laughed, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and said, "We always are!" as she shot out the door.

Rob growled, still not quite used to his little girl being a grown woman. "Lexx, looks like it's just the two of us. We'll go get something for dinner in a little while."

The door bell rang a few minutes later. "Magazine salesperson or lawn service rep?" he asked the dog as he walked to the front door. Peering through the peephole, he saw a woman with her back to the door.

"May I help you?" he asked on opening the door.

She turned toward him and Rob's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Hi, Rob. May I come in?" asked Erin, smiling.

He waved her in and said, "Welcome. I take it Abby was in on this. That phone call?"

Erin's grin grew as she nodded. "I had to make sure you were going to be here because I didn't want to do this over the phone."

"Have a seat. Oh, boy! This is Lexx. Down boy!"